Over the course of the disability rights movement, many leaders have emerged to advocate and fight for the rights of those living with disabilities. Many of these advocates, who themselves were disabled, would go on to make tremendous strides, helping to garner representation and rights for those with disabilities while working towards a more accommodating and accessible future that promotes independent living. We will be covering four of them here.
Edward Roberts: Edward Roberts was a very influential leader in the disability rights movement. Roberts was born on January 23rd, 1939 in San Mateo, California. Roberts contracted polio at the age of 14, and was left quadriplegic, most of his lower body becoming paralyzed. His paralysis and 800-pound respirator, an iron lung, resulted in him having to attend classes over the telephone for 18 months. When he returned to attending school in person, Roberts noticed that people with disabilities, including himself, were extremely discriminated against, his own school going so far as to not allow him to graduate due to his inability to complete physical education and driver's education requirements. Roberts was able to petition his school, and ended up graduating. After his graduation, Roberts was accepted into the University of California, Berkeley; however, once the administration learned of his disability, they tried to prevent him from attending by claiming that the dorms didn’t have accommodations for his wheelchair and respirator. Roberts still insisted on attending and enrolled in classes, becoming the university's first student to use a wheelchair. While at the university, Roberts started a group with disabilities called The Rolling Quads, which pushed for the university to make its facilities more handicap accessible. The Rolling Quads evolved into UC Berkeley's Physically Disabled Students Program, the nation's first college organization for students with disabilities. Roberts earned a bachelor's and master's degree in political science, going on to teach it as a subject at UC Berkeley for six years. In 1972, he co-founded and subsequently led the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley; the organization advocated for those with disabilities, and promoted independent living. In 1975, Roberts was appointed director of the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, a place that had once rejected to hire him on account of his disability, and later on, he co-founded the World Institute on Disability. He passed away on March 14, 1995. In 2010, the state of California would recognize his January 23rd birthday as Ed Roberts Day. Judith Heumann: Another leader who pushed for reforms in the disability sector is Judith Heumann. Heumann was born December 18, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. At 18 months old, she contracted polio and was left paralyzed as a result. Even with her disability, her parents had high expectations for her, and expected her to go to school and complete the same education as everyone else. Because of the lack of accommodations at many public schools at the time, Heumann attended a Hebrew school in her early childhood. Her parents tried for years to have her attend a public school, until she was finally allowed to do so in the 4th grade. After Heumann graduated from high school, she attended Long Island University. While in college during the late 1960's, Heumann participated in anti-war and civil rights protests, and organized disability rights rallies and demonstrations. Following college, Heumann pursued a career as a teacher. However, when she applied to the New York City Board of Education, she was denied, as they deemed her wheelchair a fire hazard (they believed she wouldn't be able to evacuate her students or herself in the event of a fire). She sued the Board of Education and won, becoming the first teacher in New York City that used a wheelchair. Heumann carried on with her activism; in 1970, she and her friends founded Disability in Action, a group that addressed common issues in the disability realm such as housing, employment, and education. She co-founded the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley in 1972 with disability rights leader Edward Roberts. In 1977, she hosted the 504 Sit-in, a protest against the delayed implementation of Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the first U.S disability civil rights law, which served as a precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She later co-founded the World Institute on Disability alongside Roberts. She would go on to hold multiple positions with the federal government and various organizations, advising on and implementing disability rights/services throughout the 1990's, 2000's, and even into the late 2010's; she continues her advocacy and work to this day. Kitty Cone: Another leader in the disability rights movement was Kitty Cone. Cone was born April 7th, 1944 in Champaign, Illinois. Cone had muscular dystrophy but was misdiagnosed with other conditions throughout her childhood and teens; the procedures she would undergo as a result of these misdiagnoses would result in permanent damage. She was initially able to walk with some assistance or support, but eventually became wheelchair bound. Cone would attend different schools throughout her education, meeting with adversity at some for her disability, and derision at others for her disapproval of segregation. In one case, during her early teens, she faced heavy discrimination from her boarding school (Mount Vernon Seminary), with the headmistress having her abide by a set of arbitrary rules, such as not being able to bathe in her own suite, or go out onto the sporting fields. Despite this mistreatment, she continued on with her studies at other schools, and was accepted into the University of Illinois, where she became an active leader in the civil and women’s rights movements. In 1974, Cone moved to Berkeley, California, where she worked at the Berkeley Center for Independent Living. She was an organizer, and advocated throughout the area for various accommodations to be added, like curb ramps, and for higher accessibility, largely within public transportation. In 1977, Cone would play a large part in organizing the 504 Sit-in, building up groups and coalitions, and increasing the support and attention needed to maintain and grow the demonstration. She moved to Mexico in the early 1980's to adopt her son, as she had been rejected from adopting in the U.S. on account of her disability. She moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area 2 years afterwards, where she worked with the newly founded World Institute on Disability, and continued advocating for independent living programs and the rights and accessibility of those with disabilities. She passed away on March 21, 2015. Justin Dart Jr.: Unlike the first three leaders in the disability rights movement, this next leader lived their whole childhood and adolescence able-bodied. Justin Dart Jr., born on August 29, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois, came from a very privileged background, his grandfather being the founder of Walgreens. Dart would contract polio at the age of 18. Though told he only had 3 days to live, he survived, and was left paralyzed by the disease. Dart, who had up to this point been quite flippant with his education and was distant from others, was touched by the love and affection that was shown to him during this time, and turned his life around, becoming far more sympathetic and caring of people. Three years after contracting polio, he attended the University of Houston. While in college, Dart started his first human rights group, a pro-integration group at a college that at the time was a white-only institution. He would graduate with a bachelor's and master's degree in political history and science. In 1956, Dart started doing business in Mexico and Japan, starting several successful businesses that employed women and people with disabilities. In 1966, during the Vietnam War, Dart visited the country to investigate its rehabilitation status, and was shocked to see the conditions he saw for children with disabilities, who were heavily neglected and left to die in squalor. Upon returning to Japan from the trip, and hearing of criticism from U.S. executives for his business' inclusive practices, he would resign from his position, deciding to dedicate his life to advocating for human and disability rights. He moved to Texas in 1974, where he began his activism. He was a member and later on a chair of the Texas Governor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities from 1980 - 1985. In 1981, Dart was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to become the vice-chair of the National Council on Disability (NCD). Dart and his wife would travel across the country, meeting with activists and promoting rights for the disabled. In the late 1980's, Dart and other members of the NCD began drafting a bill that would prohibit discrimination against those with disabilities, this bill being the ADA. Dart pushed for the bill to become law in multiple ways, from becoming the chair of the Congressional Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, to travelling across the country to drum up support. It was finally signed into law in 1990. In 1994, when Republicans gained control of Congress and attempted to repeal the ADA and the adjoining Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Dart stepped up again, fighting to keep them alive through his advocacy. Dart would pass away on June 21, 2002, after several years of suffering from health problems. Edward Roberts, Judith Heumann, Kitty Cone, and Justin Dart Jr. are just a few of many disability rights advocates who made a profound difference for the rights of the disabled. Edward Roberts had a major impact on those within the disability community, especially in California, advocating for their education, accessibility, ease, and comfortability in life. Judith Heumann fought for those with disabilities to have adequate housing, transportation, and educational accessibility. Kitty Cone made tremendous strides in independent living, public transit accessibility, and personal assistance service rights for those with disabilities. Justin Dart Jr. fought for the rights and representation of the disabled through his political involvement, and was a key part of creating and maintaining legislation that made a fundamental difference in the lives of the disabled. Each of these disability rights activists helped to lead and shape a progressive movement; they advocated and fought for those who didn't have a voice, and they would help to change how people with disabilities are perceived, and how society would treat them. Research by McKenzie Addison Article Written by Joseph DuPree Sources:
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