Helping Create the ADA
by Edward Ellis hile on a job hunt in Washington in July 1984, I was to meet an old friend from Berkeley, Mary Jane Owen, for lunch. She told me that she wanted to bring along a friend who was a lawyer, and who knew everybody who was anybody in Washington, DC. The man was Evan Kemp, principal author of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. On that warm summer day, as I sat at a sidewalk cafe; across the street I spotted Mary Jane waving wildly, calling my name. Mary Jane is a tall attractive blonde who always wears sunglasses because she is blind. She was pushing a man in a wheelchair. She rushed across the street smiling, and introduced me, "I want you to meet Evan Kemp." Evan was an engaging and animated talker. Evan introduced me to some concepts I had never known. He explained to me that access meant everything to a person in a wheelchair. He talked about a concept called reasonable accommodation. He explained that having Mary Jane, who is blind, assist him in moving through city traffic was an accommodation, a means to help him move. Mary Jane said that with Evan's eyes, she could go places and see things. She explained that as a pair they effectively had no disability. "That" she said, "is what accommodation is all about." Evan explained that as a kid in a wheelchair his biggest beef was watching the telethon where Jerry Lewis cried over kids in wheelchairs. Evan wanted no pity; he wanted dignity. He said his goal was to do something. And do something he did. Evan explained to me that he was the nephew of political columnist Drew Pearson. As a teenager he moved in with his uncle, and worked summers along with Jack Anderson and Drew's editorial team. Evan learned everything about Washington and Congress. He decided to get a law degree and work in politics. As an attorney Evan authored the ADA and guided it through Congress. Through his efforts concepts such as reasonable accommodation became a part of civil rights law for people with disabilities. Evan became the first person with a disability to head a federal agency. In 1991 he was named Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Over several years, I continued to contact Evan at EEOC and exchange occasional notes. Evan actually took on Jerry Lewis in 1993: his article in "Vanity Fair" denounced the "pity the poor children" approach of telethons. Evan founded a consulting firm and clearing house for the disability community. Evan Kemp Associates can be found at www.eka.com on the internet. Evan died in 1997 of a disability-related stroke. Mary Jane Owen is now Executive Director of the National Catholic Office for Individuals with Disabilities. Hear from ADA pioneer Justin Dart Edward Ellis has been an advocate for people with disabilities for twenty years. He has a respiratory disability. Currently, he is President of Local 3899, American Federation of Government Employees in San Francisco and serves as a mediator for the Office for Civil Rights. | 
