From Boston Center for Independent Living:
On July 23, over 1,400 people—we did a count—rallied at City Hall Plaza in Boston and then marched en masse down Tremont Street to The Embrace on Boston to mark the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
As promised, attendees spoke out loud and clear for civil rights and independence.
One key message was that we need to protect Medicaid/MassHealth services. With huge cuts coming to Medicaid from Washington, tough budget decisions face Governor Healey. You can send a message, developed by the Arc of Massachusetts, on the vital importance of MassHealth, home and community based services, and PCA services by using this link: https://p2a.co/H58JW81
Thanks to all attended and the tremendous effort put forward by the Boston Commission for Persons with Disabilities!
Speakers at City Hall:
- Commissioner Kristen McCosh
- Dianna Hu, BCIL chair
- Colleen Flanagan, City Commission
- Reggie Clark, Mass Advocates Standing Strong, plaintiff in MBTA lawsuit
- Cabinet Chief Solis-Cervera
- Jerry Boyd. BCIL Board/Chair of Boston Disability Commission
- MBTA GM Phil Eng
Speakers at The Embrace:
- Rich Smith, BCIL board
- Kat Torres Radisic, BCIL organizer
- Keith Jones, representing The Embrace
- Andrea Lyman, singer
- Alex Green, author/activist/educator
- Angelina Ramirez of Stavros CIL (Amherst and Springfield).
- Maura Sullivan of the Arc of Massachusetts
- Claire Bergstresser, representing the Greater Boston Labor Council
- Franswa Jean-Enard, a PCA representing 1199SEIU
Read Alex Green’s thoughts and speech in What Kind of Embrace.
Women with signs
Colleen Flanagan
