Social Movements
The social movements led by the disability rights community were an important catalyst for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Unique methods of activism exposed the discrimination and alienation from society that people with disabilities faced and created a sense of urgency among the American people and Congress to pass the bill.
“The job of the disability rights movement during the ADA legislative process was to demonstrate to Congress and the American people the need for comprehensive civil rights protections to eradicate fundamental injustice- to demonstrate not only how this injustice harms the individual subjected to it, but also how it harms our society.” |
Disability Diaries
“A national campaign was initiated to write 'discrimination diaries.' People with disabilities were asked to document daily instances of inaccessibility and discrimination. The diaries served not only as testimonials of discrimination, but also to raise consciousness about the barriers to daily living which were simply tolerated as a part of life.” |
Click on the PDF files below to view an enlarged version of each diary.
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National Tours
Justin Dart Jr.'s leadership, along with the leadership of many other people with disabilities, brought heightened visibility to disability rights issues.
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“Justin Dart, Chair of the Congressional Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of People with Disabilities, traversed the country holding public hearings which were attended by thousands of people with disabilities, friends, and families documenting the injustice of discrimination in the lives of people with disabilities.” |
Large-Scale Demonstrations
Disability and civil rights organizations organized numerous large-scale marches, sit-ins, and other events with the objective of demonstrating the regressive effects of deep-rooted discrimination of people with disabilities and the largely inaccessible forms of public infrastructure on society.
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