Disability Rights History Makers

Ed Roberts

Known as the "Father of the Independent Living Movement," Ed Roberts was left paralyzed and needed a ventilator to breathe after contracting polio as a teenager. In 1962, he became the first wheelchair user at UC Berkeley. While there, he founded the country’s first college organization for students with disabilities, which became the country’s first Center for Independent Living in 1972.

Judy Heumann

Known as the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement,” Judy Heumann became a wheelchair user after contracting polio as a child. She helped lead a 26-day sit-in protest in 1977, leading to the government finally enforcing a federal law to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. She also played a key role in the passage of the ADA. In 2020 she told The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, “One of the big issues is that people with disabilities need to feel proud of who we are.”

Patrisha Wright

Patrisha Wright, who is legally blind, cofounded the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. When disability rights laws were in danger of being weakened in the 80s, Wright asked people with disabilities to “write down the number of things that they can’t do in their community…because their community was so inaccessible and send that diary of discrimination to their member of Congress.” She was later instrumental in advocacy leading to the passage of the ADA.

Justin Dart Jr.

Often called the "Godfather of the ADA," Justin Dart Jr. became a wheelchair user at age 18 after surviving polio. As vice-chair of the National Council on Disability under President Reagan, he traveled across the country with his wife, Yoshiko Saji Dart, to collect stories from people with disabilities. These stories became the catalyst for the ADA, which Dart called “the civil rights act of the future.” In 1990, Dart attended the signing of the ADA by President George H.W. Bush.

Johnnie Lacy

Johnnie Lacy became paralyzed at age 19 after contracting polio. She cofounded the Berkeley Center for Independent Living in 1981, and went on to serve as the director of the Community Resources for Independent Living. Lacy fought for freedom at the intersection of disability and racial justice. At a time when disability advocacy was seen as a “predominantly white, middle class movement,” she acted as a “go between” to connect the Black and disability communities.

Alice Wong

Chinese-American disability activist Alice Wong was born with spinal muscular atrophy and used a wheelchair and a ventilator. She founded the Disability Visibility Project in 2013. In 2024, when Wong was selected as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, she said, “I want to change the way people think about disability from something one dimensional and negative to something more complex and nuanced.”

Michael Winter

On March 11, 1990, Michael Winter and 59 others demonstrated for the passage of the ADA by getting out of their wheelchairs and dragging themselves up the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Early in his career, Winter served as the executive director of the Berkley Center for Independent Living. He later worked in the U.S. Department of Transportation where he helped to enforce the ADA.

Marca Bristo

Marca Bristo, a key figure in the drafting of the ADA, was paralyzed in a diving accident. She co-founded Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago in 1980. “Disability is a universal phenomenon of the human existence, and when you begin to know it, it changes your worldview,” she said in a 2009 interview. “The more voices that we can bring together from an intersectional perspective will only make us stronger.”

Founder of Concrete Change, an organization advocating for accessible housing.
A lawyer, activist, and author known for her work advocating against the "right to die" movement and for disability rights.
A key organizer in American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT), a direct-action disability rights group that fought for accessible public transportation and personal care services.
A major contributor to the drafting of the ADA and a leader in disability policy.
A disability advocate who pioneered the use of technology for independent living.
A Black Panther with multiple sclerosis who was pivotal in the 1977 504 Sit-In, bridging the racial justice and disability rights movements.
A Black Panther who organized other Black Panther members to bring meals and supplies to disability rights protesters during the 1977 504 Sit-In.
A photographer who documented the disability rights movement and American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) protests.
An American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) leader known for her activism in securing Medicaid services for people with disabilities.
A disability studies scholar and advocate for disability representation in media and culture.
A historian and disability activist who fought for better Social Security policies for disabled individuals.
A British disability rights activist, comedian, and advocate against assisted dying laws in the UK.
A modern disability activist working at the intersection of race, class, and disability justice.
An inventor who made significant contributions during WWII with assistive technology for amputees.

Disability Rights Historical Timeline

- 1800s – Institutions and asylums are the primary form of care for people with disabilities, often in inhumane conditions.
- 1817 – The first school for the Deaf in the U.S., the American School for the Deaf, is established in Hartford, Connecticut.
- 1848 – The first residential institution for people with intellectual disabilities is founded in Massachusetts.
- 1927 – Supreme Court rules in Buck v. Bell that it is legal to forcibly sterilize people with disabilities.
- 1935 – The Social Security Act is passed, providing financial assistance to some people with disabilities.
- 1940 – The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is founded, advocating for blind Americans.
- 1940 – The American Federation of the Physically Handicapped becomes the nation’s first disability rights nonprofit.
- 1945 – Michigan's Rehabilitation Services (now Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons) is established.
- 1961 – President John F. Kennedy establishes the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation, calling for deinstitutionalization and community-based services.
- 1963 – President John F. Kennedy signs the Community Mental Health Act to move mental health care from institutions to community-based centers.
- 1968 – The Architectural Barriers Act requires federally funded buildings to be accessible.
- 1972 – Michigan Protection and Advocacy (now Disability Rights Michigan) is founded to provide legal services for people with disabilities.
- 1973 – Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in federally funded programs, is passed but not enforced.
- 1975 – The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), guarantees children with disabilities access to public education.
- 1977 – The 504 Sit-in in San Francisco, the longest sit-in at a federal building, leads to the enforcement of Section 504.
- 1983 – The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights releases a report titled Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities, which becomes a foundation for future legislation.
- 1988 – The Fair Housing Amendments Act requires accessible housing.
- 1989 – The Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns (now part of the Department of Civil Rights) expands advocacy in Michigan.
- 1990 – Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed into law, prohibiting discrimination in employment, public services, and transportation.
- 1993 – Michigan adopts the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, strengthening state-level disability protections.
- 1999 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified institutionalization is a form of discrimination.
- 2000 - President Bill Clinton issues an executive order promoting the hiring of people with disabilities throughout the federal government.
- 2001- The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy is established with a goal to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
- 2004 – The Assistive Technology Act of 2004 seeks to increase access to assistive technology for people with disabilities.
- 2004 – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) strengthens IDEA and accessibility in education.
- 2006 – The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
- 2008 – The ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) restores broad protections of the original ADA.
- 2010 – The U.S. Department of Justice issues new ADA regulations for public accommodations, including digital accessibility.
- 2010 - President Barack Obama signs an executive order for federal government departments to recruit and hire qualified people with disabilities.
- 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic highlights disparities in healthcare and employment for people with disabilities.
- 2021 – The Disability Economic Justice Collaborative is launched to address economic disparities.
- 2022 – Michigan begins implementing stronger statewide disability voting access protections.
- 2023 – Disability activists push for paid family caregiving as part of national policy discussions.
- 2025 to Present – Disability advocates grapple with federal funding cuts, potential cuts to Medicaid, and the closing of the Administration for Community Living by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Artifacts From Disability History

Grand Rapids Public Museum

The Grand Rapids Public Museum has a number of objects in its collection that speak to living with disabilities throughout American history including medical devices and other artifacts. You can visit them in person at 272 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504.

Iron Lung, The Drinker-Collins Duplex Respirator

Rows of these machines filled hospital wards at the height of the polio outbreaks in the 1940s and 1950s, assisting the breathing of many children and some adults. A polio patient with paralyzed lungs could spend up to a week inside an iron lung.

Leg Brace

This leg brace is part of a collection that tells the story of Gertrude Irwin of Allendale, Michigan. Born in 1927, Gertrude contracted polio in August 1951 at the age of 24.

Amputation Set

An authentic field medical kit carried by surgeons during the Civil War. It contains a variety of tools for extracting bullets, bandaging wounds, and amputating limbs.

Wheelchair

A wooden wheelchair dating from between 1915–1925.

Epilepsy Helmet

A white helmet with foam lining and chin straps worn by epilepsy patients. Part of a collection of artifacts from Christian Psychopathic Hospital (now Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services)

Eyeglasses

Gold-rimmed eyeglasses from Shaws Jewelers & Opticians, 1937.

Hearing Aid

A hearing aid from the estate of Ruth Herrick, one of the first women physicians in Michigan.

Other Resources:
Museum of Disability History at the Viscardi CenteR
Take a virtual tour of the Museum of Disability History at the Viscardi Center.

Disability Rights History Makers

Eleanor Smith

Harriet McBryde Johnson

Bob Kafka

Lex Frieden

Fred Fay

Brad Lomax

Chuck Jackson

Tom Olin

Stephanie Thomas

Simi Linton

Paul Longmore

Liz Carr

Dustin Gibson

Bessie Blount

Disability Rights Historical Timeline

Early Advocacy (1800s – 1950s)

Independent Living & Early Legal Victories (1960s – 1970s)

The ADA & National Policy Wins (1980s – 1990s)

Expansion of Disability Rights (2000s – 2010s)

Modern Disability Rights & Inclusion (2020s – Present)

Artifacts From Disability History