Activism takes many forms. It can be as complicated as a class-action lawsuit or as simple as wearing a T-shirt.
Certain kinds of activism are unquestioned as part of social citizenship, such as voting, being informed, and going to school. People engage in other forms of activism, such as petitioning and protest, when rights are denied.
"The notion that any one person is the single cause of any significant social change—that Abraham Lincoln alone freed the slaves—is a devastating stereotype which robs individuals of responsibility and credit, and actually inhibits social change.... You can be a revolution of one. In your living room, in your family, in your community." —Justin Dart, 1998
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These T-shirts express the energy and humor of the disability rights movement: “Not Dead Yet,” “same struggle, different difference,” “Access Now,” “I am not a case, and I don’t need to be managed.”
The first organization of people with autism, Autism Network International, created this button that reads “I’m Not Just Weird, I’m Autistic.”
One of the first disability rights protests focused on the cartoon character Mr. Magoo. Magoo was funny because of his poor vision, which resulted in mistakes and calamities that ridiculed and satirized people who were blind or had low vision.
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in federally funded programs and was the focus of a historic protest until it was implemented.
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in federally funded programs. The Ford administration drafted regulations but President Carter delayed their implementation. In 1977, after years of waiting for federal guidelines, activists lost patience and staged protests around the country.
Ken Stein made this “Sign 504 Now” poster in support of the historic twenty-five-day occupation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare offices in San Francisco.
The 504 occupation of a federal building galvanized people and created a strong sense of purpose and pride. Kitty Cone made this hand-drawn T-shirt of a person in a wheelchair and the words “504 Unchanged, SF, DC” while inside. The protests drew national attention and on April 28, 1977, the government finally released the regulations
Historian Paul Longmore publicly burned his biography of George Washington. Professor Longmore’s Social Security Insurance and personal assistance—both necessary for writing the book—were revoked because he earned royalties. His activism got the law changed.
In 1988, students and alumni of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., defied their board of trustees to force the hiring of a deaf person as president. The demonstrations shut down the campus. The Deaf President Now campaign strengthened the position of other activists who were simultaneously negotiating the ADA in Congress.
Founded in 1864 for deaf students, Gallaudet University had never had a deaf president until the successful Deaf President Now (DPN) protest. It drew nationwide attention and led to the inauguration of I. King Jordan, where this button was distributed.
This handcuff was cut by police in the arrest of Diane Coleman of the group Not Dead Yet, who had intentionally handcuffed herself to create a barrier during a protest.
In protest against the use of electroconvulsive shock on psychiatric patients, this button reads “Shock is elder abuse.”
Disabled in Action was an activist group started in the 1970s by Judy Heumann and others.
This homemade button with a fist and crutch reads “Power to the Disabled People’s Movement.”
The “Federation of Handicapped Individuals” in Des Moines created this red button with an eagle grasping a crutch in its talons.
President Reagan cut funding for many disability programs.
“Mi Cassa” on this button refers to the campaign to allow people to stay in their homes with services rather than be required to live in nursing homes.
“Curate L’AIDS Adesso” supports funding and research for a cure for HIV and AIDS.
Parents have played a crucial role in gaining rights, recognition, and services for their children. This organizing booklet is entitled “How to Organize an Effective Parent Group and Move Bureaucracies.”
By the 1940s and 1950s, parent activists had organized to fight for education and services for children. Their children also sometimes confronted their own parents’ fears and overly protective attitudes.
Wade Blank, shown on this “Free Our People” button, was a Presbyterian minister and outspoken activist. In the 1970s, Blank’s work in a Denver nursing home, combined with his earlier experience in civil rights, led to the founding of both the Atlantis Independent Living Center and ADAPT, a grassroots pan-disability activist organization.
ADAPT is a pan-disability, politically outspoken and active disability rights organization founded in 1978. Dozens of ADAPT members at this protest action have hung a wheelchair on a cross and carry signs and an American flag with a wheelchair outlined in stars.
ADAPT and People First members protest nursing homes.
ADAPT, founded in 1978, advocates for the rights of people with disabilities, including the right to live at home rather than in institutions. This “Free Our People” button has a wheelchair figure breaking out of chains.
Carr Masi made this sign for her participation in the “Disabled Peoples’ Civil Rights Day” on the Mall in Washington.