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The Rev. Gloria Swieringa of Fort Washington, 72, has been blind for most of her life, but refused to let that stop her from raising a family, serving her church and — as she proudly told attendees at a ceremony Monday in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act — embarking on a cruise around the Caribbean in 2006.

It's true that some of the cruise ship's staff were resistant at first to accommodating her needs. But thanks to the ADA, which Congress passed on July 26, 1990, she made sure they knew her rights, from talking her through ship safety protocols to providing assistance when she wanted to disembark.

"You can tell someone, ‘No, you're breaking the law,'" she said.

Swieringa, a minister with the First Baptist Church of Glenarden and member of the Prince George's County Commission for Individuals with Disabilities, was one of several county residents with disabilities who shared their stories during the ceremony. Melwood, an Upper Marlboro nonprofit organization that finds jobs for people with developmental disabilities, hosted the event.

Although the ceremony highlighted the ADA's achievements over the last 20 years in allowing individuals with disabilities to live independently, keynote speaker U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville stressed that people with disabilities are still more likely to be jobless or poor. As of June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities at 14.4 percent, compared with the national average of 9.4 percent.

"Every American deserves the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given talent," said Hoyer, an original sponsor of the ADA in 1990. "People without a job feel dependent. ... None of us wants to feel dependent."

Most of the speakers praised the ADA's progress while also calling for more action to address ongoing discrimination.

Maryland Secretary of Disabilities Catherine Raggio, who graduated in 1969 from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, and Angel Love Miles, a 29-year-old graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, swapped stories about their pre- and post-ADA college experiences.

Raggio, who told the crowd that she had difficulty walking when she was in college and today uses a wheelchair, spoke about struggling to secure basic services when she attended college in the 1960s that accommodated her needs, such as housing close to campus and elevator access. Miles, who also uses a wheelchair, said that although the ADA now requires that colleges accommodate students with disabilities, she still experiences discrimination, citing times when bus drivers refused to stop for her or other service providers gave her a hard time about making accommodations.

"Even though we are still very much marginalized, [the ADA] gives us leverage," Miles said, speaking before the event.

U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Dist. 4) of Fort Washington and County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) echoed Hoyer's call for improving employment opportunities, praising agencies such as Melwood. Melwood employs about 650 people with disabilities around the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, including about 300 individuals who live in Prince George's County.

Melwood CEO and President Janice Frey-Angel said one of the major hurdles to employment facing individuals with disabilities is fear and an underestimation of their abilities among employers.

"The real target is people without disabilities, for them to understand that just because people are different, [that doesn't mean] they can't be part of their same world," she said.

Despite the challenges, Swieringa said the ADA's successes over the last 20 years have made her hopeful for the future.

"I can't help but rejoice and be glad in [the ADA] because of the things that are yet to come because of this wonderful legislation," she said.