Olmstead Champion Meets the President

President Barack Obama looks at a painting presented to him by artist Lois Curtis, center, during their meeting in the Oval Office, June 20, 2011. Joining them are, from left, Janet Hill and Jessica Long, from the Georgia Department of Labor, and Lee Sanders, of Briggs and Associates. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The memories of living in institutional settings since the age of 13 will always be with Lois Curtis even though her life today is beyond what she ever could have imagined when she made the first of many brave phone calls to my office at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society saying, “I want to get out!” The journey (and struggle) from that day includes an historic Supreme Court decision, a home of her own and a successful career as an artist. And now, a meeting with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office as we observe the 12th anniversary of the Olmstead decision.  

The Olmstead story began long before the Supreme Court decision. Lois and another plaintiff, Elaine Wilson (who passed away in 2004), were in a state psychiatric hospital in Georgia. They filed suit in 1995 seeking disability services in the community. On the fateful day that brought us to Washington D.C., those of us who had worked on the case for five years were perhaps more amazed than Lois that we were climbing the steps of the United States Supreme Court, moving through hundreds of persons with signs, many in wheelchairs, who had spent most of the previous night in a disability civil rights vigil. The lawyers were focused on the frightening possibility that the Court would reverse the successful decisions of the lower courts and the exciting possibility that it wouldn't. Lois, however, tends to take things in stride and understands the joy of the moment. Since she was not in a state hospital but enjoying a trip to D.C. with her friends and supporters, her focus was on that day of freedom and adventure. In fact, she insisted on a tour of the White House that day, asking if there was a chance she might see the President. Lois and Elaine, as well as the intense commitment of the disability community around the country, were truly our inspiration. And, as we all now know, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually held that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, thus taking a giant step forward for the millions of people with disabilities across the country.