March 15, 2001
RE: ADVOCACY PACKET for the April 17th Leave Out for
Equal Justice
To All Participants, Co-Sponsors, and Allies:
Thank you for your interest in the April 17th nationwide Leave Out for Equal
Justice, sponsored by the
National Disabled Students Union (NDSU). With a little over 4 weeks until the
protest, preparations are currently in full swing to ensure a coordinated,
organized, and successful action that will deliver a powerful message to the
Supreme Court of the United States that any elevation of “states’ rights” over
civil rights in this country will not be tolerated.
Phase 1 of the protest preparations involves the widespread
dissemination of the documents in the enclosed Advocacy Packet. This Advocacy Packet
includes:
1.
A targeted flyer announcing the April 17th
Leave Out specifically geared to your particular constituency.
There are four targeted flyers available: 1) for students, 2) for parents of youth with disabilities, 3) for the disability community in
general, and 4) for our natural
allies. If you would like any of these flyers (in addition to the
one you received in this packet), please feel free to ask and we will be more
than happy to send them out right away.
2.
A sheet
with ideas
for leave-out organizers
3.
A sheet
describing the meaning of the NDSU symbol – THE BRAID
4.
A description of NDSU and our formal Mission Statement
5.
A copy of
the invitation to join the NDSU listserv
In approximately a week and a
half, we will distribute a Media Packet that will include step-by-step
strategies for working with the media, sample materials you can modify as
appropriate for your local media outlets, and other related
materials. This packet will also
include a national petition, as well as a model state petition, for
distribution in your particular state.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact Sarah Triano at 773-463-4776 (V or Relay) or at mailto:strian1@uic.edu.
In Solidarity,
Members
of the NDSU Leadership Team
Co-Sponsors for
this Event Include:
Access Living of Chicago, IL, ADA Watch,
ADAPT LA (ADAPT of So.
California), ADAPT Montana, Alliance for Disability and Students of
the University of Montana (ADSUM), American Association of People with
Disabilities, American Psychological Association Graduate Students (APAGS),
Chapman University Organization for Disability Disability Advocacy &
Awareness, Chicago ADAPT, Citizens for Legitimate Government, Coalition of
Citizens with Disabilities in IL, Disability Advocates of Minorities
Organization, Disabled Students Union at the University of California, Berkeley
(DSU), Disabled Students Union at the University of Illinois at Chicago (DSU),
IMPACT, Inc. of Alton, IL, Justice for All, Kids as Self-Advocates, Lake County
Center for Independent Living, MCS: Health and Environment, Monroe County
Women's Disability Network, National Association of Protection and Advocacy
Systems, National Council on Independent Living, National Strike One, Not Dead
Yet, On A Roll Radio, PACER Center, Progress Center for Independent Living of
Forest Park, IL, Suburban Access Squad, The Associated Blind, Inc., The
Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, The PhD Program in Disability
Studies at UIC, UIC Circle Greens, UIC College Democrats, UIC Department of
Disability and Human Development
The National Disabled Students Union (NDSU) is a national,
cross-disability, student organization. We recognize all disabled people --
those with traditionally recognized disabilities and those who have often been
left out of the movement -- as our brothers and sisters, and we recognize
all students -- those who work to learn, whether or not they are at recognized
schools -- as our colleagues.
The NDSU was founded on February 21, 2001, in response to the US Supreme Court decision limiting the
enforcement of Title I of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (Board of Trustees of the University of
Alabama et al. v. Garrett et al.).
Students with disabilities throughout the United States recognize the
far-reaching impact of this decision,
and we oppose the Supreme Court’s pattern of undercutting civil
rights legislation in America.
Although the Garrett decision still requires the states to treat
disabled and nondisabled employees equally, it makes enforcement more
difficult.
The US Supreme Court has weakened other civil rights laws
besides the ADA (including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the
Violence Against Women Act), and we are concerned about this trend. We wonder whose rights are next and how long
we will have the guarantee of equality.
We are committed to everyone's right to equal protection under the
law and equal rights within society, and we don't want to wake up a year or
a decade from now wishing we'd acted earlier.
We recognized the need for a concerted, nation-wide response that would put the Supreme Court -- and the rest of the American
public -- on notice that students with disabilities in this country will no
longer accept anything less than full participation, full equality, full
justice, and the full dignity and respect that we (and all people) deserve as
equal human beings. On Tuesday,
April 17, 2001, we will come together with our allies in a nationwide
demonstration of our opposition to the Court’s actions.
We will mobilize and organize students with disabilities throughout the nation in order to continue the legacy of
empowerment and community solidarity that is our heritage. As one of the great
leaders of our movement, Justin Dart, once said, “We are here, we are united, and we are proud." We will work to ensure that all disabled
students have the opportunities they need to learn, the opportunities they need
to live and work, and the opportunities they need to be full participants in
their communities and full members of American society.
For more
information, contact Sarah Triano at strian1@uic.edu
or 773-463-4776
THE MEANING OF THE NDSU SYMBOL
Marlin Thomas
Colors For Unity
Textures For Diversity
Woven
Into
Our Consciousness
Woven
Into
Our Souls
Woven
Into
Our History
Woven
Into
Our Movement
Woven
Into
Our World
Woven
Into
Existence
Woven
Into
Each Other
Braid
Cal Montgomery
Throughout
history, people have used symbols to identify themselves. Sometimes these are
public symbols, to demonstrate support for a cause to everyone; sometimes they
are private symbols, to allow people to identify themselves to others like
them. Think of the marked doors in the Passover story, of the brightly lit
candle in the window in the history of the Underground Railroad. Think of the
obscure symbols on buttons; think of the school logos on students' ballcaps;
think of the familiar ways of speaking that tell you the stranger in front of
you is a friend.
Throughout
history, people have used symbols to identify themselves. We use a braid to
demonstrate our commitment to the way a diverse group of strands can come
together to make something strong and sure. We use a braid to symbolize the
many different fabrics out of which the disability cloth is made. We use a
braid to symbolize the many different threads in our communities that,
together, make a thick rope.
Throughout
history, there have been symbols: ours
is a braid.
Green, For Grassroots.
Growing from Souls to Strong Plants
Orange, For
Perseverance. In the Fight for Our Equal Rights
Though one may be overpowered, two can
defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
Ideas for Leave-Out Organizers
We are a rich
and diverse community, and we expect a rich and diverse range of
demonstrations, in which we will teach and learn about our community, about our
struggles, and about our allies’ struggles.
Every different person, every different group, every different community
will add a thread to our human braid; and the braid will be stronger than any
of us alone. Here are some suggestions:
à
On college
campuses across the country, students will be simultaneously “leaving out” of
their classes and congregating at one central spot. Many local activists will be joining in the Leave-Outs at nearby
schools.
à
An
elementary school activist has decided to organize a petition drive at her
school, asking other students to think seriously about disability rights and to
show their support.
à
Some
students whose campuses will be on Spring Break on April 17 will hold
Leave-Outs or Teach-Ins or petition drives in their communities.
à
CILs,
clubhouses, and other community groups may wish to host Teach-Ins for students
and their families, and for other members of their communities. At these Teach-Ins people can discuss the
Garrett decision and its implications and the disability rights movement, make
braids in support of a strong and diverse movement made of many threads, and
work together to build and strengthen the human braid.
à
Display
your own braid on April 17, in your hair, on your shirt, on your front door, or
anywhere, to symbolize your support and membership in the human braid.
à
Some groups
may wish to hold Teach-Ins where many civil rights issues are discussed, and
where people from many different backgrounds and different movements can teach
each other and learn from each other.
à
Writers can
write op-ed pieces and letters to the editor, and submit them to local newspapers. Groups can work together on letter-writing
campaigns to state legislators, urging that the protections we have lost
nationally be reinstated at the state level.
Groups can come together to make music or art to celebrate our
communities and remind people that there is strength in diversity.
à
Groups may
choose to have marches or rallies.
à
One
activist is organizing a virtual teach-in on the web.
à
Some
individuals may participate in the Leave-Out as individuals, knowing that at
the same time, people all across the nation are doing the same thing.
à
You may
have ideas we haven’t thought about yet – do you?
Whatever you do, we want to
hear about it. We’d love to know what you’re planning: we can offer you some help in organizing
and in trying to get local media to cover your event, and if we know of anyone
else working on the Leave-Out in your community, we can help you connect. And we’d love to hear, afterward, how it
went, and see any media coverage that you might have gotten. We will all learn from each other, and
together we will create something wonderful.
We
hold this truth to be self-evident:
that all of us are created equal.
Patricia Garrett got breast cancer. Then she got fired.
This is a story
that’s all too familiar to people with disabilities. If you’re disabled, other people assume it’s okay to pass you
over, turn you down, and leave you out.
They assume you’re not quite as equal as everyone else and it’s okay to
treat you that way.
Ten years ago,
our activists fought long and hard to win the right to be treated equally. They got the Americans with Disabilities
Act passed, and they got it signed into law.
For the last ten years, our activists have been fighting to get the law
enforced, to get the benefits the law promises. And now the Supreme Court has made that fight harder, by ruling
that state employees can’t recover damages when their Title I rights are
violated.
LEAVE OUT
with
the National Disabled Student Union on Tuesday, April 17, 2001
We are students,
adults, professionals, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and we are People with Disabilities (in bold
strong colors, ringing out in song, beating strong rhythms). The Garrett case is not the beginning and it
is not the end, but it is the time
to show that we will not let anything
happen to our rights; we will fight to make and keep our rights equal. As we know from the past, justice will not
be given to us. We must demand it
because it is simply Our Right To Equality.
On April 16, you will join people across
the nation in paying your share of state taxes.
On April 17, join people with
disabilities across the nation to call for your share of the benefits.
On April 17,
1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in
Raleigh, North Carolina. SNCC became a
major civil rights force in the United States, but the legacy of SNCC and other
civil rights groups is being eroded by a Supreme Court insistent on weakening
our rights in the name of “states’ rights.”
41 years after the birth of SNCC, students are speaking out for justice
again. The National Disabled Student
Union asks you to join with us to call -- again -- for all people to be treated
with justice and fairness as equals.
We're tired of
being left out, and on April 17 we're leaving out. At 1pm Eastern (noon
Central, 11am Mountain, 10am Pacific) on April 17, disabled students and our
allies will "leave out" of our schools, our jobs, and our homes,
to remind the government that when business as usual means discrimination, we
want no part of it.
If you want more information about
participating in the national demonstration or if you want to organize some
other activity in your area to demonstrate your opposition, please contact
Sarah Triano at strian1@uic.edu or 773-463-4776. An Advocacy Packet and a Media
Toolkit are available upon request.
LEAVE OUT
with
the National Disabled Student Union on Tuesday, April 17, 2001
In 1990,
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, which says that disabled
people -- who have historically been left out of schools, jobs, and communities
-- have the same rights as anyone else in this country. Schools, employers, and places of public
accommodation, the ADA says, may no longer leave us out. The ADA follows in the tradition of earlier
laws like IDEA in demanding that all of us be able to live and learn and grow
and give in our own communities.
Last year the
Supreme Court weakened the Violence
Against Women Act. Then they went
after the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act. And now, in yet
another decision that weakens the guarantee of full membership in society, the
Supreme Court has decided that even though states have to comply with the ADA,
state employees can't recover money damages when they've been discriminated
against. This will make it easier for
the states to break their promises to people with disabilities and our
families. It will make it easier for
the states to leave people out. And we have to wonder: who’s next?
We're tired of
people being left out, and on April 17 we're leaving out. At
1pm Eastern (noon Central, 11am Mountain, 10am Pacific) on April 17, disabled
students and our allies will "leave out" of our schools, our
jobs, and our homes, to remind the government that no-one should be left out.
Our Families. Our Communities. Our Taxes. Our
Government.
On April 17,
1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in
Raleigh, North Carolina. SNCC became a
major civil rights force in the United States, but the legacy of SNCC and other
civil rights groups is being eroded by a Supreme Court insistent on weakening
our rights in the name of “states’ rights.”
41 years after the birth of SNCC, we ask you to join with us to call --
again -- for all people to be treated with justice and fairness as equals.
On April 16, everyone will pay
taxes. On April 17, join us in
proclaiming that
everyone should benefit from the
government those taxes support.
If you want more information about
participating in the national demonstration or if you want to organize some
other activity in your area to demonstrate your opposition, please contact
Sarah Triano at strian1@uic.edu or 773-463-4776. An Advocacy Packet and a Media
Toolkit are available upon request.
If
you're tired of being left out
LEAVE OUT
with
the National Disabled Student Union on Tuesday, April 17, 2001
In 1990,
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, which says that disabled
people -- who have historically been left out of schools, jobs, and communities
-- have the same rights as anyone else in this country. Schools, employers, and places of public
accommodation, the ADA says, may no longer leave us out.
But this year
the Supreme Court, in yet another decision that weakens civil rights, has
decided that even though states have to comply with the ADA, state employees
can't recover money damages when they've been discriminated against. This will make it harder for state employees
like Patricia Garrett -- who was fired
by the University of Alabama because she’d had breast cancer -- to fight
against discrimination in the workplace.
It will make it easier for state universities to discriminate against
disabled faculty and staff. It will make
it easier for state agencies to discriminate against disabled people looking
for jobs. It will make it easier to
leave us out.
On April 17,
1960, the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina. SNCC became a major civil rights force in
the United States, but the legacy of SNCC and other civil rights groups is
being eroded by a Supreme Court insistent on weakening our rights in the name
of “states’ rights.” 41 years after the
birth of SNCC, we ask you to join with us to call -- again -- for all people to
be treated with justice and fairness as equals.
On April 16, 2001, your federal and state
taxes are due. The following day, we
ask you to remind the government that our taxes must not be used to
discriminate against us.
At 1pm Eastern (noon Central, 11am
Mountain, 10am Pacific) on April 17, disabled students and our allies will
"leave out" of
our schools, our jobs, and our homes, to remind the government that when
business as usual means discrimination, then we want no part of it.
We're tired of being left
out, and on April 17 we're leaving out.
If you want more
information about participating in the national demonstration or if you want to
organize some other activity in your area to demonstrate your opposition,
please contact Sarah Triano at strian1@uic.edu or 773-463-4776. An Advocacy
Packet and a Media Toolkit are available upon request.
with
the National Disabled Student Union on Tuesday, April 17, 2001
In 1990,
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect the civil rights
of people with disabilities. The ADA
says that disabled people -- who have historically been left out of schools,
jobs, and communities -- have the same rights as anyone else in this
country. Schools and employers and
places of public accommodation, the ADA says, may no longer leave us out.
Same
struggle, different difference.
But the Supreme
Court has been weakening civil rights laws in the name of protecting “states’
rights.” Last year they went after the Violence Against Women Act. They went after the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Now it’s the ADA. The Supreme Court has decided that even
though states have to comply with the ADA, state employees can't recover money
damages when they've been discriminated against. This will make it harder for state employees like Patricia
Garrett -- who was fired by the University of Alabama because she’d had breast
cancer -- to fight against discrimination in the workplace. It will make it easier for state
universities to discriminate against disabled faculty and staff. It will make it easier for state agencies to
discriminate against disabled people looking for jobs. It will make it easier
to leave us out. And we have to wonder: who’s
next?
We
will not go back.
The promise of
equality, the dream of justice, that so many people in America have fought so
long to realize, is threatened by these decisions. But we will not abandon
the promise; we will not give up the
dream. On April 17, 1960, the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in Raleigh, North
Carolina. SNCC became a major civil
rights force in the United States, but the legacy of SNCC and other civil
rights groups is being eroded by a Supreme Court insistent on weakening our
rights in the name of “states’ rights.”
41 years after the birth of SNCC, students
once again ask you to join with us to call for all people to be treated with
justice and fairness as equals.
On April 16,
2001, we will all pay federal and state taxes.
The following day, we ask you to remind the government that our taxes
must not be used to discriminate against us.
At 1pm Eastern (noon Central,
11am Mountain, 10am Pacific) on April 17, disabled students and others who call
for equal justice will "leave out" of our schools, our jobs, and
our homes, to remind the government that when business as usual means
discrimination, we want no part of it.
If you want more
information about participating in the national demonstration, if you want to
organize some other activity in your area to demonstrate your opposition, or if
you want to join with NDSU in calling for justice, please contact Sarah Triano
at strian1@uic.edu or 773-463-4776. An Advocacy Packet and a Media Toolkit are
available upon request.
THE NATIONAL DISABLED
STUDENTS UNION (NDSU) LISTSERV
The National
Disabled Students Union (NDSU) listserv is an e-mail discussion list for
students with disabilities of all ages throughout the United States. The
overall purpose of this cross-disability listserv is to mobilize and organize
students with disabilities throughout the nation in order to continue the
legacy of empowerment and community solidarity that began with our predecessors
in the 1970s (which is now being threatened by the Supreme Court).
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE NDSU LIST:
Address your email to:
listserv@listserv.uic.edu
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE
NDSU Jane Doe
Replace "Jane Doe" with your
first and last name.
If you have any
questions or concerns about the NDSU list, please feel free to contact Sarah
Triano at strian1@uic.edu or at 773-463-4776.
To get in touch with other NDSU
organizers and allies
working on the April 17 protest,
contact Sarah Triano at strian1@uic.edu or 773-463-4776.
Whatever you do locally, we want to hear
about it. We’d love to know what you’re planning and
to see whether we can help. We can
offer you some help in organizing and in trying to get local media to cover
your event. If we know of anyone else
working on the Leave-Out in your community, we can help you connect. And we’d love to hear, afterward, how it
went, and see any media coverage that you might have gotten.
We’d like to invite you to join our
listserv. The National Disabled Students Union
(NDSU) listserv is an e-mail discussion list for students with disabilities of
all ages throughout the United States. The overall purpose of this
cross-disability listserv is to mobilize and organize students with
disabilities throughout the nation in order to continue the legacy of
empowerment and community solidarity that began with our predecessors in the
1970s (which is now being threatened by the Supreme Court).
TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE NDSU LIST:
Address your email to:
listserv@listserv.uic.edu
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE
NDSU Jane Doe
Replace "Jane Doe" with your
first and last name.
If you have any
questions or concerns about the list, please feel free to contact Sarah Triano
at strian1@uic.edu or at 773-463-4776.