FDR Memorial Still Not Accessible Almost 25 Years Later: Groups

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Disability Leadership Alliance and other organizations are calling on the National Park Service to implement recommendations included in a recent report about accessibility at the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The groups want the NPS to complete the work in the recommendations at least in time for the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the FDR Memorial on May 2, 2022. The memorial is located adjacent to the southwest side of the Tidal Basin along the Cherry Tree Walk in West Potomac Park.

“Federal agencies have so far not met their federally mandated obligations for accessibility,” the National Disability Leadership Alliance and the other groups wrote in a letter Tuesday to Shawn Benge, acting director of the NPS.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities by any program or activity that receives federal funding, the groups said.

“With The Washington Post and reporting on the memorial’s access issues exactly 24 years ago this month, the disability community has already waited far too long for equal access. It is time for NPS to act now and make the FDR Memorial fully accessible,” the groups said.

The groups said they support the advocacy work of the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee to improve access for blind and low vision people, among other accessibility priorities.

“We are proud of the fight led by disability leaders for representation of our community at the FDR Memorial, which resulted in the addition of the FDR wheelchair statue in 2001," the groups wrote. "It is critical that representation also includes appropriate signage and other interpretive elements to ensure all visitors can equally enjoy and experience this historically important and compelling national presidential memorial.”

The recent report on accessibility at the FDR Memorial was prepared by Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch for the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee. Fogle-Hatch explored the accessibility of the FDR Memorial from planning her visit to her experience at the site. She offered observations and recommendations in hopes of bridging the accessibility gaps for visitors with disabilities, primarily those who are blind or have low vision.

Fogle-Hatch suggested improvements could be made in five categories:

• Interpretation of the Braille depicted on the walls of the memorial
• Usefulness of the Braille brochure
• Availability of tactile models
• Text-based directions and wayfinding
• Mitigating safety concerns caused by issues of deferred maintenance

Fogle-Hatch found that the Braille at the FDR Memorial ranges from somewhat readable to completely unrecognizable. This includes the quote in the Prologue Room of the memorial and the letters on the workers mural and the quotes on the columns in Room One.

"Reading the Braille in the Prologue Room behind the wheelchair statue was like solving a puzzle," she wrote.

Along with the National Disability Leadership Alliance, these groups signed the June 29 letter to the NPS's acting director: American Association of People with Disabilities, American Council of the Blind, Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Little People of America, National Association of the Deaf, National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery, National Council Independent Living, National Federation of the Blind, Not Dead Yet, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Topeka Independent Living Resources Center and United Spinal.