People With Disabilities Movement - 1960s

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    Disabled rights movement

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver

    Eunice Kennedy Shriver
    Member of the Kennedy family, advocated for rights for people with disabilities in the early 1960s. Founded camp Shriver in 1962, which later morphed into the Special Olympics (1968). Shriver was a longtime advocate for children with disabilities, and received awards like the "Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged" for her work. https://www.specialolympics.org/eunice_kennedy_shriver_biography.aspx
  • Edward Verne Roberts fights for support from UC Berkeley

    Edward Verne Roberts fights for support from UC Berkeley
    Roberts, who had polio, was working for UC Berkeley when he realized that none of the facilities there were accessible to the disabled. Roberts called activists to action, and for days they occupied the Health offices in San Francisco in order to instill change. President Nixon recognized the protesters and signed a bill into law which mandated that facilities be made more accessible to people with disabilities. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ed-Roberts
  • U.S Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504

    U.S Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504
    This act explicitly states that no American with a disability will be discriminated against or left out of activities because of their disability. The act defines "activity" as participation at a college, business, government agency, and more. Overall, the act was made to provide more rights to people with disabilities, and to avoid workplace discrimination against them. https://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/sec504.htm
  • Education for all Handicapped Children Act

    Education for all Handicapped Children Act
    This act was passed in 1975. It states that students with disabilities should not be held back because of their disabilities, but rather placed in a school where they have the most access to activities provided. According to the act, students with disabilities can only be placed in separate schools if their disability prevents learning from happening in a regular classroom. https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html
  • ACCD

    ACCD
    The American Coalition Of Citizens with Disabilities was formed April 30th, 1975. It was a coalition of local, state, and national disabilities organizations. It's notable for being formed and governed by people with disabilities which was a first for that time. http://digitalhistory.hsp.org/pafrm/org/american-coalition-citizens-disabilities-accd
  • ACCD Ten City Sit In

    ACCD Ten City Sit In
    For 25 days about 150 disability rights activists sat in the fourth floor of a federal building in San Francisco. They would not leave, they said, until President Jimmy Carter's administration agreed to implement a four-year-old law protecting the rights of people with disabilities (Section 504).
    http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/sitting-disability-rights-section-504-protests-1970s
  • Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990

    Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
    The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 was first civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.
    https://www.ada.gov/ada_intro.htm
    https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/ada.html
  • Biggest Accomplishments (1)

    Biggest Accomplishments (1)
    1. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This act was the first law to fully address Americans with disabilities and their rights to a workplace free of discrimination. It provided ways for Americans with disabilities to get better education and to get better jobs. https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/history/35th/1990s/ada.html
  • Biggest Accomplishments (2)

    Biggest Accomplishments (2)
    1. U.S Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act outlawed discrimination in the workplace against those with disabilities. This provided people with the opportunity to seek out jobs that they were not able to get before. https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
  • Biggest Accomplishments (3)

    Biggest Accomplishments (3)
    1. ACCD. This coalition provided people with disabilities with a way to unite and fight for their rights. It brought together a host of organizations which all could work together to accomplish their goal. http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/drilm/collection/items/accd.html
  • One Problem Still Affecting Disabled People

    One Problem Still Affecting Disabled People
    Low Wage Jobs: Today, it is still difficult for disabled people to find high-paying jobs. According to CNN, disabled people earn an average of $9,000 less than non-disabled people today. This is worse than the gap in the 1990s, which was about $6,000. http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/26/news/economy/americans-with-disabilities-act-problems-remain/index.html
  • Problem Facing Disabled People Today

    Problem Facing Disabled People Today
    Policy barriers are a lack of awareness or enforcement of existing laws and regulations that require programs and activities be accessible to people with disabilities. People with disabilities are denied equal opportunity to programs and benefits. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability-barriers.html