We are greatly saddened by the loss of Representative John Lewis, who died after a battle with cancer at the age of 80. Representative Lewis was a hero of the civil rights movement who dedicated his life to fighting for justice, including during his over three decades in Congress. There he was seen as a sort of moral authority, becoming known as “the conscience of the Congress.”

Representative Lewis spent his whole life fighting to make America a country that truly belonged to everyone. Well-known for his activism around voting rights, he was a staunch advocate for many important issues ranging from healthcare to immigration to disability rights. He was a lifelong activist, having been arrested over 40 times throughout his life, and frequently encouraging people to make “good trouble” in the pursuit of justice.

Representative Lewis leaves behind a legacy of justice-seeking, of love, and of honor. NCIL joins the broader civil and human rights community, and the entire nation, in mourning the loss of this true hero. We commit to continuing the work for justice and equity. And we commit to working to make this country, and our community, one that truly belongs to everyone.

We hope you are getting excited for this year’s Virtual Hill Day, which is coming up quickly! As a reminder, the Virtual Hill Day will be on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

Earlier this week, the Co-Chairs of several key NCIL Legislative and Advocacy Subcommittees hosted NCIL’s annual Policy Briefing to provide everyone with key information in preparation for next week’s Virtual Hill visits.

• View the archived Policy Briefing
• See NCIL’s previous message about scheduling your virtual meetings

We want to provide you with some additional key information heading into next week!

Virtual March

Our Virtual Hill Day includes a fun, new virtual format for our Annual March! To participate, make a homemade sign with your message on it and send us a picture. You can use anything from poster board to a regular sheet of paper. Just make sure your text is BOLD so we can read your message. You can use any medium. Send your photo to eleanor@ncil.org and include a short description of your photo (30 words or less). We’ll post the photos we receive on the NCIL Virtual March page.

Virtual Rally

Our Virtual Hill Day also includes a fun, new virtual format for our Annual Rally! We have an incredible line-up of members of Congress and advocates who will be providing remarks to inform and energize you before you head into your Hill meetings. You can tune in to the Rally at 11:00 a.m. Eastern at the NCIL Virtual Rally page. To allow for the greatest amount of flexibility around your meeting schedules, the Rally video will be archived and available throughout the conference. ASL interpretation and CART will be provided.

Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points

Each of NCIL’s Legislative & Advocacy Subcommittees have written up summaries of their key priorities and talking points to help prepare you for your Virtual Hill Visits!

Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points:

• Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points (PDF)
• Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points (Word)
• Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points (plain text)
• Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points (audio / mp3)
• Advocacy Priorities & Talking Points (text only)

As a reminder, the Virtual Day on the Hill is open to the public. We encourage everyone to join us for the Virtual March, Rally, and Hill Visits! This year’s Virtual Hill Visits have the potential to make a huge impact. Congress returns from recess on Monday, July 20, and our Virtual Hill Day will be a critical time to urge our members of Congress to take action and to prioritize the needs of their disabled constituents. We hope you will join us!

This year, NCIL’s Virtual Hill Day will be on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. We hope you have already been scheduling meetings with your Members of Congress and are planning to attend our 2020 Policy Briefing on Tuesday, July 14.

• Register for Policy Briefing
• See NCIL’s previous message about scheduling your virtual meetings

Our Virtual Hill Day also includes a fun, new virtual format for our Annual Rally! We have a fantastic line-up of people who will be providing remarks to inform and energize you before you head into your Hill meetings. You can tune in to the Rally at 11:00 am Eastern at the NCIL Conference website or our YouTube page. To allow for the greatest amount of flexibility around your meeting schedules, the Rally video will be archived and available at both websites all day. ASL interpretation and CART will be provided.

This year’s Virtual Hill Visits have the potential to make a huge impact. Congress returns from recess on Monday, July 20. While the House has already passed the HEROES Act, the Senate has not taken any action on the next COVID-19 relief package. Our Virtual Hill Day will be a critical time to urge our Senators to take action and to prioritize the needs of their disabled constituents. This is an important time, and we hope you will all join us!

We will be providing the links to the Virtual Rally (which is open to the public!) and additional information to help prepare you for your meetings soon. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, July 14, 2020; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Eastern

Register online

NCIL is happy to announce our 15th Annual Policy Briefing.

This important presentation will to bring advocates up-to-date on national issues and federal policies that affect people with disabilities and provide participants with question and answer sessions with national leaders to ensure you have in-depth information on the issues you care about most.

The Policy Briefing will ensure that we are fired up and prepared for NCIL’s 2020 Virtual Day on the Hill!

This teleconference is free for NCIL Members and conference registrants. There is a $25.00 registration fee for Non-Members / non-conference registrants, per call-in site. Fee does not apply per participant in group, provided the group uses the same conference line.

The Policy Briefing will be available via webinar / teleconference and CART captioning will be provided.  You must register by 12:00 Noon Eastern on July 14 to participate in the call.

Please contact Tim Fuchs at tim@ncil.org with any questions.

DATE CORRECTION: The 2020 NCIL Policy Briefing will be Tuesday, July 14^th from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. EDT.  The call will be recorded and available online if you are not available at this new time. 

This year, NCIL’s Annual Hill Day will be on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Like the rest of the Annual Conference, it will be completely virtual!

Part of each Annual Hill Day is the Hill Visits. These are meetings with the Senators and Representatives in Congress who represent you. A key part of successful Hill Visits is planning ahead – and this is just as important for a Virtual Hill Day!

We will be announcing the date for our annual Legislative and Advocacy (L&A) briefing soon. At this briefing, the Chairs of key NCIL L&A Subcommittees will discuss NCIL’s legislative priorities. They will also provide talking points to prepare you for your meetings. This briefing will be archived and available afterwards.

NCIL will be providing additional details about the Virtual Hill Day as they become available. This also includes a fun, new, virtual format for our Annual Rally!

July 20 – August 7, 2020

Registration is now open for NCIL’s 2020 Annual Conference on Independent Living!

We are spreading our conference events out a bit to accommodate the realities of virtual events and participation from home. The week of July 20 will feature kick-off events and plenaries, followed by two weeks of additional workshops and other events.

We have significantly reduced the registration rates for this virtual conference. Despite cutting the rates, we’ve also increased the number of workshops and sessions we’re offering because we’re no longer constrained by the number of meeting rooms we have available at the hotel. That means more content for less money!

We have released the conference agenda and other details over the past week. We will be releasing the full workshop schedule and additional updates over the next few weeks.

NCIL remains fully committed to an event that is safe and accessible to all. We know there will be some access challenges to a virtual conference, just as there are access challenges to in-person conferences. We are already busy coordinating accommodations and support, and are ready to respond to your accommodation requests and feedback in order to hold the most accessible virtual conference possible. Accommodations can be requested when you register and you are always welcome to submit questions to conference@ncil.org.

• Register online
• Agenda
• Registration Policies
• Annual Conference web page

All registrations received and paid by June 16, 2020 are eligible for the Early Bird registration rates.

Each year, NCIL recognizes individuals and / or organizations for outstanding advocacy efforts. NCIL encourages you to nominate someone in your region who you believe is deserving of this award. Please take a few minutes to complete the nomination form by June 10, 2020.

• Nominate someone from your region online.

Purpose of the NCIL regional advocacy award: To recognize individuals or groups / organizations within each region for outstanding systems advocacy efforts consistent with independent living goals and philosophy at a national, state, or local level.

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of activist and organizer Stacey Park. Stacey passed away from surgical complications on May 19, 2020, on her 33rd birthday.

Originally from North Carolina, Stacey served on the North Carolina Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and was a former American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) intern. She was a fixture of disability activism in the Bay Area after moving there in 2010. A co-founder of the Disability Justice Culture Club, Stacey coordinated direct aid to disabled people and other marginalized groups during emergencies like the 2019 PG&E power shutoffs in the Bay Area and the current COVID-19 pandemic. Stacey’s activism was truly intersectional in nature, addressing overlapping systems of oppression and all facets of a human being, including disability, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Her commitment to disability justice as a queer disabled woman of color was unparalleled.

NCIL Resolutions

The purpose of resolutions is for members to speak directly to what NCIL does and what NCIL stands for. A resolution, if adopted by the membership, is a formal opinion from NCIL or a commitment to taking action on a specific topic.

• Submit your resolution using our online form
• Please read the NCIL Guide to Resolution Writing before developing your resolution.
• See also: NCIL’s past resolutions

Resolutions must be received by June 24, 2020.