News Release

NCD #00-297
July 25, 2000
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov

National Council on Disability Honors Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

WASHINGTON--The National Council on Disability (NCD) presented its inaugural Justin Dart Freedom Award to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) at a special luncheon celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). NCD, which first proposed and later drafted the original Americans with Disabilities Act, presented the award to the nation's oldest and largest civil rights coalition, "for the pivotal role it played in the passage of ADA," said NCD chairperson Marca Bristo. Bristo said it is fitting that the award be named after Justin Dart, "a person who for decades, has devoted himself tirelessly to the expansion of civil and human rights."

In accepting the Justin Dart Freedom Award, LCCR executive director, Wade Henderson said, "throughout its first fifty years, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights has responded with determination to the quest for simple justice for all Americans." Henderson added, "LCCR will continue to confront the challenges faced by Americans in which discrimination is a cruel fact of their daily lives."

NCD vice chairperson, Judge Hughey Walker, praised LCCR's efforts to expand civil rights for individuals with disabilities noting that the organization's civil and human rights accomplishments exemplify what can be done, "When people commit themselves to practicing the eloquent language of rights and justice embodied in the U.S. Constitution."

Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), a long-time champion of ADA and the keynote speaker, stated that individuals who are members of minority groups can reduce their so-called minority group status by joining forces with other multi-cultural groups to become a majority. "Coalitions, consensus and unity will surely tear down the walls of ignorance and bias," said Owens.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), who delivered special remarks said, "As you have heard from our other speakers, ADA is under attack, and indeed civil rights are under attack. I was proud to be with you in the beginning of ADA. I am proud to be with you today, and you know I will be with you for many, many tomorrows."

NCD is an independent federal agency representing all people with disabilities, regardless of severity, from all cultural backgrounds. NCD makes recommendations to the President and Congress on disability policy. For more information, contact Mark S. Quigley at 202-272-2008 or visit NCD's award-winning Web site (www.ncd.gov).