Thanks so much for the articles. I'll send an email which will, at least,
indicate that blind people in other states, know what is happening.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of S. Kashdan
Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 8:34 AM
To: Blind Democracy List
Subject: [blind-democracy] Michigan Action Report: Michiganders with
Disabilities Loud and Proud
Greetings all,
Below are several articles about the Michigan ADA 25 celebration and the
protest against sub-minimum wage employment that Joe participated in. The
articles are separated by +++ and all of them are posted on the front page
of the website of the Peer Action Alliance. The URL that is given will get
you to that website and all of the articles below.
For justice and peace,
Sylvie
Michigan Action Report: Michiganders with Disabilities Loud and Proud
By Eleanor Canter
Peer Action Alliance, September 19, 2015
http://peeractionalliance.com/
On Thursday, September 17, 2015, a group of approximately twenty individuals
with disabilities met at the crosswalk leading to the State Capitol Lawn,
where a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities act was about to begin.
Three members of Peer Action Alliance of Muskegon were joined by the
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan and several local ADAPT
chapters. Excitement was in the air. As we shook hands and introduced
ourselves to each other, we were approached by six state police officers who
informed us that we would not be allowed into the event.
We asked if it was a public event and they said it was not. We asked if
Capitol grounds were open to the public and they replied that they were. We
again asked if this was a public event and they replied that it was but that
we would not be permitted to enter. We told them that we hadn't broken any
laws. They said that they knew that we intended to disrupt. We told them
that was our first amendment right. They told us that they would physically
stop us from entering the event. We asked what criteria were being used to
keep people out of the event. They didn't answer. We asked if the event
organizers asked the state police to keep us out. They replied that they
had. We asked who specifically gave the orders to keep us out and they
stared straight ahead and refused to answer further questions.
We kept asking questions, and after several hours they told us that we were
determined to be a security threat. I told them that we intended to use our
voices and that we are non-violent demonstrators. We asked how they
determined that we were a security risk and they refused to answer.
For three hours we screamed "Let us in!" The police told me that if I turned
my bullhorn on they would take it from me, so we screamed for hours. "SARA
GRIVETTI--LET US IN!"
On the 25th anniversary of the ADA, Sara Grivetti, the "collective voice of
Michigan's Centers for Independent Living," literally erected a metal
barricade enforced by six state police officers with guns and Tasers to
protect her audience from dangerous words on poster board carried by 20
people with significant disabilities. We did not allow the irony of a
literal barrier being erected in order to exclude people with disabilities
on the 25th anniversary of the ADA to go unnoticed. As the speakers
bloviated about the progress made by the ADA, disabled people were forcibly
and physically excluded.
They heard us. Our voices thundered against the Capitol walls, even from our
position outside the event. While we were often unable to hear the speakers
on stage, they had no trouble hearing us.
The old chant "What do we want? ACCESS! When do we want it? Now!" took on
new meaning.
More state police came, and the plain-clothed head of the Capitol police.
Joe Harcz, a member of our group, tried to pass the barrier and was brought
down by at least three police officers, handcuffed, and literally dragged up
the center aisle of the ADA event, past a crowd of at least 300 people. In
the three hours we spent asking to be let in to the event, never once did an
event organizer approach us. No one, including several members of the
audience who agreed with our position, received an answer as to why people
with disabilities were being kept out of the event--a direct violation of
our civil rights.
The police charged Joe Harcz, a 60 year old blind man and a member of our
group, with resisting arrest and forced him to pay $250 to be released from
jail after simply trying to walk onto public property and exercise his first
amendment rights. They accused him of assaulting a police officer when his
white cane hit one of them as he went down. Is this representative of
America? Is this the Independent Living Movement? We know that it is not. We
will be working together to help Joe defend himself in court and mount a
defense. Sara Grivetti, acting as an agent of the State of Michigan,
conspired to deprive Michiganders with disabilities of our civil rights.
That cannot stand.
We came to the event to protest sub-minimum wages for people with
disabilities.
We had buttons, stickers, signs, and chants. We had ADA25 t-shirts and the
Road to Freedom Bus Tour. We chanted "No more MARO, No more Peckham; Hey
hey, ho ho--sheltered work has got to go; and Stop the lies--cut the ties".
We did several interviews with the media. Our signs read "End segregated
work now; End sub-minimum wages; We are not your cash cows; Fair wages;
Goodwill--There's no power at 50 cents an hour; and CILs and SILC--Do your
job".
We want our Statewide Independent Living Council, Disability
Network/Michigan (Statewide Association of CILs) and our Centers for
Independent Living to stop financially supporting sub-minimum wage lobbying
by way of membership in the Michigan Association of Rehabilitation
Organizations. MARO is an association of sub-minimum wage employers.
Michigan citizens with disabilities feel that Independent Living
dollars--which come directly from taxpayers--should not be used to support
sub-minimum wage employment.
For too long, we have witnessed a gradual corruption of Michigan's
Independent Living Program. Over the past year, under Sara Grivetti's
leadership, Michigan CILs have been taken over by sub-minimum wage
employers, who also have control over our State Rehabilitation Council,
Michigan Protection & Advocacy (including our Client Assistance Program),
and many other organizations and entities that are charged with protecting
the rights of people with disabilities.
This is a black eye on America's proud beautiful Independent Living
Movement. We must stand up as a community to say no more!
The people in charge of Michigan's IL Program no longer understand that
consumer control is not optional. We are people with disabilities and we
will not be silenced and sidelined from our own Independent Living Program.
Please--wherever you are, send a message to Sara Grivetti, Chair of the
Michigan SILC and Executive Director of Disability Network/Michigan
(Association of CILs). Help us break the stranglehold sub-minimum wage
employers have on our Movement!
Sara Grivetti can be reached at sara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
A tremendous amount of gratitude is owed to every brave soul who stood
behind the barricade with us yesterday, including several members of the
audience who joined us. Special thanks to Joe Harcz for his bravery; Susan
Fitzmaurice for her organizing skills; Tom Olin for the Road to Freedom Bus
and lifelong dedication to supporting the work of consumers nationwide;
other friends at the national level who have supported and encouraged our
work; members of the Michigan Federation of the Blind for their
professionalism and obvious dedication to ending sub-minimum wages; and our
friends at ADAPT, who we simply couldn't do this without. We are truly
humbled and literally in disbelief to see Michigan consumers rising from the
ashes to resurrect our beloved Independent Living Program. Thank YOU!
+++
Blind Federation Condemns Disabilities Celebration Barricades and Arrest
Peer Action Alliance, September 19, 2015
Source: National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
LANSING--A Michigan State Capitol celebration featuring Lt. Gov. Brian
Calley as speaker was marked by protest and the arrest of a blind citizen
when demonstrators from the disabilities community were barricaded from the
capitol grounds ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) 25th anniversary
celebration presentation area. Demonstrators were protesting the payment of
sub-minimum wages of $2 per hour or less to persons with disabilities by
organizers and sponsors of the celebration event
Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan believe they
were particularly targeted by event organizers and sponsors. Federation
members were approached by a state police sergeant before even entering the
state Capitol grounds. They were told by the sergeant that they were to
remain east of and not to pass beyond a statue on the sidewalk leading to
the capitol and event area. Protesters were angered when they learned
barricades had been placed across the sidewalk. A line of eight state police
officers met and stopped the protesters from entering the event area. One
blind man was arrested when he attempted to pass around the barricades.
"I believe our goals are aligned so we need to find a way to work together
to make sure that every single child, every single adult with a disability
has access to community but also is included truly included in community
life", said Lt. Gov Brian Calley, addressing the event participants, adding
he understood the anger of the protesters, but believes everyone must work
together to achieve both side's goals.
Responding to Calley's statement, Larry Posont, president of the NFB of
Michigan stated, "Given 25 years of the ADA, this goes way beyond the
immoral and demeaning practice of paying persons with disabilities
sub-minimum wages, as both Michigan Republican and Democrat administrations
alike have miserably failed persons with disabilities, and blind citizens in
particular, in the implementation of the ADA, and efforts and opportunities
so that blind persons are 'included truly included in community life', as
touted by the Lt. Governor."
"We as blind persons don't have signage of Braille and raised-characters in
most state owned and leased buildings, including the Peoples' house--the
State Capitol building, the site of the ADA celebration, despite two major
Capitol improvement projects since the ADA took effect, including $371,000
spend in 2013 and a current ongoing $6.5 million expenditure, and this does
not include millions spent in the early 1990s," said Posont.
"In addition, Governor Snyder made an executive directive in 2014 to
executive branch departments to increase state employment of persons with
disabilities, however, the state job application website is not fully
accessible to blind persons utilizing screen reader software programs, and
many state jobs require a driver's license to do work at a desk, thus
screening out and eliminating well-qualified persons with disabilities who
cannot drive, from state employment opportunities," added Posont. "In
addition, blind clients of the state Bureau for Services to Blind Persons
cannot get printed materials in a non-print alternative format like Braille
or computer CD, a provision of the ADA as access to state programs and
services to blind persons," says Posont.
According to David Robinson, a blind retired state employee and ADA event
protester, Sharon Ellis, ADA compliance officer for the Department of
Technology, Management, and Budget, recently reported that the state's
websites were accessible. "Obviously Ellis did not consult with anyone among
blind citizens who have to use state department websites," says Robinson.
"State websites routinely post image-based documents in PDF format that are
not accessible to blind persons, and online services are totally
inaccessible to blind individuals doing business with state departments,"
continued Robinson.
"If Lt. Gov. Calley truly believes our goals are aligned and we need to find
a way to work together the Lt. Governor must put his words into relentless
positive action, if we are to work together to achieve our aligned goals,"
says Terry Eagle, spokesperson for the NFB of Michigan. "The 2012
abolishment of the consumer-driven Commission for the Blind, the disbandment
of a non-consumer advisory commission on services to the blind, a state
rehabilitation council made up of vocational rehabilitation service
providers, and the targeting of blind persons and other persons with
disabilities, for exclusion from an ADA anniversary event with barricades
and police line, surely doesn't demonstrate a willingness to work together
by his administration. What is needed is a consumer-centered,
consumer-driven approach to programs and services to persons with
disabilities by the State of Michigan," adds Eagle.
"The NFB of Michigan is evaluating its options with regard to the targeting
and denial of access to blind persons to the ADA public event by state
organizers and sponsors," stated Eagle.
About the National Federation of the Blind
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the
largest And most influential membership organization of blind people in the
United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and
the voice of the nation's blind.
The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is a proud affiliate of the
National Federation of the Blind. Originally founded in 1941 the NFBM has
been a leader in advocacy and has worked tirelessly to change what it means
to be blind in Michigan. Among our accomplishments are Newsline for the
Blind, Creation of the Michigan Commission for the Blind, White cane
legislation, Braille literacy for blind children legislation and much more.
Contact: Terry Eagle (517) 372-7552, Larry Posont, President (313) 727-3546
publicrelations@xxxxxxxxx
+++
September 17 Rally to End Sub-minimum Wage--Press, Materials, and Ways to
Help
Peer Action Alliance, September 15, 2015
1
Act Now:
* Urgent: Donate to the ADA Legacy Bus
* Sign the Petition
* Join us on Thursday!
Press:
* Press Release
* National Call to Action
* Link to Sub-minnimum Wage Graphic
Materials:
* Handout (PDF)
* Handout (Word)
+++
Leading Organizations of Americans with Disabilities Call for Reform of
AbilityOne Program: Organizations Set Forth Seven Reform Principles
Peer Action Alliance, September 14, 2015
1
Washington, DC (September 15, 2015): Seven leading organizations comprised
of Americans with disabilities announced today that they are calling for
reform of the AbilityOne Program and set forth seven principles for overhaul
of the program, which affects hundreds of thousands of American workers with
disabilities. The announcement was made by the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB), TASH, the National Council for Independent Living (NCIL), the
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), the Association of People
Supporting Employment First (APSE), the Autistic Self Advocacy Network
(ASAN), and the United Spinal Association. The seven principles for reform
put forward by the organizations are as follows:
1. Commitment to the expressed integration mandate set forth by the Supreme
Court of the United States in the case of Olmstead v. L.C.: Segregation of
people with disabilities in work sites, such as sheltered workshops and
enclaves, is inconsistent with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act. People with disabilities must be supported to lead fully integrated
lives in their communities, including throughout their workday.
2. Implementation and development of best practices for employment of people
with significant disabilities: People employed by contracts negotiated
through the AbilityOne procurement process must have their employment goals
supported by providers implementing recognized best practices, such as
Supported Employment and Customized Employment, that result in good jobs in
the community.
3. Elimination of conflicts of interest that contribute to exploitation,
fraud, and abuse: Conflicts of interest in AbilityOne contract
implementation are rampant, and must be identified and prohibited. These
include determination of employee eligibility by community rehabilitation
programs (CRPs) implementing contracts, as well as the use of contract funds
for lobbying and other purposes.
4. Payment of prevailing wages and the elimination of sub-minimum-wage
payments: Payment of sub-minimum wages to people with disabilities is
intolerable in the United States. People with disabilities should be paid
the prevailing wage for the task they are performing.
5. Ensuring financial and operational transparency and accountability:
AbilityOne contract use of funds must be transparent and readily available
(online) to the public at every level, including the purpose and amount of
funds used by the Central Nonprofit Agencies, executive compensation
packages of nonprofits involved in the program, worker wage ranges, and
purposes of funds used.
6. Relationship with employer: The ultimate objective of a
federally-sanctioned special procurement program should be to connect
employees with mainstream employers, as opposed to having people with
disabilities working for nonprofit entities under specialized, set-aside
contracts.
7. Prioritizing awarding of contracts available through the procurement
process to disability-owned businesses, including self-employed individuals
with disabilities: Rather than all contracts going to the non-profit
organizations currently involved in the program, individuals with
disabilities should be encouraged to compete for service contracts.
The AbilityOne Program must be brought up to contemporary standards of
practice for supporting people with disabilities to access competitive
integrated employment. When these reforms are adopted, an inspector general
should be appointed to provide rigorous oversight to ensure that the days of
exploitation and fraud are brought to an end.
Barb Trader, Executive Director of TASH, said: "The continued segregation of
people with disabilities in employment is unjust, and the payment of
sub-minimum wages is discriminatory and demeaning. Americans with
disabilities must be freed from the overwhelming control of the entities
that simultaneously determine their eligibility for services, administer
those services, and function as their employers. The concentration of power
in community rehabilitation programs and sheltered workshops is a
fundamental flaw in the AbilityOne Program. Any federally-sanctioned program
must be a positive force for workers with disabilities by providing them
freedom, self-determination, and real employment and career development
opportunities."
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"The principles we are setting forth today reflect the hopes and aspirations
of all Americans with disabilities. Neither AbilityOne nor any other program
that purports to serve us can do so without reference to our own
determinations on how to live the lives we want. We urge all other
organizations of Americans with disabilities and like-minded service
providers to join us in calling for an end to discrimination and low
expectations, and to work with us for a future in which we, as Americans
with disabilities, have full control over our destinies." ... [continue
reading at the URL above]
+++
Media Alert: Michiganders with Disabilities to Protest Sub-minimum Wages at
State ADA Celebration September 17
Peer Action Alliance, September 13, 2015
1
* Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern
* Michigan Capitol Lawn in Lansing--Directions and parking at:
dnmichigan.org/ada-25-getting-there
Media Contacts:
* Susan Fitzmaurice / Southeast Michigan / 248-767-2217 /
susan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx / adamichigan.wordpress.com
* Eleanor Canter / Muskegon / 231.755.5063 / 765.414.2014 /
eleanorcanter@xxxxxxxxx / peeractionalliance.com
While the nation debates minimum wages, Michiganders with disabilities will
use the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 to protest the rampant and persistent
practice of sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities across the state.
Michigan citizens with disabilities from across the state will gather on the
Michigan Capitol Lawn in Lansing during the ADA 25th Anniversary Celebration
on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.
Michigan's ADA celebration is being sponsored by the very organizations who
lobby to continue the antiquated practice of paying sub-minimum wages to
people with significant disabilities in segregated sheltered workshops. The
event is sponsored by Peckham, the largest provider of sheltered work in
Michigan, and MARO, an association of sub-minimum wage employers whose
members include Source America, which is currently under investigation by
the Department of Justice and at least four Inspectors General.
Many Michiganders with disabilities were shocked to learn that the very
sponsors of the rally to celebrate the disability community's most important
civil rights law were the perpetrators of sub-minimum wages, a practice that
inhibits equal employment opportunities to Michiganders with disabilities.
Kelly Buckland (Executive Director of the National Council on Independent
Living), Billy Altom (Executive Director of the Association of Programs for
Rural Independent Living), and Tom Olin (Director of the Road to Freedom Bus
Tour) all cancelled planned appearances at the event as a statement of
conscience and solidarity.
In a shocking turn of events, the Road to Freedom Bus is now headed back
towards Michigan--this time to support the Michigan citizens with
disabilities calling for change. If advocates are able to raise the funds
needed to gas up the bus, the seasoned disability rights warriors aboard
plan to join the protests to end sub-minimum wage and help usher in a new
era of consumer control in Michigan.
"The ADA was written by us for us, not to make money from oppressing us. Let
that stop here and now" explains Tom Olin, Captain of the ADA Bus.
The protesters believe that sub-minimum wages are unethical, dehumanizing
and discriminatory--and a violation of the ADA. Sheltered workshops unfairly
segregate members of the disability community, which violates the
integration mandate--the seminal principle of all disability rights
legislation, including the ADA. Protesters support an end to sub-minimum
wages immediately and the responsible phase-out of segregated employment for
Michiganders with disabilities.
Specifically, they are asking Michigan Centers for Independent
Living--taxpayer funded nonprofits that are meant to be disability rights
organizations--to cease their financial support of sub-minimum wage
employment through membership in MARO. The Michigan Statewide Independent
Living Council (SILC) and the state's IL Association, Disability Network /
Michigan, both headed by Sara Grivetti, played a large role in planning the
celebration and are also being asked to end their financial relationships
with Peckham and MARO.
"Make no mistake--real people with disabilities do not partner with and
financially support sub-minimum wage employers. Centers for Independent
Living are required by law to be staffed and directed by a majority of
people with significant disabilities. We must return consumer control to
Michigan's Independent Living Program immediately--or we will continue to
witness the erosion of our civil rights" explained Eleanor Canter, one of
many organizers of Thursday's event.
Anyone supporting civil rights for Michiganders with disabilities is welcome
and encouraged to join the protest. Our petition is available online.
Resources:
* CNN--Sources: Nation's disabled work program mired in corruption, fraud
* CNN--At ADA rally, calls to overhaul AbilityOne program for disabled
people
* Disability Network / Michigan--Event Sponsors
* MARO--Membership Directory
* DOJ--Justice Department Reaches Proposed ADA Settlement Agreement On
Oregon's Developmental Disabilities System
* Peer Action Alliance--NCIL Director Cancels Michigan Visit Amid Growing
Concern Over Ties to Sub-minimum Wage Employers
* Peer Action Alliance--Link to NO Sub-minimum Wage Graphic
* Road to Freedom--The Road to Freedom ADA Bus Tour Made a U-Turn From
Michigan
* Road to Freedom--Support the ADA Bus and Tom Olin. Help Needed Now.
+++
The Road to Freedom ADA Bus Tour Made a U-Turn From Michigan
Peer Action Alliance, September 11, 2015
September 10, 2015
Contact: Janine Bertram: janinebk@xxxxxxx
The national Road to Freedom Bus Tour joins others in the disability
community by canceling its appearance at the Lansing ADA 25 celebration.
The Lansing event's primary funders are Peckham and Michigan Association of
Rehabilitation Organizations (MARO). Peckham is considered one of the
largest and most exploitive industries paying sub-minimum wages to people
with disabilities. It was featured on CNN as part of the SourceAmerica
federal contractor investigation for taking federal funds and not hiring a
sufficient number of people with disabilities as required under the terms of
the federal contract. MARO members include Peckham and other segregated
sheltered workshop "providers" that pay people with disabilities (capable of
working in integrated settings for minimum or prevailing wage) sub-minimum
wage.
"The ADA bus hit the brakes and made a U turn on our way to Lansing,
Michigan for their ADA celebration," explains Tom Olin, Director of the
Disability Rights Center and Captain of the ADA Bus. "The Freedom Bus has
crisscrossed the U.S.A. bringing displays to celebrations and educational
forums. We've supported advocates for consumer control and independence. A
question that is asked time after time is 'has the promise of the ADA been
fulfilled?' And yes, we have gained some tools in our fight for civil rights
but economic justice and equality for all is still elusive for many with
different disabilities in our community. Until we come together and say 'You
and I are equal,' the ADA will be unfulfilled and justice denied. The ADA
was written by us for us, not to make money from oppressing us. Let that
stop here and now."
Tom Olin, Janine Bertram and David Fulton (RTF Bus Tour) are acting now to
support real consumer control in Michigan. We cannot collaborate with or
condone the businesses profiting by oppressing our community.
This year's Road to Freedom ADA Bus Tour is a project of The Disability
Rights Center. The Bus has made two full tours around the United States:
once in 2007 with Wired on Wheels and again in 2014 through 2015 with The
ADA Legacy Project. The 2015 through 2016 tour is to educate about
disability rights, assist local groups in their work and help preserve the
history of the disability rights movement. Tom Olin has "captained" the ADA
Bus on all three tours.
* Website: http://roadtofreedomtour.blogspot.com
* Facebook https://www.facebook.com/roadtofreedomtour
+++
NCIL Director Cancels Michigan Visit Amid Growing Concern Over Ties to
Sub-minimum Wage Employers
Peer Action Alliance, September 10, 2015
1
Kelly Buckland, Executive Director of the National Council on Independent
Living, has cancelled his trip to Michigan next week amid growing concerns
about our SILC's and CILs' involvement and partnership with sub-minimum wage
employers and their association (the Michigan Association of Rehabilitation
Organizations--MARO). Peckham--one of the worst sub-minimum wage employers
in the nation--and MARO are sponsoring and exhibiting at our state's ADA
25th Anniversary event.
The disability community stands firmly against sheltered workshops and
sub-minimum wages for people with disabilities. CILs and SILCs sending
taxpayer dollars to organizations that lobby in support of sub-minimum wages
is absolutely unthinkable outside the state of Michigan.
It's critical that we act now to restore consumer control in Michigan
Centers for Independent Living. Partnership with sub-minimum wage employers
is only one symptom of the growing problem in this state. This is
Independent Living--we don't collaborate with the same businesses profiting
by oppressing our community. We fight discrimination and bigotry.
If you feel that something is going very, very wrong in this state--trust
your instincts. The level of corruption we're experiencing here is not the
norm. Our Movement is alive and well outside the state of Michigan. We must
fight for Michigan CILs or we will lose them entirely.
The following statement was put on the ADA Celebration Facebook page today
regarding Kelly's decision:
Michigan's 25th Anniversary ADA Celebration Planning committee has been
notified that Kelly Buckland, Executive Director of the National Council on
Independent Living has reconsidered his role in the event.
Mr. Buckland stated the following in an e-mail to the committee facilitator,
Sara Grivetti, "Due to Peckham Inc. being a major sponsor of the event, and
their recent inclusion in the CNN story about Ability One and Source
America, and NCIL's long standing positions and advocacy around this issue,
I have decided that my participation would be inappropriate."
The recent CNN report alleged that Peckham Industries, failed to comply with
federal requirements of the Ability One program. The Ability One program is
a federal employment program which requires a minimum of 75% of the
employees have a significant disability. The committee feels that since
these are allegations, and that due process has yet to occur, the support of
Peckham Industries is still welcome.
On behalf of the planning committee, Sara Grivetti states, "We completely
respect Mr. Buckland's decision to cancel his attendance, and value his
years of advocacy in the disability rights movement. Our only disappointment
is that the hundreds of attendees at our event won't get to experience Mr.
Buckland's passion for equality and justice for people with disabilities."
While an alternate key note speaker has not been identified at the time of
this statement the committee is expecting they will find an equally
passionate advocate to fill this role prior to the September 17th event.
