A 'Declaration of Equality': Thirty years ago, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, an important civil rights milestone that protects people with disabilities from discrimination.

• Author: Bubar, Joe
• Position: TIMES PAST: 1990

Judy Heumann knows what it's like to grow up in a world that wasn't built for her. In 1949, when she was 18 months old, she contracted polio, which left her paralyzed.

When Heumann's mom tried to enroll her in kindergarten in Brooklyn, New York, the principal called her a "fire hazard" because of her wheelchair, and wouldn't let her in. When she was finally allowed to attend school three years later, she and other kids with disabilities were taught in special-education classes in the basement of the school--separated from the rest of the students.

Heumann couldn't go with her friends to many places, such as the movie theater, because there were no ramps, and she often had to be carried up flights of stairs.

But Heumann never felt ashamed of who she was. She knew it wasn't people with disabilities who needed to change--it was the world around them.

"People continually think that those of us with disabilities would prefer not to have our disabilities," Heumann, now 72, says. "And I believe it's important for people to see that disability is a normal part of life and that the barriers we're facing, in many ways, are external to us."

Heumann would go on to spend much of her life trying to break down those barriers--leading sit-ins and other demonstrations as one of the most prominent activists in the disability rights movement. That movement resulted in the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.) on July 26,1990. The federal law makes it illegal to discriminate against people because of their disabilities. It also mandates that places like schools, grocery stores, and theaters be made accessible--for instance, by installing wheelchair ramps, designated parking spots, and Braille signage.

Today, 30 years later, the A.D.A. is still considered one of the most important pieces of American civil rights legislation ever signed into law.

A History of Discrimination

"For a long time, people with disabilities had little to no rights across the United States," says Keri Gray, a senior director at the American Association of People with Disabilities. "So the A.D.A. is a big piece of legislation that ensures that people with disabilities can not only exist in the United States but can thrive."

Today, 61 million people in the U.S. have a disability, making the disabled community the largest minority group in the country. It includes people with visible disabilities--such as paralysis and Down syndrome--as well as invisible, or hidden, disabilities--such as Asperger syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (A.D.H.D.). A person's disability can be permanent or temporary.

Despite the fact that one in four American adults have a disability, people with disabilities have had to overcome a long history of discrimination. Before the passage of the...