Everywhere you look, you’re sure to spot an ADA or a Braille sign near room doors, restrooms, and on directories. In a culture that is so accepting of others, it’s hard to believe those with disabilities had a 20 year fight to gain equality.
Following the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, advocates for the handicapped decided it was their time to fight for the end of discrimination. For years, supporters wrote letters and stated their pleas to the government, all while Congressional leaders held meetings behind closed doors. Finally, in 1973 the Congress passed Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which banned discrimination of the disabled under any federal program or activity.
This was the first major victory in the fight for equality, but the government had failed to define what non-discrimination meant to those who are disabled.
