[nfbmi-talk] i think nfb should protest this too

[Christine Boone]

Absolutely true!  I have not always agreed with ADAPT in the past, but they are right on the mark this time.  

On Apr 2, 2014, at 10:42 AM, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz at comcast.net> wrote:

> Disability Activists Claim They're Left Out Of Austin Civil Rights Summit
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> Updated: Tuesday, April 1 2014, 08:40 PM CDT
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> It's less than one week until four U.S. Presidents help mark the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in Austin. But one group says they have been
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> left out.
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> ADAPT, a national grass-roots organization of disability rights activists, claims there is no panel at the summit discussing people with disabilities.
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> Almost 25 years ago the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law to protect 49 million.
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> Organizer Bob Kafka wonders why the summit is not discussing their civil right at the LBJ Library.
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> "The American act on disabilities is directly linked to the civil rights act of 1964 and we are not represented," Kafka said.
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> What he wants is an equal opportunity, saying President George H.W. Bush who signed the act into law is an honorary co-chair of the event.
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> "We really feel that disability rights have not been considered a civil right in the same as women's rights, people of color and gay and lesbian," Kafka
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> said.
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> KEYE TV reached out to director Mark Updegrove of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. He released this statement:
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> "I appreciate the concerns of ADAPT and respect all they do for Americans with disabilities.
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> The Americans With Disabilities Act, while an extraordinarily important milestone, will be touched upon during the upcoming LBJ Civil Rights Summit but
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> is not the focus of a specific panel. The ADA law was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. There is little lingering legislative debate about
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> ADA --it is unquestionably the law of the land.
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> The Summit is tackling the issues that are directly relevant to the bills signed by LBJ or that are still open civil rights issues legislatively. This focus
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> is important because, otherwise, the scope of our Summit becomes much too broad and thus does not result in targeted discussion on the few issues we are
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> addressing."
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> Kafka says he respectfully disagrees with the response. He explains if there is not a panel on disabilities, ADAPT will protest on the first day of the
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> summit.
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> "Immigrants' rights, very important, but it's not linked to the civil rights act of 1964," Kafka said.
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> The
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> LBJ Presidential Library
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> will host a Civil Rights Summit April 8-10, 2014.
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> President Obama will be joined by three former Presidents who will also deliver remarks at the Civil Rights Summit: Jimmy Carter will speak on April 8;
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> Bill Clinton will speak on April 9; and George W. Bush will speak on the evening of April 10.
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> By Christie Post
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> Source:
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> http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/disability-activists-claim-theyre-left-out-austin-civil-rights-summit-17151.shtml
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