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Disability Rights Movement

The prevailing demands of the movement are the same: justice, equal opportunities and reasonable accommodations. This resources works to explore these concepts and promote allyship as well as understanding

Videos and Podcasts

Gang of 19-ADA Movement

Encouraged by civil rights movements of the 1960s, the Disability Rights Movement gained momentum leading to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Decades earlier in 1978, 19 individuals tossed aside their wheelchairs and blocked city buses deemed inaccessible for the physically disabled. Discover how this one act led to years of advocacy in Colorado and inspired the nation.

Crip Camp

In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” (a term no longer used) in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and make-out sessions awaiting everyone, and campers experienced liberation and full inclusion as  human beings. Their bonds endured as many migrated West to Berkeley, California — a hotbed of activism where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption, civil disobedience, and political participation could change the future for millions. On the heels of Woodstock, a group of teen campers are inspired to join the fight for disability civil rights. This spirited look at grassroots activism is executive produced by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

I'm Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much by Stella Young

Stella Young is a comedian and journalist who happens to go about her day in a wheelchair — a fact that doesn't, she'd like to make clear, automatically turn her into a noble inspiration to all humanity. In this very funny talk, Young breaks down society's habit of turning disabled people into "inspiration porn."

People with disabilities share humor, analysis, news, and information about their lives and the disability community.