In today’s blog post I want to take a trip down memory lane. When I was going through some of my old disability advocacy files in my office, I came upon a piece of promotional literature I had for the ADA Legacy Project. It inspired me to want to take a deeper dive into what the Project is all about, the meeting that started it all, and share it here in on Love Disabled Life.

At the invitation of Mark Johnson, Director of Advocacy at the Shepherd Center, 25 disability rights advocates, activists and allies gathered in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2012, for what became the ADA25 Summit. Out of that Summit came The ADA Legacy Project. Even though it was three years before 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Summit started to think about how to preserve disability history in the most inclusive way possible.

"Mark was starting to think ahead," says Kristen Vincent, Project Coordinator for the ADA Legacy Project. "He has a collection of disability history documents and artifacts from his own leadership in the movement, and he started to think about what he wanted to do with it all. How he would preserve it. And how we will preserve our history."

The ADA Legacy Project's mission is to honor the contributions of people with disabilities and their allies by preserving the history of the disability rights movement; celebrating its milestones; and educating the public and future advocates. At the meeting they showcased archives, shared personal stories, and revisited pivotal moments that have shaped the disability rights movement.

The meeting served as a crucial educational platform, enlightening attendees about the ADA's impact and the ongoing challenges faced by the disability community. Workshops and seminars provided tools and knowledge for advocates to take back to their communities. It also emphasized the importance of continued advocacy. Advocates talked about strategies about how to address these challenges in the context of the ADA's legacy.

Beyond the Meeting

The exploration of ideas at the Summit meeting led to Johnson collaborating with other people inside and outside of the movement who wanted to join in the effort of honoring the legacy of the ADA. He raised $25,000 from a grant from the Amerigroup Foundation which served as the seed money for the project that would extend beyond the initial Summit meeting.

Working as five part-time staff and volunteers, the ADA Legacy Project worked hard to reach out and coordinate with independent living centers and disability rights organizations across the country to assist and support individual communities in their own 25th anniversary celebrations.

In an effort to collect as much disability history from communities all over the country, as well as to promote the ADA Legacy project itself, funding was secured for a “Road to Freedom Bus.” Departing in July 2014 it made stops in major cities across America, concluding in Washington D.C. at the National Council on Independent Living Council (NICL) Conference.

When the “Road to Freedom” tour concluded, it was clear that The ADA Legacy Project's meeting in Atlanta was a pivotal moment itself in disability history. It became a nexus of the disability community’s humanity, history, culture, and pride. It also served as a reminder of the disability rights progress that has been achieved and the work still to be done. As we look to the future, the legacy of the ADA and the efforts of those who continue to champion disability rights guide us towards a more inclusive and just world.