0:00:00.863,0:00:04.146 You'll see in the corner the record button 0:00:04.146,0:00:06.143 So you should see that it's recording now, 0:00:06.143,0:00:07.472 and I'm going to mute myself now, 0:00:07.472,0:00:08.844 and you'll go ahead and do your intro. 0:00:08.844,0:00:10.446 Thank you Marcie. 0:00:14.230,0:00:16.286 Hi there, I'm Marcie Roth 0:00:16.290,0:00:22.143 and I have been working in disability rights 0:00:22.143,0:00:26.224 for my whole adult life, 0:00:26.224,0:00:31.565 and actually, since I was a freshman in high school. 0:00:31.565,0:00:42.536 I am currently the executive director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability, 0:00:42.536,0:00:53.208 and I have been working over the years in services 0:00:53.208,0:01:00.960 for people living in residential programs early in my career 0:01:00.960,0:01:09.100 with people in, children in school settings, 0:01:09.100,0:01:15.002 people in vocational rehabilitation, 0:01:15.002,0:01:23.411 and then people in community living environments, 0:01:23.411,0:01:30.917 then along the way, I became very involved in disability rights 0:01:30.917,0:01:41.317 and very involved in the early days of advocacy 0:01:41.317,0:01:44.957 befor the ADA was introduced. 0:01:44.957,0:01:54.850 And then I worked for disability advocacy organizations almost ever since. 0:01:54.860,0:01:58.412 In addition to my own disability, 0:01:58.412,0:02:02.043 I'm also the parent of two 0:02:02.043,0:02:04.868 now adults with disabilities. 0:02:04.868,0:02:08.559 My Husband also has a disability, 0:02:08.559,0:02:17.443 and much od my family also happen to be people with disabilities 0:02:17.443,0:02:23.748 so disability rights is just part of 0:02:23.748,0:02:27.376 everything I am and most everything I do. 0:02:27.376,0:02:38.803 I did spend from 2001 and onward 0:02:38.803,0:02:44.427 focusing very much on what happens for people with disabilityes 0:02:44.434,0:02:47.084 before, during, and after disasters. 0:02:47.084,0:02:54.235 And that's been a real particular laser focus of mine ever since, 0:02:54.237,0:02:57.499 and in fact, I've had the opportunity 0:02:57.499,0:03:01.932 as an appointee in the Obama administrashion 0:03:01.932,0:03:08.229 to spend just about 8 yeards at FEMA, 0:03:08.229,0:03:14.501 establishing FEMA's Office of Disability Integration Coordination, 0:03:14.501,0:03:23.258 and building a cadre of disability experts 0:03:23.258,0:03:27.478 of the same pond, supporting governors 0:03:27.478,0:03:34.836 and emergency managers and most particularly 0:03:34.836,0:03:38.398 engaging people with disabilities, and disability organizations 0:03:38.398,0:03:42.170 in emergency preparedness 0:03:42.170,0:03:46.638 and throughout disaster response recovery and mitigation. 0:03:46.638,0:03:54.205 So one last piece since I've been with 0:03:54.205,0:03:59.132 the World Institute on Disability since last September, 0:03:59.132,0:04:05.602 my ongoing focus on global 0:04:05.602,0:04:09.431 disability rights has really been 0:04:09.431,0:04:12.550 something that I've had much more 0:04:12.550,0:04:16.305 opportunity to be actively involved in 0:04:16.305,0:04:26.005 and I have spent the time since joining 0:04:26.005,0:04:31.601 WID building a strategic planning process 0:04:31.601,0:04:36.884 and supporting the organization to 0:04:36.884,0:04:45.320 establish new priorities, taking a look at 0:04:45.320,0:04:48.797 the organization's mission, and very 0:04:48.797,0:04:53.082 recently establishing four particular areas 0:04:53.082,0:04:56.552 of focus for the organization as we move Forward. 0:04:59.472,0:05:01.972 Thank you Marcie. Excellent, okay 0:05:01.972,0:05:05.140 I apologize that my neighbor is chipping 0:05:05.140,0:05:08.165 a lot of brush today, so it's making extra sound 0:05:08.165,0:05:09.297 whenever I unmute, 0:05:09.297,0:05:12.656 but don't worry, it won't interfere with your recording. 0:05:12.656,0:05:14.990 Okay, so the first question is 0:05:14.990,0:05:17.225 about the past. So tell of your first 0:05:17.225,0:05:18.942 memory realizing that there were 0:05:18.942,0:05:21.762 accessibility issues, discrimination, or 0:05:21.762,0:05:24.198 lack of inclusion. What is your personal 0:05:24.198,0:05:26.409 story or connection with the American with 0:05:26.409,0:05:28.516 Disabilities Act? What do you remember 0:05:28.516,0:05:30.502 about the day that it was signed, if 0:05:30.502,0:05:32.946 applicable? And what was the impact on 0:05:32.946,0:05:36.062 you and on others? Remember to tap 0:05:36.062,0:05:38.888 something so that the camera shifts to you 0:05:38.888,0:05:39.917 before you start. 0:05:44.654,0:05:53.454 I first became aware of disability at a 0:05:53.454,0:05:58.355 very young age. I had a best friend in 0:05:58.355,0:06:04.758 first grade. His name was Gregory, and he and i 0:06:04.758,0:06:09.784 were just wonderful friends. 0:06:09.784,0:06:12.794 We spent a lot of time together, and then all 0:06:12.794,0:06:15.816 of a sudden, one day Gregory was gone 0:06:15.816,0:06:22.802 and I didn't know what happened to him or 0:06:22.802,0:06:25.507 where he went and it wasn't until many 0:06:25.507,0:06:30.291 years later that I found out that Gregory 0:06:30.291,0:06:34.911 had Down Syndrome, and he had been removed 0:06:34.911,0:06:38.502 from my kindergarten class and first 0:06:38.502,0:06:41.489 grade I think it was at that point. And 0:06:41.489,0:06:44.970 apparently he had been sent to some other 0:06:44.970,0:06:52.462 school, somewhere. And the loss of his 0:06:52.462,0:06:58.128 friendship was pretty surprising and 0:06:58.128,0:07:03.935 I didn't understand you know where he went 0:07:03.935,0:07:06.818 Looking back on it, it was kind of 0:07:06.818,0:07:09.239 peculiar that we didn't just get to still 0:07:09.239,0:07:11.819 be friends 'cause he didn't move away, 0:07:11.819,0:07:15.934 he just stopped going to my school. 0:07:15.934,0:07:28.004 But I remember just being confused and then 0:07:28.004,0:07:33.866 over the next number of years, I lived in 0:07:33.866,0:07:38.305 a town that was also the home of 0:07:38.305,0:07:43.314 Save the Children, and I was always very 0:07:43.314,0:07:48.486 interested in the work that Save the Children 0:07:48.486,0:07:53.791 was doing and I am embarrassed to admit 0:07:53.791,0:08:00.050 my earliest involvement in humanitarian 0:08:00.050,0:08:05.649 work was from a very charity-model 0:08:05.649,0:08:10.976 approach, and I spent a lot of my 0:08:10.976,0:08:16.018 childhood raising money for Save the Children 0:08:16.018,0:08:18.977 and getting involved in other 0:08:18.977,0:08:28.291 activities that were very much following 0:08:28.291,0:08:33.541 the charity-pity model and certainly not 0:08:33.541,0:08:45.420 a model making space for and supporting and lifting 0:08:45.420,0:08:49.595 up other people with disabilities. 0:08:49.595,0:08:57.039 the onset of my disability wasn't until many 0:08:57.039,0:09:01.520 years later, but when I was in high school 0:09:01.520,0:09:13.493 I had the, I had a requirement to do... 0:09:13.493,0:09:15.771 I can't even remember what it's called now 0:09:15.771,0:09:18.070 community service! Sorry. I had an 0:09:18.070,0:09:21.423 opportunity to do-- or I had an obligation 0:09:21.423,0:09:24.283 to do community service and I started off 0:09:24.283,0:09:29.497 This was the year of the first Earth Day 0:09:29.497,0:09:34.448 and I started crushing glass at the local 0:09:34.448,0:09:38.114 recycling center and it turned out that 0:09:38.114,0:09:44.504 that was really boring but lots of my 0:09:44.504,0:09:50.453 classmates were volunteering at a state 0:09:50.453,0:09:53.421 institution for people with disabilities 0:09:53.421,0:10:02.829 and I joined them once a week and looking 0:10:02.829,0:10:07.413 back on it again, it was pretty shocking 0:10:07.413,0:10:11.767 that at 13 years old, I was assigned as 0:10:11.767,0:10:16.457 the teacher of a classroom of 30 adults 0:10:16.457,0:10:19.242 who had never had the opportunity to 0:10:19.242,0:10:23.480 attend school and they now had a 0:10:23.480,0:10:27.494 13-year old teacher once a week. 0:10:27.494,0:10:31.889 Needles to say, I learned way more from them 0:10:31.889,0:10:35.905 then they learned from me, but we had a lot of fun 0:10:35.905,0:10:42.509 and many of them became friends very 0:10:42.509,0:10:47.736 much along the rest of my path and 0:10:47.736,0:10:51.473 unfortunately, some of them are no longer 0:10:51.473,0:10:55.868 alive but there are a couple of people who 0:10:55.868,0:11:00.245 are still very much a part of my life and 0:11:00.245,0:11:05.873 fortunately, they were successful in 0:11:05.873,0:11:09.285 liberating themselves from that state 0:11:09.285,0:11:13.586 institution. And so they and many others 0:11:13.586,0:11:21.169 taught me a lot. But the real pivotal 0:11:21.169,0:11:26.014 experience for me, I was working back at 0:11:26.014,0:11:30.135 that state institution, it was my first 0:11:30.135,0:11:35.558 paid job in disability services and I had 0:11:35.558,0:11:39.969 been hired to work in what was called a 0:11:39.969,0:11:44.151 "cottage" for 40 women with intellectual 0:11:44.151,0:11:50.645 disabilites and this "cottage" was on 0:11:50.645,0:11:54.939 beautiful grounds but the women lived in a 0:11:54.939,0:11:58.086 building 20 on one side, 20 on the other side 0:11:58.086,0:12:02.505 and my responsibilities included 0:12:02.505,0:12:06.489 assisting them in bathing and getting 0:12:06.489,0:12:13.049 dressed and in eating. Many of them were 0:12:13.049,0:12:20.745 unable to feed themselves. Some because 0:12:20.745,0:12:23.213 they just had never been given the opportunity, 0:12:23.213,0:12:26.059 and others because of their physical Disability 0:12:26.059,0:12:34.186 and a lack of any sort of 0:12:34.186,0:12:40.283 adapted utensils or other equipment. 0:12:40.283,0:12:45.992 So as I was feeding people, the sort of 0:12:45.992,0:12:49.504 the routine was the same every day. A plate 0:12:49.504,0:12:52.599 would come out, and there would be 3 0:12:52.599,0:12:56.896 mounds of food on the plate. One mound was 0:12:56.896,0:12:59.747 always brown, one mound was always green 0:12:59.747,0:13:02.557 and one mount was always white. 0:13:02.557,0:13:10.607 You know the meat, the vegetable, and the starch 0:13:10.607,0:13:19.313 And you know I know that people like to 0:13:19.313,0:13:24.261 eat their meals different ways. 0:13:24.261,0:13:27.879 there would also be a dessert every day, jello or 0:13:27.879,0:13:30.822 ice cream, somthing again always in a mound. 0:13:30.822,0:13:38.611 And so I would spend time with each of the 0:13:38.611,0:13:42.807 individuals who were having their meal 0:13:42.807,0:13:47.691 and would sort of be working together, 0:13:47.691,0:13:50.792 trying to figure out did they prefer to have 0:13:50.792,0:13:55.059 to eat their dessert first? 0:13:55.059,0:13:58.589 Some people liked to do that. Did they prefer 0:13:58.589,0:14:01.048 a little bit of the brown and a little bit 0:14:01.048,0:14:03.879 of the white all on the same fork? 0:14:03.879,0:14:06.276 Did they not want their food touching? 0:14:06.276,0:14:09.583 You know and I would sort of work back and Forth 0:14:09.583,0:14:12.071 with them to try and figure out what 0:14:12.071,0:14:16.383 their preference was and I got in trouble 0:14:16.383,0:14:19.613 because I was spending too much time 0:14:19.613,0:14:26.252 and ultimately, I was moved to a different 0:14:26.252,0:14:30.933 position because I was taking too much 0:14:30.933,0:14:34.933 time giving people an opportunity to make 0:14:34.933,0:14:38.842 some choices and express some preferences. 0:14:38.842,0:14:43.774 So that was extremely pivotal and in 0:14:43.774,0:14:48.223 many ways you know, those early early 0:14:48.223,0:14:55.273 experiences have really totally driven 0:14:55.273,0:15:00.678 who I am and what I believe all these years Latter. 0:15:00.678,0:15:06.200 In terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act 0:15:06.200,0:15:12.203 I had a very close personal experience 0:15:12.203,0:15:14.856 with what was then called 0:15:14.856,0:15:20.699 "public law 94142" the Education of 0:15:20.699,0:15:25.655 All Handicapped Act, later on renamed 0:15:25.655,0:15:29.586 the Individuals with Disabilities Act, IDEA 0:15:29.586,0:15:33.371 and I had a very personal family 0:15:33.371,0:15:39.364 experience with IDEA and became aware of 0:15:39.364,0:15:45.971 legislative initiatives and how the IDEA 0:15:45.971,0:15:52.579 had just been passed. And then I started 0:15:52.579,0:15:58.294 to become more aware of the work being 0:15:58.294,0:16:02.352 done. And this was back in the 70s 0:16:02.352,0:16:06.553 work being done on some other legislative 0:16:06.553,0:16:12.365 initiatives and the 504, the passage of 0:16:12.365,0:16:17.012 the Rehabilitation Act, followed by the 0:16:17.012,0:16:24.962 504 sit-in in San Francisco to get the 0:16:24.962,0:16:31.272 regulations put in place. That really 0:16:31.272,0:16:37.498 caught my attention and between the little 0:16:37.498,0:16:41.373 bits of information I was getting there 0:16:41.373,0:16:46.821 and the work I was doing 0:16:46.821,0:16:51.118 and then becoming a full-time advocate 0:16:51.118,0:16:55.199 going to work for an independent living center 0:16:55.199,0:17:00.482 in 1982, I then became extremely involved 0:17:00.482,0:17:10.114 in systems change and how to develop 0:17:10.114,0:17:14.257 policy, how to organize, how to support 0:17:14.257,0:17:20.320 the rights and voices and preferences of 0:17:20.320,0:17:25.127 other people and because I lived in 0:17:25.127,0:17:32.299 Connecticut and the original author of 0:17:32.299,0:17:34.465 the Americans with Disability Act, 0:17:34.465,0:17:37.366 the first time the bill was introduced was 0:17:37.366,0:17:42.070 Senator Weicker of Connecticut, and 0:17:42.070,0:17:48.574 Senator Weicker, father of a great young man 0:17:48.574,0:17:52.411 who had Down Syndrome, 0:17:52.411,0:17:59.324 Senator Weicker was very involved with the 0:17:59.324,0:18:03.355 disability advocacy community in 0:18:03.355,0:18:08.496 Connecticut, and I then had the incredible 0:18:08.496,0:18:13.850 opportunity to go to Boston and testify 0:18:13.850,0:18:21.986 at one of the Congress major hearings-- 0:18:21.986,0:18:24.533 field hearings on the Americans with 0:18:24.533,0:18:27.650 Disability Act. So you know of course that 0:18:27.650,0:18:31.976 first time around, the bill didn't pass 0:18:31.976,0:18:41.119 but boy oh boy we were revved up and in the 0:18:41.119,0:18:46.907 passage of the ADA, in the period in which 0:18:46.907,0:18:50.766 once the bill was re-introduced and votes 0:18:50.766,0:18:55.276 were organizing, I remember that we had 0:18:55.276,0:19:00.750 stacks and stacks and stacks of bright 0:19:00.750,0:19:05.472 pink postcards and we were organizing 0:19:05.472,0:19:12.518 folks across the state to develop, 0:19:12.518,0:19:16.887 to sign those postcards supporting the 0:19:16.887,0:19:26.487 passage of the ADA and then you know this 0:19:26.487,0:19:30.357 was sort of a wonderful but maybe a littal 0:19:30.357,0:19:36.026 bit misleading experience, we actually were 0:19:36.026,0:19:39.062 successful. The bill got passed! And I 0:19:39.062,0:19:43.671 remember thinking "Oh, well this wasn't that hard 0:19:43.671,0:19:44.777 I mean, you know, we had to 0:19:44.777,0:19:48.607 go at it twice, but well this wasn't so hard. 0:19:48.607,0:19:51.077 Let's take on some more legislation!" 0:19:51.077,0:19:56.055 so it turns out that it wasn't as easy 0:19:56.055,0:19:58.711 as it looked to me. It wasn't just about 0:19:58.711,0:20:03.482 hot pink postcards and meetings and 0:20:03.482,0:20:09.216 marches--that all helped but even that 0:20:09.216,0:20:14.468 sometimes these days, it doesn't seem to 0:20:14.468,0:20:18.750 be enough to change policy. 0:20:18.750,0:20:27.902 so that's my earliest journey to 1990. 0:20:30.516,0:20:33.121 Thank you Marcie. Okay we're going to the 0:20:33.121,0:20:37.319 present now. So just so you know, I do 0:20:37.319,0:20:41.019 have another interview at 2:00, so we're 0:20:41.019,0:20:44.483 going to have 3 more sections: the present 0:20:44.483,0:20:46.488 the future, and the call to action. 0:20:46.488,0:20:50.205 So just to pace yourself within those.--thank you 0:20:50.205,0:20:53.126 okay so within the present, has the ADA 0:20:53.126,0:20:55.157 made a difference? Tell us about your 0:20:55.157,0:20:57.778 "aha" moment that told you that the ADA is 0:20:57.778,0:20:59.753 or is not making a difference and to what 0:20:59.753,0:21:02.923 extent based on your passions and areas of 0:21:02.923,0:21:05.585 expertise, where do you see or not see the 0:21:05.585,0:21:08.427 impact of the ADA? 0:21:08.427,0:21:15.254 So the ADA has had a huge 0:21:15.254,0:21:18.095 and sweeping impact 0:21:18.095,0:21:23.157 and it's important for me 0:21:23.157,0:21:26.575 to begin as I begin to talk 0:21:26.575,0:21:30.530 about the present day as we're embarking 0:21:30.530,0:21:35.405 on ADA 30 it's really important to start 0:21:35.405,0:21:39.864 with how much things absolutely have 0:21:39.864,0:21:47.398 changed, you know so certainly some of the 0:21:47.398,0:21:50.652 architectural barrier removal efforts, 0:21:50.652,0:21:54.865 some of the significant improvements 0:21:54.865,0:22:00.542 in equally effective communication, 0:22:00.542,0:22:04.902 some of the requirements around programs, 0:22:04.902,0:22:13.254 you know all of those have significantly changed 0:22:13.254,0:22:18.485 most--- can't even say most of the time--often 0:22:18.485,0:22:22.299 there have been many really great initatives over 0:22:22.299,0:22:30.868 the years but we've always had to maintain 0:22:30.868,0:22:37.591 a relentless battle to not 0:22:37.591,0:22:41.742 let anything slip, to not lose 0:22:41.742,0:22:48.501 any sort of momentum towards accessibility, 0:22:48.501,0:22:53.879 if we look away for a minute 0:22:53.879,0:22:57.915 our rights will be swept away from us, 0:22:57.915,0:23:01.637 and I can certainly talk about 0:23:01.637,0:23:04.041 the very present day 0:23:04.041,0:23:10.698 and what I have to say about where 0:23:10.698,0:23:16.971 we are today is not great 0:23:16.971,0:23:20.462 and so I do want to take a little more time 0:23:20.462,0:23:27.922 to call out the significant progress; 0:23:27.922,0:23:36.711 in so many aspects of daily life 0:23:36.711,0:23:41.098 in which we can 0:23:41.098,0:23:50.730 call out failures of ADA compliance, 0:23:50.730,0:23:59.459 enforcement of the law but it is oftentimes 0:23:59.459,0:24:04.098 in comparison to the examples of where 0:24:04.098,0:24:07.111 it's working, so when transportation 0:24:07.111,0:24:13.529 is not accessible, we're calling it out 0:24:13.529,0:24:19.852 because we know the good and 0:24:19.852,0:24:23.619 promising practices that have been in place 0:24:23.619,0:24:28.585 for transportation accessiblity 0:24:28.585,0:24:34.623 make the failures so much more egregious 0:24:34.623,0:24:42.778 in housing, in employment, in the kinds of 0:24:42.778,0:24:48.787 assistive devices that are available, 0:24:48.787,0:24:55.849 the universal design of places and things 0:24:55.849,0:25:09.303 all of that points to the examples of where we 0:25:09.303,0:25:13.365 are getting it right and in stark contrast 0:25:13.365,0:25:18.350 the areas where we egregiously getting it wrong 0:25:18.350,0:25:33.901 and I half to say that just very recently I have 0:25:33.901,0:25:38.291 led my organization's involvement in 0:25:38.291,0:25:44.263 a petition to US Dept of Health and Human 0:25:44.263,0:25:48.867 Services demanding that people with 0:25:48.867,0:25:53.887 disabilities be immediately relocated 0:25:53.887,0:25:58.211 out of nursing homes and other congregate 0:25:58.211,0:26:04.017 settings due to the horific 0:26:04.017,0:26:09.701 circumstances in those congregate 0:26:09.701,0:26:13.787 settings due to covid-19 0:26:13.787,0:26:23.290 and the failure to provide appropriate protections 0:26:23.290,0:26:25.984 for people with disabilities 0:26:25.984,0:26:29.614 in institutional settings 0:26:29.614,0:26:36.462 the ADA back in 1990 0:26:36.462,0:26:42.926 very clearly gave people with disabilityes 0:26:42.926,0:26:48.025 significant rights, and 0:26:51.335,0:27:06.484 even when challenged in 1999 the Olmstead case, 0:27:06.484,0:27:14.254 which was a Georgia case, and two women 0:27:14.254,0:27:19.108 who.. Lois and Elaine, Lois Curtiss 0:27:19.108,0:27:20.909 an incredible woman I had the 0:27:20.909,0:27:24.972 pleasure of being with on a number 0:27:24.972,0:27:30.509 of occasions, the two of them 0:27:30.509,0:27:35.974 demanded that they had a right to live in 0:27:35.974,0:27:37.197 the most integrated setting 0:27:37.197,0:27:39.589 appropriate to their needs, 0:27:39.589,0:27:45.409 and the decision, the case went 0:27:45.409,0:27:47.782 all the way to the Supreme Court 0:27:47.782,0:27:54.533 and I was among those who 0:27:54.533,0:27:58.629 slept outside the Supreme Court on the night 0:27:58.629,0:28:02.474 before their case was heard 0:28:02.474,0:28:04.077 and I was among 0:28:04.077,0:28:07.834 the folks who celebrated out in front of 0:28:07.834,0:28:12.031 the Supreme Court the day that desishon came 0:28:12.031,0:28:15.755 down in favor of Lois and Elaine's right, 0:28:15.755,0:28:20.026 and the rights of 1000s,10s of 1000's, 0:28:20.026,0:28:24.028 millions of people with Disabilityes 0:28:24.028,0:28:29.238 to live in the most integrated setting 0:28:29.238,0:28:31.376 appropriate to their needs. 0:28:32.485,0:28:36.994 Givin we are 21 years after that decision, 0:28:36.994,0:28:42.520 yesterday the American Civil Liberties Union 0:28:42.520,0:28:47.608 submitted a petition and the World Institute 0:28:47.608,0:28:50.462 on Disability joined a number of other 0:28:50.462,0:28:56.856 disability organizations in bringing that petition 0:28:56.856,0:29:01.481 demanding that people with disabilities 0:29:01.481,0:29:05.243 be immediately be relocated 0:29:05.243,0:29:09.030 out of these congregate settings 0:29:09.030,0:29:15.462 10s of 1000's of people have died in 0:29:15.462,0:29:20.052 the last 100 days, the genocide 0:29:20.052,0:29:23.662 of people with disabilities because of 0:29:23.662,0:29:28.396 the failures of implementation of that 0:29:28.396,0:29:33.949 Olmstead decision and the failures of our 0:29:33.949,0:29:39.862 government to provide the kind of supports 0:29:39.862,0:29:42.489 and services that enable 0:29:42.489,0:29:44.502 people with disabilities 0:29:44.502,0:29:49.008 to live safely and with the support they 0:29:49.008,0:29:50.865 need in place in the community 0:29:50.865,0:30:01.051 and, very infuriatingly our continued 0:30:01.051,0:30:05.200 persistent calls for 0:30:05.200,0:30:09.096 people with disabilities to be 0:30:09.096,0:30:13.138 adequately served in these.. 0:30:14.114,0:30:17.857 in disasters have been ignored, 0:30:17.857,0:30:23.473 and the bottom line has been again over the 0:30:23.473,0:30:28.608 last 100 days 10s of 1000's of people with 0:30:28.608,0:30:31.278 disabilities have died. And when I was 0:30:31.278,0:30:35.556 called on, saying that those were 0:30:35.556,0:30:38.099 people with disabilities I have had 0:30:38.099,0:30:41.364 conversations with a number of senior 0:30:41.364,0:30:45.004 government officials who, like, why are 0:30:45.004,0:30:48.125 you saying people with disabilities? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and you know, these were old people with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 underlying conditions living in nursing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 homes and in long term care facilities. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Well you don't go to a nursing home 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because you're old, you go to a nursing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 home because you have a disability and the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 supports and services you need to stay in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the community have not been given to you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And the vast majority, some would say, all of 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 those deaths in congregate settings are 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people with disabilities, most of them 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 black and brown and people living in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 poverty. And the failures of Americans 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with Disabilities Act, the Olmstead 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 decision, and our government's 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 will to monitor and enforce this law 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and the rehabilitation act have a 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 devastating impact on where we are today. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And the death of many of our siblings. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Without any end in sight. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thank you Marcie, Ok. So next on to the 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 future, with the work that you've been 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 doing you've seen a lot of progress 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and barriers. If you could pick one thing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to change or that needs to occur to have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 access and equality--I know that's hard 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 --one thing to have equality and access 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 present in the lives of people with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 disabilities what would that be? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The one thing that must happen: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 people with disabilities have civil rights 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 protections by law and the one thing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that must happen 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is that their rights are monitored and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 enforced without exception. Following 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the law is not enough, we need universal 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 design to be the standard we need 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 accessibility and accommodation 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to be readily available but we must have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 monitoring and enforcement. Every 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 federal dollar is supposed to be spent in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 compliance with the rehabilitation act 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and between the Rehab Act and the ADA 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they require, their should be, no 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 rue for those people with civil rights 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 protections to be repeatedly denied 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and unable to fully participate 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in home and community life. Monitoring 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and enforcement must be the floor 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I have a ceiling but enforcing 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 these civil rights laws is absolutely 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the floor. Thank you. What can we do? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What can we as community members 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 take right now? So what we can do right 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 now is, you know, one of my favorite 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sayings, "never give up, never give in" 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 another of my favorites, "nothing about us 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 without us" we as disability community 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 leaders need to stick together, we need to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 center our work around people who are 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 multiply marginalized, excluded 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we need to be sure that we are not wasting 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 our time with infighting and with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a kind of divisive childish behavior that 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 some folks are still stuck in engaging in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 we absolutely must reach a hand forward 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 reach a hand back stick together 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and continue relentlessly to work 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 towards the realization of the goal 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that the ADA was written around and so 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 many of our siblings have fought so very 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 hard for. We've lost a bunch of those 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 hardworking visionary leaders; many of them 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 have been lost in recent years, some of them 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 have been lost along the way, we have an 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 incredible legacy to care for, we have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 huge opportunities to work towards 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 technology has the potential for leveling 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the playing field if in fact people have 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 real access and the World Institute on 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Disability and our commitment to 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 work in partnership with other 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 disability lead organizations and 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 our allies to make communities 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 stronger, more resilient for the whole 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 community because when we get it right 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 for people with disabilities I think 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the whole community not only benefits 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but is stronger for our leadership, our 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 contributions, our expertise in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 what it takes to make daily life work for 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 everybody. Excellent, thank you.