Deidre Davis Butler (September 26, 1955 – August 7, 2020), born Deidre Ann Davis, was an American

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

activist and federal official.

Early life

Davis was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Linden, the daughter of Hilton Davis and Bernice Jones Davis. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a lawyer. In childhood, a spinal tumor and the surgeries to treat it affected her ability to walk; she used leg braces and canes as a girl, and a wheelchair later in life. She attended

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

as an undergraduate, and Howard University School of Law, completing her Juris Doctor degree in 1980. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Career

Davis worked in state and national disability programs as a young lawyer, beginning at Rehabilitation International in New York in 1980. In 1987, she worked at the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

. She was involved in drafting the

Air Carrier Access Act The Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA) is Title 49, Section 41705 of the U.S. Code. The Act amended the earlier section 404(b) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (FAA), which was repealed by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. The ACAA proh ...

and the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

(ADA), among other important legislation for accessibility and disability rights. "I was one of the very few people of color in the inner layers of helping to draft the ADA, implement it, enforce it from all different perspectives," she told

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Michel Martin Michel McQueen Martin is an American journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio and WNET. After ten years in print journalism, Martin has become best known for her radio and television news broadcasting on national topics. Background ...

in 2010. Davis served in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel from 1995 to 2001, and was head of the ADA Technical Assistance Division at the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

. She traveled extensively, overseeing civil rights compliance at American embassies overseas. In 2005, she became director of ADA services for

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

. She retired from Walmart in 2012. Butler was founder of DYSability Dynamics, LLC, a disability law consulting firm. She served on the boards of the

National Council on Independent Living The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is an American nonprofit organization focused on disability rights advocacy. It is a membership organization of centers for independent living that provide services, advocacy, and referrals to peop ...

(NCIL), the Howard University Center on Minorities with Disabilities, and the National Black Disability Coalition. She was awarded NCIL's

Max Starkloff Max Starkloff (September 18, 1937, St. Louis, Missouri – December, 2010) was a disability rights activist. Starkloff became disabled in a car accident in 1959 and subsequently co-founded three organizations. Personal life In 1959, at the ...

Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, just before she died. The day before she died, she was listed as a featured panelist in an online event sponsored by the State of New Jersey, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ADA."Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the ADA Striving for Equity and Inclusion"
Panel Discussion (August 6, 2020).

Personal life

Deidre Davis married Juan K. Butler in 2015. She died August 7, 2020, in

Rogers, Arkansas Rogers is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. Located in the Ozarks, it is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. Rogers was the location of the first Walmart store, whose cor ...

. Her grave is in the

Fayetteville National Cemetery Fayetteville National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on the southern side of the city of Fayetteville in Washington County, Arkansas. It encompasses nearly . As of 2020, over 11,000 veterans and family members were interred ...

References

External links

A video interview with Deidre Davis Butler from July 2020
conducted by the Center For Independent Living of NorthWest Florida in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the ADA; on YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Deidre Davis 1955 births 2020 deaths People from Elizabeth, New Jersey People from Linden, New Jersey Disability rights activists from the United States New Jersey lawyers Brandeis University alumni Howard University School of Law alumni Alpha Kappa Alpha members