Evan Jennings Kemp, Jr. (May 5, 1937 – August 12, 1997) was an American

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

activist who served as chairman of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

from 1990 to 1993.

Biography

Kemp was born on May 5, 1937, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and grew up in

Cleveland Heights Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a Village (United States), village in ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He received his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree from

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

in 1959 and his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in 1964. Throughout his early life, he had difficulty walking, and he would noticeably lurch when he did so. In 1971, his leg was severely fractured when a

garage door A garage door is a large door to allow access to a garage that opens either manually or by an electric motor (a garage door opener). Garage doors are frequently large enough to accommodate automobiles and other vehicles. The operating mechanis ...

slammed down on it, rendering it completely impossible for him to walk, leading him to use a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. Kemp served as executive director of the Disability Rights Center from 1980 until 1987, when he was appointed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by then-President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to succeed William Arthur Webb. He was confirmed to the EEOC During the next three years, Kemp played a significant role in helping to draft the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

. In February 1989, shortly after Reagan's Vice President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

had taken office as president, Kemp stated that Bush had told him that he was Bush's preferred candidate to become the new United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. In the fall of 1989, Bush chose Kemp to be the new chairman of the EEOC, and Kemp assumed this role on March 8, 1990, replacing

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...

. As chairman of the EEOC, Kemp was greatly involved in the drafting of the final rules of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it took effect in 1992. Kemp remained chairman of the EEOC until April 2, 1993, when he resigned the position; he had announced his resignation on March 26, 1993, in a letter to President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. Kemp died on August 12, 1997, at a hospital near his home in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His cause of death was not immediately known, but his wife, Janine Bertram, stated at the time that it was unrelated to Kugelberg-Welander disease, which he had had since the age of 12.

References

1937 births 1997 deaths Chairs of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission American disability rights activists Washington and Lee University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Equal Employment Opportunity Commission members George H. W. Bush administration personnel American activists with disabilities {{US-activist-stub