Governor Proclaims Americans with Disabilities Act Day 2024

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT DAY

2024

BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, July 26, 2024, marks 34 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law with the promise of ensuring full and equal access to civic, economic, and social life for people with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the ADA bans discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications; and

WHEREAS, the passage of the ADA was the culmination of decades of advocacy, community organizing, and activism by thousands of Americans who challenged the barriers that excluded and segregated people with disabilities

from full participation and inclusion in community life; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 2 million adults – or approximately 29 percent – of people living in North Carolina have a disability of some type; the ADA establishes the expectation that they are able to fully participate in our society and economy while contributing their many talents and skills; and

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina embraces the principles embodied in the ADA and renews its commitment to eliminating barriers to inclusion and full participation in our communities and economy; and

WHEREAS, June 22, 2024, marked the 25th anniversary of the decision made in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Olmstead v. L.C, promising that all individuals with disabilities have an equal right and opportunity to share in our founding national values to pursue life, liberty, and happiness; and

WHEREAS, to increase opportunities for fair wages; integrated employment and careers; and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities, Executive Order No. 92 declares North Carolina an Employment First state and directs the Office of State Human Resources to transform state government into a model employer of people with disabilities while also giving individuals the freedom and tools to decide whether and when to declare a disability;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim July 26, 2024, as “AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT DAY” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

________________________________________

Roy Cooper

Governor

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-second day of July in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.