Honoring 30 Years of the ADA

CDE Blog

Thanks for visiting the Campaign for Disability Employment’s (CDE) blog, which features insightful posts from a wide range of guest contributors. If you have an idea for a blog post about disability employment, we’d love to hear about it. Contact us at info@whatcanyoudocampaign.org.

2020_NDEAM_PosterHonoring 30 Years of the ADA
By the CDE Team

July 26, 1990 was a bright day in Washington, D.C., both literally and figuratively. On that day 30 years ago, President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities across community life, including employment.

The purpose of the ADA is clear: to create a better, more inclusive America by reaffirming its ideal of equal opportunity. But the ADA didn’t just create a better, more inclusive America for people with disabilities. It created a better, more inclusive America for all of us.

President Bush emphasized this in the remarks he delivered before putting pen to paper to sign the ADA on the South Lawn of the White House, and his sentiments still ring true today. Speaking to the business community in particular, he said:

President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law.
President George H.W. Bush signs the ADA on the White House South Lawn on July 26, 1990. Pictured alongside him are (left to right) Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Rev. Harold Wilke; Sandra Swift Parrino, Chairperson, National Council on Disability; and Justin Dart, Chairman, President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

“You have in your hands the key to the success of this act, for you can unlock a splendid resource of untapped human potential that, when freed, will enrich us all.”

Indeed, people with disabilities can and do enrich our nation’s workplaces and communities every day, and for the past 10 years, the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE) has been honored to highlight their many and diverse contributions. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, the CDE is a collaborative effort among several disability and business organizations that works to change attitudes about disability and employment through personal and positive stories and imagery.

Our public service announcement (PSA) campaigns each focus on a different angle of disability employment, from the importance of setting high expectations for youth to helping people stay at or return to work after injury or illness. But they all share a common goal—to encourage businesses and others to recognize the talent and value that individuals with disabilities bring to the workplace and the benefits that come with full inclusion.

The CDE is proud to honor the ADA’s anniversary this year, and to showcase its value to individuals, employers and communities across America, every year.  We hope you will join us in marking this milestone. For ideas on how to do so, please visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s ADA30 webpage. Of course, we also hope you will join our movement as we continue to shine a light on the benefits of workplace inclusion, for all of us.

About the Author
This post was authored by members of the Campaign for Disability Employment team. If you have an idea for a guest blog post about disability employment, we’d love to hear about it. Please contact us at info@whatcanyoudocampaign.org.

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