The ADA: What's the BIg Deal Anyway?
On July 26, 1990, 24 years ago today something happened that completely changed the course of my life and the lives of millions of other Americans. 24 years ago today the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed. Three months and five days later I was born. This means that I have lived my entire life in a world where the ADA that this is incredibly important to me as it shapes all my experiences. Unlike those who came before me I have never lived in a world where I do not have protection under the law. Unlike those who came before me I have always been able to go to restaurant, get into movie theaters, and find a curb cut, even if it is a little bit of a challenge sometimes. I have never lived in a world without the ADA, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Even though the ADA affects my everyday life, I rarely take time to reflect on what it actually means for me as a disabled American. In fact, for most of my life, I rarely thought about it at all. Last summer while living in DC, the other interns in my program and I were tasked to create a project that demonstrated what the ADA meant to us. It was then that I realized how much the ADA actually mattered in my everyday life. For so long the ADA was just something people talked about and I knew that it affected me, I knew that it gave me rights and privileges I would not otherwise have, but truth be told I didn't really understand it. I had never really stopped to think about what my life would be like without the ADA. I took for granted ramps, elevators and curb cuts. I took for granted access to movie theaters, restaurants and concert halls. I took for granted the existence of accessible bathrooms and hotel rooms. In my life, even though I sometimes faced situations where the ADA wasn't properly enforced, the fact that I was legally guaranteed equal access to buildings was just a given, never a question. I would become frustrated when I couldn't get into a building, but I didn't really understand the value of fighting for my rights to access, because to me it had been something that had always existed.
My perspective changed when I learned my history has a disabled American. My perspective changed when I learned about people like Ed Roberts and Justin Dart. My perspective changed when I learned that the life I have today wasn't just handed to me but was fought for by people who saw it as something worth fighting for. I was proud to find my place in a legacy that included people who chained themselves to buses and crawled up the steps of the United States Capitol. I was proud to have something worth fighting for. I was proud to know that the life I have today wasn't just handed to me, but was earned by people who wouldn't give up and wouldn't give in. I was proud to know that my disability, something I had always thought. separated me from people made me part of this legacy, part of this history. On ADA Day, and every day I am so proud to be a disabled American. I am proud of my identity, I am proud of my community, and I am proud of my history. I have learned that even 24 years later the ADA is not something to be taken for granted. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go and I am proud to be part of that future. Over the past 24 years I have learned never to be ashamed of who I am. I have learned equality may not always come easy, but it is something worth fighting for. Happy ADA day!
Lead on!
Even though the ADA affects my everyday life, I rarely take time to reflect on what it actually means for me as a disabled American. In fact, for most of my life, I rarely thought about it at all. Last summer while living in DC, the other interns in my program and I were tasked to create a project that demonstrated what the ADA meant to us. It was then that I realized how much the ADA actually mattered in my everyday life. For so long the ADA was just something people talked about and I knew that it affected me, I knew that it gave me rights and privileges I would not otherwise have, but truth be told I didn't really understand it. I had never really stopped to think about what my life would be like without the ADA. I took for granted ramps, elevators and curb cuts. I took for granted access to movie theaters, restaurants and concert halls. I took for granted the existence of accessible bathrooms and hotel rooms. In my life, even though I sometimes faced situations where the ADA wasn't properly enforced, the fact that I was legally guaranteed equal access to buildings was just a given, never a question. I would become frustrated when I couldn't get into a building, but I didn't really understand the value of fighting for my rights to access, because to me it had been something that had always existed.
My perspective changed when I learned my history has a disabled American. My perspective changed when I learned about people like Ed Roberts and Justin Dart. My perspective changed when I learned that the life I have today wasn't just handed to me but was fought for by people who saw it as something worth fighting for. I was proud to find my place in a legacy that included people who chained themselves to buses and crawled up the steps of the United States Capitol. I was proud to have something worth fighting for. I was proud to know that the life I have today wasn't just handed to me, but was earned by people who wouldn't give up and wouldn't give in. I was proud to know that my disability, something I had always thought. separated me from people made me part of this legacy, part of this history. On ADA Day, and every day I am so proud to be a disabled American. I am proud of my identity, I am proud of my community, and I am proud of my history. I have learned that even 24 years later the ADA is not something to be taken for granted. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go and I am proud to be part of that future. Over the past 24 years I have learned never to be ashamed of who I am. I have learned equality may not always come easy, but it is something worth fighting for. Happy ADA day!
Lead on!