Celebrating 22 Years of the ADA

On July 26, 2012, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becomes 22 years old.  The passage of the ADA 22 years ago was a watershed moment in civil rights history, as it was the first time that the law contained protections for the civil rights of deaf and hard of hearing people and other people with disabilities.

The National Association of the Deaf was heavily involved in the passage of this critically important law that provided the right to sign language interpreters and captioning access for deaf and hard of hearing people in many areas such as employment, state and local governmental services, and public accommodations. Also under this law, no one could legally be denied a job or services simply because a person is deaf or hard of hearing.

"Despite 22 years of this law, discrimination and inequality remains. Yes, much work remains to achieve full equality for all, and to reach this goal, the NAD is ready to work with its members and allies to overcome all forms of discrimination and audism." said NAD Chief Executive Officer Howard A. Rosenblum.

The White House and federal agencies as well as nonprofit agencies are marking this date with ceremonies, celebrations, and hearings. The NAD Vice President, Secretary, and Staff Attorney will be present along with other advocates at the ADA Celebration at the White House on July 26th.  We will join many other advocates from the disability community at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee  markup hearing to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. In addition, NAD CEO Howard A. Rosenblum will participate in the ADA Anniversary Roundtable on Disability Employment hosted by Senator Harkin. This Roundtable will include Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Delaware Governor Jack Markell (the new Chair of the National Governors Association), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, as well as other key leaders in government, the disability community, business and philanthropy.

Join us and celebrate the 22nd Anniversary of the ADA, and more importantly, become a NAD member and help us  make it possible to achieve full equality for deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States!