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It was the summer of 2000 – a new millennium with new hopes and dreams. I was 12 years old when I had the rare opportunity to be a part of something big – bigger than me. Atlanta was one of 24 cities to participate in the Spirit of the ADA Torch rally to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA) 10th anniversary. I was selected to be one of the torchbearers. I always knew how important the ADA was to the disability community from a young age, so I was honored to participate in the celebration. I remember how nervous I felt about the idea of trying to carry a torch while having Cerebral Palsy and all the involuntary movements that come with it. In my mind, those two things did not sound like a good combination. I wondered how this would work. When we arrived at Centennial Olympic Park for the event, I was told that a stand that held the torch would be attached to my powerchair. That was a relief. My dad ran the relay with me for assistance, just in case something went wrong. Luckily for us, nothing did. It was amazing having the torch on my chair and hearing the crowd cheer me on. I knew this was an important moment in the disability history, and looking back, it was one of my first experiences in advocacy as well.
This summer, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will celebrate its 35th anniversary on July 26th. In the next severak paragraphs, I cover the events and people who helped pass this influential piece of legislation, and how the ADA positively affected the lives of people with disabilities like me.
Major events leading to the passing of the ADA
Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, and the first Center for Independent Living
When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed on July 26, 1990, it became the first major piece of legislation to protect people with disabilities from discrimination. The disability rights movement started to take form in the 1960s. Ed Roberts, a quadriplegic who is considered “the father of the independent living movement,” had to fight to get the support he needed to attend the University of California, Berkeley. Some of the university administration tried to reverse his acceptance when they learned about his disability. Robert’s search for on-campus housing was met with resistance because of the 800-pound lung he had to sleep in at night. The administration offered him a room in the wing of Cowell Hospital. Roberts agreed if the area could be treated as a dorm space. Roberts’ advocacy led to other students with severe disabilities being admitted into Berkley. Roberts and the other students formed a powerful disability advocacy group called the Rolling Quads. The group pressured Berkeley to create accessible classrooms and dorm buildings on campus. They also created the Physically Disabled Students Program, the first student-led disability service program in the country. Ed Roberts and the Rolling Quads wanted to serve a wider community, so they established the Berkley Center for Independent Living, the first independent living center in the US. Roberts asked Judy Heumann, a powerful disability advocate from New York, who is considered the “mother of the disability rights movement,” to assist them in running the center. Other Centers for Independent Living were founded across the country, which currently totals 403. These centers took the disability rights movement from a local to a national level.
The 504 Sit-Ins
The passing of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was another step towards people with disabilities gaining access to equal rights. This law prohibits discrimination based on disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 extended civil rights to individuals with disabilities. It also provided educational opportunities for children and adults with disabilities. Even though the law was passed in 1973, it took several years for it to be enforced. Both the Nixon and Ford Administrations were concerned with the 504 regulations due to their cost. They stalled the process by rewriting the regulations and calling for future study of them. The US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) oversaw the provision of regulations that addressed Section 504. After the regulations were created, there was never a specific timeline for when they had to be implemented. As a result, the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) was organized to advocate for the implementation of these regulations. Joseph Califano, the new head of the HEW under the Carter Administration, set up a task force to study the legislation. This task force did not include any people who had disabilities. The task force weakened the regulations that changed the 504’s coverage and enforcement. When the ACCD heard of these changes, they decided to take action. On April 5, 1977, disability advocates demonstrated and held sit-ins at HEW offices in many major cities. The most noteworthy was in San Francisco. This sit-in was led by Judy Heumann and lasted 26 days. Over 100 people with a variety of different disabilities took over the HEW office in San Francisco and stayed there for almost a month. These advocates left the comforts of their homes, including food and medications, to take a stand for their equal rights. The protest gained national coverage and brought the disability community struggles to the forefront of our society. A small group of 25 protesters left the sit-in and flew to Washington, DC, to put even more pressure on politicians. Finally, the protest succeeded, and Joseph Califano signed the 504 regulations on April 28, 1977. It was a major victory for the disability community.
Justin Dart and the Road To Freedom
The passing of the 504 regulations was a major step in people with disabilities gaining equal access to society, but it only covered entities that received federal funding. More had to be done for people with disabilities to be integrated into their communities. In the 1980s, Justin Dart, an influential advocate who served as vice chair of the National Council on Disability, went on a national tour to evaluate the accessibility of all 50 states. The tour was called the “Road to Freedom.” Throughout the tour, Dart and his colleagues had to find different means of transportation and housing that could accommodate their wheelchairs. The group hosted public forums in different cities to ask what people with disabilities wanted from their government. Over 30,000 people attended these forums. Based on these conversations, Dart and his colleagues drafted a national policy that called for national civil rights legislation that would eventually become the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Capitol Crawl
The first draft of the ADA was created in 1988 and introduced by Senator Tom Harkin. When the ADA was first introduced, it faced both support and opposition. Many opponents were concerned about the cost that the legislation would impose on businesses. Small businesses believed the ADA would force them to shut down. Once again, the disability community knew they had to make a powerful statement. On March 12, 1990, over 1,000 disability advocates marched from the White House to the US Capitol Building in support of the ADA. When they arrived at the Capitol, about 60 people with physical disabilities abandoned their wheelchairs and walkers and crawled up the Capitol steps to show the barriers they faced. This event became known as the Capitol Crawl. Even though some of the advocates were arrested, the Capitol Crawl was successful and sent a clear message to the Congress. The ADA was finally approved and signed by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.
What is the ADA and How Does it Protect the Rights of People with Disabilities
Equal Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Title 1 of the ADA is about employment. It prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all areas of employment. These areas include hiring, firing, promotion, and job training. Companies with 15 or more employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations to their employees with disabilities unless it causes undue hardship for the organization.
Access to Public Services for People with Disabilities
Title 2 ensures that people with disabilities have equal access to services, programs, and activities that are provided by state and local governments. It prohibits discrimination in all services and activities of public entities. These include access to public education, transportation, voting, and all other activities.
Access to Public Accommodations for People with Disabilities
Title 3 prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and private businesses. Examples of these places include restaurants, theaters, retail stores, medical offices, hotels, and transportation provided by public entities. Title 3 requires these facilities to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures and to remove barriers to existing facilities when possible.
Access to Telecommunications for People with Speech and Hearing Disabilities
Title 4 addresses telecommunication access for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities. It requires phone and internet companies to provide relay services, such as TTY (Teletypewriters), that allow individuals with hearing and speech disabilities to communicate. It also mandates that closed captioning be on federally funded public service announcements.
Disability Rights Come with Legal Protections
Title 5 encompasses a range of topics, including the relationship between the ADA and other laws, state immunity, retaliation, and attorneys’ fees. Most importantly, Title 5 prohibits retaliation or coercion against people with disabilities who exercise their rights
The Lasting Impact of the ADA
The ADA has had a lasting impact on people with and without disabilities. Before the ADA, people with disabilities were isolated from many aspects of our society. When the disability community gained more access to opportunities, the general public gained a better understanding of what they face every day.
The ADA has made daily life easier for people without disabilities as well, in terms of Universal Design. Universal Design makes products, environments, and systems accessible to all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. When the ADA encouraged public entities to build ramps, curb cuts, and elevators, it helped parents with strollers, delivery workers, and elderly adults.
The ADA also made advances in making television broadcasts, websites, and other technologies accessible for everyone.
Several ADA guidelines have also encouraged better customer service practices, including clearer communication, patience, and flexibility when assisting others.
But the biggest impact the ADA left on people without disabilities is providing awareness about human rights and equality for all Americans.
The ADA is a landmark piece of legislation that changed the lives of people with disabilities in American society. For the first time, individuals with disabilities had equal access to opportunities that they never had before. Judy Heumann once said, “The disability community is the largest minority group that anyone can join at any moment in their life.” What she meant is that anyone without a disability can have an accident or an illness (genetic or acquired) that could change their lives in an instant and cause them to be part of the disability community.
The ADA was responsible for finally giving a voice and providing public awareness to our community. It improved accessibility tremendously by adding ramps, curb cuts, elevators, and accessible restrooms to buildings and public transportation. The law also made improvements in making websites and online platforms more accessible for people with visual, hearing, and cognitive disabilities. It also assisted in creating more employment opportunities and made asking for reasonable accommodations a common practice in the workplace. It also ensured that students with disabilities have access to educational opportunities and accommodations in public schools and colleges. ADA has helped to improve the public’s mindset about how they perceive individuals with disabilities by promoting ideas like inclusion, universal design, and equal rights and access for everyone.
Despite the progress that the ADA has made, the disability community still has a long way to go to achieve full quality of life. As a lifelong disability advocate, I am extremely grateful for the ADA and the people who influenced it. I encourage the next generation of advocates to help continue to carry out the ADA’s legacy.
Happy ADA 35, everyone.
Sources:
History of the Americans with Disabilities Act University of San Diego Legal Research Center
Olmsted Rights- The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
ADA.gov Introduction to the Americans with Disabilities Act
Guide to Disability Rights Law
ADA History in Their Own Words
The Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act American Experience
Torch Relay Spirit of the 10th Anniversary of the ADA Ability Magazine
History of the ADA Mid-Atlantic ADA
Change Not Charity, ADA PBS Documentary
I’m Kylie Moore, from Roswell, Georgia, living with Cerebral Palsy. I’ve dedicated my career to advocating for the disability community, creating self-advocacy programs, and serving on boards. I founded the Ambassador Program at AADD, received the Tom Miller National Advocacy Award in 2020, and now advise Arts InCommunity. When not teaching, I can be found watching the Georgia Bulldogs or my beloved New England Patriots play football or participating in wheelchair sports.
