Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights

by Lennard J. Davis

Overview

A behind-the-scenes account of the passing of the ADA—the moment when millions of Americans won their civil rights

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the widest-ranging and most comprehensive piece of civil rights legislation ever passed in the United States, and it has become the model for disability-based laws around the world. Yet the surprising story behind how the bill came to be is little known.

In this riveting account, acclaimed disability scholar Lennard J. Davis delivers the first on-the-ground narrative of how a band of leftist Berkeley hippies managed to make an alliance with upper-crust, conservative Republicans to bring about a truly bipartisan bill. Based on extensive interviews with all the major players involved including legislators and activists, Davis recreates the dramatic tension of a story that is anything but a dry account of bills and speeches. Rather, it’s filled with one indefatigable character after another, culminating in explosive moments when the hidden army of the disability community stages scenes like the iconic “Capitol Crawl” or an event when students stormed Gallaudet University demanding a “Deaf President Now!”

From inside the offices of newly formed disability groups to secret breakfast meetings surreptitiously held outside the White House grounds, here we meet countless unsung characters, including political heavyweights and disability advocates on the front lines. “You want to fight?” an angered Ted Kennedy would shout in an upstairs room at the Capitol while negotiating the final details of the ADA. Congressman Tony Coelho, whose parents once thought him to be possessed by the devil because of his epilepsy, later became the bill’s primary sponsor. There’s Justin Dart, adorned in disability power buttons and his signature cowboy hat, who took to the road canvassing 50 states, and people like Patrisha Wright, also known as “The General,” Arlene Myerson or “the brains,” “architect” Bob Funk, and visionary Mary Lou Breslin, who left the hippie highlands of the West to pursue equal rights in the marble halls of DC.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807071564
Publisher:	Beacon Press
Publication date:	07/14/2015
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

An award-winning author of eleven books, including My Sense of Silence, Lennard J. Davis is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts in the departments of Disability Studies and English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has written for the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Nation, and Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Prologue: July 28, 1989 I

1 Forty-Six Words that Changed History 7

2 DC Outsiders Turn Washington Insiders 19

3 The Texas Connection 36

4 Let Right Be Done 52

5 Banging the Drum Loudly 63

6 Flat Earth, Deaf World 76

7 A New Band of Reformers 100

8 A New Day, a New ADA 115

9 White House Battles Senate 132

10 Secret Meetings and Bagel Breakfasts 143

11 "This Means War!" 161

12 Building the Accessible Ramp to the House of Representatives 174

13 The Capitol Crawl 191

14 On the White House Lawn 217

15 Enabling the ADA 225

Acknowledgments 252

Cast of Characters 253

Bibliographical Note 257

Notes 261

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

03/30/2015
In 2015, the principle of providing accommodations for the disabled—such as bathroom facilities, wheelchair accessibility, and closed captions—is well-established. In this worthwhile but laborious book, Davis seeks to transport readers back to the time before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. This is an extremely detailed account of a complex legislative process (Ted Kennedy compared creating bills to “playing an accordion”) and civil rights movement with “no Selma or Birmingham,” but instead, grueling state-by-state grassroots visits and custom proposals. But, as depicted by Davis, the movement still had its dramatic moments, particularly the “Capitol Crawl” up the steps of the Capitol Building. Interestingly, he suggests that public support for the Act helped steer the close 1988 election to George H.W. Bush, who in July 1990 hosted the ADA’s signing ceremony on the White House lawn. For fans of politics, the circuitous legislative journey detailed here will be fascinating. However, the lack of more organizing devices—a time line, chapter summaries, key points map, or even a “Who’s Who”—will make this a struggle for lay readers drawn to the important subject matter. Agent: Anne Edelstein, Anne Edelstein Literary Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Unique and moving history…A perfect celebration of the ADA’s twenty-fifth anniversary.”
—Booklist, Starred Review

“Rather than a standard, legalistic history of legislation and case law, this nonlawyer author provides an engaging and even chatty account covering the personalities and political machinations that resulted in bipartisan passage of the law. A lively and well-researched legal saga suited to general readers interested in current events and disability issues.”
—Library Journal

“A fitting tribute to the activists and advocates who worked for, wrote, and passed the law, and to the legions of people with disabilities who strive to be full participants in their communities and in our world. It is a book that everyone should read.”
—Health Affairs

“A solid and wide ranging telling of the story of the passage of the ADA.”
—Choice

“Lennard Davis’s book offers a historic glimpse into the creation of the ADA—legislation that has positively affected the lives of countless Americans living with physical and mental challenges. To adequately understand and celebrate this landmark legislation, Enabling Acts is a must-read.”
—Senator Bob Dole

“Enabling Acts is the essential account of the determined activists, seasoned politicians, and unheralded citizens whose efforts a quarter century ago launched a transformation in American law and culture that still resonates today. Studded with one indelible character and colorful incident after another, this engrossing and well-researched chronicle makes a strong case for the ADA being an enviable, if imperfect, model of legislation—and a profound event in history's long upward climb towards justice.”
—Rachel Simon, author of The Story of Beautiful Girl and Riding the Bus with My Sister

“With Enabling Acts, Lennard J. Davis has given us a valuable history of a landmark piece of legislation, told with precision and insight that takes us from the activist ferment of San Francisco to the corridors of power in Washington. It is a welcome addition to the growing canon of civil rights history, and a gripping read to boot.”
—Clay Risen, author of The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act

“An eye-opening account, Enabling Acts not only tells the insider story of a crucial event in twentieth century history, it does so in a way that inspires a renewed conversation around disability rights in America. Even though I was the lead sponsor of the bill that became law, I learned even more about this dramatic civil rights fight.”
—Senator Tom Harkin (Ret.)

“Lennard Davis has vividly captured a complex and fascinating story. It is impossible to describe briefly how much the ADA changed my life. Davis’ page-turning account puts the reader on the ground along chanting disability rights advocates and behind closed doors within the walls of Washington. An important and outstanding contribution.”
—I. King Jordan, first deaf president of Gallaudet University
 
“Davis has written a vital book for anyone who cares about human rights, social change, and the empowerment of people with cognitive and physical differences. Enabling Acts reads like a spellbinding political thriller with advocates fighting for the rights of people with disabilities but ultimately fighting for everyone’s right to be different.”
—Jonathan Mooney, author of The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal
 
“Brimming with memorable characters, Lennard Davis has restored this often ignored or forgotten civil rights fight as a significant moment in U.S. history. No celebration of the ADA and democracy should be without Enabling Acts.”
—Kim E. Nielsen, author of A Disability History of the United States

“With vivid details, Davis paints the personal and political histories of key players in the fight for the ADA . . . .an important contribution to the fields of disability studies and disability history.”
—Audra Jennings, H-Disability

From the Publisher

05/15/2015
As the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) approaches, this book provides a behind-the-scenes story of the passage of this sweeping law. Having grown up in a deaf family, Davis (disability studies & English, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago; My Sense of Silence) notes the discrimination his family faced and the condescension inherent in popular charity fundraising events such as the Muscular Dystrophy telethons. This book is organized chronologically, starting with personal narratives and 1960s activism that expanded civil rights and protections. It then tracks the legislative application of these principles to the disabled population as embodied in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The author's methodology included interviews with major actors in this landmark legislative process as well as reliance on previous works, archival materials (Bancroft Lib., Univ. of California-Berkeley), and legal assistance. Rather than a standard, legalistic history of legislation and case law, this nonlawyer author provides an engaging and even chatty account covering the personalities and political machinations that resulted in bipartisan passage of the law. The book concludes with a brief evaluation of the ADA as a work-in-progress. VERDICT A lively and well-researched legal saga suited to general readers interested in current events and disability issues.—Antoinette Brinkman, formerly with Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville

Library Journal

2015-04-01
An examination of how the Americans with Disabilities Act came about, 25 years after the legislation passed into law. The civil rights movements that get the most attention are often those where the most work remains to be done. Rightly so, but there is also something to be said for spending time exploring past successes, not only for the reassurance that comes from a reminder that change can happen, but also for practical insights into how it happens. Significant progress in other parts of the world has been modeled on the civil rights legislation involved with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Davis (Disability Studies and English/Univ. of Illinois, Chicago; The End of Normal: Identity in a Biocultural Era, 2014, etc.) has done the necessary rigorous research—interviews with dozens of legislators, activists, and others involved in the process—and worked all of those accounts into this book, a mix of journalism and historical overview. It traces back to a handful of individuals: Bob Funk, who helped start the Disabled Rights Education Fund; Patrisha Wright, known as "The General" for her leadership style; Arlene Meyerson, "the brains"; and Mary Lou Breslin, who had the financial acumen. Davis spins the story outward from this core group, and many other players enter the narrative. The DREF worked to bring the disparate elements of a still loosely defined group—"the disabled"—together in common cause. The author's account occasionally veers toward insider baseball; his scholarship on the subject is evident, and at times the narrative is bogged down by it. At the same time, however, there's a great deal on how a few deeply liberal activists and a few staunchly conservative lawmakers found a way to work together to effect real, lasting change. Now, there's a minority that could use some support. Reading this book would be a great first step toward further civil rights progress.

Kirkus Reviews