Twenty-five years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed to ensure equal rights and opportunities to individuals with disabilities. However, there are over 28 million Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals in the United States who aren't receiving equal access to information that the White House publishes on social media.
The White House often uses video as the chosen medium for releasing information to the public. However, these videos often are not closed captioned at the point of publication. This makes it difficult for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals to accurately receive the information from the direct source. Most wouldn't consider this “equal,” and think that the White House could easily provide captions for their videos as soon as they post them. It would only make sense for them to do this, as they're not currently adhering to both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.
Now there is a movement to tell the White House that they need to uphold their own laws and caption their content, so that all of their citizens can make more educated decisions. This movement is being led by Braam Jordaan, a film maker and leader in the Deaf community. He posted a video on Facebook about the issue, and urged viewers to message the White House and political leaders while using the hastag #WHccNow.
Watch the video without captions, then watch it again with them on Braam's site.
Think about your frustration of not knowing what he's signing about, and then multiply it, because this is what the Deaf community has to deal with on a daily basis. There's no excuse for this unfair treatment of citizens who should have the same rights as hearing citizens.
This movement has been endorsed by various Deaf organizations, individuals, and allies. One of the most prominent supporters is the most recent "America’s Next Top Model" winner, Nyle DiMarco, who is also Deaf.
Clearly, many people see this as a problem that needs to be addressed. So join the movement and tweet the White House (@whitehouse) with #WHccNow, so that they can change their ways and stop discriminating.
