Enabling acts : the hidden story of how the Americans with Disabilities Act gave the largest US minority its rights

Title:

Author:

Davis, Lennard J., 1949- author.

ISBN:

9780807071564

Personal Author:

Davis, Lennard J., 1949- author.

Publication Information:

Boston : Beacon Press, 2015.

Physical Description:

xiii, 289 pages, 8 pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Contents:

Forty-six words that changed history -- DC outsiders turn Washington insiders -- The Texas connection -- Let right be done -- Banging the drum loudly -- Flat earth, deaf world -- A new band of reformers -- A new day, a new ADA -- White House battles Senate -- Secret meetings and bagel breakfasts -- "This Means War!" -- Building the accessible ramp to the House of Representatives -- The Capitol crawl -- On the White House lawn -- Enabling the ADA.

Abstract:

"The first significant book on the history and impact of the ADA--the "eyes on the prize" moment for disability rights The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the widest-ranging piece of civil rights legislation ever passed in the history of theUnited States, and it has become the model for most civil rights laws around the world. The untold story behind the act is anything but a dry account of bills and speeches, however. Rather, it's a fascinating story of how a group of leftist Berkeley hippies managed to make an alliance with upper-crust, conservative Republicans to bring about a truly bipartisan bill. In this riveting account, acclaimed disability scholar Lennard J. Davis tells the behind-the-scenes and on-the-ground story of a too-often ignored or forgotten civil rights fight, while illustrating the successes and shortcomings of the ADA in areas ranging from employment, education, and transportation to shifting social attitudes. Published for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ADA, thisbook promises to powerfully ignite readers in a discussion of disability rights in America"-- Provided by publisher.

Language:

English

Corporate Subject:

United States. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Subject Term:

People with disabilities -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States.

Discrimination against people with disabilities -- Law and legislation -- United States.

People with disabilities -- United States -- Social conditions.

People with disabilities -- Services for -- United States.

Electronic Access:

Cover image 9780807071564.jpg

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Call Number	Status
Searching... Downtown Branch at Slover	Hardback Book	0118614246155	342.7308 DAV	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The first major behind-the-scenes account of the history, passage, and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-the landmark moment for disability rights

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the widest-ranging and most comprehensive piece of civil rights legislation ever passed in the United States, and it has become the model for disability-based laws around the world. Yet the surprising story behind how the bill came to be is little known.

In this riveting account, acclaimed disability scholar Lennard J. Davis delivers the first on-the-ground narrative of how a band of leftist Berkeley hippies managed to make an alliance with upper-crust, conservative Republicans to bring about a truly bipartisan bill. Based on extensive interviews with all the major players involved including legislators and activists, Davis recreates the dramatic tension of a story that is anything but a dry account of bills and speeches. Rather, it's filled with one indefatigable character after another, culminating in explosive moments when the hidden army of the disability community stages scenes like the iconic "Capitol Crawl" or an event when students stormed Gallaudet University demanding a "Deaf President Now!"

From inside the offices of newly formed disability groups to secret breakfast meetings surreptitiously held outside the White House grounds, here we meet countless unsung characters, including political heavyweights and disability advocates on the front lines. "You want to fight?" an angered Ted Kennedy would shout in an upstairs room at the Capitol while negotiating the final details of the ADA. Congressman Tony Coelho, whose parents once thought him to be possessed by the devil because of his epilepsy, later became the bill's primary sponsor. There's Justin Dart, adorned in disability power buttons and his signature cowboy hat, who took to the road canvassing 50 states, and people like Patrisha Wright, also known as "The General," Arlene Myerson or "the brains," "architect" Bob Funk, and visionary Mary Lou Breslin, who left the hippie highlands of the West to pursue equal rights in the marble halls of DC.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Disability scholar Davis' thoroughly researched story about the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which prohibits discrimination against people with special needs, highlights key politicians' and legislators' connections to people directly impacted by the law. Ted Kennedy's older sister Rosemarie had the IQ of an 8- to 10-year-old and ended up institutionalized after a lobotomy left her with the IQ of a 2-year-old. Kennedy's son Ted was diagnosed with bone cancer at 12 and had his leg amputated. In WWII, a sniper shot Bob Dole, leaving him with an arm that doesn't function. U.S. senator Tom Harkin's older brother was born deaf. And U.S. representative Tony Coelho, the Democratic whip at the time and the primary sponsor of the bill, had epilepsy, as did the wife of U.S. representative Steny Hoyer. Twenty percent of Americans have disabilities, though many with such conditions as diabetes and depression fall into the invisible category. This unique and moving history affirms that the ADA will stand as a crucial civil-rights achievement. The child of two deaf parents, Davis brings his own experience to bear as he reminds us of how much better off we are with the ADA, a clarion call for justice and fairness. A perfect celebration of the ADA's twenty-fifth anniversary.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2015 Booklist

Choice Review

In the same vein as notable works such as Eric Redman's The Dance of Legislation (1973) and T. R. Reid's Congressional Odyssey (1980), Enabling Acts recounts the journey of an idea into legislation. The biggest difference is that Enabling Acts is about more significant legislation--The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Enabling Acts is not likely to become the kind of political science classic the other two works have become, but it is a solid and wide ranging telling of the story of the passage of the ADA starting many years prior to its formal consideration. Because the work covers such a long period of time, it has a large cast of characters, but Davis (Univ. of Illinois, Chicago) conveniently provides a reference like a scorecard at a ball game. In addition, where many other legislative histories end with the passage and signing of the bill into law, Enabling Acts, goes a bit further and tracks the initial stages of rule making to facilitate the act's implementation. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Jim Twombly, Elmira College

Author's Note	p. ix
Prologue: July 28, 1989	p. I
1 Forty-Six Words that Changed History	p. 7
2 DC Outsiders Turn Washington Insiders	p. 19
3 The Texas Connection	p. 36
4 Let Right Be Done	p. 52
5 Banging the Drum Loudly	p. 63
6 Flat Earth, Deaf World	p. 76
7 A New Band of Reformers	p. 100
8 A New Day, a New ADA	p. 115
9 White House Battles Senate	p. 132
10 Secret Meetings and Bagel Breakfasts	p. 143
11 "This Means War!"	p. 161
12 Building the Accessible Ramp to the House of Representatives	p. 174
13 The Capitol Crawl	p. 191
14 On the White House Lawn	p. 217
15 Enabling the ADA	p. 225
Acknowledgments	p. 252
Cast of Characters	p. 253
Bibliographical Note	p. 257
Notes	p. 261
Index	p. 273

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Choice Review

Table of Contents