Before and After the ADA: Q&A with Board President Jan Campbell
Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Board President Jan Campbell answered some of our questions about her life before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the changes brought about by this landmark civil rights law. This month marks the 30th Anniversary of the ADA, a law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.
Q: Tell us about you and your life before the ADA?
When I was a young child, a virus attacked my spine and left me paralyzed. I have been in a wheelchair for more than 60 years. I vividly remember what the world was like before the ADA passed. I remember how it affected my education, my employment opportunities, my housing, and, most of all, my independence.
Q: When you were a child in school, neither the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act or the ADA were law. What was your experience?
When I was school-age, there was no "mainstreaming." I attended a segregated elementary school for children with disabilities. This wasn't fair and I felt that I was denied opportunities because of it.
Before the ADA was law, it was up to families to figure it out on our own because there was no protection under the law. For example, because my local school wasn't accessible or inclusive, my family moved so that I could attend an accessible junior high and high school with my siblings.
Q: What was your college experience like?
As a college student, I had to ask strangers to pull me up stairs to classes, because many of the buildings had no elevators. I remember how how hard it was for me to do that and that it made me feel so inadequate and self-conscious.
I remember my college roommate pulling me in my manual wheelchair up three flights of stairs, usually once a day, but sometimes twice a day, because accessible and affordable housing really didn't exist. We were quite a sight after partying.
Q: After you graduated college and went searching for a job, what happened?
I received my degree in elementary education, but was denied a teaching job because of my disability. This was such a blow because my mom had instilled in me that if I had a good education and advocated for myself I would be a success. There were no laws to protect me from discrimination in employment back then.
As I ventured out into the world as a newly minted college graduate looking for independence, I faced barriers everywhere I turned. Buses were not accessible, so I had to rely on others to transport me. When going out by myself in my wheelchair, I had to travel in the street in many places because there were no curb cuts I could use to get from a sidewalk on one side of the street to the other.
When I was very young, my mom told me, "The world is not ready for you, but we are going to make you ready for the world." She did that by her continuing support and encouragement. To this day, I still use the skills she taught me to deal with the ongoing discrimination and injustices that people with disabilities and other culturally specific groups face.
Q: You've lived a remarkable life of advocacy, what advice would you give future generations of advocates?
My advice to young people with disabilities today is this: Never give up, be motivated by a challenge, and be a strong advocate for yourself as well as for others.
Together, we will succeed.
More of Jan discussing the ADA
#ADA30 Celebration and Conversations organized by the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights Oregon included an interview with Jan.