AMERICANS w/ Disabilities.....kickin' butt....

[loudsue]

And fighting for the rights that are supposed to be "guaranteed" to all Americans.

I just received this e-mail from a creative, ingenious, courageous, beautiful American...a friend of mine since childhood (we're now in our 50's), HolLynn D'Lil. She was in a car accident 30-something years ago, and has been buzzing around in a wheel-chair ever since....fighting for the rights any one of us might benefit from, one day.

For all these years, she has fought along side with the VETS and other Americans w/ disabilities, and her community of activists is about to be joined by thousands of newly disabled soldiers returning from Iraq. Shortly thereafter, as many of us baby-boomers find our knees and joints giving way, WE, TOO, may enjoy the benefits of accessability to freedom that this important movement represents.

Any California DUers who can make it to Sacramento for the opening of this play....or any west coast DUers who may want to sponsor the play in your area....or HELL!....anyone anywhere who might want to sponsor the play, or any DUers who will join in to make a $$ contribution to the fight being waged...please see the contact info at the bottom of the article.

:bounce::hi::toast::beer::kick::kick::kick::kick::hi::party::bounce:


Hi <loudsue's other name>! Below is an article that came out in the Bee today that you might enjoy. Wish you were here to go see the play!
HolLynn

Activist's new role
The advocate's latest tactic is a satirical play designed to raise awareness about legal struggles.
By Christina Jewett -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Tuesday, November 18, 2003


HolLynn D'Lil has protested in sit-ins, lobbied governors and pushed for change in courtrooms and board rooms. On Saturday, she pulled on a green curly wig and black robe and rehearsed the newest tactic in her 30-year fight for the rights of people with disabilities: sarcasm.
"Cripples are different; they are inferior, and there is nothing anyone can do about it," D'Lil declared, playing the character of the "bad" Supreme Court judge in a play she wrote. "So, forget about this little Ada law."

Set for production Thursday at the Actor's Theatre in North Sacramento, the play "Hello/Goodbye Ada Who?" jabs at Supreme Court decisions that D'Lil said have undermined the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, "little Ada." The production's proceeds will go to Tennessee disability advocates who are mounting a Supreme Court battle on behalf of a man who refused to crawl or be carried up courthouse stairs to get to a hearing on a traffic ticket. D'Lil flew to Memphis this summer to advise advocates on how to fight for equal rights.

"She got tired of trying to express it intellectually," said Frances Gracechild, the "good" judge and director of Resources for Independent Living. "She took her anger and expressed it in a creative melodic form."

D'Lil is hoping the play's proceeds will cover travel costs to demonstrations on the Tennessee case. She knows the power of protest. In January, she and about 40 other disability advocates crashed former Gov. Gray Davis' inaugural dance, crowding on to the dance floor and demanding a meeting with the governor.

The next day, she met with his top advisers and explained what was at stake: a U.S. Supreme Court case, originating in California, that could have restrained people from using the Americans With Disabilities Act to sue state governments. The state's lawyers were prepared to argue that lawmakers who crafted the ADA never proved a history of state discrimination against people with disabilities.

"People now can't get into voting booths," D'Lil said. "States are still apologizing for forced sterilization in the '50s and '60s. Discrimination against people with disabilities is the most ingrained, accepted form there is."

In a surprising turn, the Supreme Court canceled oral arguments in the case in March.

D'Lil saw another lengthy disability rights case end in May. She was once a plaintiff in a case that forced concessions on the part of the city of Sacramento, which agreed to a 30-year commitment to retrofit sidewalks, crosswalks and curb ramps for people with mobility disabilities.

In May, D'Lil took a break from her courtroom and political fights for equal rights. So she wrote a play lampooning the legal arguments and attitudes she's encountered, from pity to hate. Actors in the play are shackled, patronized and dismissed. D'Lil plays a heartless Supreme Court judge, the most callous role.

"It's very cleansing," she said.

On Saturday, Bobbi Perez breezed on stage at the Actor's Theatre, singing the opening song:

"I love the little cripples, I do! I think they're wonderful, don't you? So sweet and plucky, they make me feel lucky, to know that I'm not crippled too," she warbled.

Clink Beastlog, a character modeled after actor Clint Eastwood, later stormed on the set, ripping on "cripples" and rapping a song about downtrodden business owners.

"What I'm trying to articulate is it's time to deregulate," Tom Burns, the actor who plays Clink rapped. "So make my day. Go away. Find another place to stay."

The scene spoofs a court case in which Eastwood championed business rights after a woman sued him for not making his historic Carmel hotel fully accessible to the disabled. In September 2000, a federal jury rejected the woman's claims.

Burns said his character's attitude represents one held by many.

"It's human nature; we like to distance ourselves from misfortune," Burns said. "This play brings that out. And the universal quality of humanity, that we all have to work together."

For many of the actors, the play is their theatrical debut, and some stumbled over some lines and trailed off during songs. D'Lil isn't comparing it to Broadway, though. It's more in the spirit of guerilla theater staged to underscore the equal rights struggles of women and African Americans, she said. It's political comedy meant to raise awareness about legal precedents, including one that bans people with disabilities from suing states for employment discrimination.

The play, which is being staged at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at 1616 Del Paso Blvd., ends with the "good" Supreme Court justice downing a handful of 75,000 milligram "patience pills" and watching the rest of the cast leave.

"Please don't leave me up here alone," Gracechild, the actress playing the judge, said during rehearsal. "Please. I can't take it anymore."



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About the Writer
---------------------------

The Bee's Christina Jewett can be reached at [phone] or [e-mail].


- Get the whole story every day - SUBSCRIBE NOW!

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WORLD PREMIER OF THE MUSICAL

Hello/Goodby Ada Who?

A Benefit To Save the Americans with Disabilities Act

Sponsored by Resources for Independent Living of Sacramento

Thursday, November 20, 2003, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The Actor’s Theater: 1616 Del Paso Blvd

(One and a half blocks from the Arden/Del Paso Light Rail Station)

GREAT FOOD! PRIZES!

"Hello/Goodby Ada Who?" Is Back! This time with original songs to fit every occasion.

Songs like, "I Love Little Cripples," "The Supreme Court Blues!" and "The Poor LIttle Business Man Rap"

Play and songs by HolLynn D’Lil with arrangements by Joe Granthem & Matt McFardland

Set by Patrick Connally

"Wow! I loved it! This oughta be performed everywhere!!" Mary Johnson of RAGGED EDGE MAGAZINE

"This is biting satire that speaks volumes on the current legal assault on the civil rights of people with disabilities." Ira Burnim, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Washington, DC

The "play is terrific. It’s funny, smart, and indignant. It's in-your-face, outspoken, and hilarious. It's disability rights with attitude." Dr. Paul Longmore, author of WHY I BURNED MY BOOK AND OTHER ESSAYS ON DISABILITY


Tickets cost $10 to $20, or more. You decide.

Proceeds will be sent to Memphis Center Independent Living Center to aid disability activists in Tennessee to help them

SAVE THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT!

Reserve your tickets by calling Barbara at [phone],

or by mailing in the form below. (Phone orders will not be eligible for free raffle tickets. )

Yes, please reserve ______ tickets for ________ each.


___________________________________

name

__________________________

address

___________________________________

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO RIL, with a

notation for "Hello/Goodby Ada Who?"



Accommodations I will need: ________________________________

Mail requests for tickets to:

Barbara Poff

849 3rd Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95818



Interpreters provided. For questions or other needs accommodations, call Susan Barnhill at [phone] or

[e-mail]

(No scented products, please.)

:hi::toast::beer::party:

[loudsue]

1. Man! This forum is moving fast....

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

[KamaAina]

2. Wow! You know HolLynn D'Lil? I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

I've been following her exploits in the Sac'to sidewalk access case for some time in Ragged Edge Magazine (formerly The Disability Rag; the Time or Newsweek of the disability rights movement):

http://www.raggededgemagazine.com

I do believe I saw a mention of the play there or elsewhere. I work at a Center for Independent Living far to the west of Sac'to (kinda narrows it down :-) ) and so I follow this stuff as avidly as the "real" news. I notice the proceeds are going to the Memphis CIL, a hotbed of disability rights advocacy.

I can think of one group here that might be interested; however, such a take-no-prisoners activist as HolLynn might cavil at working with VSA arts, whose name once stood for "Very Special Arts". If there's one thing we can't stand, it's being patronized!

Edit: Here's HolLynn & Co. in action for sidewalk access:

http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/drn/sacramento110102.html

"They want the Supreme Court to say that the ADA does NOT require sidewalks to be accessible to persons with disabilities," says Hollyn D'Lil, who is spearheading a campaign to convince Sacramento to drop the appeal.

and again in a case involving psychiatric disability:

http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/drn/hason022803.html

"The disability community in California has made history," says organizer HolLynn D'Lil, one of the those who worked to get the board to change its mind. Disability activists turned out in force at all 4 meeting sites where the medical board was meeting to vote on the issue. The sites were hooked to each other by teleconference.

"At the Sacramento site there were representatives from People First, NorCal Center on Deafness, Californians for Disability Rights, The California Democratic Party Disability Caucus, Coalition of Disability Access Professionals, The California Council of the Blind, The California Federation of the Blind, Gray Panthers, Independent Living Services of California and others," says D'Lil. Testimony from disability activists was " incredible," she continues. "In the small, filled-to-capacity room in Sacramento, we hardly breathed as we listened in awe to our brothers and sisters across the state. It was our proudest moment."

[loudsue]

4. Wo! That's great, Kama...

HolLynn is awesome...someday we'll all have her to thank for fighting this fight! So glad you're a fan, also. :pals:

I just finished dinner, and came back to see who had posted...evidently there aren't too many of us who realize that this helps EVERYONE!! (eventually)

Thanks for your involvement -- tell her you heard it here on DU!

:kick::kick::kick::kick::kick:

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

3. accessibility should go without saying

as usual, corporations will fight it every step of the way. If it's not profitable to make something accessible to everyone, they'll fight it.

[loudsue]

5. Right, WCTVs....corporations fight just to show "who's boss", I think

The corporations ultimately profit (!!!!) by allowing more and more people to participate through having access to their businesses.

The problem is...we have a bunch of heads of corporations who are so incredibly short-sighted, they'd just as soon cut off their noses to spite their faces!

THOSE F****** IDIOTS!!!!

When the boomers are too old to climb up and down, do you think they'll figure out the problem??? Or do they think we're all just going to go broke paying medical costs as we age, and won't have a cent to spend?

I hope all the baby-boomers leave all their money to liberal causes when they go.

O8)

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