Students, Nassau County leaders celebrate Americans with Disabilities Act anniversary
ALBERTSON, N.Y. -- On the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act being signed into law, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan introduces us to a humble man who quietly fought discrimination.
Kenneth Kunken suffered a football injury while a student at Cornell University.
"As a result, I damaged my spinal cord, and I've been a quadriplegic," Kunken said.
He stayed in school, got three master's degrees and tried to stay positive.
"I was looking for a job. I had three Ivy League degrees and nobody would hire me. It seems everybody thought I was too disabled to work," Kunken said.
That is, until he met the founder of the Viscardi Center in Albertson, who hired Kunken as a counselor and encouraged him to go to law school.
Kunken got married, had triplets and became a Nassau Assistant District Attorney.
"I very proudly went to court my first day, and I couldn't fit through the swinging doorways in the courtroom. They were too narrow to get through in my electric wheelchair," he said.
Thirty-two years ago, Kunken's life changed again when then-president George Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act.
ADA disabilities include both mental and physical conditions. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations, and there must be public accessibility.
"Now every courtroom in America now needs to be wheelchair accessible," Kunken said.
Students at Viscardi say they are grateful for those who fought for basic civil rights.
"I've been in a wheelchair my whole life," one student said.
"Everybody has a voice," another student said.
"Be more independent with my work," another student said.
The students were invited to the Nassau Courthouse to meet Kunken and District Attorney Anne Donnelly for an ADA anniversary
commemoration.
"As a mom, it has made all the difference in raising my son," Donelly said.
Donnelly's son is developmentally disabled and having successes credited to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The students are listening and learning.
"It felt motivating, in a sense, like freedom, kind of like everyone deserves," Viscardi Center student Kyle Griffith said.
Self-worth, self-esteem, self-confidence.