Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the ADA: Top 3 Resources
On July 26th, 1990, The Americans with Disabilities Act--an equal rights law that provides broad legal protection to people with disabilities--was signed on the White House lawn by President George H.W. Bush. After 30 years, many improvements have been made that have had a profound impact on the lives of individuals with disabilities. However, there is still an enormous amount of work to be done to ensure that the ADA is properly implemented and fully enforced, and that attitudes and beliefs about disability in American society progress in step with the law.
To celebrate the occasion, we recommend taking some time to educate yourself about the Disability Rights movement that ultimately brought about this important legislation, and the work of the movement today to continue to advance the rights and interests of people with disabilities.
To learn more, check out our top three resources to learn more about the ADA, past and present.
This website is packed with information, infographics and videos about the ADA and how you can celebrate the 30th anniversary of its passing . You’ll find everything from timelines, to webinars, to featured blogs. Take some time to explore these resources and sign up for some of the events.
2. 1A Podcast: The Disability Rights Movement, 30 Years After the ADA
This episode of 1A digs into the ways in which the Disability Rights Movement and the resulting legislation was grounded in the fight for human dignity and civil rights. It focuses on what has been accomplished through the legislation, the importance of enforcement mechanisms, and the need for additional work to change out-dated prejudicial attitudes and cultural beliefs about disability. The episode features Alice Wong, activist and founder of the popular Disability Visibility Project, Judy Heumann, widely hailed as the mother of the modern disability rights movement and former special advisor on disability to the Obama administration, and Britney Wilson, staff attorney for the National Center for Law and Economic Justice.
3. Crip Camp
This incredible documentary premiered on Netflix in March of 2020. The film begins by exploring the summer camp experiences of disabled teens in the 1960s at a place called Camp Jened. The film follows the campers into adulthood as they become civil rights activists, organizing to fight for the passage of the first laws to require broad accessibility and equal treatment of people with disabilities in the 1970s, and the paramount civil rights legislation--the ADA-- decades later in 1990. Be sure to check out The Nora Project’s review and viewing guide for this film!