DOJ Event Explores How the ADA was Created
By AAPD Policy Intern Zoe Levenson & Advocacy Intern Ross Valore
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division held their Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Friday, July 23, 2010, in the DOJ’s Great Hall. Beyond the spectacle of the room itself, the lineup of speakers and their respective contributions to the ADA left everyone on the edge of their seats throughout the entire program. The keynote addresses were given by Attorney General Eric Holder, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, and former House of Representatives Majority Whip Tony Coelho with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez moderating.
Each of the speakers discussed his unique experience in working to get the ADA passed and outlined some of the positive changes that have come about since its passage. Each speaker also spent time explaining their personal relationship to the ADA, giving firsthand accounts of the discrimination that the disability community was faced with prior to the ADA’s passage. During former Attorney General Dick Thornburg’s address he echoed the words that were said by George Bush at the signing of ADA twenty-years ago, “let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down”, which in turn served as a call to action for advocates to continue their mission to achieve equal rights for those with disabilities.
The DOJ followed the speakers with a panel comprised of Bob Burgdorf, Chai Feldblum, Arlene Mayerson, Bobby Silverstein, John Wodatch and moderated by Sam Bagenstos, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. This distinguished panel discussed the hard work that preceded the drafting of ADA legislation, from Bob Burgdorf crafting the first law school casebook on the rights of people with disabilities to Arlene Mayerson testifying before Congress defending the rights set forth in the ADA. The panel also talked about the significant work done behind the scenes at the congressional level in order to get the ADA passed: Without the work of people like Justin Dart and the many other grassroots advocates the ADA would never have been passed.
To watch a webcast of the DOJ ADA Celebration: http://www.ada.gov/2010adacelebration/ada20webcastinfo.htm
To read Attorney General Eric Holder’s keynote address: http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100723.html
To read on AAPD’s website about more events celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ADA: http://www.aapd.com/site/c.pvI1IkNWJqE/b.6076337/k.62D9/ADA_20th_Anniversary.htm
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