2009 Miss Black Deaf America
Briana Johnson

The question of whether or not People with Disabilities in America have equal rights is one that America’s Representatives have seemingly been unwilling to approach. The topic is fraught with peril for representatives of Congress and the Senate, who do not wish to appear biased in any way towards the nation’s largest minority population.

Language is a major problem for America’s representatives in high office. The lack of established terms for use in reference to People with Disabilities finds them avoiding everything from expressions of support to debate of disability issues. Pursuit of legislation related to America’s 54 million people with disabilities is often times viewed as something that must have bipartisan support, it would be too risky for one party to pursue without it.

According to The Business Journal of Milwakee, People with severe disabilities who live in Wisconsin are facing waiting periods of greater than a year for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) coverage. Wisconsin apparently ranks fourth in the nation for the worst SSDI backlog with more than seven-thousand people waiting greater than five-hundred and fifty days for a hearing before a judge to decide their eligibility case.

Not all is lost where representation of People with Disabilities is concerned. In an article titled, ‘Senate Hopefuls in 22nd to Address Disability Issues,’ by The Times Leader, Bob Mellow, D-Peckville stated, “People with disabilities are a vital segment of the 22nd District’s constituency.” Bob Mellow has represented the 22nd District for forty years. According to The Times Leader, Census data has identified 22.3 percent of Luzerne Couty’s population, 19.8 percent of Monroe County, and 18.4 percent of Lackawanna County’s population as being People with Disabilities.

Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Democrat of Bob Mellow from the 22nd District, has stated , “Diversity is one of America’s fundamental strengths and all of our nation’s communities are a rich source of exceptional talent. Drawing from this diverse pool of talent will ensure that the House of Representatives benefits from new and innovative solutions to our complex national challenges. With this new diversity initiative, we not only live up to the basic American ideal of equal opportunity for all but we strengthen the quality of our workforce.”

Yet after a study of Chiefs of Staff present in the House last year, it turns out that 7.5 percent of chiefs of staff were Black, 2.7 percent were Latino, 1.6 percent were Asian (there were no Pacific Islanders) and 1.1 percent were American Indian. There was no statement in regards to People with Disabilities, who comprise one-fifth of America’s citizens.

The Social Security Administration is turning towards online applications in order to deal with the increases the administration is experiencing due to the Baby Boom generation. Barbara D. Bovbjerg of the Government Accoutability Office says, “SSA has expanded the level of staffing, and encouraged greater use of automated services. However, rapidly rising workloads have adversely affected customer service and the quality of some work, despite SSA’s efforts.”

President Obama, as well as other members of the Obama administration, continue to refer to People with Disabilities as, ‘Seniors,’ a completely different population in America. The clear lack of understanding on the part of Obama administration officials in relation to the population of People with Disabilities in America is frightening, it speaks of a deep inability to represent the nation’s largest minority population. While the representatives in office continue to focus on the Senior population with every good reason, they plainly do not understand that there are just as many People with Disabilities on Social Security programs as there are Seniors.

Despite the involvement of Democrats such as Bob Mellow, the failure of the Democrat and Republican representatives in office to understand the nation’s largest minority population speaks of an inability to understand other, smaller populations in America as well. People with Disabilities have been a part of America’s population since before the United States became united. There have been disabled veterans in this nation since the first conflicts, and there were deaf populations in Martha’s Vineyard as early as 1694, prior to the establishment of major cities.

People with Disabilities are as American as apple pie. The time for people to receive comprehensive equal rights legislation from their representatives in Congress and the Senate is well past.