You can find all about the planned events here: https://www.facebook.com/events/473583750008013/. I've attached the schedule describing ALL the activities, but below, I've listed what's happening THIS WEEK. Celebrations culminate next Sunday with a glorious hoop-dee-doo involving Temple Grandin, live music, animations, and who knows what all else. Here are the presentations happening at noon each day this week:
Monday 7/20 (12-1:00pm): Zack Gottsagen is an actor, acting teacher, and Down syndrome advocate, best known for his film roles in Peanut Butter Falcon, Best Summer Ever, and Bulletproof. He was born with Down syndrome and grew up in a family that promoted normalcy and mainstreaming. In 2020, Zack made Academy Awards history by being the first person with Down syndrome to present an award at the event. Alaskan interviewer is Garrett Dominick.
Tuesday 7/21 (12-1:00pm): Squirmy and Grubs (aka Shane and Hannah) are an inter- abled couple who host a daily vlog on Youtube, called Squirmy and Grubs, that posts humorous videos and answers questions about their lives together. Shane Burcaw was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and has used a wheelchair since the age of two. He is an author of three books, public speaker, and co-founder of a non-profit. Hannah Aylward studied liberal arts and is an accomplished swimmer and diver. She is able-bodied, and both she and Shane are disability advocates helping to end stigma about people with disabilities. Alaskan interviewer is Travis Noah.
Wednesday 7/22 (12-1:00pm): Micah Fialka-Feldman is a self-advocate, outreach coordinator, national speaker, and pioneer who advocates for disability pride, justice, and inclusion. He is part of the first wave of adults with an intellectual disability to attend college and be fully integrated in school and community. Micah advocates the notion that, “A community that excludes even one of its members is not a community at all.” Alaskan interviewer is Corey Gilmore.
Thursday 7/23 (12-1:00pm): Lydia X.Z. Brown is a disability justice advocate, organizer, attorney, educator, strategist, speaker, and writer whose work has largely focused on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people. Lydia’s work has highlighted LGBTQ and issues impacting autistic people. Alaska interviewer is Ric Nelson.
Friday 7/24 (12-1:00pm): Judy Heumann is a disability rights activist who has used a wheelchair most of her life. Growing up, she experienced discrimination within the educational system, which prompted her and her mother to advocate for more inclusive school policies for children with disabilities. In 1974, she helped develop legislation that became the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, and was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which passed in 1990. Alaskan interviewer is Maggie Winston.
Also, there's a
NATIONAL CELEBRATION on July 21 at 9:30-11:30 am, Alaska time, which is described here:
https://adata.org/event/ada-30-let-shameful-wall-exclusion-come-down. Here's a summary: The George & Barbara Bush Foundation will convene key activists, advocates and policymakers who helped make the Americans with Disabilities Act a reality for a bipartisan celebration of that landmark civil rights legislation – and, equally important, focus on the challenges that will shape the future of the disability movement. The 90-minute online program, titled “Let the Shameful Wall of Exclusion Come Down,” taken from President Bush’s remarks on July 26, 1990, as he signed the ADA
.
Register by clicking this link: Register(link is external)
