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Essay on The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

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The path to enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the history of the disability rights movement and its struggle to attain a better chance for equality not unlike other minority groups. The Disability community came to realize that the problem they were fighting was discrimination. The Disability community came face to face with some of the same problems and challenges that every individual who is in the minority faces. However, a disabled individual was not considered to be in a minority therefore could not be afforded the protections under the Civil Rights Act. A growing sense of unrest or change in mood galvanized and empowered the Disability community to fight for its civil rights. Federal laws that were enacted …show more content…

This action was precipitated by a The disability community became increasingly incensed that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 section 504 was in a sense not enacted because the regulations had not been written let alone implemented. It took a lawsuit, Cherry vs. the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW), three presidential administrations and lots of demonstrations to finalize the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 section 504 regulations. James Cherry wrote many letters to HEW to urge implementation of the regulations. Mr. Cherry experienced discrimination in law school by being denied a parking spot closer to his classes and a key to the schools elevator. Without the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 section 504 implementation he would not have had any recourse, for the attempts by Senators Hubert Humphrey, Charles Percy and Congressman Charles Vanik to add disability rights to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in 1972 did not work (Fleischer). When Joseph Califano, the Commissioner of the Department of Health Education and Welfare finally signed the regulations for implementation in 1978 Mr. Cherry eventually won his fight against HEW and was able to exercise his rights. More importantly this law and the Fair Housing Act of 1988 gave precedent for a more comprehensive policy. Situations such as this energized the disability community knowing their potential and need for

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