When I think about the ADA and what it means for all of us, I can’t help but think back to the beginning – to the National Council on Disability issuing their report “Toward Independence” outlining the need for the ADA – to Lex Freidan, Bobby Silverstein, Liz Savage, Pat Wright, and all the others who put words on paper that captured what needed to be in the ADA – I think about Justin Dart, Marilyn Golden and the hundreds of others who rallied the disability community across the nation –– all to ensure that the civil rights of people with disabilities were recognized and protected in federal law.
I think about all the grassroots organizing:
• Justin Dart’s 50 state tour to promote the ADA
• All the state organizers who got the word out and organized the efforts in each of their states, including
• Jan Lilly-Stewart who made sure WV was fully engaged, that we knew what to do, and that we did it
• Our champions in Congress: Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Bob Dole, Senator Ted Kennedy, Representative Tony Coelho, Representative Steny Hoyer
• And, of course the joy of the passage of the ADA and the incredible signing ceremony, July 26, 1990, on the White House lawn that was in itself a huge celebration of the “Independence Day” for all Americans with disabilities
Our Theme today is “ADA 30 – Past, Present, and Future”
I am so very pleased to be with you here today and to have the honor of introducing our speakers who will follow our theme from the beginning on through to the future.
