The Americans with Disabilities Act turns 25

July 24, 2015

President George Bush signs into law the Americans with Disabilities Act during a July 26, 1990 ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on the South Lawn of the White House. With the President are sitting (L to R): Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Justin Dart, Chairman, President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. L to R, standing: Rev. Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability.

President George Bush signs into law the Americans with Disabilities Act during a July 26, 1990 ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House 
With the President  sitting (L to R) are : Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Justin Dart, Chairman, President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. standing (L to R) are: Rev. Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability.
White House Photograph Office/National Archives

Sunday July 26, 2015 marks 25 years since President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. To mark this occasion here are some links to learn more about the history of the creation of the ADA and its legacy over this last quarter century.

Video of ADA White House signing ceremony including President G.H.W. Bush’s Remarks (YouTube)

 

Text of President G.H.W. Bush’s remarks on the occasion of signing the ADA (The American Presidency Project @ University of California at Santa Barbara)  

 

Video interview with disability rights advocate and icon Justin Dart Jr. (YouTube)  

 

Clip from the PBS Documentary “Lives Worth Living” on the Capitol Crawl protest (YouTube) (More on Lives Worth Living) 

 

Remarks of President Barack H. Obama at the White House Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Video)  (Text)

 

Excerpt on Sen. Ted Kennedy and the capital hill negotiations on the ADA from the book “Enabling Acts: The Hidden Story of How the Americans with Disabilities Act Gave the Largest US Minority Its Rights” by Lennard J. Davis (Salon) (More on “Enabling Acts” from Beacon Press)

 

The ADA Legacy Project: The mission of The ADA Legacy Project is to honor the contributions of people with disabilities and their allies by:

  • preserving the history of the disability rights movement;
  • celebrating its milestones; and
  • educating the public and future generations of advocates.

Preservation, celebration, and education: this is how we will honor this historic civil rights legislation and create its legacy: a world in which every citizen is accepted for who they are.

 

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