More than a million people are expected to descend on Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, and undoubtedly, there will be many stories written about the historic day.
Those flocking to the capital have been warned about massive crowds, massive waits, over-taxed transit systems, closed streets and bridges, security check-points and non-existent hotel rooms. Still, they won’t be deterred because they want to see history in person as it’s being made.
But factors that won’t deter most attendees are becoming huge problems for citizens with disabilities who also want to be part of Inauguration Day 2009.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, in fact, has issued warnings that some people with disabilities interpret as a message signaling “not to come.”
On its Web site, the committee warns that handicapped parking will be limited and not close to the Capitol, and that there will be fewer drop-off points for people using wheelchairs. Accessible seating is limited for those with tickets to the swearing-in ceremony. And, “persons in wheelchairs or utilizing walkers should be aware that they will need to move across bumpy surfaces, grassy areas and possible icy areas (depending on the weather).”
Obviously, getting around Washington on Inauguration Day won’t be easy for anyone, and for people with disabilities, it sounds rather daunting.
“This is like a big, bold sign that says if you’re a person with a disability, this is not your event,” Richard Simms, executive director of the D.C. Center for Independent Living, told the D.C. Examiner.
Carole Florman, spokeswoman for the congressional committee, told the Examiner that her office was “very concerned” about the issue and was planning to be as accessible as possible. Circumstances outside of its control have created unique challenges, she said.
In the Examiner story, Florman added that she hopes people with special needs — the disabled, the elderly and those with small children — take seriously the potential for enormous crowds and dreadful weather, and plan accordingly.
Here’s Florman’s zinger that has some disability activists seeing red: “Some people may be better off trying to watch it on TV,” she said.
Exclusion is a fact of life for people with disabilities, and I used to think that inaccessible polling places were the worst form of exclusion because they denied the rights of citizenship.
Access problems at inaugural events take those exclusionary feelings to a whole new level.
The inaugural committee can’t work crowd-control miracles, but as Andrew Imparto, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said in the same Examiner article quoted above: “We’d hope the congressional committee could figure out a way to accommodate everybody. Our experience is that when accessibility is taken seriously, it makes for a smoother event all around.”
My hope is that reporters covering the inauguration will also take the issue seriously, and find out whether accessibility for the disabled was handled as it should have been, and why.
