Disability Unite Festival
Celebrating the 32nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
#DisabilityUnite #TogetherWereStronger #CelebratingCommunity
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Instagram: @disabilityunite
Facebook: Disability Unite
Twitter: @Access4_All
Youtube: @DisabilityUnite
Links to remember and share
Festival registration form: bit.ly/RegisterDU22
Disability Unite website (with Live Stream Center): DisabilityUnite.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2022
CONTACT: Kevin Leung, kleung@rubenstein.com
Nicole Daniels, ndaniels@rubenstein.com
PROJECT ACCESS FOR ALL ANNOUNCES FIRST EVER HYBRID DISABILITY UNITE FESTIVAL CELEBRATING DISABILITY PRIDE AT CENTRAL PARK IN NEW YORK CITY, JULY 17, 2022 12:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Disability Unite Festival will promote pride and advocacy and embrace inclusion on every level.
New York, NY — Project Access for All with the Office of the Public Advocate present the third annual Disability Unite Festival, celebrating disability pride and marking the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Sunday, July 17, 2022, at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m., and virtually at the DisabilityUnite.org Live Stream Center. The Disability Unite Festival is about community and inclusion of all people around the world. With an in-person festival alongside a virtual one, the festival this year can be enjoyed by everyone around the world. The in-person festival will feature 44 tables of community groups while the virtual festival will consist of live streaming performances from the festival by world renown recording artists giving virtual attendees the same experience as those in-person.
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, our world is undergoing fundamental restructuring on a societal level. With this year’s theme “A Future Of Inclusion”, the overall goal is to envision humanity entering a world where inclusion is embraced on every level. The festival is a disability community-driven event, for the community by the community, bringing together advocates and experts from around the country teaching best practices on disability access and inclusion. Organizations such as Art Beyond Sight, 504 Democratic Club, Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID), INCLUDEnyc, RAMPD, and others will come together at the festival to learn innovative solutions from each other on disability rights and access inclusion.
Matthew Axel, Founder of Project Access for All’s Disability Unite Festival said “With 11% of the population of New York City identifying as a person with a disability, the Disability Unite Festival brings together families from around the country for a day of fun and celebration. Project Access for All continues to advocate enhancing equity for people with disabilities in the fields of arts and culture, sports and recreation, entertainment and business.”
“Celebrating Disability Pride Month and recognizing New Yorkers with disabilities is deeply personal to me,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “As a young man with Tourette’s Syndrome and ADHD, I quickly recognized the importance of having strong support mechanisms and advocates. Now, I’m proud to join so many community groups and governing partners to imagine and create both this festival and a future where our city is a better place to live and work no matter who you are.”
The artists performing live at the Naumburg Bandshell are as follows:
● John Bramblitt | Texas based artist, John Bramblitt lost the last of his vision in 2001 due to complications with epilepsy and Lyme's disease. He felt disconnected from family and friends, alienated and alone. But then something amazing happened-- he discovered painting. He taught himself how to paint using raised lines to help him find his way around the canvas, and through something called haptic visualization, which enables him to "see" his subjects through touch. He now paints outdoor murals on the sides of buildings, and amazingly lifelike portraits of people he's never seen--including his wife and son.
● Gaelynn Lea | World renown singer, violinist, composer, public speaker, disability rights activist and Co-Founder of RAMPD.org Gaelynn Lea has toured in 45 states and 9 countries, she won NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016 and composed music for the most recent Broadway production of Macbeth starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga.
● Blessing Offor | Born in Nigeria with glaucoma in his left eye and losing complete sight by age 10. Undocumented growing up in Connecticut, Blessing has not let his hardships deter him from becoming a finalist on The Voice, to one of the most sought-after talents in Music City. Blessing’s music prompts joy that encourages a sense of contentment with thought provoking lyrics that elicit a second listen.
● Lachi | Recording artist/songwriter/actress/model Lachi is a dynamic, outspoken advocate for Diversity and Inclusion in mainstream discussion, and is the go-to voice for Disability equity within the Music Industry. As a black, legally blind female, well-established in the music industry, Lachi collaborates with renowned figures and brands, national firms and nonprofits to offer game-changing discussion on DEI and cultural impact. Her powerful story serves as a source of motivation for others.
● Wheelchair Sports Camp | a Denver based band combining humor, playfulness, radical political perspectives, compassion and undeniable music chops, Wheelchair Sports Camp is unlike any other hip-hop act around. Fronted by the wheelchair using, rap heavy, beat-making, freedom fighting, producer, educator, foul mouthed, queer rebel rouser Kalyn, the band is a combination of live and electronic instruments with a more noisy, jazzy, experimental, combination to the traditional hip-hop group.
● Lawrence Carter-Long | Recipient of the Freida Zames Advocacy Award from NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2009, our emcee Lawrence was a producer on WBAI’s Largest Minority radio show, and a founding performer in Heidi Latsky’s modern dance ensemble, GIMP. He is featured in the award-winning documentary “Code of the Freaks” and as an actor, appears in the 2021 NY Times Critic’s Pick, "Best Summer Ever." Lawrence has lectured at the Library of Congress, the Whitney Museum, and the United Nations. He works as the Director of Discourse & Development for DisArt based in Grand Rapids, MI.
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About Project Access for All
Project Access for All was launched nationally in 2010 with a Working Group of the Obama Administration. Project Access for All is an "umbrella" community consortium for disability rights organizations in NYC and across the nation. Project AccessNYC was launched on August 9, 2011 at Gracie Mansion by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Commissioner Matt Sapolin. Commissioner Sapolin was a founder and first Project AccessNYC Co-Chair. Project Access is coordinated by Art Beyond Sight..
About Disability Unite
Disability Unite is an initiative of Project Access For All. While the platform is called "Disability Unite", we acknowledge and respect that the disability community represents a broad cross-section of groups, communities, and individuals identified by race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, age, or disability status. Each individual/group will have different opinions and has the unconditional right to advocate in whatever way they prefer.
These quotes may be used for bloggers and media.
John Bramblitt - “My eyesight was taken, but my vision of a world where we all pull together, and that the challenges we face make us stronger as a people is clearer and brighter than ever. After 31 years with the ADA; the future I see today is more beautiful and brilliant than ever before.“ @bramblitt
Lachi - It wasn't until persons with disabilities of all types--whether temporary or permanent, acquired at birth or later in life, whether visible or nonvisible--it wasn't until they formed a true and loud coalition that laws got signed. Judith Heumann's sit-in grew large and vibrant enough to demand the inking of legislation. We need to recreate that vigor, that strength, that varied and diverse, unified voice..." @lachimusic
Wheelchair Sports Camp - "Disability is at the intersection of every intersection!" @wheelchairsportscamp
LC Interpreting Services, LLC - “Enacted 31 years ago, the ADA was not an instant solution to systemic oppression or disability discrimination; but it provides an essential toolkit for people to fight for their civil rights whenever necessary. We are so proud to provide accessibility for the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities by facilitating effective communication access using culturally competent service providers.”
Plain Language Interpretation - “It’s a cognitive ramp enabling people with cognitive disabilities equal and full participation in services and activities that are inaccessible to them.” Said Shira Yalon-Chamovitz, Ph.D., OTR, the Director of the Israeli Institute on Cognitive Accessibility, and Dean of Students at Ono Academic College. My research has concerned adults with cognitive disabilities. I am excited to partner with the Disability Unite Community as user-expert feedback is certain to continue to develop the Yalon Method and impact my research interests which include a range of fields such as practical intelligence, virtual reality, and theoretical models of practice for cognitive accessibility”.
“The Yalon Method of Simultaneous Plain Language Interpretation opens new areas of discovery. Working together with the disability community, researchers will create increased participation for people with disabilities in society,” said Matt Axel, Disability Unite. The technique of “ "Simultaneous Plain Language Interpretation" called the Yalon Method, I saw implemented globally during the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Yalon-Chamovitz and her team provided real-time translation into plain language on the broadcast of the Eurovision through a digital video live stream”