Presentation in conjunction with the upcoming 25th anniversary celebrations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the May 2015 Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, Honolulu, Hawaii. Combines personal reflections with history, 25th anniversary celebrations, snapshots of several Generation ADA advocates, and some predictions.

1. Power, Pride and the Road to
Freedom:
What Can We Say about the Americans with
Disabilities Act, 1990-2015?
Steven E. Brown
Co-Founder, Institute on Disability Culture
Professor (retired) & Affiliate Faculty,
Center on Disability Studies,
U. of Hawaii at Manoa;
Diversity and Inclusion Fellow,
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
sebrown@hawaii.edu

2. Learning Outcomes
1. To learn about the beginnings of the history of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
2. To understand ways in which the ADA and
disability studies are evolving and moving
toward the 35th Anniversary in 2025.

3. Or, in other words…
On July 26, 2015, the U.S. will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the signing
of the ADA.
What have we learned in these 25 years-and before?
Do you know about the ADA of 1989? How did the ADA actually get
passed? What did its advocates hope to accomplish and why?
What has succeeded?
Where do we need to improve?
What’s next?

4. Working Toward Passage of the ADA or Sharing Some
of My Personal History

5. Toward Independence:
An Assessment of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting
Persons with Disabilities - With Legislative
Recommendations
http://www.ncd.gov/publications/1986/February1986
National Council on Disability (then on the
Handicapped), Feb. 1986

6. From the Introduction
“As for other Americans, life for people with disabilities involves striving,
working, taking risks, failing, teaming, and overcoming obstacles. We have all
had the experience of seeking something that eludes us, of trying to reach a
goal that seems to dance just out of reach. Most of us have also had the
rewarding experience of surmounting obstacles to achieve a goal or
accomplish a task, succeeding even though someone else or even we
ourselves doubted we could do it.
A major difference between persons with disabilities and other individuals is
the number, degree, and complexity of the barriers they face in trying to
achieve their personal goals and fulfillment. Some of these barriers result
from the disabilities themselves-a disability may be considered to be the lack
of some mental, physical, or emotional "tool" which most other people can
call upon in addressing life's tasks.”

7. 10 major topics
1. Equal Opportunity Laws
2. Employment
3. Disincentives to Work Under Social Security Laws
4. Prevention of Disabilities
5. Transportation
6. Housing
7. Community-Based Services for Independent Living
8. Educating Children with Disabilities
9. Personal Assistance; Attendant Services, Readers and
Interpreters, and
10. Coordination

8. Equal Opportunity Laws
Recommendation #1
“Congress should enact a comprehensive law requiring equal
opportunity for individuals with disabilities, with broad coverage
and setting clear, consistent, and enforceable standards
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of handicap.
Such a statute should be packaged as a single comprehensive
bill, perhaps under such a title as "The Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1986."

9. “We are not a tragic minority;
we are a magnificent, triumphant majority.”
Justin Dart, Jr.

10. On the Threshold of Independence:
Progress on Legislative Recommendations from
Toward Independence
National Council on Disability
http://www.ncd.gov/publications/1988/Jan1988

11. The Americans with Disabilities Act of
1988: A Draft Bill
PURPOSE. - It is the purpose of this Act-
(1) to provide a clear and comprehensive National mandate for the elimination of
discrimination against persons with disabilities;
(2) to provide a prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities parallel
in scope of coverage with that afforded in statutes prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion;
(3) to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing
discrimination against persons with disabilities; and
(4) to invoke the sweep of congressional authority, including its power to enforce the
fourteenth amendment, to regulate commerce, and to regulate interstate
transportation, in order to address the major areas of discrimination faced day-today
by people with disabilities

12. Discrimination Diaries
5,000 testimonies from all 50 states collected
from all 50 states
Justin Dart traveled to all 50 states at least 2 times
between the years of 1986 and 1990, documenting the
struggles of people with disabilities to assert their
rights.

13. Excerpt from
“Tap-Dancing on the White
House Lawn”
by Steven E. Brown © 1995;
Photo of 1989 “Where is
George” March
by Steven E. Brown ©2000
All Rights Reserved

14. Tom Olin
Disability Rights Photographer

15. History of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)
Philadelphia, 1990, Photo by Tom Olin

16. Mac Brodie and Lex Frieden

17. ADAPT History Project
At the very beginning, I looked up and thought that I would never make it. But
right below me was a seven year old girl who was making the same climb, step by
step, her wheelchair left somewhere below or whisked somewhere above. This
was Tom Olin's young niece. I felt an obligation to be a role model for this girl and
we ultimately made it to the top together.
Some people may have thought that it was undignified for people in wheelchairs
to crawl in that manner, but I felt that it was necessary to show the country what
kinds of things people with disabilities have to face on a day-to-day basis. We had
to be willing to fight for what we believed in.
From “I Was There…Michael Winter
http://www.adapt.org/freeourpeople/adapt25/narratives/15adapt.htm

18. Michael Winter Climbing Capitol Steps

19. “I now lift my pen to sign this Americans with Disabilities Act and say: Let
the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”
George H. W. Bush
Photo of Evan Kemp, Rev. Harold Willkie, George Bush, Sandra Parrino, and Justin Dart

20. ADA of 1990
From “Findings”
(5) individuals with disabilities continually encounter various
forms of discrimination, including outright intentional
exclusion, the discriminatory effects of architectural,
transportation, and communication barriers, overprotective
rules and policies, failure to make modifications to existing
facilities and practices, exclusionary qualification standards
and criteria, segregation, and relegation to lesser services,
programs, activities, benefits, jobs, or other opportunities;

21. ADA of 1990 (continued)
Definitions:
(A) a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities
of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an impairment

22. ADA of 1990 (continued)
Titles
I. Employment
I. Public Services
II. Public Accommodations and Services
Operated by Private Entities

23. ADA Legacy Project
Mark Johnson

24. ADA Legacy Project
(continued)
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.
http://www.adalegacy.com/about-us/vision-and-mission

25. The Road to Freedom Bus, 2015

26. http://www.adalegacy.com/ada25

27. Generation ADA:
Words I Wheel By
“25 Ways the Americans with Disabilities Act
Sparked Positive Change in the United States”
Emily Ladau
http://wordsiwheelby.com/2015/04/25-ways-the-
americans-with-disabilities-act-sparked-positive-change-
in-the-united-states/

28. 1) Curb cuts
2) More equal opportunities for people with all types of disabilities to receive a
public education
3) Increased accessible public transportation
4) Service animals are more accepted in public
5) Reasonable accommodations
6) Greater social involvement among the disability community in all areas of society
7) More civic engagement, i.e. voting
8) Expanded employment opportunities for disabled people
Emily Ladau:
25 Ways the Americans with Disabilities Act
Sparked Positive Change in the United States” (continued)

29. Emily Ladau:
25 Ways the Americans with Disabilities Act
Sparked Positive Change in the United States” (continued)
9) Gives a stronger voice to the world’s largest minority
10) Provides a platform of civil rights for the disability community
11) Disabled athletes can thrive in adaptive sports
12) Support systems exist for people with all types of disabilities
13) Misconceptions and prejudices can be more easily debunked
14) There is a bigger presence of disability in the media
15) Adaptive products are more widely available.
16) There is a bigger focus on studying disability in academia
17) Paved the way for further legislative policy advancement for disability rights

30. Emily Ladau:
25 Ways the Americans with Disabilities Act
Sparked Positive Change in the United States” (continued)
18) Serves as a common bond for all people with disabilities in the United States
19) Provides a legal basis to maintain momentum in pursuing accessibility and justice
20) Automatic door openers have become much more common in public places
21) Helps prevent discriminatory actions or retaliation
22) Social recognition of disabled people as full, contributing citizens
23) Acts as a symbol of disability pride and culture
24) Serves as a reminder of the positive potential of bipartisanship
25) Created a legacy for current and future generations of young activists as we carry
the torch forward

31. Generation ADA (continued):
Looking Forward: Thoughts on the
Americans with Disabilities Act
Hamza Jaka
“Next up on our list: we need to become more inclusive of people
with all types of disabilities, especially invisible disabilities, and
remove the painful stigma associated with disability. It is getting
better, and mindsets are changing, but there is still much more
work to be done.”
http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2013/07/26/looking-forward-thoughts-
americans-disabilities-act

32. Generation ADA (continued)
Autistic Hoya
Lydia Brown
“My name is Lydia Brown. I am autistic, disabled, and proud! I have a variety
of experience in grassroots organizing, public policy advocacy, and outreach
on disability rights issues. (Here's a link to my full professional-seeming bio --
that's the page with information about public speaking and stuff of that
nature.) Right now, I'm working as a policy analyst for the Autistic Self
Advocacy Network, between pulling together the first-ever anthology by
autistics of color with the Autism Women's Network and developing the
Washington Metro Disabled Students Collective.* I care about intersectional
social justice, because I believe absolutely that justice must be for everyone,
not just us.”
http://www.autistichoya.com/p/about.html

33. Generation ADA (continued)
“Beyond Disability, Beyond Compliance”
Jay Rucklehaus
“Weeks before Jay Ruckelshaus was to start his first year at Duke University in 2011, a
diving accident created a new reality for him: quadriplegia. Moving into a Duke dorm
room was put on hold as he underwent a year’s worth of hospital treatments and
therapies.
Ruckelshaus, now a philosophy and political science junior at Duke, is helping to
organize a national disability conference on Duke’s campus on October 22 and 23
[2014].
Ruckelshaus met about a year ago with Duke administrators to discuss his idea for a
national conference that would take disability discussions beyond compliance and
focus instead on campus culture and the higher education experience for students
with disabilities.”
http://today.duke.edu/2014/09/disabilityretreat

34. Generation ADA (continued)
Cara Liebowitz
ADA Generation Girl: Reflections on the 25th Anniversary of the ADA
“On June 3rd, 1992, I arrived in this world three months prematurely, marking my
status as a disabled person and placing me squarely in the ADA Generation - the first
generation of disabled people to grow up with the ADA…. The ADA shouldn't have to
exist. I should not have to quote legislation in order to prove what should be self-
evident - that the state of my body or mind does not erase the rights that I am entitled
to. Rights should not be conditional, and yet, we have had to fight, over and over, for
women's rights, for the rights of people of color, for disability rights, for gender and
sexual minorities' rights, proving that the words of our founding fathers, "We hold
these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal." were no more than
hollow lies. Yet, my wish that the ADA didn't have to exist can exist side by side with
my profound gratitude that such a law does exist.”
http://thatcrazycrippledchick.blogspot.com/2015/04/ada-generation-girl-reflections-on-
25th.html

35. ADA 25 Celebrate!
You Tube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUCwPT
82s4WnKwnc-vEQyw/featured

36. Toward the 35th Anniversary in 2025
Defining Disability
Employment
Health Insurance
Housing
Disability Culture
Disability History
Technology
Hospitality
Tourism

37. Or…In Other Words
“Disability, or the concept of disability, as well as disabling conditions will
evolve. To my way of thinking this is inevitable, because there is always a new
disability, or disabilities, on the horizon, that none of us anticipates, such as
the late 20th century advent of AIDS or the change of thinking and use of
language in the U.S. from “mental retardation” (what in the United Kingdom
is often referred to as learning disabilities) to intellectual or cognitive
disability (see, for example, “The “r” Word Campaign).
It is likely that one or more of these newly-developing conditions, as well as
future or further reflections on current disabilities, such as changes in
perceptions about intellectual disabilities (see, for example Think College,
describing students with intellectual disabilities attending college) will change
ways in which we perceive specific disabilities and disability in general.”
from Brown, “Reflections and Expectations in Rethinking Disability: The first quarter of
the 21st century”

38. Education and Disability Studies
“Education will finally include disability rights as part of its curriculum
from elementary to postsecondary schools. This will be, in large part,
because of the successes of the disability rights movement and the
infiltration of disability studies into many disciplines. But it will also be
because disability scholars have broadened our approach to include
disability as part of the broader world, and will be part of a global
movement. This will enable us to focus specifically on disability,
disability culture, and disability studies from a lens that analyzes
disability both in micro and macro ways. Disability studies programs
will increase, but so will disability studies as part of other curricula.”
from Brown, “Reflections and Expectations in Rethinking Disability: The first
quarter of the 21st century”

39. Reviewing Learning Outcomes
1. To learn about the beginnings of history of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
2. To understand ways in which the ADA and
disability studies are evolving and moving
toward the 35th Anniversary in 2025.

40. References
ADA 25 Celebrate! YouTube Channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUCwPT82s4WnKwnc-vEQyw/featured
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Retrieved from
http://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm#12101
Brown, Lydia. Autistic Hoya. www.autistichoya.com
Brown, Steven E. (forthcoming). Reflections and Expectations in Rethinking Disability: The first
quarter of the 21st century in P Devlieger, S Brown, B. Miranda, and M. Strickfaden (Eds.).
Rethinking Disability: World Perspectives in Culture and Society. Antwerp: Garant.
Brown, Steven E. (1995). “Tap-Dancing on the White House Lawn” in Pain, Plain and Fancy
Rappings: Poetry from the Disability Culture. Institute on Disability Culture.
Dudash, April (Sept. 2014). Duke to Host National Retreat: ‘Beyond Disability, Beyond Compliance
to focus on higher education student experience. Retrieved from
http://today.duke.edu/2014/09/disabilityretreat
Jaka, Hamza. (July 26, 2013). Looking Forward: Thoughts on the American with Disabilities Act.
DipNote. US Department of State Official Blog. Retrieved from
http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2013/07/26/looking-forward-thoughts-americans-disabilities-act

41. References (continued)
Justin Dart, Jr. Quoted in Adam P. Newman, “A Brief History of Disability Rights in America.”
Retrieved from http://thisdisabledamericanlife.weebly.com/a-brief-history-of-disability-
rights.html
Ladau, Emily. Words I Wheel By. http://wordsiwheelby.com
Liebowitz, Cara. That Crazy, Crippled Chick. http://thatcrazycrippledchick.blogspot.com
National Council on the Handicapped. (January 1988). On the Threshold of Independence:
Progress on Legislative Recommendations from Toward Independence. Washington, D.C.
Retrieved from http://www.ncd.gov/publications/1988/Jan1988
National Council on the Handicapped. (February 1, 1986).Toward Independence: An
Assessment of Federal Laws and Programs Affecting Persons With Disabilities—With
Legislative Recommendations. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from
http://www.ncd.gov/publications/1986/February1986
Young, J. M. (1997, 2010). Equality of Opportunity: The Making of the Americans with Disabilities
Act. National Council on Disability. Washington, D.C.

42. Image of Steve presenting at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity,
Honolulu, HI 2014
disculture@gmail.com
http://www.instituteondisabilityculture.org