1
00:00:01,219 --> 00:00:05,599
My name is Jeff Moyer. I am a 71
year old disability rights advocate,

2
00:00:05,599 --> 00:00:10,109
writer, and musician. I've been
involved with the ADA since before

3
00:00:10,109 --> 00:00:14,209
it's inception when we were 
working to establish the 


4
00:00:14,209 --> 00:00:20,579
beginning of disability rights
through the 504 regulations

5
00:00:20,579 --> 00:00:28,079
that were signed in 1977
following a 26 day sit in at

6
00:00:28,079 --> 00:00:32,079
the San Francisco federal
building and I was a musician

7
00:00:32,079 --> 00:00:35,439
during that, although I did not 
live there like those heroes did.

8
00:00:35,439 --> 00:00:41,219
I came and went. I had a young child.
My involvement with the ADA began

9
00:00:41,219 --> 00:00:49,189
when I heard Justin Dart speak in 1988
I was captivated by his soaring oratory,

10
00:00:49,189 --> 00:00:53,189
and his unifying message.
I introduced myself and

11
00:00:53,189 --> 00:00:57,999
asked if I might one day record 
his oratory, he said yes and that

12
00:00:57,999 --> 00:01:04,059
began our friendship which led to 
him inviting me to perform my song

13
00:01:04,059 --> 00:01:10,099
the ADA anthem at the U.S. senate 
at the evening reception following

14
00:01:10,099 --> 00:01:14,099
the signing of the ADA at the white
house in the morning.

15
00:01:14,099 --> 00:01:20,499
I then became involved as a member
of the ADA implementation network

16
00:01:20,499 --> 00:01:25,169
and worked pro bono with people
all over the country.

17
00:01:25,169 --> 00:01:31,119
Helping ensure that the rights created
by the ADA were realized in their lives.

18
00:01:33,907 --> 00:01:40,057
I began to go blind the summer of 
1954, two weeks before my younger

19
00:01:40,057 --> 00:01:44,967
brother was born with a severe 
cognitive disability and I think my

20
00:01:44,967 --> 00:01:53,197
realization of exclusion and such 
occurred for me as I was trying to see

21
00:01:53,197 --> 00:01:59,117
in first grade, to read and the
materials were not accessible,

22
00:01:59,757 --> 00:02:03,757
but my teacher had to write out 
everything she wrote on the board

23
00:02:03,757 --> 00:02:07,757
and hand it to me separately. 
So it was my first realization

24
00:02:07,757 --> 00:02:11,757
of a need and also the human
intervention that met my needs.

25
00:02:11,758 --> 00:02:18,298
For my brother it wasn't so easy
and he became the victim of

26
00:02:18,298 --> 00:02:24,748
extreme thuggery, and childhood
violence and there were no schools

27
00:02:24,785 --> 00:02:28,785
that would accept him, not even
the schools for kids with disabilities.

28
00:02:28,852 --> 00:02:34,322
As a result, he was institutionalized
when he was 9 years old and that

29
00:02:34,891 --> 00:02:41,141
opened a chapter in my life that 
continues about understanding

30
00:02:41,141 --> 00:02:48,151
the needs of people with cognitive
disabilities that thanks to the mighty

31
00:02:48,151 --> 00:02:54,121
Olmstead decision as part of the ADA
institutional life was considered a

32
00:02:54,121 --> 00:02:58,371
violation of civil rights. There's so 
much to that story.

33
00:02:58,772 --> 00:03:09,702
The ADA was a wonderful construct,
however in it's construction,

34
00:03:09,711 --> 00:03:16,321
the decision was made by the 
senate to exclude blindness so

35
00:03:16,321 --> 00:03:25,017
every intersection in the country had curb
cuts, but putting in accessible signals

36
00:03:25,017 --> 00:03:32,147
for people with visual disabilities is
a local option and I'm afraid that

37
00:03:32,147 --> 00:03:38,127
and I know that for a fact. A dear 
friend of mine who's since passed

38
00:03:38,127 --> 00:03:42,807
was part of that whole process in 
Washington. Her name was

39
00:03:42,807 --> 00:03:51,237
Mary Jane Owen. So the ADA is a 
great promise, but it's only realized

40
00:03:51,237 --> 00:04:01,155
through individual action when 
people apply the skills of advocacy

41
00:04:01,155 --> 00:04:05,155
to make sure that case by case,
it's realized.

42
00:04:05,808 --> 00:04:12,318
I was invited to the white house for
the signing ceremony and I got

43
00:04:12,318 --> 00:04:16,318
there early just by virtue of when
my plane landed so I was seated

44
00:04:16,318 --> 00:04:20,938
in the front row of the public section.
There was a section for congress, and

45
00:04:20,938 --> 00:04:24,058
the administration and then a 
section for the public.

46
00:04:24,058 --> 00:04:28,058
When the president walked out 
crossing the platform that had

47
00:04:28,058 --> 00:04:31,628
been constructed so that he could
be seen by the crowd, by the

48
00:04:31,628 --> 00:04:36,219
audience rather, of course the 
congressional section rose as one

49
00:04:36,219 --> 00:04:41,099
in applause and then there came 
people yelling, "We can't see, sit

50
00:04:41,099 --> 00:04:47,129
down!" Senator Kennedy was 
sitting right in front of me

51
00:04:47,129 --> 00:04:50,369
and the woman who I met who
was sitting next to me said that

52
00:04:50,369 --> 00:04:55,819
he whipped around and realized
that they were blocking the

53
00:04:55,819 --> 00:04:59,819
view of people in wheelchairs.
So there was this moment of

54
00:04:59,819 --> 00:05:03,819
collision of protocol and accessibility

55
00:05:04,527 --> 00:05:11,067
Of course people sat down. So it 
was the first time, as the ADA was

56
00:05:11,067 --> 00:05:17,077
being signed, that accessibility was 
realized by virtue of personal action.

57
00:05:19,632 --> 00:05:26,637
I think this is going to be a difficult
time for realization of anything new

58
00:05:26,687 --> 00:05:31,342
concerning disability rights, 
because as our country is now

59
00:05:31,342 --> 00:05:37,016
wrestling with the economic 
outcome due to being shut

60
00:05:37,016 --> 00:05:43,392
down due to Coronavirus, I 
think we're going to be

61
00:05:43,392 --> 00:05:47,741
working real hard just to 
maintain the ground we have.

62
00:05:47,790 --> 00:05:54,849
If I could have anything I wanted
in terms of accessibility, it would

63
00:05:54,879 --> 00:06:01,175
be to reopen the ADA's mighty
pages to include information

64
00:06:01,220 --> 00:06:07,396
and orientation access and by 
that I mean if you're able to

65
00:06:07,396 --> 00:06:13,678
ambulate and you're blind or 
you can't read by virtue of a

66
00:06:13,678 --> 00:06:18,798
cognitive disability, simple things
like street crossings, bus numbers,

67
00:06:18,798 --> 00:06:25,325
signs in buildings are difficult, 
impossible to read if you can't

68
00:06:25,373 --> 00:06:33,726
see or can't read. This technology 
is called talking signs, and we came

69
00:06:33,752 --> 00:06:40,002
very close. All of this is not 
required by the ADA, to see that

70
00:06:40,031 --> 00:06:47,031
realized as part of the ADA. 
However, the republicans blocked

71
00:06:47,068 --> 00:06:50,657
the highway bill because they
didn't want President Obama

72
00:06:50,657 --> 00:06:55,060
to have any victories and we 
had a high priority amendment

73
00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:58,805
to that, that would've made
Washington, D.C. the first

74
00:06:58,805 --> 00:07:03,381
accessible city in the world for
people who can't see or can't read.

75
00:07:03,425 --> 00:07:07,258
When that happened after 10 
years of effort to get to that

76
00:07:07,286 --> 00:07:11,608
point, the little company went
under. I had been a volunteer

77
00:07:11,608 --> 00:07:18,462
for it for 10 years and with it 
came really a crushing defeat

78
00:07:18,462 --> 00:07:24,165
for that type of accessibility. 
Now, there certainly are many

79
00:07:24,177 --> 00:07:29,936
types of access through one's 
cellphone if you're able to

80
00:07:29,986 --> 00:07:35,715
do that, but so many people 
aren't able or can't afford it

81
00:07:35,756 --> 00:07:42,985
that it makes accessibility 
something that requires money

82
00:07:43,030 --> 00:07:49,393
and the responsibility that the 
ADA made clear is that the

83
00:07:49,393 --> 00:07:54,241
responsibility for access is on 
behalf of the government.

84
00:07:54,269 --> 00:07:59,071
People have disabilities,
situations create handicaps.

85
00:07:59,117 --> 00:08:05,293
I think what the ADA did was 
open the possibility for people

86
00:08:05,347 --> 00:08:09,204
that employment was going to be
open to them.

87
00:08:09,254 --> 00:08:14,598
In fact we've lost ground since the
ADA was passed, because people

88
00:08:14,598 --> 00:08:18,897
hid behind it in terms of their 
response to hiring.

89
00:08:18,897 --> 00:08:26,349
We need to make greater progress
in terms of employment equity.

90
00:08:26,380 --> 00:08:30,650
As well as orientation and 
information access.

91
00:08:30,650 --> 00:08:37,250
The ADA, I just heard Robert 
Moses who is one of the great

92
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:44,731
heroes of the civil rights
movement, freedom summer 1964

93
00:08:44,731 --> 00:08:52,553
and he said the Civil Act of 1964 
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

94
00:08:52,606 --> 00:08:58,981
are ideas, but they have yet to be 
fully realized.

95
00:08:59,023 --> 00:09:06,206
The ADA, it's an idea, it's a 
construct, it's a mighty

96
00:09:06,206 --> 00:09:11,109
accomplishment, but to see it
fully realized in our lives

97
00:09:11,109 --> 00:09:16,759
requires accessibility and 
said decision addresses

98
00:09:16,788 --> 00:09:23,037
what I consider to be the most 
extreme need we have.

99
00:09:23,037 --> 00:09:28,311
That is safe and accessible 
housing for people with

100
00:09:28,311 --> 00:09:33,614
cognitive disabilities.
Institutions still exist, and even

101
00:09:33,652 --> 00:09:36,937
in the community it takes 
advocates to make sure that

102
00:09:36,973 --> 00:09:43,289
people are able to live in safe and 
welcoming environments, even in

103
00:09:43,316 --> 00:09:47,714
their own home. I saw this with 
my brother who died of lung cancer

104
00:09:47,746 --> 00:09:50,939
because of being addicted to 
cigarettes in the institution

105
00:09:50,939 --> 00:09:52,567
when he was a child.

106
00:09:52,596 --> 00:09:59,497
But even in his last days there was 
thievery and violence in the home

107
00:09:59,497 --> 00:10:04,144
which is of course what we 
expected we would be getting

108
00:10:04,219 --> 00:10:08,070
away from when I was able to 
move him from the institution

109
00:10:08,070 --> 00:10:13,645
into a supported living home.
So the greatest need is the

110
00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:21,598
needs of the least among us.
Once again, we must listen to

111
00:10:21,598 --> 00:10:27,497
our heart intelligence, know 
what is right and then find

112
00:10:27,497 --> 00:10:31,576
the way that one's rights can
address that.

113
00:10:31,576 --> 00:10:39,577
The ADA, IDEA, 504, the Voting 
Rights Act, or the Fair Housing

114
00:10:39,577 --> 00:10:44,626
Act amendments. There are many 
laws in the quilted protections

115
00:10:44,626 --> 00:10:49,831
we have, but each of them require
individual planning and each of

116
00:10:49,831 --> 00:10:54,634
them require advocacy. 
So all of you advocates,

117
00:10:54,634 --> 00:10:59,056
all of you young people there
that are reading this or

118
00:10:59,095 --> 00:11:03,306
watching this, the torch is 
being passed and it's

119
00:11:03,306 --> 00:11:08,032
important that younger 
generations now take on the

120
00:11:08,063 --> 00:11:13,606
mantle of continuing to move 
forward with our beloved, hard

121
00:11:13,606 --> 00:11:18,359
won disability rights, which are 
our civil rights.

122
00:11:18,359 --> 00:11:24,886
I hope that people are able to think
more broadly about what we

123
00:11:24,886 --> 00:11:29,927
need as a community and pull
as one in common direction,

124
00:11:29,927 --> 00:11:35,055
common cause for possibly
the good of a few in the

125
00:11:35,055 --> 00:11:39,026
community, but we all benefit
when we are lifted up through

126
00:11:39,026 --> 00:11:40,678
accessibility.

127
00:11:40,704 --> 00:11:47,930
I added music to our 
demonstration to the signing

128
00:11:47,930 --> 00:11:51,956
of the ADA, to the commemoration
of it's 10th anniversary.

129
00:11:51,992 --> 00:11:56,006
Throughout I've understood the 
power of music.

130
00:11:56,006 --> 00:12:00,881
It communicates to the wider
community. It buoys us up as

131
00:12:00,911 --> 00:12:05,655
advocates and it unites us.
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s

132
00:12:05,655 --> 00:12:11,609
widow said it the day of national 
service, the Martin Luther King

133
00:12:11,636 --> 00:12:17,063
holiday, that we have when we 
were involved in the civil rights

134
00:12:17,092 --> 00:12:20,110
movement, the 60's the 
disability rights movement

135
00:12:20,110 --> 00:12:24,783
in the 70's, it was music that
helped us create a community

136
00:12:24,813 --> 00:12:29,785
because we sang together
as one and I do hope that

137
00:12:29,815 --> 00:12:34,325
music is not lost as a means 
to pull us together.

138
00:12:34,325 --> 00:12:39,661
If there's one thing we need 
now, it is to know that we are one

139
00:12:39,736 --> 00:12:46,387
as people with disabilities, that we 
all share the same histories of

140
00:12:46,416 --> 00:12:51,765
in different ways of discrimination
and exclusion and our rights

141
00:12:51,765 --> 00:12:58,477
are protected by the same laws.
I do hope that culture continues

142
00:12:58,477 --> 00:13:04,348
binding us together and giving 
voice through it's myriad ways

143
00:13:04,348 --> 00:13:10,630
so that people are able to express 
the reality and hope.

144
00:13:10,630 --> 00:13:15,546
Hope is what we need more 
than ever right now and

145
00:13:15,574 --> 00:13:19,920
that is what the ADA provided,
was a great beacon of hope.