30th anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Last Sunday on July 26th, it was the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)’s 30th year anniversary. Many videos and personal stories surfaced celebrating how ADA has given us our rights. 

We will highlight a few videos or screenshots that we saw circulating. 

The first one is by former President Barack Obama. He posted two different videos, one was a conversation between Obama and several activists of the next generation. In that video several Deaf Interpreters were seen. Also featured was Haben Girma, a DeafBlind author and activist. 

The second video was of Obama choosing three activists to recognize and one of them is Storm Smith. 

[Video post with Storm Smith saying, “My name is Storm Smith. I am a producer for the ad agency BBDO. I am also an advocate and creative storyteller.”] 

The NAD Deaf Culture and History Section (NAD DCHS) posted a video called "Deaf and Disabled Stories.” It features several individuals that identify as DeafDisabled or talk about the intersection of being deaf and also being disabled. 

[Screenshot showing four people featured on NAD DCHS]

The author and chief sponsor of the ADA was former Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). He had a Deaf brother who attended the Iowa School for the Deaf and he was his inspiration. He introduced the ADA on the Senate floor using ASL. 

He would later found the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement. The institute just did a virtual celebration of the ADA and invited Deaf attorney and advocate Claudia Gordon to share her thoughts. 

Gordon said in a vlog that when the ADA passed, she was only a high school junior, and now she’s an attorney. She said there are still unfinished businesses because many disabled people still can’t get jobs. She also said Black people with disabilities are doubly and even triply oppressed. 

[Video of Claudia Gordon: “So, as we move forward looking ahead towards the next 30 years, we must continue to fight to make all the ADA’s promises a reality. My personal commitment to myself and on behalf of the community is to do my part to ensure that the fight for “all” truly means all. This is regardless of what you look like, regardless of who you love, regardless of where you’re from…”]

You can watch the full video at the link in the transcript. 

[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://bit.ly/2RyMogR] 

On a website and Facebook page called “ADA 30 Lead On,” there is a 2 hours and 22 minutes long video featuring many different people with disabilities. There was an interpreter on screen throughout and several Deaf people were featured in this video such as Rachel Afra, Marlee Matlin, Alexandria Wailes, and CJ Jones. 

There were many wonderful videos featured on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We have included links for the videos we shared about in this transcript. 

We, The Daily Moth, are grateful for ADA and how it has granted us our rights in many ways. The ADA is not perfect, but it has made a difference. One recent notable example is the use of ADA in a lawsuit that forced the New York Governor to provide an on-screen sign language interpreter. 

The fight for access for people with disabilities is not over, but may we celebrate what was accomplished for the last 30 years. Happy 30th ADA! 

Obama’s first video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDGvll8gCXu/ 

Obama’s second video with Storm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKTNl7gtZD/ 

NAD DCHS Deaf and Disabled video: https://www.facebook.com/NAD.DCHS/videos/3178231492269961/?v=3178231492269961

Claudia Gordon Video: https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaLorraineGordon/videos/4209482052456276/

ADA’s 30th celebration video: https://www.facebook.com/109566040826495/videos/297716028239677/?v=297716028239677