Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Mayor’s Commission on Disabilities met for the Annual Accomplishment meeting, while celebrating the 22nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is 22 years old this week, Thursday, July 26th.

At today’s meeting, the Mayor and the Commission reviewed this year’s accomplishments, recognized key contributions from members, discussed continuing and new disability issues and concerns, and began to identify new goals for the new fiscal year.

In recognition of the anniversary week of the ADA, the Mayor was joined by Dr. George D. Williams, Sr., Director, Civil Rights Compliance and Disability Rights for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

“I want to thank the members of the Commission on Disabilities for all of their diligent work over the past year to improve the lives of many Baltimore residents,” Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. “I also want to thank Dr. Williams for coming to Baltimore to provide our community with additional information on federal disability issues.”

Dr. Williams spoke on the importance of education, enforcement, and compliance with HUD Civil Rights Program laws, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Fair Housing Act.