The growing organization and activism of the disability community is successfully getting the attention of candidates running for office. Today's disability policy speech by Hillary Clinton, as well as the media's interest in asking candidates questions about disability policy, represents a significant shift from how the issues we champion have been acknowledged in past presidential elections. In Illinois, a landmark Senate race is taking place between two candidates with physical disabilities. Where we once struggled to be recognized, we are now seeing disability policy being debated in public forums, as citizens and elected officials alike work to propose the best solutions for inclusion and accessibility.
We are becoming a political force that cannot be ignored. Your efforts have mattered. And they will continue to matter between now and election day. Next week, the American Foundation for the Blind will be launching a Research Navigator that looks at the impact people who are blind or visually impaired can have on the elections. And we will be proposing our own questions for the presidential debates. It’s not too late to get engaged.
AFB is encouraged by this important shift in attention to disability issues, which has been many years in the making. Help keep the conversation going! What questions do you hope to hear in the upcoming debates?
