“We have to remind ourselves. What does ARC stand for? Association of Retarded Citizens. Until you change that name you have no excuse to complain.” - Anonymous
August 20, 2008 4:45 PM
First let me thank our reader for posting their point of view on this blog. Now let me clear up the history of our national name change from ARC to The Arc.
It is true that ARC did stand for the Association of Retarded Citizens. However, fifteen years ago on the floor of our national convention self-advocates stood up and voiced their strong opposition to the word “retarded”. The membership of this national non-profit heard them loud and clear and voted to remove the “R-word” from the title of the organization. We became “The Arc”. "The Arc" is not an acronym.
Our values and our mission remain the same. We work with and for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. We are a strong national membership organization that promotes the inherent worth and dignity of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. We are a democratic organization that believes in the learning from our members and listening to their concerns and vision for a strong future.
We as a national non-profit recognized the negative and demeaning effects of the “R-word” when we removed it from our name. This is why we at The Arc are advocating against the use of the “R-word” in films like “Tropic Thunder”. It is why we advocate so diligently counteracting the negative stereotypes of people with disabilities in this film and in media.
We ask you to help us in our efforts to end the use of “R-word”. Sign the petition today.
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