Duckworth Marks 30th Anniversary of the AAPD by Recommitting to Make Our Nation Truly Accessible for All Americans

Duckworth Marks 30th Anniversary of the AAPD by Recommitting to Make Our Nation Truly Accessible for All Americans

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) tonight delivered remarks celebrating the 30th anniversary of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). In her remarks, the Senator highlighted AAPD's achievements over the past three decades and the progress made through their fierce, tireless advocacy, while emphasizing how far our nation still has to go to become truly accessible for all who call it home.

Key quotes:

• "Tonight, I am honored to be surrounded by so many people who know what I do: That our crutches and hearing aids aren't things to be ashamed of. They're things to be proud of. They don't show weakness. They show grit. They show resilience."

• "Listen, it's 2025… We still shouldn't have to fight-every damn year-for our Medicaid not to get gutted, because a few guys in power would rather use taxpayer money to help their rich buddies buy yet another private jet. To me, it's obvious that our society should look at folks with disabilities and not see what they can't do, but how we can make happen whatever they want to happen. But to do that, we have to change our mindset. We have to reframe how we talk and think about disability issues. We have to follow the lead of one of my dear friends, Marca Bristo: a tireless advocate for our community who passed in 2019. As she once said, "My wheelchair wasn't too wide for the doors. The doors were too narrow for my wheelchair.""

• "The truth is, every American is just one bad day away from becoming disabled, and everyone should hope to live long enough that they eventually gain some sort of disability. Our laws should reflect that. They should safeguard every American's constitutionally enshrined rights rather than punishing the very people whom our nation has discriminated against for too long. So until they do, this community has got to do what it does best: Come together. Speak out. Make sure that those of us lucky enough to be your representatives actually represent your needs. Because the Capitol Building might be my office, but it's the people's house. It's your house."

Full remarks as prepared:

Hello, everyone!

I'm so glad to be here with you today, celebrating 30 years of the wonderful AAPD.

30 years of progress. Of advocacy. Of service.

30 years of compassion and hard work that have helped so many Americans lead self-directed lives.

30 years of results, which have helped lower the barriers to employment… increase access to health care... and bring affordable housing to all corners of our community.

With every voter in a wheelchair you've helped get to the polls… with every coffee shop you've helped make more accessible… you've helped our nation become more inclusive…

Bringing us closer to that more perfect union our founders dreamed of.

So before I go any further, I just want to say congratulations-and I want to say thank you.

Thank you so much.

You know, 35 years ago… not too far from where we're all gathered today… a thousand activists gathered in front of the Capitol Building, demanding that Congress finally give Americans with disabilities the basic rights the Constitution promised.

Dozens of those activists got out of their wheelchairs… set down their crutches… and one inch at a time, crawled up the 83 steps of the Capitol.

Jennifer Keelan, an 8-year-old with cerebral palsy, pulled herself to the top of the steps, telling those around her, quote: "I'll take all night if I have to."

It's thanks to the strength of people like Jennifer that the logjam in Congress was broken, and that four months later, the ADA was finally enshrined into law, helping Americans with disabilities lead the full lives we deserve.

It's thanks to the sheer willpower shown by those activists that I can now roll through the Capitol's corridors to cast my votes in the Senate chamber.

So tonight, I am honored to be surrounded by so many people who know what I do:

That our crutches and hearing aids aren't things to be ashamed of. They're things to be proud of.

They don't show weakness. They show grit. They show resilience.

Our titanium legs and our white canes, well… they don't buckle. I certainly can't say the same for the backbones of some of my colleagues in Congress!

You know, my entry into the disability community was a world away from most people's.

I'd never really been sick before. The Army had me in the best shape of my life.

Then in one day… in one moment... I went from the height of physical ability to a person with a disability.

But looking back, I think I was one of the lucky ones.

Because I earned my disability at a time when the ADA was already law.

And I had the benefit of recovering at Walter Reed, surrounded by a team of doctors who never told me that my life as I knew it was over.

No one said, "You can't." No one said, "You won't."

From the moment I opened my eyes, I was told that I could still do A, B and C… that one day soon, I would again be able to do X, Y and even Z.

But that's far from the typical experience.

Too many Americans with disabilities get ground down by society.

They're told no. Over and over and over again.

So while I feel lucky to have been that supported, I also feel like being supported shouldn't be the exception. It should be the expectation.

Because while we've come a long way since the ink dried on the ADA, everyone here tonight knows how far we still have to go to make this country actually, truly accessible.

Listen, it's 2025.

Our community is already more than 70 million strong-a number that will continue to grow in the years ahead.

We shouldn't still face a reality where so many folks can't work or get to work… can't go to school or to the grocery store.

We shouldn't still have to worry about our medical equipment getting broken when we travel.

We shouldn't have to keep pouring so much energy just into defending our most basic rights.

And we still shouldn't have to fight-every damn year-for our Medicaid not to get gutted, because a few guys in power would rather use taxpayer money to help their rich buddies buy yet another private jet.

To me, it's obvious that our society should look at folks with disabilities and not see what they can't do, but how we can make happen whatever they want to happen.

But to do that, we have to change our mindset.

We have to reframe how we talk and think about disability issues.

We have to follow the lead of one of my dear friends, Marca Bristo: a tireless advocate for our community who passed in 2019.

As she once said, "My wheelchair wasn't too wide for the doors. The doors were too narrow for my wheelchair."

So in honor of Marca and all those who've made this country a little fairer, let's take today to celebrate how far our movement has come over the past 30 years since AAPD was born.

Then tomorrow, let's get back to working to make the next 30 even more accessible for all Americans.

Because the truth is, every American is just one bad day away from becoming disabled, and everyone should hope to live long enough that they eventually gain some sort of disability.

Our laws should reflect that.

They should safeguard every American's constitutionally enshrined rights rather than punishing the very people whom our nation has discriminated against for too long.

So until they do, this community has got to do what it does best:

Come together.

Speak out.

Make sure that those of us lucky enough to be your representatives actually represent your needs.

Because the Capitol Building might be my office, but it's the people's house. It's your house.

So hold us accountable. Demand our attention. Demand our action.

And I hope you know that along the way, I'm gonna be right there beside you, fighting as hard as I can to bring about a tomorrow where we won't have to work so hard just to live our daily lives.

Congratulations again on 30 years-here's to accomplishing even more over the next 30!

-30-