Digitizing ADA History

As the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act was approaching, Sierra Gregg, a student at Truman State University, began looking for records to feature, but found only two, neither of which was a copy of the law that changed the way those with disabilities are treated in the U.S.  Furthermore, neither was in a format that would allow software or reading equipment used by people who are blind or visually impaired.  Gregg herself is legally blind and is passionate about making documents more accessible to all. 

 

The National Archives launched Gregg’s new page featuring 56 newly digitized documents, including letters Helen Keller wrote to President Herbert Hoover and a letter written in braille to President Dwight D. Eisenhower by a 13-year-old student from Perkins School for the Blind.

 

For more information read this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Intern’s Efforts Broaden Access to Vital Historic Documents.