Articles
This page has short summaries of every article posted on Lainey Feingold's website with links to the full articles. Visit the Writings Page to read Lainey's articles that were first posted in other publications. Visit the Topics Page for all 300 plus articles on this website organized into 38 topics including web accessibility settlements and Talking ATM press releases.
[This post updated August 2020] July 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was passed just one year after Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web. In 1990 when then-president George Bush signed the law there were exactly zero websites. Two years later there were ten. And today? Over 1,786,367, 115. Because of the brilliance of the disability organizers and bill drafters, the ADA has provided a strong foundation for advancing accessibility in the digital world.
Read more… Digital Accessibility Legal Update: ADA Anniversary Edition
CVS Pharmacy announced that it has developed Spoken Rx™, a new feature of the CVS Pharmacy app that can read a specific type of label for patients with visual impairments and those who cannot read standard print labels. Spoken Rx is the first in-app prescription reader application to be developed by a national retail pharmacy.
Read more… CVS Spoken Rx™ Press Release
Congratulations Patreon! The popular membership platform for creators and their supporters recently announced its commitment to digital accessibility with the press release posted here. Patreon worked in conjunction with the American Council of the Blind and blind creators and patrons including Robert Kingett in Structured Negotiation on its accessibility initiative. Lainey Feingold and Washington, D.C.…
Read more… Patreon Accessibility Press Release
Congratulations to Patreon! Posted here is the digital accessibility settlement agreement the company reached with the American Council of the Blind and individual blind patrons and supporters. The agreement was reached with Structured Negotiation, a collaborative way to solve legal problems. No lawsuit was needed.
Read more… Patreon Digital Accessibility Agreement
I’m always looking for ways to talk about digital inclusion without reference to legal hammers. This post gathers some yummy analogies for accessibility that can be used to raise awareness and help develop skills. Think blueberry muffins, curry and peanut butter.
Read more… Accessibility is Delicious: Food analogies for digital inclusion
Twenty years ago this week (on March 14, 2000) Bank of America became the first company in the United States to sign an agreement to make its website accessible to people with disabilities. The agreement referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 at a time when the standard was less than one year old.…
Read more… The First U.S. Web Accessibility Agreement was Signed Twenty Years Ago this Week
After days of agonizing, I have decided not to attend and present at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in Anaheim next week. It would have been my 20th time attending and my 17th (more or less) time presenting. (The picture illustrating this post shows me with a Bank of America spokesperson in the CSUN exhibit…
Read more… I’m not going to CSUN in 2020 – I wish I were
Joseph Karr O’Connor died last month at the age of 65. As I get ready to attend the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference next month — for the 20th time — Joseph is on my mind and in my heart. He was a regular attendee and presenter at the conference, using the in-person gathering to cement…
Read more… Joseph Karr O’Connor, Accessibility Champion (1953 – 2020)
[Update: Catherine Skivers died on December 12, 2019, a week after this post was written.] Catherine Skivers came to California in 1949 at the age of 23 with the man she had married at 16. Within a year, her husband had left her, offering her a one-way bus ticket back to her family in Missouri.…
Read more… Catherine Skivers: Organizer, Activist, Friend, Blind Community Leader
In 2008 I heard that Jim Thatcher was coming to Berkeley as part of his role as the expert in the Target web accessibility case. I had been working in the digital accessibility legal space for ten years. Of course I had heard of Jim, but we had never met. I called and asked if…
Read more… Jim Thatcher, Accessibility Giant, Dies at 83
