Excerpt from the ADA http://library.clerk.house.gov/reference-files/PPL_101_336_AmericansWithDisabilities.pdf
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is one of the most important laws for people with disabilities. Above is a short excerpt from a very long piece of legislation. The ADA states that in no case may individuals with disabilities be discriminated against in public spaces. It gives individuals with disabilities civil rights and equal opportunities in places such as their place of employment, schools, transportation, and other public areas. This piece of legislation is important in the history of people with disabilities in the US because this law is what came of the long and hard fight of The Disability Rights Movement in the 1960s. This is referred to in the short video by PBS called Lives Worth Living, attached below, and gives important information as to why the ADA was such an important piece of legislation. The video includes interviews of individuals with disabilities and also shows live footage from protests and rally’s within the Disability Rights Movement.