The ADA at 30: Celebrating the Breaking Down of Barriers & Expanding Inclusion

Source: Shutterstock

Thirty years ago, on July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). At the signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, President Bush gracefully summarized the law’s intent: “Together we must remove the physical barriers we have created and the social barriers that we have accepted,” the president said. “For ours will never be a truly prosperous nation until all within it prosper.”

A significant milestone and critical step for the advancement of civil rights in the United States, the ADA established a comprehensive national mandate that discrimination against those with disabilities would not be tolerated. In doing so, it set the stage for their fuller inclusion in American life. Indeed, this landmark legislation, which transformed the lives of millions of Americans, was a vital step forward in the ongoing effort to extend our nation’s full promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to a population that was far too often overlooked when it came to employment and educational opportunities.