Today, July 26th, 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (#ADA)!
This groundbreaking civil rights law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities.
Here is a great story about the dramatic protest that led to the ADA's passage 25 years ago.
Often overlooked is that the ADA covers mental as well as physical disabilities. I know from personal experience with my mental illness that to this day employers act illegally in the face of this law by discriminating in the workplace. We created #MentalhealthJustice.net because we know the fight continues to remove the barriers that remain.
Despite the continuing struggle, on this anniversary, we pause to give a heartfelt thanks to all the advocates who lobbied for the law, retired Iowa Senator Tom Harkin who championed the ADA through Congress, and President George H.W. Bush who signed the ADA into law. Now. it's incumbent on all of us to make sure our society and institutions respect mental illness as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mental health justice. No stigma, no judgment. Everyone is welcome.
Dolores