Celebrate 25 Years of the ADA in Worcester
July 25, 2015 from Noon - 4pm
Posted Thursday July 23 2015 at 06:22 am.
Used tags: event, inclusive, worcester
Seven Hills Foundation is a proud sponsor of the City of Worcester's 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on Saturday, July 25, 2015 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at Union Station.
The day the Americans With Disabilities Act passed in 1990, then-U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa delivered a speech from the Senate floor in a way most of his colleagues didn't understand.
Harkin, the bill's sponsor, used sign language for the benefit of his brother who was deaf and had taught Harkin this lesson: "People should be judged on the basis of their abilities and not on the basis of their disabilities."
With the country marking the act's 25th anniversary, Brandi Rarus, a former Miss Deaf America, remembers how important it was for people with disabilities to make it known they would no longer allow others to set limits on what they could achieve.
"Those of us with disabilities face many barriers," says Rarus. "Some of those are unavoidable. I can’t listen to the radio as I drive to work in the morning. Often, because of communication barriers, I have to work twice as hard as a hearing person. Instead of taking me five minutes to make a doctor’s appointment, it takes me 10."
But some barriers are avoidable, Rarus says. And that's why the Americans With Disabilities Act has played such an important role in people's lives for the last 25 years.
Please join us for this local celebration--enjoy an afternoon of entertainment, interactive exhibits and activities, educational resources, food and dance!
Date: Saturday, July 25, 2015
Time: Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Place: Union Station, 2 Washington Square, Worcester
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