"Our message to America is that inequality and prejudice will not be tolerated. Our message to people with disabilities is that your time has come."
Senator Bob Dole - July 13, 1990

ADA Capitol Protest

Frustrated by the endless debates in Congress, the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) organized a protest to get the attention of political leaders. In March 1990, they resorted to crawling up the steps to dramatize the fact that even the nation's Capitol was inaccessible to the disabled. This was the final impetus resulting in the passage of the ADA.
Picture
The New York times, March 18, 1990
"They say that it was the image of me [that] was the final decision to get the ADA passed."
Jennifer Keelan, ADAPT activist - May 1990
"...if you don't want us to be a part of America, well then we're just going to crawl in..."
Stephanie Thomas, Personal Interveiw - December 5, 2012