The Social Justice Series is screening the documentary Lives Worth Living on Friday in Baker Center 237.
The month-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act is continuing Friday with a screening of a film that focuses on the disability rights movement and some of the people behind it.
The Social Justice Series has partnered with the Office of Accessibility to screen Lives Worth Living at 4 p.m. in Baker Center 237, which highlights the struggle of individuals with physical handicaps and the immense success of the ADA. delfin bautista, the director of the Ohio University LGBT Center and coordinator of the Social Justice Series, believes that people with disabilities do not have a proper voice in the United States.
“I think there are a lot of things we take for granted,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “Many of us operate with able-bodiedness and often overlook the needs of people with disabilities.”
According to the ADA website, the act “prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life.”
The 2010 U.S. Census reported that 19 percent of Americans are living with some sort of disability. The ADA works to ensure that these 56.7 million citizens have equal opportunities.
“(There are) people with mental health disorders, learning disabilities, and so it’s this whole spectrum of folks who often get neglected and forgotten,” bautista said.
Lives Worth Living premiered in 2011. Director Eric Neudel gained his inspiration after meeting Fred Fay, who suffered a spinal cord injury at age 17. Fay discussed the struggle that people with disabilities faced before the passing of the ADA, and Neudel realized that the American people needed to become enlightened on the topic.
“As (Fay and I) became friends, he told me an intriguing story about the disability rights movement,” Neudel said in an interview with Brooke Shelby of PBS. “I was amazed that such a struggle had even taken place.”
Lives Worth Living is an hour long, with a discussion taking place directly after the film. The meeting is scheduled to end at 6 p.m., but further discussion is welcome.
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