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Ableism is the idea that those with a mental or physical disability are lesser than those without. This means that those who are disabled face prejudice and hate. Ableism as an idea sometime within the 1960's to 1970's. Although ableism occurs across the world, it has been particularly prevalent in the United States since the 19th Century.* Closely related to ableism is Eugenics, which relies on ableism to say that people who are demed less than should be sterilized. In the 1880's, many disabled people were treated like animals, becoming featured in freak shows and circuses.** Today, the ableist movement has made significant advances with respect to obtaining rights and respect for disabled people, but there is still a lot of progress to be made.

Meredith and Alex

*Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "ableism." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 16, 2013. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ableism. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

**"History Perspective of Ableism in America." https://sites.google.com/site/ableism123edu/history. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

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The purpose of the ugly laws was to prevent those who were disabled and had feautres making this evident from going out into public, since they were considered "ugly." The law referred to such people as "unsightly or disgusting object(s)." The law also targeted disabled beggars in an attempt to get them off the streets and stop begging.*

Meredith

These ugly laws were a symptom of the stigma surrounding mental illness at the time. Many people saw disabled people as less than human. Eventually, these laws were repealed as society became more knowledgeable about people with disabilities.

Alex

*Adrienne, P. Coco,
"Diseased, maimed, mutilated: categorizations of disability and an ugly law in late nineteenth-century Chicago." NIH, 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20939141/#:~:text=The%20article%20places%20Chicago's%20%22ugly,nineteenth%2Dcentury%20imaginings%20of%20disability. Accessed 18 February 2022.

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In the attempt to "maintain the purity of the American race," the act forced sterilization onto disbaled people in Virginia. From 1927-1979, it is estimated that seven or eight thousand people were sterilized under this act in order to prevent them from having children and passing down genes deemed unfavorable. Many of those sterilized were not told beforehand what was going to happen to them. The high court referred to those suceptible to sterilization under the act as "any patient afflicted with hereditary forms of insanity, imbecility..."*

Meredith

The eugenics movement was extremely popular as a result of social Darwinism. As the 20th century progressed, the ideology became less popular and many people saw disabilities as something not to be cut out of the gene pool but accepted.

Alex

Elizabeth Wong, A Shameful History of Eugenics in Virginia.
ACLU Virginia, 2022. https://acluva.org/en/news/shameful-history-eugenics-virginia. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

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From Britannica, Moniz’s Lobotomy Taking Place!

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A lobotomy was a process in which nerve pathways were cut in the brain in an attempt to help those diagnosed with manic depression, mania, schizophrenia, and more. The neurophysician António Egas Moniz decided to try a lobotomy on a human, although these had previously been performed on monkeys. Unable to use his hands, he was helped by Pedro Almeida Lima. Lima poured ethyl alcohol into the prefrontal cortex and alcohol to subdue neuronal tracts. Today, lobotomies are quite infrequent since many medical professionals have observed that some of those treated with such have committed suicide or relapsed, effects which are not worth the risk (although with Moniz’s lobotomy a reduction of paranoia and anxiety occurred). As we move away from the concept of using mentally ill people as lab rats, we ensure that the disabled American population is respected and is  both seen and treated as equals—equality is the most basic human right!

Meredith

*Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "lobotomy". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/science/lobotomy. Accessed 17 February 2022.

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1938: Fair Labor Standards act section 14c

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1938: Fair Labor Standards act section 14c

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The Fair Labor Standards Act set out to help the nation recover from the Great Depression—specifically, by requiring a minimum hourly wage to be paid to all workers, regardless of position. Section 14c of the Act allows for people with disabilities that “impair their productivity for the work they preform” to be paid less than the minimum wage—that is, they can be discriminated against based on salary for the sole reason they are disabled. Even with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 preventing discrimination in the workplace, this act still remains in effect. Attached is a link of all corporations with a license to pay disabled people subminimum wages.*

Alex

*14(c) Certificate Holders. Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/workers-with-disabilities/section-14c/certificate-holders. Accessed 22 February 2022.

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The Rehabilitation Act is a federal law which prevents the discrimination against people with disabilities in all federal programs and programs conducted by federal agencies. It replaced the Vocational Laws to better support people with severe disabilities. It provided grants for services helping people with extreme disabilities to acquire and maintain a position in the workforce. It also supported civil rights for Americans with Disabilities, specifically section 504 which prohibited discrimination against those with disabilities in welfare programs. This act was an important development in the rights of those with disabilities as it was the first to explicitly forbid discrimination. Importantly, it set the stage for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. *

Alex

*The Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/reg/narrative.html. Accessed 22 February 2022.

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O’Connor vs Donaldson was a Supreme Court case ruling on the confinement of disabled people against their will. Previously in asylums, many disabled people would get no say in their freedom. They would usually be detained in a style similar to that of a prison. Although the practice declined during the 20th century, asylums were still often subjecting people with disabilities to treatments and detainments against their will. The landmark Supreme Court case, O’Connor vs Donaldson, changed that. It ruled that a state could not constitutionally confine an individual who isn’t a danger to themselves or other people. This decision was liberating for many of the approximately 150,000 people in asylums in 1975.*

Alex

*Chris Skelton,

O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U.S. 563 (1975), Justia, 2022. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/422/563/. Accessed 22 February 2022.

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Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984:

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Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984:

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The purpose of this act was to change the way in which mentally ill prospects were evaluated. Oftentimes, the verdict concerning whether one was able to recieve treatment for mental illness was unfair, which changed with this new act. Since the Social Security Act prevented many disabled people from obtaining important advantages in daily life, the Reform Act allowed for this gain as well.*

Meredith and Alex

*"Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984: Implications for those disabled by mental illness." American Psychological Association, July 1985, https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-02725-005https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-02725-005. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act was a federal attempt to rectify the injustice against disabled people, and guaranteed their equality nationwide in the eyes of the law. It prohibited all  forms of discrimination in relation to housing, employment, transportation, and government services. The stated goal of allowing people with disabilities to “participate in the mainstream of American life” was largely a success, with rights being guaranteed and legal action being possible for those who are deprived of those rights.* In addition to legal changes, many other things were altered to help support people with disabilities in their everyday lives. For example, mandatory wheelchair ramps in public venues, better education systems for the visually impaired, and sign language translators being hired for many federal programs. The ADA was extremely helpful for many disabled people in their everyday lives.**

Alex

* Nell Clark, James Doubek, Milton Guevara, Matt Kwong, Lilly Quiroz. In Their Own Words: How The Americans With Disabilities Act Changed People's Lives. July 27, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/27/895651325/americans-with-disabilities-act-examining-its-impact-3-decades-later. Accessed 22 February 2022.

**Introduction to the ADA. https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm. Accessed 22 February 2022.

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In order to help further the rights of people with disabilities and to ensure equality, we have come up with a list of three requests.

Proposal 1: amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include rights for people with disabilities.

Widely recognized as a turning point in the scope of civil rights, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination of any kind based on sex, gender, race, religion, and later amended to include sexuality. It is important that this act include the rights of those with disabilities, as it will place them on the same benchmark as every other group. People with disabilities are never mentioned!

Proposal 2: increase public funding for mental asylums

Mental asylums are notoriously underfunded and understaffed. These places house the most mentally vulnerable people in the country, sometimes serving as a danger to themselves or other people. More funding would allow access to better treatments and possibly shorten stays in these hospitals

Proposal 3: repeal section 14c of the fair labor standards act

In order to ensure equality in the workforce, it is imperative that people with disabilities are paid a fair wage. Section 14c of the fair labor standards act is simply discriminatory and defies the entire point of equality. Even if they have lower productivity, it is only possible to fulfill the point of the ADA and combat ableism by ensuring that they are paid a fair wage. Section 14c allows for disabled people to be paid less than minimum wage, which is truly disgusting.

Alex and Meredith

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Adrienne, P. Coco,

"Diseased, maimed, mutilated: categorizations of disability and an ugly law in late nineteenth-century Chicago." NIH, 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20939141/#:~:text=The%20article%20places%20Chicago's%20%22ugly,nineteenth%2Dcentury%20imaginings%20of%20disability. Accessed 18 February 2022.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "ableism." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 16, 2013. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ableism. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "lobotomy". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Feb. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/science/lobotomy. Accessed 17 February 2022.

Elizabeth Wong, A Shameful History of Eugenics in Virginia.

ACLU Virginia, 2022. https://acluva.org/en/news/shameful-history-eugenics-virginia. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

“History Perspective of Ableism in America." https://sites.google.com/site/ableism123edu/history. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.

Social Security Disability Benefits Reform Act of 1984: Implications for those disabled by mental illness." American Psychological Association, July 1985, https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-02725-005https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-02725-005. Accessed 14 Feb 2022.