MCIL asks Sen. Alexander to support the CRPD

The Memphis Center for Independent Living delivered a letter asking for Senator Lamar Alexander to support the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The letter was signed by about twenty-five people to show their support and the support of the disability community for International respect for the civil rights for people with disabilities.

Josue Rodriguez, Mary Wooldridge and Michelle Ivery

The CRPD is a symbol of US strength and leadership in the world and advances our shared ideal and national power. It is based on the world leading Americans with Disabilities Act that this country passed nearly twenty-five years ago and extends basic civil rights to people with disabilities.

“I’m glad we didn’t just email the Senator,” said Michelle Ivery, whose name is the top center of the letter, “I believe now he knows we care and will follow through. All those people who signed the letter know that it got to Senator Alexander.”

MCIL provided this letter as one way that the community can show their support for the CRPD, also called the disability treaty. The treaty was signed by the US in 2009 and must be ratified by the US Senate. Senator Tom Harkin, who introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Senate nearly twenty-five years ago, said that he will work to get the treaty to the Senate floor this session.

American businesses support ratification of the CRPD, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Business Leadership Network, and the Information Technology Industry Council. Many U.S. companies including IBM, AT&T, Adobe, and JP Morgan Chase support ratification.

Josue Rodriguez, Tim Wheat and Michelle Ivery took the letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander’s office today. Mary Wooldridge, the Constituent Services Representative took the letter and posed for a photograph with those delivering the letter. Following delivering the letter, the MCIL group visited the coffee shop Qahwa to have brunch.