THE POST-COLD WAR ERA The Internet Age
1997 First Social Media Platform Launches
1995 Irvine Spectrum Center Opens
JULY 1990 Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life. It assures equitable access to employment, government programs, social services, and public spaces. Disability activists spent decades protesting discrimination and advocating for change. They organized large protests such as a twenty-six-day sit-in at the San Francisco Federal Building in California in 1977. In 1990, as Congress failed to make progress on passing legislation, thousands of activists arrived in Washington, D.C. To underscore the barriers facing people with disabilities, more than sixty individuals abandoned their wheelchairs and crutches to crawl up the steps of the Capitol Building. The ADA passed later that year. It contained the requirement that all federal buildings should be accessible to people of all physical abilities. The ADA reshaped public infrastructure, as a result of activists’ demands for equity and accessibility. SEE FIGURE 73
APRIL 1994 End of Apartheid in South Africa; Election of Nelson Mandela
JANUARY 1994 Northridge Earthquake
Figure 73. Disability activists Hale Zukas, Ron Washington, and Judy Heumann ( left to right ) speak with the press in San Francisco. Lynette Taylor provides American Sign Language interpretation. Image courtesy of San Francisco Examiner Archive. Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
NOVEMBER 1993 Establishment of the European Union
APRIL–MAY 1992 Los Angeles Uprising
OCTOBER 1990–APRIL 2003 Human Genome Project
In 1990, scientists began an ambitious research project aimed at understanding the chemical makeup of humans’ genetic code. The project aspired to identify every gene in the human body. The effort would provide useful information for understanding disease progression and developing new medical treatments. In addition to the human genome, scientists also examined other organisms such as fruit flies and mice. The study began in the U.S. Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health and later received research support from scientists in the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, China, and other countries. An international collaborative effort, the project team began in 1990 and finished mapping the human genome in 2003. Besides its impact on the study of human biology and the practice of medicine, this project provoked a deeper examination of ethics in biological research.
DECEMBER 1991 Dissolution of the Soviet Union
AUGUST 1991 World Wide Web Opens to the Public
AUGUST 1990–FEBRUARY 1991 Gulf War
On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi troops to invade and annex Kuwait. Hussein, then president of Iraq, wanted to gain access to oil reserves and to reject what he viewed as western interference in the region. The United Nations Security Council responded by placing economic sanctions on Iraq. On January 16, 1991, the United States military led coalition forces in an air and ground assault to liberate Kuwait. The conflict became known as Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Direct military engagement ended when Iraq withdrew its troops from Kuwait on February 28, 1991. The Gulf War was among the earliest international crises of the post-Cold War era. Diplomatic relationships with Iraq deteriorated as Hussein’s regime became more authoritarian and repressive. SEE FIGURE 74
OCT 1990–APRIL 2003 Human Genome Project
AUG 1990–FEB 1991 Gulf War
JULY 1990 Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act
THE INTERNET AGE
Figure 74. U.S. military personnel arrive at a base camp during Operation Desert Shield. Image courtesy of Staff Sgt. Lee Corkran, U.S. Army photo .
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