National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Congress designated each October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The Office of Disability Employment Policy has the lead in planning NDEAM activities and materials to increase the public's awareness of the contributions and skills of American workers with disabilities. Various programs carried out throughout the month also highlight the specific employment barriers that still need to be addressed and removed.
This effort to educate the American public about issues related to disability and employment actually began in 1945, when Congress enacted a law declaring the first week in October each year "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week." In 1962, the word "physically" was removed to acknowledge the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. In 1988, Congress expanded the week to a month and changed the name to "National Disability Employment Awareness Month."
NDEAM 2008 Poster
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America’s People…
America’s Talent…
America’s Strength!,
is emblazoned on an image of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The 60-foot Mount Rushmore face carvings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers between 1927 and 1941 to represent the first 150 years of American history. Carvings of the founding fathers emerge on a backdrop of the Declaration of Independence to convey the philosophy of the nation’s new government that every human being has inherent worth bestowed upon them by the Creator, and that equality is a fundamental right
According to ODEP Assistant Secretary, Neil Romano, “It is ODEP’s responsibility to ensure that the founding father’s intent of equality resonates across America for people with disabilities and that obstacles preventing them from achieving their human potential be removed. Making good on this fundamental obligation is our duty as a nation—a human capital investment in America’s future in honor of our forefathers.”
The words “October is NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH” appear in the upper right corner of the poster. To the right and below the faces of Roosevelt and Lincoln are the following words from the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The lower right corner includes the words “U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy” and the agency’s web site address.
Availability: The print copy of this poster is available in the 10” x 15” size only. Please send your request to NDEAM@dol.gov. You may also download a pdf version of the 2008 poster.
