The A.D.A. at 30: Beyond the Law’s Promise

This series explores how the Americans With Disabilities Act has shaped modern life for people with disabilities in the 30 years since it was passed.

Hayley Wall

On July 26, 1990, under the hot summer sun on the South Lawn of the White House, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act into law, banning discrimination against millions of people and requiring reasonable accommodations in schools, on transportation and in other areas of public life.

More than 2,000 people, many in wheelchairs, cheered from the lawn. Activists had waited years for this moment.

President Bush called the law a “declaration of equality,” one that opened a door to “a bright new era.” In an editorial, The New York Times wrote: “The act does more than enlarge the independence of disabled Americans. It enlarges civil rights and humanity, for all Americans.”

To read more on this story, click here: The A.D.A. at 30: Beyond the Law’s Promise

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