It is Presidents Day! Regardless of our personal opinions about them, some presidents have responded to the needs of people with developmental disabilities with action! In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson established The President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID), to guarantee the right of a “decent, dignified place in society” for people with intellectual disabilities. It was July 26, 1990, when President George H.W. Bush passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law prohibiting discrimination of those with physical and intellectual disabilities. And recently, President Biden announced the appointment of Sara Minkara to be the U.S. Special Advisor on International Disability Rights, a role critical to ensuring that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of persons with disabilities around the world. Many Presidents, lawmakers, advocates, and citizens have taken up the cause too, so on this day let’s put our differences aside and celebrate our struggling but beautiful democracy and what we can achieve for each other with persistence.
Presidents Day 2022
