Solomon Center Series Spotlights 30 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

This fall the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy launched a 2020–2021 virtual spotlight series examining the history and legacy of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The series aims to bring together figures involved in the conception and drafting of the bill, the foremost scholars in disability law, and experts on building design and access to engage in discussions about the ADA, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and accessibility on campus. The first installment on September 21, 2020, “Policy Leaders Who Were There at the Start: Chai Feldblum and Lex Frieden,” took a close look at how exactly the ADA came to be with two leading players in its development. 

Chai Feldblum is a Partner and Director of Workplace Culture Consulting at Morgan Lewis LLP. Feldblum served as a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 2010 to 2019. Feldblum played a leading role in drafting and negotiating both the ADA of 1990 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 and is a national authority on disability rights. Feldblum is also a prominent figure in the LGBTQ community and has played leading roles in drafting legislation and administrative rulings in the area of LGBTQ rights.

Lex Frieden is Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Frieden has served as chair of the National Council on Disability, president of Rehabilitation International, and chair of the American Association of People with Disabilities. He is recognized as one of the founders of the independent living movement by people with disabilities in the early 1970s, and he was instrumental in conceiving and drafting the ADA.

Feldblum and Frieden talked about the measures it took to get the landmark legislation to the floor. The journey began in the late-1960s and culminated with the eventual passage of the ADA in 1990. Frieden shared powerful clips of the activism and advocacy of the time and painted a picture of an era when businesses and universities fiercely defended their right to deny services and employment to people with disabilities. Feldblum discussed the significance of the ADA as a civil rights law and how other major civil rights movements paved the way for the strategies that led to the passage of the act.

They positioned the ADA as a starting point in an ongoing effort and emphasized the importance of the interaction between political advocates, Congress, and the courts. The passage of the ADA Amendments Act in 2008 aimed to remedy some of the limitations set on the ADA by courts and agencies. However, there is still work to do, according to Feldblum and Frieden. The discussion concluded with a note to social justice and disability justice advocates to take lessons from the past to navigate the challenges of the 21st century.

This series is cosponsored by ThinkDifferent, DivineAbilities at the Yale Divinity School, the Graduate Student Disability Alliance, and Disability Empowerment for Yale (DeFY).