Special recognition
Dr. Sylvia Walker
Sylvia Walker (July 18, 1937 - February 6, 2004)
Sylvia was a disability rights activist and professor with the School of Education at Howard University.
Born in New York City as a blind African American woman, Walker experienced ableism in her early education and worked to combat this discrimination in her professional career. Walker founded the Center for the Study of Handicapped Children and Youth now named the Howard University Center for Disability and Socioeconomic Policy Studies. During her time at Howard, Walker served as the Chairman of the Department of Psychoeducational Studies and ran the Howard University Research and Training Center (HURTC) focusing primarily on training low-income, disabled African American youth for future employment.
In 1995, Walker co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities along with Bob Dole and Justin Dart Jr. In that same year, President Bill Clinton appointed Ronald W. Drach and Walker as Vice Chairs of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities after Walker had served on the President's Committee's Subcommittee on Employee Disability Concerns since 1987.
