Hi friends,
For those of you who have not met me yet, my name is Cassie and I am the co-founder/president of Access Club. One of the reasons I formed Access Club is because I feel there is strength in numbers and that Penn State students must work together to create a more accessible and inclusive campus. I am writing today to reflect on how some of the major events of 2020 are relevant to disability justice.
To me, one of 2020’s most critical lessons is that as a society we must continuously renew our commitment to equity and justice. Throughout this post I will address three 2020 events: the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 30th anniversary, the coronavirus pandemic, and the national reckoning with anti-black racism and police violence.
As a student leader at Penn State I want to iterate in the strongest terms that disability justice is at the intersection of racial justice, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and human rights that transcend citizenship status, religion, or any other classification. Access Club aims to be an organization that fights for disability justice at all of its intersections.
The 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Passed into law in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was an expansive and long-overdue piece of legislation. July 2020 is the 30th anniversary of this landmark achievement by the disability rights movement. Although a number of acts relevant to disability rights were passed before the ADA, the ADA has done the most to further equality for people with disabilities. The ADA prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of disability and ensures that public buildings, public transportation, and other public services, like telecommunications, are accessible to people with disabilities (“ADA - Findings, Purpose, and History”).
While the ADA symbolizes significant progress, there is still a ways to go before the United States more fully integrates people with disabilities into American life and more seriously commits to an accessible world. Even with the passage of the ADA there are a number of loopholes that permit discrimination and inaccess. For example, businesses and nonprofits are able to pay people with disabilities a subminimum wage.
The subminimum wage is an exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which otherwise mandates that employers follow the federal minimum wage (“The Employment of Workers”). Indeed, employers across the country take advantage of this exemption, sometimes paying people with disabilities as little as 4 cents an hour. The justification of this exemption is that people with disabilities sometimes cannot work at the same pace or produce the same output of work as people without disabilities. The following conditions can qualify an individual for subminimum wage: blindness, mental illness, developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, alcoholism, and drug addiction (“The Employment of Workers”).
It is hard to fathom how a wage of mere cents or dollars (other subminimum wages can range from $1-$4 per hour) can contribute much to a person’s basic needs, much less any medical or personal expenses associated with her disability. It is important to note that government assistance and insurance rarely covers the full costs of assistive devices, medications, or other health care services. Thus, people with disabilities deserve a living wage to support themselves. With patience, the proper assistive devices and training, people with disabilities can make valuable contributions to a workplace.
A number of states have begun barring the discriminatory subminimum wage, but most states still permit its usage. The “waivers” that employers receive have invited further discrimination and appalling practices. In 2018, an organization called the Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises, an Illinois nonprofit, was investigated by the Department of Labor for exploiting 250 disabled workers (“A Loophole in Federal Law”). This company subcontracted disabled workers out to local companies to perform menial tasks like scraping paint off buildings. One of the Department of Labor’s findings was that the company was paying many workers with gift cards instead of wages--an illegal practice. The company argued in its defense that it did not see the difference in paying disabled workers in gift cards instead of a subminimum wage.
The Rock River Valley case is not the only example of such abuse, and even when the subminimum wage is used correctly it is hardly a living wage. Such a low income leaves many people with disabilities beholden to government services, family, or care workers. The ACLU estimates that 48% of people with disabilities earn an income less than $15,000 a year (“Disability Rights”). It is clear that Americans must do more to prove we value people with disabilities and support an integrated, accessible world. The subminimum wage is only one example of a discriminatory practice that exists today.
As a team, Access Club will unpack further examples of discriminatory practices in future posts. The bottom line is that the disability justice movement is incomplete. While we can pause to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the ADA, we must persist in our efforts for a more accessible, equitable world.
The Coronavirus Pandemic
Like any public health crisis, it is important to consider how the coronavirus pandemic affects people with disabilities. While the coronavirus has a relatively low fatality rate, it can still be damaging or fatal to people with certain health conditions. Not only are many people with disabilities at heightened risk for contracting a serious case of coronavirus (especially disabilities that affect the structure and function of lungs), but people with disabilities also face unique barriers to simply acquiring a coronavirus test.
CNBC reported that a growing number of people with visual or hearing impairments have disclosed in facebook groups that they cannot access coronavirus resources or testing.
One mother with a visual impairment wrote that she had symptoms of the virus but was unable to drive herself to a testing site due to her impairment (“Hidden Struggles”). Others have expressed concerns over unpredictable and inordinate health care costs. Already there have been bizarre cases of disparate coronavirus test costs (“Covid-19 Testing”).
Another issue is that people with disabilities and chronic illnesses may be deemed a low priority for states and hospitals in crisis. As potential bed shortages, ventilator shortages, and other disastrous conditions loom on the horizon, states have already published coronavirus plans with troubling implications. Some states have released plans that implicitly or explicitly put people with certain disabilities at the lowest priority of receiving treatment for coronavirus (“The Disability Community”). In some cases, these plans may account for a reasonable distribution of care, considering shortages, but we should be vigilant in ensuring that such decisions are made carefully.
There have already been a number of fraught end-of-life decisions around the country regarding disabled coronavirus patients. One Texas case gained national attention. The patient in question was a father of six who had suffered a cardiac arrest years prior to the pandemic that resulted in paralysis and brain damage. The 46-year-old succumbed to coronavirus and contracted sepsis in the hospital. There was significant disagreement among family members and doctors on how to proceed. With permission from the man’s legally appointed guardian, the doctor ended care and the man died. Although this was a complicated situation, critical questions were raised about how the man’s disability and race (he was Black) impacted the doctor’s decision (“Disability Rights Activists”). People with disabilities across the country have reacted to this case with concern, explaining that they fear doctors may make biased decisions on treatment prioritization based on misunderstandings of disability and quality of life.
Since the coronavirus poses heightened risks to many people with disabilities, it is also important to consider that the longer the pandemic rages on, the longer such individuals are forced to self-isolate. While many Americans still feel comfortable going out in public with or without masks, people who know they are vulnerable to the virus must continue to self-isolate or face increased risks in public spaces. Many of us have experienced how depressing bouts of self-isolation have been since the pandemic started, so please continue to keep your disabled peers in mind when making decisions about mask-wearing and social distancing. It is highly important that we continue to wear masks in public and practice social distancing as well as we can.
In closing, I want to say that I whole-heartedly reject calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus.” This term is stigmatizing and has emboldened people to blame any Asian-passing person for the virus and to harass them in the streets. There have been a number of disturbing cases of harassment and threats against Asian Americans. Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, and other individuals of Asian background have reported being spat on, kicked, and threatened with knives--all the assailants essentially asking them why they brought the “Chinese Virus” to the United States (“Chinese Americans”). We must reject this racist violence and end the stigmatization against Asian people.
Reckoning with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other victims of police violence
For too long, police violence in this country has been met with impunity. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have raised important and necessary questions on how we can reform law enforcement, combat systemic racism, and increase civilian oversight over police departments. Floyd, Taylor, and the other victims we mourned this summer deserve the movement toward justice that was fueled by their names.
When I participated in a Black Lives Matter protest in my hometown, I witnessed brave outpours of emotion. Throughout the protests, several community members shared their own experiences with racism at local businesses and organizations. My community members explained that they wept not only for the deaths of Floyd and Taylor, but also because they knew what it felt like to experience racism and indifference and they did not feel so far removed from the incidents that took Floyd and Taylor’s life.
One critical step this country needs to take to affirm the value and worth of Black lives is to hold police officers to a higher standard and to a higher level of accountability. Although the officers involved in George Floyd’s murder were eventually arrested and will face trial, the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor under mistaken directives by their department have not been arrested.
Impunity is one of the key issues here, but it is not the only issue. Another key issue is that the role of racism and implicit bias too often go unchecked and unexamined in police departments. Armed with deadly weapons and charged with protecting the public, police officers must be held to a higher standard of character.
Remembering Osagie
People with disabilities often face encounters with the police in crises related to their disability. When an encounter involves a fatality, we must ask difficult questions about police practices for responding to disabled people in distress.
On March 20, 2019, 29-year-old Osaze Osagie was killed at his apartment building in State College by police officers (“DA Will Not File”). The following details unpack the incident.
Osagie was diagnosed with autism and Schizophrenia, and had dealt with acute anxiety his whole life. In the months leading up to his death he was struggling with his medication and neglecting it. After Osagie sent texts to family saying he felt like he was going to hurt himself or others, they contacted the police for help. His parents asked the State College police to do a wellness check on him (“DA Will Not File”).
On March 20th the police arrived at Osagie’s apartment and knocked at the door. The responding officers reported that Osagie opened the door holding a knife, and there was a struggle. A taser reportedly did not subdue Osagie, so the officers fired their weapons, killing him (“DA Will Not File”).
Osagie’s family and the State College community rightly demanded transparency into the investigation of Osagie’s death. The shooting was deemed justifiable, but Osagie’s death has raised critical questions about how law enforcement carries out wellness checks. Since Osagie was black, community members also expressed concern that racism or other biases contributed to the officers' handling of the incident.
When Osagie’s parents asked the State College police to carry out a wellness check on their son, they could never have anticipated the outcome. It is critical that we remain vigilant in assessing police shootings and steadfast in our reassessment of police practices.
Conclusion
Though the topics I covered in this post may have seemed quite independent of each other in the beginning, I hope I was able to illustrate how disability justice is truly an intersectional endeavor that touches many other societal issues we continue to grapple with. While it may feel overwhelming to think about the injustice that persists today, we must not let our commitment to justice waver. I feel that there is great power in gathering people to intentionally address injustice, and I believe Access Club has great potential to be a vehicle for furthering disability justice at Penn State. As club leader I pledge to accomplish this intentionally, meaningfully, and compassionately.
In solidarity,
Cassie Kizis ‘21
Sources
Abrams, Abigail. "COVID-19 testing is supposed to be free. Here's why you still might be billed." Time Magazine. 2020 March 20. https://time.com/5806724/coronavirus-testing-costs/
"ADA - Findings, Purpose, and History." ADA National Network. 2020. https://www.adaanniversary.org/findings_purpose
Campbell, Alexia Fernandez. "A loophole in federal law allows companies to pay disabled workers $1 an hour." Vox Media. 2018 May 3. https://www.vox.com/2018/5/3/17307098/workers-disabilities-minimum-wage-waiver-rock-river-valley-self-help
Cha, Ariana Eunjung. "Quadriplegic man’s death from covid-19 spotlights questions of disability, race and family." Washington Post. 2020 July 5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/05/coronavirus-disability-death/
"Disability Rights." American Civil Liberties Union. 2020. https://www.aclu.org/issues/disability-rights
Fact Sheet #39 - The Employment of Workers with Disabilities at Subminimum Wage. United States Department of Labor. 2008. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/39-14c-subminimum-wage
Jackson, Alyssa. "The struggles America's disabled are facing during the coronavirus pandemic." CNBC News. 2020 May 10. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/10/the-struggles-americas-disabled-are-facing-during-coronavirus-pandemic.html
Pallotto, Bret. "‘Justified in the use of force.’ DA will not file charges after police-involved shooting." Centre Daily Times. 2019 May 8. Read more here: https://www.centredaily.com/news/local/community/state-college/article229143554.html#storylink=cpy
Pulrang, Andrew. "The disability community faces deadly discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic." Forbes Magazine. 2020 April 14. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2020/04/14/the-disability-community-fights-deadly-discrimination-amid-the-covid-19-pandemic/#1512bd51309c