Here are Rhonda’s remarks:
“I am deeply honored that I have been asked by Wade and the Leadership Conference to present the Humphrey Award to Senator Tom Harkin.
“As an advocate for disability, human and civil rights I work alongside countless others to promote the true meaning of equality and equal access. The civil and human rights issues for which we fight are not partisan. They are about the very character of our nation, and the inherent values we hold. We are living through a historical moment right now and while the political gridlock we experience can seem grueling, ending it is a cause that I truly believe in and I am grateful to know that I am not alone.
“Senator Harkin has stood by the side of the disability rights community his entire career. For the last 30 years, he has been one of our strongest allies in Congress, taking leadership in a cause in which he has a personal stake. He has always reached across the aisle to build consensus. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with him over the years that I have been with DREDF and I know that my colleagues have been honored to work with him the breadth of his career.
“Among his many accomplishments is his authorship of one of our most important civil rights laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a unique piece of lawmaking history in its broad impact on the inclusion and equal status of people with disabilities in our civil society. It is also notable in US civil rights history for its bipartisanship. It holds the vision of people with disabilities living, working and participating in society fully and proudly. As the ADA opened the doors of opportunity to millions of people with disabilities, so does the CRPD – also known as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – which is modeled on our ADA, to the 1 billion people with disabilities globally and which Senator Harkin and us at DREDF, USICD, the Leadership Conference and others here today are striving to ratify.
“We aim to abolish the systems which relegate people with disabilities to second-class status, similar to what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did in this country for so many, a law which enjoys its 50th anniversary this year.
“For all of this and so much more, we are here to thank Senator Harkin and to honor his continued support as we strive, with him, to ratify the CRPD and work towards many other issues in education, employment and more. Senator Harkin brings heart, passion and dedication to our work and for that he is a role model for me of what politics can still stand for. As he often tells us in the disability community, we must bring love (note: use ASL symbol). Tonight, I am grateful to share the love with you all, and with a very special person many of you already know, assisting me in presenting this award to Senator Harkin. Please welcome Yoshiko Dart.”