Peter Blanck
On Friday, Sept. 25, at 4 p.m., Burton Blatt Institute Chairman Peter Blanck will address a virtual symposium hosted by the Disability Allied Law Students Association (DALSA) at the New York University School of Law to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Blanck’s address will reflect on the current state of disability law in the U.S., with a particular focus on COVID-19, and intersections with criminal justice, poverty and race.
Through the symposium, DALSA—NYU Law’s affinity group for students with disabilities and allies—hopes attendees will not just recognize the ADA as a piece of valuable disability rights legislation, but also how much work remains to reach a fully equal society for people with disabilities.
Blanck, University Professor in the College of Law, will also discuss his recent research regarding the lack of disability diversity in the legal profession. In a recent study commissioned by the ADA to focus on non-visible identities in law, he and his co-authors found that while a quarter of respondents said they had a health condition, impairment or disability, only a third of those respondents identified as disabled.
Friday’s keynote address will wrap up a series of panels reflecting on the intersections of disability, poverty, criminal justice and more, with experts from around the country. Participants included Rebecca Cokley, founding director of the Center for American Progress’ Disability Justice Initiative; abolition and disability scholar, Associate Professor Jamelia N. Morgan; West Resendes, Skadden Fellow at the ACLU Disability Rights Program; Rupa Valdez, president of the Blue Trunk Foundation and Associate Professor at UVA; and Britney Wilson, staff attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, among others.
This symposium is co-sponsored by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; NYU Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging; NYU Center for Disability Studies; NYU Annual Survey of American Law; NYU Law Review; NYU Review of Law and Social Change; and multiple student groups at NYU Law: Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association; Black Allied Law Students Association; Coalition on Law & Representation; I-PREP; Latinx Law Students Association; Law Women; Mental Health Law and Justice Association; Middle Eastern Law Students Association; Public Interest Law Student Association; and Women of Color Collective.
