Gillian Grable, community outreach coordinator for the University of Georgia Institute on Human Development and Disability, speaks at the Georgia Disability History Symposium on Oct. 3 in the Richard B. Russell Jr. Special Collections Libraries Building. The symposium focuses on the history of disabilities with the 50th anniversary of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (Photo/Tracy Coley)
By Shweta Krishnan
Athens, GA — The Georgia Disability History Alliance hosts the Georgia Disability History Symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 3 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. after a three-year hiatus because of the pandemic. The event will be held at the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Jr. Special Collections Libraries Building.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 passed 50 years ago, marking a significant milestone in the movement for disabled people. This legislation guarantees that “any entity that got money from the federal government can’t discriminate against someone with a disability,” said Joe Shapiro, NPR News Investigative Correspondent.
The symposium will focus on the history of disabilities and underscore its ongoing role as a civil rights movement with the passing of Section 504.
“Most Americans, many people with disabilities, have already realized that their issues were really issues of rights, not the healthcare,” Shapiro said.
Keynote speaker Joe Shapiro will talk about how people with disabilities end up in nursing homes when they don’t need to be. The Children’s Freedom Initiative of the Georgia Advocacy Office aims to showcase alternative living arrangements for people with disabilities, including adult foster care, group homes and personal assistance.
The Athens community addresses disabilities through the Destination Dawgs program. The program was created in spring 2017 in attribution to Gillian Grable, Community Outreach Coordinator at UGA Institute on Human Development and Disability. The organization is a “post-secondary program for students of intellectual disabilities,” said Grable.
Grable also works with the Athens Transit Authority to provide a completely accessible automated transportation system. “It’s feasible, but your ridership is sitting at home, waiting, and your ridership doesn’t know what’s possible because they’ve never seen the on-demand accessible transportation,” she said.
Registration for the symposium can be found on the event website.
Key words: disability, disability history, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Why I Wrote the Story:
This was the first story I wrote as a journalism student in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. I had the opportunity to cover this event as a part of the diversity, equity, and inclusion beat. The Georgia Disability History Symposium is an annual event, held to showcase the history of disabilities and the improvements that have been made since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act 50 years ago.