Washington state seeks stories for ADA celebration
On July 26 and 27, Washington state will join the nation in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The organizers want you to share your story in a 1-2 minute video — they hope to share the experiences of people from a full range of disability identities. Video submissions for Washington’s online celebration are due Tuesday, July 21 at noon.
The celebration will begin on TVW on July 27 at 11 a.m. with presentations from Gov. Jay Inslee, Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib and community leaders and advocates.
Later, there will be musical entertainment provided by Washington musician Jim Meck, a showing of historical video footage and an interactive panel of speakers.
At 5 p.m., King County TV will air the documentary “Bottom Dollars,” about people with disabilities across the country fighting against discrimination, and different informational presentations. The same presentation will be shown on Seattle TV at 5 p.m. the day before.
Speakers include chair of the Washington State Human Rights Commission Deborah Cook, who will talk about how the ADA affects “people, government, public spaces, employers and technologies,” organizers wrote in a Facebook post.
Other speakers include Woodinville resident John Evans and Lonnie Spikes. Evans worked in public service for 30 years for the State of Washington and will talk about how the ADA relates to people with hearing or speech-related disabilities. Spikes is the human resources director at Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and was chair of the Washington State Veterans Employee Resource Group.
Lynnae Ruttledge, a presidential appointee to the Obama Administration and member of the National Council on Disability, will speak as well.
Washington’s Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment continues to seek submissions of 1-2 minute video clips from people with disabilities. The video can be submitted here.
The proposed questions you can answer are what is one way the ADA has impacted or changed your life and what is one way your life would be different today if the ADA was not passed into law?
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.