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Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
The Americans With Disabilities Act changed my life. Now my generation needs to fight for it
When the Americans With Disabilities Act was signed into law on this day in July 1990, my parents didn't yet know how much the landmark civil rights law would soon shape my life — and theirs. I was born profoundly deaf, but my parents didn't even know this part yet. I was 6 months old that summer, and hearing screenings for newborns weren't universal medical practice in those days. My parents had brought me home from the hospital thinking I was just like them — that is, hearing, someone who also lived amid sound and speech. But that August, just a few weeks after President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA on the White House's South Lawn, they learned otherwise. My sensory and linguistic world was fundamentally different from theirs. And thus my life would be too. My diagnosis came as a surprise for my parents. At first, they felt like they had no road map to follow. They didn't yet know American Sign Language. They knew nearly nothing about deafness, and they lived in a culture where disability was still too often classified as tragedy. But they jumped into their steep learning curve — and found the ADA waiting for us. Now, 35 years later, I am a member of the 'ADA generation,' which means I know what accessibility can be: an invitation into greater human community, as well as a precious right we must preserve for future generations. This truth is hitting me hard this summer. The ADA and I have come of age together, but modern life — and the future — now look different than I once thought it would. First, the good part: Thanks to the ADA, many more doors have opened to me than my parents could ever have imagined in 1990. From my youngest years, I had access to early intervention services. I had an Individualized Education Program in school, where I was the only deaf student, and I enjoyed learning from my teachers and peers through watching my ASL interpreters. I went to after-school sleepovers with my friends, where we all watched TV with the captions on. My closest friends learned ASL, and as an adult I've felt astonished at how much they still remember. Now they, too, know wider ways to communicate. The ADA has helped me figure out how to belong. Ever since I was a bookish kid, I knew that I wanted to travel, to write, to stay in school as long as I could, to have meaningful conversations with new friends and strangers. I just didn't know how I'd do some of these things — unless I somehow became hearing, too, when I grew up. News flash: I am still not hearing, but because of the power of accessibility, I've continued finding my way. I've lived abroad, completed my doctoral degree, written a book. I live a charmed life, and belonging to the ADA generation is one major reason why. Now the not-so-good part: The ADA is still the law of the land, but these are terrifying times for deaf and disabled people in America. Our lives are under threat in ways I never imagined when I was growing up. Our current president overtly scapegoats disabled people, as we've seen on numerous occasions, from mocking a disabled journalist in 2015 to baselessly blaming people with disabilities for the tragic plane crash in the Potomac River in January. This spring, his administration withdrew 11 pieces of federal accessibility guidelines intended to help businesses comply with the ADA. The budget bill signed on July 4 makes huge cuts to Medicaid, on which many disabled people rely to access healthcare and essential support services. Ongoing federal cuts, including to the Department of Education, threaten everything from special education to antidiscrimination policies for students with disabilities. The examples tumble on. It's time for the ADA generation to step up as we never have before. This means pressing into the legal and legislative fights ahead, calling representatives and engaging in protests. But it also means bringing our native-born knowledge to all our interactions, while pulling in others we know, people like my childhood classmates, who have witnessed the power of inclusion. We can support each other's access needs, even in the most everyday ways. We can speak out about what access has done for us. When I was growing up, I always took the ADA for granted. I thought of it as my birthright, when I thought of it at all. It was only 10 years ago that I began to see otherwise: During the 25th anniversary of the ADA in 2015, I watched the White House celebrations online and saw members of my generation, surrounded by disability activists who had been present for the law's passing. I saw how everyone in that room had their own distinctive ways of being and communicating, from wheelchairs to crutches to braille to ASL. And I also saw how they'd gathered with such vibrancy and joy. At age 25, I'd only just started to identify with the broader disability community, beyond the deaf culture that was much more familiar to me — but I recognized the deep resourcefulness of the people in that room, the communal spirit it takes to build more inclusive worlds. And I wanted everyone else to see it too. As the ADA and I are now 35, I see that we should not only celebrate those past disability activists but also embrace their approaches and bring the same doggedness and ingenuity to a new generation of challenges. We must keep providing care for each other, something that is always a political act in itself. I don't take the ADA for granted anymore. Instead, living in the world that it has made possible, here's what I know: Deaf and disabled Americans already belong. And accessibility already belongs to all of us, especially once we recognize how transformative it can truly be. Rachel Kolb is the author of the forthcoming memoir 'Articulate: A Deaf Memoir of Voice.'
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Protestors to hit Bray Air Display over links to war in Gaza
Together with the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA), the lobby group which campaigns to preserve Irish neutrality, a boycott of the Bray Air Display is being called for, 'until weapons manufacturers and companies complicit in genocide are dropped as sponsors'. In a statement, on Friday, July 25, NWAG said: 'The Bray Air Display is one of the busiest days of the year for Bray, and is often one of the biggest events for locals and visitors to gather for a show. However, we must draw attention to the main event sponsors. 'Swords-based ASL Airlines has transported munitions to Israel via Ireland, and despite claims that it has stopped, has been found to use a sister firm in Belgium to continue doing so.' NWAG has based these claims on a report, in January 17 this year, carried by the political news site, The Ditch. ASL responded to that report on January 23, when it issued a statement, and said: 'ASL can confirm that its airlines, including ASL Ireland, ASL Belgium and ASL France, did not carry munitions or ITAR [freight, International Traffic in Arms Regulations] on any flight to Israel since our commitment not to last November. We continue to monitor all flights to Israel and are confident that no such items are being transported on our flights to Israel. "In response to staff concerns we reviewed our network flights last week. We established that some shipments that caused concern actually related to intra-European flights between Paris, France and Cologne, Germany, that are part of our European network. We can confidently say that there were no declarations made under the relevant regulations with regard to these shipments and as such, no munitions were carried on these flights. 'We did carry dangerous goods on flights on this route last week. Dangerous goods include many categories of shipment that are labelled hazardous items for flight including flammable, corrosive or toxic items. Such items are carefully packed and segregated for safety reasons,' it concluded. NWAG has also criticised another event sponsor, Saab, which it says is 'a Swedish weapons manufacturer with contracts with NATO and which sends military equipment to regimes accused of human rights abuses, including Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Bahrain and Egypt'. The company describes itself as an organisation that 'serves the global market of governments, authorities and corporations with products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security' and has offices in Thailand and the UAE, among other locations. Last year, North Wicklow Against Genocide protested the presence of Lockheed Martin as a sponsor at the Bray Air Display. This year, the group contacted Simon Harris, Wicklow County Council and Bray Air Display organisers, via email, in April 2025, to demand Lockheed Martin and other weapons manufacturers be dropped as sponsors of the event. 'Lockheed Martin is a US company making heavy weaponry and missiles, military aircraft, and other military technologies, which are being used in imperialist conflicts across the world, including the ongoing genocide carried out by Israel in Palestine. It's the world's largest weapons dealer and directly arms the Israeli Occupation Forces,' they said. "When Bray Air Display was called out about this sponsorship, they briefly replaced the Lockheed Martin logo on their website with Sikorsky's, which is a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Sikosky's logo has now dropped from the Air Display website too.' However, Bray Air Display has since dropped Lockheed Martin as a sponsor and no longer displays either logo on their website. Commenting on the event, PANA chair, Stephen Kelly, said: 'The brutal reality of war should not be forgotten. The glamorised image of war that some seek to portray is deceptive. We have no problem with people having a fun day out, but this event is sponsored by companies who help countries involved in war crimes. We should be peacebuilders, not warmakers." Also questioning the propriety of the air show, NWAG member Kellie McConnell said: 'Is this really the kind of event we want in Bray? "Simon Harris has said it is clear that Israel has been committing war crimes in Gaza, Micheál Martin has finally admitted that it is genocide, and yet we are expected to sit by while these companies use our land and airspace to supply weapons for genocide, and sponsor events in our communities with the money they have made from war and mass murder.' Members of NWAG have been campaigning in advance of the spectacle, distributing information leaflets at Bray Dart Station this week. The organisers of Bray Air Display have been contacted for comment.
CTV News
24-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Cabinet minister moving forward following remarks
Winnipeg Watch Following a controversial 'hot mic' comment about an ASL interpreter, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine says she is working to turn the page.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Improving accessibility, ‘doing better' the focus, Fontaine says in wake of insensitive remarks caught on microphone
Manitoba's minister responsible for accessibility said Wednesday she's focusing on improving accessibility standards after remarks she made about a sign-language interpreter sparked criticism last month. Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine came under fire after her complaints about the placement of an American Sign Language interpreter at a graduation ceremony she was speaking at were caught on a 'hot mic' by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network June 26. Fontaine has apologized multiple times and committed to staff training. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Minister Nahanni Fontaine announces the 2025-26 Manitoba Accessibility Fund recipients at Sport Manitoba Wednesday. 'When I have these missteps or these mistakes or these moments, I always try to find the teaching and the lessons in it, and then how to move forward in a better way — how to do better,' Fontaine told reporters at a news conference Wednesday morning, announcing the recipients of this year's Manitoba Accessibility Fund. Fontaine, who was accompanied by a sign-language interpreter, said the province is working on hiring two additional ASL specialists. One will be present at any public event involving her department, she said. In the weeks since the incident, a deaf woman has also joined the Matriarch Circle, an advisory body of Indigenous women that consult with the provincial government, she said. The graduation-ceremony incident led to calls from the Opposition Progressive Conservatives to have Fontaine relieved of her accessibility responsibilities. Premier Wab Kinew has stood by her. Earlier this month, Fontaine said amendments to the Accessibility for Manitobans Act would be coming. She said Wednesday that the changes will include financial penalties as a 'last resort' for organizations refusing to implement accessibility standards. 'There are, in those rare, rare instances, (where) people are resistant to compliance, so the community has been asking for many years that there's some financial teeth behind them,' she said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine speaks to the media, with an ASL translator, after announcing the 2025-26 Manitoba Accessibility Fund recipients at Sport Manitoba. In the wake of Fontaine's comments last month, reporters and others at APTN, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, found themselves blocked from Fontaine's social media. APTN was the first to report the comments. Fontaine refused to say who blocked the reporters, but said the move was reversed. 'I take full responsibility for my office and those folks are no longer blocked,' she said. Manitoba's Accessibility Fund grant program will distribute $820,000 across 33 organizations this year. Among them is Sport Manitoba — the site of Wednesday's announcement — which will receive $5,500 to create and deliver anti-ableism, disability awareness and accessible recreation training. 'Manitoba is privileged to have such a wide range of organizations whose purpose is to serve those within our accessible community,' said facility services manager Sarah Shotton. 'We very much look forward to working with some of these organizations to raise awareness about the vital role that we all play in supporting accessible sport experiences throughout Manitoba.' This year's Manitoba Accessibility Award, which recognizes organizations committed to support for people with disabilities, was presented to the Arts AccessAbility Network of Manitoba. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Arts AccessAbility Network of Manitoba executive director Jenel Shaw said the organization sees accessibility as 'the very foundation of artistic freedom.' Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. The organization has audited venues and theatres to remove barriers and it maintains an online database. Executive director Jenel Shaw said the organization sees accessibility as 'the very foundation of artistic freedom.' 'Disability for us is not a deficit, it's a perspective, a source of insight, beauty and innovation,' she said. 'When we talk about accessibility, we're not just talking about ramps, ASL or print labels, though all of those matter deeply. We're talking about cultural change, about building art spaces where disabled and deaf artists are not only included, but centred.' Malak AbasReporter Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak. Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Hindu
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tiruchi, Ariyalur police get ready for PM's visit on July 27
The security agencies are gearing up for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Gangaikondacholapuram in Ariyalur district on July 27 to participate in a function to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of the conquest of the Gangetic plains by King Rajendra Chola I. This will be Mr. Modi's first visit to Ariyalur district. A booklet on Thevaram songs published by the Sahitya Akademi is to be released on the occasion. A Bharatanatyam performance by a group of Kalakshetra artists, chanting of Thevaram by a team also forms part of the event which will culminate with a musical presentation by music composer Ilaiyaraaja and his troupe. Detailed security schemes have been drawn up by the Tiruchi City Police and the Ariyalur district police as the Prime Minister is to board a chopper from the Tiruchi international airport to Gangaikondacholapuram on Sunday morning. Mr. Modi is expected to arrive here from Thoothukudi by a special aircraft and stay in Tiruchi on Saturday night. Ahead of Mr. Modi's visit, an Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) meeting was conducted at the Tiruchi airport by the Special Protection Group on Wednesday in which Tiruchi City police officers, those from other security agencies, and airport authorities participated. Another meeting was held at the Circuit House here to ensure extensive security-related coordination along with local authorities, said police sources. A separate ASL meeting is to be held at Gangaikondacholapuram on Thursday which is to be attended by the Ariyalur district Collector, Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, Superintendent of Police, Ariyalur and other officials. Arrangements have begun at the venue with a helipad established nearby for the Prime Minister's chopper to land from Tiruchi airport on Sunday morning. Mr. Modi will pray at the world famous Brihadisvara temple at Gangaikondacholapuram before attending the function. He will return to Tiruchi and then leave for New Delhi, the sources said. A multi-layer security arrangement is to be put in place at the Tiruchi airport and along the route on the eve of Mr. Modi's arrival. The Tiruchi City Police have planned to mobilise over 1,000 personnel for deployment at the airport and other places. Anti-sabotage teams are to be deployed at the airport. Gangaikondacholapuram will be brought under a heavy security on Saturday and Sunday. Around 2,000 police personnel from Ariyalur and other districts in the central zone are to be deployed for security and for regulation of vehicular movements, said the sources. The 'Aadi Thiruvadhirai' festival at Gangaikondaxcolapuram is to be held from July 23 to 27. The Union Ministry of Culture will celebrate the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola I and commemorate the 1,000 years of his maritime expedition in South East Asia and the commencement of the construction of the Gangaikondacholapuram temple. The Archaeological Survey of India will host thematic exhibitions on Chola Shaivism and temple architecture and organise heritage walk and guided tours as part of the festival.
