Harriotte Ranvig, 71, is escorted out of the House chamber on February 15, 2018, after she and a group of protesters disrupted the vote on the ADA Education and Reform Act, which makes it harder for disabled people to sue for discrimination. (Photo: Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)
Anita Cameron remembers the Capitol Crawl like it was yesterday. It was the spring of 1990, and Congress was dragging its feet toward a vote on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark piece of legislation protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities. To call attention to the bill and the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis, Cameron and dozens of other activists left their wheelchairs and walkers at the steps of the Capitol building and crawled their way to the top before filling the rotunda with their chanting voices.
Cameron and more than 100 others were arrested that day. The protest had an impact: President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law a couple of months later.
However, the ADA has not been a magic bullet and is now under threat. Cameron, a Black feminist and LGBTQ activist, was back on Capitol Hill this week protesting a bill in the House that advocates say would gut the ADA in favor of businesses that have failed to accommodate people with disabilities.
As the House members voted 225-192 to pass the bill on Thursday, dozens of activists made their way into the chambers and could be heard chanting as surprised lawmakers turned to look over their shoulders. Cameron was arrested again along with 16 other people, marking her 134th arrest as a disability activist, according to organizers on the ground. The bill, known as HR 620, would make it more difficult to file lawsuits under the ADA against public accommodations like restaurants and stores that are not accessible to people with disabilities.
“You’re not going to get your rights because some politicians thought it would be a good thing, and you’ve got to fight to…