FAREWELL TO FRANK BOWE <\/p>\n
By Cheryl Heppner <\/p>\n
8\/23\/07 <\/p>\n
Within minutes of arriving at the TDI conference, I learned that Dr.
\nFrank G. Bowe had died earlier in the day at the age of 60.
\nHis death is a stunning blow for advocates of people with
\ndisabilities. <\/p>\n
Frank was at the forefront of many of our major pieces of disability
\nlegislation. <\/p>\n
Frank was one of my role models and I will miss his wise counsel. I
\nalways felt a connection with him because we both became deaf at a
\nyoung age, had roots as journalists, and were drawn to the disability
\nrights movement. I met him for the first time 25 years ago. He was my
\nversion of a rock star! Our paths have crossed many times since, and
\nduring the past two years I worked with him on several advocacy
\nprojects that included attempts to make broadband more widely
\navailable and affordable, and the successful DVD captioning lawsuit by Russ
\nBoltz. <\/p>\n
I searched the Internet for something that could begin to justice to
\nFrank, and finally settled on an entry about him in Wikipedia. <\/p>\n
Here are excerpts: <\/p>\n
“Dr. Bowe was the Dr. Mervin Livingston Schloss Distinguished
\nProfessor for the Study of Disabilities at Hofstra University. As a disability
\nrights activist, author, and teacher, he has strung together a series
\nof firsts: <\/p>\n
“Dr. Bowe was the first executive director (CEO) of the first
\nnational cross-disability consumer advocacy organization, the American
\nCoalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD). The Coalition’s signature
\nachievement was securing the long-delayed implementation of Section
\n504, the world’s first civil-rights provision for persons with
\ndisabilities. Bowe conceived and led the nationwide protest that led
\nto issuance of landmark regulations for Section 504 in 1977. A year
\nlater, he wrote the first full-length text on social policy and disability,
\nHandicapping America (Harper & Row). In 1980, Dr. Bowe was the first
\nperson with a disability to represent any nation in the planning of
\nthe United Nations (UN) International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP-1981). <\/p>\n
Today, many countries are represented in key UN committees by persons
\nwho themselves are individuals with disabilities, including 14 who
\nare, as Bowe is, deaf. <\/p>\n
“In the mid-1980s, he chaired the U.S. Congress Commission on
\nEducation of the Deaf. COED made 52 recommendations for improving education and
\nrehabilitation, many of which have had long-lasting effects. What is
\nnot well-known about that work is that he was, in 1986-1988, a highly
\nvisible chairperson who was deaf and who appointed deaf persons as
\nCOED staff director and chief counsel. COED issued a public draft of its
\nfinal report in January 1988. The example he and COED set was not
\nlost on the students at Gallaudet University across town when, in March
\n1988, they launched their famous Deaf President Now protest.
\n“Section 504 led, in 1990, to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
\nThat same year, Dr. Bowe was the principal architect of the Television
\nDecoder Circuitry Act, which was sponsored in the Senate by Tom
\nHarkin (D-IA) and in the House by Ed Markey (D-MA). The act requires that TV
\nsets receive and display closed captions The 1996 Telecommunications
\nAct took it a step further, mandating that broadcast and cable
\nprograms themselves be captioned. More recently, in 2005 and 2006, Bowe gave
\ninvited testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee
\non Energy and Commerce and conducted demonstrations of high-speed
\nbroadband communications for both the House and the U.S. Senate. <\/p>\n
“Dr. Bowe’s textbooks are in use at colleges and universities around
\nthe country and in several other nations. Making Inclusion Work
\n(Prentice Hall) and Early Childhood Special Education (Thomson Delmar
\nLearning) are two examples. He is also author of Universal Design in
\nEducation (Greenwood Publishing), of the encyclopedia entries on
\ndeafness and disabilities in Scholastic’s New Book of Knowledge, and
\nof several hundred articles in professional journals in public policy,
\nspecial education, rehabilitation, and technology. <\/p>\n
“In Disability in America 2006, a policy paper addressing health
\ncare, employment, and entitlements, Bowe outlined disability policy goals
\nfor 2006-2008. Disability advocates concerned about health insurance
\ncoverage for individuals with disabilities who could work are excited
\nabout the possibilities he suggests.” <\/p>\n
Frank earned his doctorate at New York University, his master’s
\ndegree at Gallaudet University, and bachelor’s degree at Western Maryland
\nCollege. He w as awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Gallaudet
\nUniversity and he appeared in many Who’s Who publications. He was
\nselected as an Outstanding Scholatr of the 20th Century and received
\na Distinguished Service Award from President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
\nFrank always thought big picture. He wanted to change the world. He
\nhad a vision for what it should become and the principles and work ethic
\nto keep pushing that vision. “America handicaps disabled people.” he
\nwrote. “And because that is true, we are handicapping America
\nitself.” <\/p>\n
America has lost a lion but there is hope that the cubs inspired by
\nhis work will grow stronger. <\/p>\n
SOURCE: Northern Virginia Resource Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC)<\/p>\n
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FAREWELL TO FRANK BOWE By Cheryl Heppner 8\/23\/07 Within minutes of arriving at the TDI conference, I learned that Dr. Frank G. Bowe had died earlier in the day at the age of 60. His death is a stunning blow…<\/p>\n