SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share the extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
People With Disabilities Triumph Over Discrimination in Foreign Service
The State Department denied me the Class 1 medical clearance necessary to begin a position with the Foreign Service. The agency's only reason was my “diagnosed neurological condition,” based on my 1994 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. They did not consider whether my MS would affect my ability to perform the essential functions of a Foreign Service Officer, but rather thwarted my career based on stereotypes about MS.
Civil Rights Hero, Artie Lashbrook, Posthumously Inducted to Impact Fund Class Action Hall of Fame
Artie fulfilled his duty as a class representative despite tremendous adversity in his personal life. During the course of the negotiation, Artie experienced periods of homelessness, living with his partner in their minivan. He also faced serious health problems requiring hospitalization, the amputation of his other leg, and extended stays at rehabilitation facilities. Artie could have easily given up on the case. But he didn’t.
Psych Patients In Connecticut File Class Action For Civil Rights Violations
Karen testified: “When I was getting discharged from Connecticut Valley Hospital, there were money and staffing problems that delayed me from getting out. Hospital staff were worried that there wasn’t enough money to get me the staffing that would keep me safe.... On the Thursday I was supposed to be discharged, staff were telling me I would be back by the next Monday.”
SHAME ON YOU, ANDERSON COOPER: 60 Minutes Mocking the ADA
Anderson Cooper would be the first to call out Donald Trump’s ridicule of a reporter with a disability with righteous indignation. Yet, on December 4, 2016 Cooper used the 60 Minutes broadcast to throw people with disabilities under the bus in the name of journalism. He used his power and prestige to denigrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the honorable lawyers that enforce it. Cooper could not have been more successful, if his intent was to lead the parade of horribles against the ADA. I suggest that presenting a skewed piece of journalism which serves only to undermine the first national law providing civil rights protections for people with disabilities is at least as harmful as mocking a reporter with a disability.
Fighting for a Lifeline
“The last time I was shut off, I panicked,” says Penny Medeiros, who has a condition that requires 24-hour electric powered oxygen. “I tried to pay what I could and got help from charities to pay National Grid, but they wanted more and then they shut me off. I had to use my emergency supply of battery-powered oxygen and was getting ready for the ambulance. Then Senator Reed’s office called them and I got my service back on.”
A parent’s perspective on inclusion of children with disabilities
I have discovered the key to inclusion of people with autism in school and the community. You see, it is all a matter of perception. Instead of trying to explain my son through the confines of autism, I have discovered a much more enlightening explanation. I now tell people that he’s French. After all, the signs are there: He speaks an incomprehensible language; has a unique style of personal grooming, demonstrates a disdain verging on revulsion of American cuisine, and is maddeningly aloof.
Justice for People with Disabilities – Huronia Class Action
Imagine living in a cramped and segregated hospital-style ward, with no privacy, no personal control over your daily life, no chance to form intimate relationships, and no ability to leave. Overcrowding, under-funding, a lack of qualified supervision, as well as a lack of residents’ abilities to advocate for themselves, led to these toxic environments being a daily reality for widespread alleged abuse for thousands labeled with cognitive and developmental disabilities in Canada as recently as 2009.