Obama, inauguration and accessibility
US President-elect Barack Obama is due to take the oath of office during the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration ceremony next Tuesday (20 January). Although most of the seats at the event are set aside for VIPs, upwards of two million people are expected to crowd Washington DC's National Mall in order to be part of such an historic occasion. Indeed, according to , the inaugural committee wants to make Obama's inauguration one of the most accessible in US history.
But just how accessible will it be to disabled people? There are amongst disability groups that all the various crowd control and security measures put in place for the event will make it very difficult for anyone with disabilities, whether it's overcrowding whilst trying to use the lifts on the subway (since escalators are less than accessible for many people with mobility impairments), having to walk or wheel significant distances because of road closures in the capital, or being required to negotiate bumpy or grassy surfaces in order to get to the audience areas on the National Mall.
Christian Kent, the assistant general manager of the Washington Metro, has advised people that "if they have any concern about being able to navigate or endure these conditions, they should avoid traveling into downtown Washington on these days". However, George Akembe of the District of Columbia Center for Independent Living - himself a wheelchair user - has responded by saying: "if this is supposed to be the most accessible inauguration in history, why are they saying disabled people should stay home? You can see the contradiction there ... this is a one-time event that everyone's excited about, and there should be equal accessibility".
Are you a disabled American reader of Ouch! who is planning to attend the inauguration? How are you planning to cope with the seemingly inevitable access hurdles? Or maybe you wanted to be there, but have been put off by the rather disability-unfriendly warnings coming out of Washington DC? Let us know your views in the comments.
Comment number 1.
At 15th Jan 2009, ccgandrt wrote:I'm put off by the corporations, the government and crowds as a wheelchair user at this historic moment. I'd like to be witness to the event because I did my part in electing Barak Obama.
I live in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area on a measly 1997 disabled's income. Therefore, it would cost me a pretty penny for the air fare SF to DC; to correct their guaranteed damage to my wheels; and fight the crowds of people who always say, "Sorry, didn't see you down there," when I arrive. The people might be the best part of the whole trip!
Hey, Vaughan, I didn't read in your post (and you were too polite not to mention it) the rumor is; there's going to be way too few "Portable Toilets" for the two millions spectators, also...Have you ever seen them for wheelchair users, by the way?
You can see, by now; I'm not going...CCG
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Comment number 2.
At 28th Jan 2009, RUBENMORTIZ wrote:Either it is accessible, or it is not and we stay home! Lip service does not make events accessible. At change.gov you find "talk" of making disability issues a priority. This is not a good start.
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