25th Annual ADA Celebration
Ped Mall — Saturday, July 25 at 11 a.m.
This Saturday in the Ped Mall, advocates and activists for accessibility will celebrate a special anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The 25th anniversary of the historic civil rights law, which removes barriers to work, school and independent living for millions of people in the U.S., will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The law, co-authored by now-retired U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, required reasonable efforts be made for accommodations and access to vital amenities like handicap parking, curb cuts, sign language interpreters, service animals, braille signage and wheelchair ramps for people who need them.
But the law also gave people with disabilities and their families greater opportunities for independent living, and empowered them to make informed choices and decisions regarding health care, housing, schooling, transportation and other day-to-day needs.
Author Tara Fall will speak on Saturday about her hidden illness that resulted from a stroke during surgery. The operation cured her epilepsy, but left her with prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness. She is unable to recall and recognize people’s faces, including her two daughters.
Raised in Monticello, Iowa, Fall lives in California and has kept a website detailing her struggle to cope with prosopagnosia.
“There are so many challenges people face many of which we cannot see. By helping others with courtesy and consideration in mind, we merely level the playing field,” she said.
Fall will answer questions at the Iowa City Public Library in meeting room A following the event. She said she hopes to continue to grow the conversation about accessibility and share stories of inspiration from those facing daily challenges.
After the passage of the ADA in 1990, Fall said that “individuals with challenges have gained hope for a brighter future. As we keep pushing for greater education and awareness, the future only grows brighter.”
Saturday’s event will highlight local resources and activists, including former Hawkeye football player Kyle Spading who was injured in a car accident in 2011, Congressman Dave Loebsack and a dozen others.
According to University of Iowa Clinical Professor of Law Len Sandler, the changes brought by the ADA are part of a process of building participation in society and achieving social justice through not just legislation and the courts, but education and direct action.
He said that even with the sweeping law that has helped so many, some problems persist. For example, fewer women and men with disabilities are able to find jobs “because of the myths and stereotypes associated with people who walk, see, hear, process information, learn, or look different than others.”
“Attitudinal and cultural change take much longer to achieve,” he said.
Sandler is the Projects Supervisor of the University of Iowa Clinical Law Program, which has a mission to increase mainstream housing opportunities for persons with disabilities and older Iowans, in addition to promoting universal design and sustainable, multigenerational housing.
Saturday’s event will be held on the downtown Ped Mall in Iowa City from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Author Tara Fall will host a discussion with question and answer immediately following the Ped Mall event in the Iowa City Public Library until 3 p.m.
