Equality of Opportunity: The Making of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The White House Signing Ceremony

As early as May 1, 1990, President Bush told persons with disabilities that there would be “a proud bill-signing ceremony” for the Americans with Disabilities Act.³¹ Many in the disability community hoped this meant a grand celebration of thousands of people uniting to celebrate the American dream. Virginia Thornburgh, for example, whose husband was the attorney general, suggested that the White House sign the bill at the Lincoln Memorial, where she proposed as many as 100,000 people could attend. She hoped the ADA would be viewed as an initiative that was good for all Americans and thus wanted persons with and without disabilities to be welcome. She advised White House staff that a celebratory platform should include members of Congress from both parties, Cabinet members, and representatives from major sectors of society. Such an event could attract the attention of international media and promote the improvement of the lives of persons with disabilities around the world.³²

Shortly after the Senate passed the ADA on July 13, however, rumors spread that the Act would be signed in the White House’s East Room, which could seat no more than 220 people.³³ Apparently, White House staff feared that the summer heat might cause medical problems for persons with disabilities if the ceremony was held outdoors. But people from the disability community protested when they heard the news. Congressional sponsors joined in advocating a “people’s signing ceremony” comparable to the democratic principles of the ADA, where thousands could attend. Finally, due to the efforts of such people as Virginia Thornburgh, Boyden Gray, Justin Dart, and Evan J. Kemp, Jr., the White House announced, on July 16, that it would hold a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. The proposed time was 10:00 a.m. on July 26, 1990, rain or shine.

That left Bonnie Kilberg, Deputy Assistant to the President from the Office of Public Liaison, just ten days to plan the event and prepare an invitation list. To determine who should attend the gala event, Kilberg worked predominantly with colleague Shiree Sanchez; Phil Calkins, an executive with the EEOC; Sharon Mistler; Evan Kemp; and disability advocates Justin and Yoshiko Dart, who supplied thousands of names. In addition to Washington-area supporters of the ADA, Kilberg included hundreds of people with disabilities from around the country on the list. By July 18, Kilberg had drafted an invitation. People were to arrive at the White House gate at 9:00 a.m. for admittance, with photo identification in hand.³⁴ Seven airlines and seven area hotels agreed to give visitors significant discounts.

Roughly 3,000 persons with and without disabilities gathered on the White House South Lawn on the morning of July 26. It was the largest signing ceremony ever held by the White House. After the U.S. Marine Band played the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” President and Mrs. George Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle walked to the stage to the tune of “Hail to the Chief.” There they joined EEOC Chairman Evan Kemp, National Council on Disability Chairwoman Sandra Parrino, disability rights advocate Justin Dart, Reverend Harold H. Wilke, and two sign language interpreters. Conspicuously absent from the platform were any of the ADA leaders from Congress: among them Senators Harkin, Kennedy, Weicker, Hatch, Durenberger, and Robert Dole (R-KS); and Congressmen Tony Coelho (D-CA), Steny Hoyer, Norman Y. Mineta (DCA), Major R. Owens (D-NY), Steve Bartlett (R-TX), and Hamilton Fish, Jr. (R-NY).

As suggested by Virginia Thornburgh, Reverend Wilke opened with an invocation—reputedly the first ever offered at a bill signing ceremony.³⁵ “From ancient times to today we celebrate the breaking of the chains holding your people in bondage,” Wilke prayed. The passage and signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act was a new occasion for celebration, he said, which provided “new access to the Promised Land of work, play and service."³⁶

After Reverend Wilke’s interfaith prayer, Kemp introduced the president. He praised the efforts of persons in Congress, the Bush administration, and the disability community, who “worked tirelessly to develop this civil rights bill.” Then he pointed to President Bush, without whose “steadfast support . . . this bill would not have become law.” He likened President Bush to Abraham Lincoln for his foresight and introduced him as “the foremost member of the disability community."³⁷

“Welcome to every one of you, out there in this splendid scene of hope,” began President Bush, as the crowd interrupted him with applause for the first of 20 times. “This is, indeed, an incredible day,” he said, especially for those who worked to pass the ADA. In consideration of the vast numbers of participants, Bush identified those who had personally helped him. He mentioned Justin Dart, Boyden Gray, Evan Kemp, William Roper, Sandra Parrino, and Robert Dole. Bush also praised the contributions of disability organizations and the collective efforts of 43 million Americans with disabilities, who “have made this happen.”

President Bush likened the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act to Independence Day, which had been celebrated just three weeks earlier. The ADA was the world’s first “declaration of equality” for persons with disabilities, he said. Because of it, “every man, woman and child with a disability can now pass through once-closed doors into a bright new era of equality, independence and freedom.” It offered persons with disabilities the basic guarantees of “independence, freedom of choice, control of their lives, the opportunity to blend fully and equally into the right mosaic of the American mainstream.” This was important, said Bush, because if America was to be “a truly prosperous nation,” everyone within it had to prosper. To those who expressed reservations about the ADA, Bush emphasized that the Act was carefully crafted to contain costs. He added that the ADA could help answer businesses’ request for additions to the working force. As an alternative to spending $200 billion a year to keep persons with disabilities dependent on the government, Bush urged that people give them the opportunity to “move proudly into the economic mainstream of American life.”

President Bush concluded his remarks with an additional analogy to an event not yet a year old: the fall of the Berlin Wall. Signing the ADA represented taking “a sledgehammer to another wall,” said Bush, “one which has, for too many generations, separated Americans from the freedom they could glimpse, but not grasp.” He rejoiced in the fall of this barrier, affirming that “we will not tolerate discrimination in America.” Finally, as he lifted his pen to sign the ADA to the applause of those surrounding him, at 10:26 a.m., Bush proclaimed: “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down."³⁸ With his signature, the long-fought battle to make the ADA public law reached its climax.

President Bush signed four copies of the ADA, each with a different pen. He gave three of the pens to Dart, Kemp, and Parrino, saving the fourth for Attorney General Thornburgh. He then took a fifth pen from his pocket to present to Reverend Wilke, who, because he had no arms, promptly and deftly accepted the pen with his foot.

As members of Congress, the Bush administration, the disability community, and others in the audience shouted, cheered, smiled, cried, and embraced, President Bush, the First Lady, and Vice President Quayle worked through the crowd to regain entrance to the White House. About a half an hour later, people moved across the street to Ellipse Park for a colossal picnic of fried chicken and soda. Music played in the background. For dessert, people found cakes adorned with the faces of President Bush, Senator Harkin, and Congressman Hoyer. Dozens of advocates in and out of government presented remarks from a makeshift platform. Media swarmed the grounds for interviews and photographs. Later in the afternoon, as the temperature reached 92 degrees, the crowd dispersed. At 5:00 p.m., however, hundreds gathered for an additional celebration in the Hart Senate Office Building sponsored by Justin and Yoshiko Dart, where wine and a seafood buffet were served. There were more hugs, more kisses, and more speeches. They had much to be proud of. The battle, finally, was won.

31. Ginny Thornburgh to The Honorable David F. Demarest, Jr., June 28, 1990, in possession of Thornburgh.

32. Ginny Thornburgh to The Honorable Sig Rogich, April 11, 1990, in possession of Thornburgh. By April 19, Thornburgh lowered her estimate to a proposal for 5,000 attendees. Ginny Thornburgh to The Honorable Sig Rogich, April 19, 1990, in possession of Thornburgh.

33. Much of the following narrative about the ADA signing ceremony is based on the account in “ADA: A Special Issue,” Worklife: A Publication on Employment and People with Disabilities3:3 (Fall 1990).

34. Bobbie Kilberg to Ms. Thornburgh, July 18, 1990, in possession of Thornburgh.

35. Ginny Thornburgh, interview.

36. Harold H. Wilke, “A Blessing: For the Presidential Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” in possession of Thornburgh.

37. President Bush quoted in “ADA: A Special Issue,” p. 8.

38. President Bush quoted in ibid., pp. 9–11.