Deborah Kendrick: Disabilities law changed our perceptions

The night of the 2008 presidential election, I had goose bumps and tears listening to vivid memories delivered eloquently by Georgia Congressman John Lewis. He was recalling the days prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the days when black Americans were denied even the right to vote and belittled for trying to claim it.

For Americans black or white under 40, such stories depict a far-fetched, incomprehensible time.

Twenty years ago, another civil-rights bill was signed into law, affording equality to the last vast minority of Americans still standing on the outside looking in. July 26, 1990, was appropriately sunny and clear, and for those of us waiting on the White House lawn for the signing ceremony to begin, the atmosphere was a mix of carnival glee and religious reverence.

There were people with wheelchairs, scooters and crutches. People held animated conversations in American sign language, and a few people were tucking guide dogs under their chair.

I was there in the dual role of journalist and advocate and was only outwardly calm.

read more at Deborah Kendrick: Disabilities law changed our perceptions | The Columbus Dispatch.