Re-Imagining Accessibility
![Shepard Fairey’s “Barack Obama/Hope” image went viral during the 2008 election. Then controversy about the image’s source transformed it into the poster child for fair use in the public debate over copyright and free culture. Now FULAB takes “Hope” as its icon [Image source: Wikipedia]](http://fairuselab.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/shepard_fairey_hope_2008.jpg "shepard_fairey_hope_2008")
Re-imagining accessibility through the transformations of culture -- particularly the transformative promise of accessible technology for people with disabilities -- is the work of the Fair Use Lab. What does Shepard Fairey’s Hope poster have to do with accessibility? Read more: Shape-Shifters in the Fair Use Lab [MiT6 2009]
Remix: Danger Mouse
![Promotional artwork for "The Grey Album" by Justin Hampton. This was not used for the actual cover, but appeared on the Danger Mouse website in 2004. [Source: Wikipedia]](http://fairuselab.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/danger_mouse_grey_album_cover_200.jpg "danger_mouse_grey_album_cover_200")
Will DJ Danger Mouse become the Che Guevara of digital sampling? Consider the case for fair use made by The Grey Album.Blind Photographers
In the moment when Paul Strand photographed her surreptitiously on the street in New York, the social engineers who created a system for licensing beggars never imagined that a blind woman had culture or could make culture. She herself may not have imagined it. Paul Strand probably didn’t give her much credit for making culture, either. Read more: Curiosity & The Blind Photographer [MiT5 2007] See more on blind photographers.Disability As Praxis
I am a parent, homeowner, knowledge worker, and person with disabilities. Oppression is not my true word, but praxis is. In Paulo Freire’s transformative work, I find an affirmation deeper than ideology or political activism -- an affirmation of the dynamic role of disability in culture. I believe the daily praxis of making adaptations and negotiating accommodations represents a significant form of cultural production. Read Disability As Praxis.ADA 20th Anniversary
![President George H.W. Bush signs into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990 as Justin Dart looks on. [Source: ucp.org]](http://fairuselab.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ada_signing_072690_ucp_2.jpg "ada_signing_072690_ucp_2")
On its 20th anniversary, pundits will debate what the Americans with Disabilities Act has accomplished. I still believe what I said in a TV interview after the ADA signing ceremony in 1990. “The ADA will not end disability discrimination overnight. But in a nation governed by the rule of law, getting it in writing is the place to start.” So what is the ADA's legacy? A Generation of Problem-Solvers.
a blind flaneur
Tag Archives: disability
Voter Accessibility Training For Ohio Poll Workers
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office is looking for people with disabilities to participate in a training video designed to educate poll workers about people with disabilities, how to accommodate voters with disabilities at polling locations, proper assistance, proper etiquette, … Continue reading
Listening (Again) to a Blind Reader’s Literacy
I received a request recently from David Shields asking to clear copyright to quote from one of my early essays on literacy and disability. He plans to quote one sentence about list-making and the advent of literacy in his forthcoming … Continue reading
EEOC Proposes Rules for ADA Amendments Act Of 2008
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission met June 17 and voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to conform its ADA regulations to the ADA Amendments Act Of 2008. The proposed NPRM is now sent for comment by … Continue reading
A PR Toolkit for the ADA Anniversary
The DBTAC-Southeast ADA Center announced the availability of a PR toolkit to celebrate the upcoming anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26. What struck me was the disclaimer, which is longer than the announcement itself. It’s a … Continue reading
Seclusions and Restraints: GAO Releases Report
The U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a disturbing report today about deaths and injuries resulting from the use of physical restraints on children with disabilities in special education classrooms. Here’s the summary of Seclusions and Restraints: GAO found no … Continue reading