Disability Leaders Mark Major Milestones Amid Growing Threats to Disability Rights
Concord, NH — On July 26th, New Hampshire’s disability rights community will gather at the State House for the annual Disability Pride Parade and Festival to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—a landmark civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. This celebration comes just months before the 50th anniversary of the Developmental Disabilities Act (DD Act) in October.
Both the ADA and DD Act were turning points in the nation’s history, affirming that people with disabilities have the right to live free from discrimination, to access public spaces and services, and to be fully included in community life.
“These rights were hard-won, born out of segregation, exclusion, and abuse—including the horrors experienced at institutions like New Hampshire’s Laconia State School,” said Isadora Rodriguez-Legendre, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.
The DD Act led to the creation of New Hampshire’s three DD Act Partners: Disability Rights Center – NH (DRC-NH), the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability. While these three organizations have distinct missions, they collaborate strategically with the disability community and with one another to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities throughout the state.
“Through research, litigation, education, policy, and advocacy, the DD Act organizations have long championed the right of people with disabilities to full inclusion, self-determination, and equal opportunity,” said Rodriguez-Legendre said. “Together, we work to ensure that past injustices are never repeated—and that people with disabilities can thrive in the communities of their choosing.”
But even as the community celebrates progress, the path to disability justice remains under threat. Federal cuts to Medicaid and on-going efforts to defund critical disability programs—including New Hampshire’s DD Act Partners—jeopardize the independence, health, and dignity of disabled people across the country and across the Granite State.
“Make no mistake—there is a coordinated effort to roll back decades of progress,” said Stephanie Patrick, Executive Director, Disability Rights Center – NH. “If we allow these protections to be stripped away, we risk returning to a time when people with disabilities were locked away, forgotten, and denied even the most basic of human rights.”
As the Disability Pride Parade and Festival kicks off this Saturday, we invite the public to reflect on the legacy of disability rights—and the urgent work needed to defend those rights.
Learn more about the Disability Pride Parade and Festival at ablenh.org/disability-pride-parade-and-festival.
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NH Developmental Disabilities Council: Supports advocacy, capacity building, and systems change to ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the opportunity to live inclusive and fully integrated, person centered, lives of choice. Learn more at https://www.nhcdd.nh.gov/
Disability Rights Center – NH (DRC-NH): Protects, advances, and strengthens the legal rights and advocacy interests of all people with disabilities. Learn more at drcnh.org https://drcnh.org/
