Denton, Texas — The City Council of Denton, in coordination with the ADA29 Disability Rights Rally organizers, officially announced July 29th as “Denton Disability Rights Day”. They made the proclamation last July 16 during a council meeting at the City Hall Council Chambers in Denton.
Raising Awareness for Persons With Disabilities
The Committee on Persons with Disabilities recognizes the significant role of this proclamation. This will certainly help in raising awareness for persons with disabilities. This is very timely considering they have to bear increasing expenses due to inadequate government support.
Val Vera, vice chair of the committee, said that “the designation [of the Denton Disability Rights Day] is a very small step towards creating a fully inclusive and accessible Denton”. This includes establishments and transportation services with better wheelchair accessibility.
We still have a long way to go for access but I think it’s important to celebrate our successes and how far we’ve come since before the ADA and since the ADA has been passed.”
Taylor Lauren, Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2019
Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2019 Lauren Taylor also attended and spoke during the proclamation. Taylor said that “[w]e still have a long way to go for access” but “it’s important to celebrate our successes and how far we’ve come since before the ADA and since the ADA has been passed”. “I can’t even imagine what my life would be if I didn’t have rights because of my physical ability,” she added.
ADA29 Disability Rights Rally
The proclamation received great support from the Disability Committee of the Denton County Democratic Party. They will also be the host of the ADA29 Disability Rights Rally on July 27th. Disability Rights Advocates will be speaking at the rally and there will be a march afterwards.
“ADA29 is a Disability Rights Rally that will first, commemorate the 29th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Vera. “Second, the event will be a platform to bring awareness to the need for equitable inclusion and access for disabled,” she added.
The Americans Disabilities Act became law in 1990. It prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of public life. This includes jobs, transportation, and public and private places that are open to the public.
However, Vera said that “there are businesses in [the] city that are not in compliance with the ADA”. She added that we still have a lot of work to do “in order to achieve full and equitable inclusion”.
It doesn’t end with wheelchair accessible transportation services and establishments
The proclamation of Disability Rights Day does not only raise awareness about the conditions of our fellow countrymen with disabilities. It also serves as a call-to-action to local officials and other states, even other countries, to provide the rights persons with disabilities deserve.
This is not limited to providing wheelchair accessible transportation services and public establishments. But this also includes our treatment towards them. And the best way to show them that we truly care is to make the world more accessible for them.
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