by Chris Gray and Paul Edwards
At the spring convention of the California Council of the Blind, one of our local chapter presidents, Martin Jones, sought me out to ask about an article he remembered from “The Braille Forum,” and wished to read again and consider using in coming months. The article was an open letter to elected officials and contained many excellent thoughts and ideas to convey to these officials. The article was originally written by ACB’s immediate past president, Paul Edwards, and after reading it, I proposed to Paul that we update the article, and provide it as information on which action can be taken by ACB members. Feel free to make any and all modifications you wish, but we ask that you seriously consider sending a letter such as this during this key election year in our country.
We hope that what we say will speak for both the Democrats and Republicans among ACB’s membership. People with disabilities must be heard once and for all by those who seek political office. Our message must be clear and explicit. Whether we are speaking to judges, city commissioners, town selectmen, state representatives, Congressional candidates, or those who seek the presidency, our message with regard to blindness and disability is the same. We believe that everything said in the paragraphs below is based either on positions this organization has taken or on general principles that are core values of the disability rights movement.
We are obliged to take politics seriously because our issues are, for the most part, being marginalized by both major political parties. We must say to those seeking office that as a matter of livelihood and necessity we cannot accept vague generalizations of good will. It is time for us to ask for specifics and to challenge those who have not kept their promises. Unless we become involved and actively seek to place our issues on everyone’s political agenda, we will simply not be heard and our needs will not be met. Here, then, is the draft letter for your consideration. Please send it, or something like it, to any official you may be electing in 2004. It is our firm belief that you and they will be glad you did!
Dear Office-seeker:
I write you today as one of your constituents with several questions and suggestions on which I sincerely hope you will write back to me in the near future. I am one of 54 million people with disabilities. We are the largest minority in the United States. We are the poorest minority in the United States. We are a minority whose unemployment rate is 70 percent. We are a minority whose children are dropping out of school at twice the rate of non-disabled people. And, please bear with me to underscore this very important point one final time, we are a minority!
I write first to ask for your participation in a dialogue with me, and second to request your meaningful help toward improving the lives of disabled and blind Americans. I, myself, am blind and will speak specifically to issues regarding blindness, but also to many issues about which the disability minority is in substantial agreement.
When you speak of minorities, you usually do not include us. Perhaps you do not know what to say, or how to say it. But we desperately need your consideration and your thoughtful commitment to programs to improve the lives of the blind and disabled of this nation. We affirm that our status as a minority arises from the fact that we suffer from insidious, systematic and unrelenting discrimination. Thirteen years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, neither the dropout rate nor employment have been much affected. The promise of the 1990s has been replaced by the perils of the 21st century. Both the news media and politicians have attacked the only civil rights law that protects us. What specific steps will you take to protect the rights that the ADA affirms and to move beyond protection to assure that people with disabilities can fully participate in our society?
The 21st century will be known as the century of information. Technology is less affordable and less accessible to people with disabilities. Only a fraction of blind people can afford even to own a computer, and accessibility to the screen is problematic for most users. What steps will you take to mandate that your community, state or the nation assures that people with disabilities are not excluded from the immense benefits of information technology? How will you assure that people who are disabled will continue to have access to technology as it evolves?
Virtually every new appliance being manufactured is becoming unusable by people who are blind because of the universal use of a visual interface. Stoves, washing machines, television sets and cellular telephones are becoming impossible for people who are blind to utilize fully. What steps will you take to strengthen and broaden the minimal protections that currently do very little to require or encourage manufacturers to make these products accessible?
Blind and visually impaired people have benefitted significantly from the video description of television programs that began to be provided by the major networks. What steps will you take to assure that this service which parallels closed captioning is restored and expanded?
Many countries, both rich and poor, have found ways to make their paper money identifiable by people who are blind and visually impaired. The United States Department of the Treasury is actively fighting efforts to make our currency accessible. What steps will you take to remedy this clear violation of our civil rights?
Funding for programs and services for people with disabilities has remained inadequate. In many communities, per capita expenditure on disability-specific programs has fallen. What will you do to guarantee that funds are channeled into programs that begin to redress the inequity that makes people with disabilities the most under-employed and poorest minority?
There is clear and unequivocal evidence demonstrating that services delivered to blind people by separate, self-contained service delivery models with their own budgets and consumer governance are far more effective and successful than models where services are delivered to all disability groups at once. What specific steps will you take to create and protect separate services for people who are blind?
No matter what steps our country takes to make jobs and our communities more available to people with disabilities, these efforts will be worthless if we do not develop a public transportation infrastructure that enables people with disabilities to travel freely. What will you do to assure that communities, states and the nation create public fixed-route and paratransit systems that are truly available to people with disabilities?
The Social Security system continues to create disincentives to return to work. The per capita income of people with disabilities is well below the poverty level. What will you do to make community, state and federal funds available to provide for the equipment and work incentives that will enable people with disabilities to return to work? What specific Social Security reforms will you sponsor?
Not one state got good marks from the Department of Education for their implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The percentage of blind children who graduate able to read braille continues to fall and far too many disabled children are being encouraged to work toward meaningless and limiting special diplomas rather than seeking regular high school graduation. Dropout rates for students with disabilities are significantly higher than that of non-disabled students. What specific steps will you take to assure that real educational opportunities and true individual educational programming emerge for students with disabilities?
While the unemployment rate for the nation, as a whole, is below 5 percent, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities remains at nearly 70 percent. At least a substantial portion of this unemployment is the result of systematic discrimination. What specific steps will you take to assure that the discrimination that limits employment for people with disabilities will be vigorously opposed?
While other Americans can and do make choices about their futures, people with disabilities are often treated in custodial ways and have very limited choices. What will you do to broaden the ability of each American with a disability to choose where he or she works, what community activities he or she chooses to participate in, and where he or she chooses to live?
More than half of the blind people in the United States are over 55 years of age. Yet, less than 10 percent of the funds spent on serving blind people aid this population. Describe the particular actions you will take to redress this imbalance and provide appropriate services to older people who are blind.
Hundreds of people who are blind die or are seriously injured every year because our nation is becoming increasingly less safe for pedestrians. What will you do in your community, state or in the nation to create more accessible pedestrian signalized street crossings, tactile warnings at dangerous street crossings, and a more pedestrian-friendly environment?
Both major political parties, cities, states, and the federal government, all receive very little input from people with disabilities. Describe the steps you have taken and will take to assure that the opinions of people with disabilities are regularly sought. What will you do to broaden access to government for people who are disabled?
People with disabilities often cannot exercise their right to vote in privacy because very little effort has been made to make ballots accessible, and many polling places are inaccessible. Describe the steps you would take to assure that people with disabilities can exercise their right to cast a ballot independently at an accessible polling place.
I hope that you, as a candidate, recognize that these questions are just a few of the many that could have been asked. People with disabilities are the minority with least appeal and with the most serious agenda today. Systematic exclusion, whether intended or not, is real and endemic to our society. No candidate who is not prepared to publicly recognize the serious problems faced by people with disabilities can be seriously considered for election by the disabled community.
We are not a special-interest group crying out for privilege! We are a minority group insisting on our rights as American citizens. We do not ask for your support. We require your action in order to become full participants in American society. Persuade us that you are serious about giving the 20 percent of Americans we are a fair chance to be treated equally! This is our challenge. How do you respond?
I welcome the chance to discuss any or all of these issues with you and your staff. I encourage you to consider coming to a meeting of our organization to listen and speak with us about solutions for the future.
Sincerely,
Chris Gray and Paul Edwards, Presidents
American Council of the Blind