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As you review each source, record in your flow chart:

Where is the oppression?

How did people resist or fight back?

In what ways was justice expanded?

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A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement

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A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement

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"People with disabilities have had to battle against centuries of biased assumptions, harmful stereotypes and irrational fears. The stigmatization of disability resulted in the social and economic marginalization of generations of Americans with disabilities, and like many other oppressed minorities, left people with disabilities in a severe state of impoverishment for centuries."

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Americans with disabilities are a group of approximately 40.7 million people that today lead independent, self-affirming lives and who define themselves according to their personhood-their ideas, beliefs, hopes and dreams-above and beyond their disability. Since the mid 1900s, people with disabilities have pushed for the recognition of disability as an aspect of identity that influences the experiences of an individual, not as the sole-defining feature of a person.

People with disabilities have had to battle against centuries of biased assumptions, harmful stereotypes and irrational fears. The stigmatization of disability resulted in the social and economic marginalization of generations of Americans with disabilities, and like many other oppressed minorities, left people with disabilities in a severe state of impoverishment for centuries.

In the 1800s, people with disabilities were considered meager, tragic, pitiful individuals unfit and unable to contribute to society, except to serve as ridiculed objects of entertainment in circuses and exhibitions. They were assumed to be abnormal and feeble-minded, and numerous persons were forced to undergo sterilization. People with disabilities were also forced to enter institutions and asylums, where many spent their entire lives. The "purification" and segregation of persons with disability were considered merciful actions, but ultimately served to keep people with disabilities invisible and hidden from a fearful and biased society.

The marginalization of people with disabilities continued until World War I when veterans with disabilities expected that the US government provide rehabilitation in exchange for their service to the nation. In the 1930s the United States saw the introduction of many new advancements in technology as well as in government assistance, contributing to the self-reliance and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the first president with a disability, was a great advocate for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, but still operated under the notion that a disability was an abnormal, shameful condition, and should be medically cured or fixed.

In the 1940s and 1950s, disabled World War II veterans placed increasing pressure on government to provide them with rehabilitation and vocational training. World War II veterans made disability issues more visible to a country of thankful citizens who were concerned for the long-term welfare of young men who sacrificed their lives to secure the safety of the United States.

Despite these initial advancements made towards independence and self-reliance, people with disabilities still did not have access to public transportation, telephones, bathrooms and stores. Office buildings and worksites with stairs offered no entry for people with disabilities who sought employment, and employer attitudes created even worse barriers. Otherwise talented and eligible people with disabilities were locked out of opportunities for meaningful work.

By the 1960s, the civil rights movement began to take shape, and disability advocates saw the opportunity to join forces alongside other minority groups to demand equal treatment, equal access and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. The struggle for disability rights has followed a similar pattern to many other civil rights movements-challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes, rallying for political and institutional change, and lobbying for the self-determination of a minority community.

Disability rights activists mobilized on the local level demanding national initiatives to address the physical and social barriers facing the disability community. Parent advocates were at the forefront, demanding that their children be taken out of institutions and asylums, and placed into schools where their children could have the opportunity to engage in society just like children who were not disabled.

In the 1970s, disability rights activists lobbied Congress and marched on Washington to include civil rights language for people with disabilities into the 1972 Rehabilitation Act. In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in history, civil rights of people with disabilities were protected by law.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) provided equal opportunity for employment within the federal government and in federally funded programs, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of either physical or mental disability. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act also established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, mandating equal access to public services (such as public housing and public transportation services) to people with disabilities, and the allocation of money for vocational training.

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed to guarantee equal access to public education for children with disabilities. This act of legislation specified that every child had a right to education, and mandated the full inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream education classes, unless a satisfactory level of education could not be achieved due to the nature of the child's disability.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was renamed in 1990 to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which further elaborated on the inclusion of children with disabilities into regular classes, but also focused on the rights of parents to be involved in the educational decisions affecting their children. IDEA required that an Individual Education Plan be designed with parental approval to meet the educational needs of a child with a disability.

In the 1980s, disability activists began to lobby for a consolidation of various pieces of legislation under one broad civil rights statute that would protect the rights of people with disabilities, much like the 1964 Civil Rights Act had achieved for Black Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender, but people with disabilities were not included under such protection.

After decades of campaigning and lobbying, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, and ensured the equal treatment and equal access of people with disabilities to employment opportunities and to public accommodations. The ADA intended to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in: employment, services rendered by state and local governments, places of public accommodation, transportation, and telecommunications services.

Under the ADA, businesses were mandated to provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities (such as restructuring jobs or modifying work equipment), public services could no longer deny services to people with disabilities (such as public transportation systems), all public accommodations were expected to have modifications made to be accessible to people with disabilities, and all telecommunications services were mandated to offer adaptive services to people with disabilities. With this piece of legislation, the US government identified the full participation, inclusion and integration of people with disabilities in all levels of society.

While the signing of the ADA placed immediate legislative demands to ensure equal access and equal treatment of people with disabilities, deep-rooted assumptions and stereotypical biases were not instantly transformed with the stroke of a pen. People with disabilities still face prejudice and bias with the stereotypical portrayal of people with disabilities in the movies and in the media, physical barriers to schools, housing and to voting stations, and lack of affordable health care. The promise of the ADA is yet to be fully realized, but the disability rights movement continues to make great strides towards the empowerment and self-determination of Americans with disabilities.

Advocate: A person that argues for a cause, a supporter or defender.

Allocation: To set apart for a special purpose, to distribute according to a plan.

Marginalization: To confine to a lower social standing.

Mobilize: To assemble, prepare, or put into operation for a purpose.

Rehabilitation: To restore to good condition, health, and capacity.

Self-determination: Freedom of people to determine their own status and independence.

Sterilization: The act of making a person infertile, or unable to conceive a child.

Stigmatization: To characterize as disgraceful.

Vocational training: Training for a job.

Fleischer, Doris and Zames, Freida. 2001. The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

U.S. Census Bureau, 2016, American Community Survey, Table S1810, http://factfinder.census.gov.

Vaughn, Jacqueline. 2003. Disabled Rights: American Policy and the Fight for Equality. Washington, D.C., Georgetown University Press.

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A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement

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Americans with disabilities are a group of approximately 40.7 million people that today lead independent, self-affirming lives and who define themselves according to their personhood-their ideas, beliefs, hopes and dreams-above and beyond their disability.

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Kitty Cone: Advocate for Disability Rights

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Kitty Cone: Advocate for Disability Rights

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DIRECTIONS: Read the short article AND watch the video at the bottom of the webpage.
"In 1977, there was no major legislation enforced by the government to ensure Americans with disabilities had equal rights. Kitty Cone and her fellow disability rights activists helped change that."

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In 1977, there was no major legislation enforced by the government to ensure Americans with disabilities had equal rights. Kitty Cone and her fellow disability rights activists helped change that.

Cone was one of the leading organizers of a sit-in where she and fellow activists occupied a federal building in San Francisco for more than 25 days. They demanded the government protect their rights by enforcing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 said no program receiving federal funds could discriminate against people with disabilities.

Cone said that these sit-ins became, "the public birth of the disability rights movement... For the first time, disability really was looked at as an issue of civil rights rather than an issue of charity and rehabilitation at best, pity at worst."

Cone is one of four women featured in our new miniseries about women who shaped American history. In this video, Ren, a student, speaks with Katherine Ott, curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, about why Cone's work matters. "This is something that they should teach you in schools and they don't," said Ren. "Putting your whole self on the line-I know what it's like to be without things that you need medically."

Learn more about Kitty Cone and what motivated her to protest for disability rights.

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Kitty Cone: Advocate for Disability Rights

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In 1977, there was no major legislation enforced by the government to ensure Americans with disabilities had equal rights. Kitty Cone and her fellow disability rights activists helped change that. Cone was one of the leading organizers of a sit-in where she and fellow activists occupied a federal building in San Francisco for more than 25 days.

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The 1977 Disability Rights Protest that Broke Records and Changed Laws

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The 1977 Disability Rights Protest that Broke Records and Changed Laws

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INSTRUCTIONS TO LOG INTO NEWSELA: click the "Login with Google" button and use your NClack student email account.

"At that time in history, there was simply no access — no right to an education, no public transit. You couldn't get into a library or city hall, much less a courtroom," says 504 Sit-In participant and disability rights advocate Corbett Joan O'Toole. She notes that as late as the 1970s, there were no federally regulated social services or agencies for individuals living with disabilities. An individual had to find an in-home helper or interpreter in their own time...Protesting can be often boring, and extremely uncomfortable physically, even if it's indoors. For many protesters in the San Francisco 504 Sit-In, it was the first time they'd spent any time living and sleeping away from home."

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Newsela | The 1977 disability rights protest that broke records and changed laws

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The San Francisco 504 Sit-In led to many legal changes recognizing people with disabilities

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"The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public."

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life.

Title I - Employment

Helps people with disabilities access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to people without disabilities.

Applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees. A "reasonable accommodation" is a change that accommodates employees with disabilities so they can do the job without causing the employer "undue hardship" (too much difficulty or expense).

Defines disability, establishes guidelines for the reasonable accommodation process, and addresses medical examinations and inquiries.

Regulated and enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Title II - Public Services: State and Local Government

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by "public entities" such as state and local government agencies.

Requires public entities to make their programs, services and activities accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Outlines requirements for self-evaluation and planning; making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination; identifying architectural barriers; and communicating effectively with people with hearing, vision and speech disabilities.

Regulated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Title III - Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities

Prohibits places of public accommodation from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. Public accommodations include privately owned, leased or operated facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail merchants, doctors' offices, golf courses, private schools, day care centers, health clubs, sports stadiums, movie theaters, and so on.

Sets the minimum standards for accessibility for alterations and new construction of commercial facilities and privately owned public accommodations. It also requires public accommodations to remove barriers in existing buildings where it is easy to do so without much difficulty or expense.

Directs businesses to make "reasonable modifications" to their usual ways of doing things when serving people with disabilities.

Requires that businesses take steps necessary to communicate effectively with customers with vision, hearing, and speech disabilities.

Regulated and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Title IV - Telecommunications

Requires telephone and Internet companies to provide a nationwide system of interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services that allows individuals with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate over the telephone.

Requires closed captioning of federally funded public service announcements.

Regulated by the Federal Communication Commission.

Title V - Miscellaneous Provisions

Contains a variety of provisions relating to the ADA as a whole, including its relationship to other laws, state immunity, its impact on insurance providers and benefits, prohibition against retaliation and coercion, illegal use of drugs, and attorney's fees.

Provides a list of certain conditions that are not considered disabilities.

Transportation

Public transportation offered by a state or local government is covered by Title II of the ADA. Publicly funded transportation includes, but is not limited to, bus and passenger train (rail) service. Rail service includes subways (rapid rail), light rail, commuter rail, and Amtrak.

If transportation is offered by a private company, it is covered by Title III. Privately funded transportation includes, but is not limited to, taxicabs, airport shuttles, intercity bus companies, such as Greyhound, and hotel-provided transportation.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration releases information, guidance and regulations on transportation and the ADA.

More information about the ADA is available from the ADA National Network

The ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels.

ADA National Network publications include:

ADA National Network webcourses include:

Foundations of the ADA. This is a introductory webcourse ​that explores the legal requirements and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The course takes 2-3 hours and includes quizzes and a Post Test. The Southeast ADA Center, a member of the ADA National Network, developed the course.

ADA Employment Course. This course is a free, self-paced webcourse on the employment requirements in the ADA, including the important changes made to the ADA by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The course takes approximately 2.5 hours and includes real life scenarios, quizzes and a final exam. The New England ADA Center, a member of the ADA National Network, developed the course.

Disability Rights Laws Overview. This course is a free, self-paced webcourse that provides an overview of federal disability rights laws. The course takes approximately 1.5 - 2 hours and includes real life scenarios, quizzes and a final exam. The New England ADA Center, a member of the ADA National Network, developed the course.

Content was developed by the Mid-Atlantic ADA Center, and is based on professional consensus of ADA experts and the ADA National Network.

TransCen, Inc.
Toll Free: 1-800-949-4232
Fax: 301-251-3762
Email: adainfo@transcen.org
http://www.adainfo.org/

The contents of this factsheet were developed under grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant numbers 90DP0089 and 90DP0086). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this factsheet do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© Copyright 2017 ADA National Network. All Rights Reserved.
May be reproduced and distributed freely with attribution to ADA National Network ( www.adata.org).

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An Overview of the Americans With Disabilities Act

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(Spanish version) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

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DIRECTIONS: Choose 3-4 essays to read/watch/listen to in order to gain an expanded understanding of experiences with disabilities.

"#ADA30InColor: a series of original essays on the past, present, and future of disability rights and justice by disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers."

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#ADA30InColor: a series of original essays on the past, present, and future of disability rights and justice by disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers. Published and edited by Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project. Project Coordinator, Andraéa LaVant. Plain language summaries, Finn Gardiner. Audio narration, Alejandra Ospina. For more, read this article about our 7/26 online event by Hari Srinivasan for the Daily Cal and check out the video below ( text transcript).
"ADA 30: No Justice for Disabled Native People"
Jen Deerinwater
"#BlackAutisticJoy in ADA 30"
Timotheus Gordon, Jr.
"Building Bridges as A Disabled Korean Immigrant" "We Must Reimagine Ourselves"
Allison Masangkay

Reyma McCoy McDeid
"The Future Liberation of Disability Movements"
Valerie Novack
"They can take away the Mosque, but they'll never take my faith"
Noor Pervez
"The burden and consequences of self-advocacy for disabled BIPOC" "After 30 Years the ADA Leaves People with Psychiatric Disabilities Behind" "Decolonization as a Strategy for Accommodating Disabilities"
Rachel Setzer
"SixPointSeventyFive (6.75)"
Teefloetry
"How the ADA Gave Birth to a Black Sexpert"
Robin Wilson-Beattie

#ADA30InColor TEAM

Finn Gardiner, Plain Language Summaries

Finn Gardiner is a disability rights advocate with interests in educational equity, intersectional justice, comparative policy, and inclusive technology. He holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Tufts University. He also recently finished a fellowship in Leadership and Education on Neurodevelopmental and Developmental Disabilities-LEND-at the University of Massachusetts Medical School's E.K. Shriver Center.

He is currently the Communications Specialist at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University. Throughout his work, Finn combines disability advocacy, policy analysis and research, and written and visual communications through policy briefs, original reports and white papers, and contributions to research projects. His research and advocacy interests include education and employment for autistic adults, comparative disability policy, inclusive technology, LGBTQ cultural competency, and policy that takes into account the intersections between disability, race, LGBTQ identities, class, and other experiences.

Twitter: @phineasfrogg

Andraéa LaVant, ‎Project Coordinator and President & Chief Inclusion Specialist, ‎LaVant Consulting, Inc.

Andraéa LaVant is a passionate disability inclusion/communications consultant with over a decade of experience building, supporting, and managing national and local initiatives to effect positive, sustainable change for people with disabilities across the nation.

Website: http://lavantconsultinginc.com/

Alejandra Ospina, Audio Narration

Alejandra Ospina is a first-generation native New Yorker and full-time wheelchair user whose family has roots in Colombia. She has been active for several years in various advocacy and performance projects online, locally and beyond, and also works as a media access provider, creating closed captions and audio descriptions. Always glad to be a part of formative works to share with new audiences, she has previously collaborated as a vocalist, actor, dancer, and/or accessibility provider with organizations such as Heidi Latsky Dance, Infinity Dance Theater, ZCO/Dance Project, Kinetic Light, the Queens Theatre, HiGlass Entertainment, and others.

Website: superaleja.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superaleja

Twitter: @superaleja

Alice Wong, Editor and Publisher, Disability Visibility Project

Alice Wong (she/her) is a disabled activist, media maker, and consultant. She is the Founder and Director of the Disability Visibility Project (DVP), an online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture created in 2014. Currently, Alice is the Editor of Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century, an anthology of essays by disabled people, available now (June 30, 2020) by Vintage Books.

Twitter: @SFdirewolf / @DisVisibility
Support Disability Media and Culture DONATE to the Disability Visibility Project®

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ADA30InColor: a series of original essays on the past, present, and future of disability rights and justice by disabled BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) writers. Published and edited by Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project. Project Coordinator, Andraéa LaVant. Plain language summaries, Finn Gardiner. Audio narration, Alejandra Ospina.

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Personal Reflection of a Child Activist (video)

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Personal Reflection of a Child Activist (video)

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Jennifer Keelan, 08 of 12: "Climbing the Capitol Steps for ADA"