16th anniversary of ADA passage

Posted by John B. Kelly

Today is the 16th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by the first George Bush. Thanks to the hard work of innumerable activists, the law enjoyed strong bipartisan backing, but support was shallow. Despite the law's great promise, it stipulated little in the way of enforcement.

I am no ADA expert, but it has always seemed to me that enforcement was left to individuals seeking redress in federal court as a way to reassure powerful interests that they had little to worry about. In this way, the passage of the ADA represented more a gesture towards equality than determination to achieve it.

The act "took effect" in 1992, but disabled people still can't get a job, town and city streetscapes remain largely inaccessible, and getting in to and moving around within public accommodations are demoralizingly difficult.

A few years ago, I sued a couple of public accommodations (two retail stores) in federal court under the ADA, but it was not a satisfactory experience. For one thing, when settlements in these sorts of cases are finally reached, they routinely include confidentiality agreements preventing plaintiffs from discussing the case. So all that work, and the establishment never has to face the public over its discriminatory actions. I don't think I even have the legal right to tell you whom I sued. Not an effective way to organize for civil rights!

This is why I decided to turn to the Architectural Access Board for remedy. I thought that we could also make some headway politically, in the old-fashioned sense of gathering enough strength to have our vision of justice prevail. This was naïve thinking.

As an example, the AAB levied quite a large fine on the city of Boston on Monday, and took the rare step of issuing a press release. The Boston Globe put a small item in its "New England in Brief" section, just above paragraphs on indictments in a murder case, and a struggle over a widow's pension. No other media except Boston Comcast's Neighborhood Network News picked up the story at all.

Meanwhile, it's all Big Dig tunnels all the time. Tunnels are now closed for repairs, we hear, people are upset and inconvenienced. But disabled people live in this world 24/7. Huntington Avenue, once a perfectly functional concrete sidewalk, has been effectively closed off for three years now to satisfy the aesthetic cravings of some powerful institutions and their City Hall friends. So we risk our lives in the streets, change our routes, and feel demoralized. As Symphony Plaza resident Billie Tyler said, having smooth sidewalks "would be like living in another world."

Back to the ADA: I think people with disabilities should stop spending this anniversary giving out awards to organizations or businesses who do some good access deed, and rather start picking among the far more numerous access "worsts" for public recognition.

For "worst" response to disabled residents' request for street-level access, any town or city would have a difficult time matching Boston.

A complete chronology of the Huntington Avenue complaint coming soon.

Meanwhile, for some general information about people with disabilities, check out this U.S. Census fact sheet.