GCDD Executor Director Invited to White House 25th Anniversary Celebration of Olmstead Decision
Written by Tianna Faulkner on .
June 14, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) - D’Arcy Robb, Executive Director for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), has been invited to participate in the White House’s 25th anniversary celebration of the Olmstead Decision, which will take place Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and Developmental Disability (DD) Councils from across the United States will play an integral role in the Olmstead celebration at the White House. A dozen DD Councils will be represented at the event in-person, and three council members will be speakers. NACDD will be there to represent all the Councils. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are centered at the event – holding six of the 11 speaking elements of the event.
“I am honored to be a part of this celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Olmstead decision. All Georgians should be proud of Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson and their legacy not just to Georgia, but to every state in the nation. Lois and Elaine were heroes who were bold enough to challenge a system that tried to keep them institutionalized. The actions of these two Georgia advocates led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that paved the way for people with disabilities to live in their communities,” said Robb. “Lives are not meant to be lived in institutions – they are meant to be lived in homes. As we continue the work of Olmstead, we need to do away with the soft bigotry of low expectations placed upon people with disabilities, and work to build a society where all people direct the course of their own lives. Lois and Elaine’s legacy will be fully realized when we get to the day that everyone is able to live, learn, work, play, and worship in a home and community of their own choice. This is the work that GCDD is energized and excited to continue.”
Lois Curtis, Georgia native, disability advocate, and self-employed artist, is one of two plaintiffs (Elaine Wilson was the other plaintiff) behind the 1999 Olmstead vs. L.C. Decision, often thought of as one of the most important civil rights decisions in United States history for people with disabilities. Lois paved the way for people with mental, developmental, and intellectual disabilities to leave institutional settings and live in their communities. Curtis, who had developmental disabilities and schizophrenia, lived in institutions and hospitals for many years. She fought for the freedom to live independently. When she was a young woman, she reached out to an attorney at Atlanta Legal Aid repeatedly to have her voice heard. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court where the Olmstead decision was delivered by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1999 that resulted in and initiated policy change.
“We want as many people as possible to attend, not only our DD council or disability circles. This is not about politics, and it is not just for ‘people who do disability stuff’. Olmstead is all about community, and we hope to get all sorts of members of the community to attend,” said Jill Jacobs, Executive Director for NACDD, who has been working closely with the White House to plan this event. “Real people will be talking about their real lives, and we want everyone to understand what Olmstead is and means to us, and – because having people with disabilities living in the community is good for the WHOLE community – we want people outside of disability circles to understand that Olmstead is good for them.”
The White House celebration will be open for the public to attend virtually Tuesday, June 18th at 1:30pm Eastern time. The registration link to attend the celebration is below:
https://pitc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_CnGD53gbT_aMRrKeG-RrOQ
Once registered, a Zoom link to join the event will be emailed to registrants.
Webinar participants will be able to join the event from 1:45 PM- 3 PM. For more information, contact Jill Jacobs from NACDD at 202-506-5813, ext. 102.
About the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the State's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play, and worship in their communities. www.gcdd.org