Denver’s city and county clerk and a dance theater have apologized to a paralyzed councilman after he was asked to climb onto a debate stage inaccessible to wheelchairs earlier this week.
What You Need To Know
- Denver’s city clerk and a dance theater have apologized to a paralyzed councilman after he was asked to climb onto a debate stage inaccessible to wheelchairs earlier this week
- The incident, which Councilman Chris Hinds has called “humiliating,” occurred Monday night at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance school
- Hinds said it’s “heartbreaking that such stories continue to be told over 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed”
- Hinds told The Denver Post he hopes the episode will prove to be “a teachable moment of why it’s important to have a government that’s representative of all the people
The incident, which Councilman Chris Hinds has called “humiliating,” occurred Monday night at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance school.
At the suggestion of a perplexed staff, Hinds lifted himself out of his wheelchair and onto the stage as the audience of about 100 looked on.
“I felt like a circus monkey,” Hinds told The Washington Post.
Ultimately, event organizers elected to hold the debate on the floor in front of the stage.
Hinds told The Denver Post that refusing to participate in the debate was not an option because he would have had to forfeit $125,000 in campaign financing from Denver’s Fair Elections Fund.
“It was a choice between my campaign’s viability or my dignity,” said Hinds, who suffered a spinal cord injury in 2008 when the bicycle he was riding collided with a car.
In a statement posted on social media, Hinds said that in the days since the debate, people have contacted him to share their support, disappointment and stories about how wheelchair inaccessibility has impacted their lives.
“While it is heartbreaking that such stories continue to be told over 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, I want the residents of District 10 and beyond to know that I will continue to advocate for the freedom that is granted through accessibility, now and for the rest of my life,” Hinds said.
The American With Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, including requiring public accommodations.
The Rocky Mountain ADA Center condemned the debate episode on Twitter, saying, “Do you ever wonder why we don’t have very many disabled politicians?”
Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López said in a statement that his office approved Cleo Parker Robinson Dance as a host for the debate after the school said on its application that its theater was ADA accessible. López noted that his office does not plan or facilitate debates, which falls on the sponsors.
The dance school said in its own statement that its theater is wheelchair accessible, but not its stage. It apologized to Hinds.
“This incident was an important and visceral reminder that accessibility, in many forms, is critical for all members of our community,” said Malik Robinson, executive director of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance.
Robinson said the dance school is currently working to improve its physical accessibility.
“I deeply regret it took this incident to elevate the urgency for this change and we are committed to ensuring that no one experiences lack of access to the stage again,” he added.
López, too, said he told Hinds he was sorry about the incident.
“No one should have that experience, and I have apologized to Councilman Hinds personally,” he said. “Our office continues to communicate with all debate sponsors to ensure that they can fulfill ADA requirements and other needs.”
Hinds told The Denver Post he hopes the episode will prove to be “a teachable moment of why it’s important to have a government that’s representative of all the people, and why it’s important to have disability representation on Council.”
