Memphis ADAPT reminds The Wharton Firm that “Access Is a Civil Right.”
Memphis ADAPT a grassroots, direct action, disability rights organization marched down Madison Ave. today at 11:30 am to The Wharton Law Firm, 1575 Madison, to remind them of their obligation to include people with disabilities. The Wharton Law office has a single public entrance that is up three steps.
“We are tired of being treated as second-class citizens,” said Deborah Cunningham, the Executive Director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. “After twenty-four years, it just doesn't make sense that attorneys are unaware of the law or cannot afford equal access.”
The Memphis Center for Independent Living filed a federal complaint on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the ADA. Memphis ADAPT delivered the message to the Wharton office that the community of people with disabilities expects the firm to respect the civil rights of people with disabilities.
"An agent of the firm appeared at the door," said one ADAPT member who at the protest; "but they seemed unconcerned with our communities civil rights and ignorant of the firms accessibility responsibilities."
The Memphis ADAPT members returned to the Memphis Center for Independent Living and had lunch together. The march and protest had accomplished its goal of delivering the message to The Wharton Firm that people with disabilities expect equal access.
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