Striving to remove barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities!

 

Celebrating Advocacy for People with Disabilities While Ignoring Accessibility and Inclusion: The Stark Hypocrisy and Systemic Ableism of This Egregious Injustice at an Awards Presentation

Anna Landre, a young woman with long brown hair, is seated in a wheelchair, holding a large certificate in one hand. She is dressed in a green floral-patterned dress. With a slight smirk, she points with her other hand toward the stage, which is elevated and only accessible by stairs. Her expression and gesture highlight the injustice and hypocrisy of the situation, as she was forced to accept her award next to trash containers rather than at the podium. The setting is a grand hall with white columns and ornate carpeting.
Anna Landre, a recognized disability rights advocate, was awarded the Freedom of the City of London inside Mansion House for her outstanding advocacy work in accessibility and inclusion for People with Disabilities. However, due to the lack of accessibility and inclusion planning by the event organizers, she was unable to accept her award at the podium and instead had to receive it next to trash containers. Her expression and gesture underscore the injustice and systemic ableism that persist in our communities, even in spaces intended to honor those advocating for accessibility and inclusion. This situation highlights the hypocrisy of those in charge of the event who made no effort themselves for accessibility and inclusion!

The recent debacle involving Anna Landre, who was unable to collect her Freedom of the City of London award due to a lack of wheelchair access, starkly highlights the egregious injustice and hypocrisy embedded in community practices, in the form of systemic ableism. Despite being honored for her tireless advocacy for People with Disabilities, Landre was denied the basic accessibility necessary for her participation in the award ceremony. This glaring failure not only undermines the recognition given to Anna Landre for her outstanding efforts in advancing accessibility and inclusion for People with Disabilities but also starkly exposes the deep-seated systemic ableism prevalent in our community practices. While Landre’s contributions were publicly lauded, they blatantly failed to provide essential accessibility, highlighting a profound and egregious disconnect between the principles they claim to uphold and the deeply ingrained discriminatory actions.

This failure demonstrates a serious problem of systemic ableism, where People with Disabilities are frequently subjected to barriers even in environments that are supposedly inclusive. Such incidents underscore the urgent need for comprehensive changes to ensure that accessibility and inclusion are not just superficial commitments but genuine realities.

It is also essential to abstain from hypocrisy and blind imitation, inasmuch as their foul odour is soon detected by every man of understanding and wisdom. -Shoghi Effendi, The Compilation of Compilations vol II, p. 1

To address these injustices and build genuinely inclusive communities, we must take decisive action to remove barriers that prevent full participation for People with Disabilities in all aspects of community life. It’s critical to move beyond mere gestures and actively work towards creating environments that are truly accessible and equitable. To understand the full implications of this egregious injustice and its impact on our efforts to foster vibrant, diverse, and accessible communities, Read the Full Article: Freedom of City winner unable to collect award as organisers forgot wheelchair ramp
by: Henry Bodkin, SENIOR REPORTER

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