Inclusion Daily Express -- Texas Cyclist Starts 950-Mile Trek To Publicize State's ADA Woes

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Texas Cyclist Starts 950-Mile Trek To Publicize State's ADA Woes
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
March 5, 2007

EL PASO, TEXAS--Mikail Davenport is wheeling all the way across Texas.

It's his way of drawing attention -- not to himself -- but to injustice in the state government.

On Sunday, the 58-year-old Davenport began a 950-mile trek from El Paso, in the westernmost tip of Texas, to Beaumont, which is near the state's eastern border with Louisiana.

Davenport, whose legs were affected by poliomyelitis when he was two years old, will be pedaling with his hands using a hand-cycle the entire way.

Of course, Davenport will show that, as his website proclaims, he is "Disabled, Not Unable".

More than that, however, the native Texan plans to generate publicity during the 25-day trek to educate the public about disability-related issues currently in the Legislature, and the state's official position on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Over a dozen disability rights groups have been outraged by the stance that Attorney General Greg Abbot took in a class-action lawsuit, filed against the state by Arc of Texas and Advocacy Inc., over the waiting list for community-based services for more than 25,000 people with developmental disabilities.

Representing the state, Abbott claimed that the ADA is unconstitutional and does not apply to the state of Texas -- or any other state, for that matter -- because the 11th Amendment granted states sovereign immunity from federal laws.

Some advocates say that Abbott's position is strange and ironic, especially when one considers that the former Texas Supreme Court justice has used a wheelchair for the last 22 years and that he applauded the Texas Civil Rights Project when it settled a lawsuit to make the state Supreme Court building accessible to wheelchairs.

Davenport is supported by a number of advocates who want to push the message that state lawmakers should recognize the ADA and the civil rights protections it embodies.

William Greer, a staff member with the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities which is supporting Davenport's "Legless Lizard: Tour de Tejas", told Inclusion Daily Express that the news coverage has been "better than we expected".

Greer added that the El Paso area had "perfect cycling weather -- not to hot . . . and not raining".

Related:
"Legless Man To Bike 950 Miles Across Texas"
http://wfrv.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_059132618.html
Disabled, Not Unable
http://www.disabled-not-unable.org/index.html
"Legless Lizard: Tour de Tejas" (Coalition of Texas with Disabilities)
http://www.cotwd.org/legless_lizard.html

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