[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12821-12822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MARCA BRISTO

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my dear friend Marca 
Bristo and recognize her work as a disability rights activist and the 
community-based disability agency, Access Living, that she founded 30 
years ago in my home State of Illinois.
  Access Living opened its doors in 1980 to ensure that people with 
disabilities had equal rights.
  Three decades ago, people with disabilities faced a world of 
dependency. Even though Congress had enacted important legislation such 
as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to prevent discrimination and the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 to expand learning 
opportunities for those with disabilities, people with disabilities 
still lacked equal rights. Social prejudice fueled discrimination 
against people with disabilities in housing, employment and basic 
public accommodations. The concepts of independent living, wheelchair 
accessible public transportation and quality jobs were not yet part of 
everyday life.
  Access Living was founded to insist on independent living options and 
higher quality of life for people with disabilities. The agency is 
governed and staffed by people with disabilities and operates under a 
fundamental belief that people with disabilities must become a 
political force if they are to effect social change. Marca Bristo, 
Access Living's president and CEO, knows that pride and commitment to 
social change is the most effective way to ensure that civil rights are 
enforced.
  This passion stems from a personal experience. A diving accident at 
the Pratt Boulevard Beach pier left Marca partially paralyzed in 1977. 
Through this tragedy, she re-imagined her capabilities to work and 
thrive from a wheelchair. However, the adjustment was not always easy, 
because cultural and even physical barriers stood in her way.
  Early in Marca's disability, the city of Chicago lacked curb cuts on 
public

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streets, which made it hard for her to travel up and down city blocks 
in her wheelchair. This restriction prevented Marca from accomplishing 
basic errands such as a trip to the grocery store or a pick-up from the 
dry cleaners and from using public transportation to commute to work.
  Marca and Access Living's vision of equality led to architectural and 
attitudinal changes in the city of Chicago and throughout the country. 
Years of litigation led the Chicago Transit Authority to add wheelchair 
lifts to their mainline buses. The city has also incorporated scrolling 
marquees, audible street announcements and thousands of curb cuts to 
make transportation feasible for people with disabilities.
  Beyond these physical changes, Marca has also worked tirelessly to 
break down cultural barriers and integrate people with disabilities 
into community life. Access Living's work fosters dignity, pride, and 
self-esteem in people with disabilities. With that in place, they can 
choose individualized, satisfying lives.
  It turns out, I am not the only person who has been impressed by 
Marca's leadership and vision for change. She was appointed by 
President Clinton to chair the Nation Council on Disability. She was 
here, fully engaged in the fight, when Congress wrote the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990. She has also served as president of the 
National Council on Independent Living and is currently president of 
the U.S. International Council on Disabilities--USICD.
  But the ADA means only as much as its implementation. We have work to 
do eliminating discrimination in employment, public services and public 
accommodations in the United States. As the ADA turns 20 in this month, 
we recognize the law's and Access Living's work to increase the 
visibility of people with disabilities in our country.
  We as a Nation should also look to be global leaders in this arena. 
Through her work with USICD, I am confident that Marca will continue to 
focus the energy, expertise and resources of the U.S. Government and 
disability community to improve the lives of people with disabilities 
worldwide.
  Fair and equal treatment is a cornerstone of our society and 
political system. Access Living and Marca Bristo's dedication to ending 
discrimination against people with disabilities have improved the lives 
of families in Chicago and nationwide.

                          ____________________