BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The City of Bethlehem will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act with a panel discussion and the city’s first Disability Pride flag raising on Saturday, July 26th.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law on July 26th, 1990, prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires accommodations in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.
The idea for the event, titled “Reflecting on Progress, Advancing Accessibility: A Panel on Disability Rights in Bethlehem,” came directly from Mayor Reynolds, according to Janine Santoro, moderator, organizer, and Director of Equity and Inclusion for the City of Bethlehem.
The panel will feature six speakers discussing accessibility issues and ongoing advocacy work in the Lehigh Valley. The panel will run from 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM in the Cohen Room at the Bethlehem Area Public Library, located at 11 W. Church St.
A flag-raising ceremony will follow on Payrow Plaza from 12:20 to 12:30 PM.
The event builds on existing disability advocacy work in the community. Santoro noted that last year’s programming by Touchstone Theater “really highlighted the voices of our disabled community” and helped inspire the current initiative. “I thought it would be really good to honor those conversations, knowing that they’re already starting in the community,” she said.
The timing is particularly relevant as the city works on its accessibility initiatives. “We’re doing our own 40 and 10 plan with our parks, and we’re trying to figure out how we can make them more accessible,” Santoro explained. “There’s so many questions around accessibility, and I thought it would be a good idea to gather some partners that are either in those advocacy organizations or are disabled themselves and really leading on the work.”
The panel was carefully curated to represent diverse perspectives. Among the featured speakers are Shane Burcaw, Hannah Burcaw, and Sarah Burcaw from Laughing at My Nightmare, Inc., a nonprofit organization that utilizes humor to change perceptions of disability.
Shane Burcaw, who has spinal muscular atrophy, is an author and advocate from Bethlehem who founded the organization. The Burcaws will be participating virtually.
Other panelists include Brenda A. Solitario from the Bethlehem Area School District, who brings expertise in ADA compliance in public education and the evolution toward more inclusive practices for students with disabilities.
Rain Black and Robin Gow from Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley were selected because “they really explore a lot about intersectionality—that life as an LGBT and disabled person might look a little different and have different kinds of challenges,” Santoro explained.
Michael Freeman is a visually disabled artist and educator who “is doing this really meaningful work for the disabled community but also for anybody that wants to educate themselves on how to create more accessible spaces.”
Bitty and Beau’s Coffee is a national chain and “human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop” that employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Santoro said Colleen Dorsey, of the Bethlehem franchise, “can speak to inclusive work practices, and dismantling the thought that ‘being inclusive is so hard’.
Ashley Patete, the accessibility coordinator of The Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living, is “very, very active in the community” and “one of the top resources when people are looking towards anything around accessibility.” LVCIL provides services to help people with disabilities live independently in their communities.
The event itself was designed with accessibility in mind from the beginning. “I wanted to be very intentional that the program itself was going to be accessible and inclusive, and that wasn’t going to be an afterthought,” Santoro said.
The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is providing ASL interpreters for the event, while Lehigh University Art Galleries is contributing sensory kits for attendees who might need them. The library will also have a quiet space available for those who need to take a break.
For Santoro, the event represents more than just a one-time commemoration. “Whenever the city leads an event like this, it’s never so that the city will just always be the lead on that event,” she said. “The goal is always to make sure that the community knows that spaces like Payrow Plaza—that’s their space, that we share the governmental space with them, that their voices should be centered in the programs and the policies that come out of our office.”
The flag-raising ceremony will feature speakers from partner organizations, including Carmen Bell from United Way, Elise Shaffer from the Lehigh University Art Galleries, and Jace Pooley, a Bethlehem teen and SEEN (Spellers Empowering Education for Nonspeakers) advocate.
The event is supported by several local organizations, including the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh University Art Galleries, the Bethlehem Human Relations Commission, the Bethlehem Area Public Library, and SEEN (Spellers Empowering Education for Nonspeakers).
Registration is available online or by calling 610-867-3761. Those needing specific accommodations can call Santoro’s office at 610-865-7132. The event is free and open to the public.
Harper Hogan is a passionate and dedicated soon-to-be graduate of Muhlenberg College, pursuing a career in multimedia production and journalism.
Having originated in Easton, attended high school in Bethlehem, and earned a degree in Allentown, she is immersed in the culture of the Lehigh Valley, and hopes to bring its real stories to life through her writing.