July 2014 marks the 24th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, commonly known as the ADA. It was on July 26th, 1990 that President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. All across our nation there are many activities and celebrations being conducted to honor this all important milestone.
One such organization called IndependenceFirst based out of Milwaukee WI announced on social media that they “will be celebrating the whole year leading up to the 25th anniversary of the ADA in July 2015. We’re planning events to promote the ADA all year long.” But this will not be the typical party until you drop sort of celebration, but rather aget the word out, and let’s take action type of events that are being conducted by various organizations around the country.
Since the ADA was signed into law, there have been some tremendous decisions made regarding the rights of people with disabilities. Hiring mandates are in place for workers with disabilities along with other efforts to transition working-age Americans with disabilities through support services, education and job training. There is an interesting article in the Huffington Post outlining the advancements and achievements for workers with disabilities that have come about as a result. These points justify the reason for celebration of this anniversary, while at the same time it is also a good time to push forward on progressive change and accomplish the true meaning for the ADA.
The 24th Anniversary ADA Roundtable is being conducted at Drake University. The agenda for this event will not only highlight some of the important changes that have taken place since the ADA was passed, but will also focus on the challenges that still lay ahead including equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency. This brings us to a statement made by the executive director of the Iowa Development Disabilities Council summing up our real point that reflects the accomplishments as well as the future by stressing that there is still a long way to go:
“[sic] I think that one of the issues is that the ADA is complaint-driven,” she said. “So, until somebody complains, there’s really no enforcement. And I don’t think that people with disabilities understand that, always.”
Which is why we are here and invite you to contact us if you have encountered accessibility barriers in publicly accessible buildings.