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Rampit!

by Penny Gardner

A penny for her thoughts

Last year the organizers of the 2007 Michigan Pride Rally fought hard to provide access for a gifted public speaker to address the rally from the public platform in front of our State Capitol. Believe it or not, there is no access provided by the government for those without the ability to climb thirteen steps to address the public from this particular and well-used site of power. Peg Ball, a personal coach, a disability rights activist, a member of our community, a wheel chair user, was the desired speaker. Nancy English was the organizer and many friends and colleagues provided the financial means to rent a ramp that allowed Peg Ball to address those gathered from the top of those thirteen steps.
In a further "believe it or not" exercise, no other organizer of public events on the lawn of the State Capitol has ever before provided such a ramp for a speaker.
The 2007 Michigan Pride Rally is the only public event in which access was considered and provided. English raised private funds to rent a portable ramp to create this historic event.
I was also a speaker at the rally and was in a position on the platform to witness the crowd as Peg rolled up the 60-foot ramp to the platform, had the microphone adjusted to chair height by her personal attendant, and begin to speak.
"Wow! What a sight you are! What a beautiful, diverse family we are indeed!" she exclaimed. The crowd stopped milling and looking around, stopped talking amongst themselves, and gave Peg their full attention.
We listened to her words about inclusion,"People with disabilities have only begun to be included in LGBT community life. This is due, in part, to the struggles both queer people and people with disabilities experience as we work for acceptance in the larger community."
All this is quite spectacular but the story doesn't end there. Monica Zuchowski, a powerful straight ally who works at the Capitol, and Carolyn Lejuste, a lesbian who works for the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, also attended the rally and both recognized the significance of witnessing the first time someone in a wheel chair addressed a rally from the speaker's platform in the front of the capitol. Immediately, they started other wheels in motion. Zuchowski spoke to the capitol facilities manager. Lejuste let us know how important – in the interest of equal access – that the state provide an accessible platform.
"It is not up to the private sector to provide access to public facilities," Lejuste said.
Since then, through the organization Building Alliances for Disability Leadership, Alicia Paterni of Michigan Works! and an emerging leader in the disability rights movement, joined in alliance with the MDRC, MSU, Lansing Association for Human Rights, Office of Services to the Aging and others, to keep the ball rolling. I am working with Alicia on this project and we have titled it Rampit! I am so prideful when we speak to members of the Michigan Legislature about Rampit! and we hear over and over again, "There was a ramp provided once," and then they think a minute and say, "It was in 2007. It was a pride event!" and then say "Goodness, are you saying it wasn't provided by the capitol?"
We have not gotten the money from the state yet. We have received some assurance, should we provide a ramp purchased with private funds, the state will store it and install it as needed. In which case the organization using the ramp will be charged a fee to use it – which is against the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This is not acceptable. If a person can walk up thirteen steps to speak from the platform at no charge, then in the interest of equal access, someone who is unable to walk up those same thirteen steps has the civil right to have free access provided as well. To charge a sponsoring organization $300 to rent the ramp would discriminate against that organization as well as undoubtedly discourage an organization from considering someone with a disability as a speaker. It also denies the audience an opportunity to hear a particular point of view.
I am running out of allotted words for my thoughts this month. Suffice to say we can be very proud that it is our LGBT community that saw the necessity of providing access for our events, and how vital it is that we continue to work for equal access. Please speak to your members of the state legislature about the importance of the state valuing all its citizens, even those who can't climb thirteen steps.

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Topics: Opinions
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