The Modern Disability Rights Movement and its Progress Leading Up to the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Modern Disability Rights Movement and its Progress Leading Up to the Americans with Disabilities Act
Fallon Marie
Imagine being a 5-year-old little girl and being told you cannot go to school. Imagine being told your presence is a “fire hazard” Imagine not being able to access public sidewalks, public buildings, buses, trains, and beyond. This is the environment disabled people had to endure before the disability rights movement began. Disabled children were not given equal education. Disabled people were put in institutions. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was a massive step forward in the disability rights movement. However, the ADA was not the beginning of the movement, nor is it the end. The work that was done prior to the ADA was /life-changing, world-changing work. To create a more just and inclusive world, we need to understand where we came from. The modern disability rights movement began in the 1960s and made multiple strides prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Specifically, disability rights activists achieved the independent living movement, the passage of Section 504, and the first mass protests by the disability community.
