Subject: Module 1 Script - ILRU



IL History and Philosophy: Orientation for IL Staff

A Production of the IL NET

Independent Living Research Utilization at TIRR and

Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities

This DVD was developed in collaboration with Utah State University Center for Persons with Disabilities and funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, U.S. Department of Education, Agreement No. H132A020004. No official endorsement of the Department of Education should be inferred.

Copyright February 2006

DVD Contents:

Module One: A Brief History of Disability (16.54)

Module Two: Emergence of Independent Living (21:00)

Module Three: Codification of Independent Living - It is the law! (13:50)

Module Four: Disability Policy Framework and Advocacy (19:54)

Produced by Independent Living Research Utilization of the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research

Richard Petty, Executive Director

Darrell Jones, Associate Executive Director.

Developed by the Center for Persons with Disabilities

Utah State University

Judith Holt, Producer

Marilyn Hammond, Director

Writers

Cathy Chambless

Donna Gleaves

Helen Roth.

Additional Production Staff

Jeanie Peck

Narrator

Wendi Hassan

Music

Diane Coleman

Photographs, video and drawings courtesy of

ILRU

Center for Persons with Disabilities

Chicago Historical Society

Dread1myn productions

Gallaudet University

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Options for Independence

Not Dead Yet

Realistic Reflections

RESNA

and

Yoshiko Dart

Editing, captioning and DVD production

K-SAR Video and DVD Productions.

The IL NET is a collaborative project of Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) and the National Council of Independent Living (NCIL), with funding from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. The IL NET provides training, technical assistance and publications supporting the work of centers for independent living and statewide independent living councils.

MODULE 2: EMERGENCE OF INDEPENDENT LIVING

• Screen Text: This DVD was produced by ILRU in cooperation with the Center for Persons with Disabilities, Utah State University.

• Screen Text: Module 2, Emergence of Independent Living.

• Photograph: An old picture from the early 1900’s of four high school aged students with disabilities, two in wheelchairs, with their teacher.

• Photograph: A group of college students from the 1960’s talking together, three are in wheelchairs.

• Photograph: A rally with a woman in a wheelchair talking on stage and a banner behind her that states, Injustice anywhere to justice everywhere.

• Photograph: A large group of people with and without disabilities marching down a street.

• Photograph: Justin Dart with his head down and his hand to his face, Orrin Hatch wiping his eyes, with Yoshiko Dart and other disability leaders clapping.

Audio: What is Independent Living? This module will discuss the ways in which Independent Living philosophy and concepts differ from the medical model and traditional rehabilitation. This module will also provide familiarity with some of the disability leaders and events that launched, developed, and now sustain the Independent Living Movement.

• On screen text: What Is Independent Living?

• On screen text: The following collage of names appear one after the other: Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, Fred Fay, Lex Frieden, Justin Dart, Yoshiko Dart, Marca Bristo, Wade Blank, Max Starkloff, Andy Imparato, Mary Lou Breslin, Evan Kemp, Mary Johnson, Cindy Jones, Lucy Gwin; organizations: NCIL, ADAPT, DREDF, JFA, AAPD, ILRU; publications: Disability Rag, Mainstream, Mouth; and events: 504 sit in, capitol crawl, White House candlelight vigil.

• On screen text: The words, Historical context.

Audio: As we learned in Module 1, disability was thought of almost exclusively as a medical, rehabilitation, and charity issue, from the 19th Century until about 1960.

• Photograph from the 1940’s of a nurse wheeling a male patient in a wheelchair through a hallway with rows of hospital beds on both sides. Two nurses in white uniforms talk to children in hospital beds.

Audio: The focus was on searching for medical cures to alleviate disabling conditions.

• Photograph: 1950’s doctor examines the leg of a male patient. In the background there is a built-in glass cabinet filled with medical supplies.

Audio: The goal was to either “fix” people with disabilities or to segregate those who couldn’t be “fixed” in institutions.

• Photograph: The Indiana School for the Deaf, a large five story building with 40 teachers in long dresses posed on the front lawn.

Photograph: A large multistory brick institution.

Audio: Let’s take a look at how Independent Living philosophy significantly differs from this traditional medical model/rehabilitation paradigm. The medical or rehabilitation paradigm defines disability as a defect in the individual. This way of looking at a disability centers on a medical professional who intervenes in the person’s life. This inevitably leads to a social role for the person with a disability as a powerless patient who is dependent on the experts for direction and decisions. Most people in this situation either never gain control or lose any control they did have. Expectations by professionals are generally low in terms of the person with a disability holding a job or living a constructive life.

• A detailed chart: White lettering over a dark blue background. The title is, A Comparison of Medical/Rehabilitation and Independent Living Paradigms. The first column is Item, the second column is Medical/Rehab, and the third column is Independent Living. Under Item is locus, under Medical is individual, and under IL is environment. The second row across reads social under Item; patient, client under Medical; and person, consumer under IL. The third row is control, professional, consumer. The fourth row is solution, professional intervention, and peer support, control barrier removal, and advocacy. The last row reads outcomes, maximize activities of daily living, and independence, control, and inclusion.

Audio: The Independent Living or IL paradigm and philosophy are very different from this medical model and call for a different way of perceiving and relating to people with disabilities.

• Photograph: An older man in a wheelchair rolls on to his ramp inside an adapted van. A doctor with a stethoscope examines a young woman with Down Syndrome.

The problem has been that people with disabilities are often dependent on others to make decisions about their lives.

• Photograph: A smiling young adult male with developmental disabilities cooks in a small kitchen.

Audio: In addition, widespread discrimination toward people with disabilities is a significant issue.

• Photograph: Cute young girl in a wheelchair with an attached communication board wearing blue sunglasses poses with her young adult teacher. A young man and woman with developmental disabilities hug each other.

Audio: In the IL paradigm, disability is considered a natural part of the human experience.

• Photograph: A young man with a long ponytail dressed in jeans transfers from a three wheeled bike to his wheelchair.

Audio: Independent Living means controlling what is done in your life and making your own decisions.

• Photograph: A man in a wheelchair participates in a protest with a number of people scattered around him carrying a large banner. A woman in a wheelchair kisses a man kneeling beside her on the cheek.

Audio: The problem lies in the environmental, social, and economic barriers that people face.

• Photograph: A man maneuvers his wheelchair to get over a sidewalk curb. A sign outside a building states, Disabled Access in Rear.

Audio: The solutions are civil rights protections, removal of barriers, and strong advocacy efforts to make change happen.

• Photograph: A woman in a wheelchair presses an automatic door opener. Justin Dart and Marca Bristo talk underneath a large banner with Judy Heumann and others holding signs.

Audio: The desired outcome is a person who controls his or her own life, has opportunities comparable to other citizens, participates in the community as they wish, and who has economic security.

• Photograph: An older woman in a scooter on the sidewalk outside the Legislative Office building. A young woman with dark hair and big earrings uses a TTY next to a computer in an office setting.

Audio: There are two different aspects of Independent Living.

• Photograph: Smiling young adult man with Down Syndrome brushes his teeth in a bathroom.

Audio: Centers for Independent Living comprise the operational or programmatic aspect of Independent Living.

• Photograph: A woman in a wheelchair talks on the phone while she types on the computer.

Audio: These centers are private, nonprofit, community-based organizations that are consumer controlled and work with people with all types of disabilities of all ages.

• Photograph: Two women in wheelchairs and a man talk as they sit around a table in a kitchen display area. Older man with a hearing aid behind his ear sits next to a man who is blind in a room with other people.

Audio: By federal law, at least 51% of their staff and governing boards must be people with significant disabilities.

• Photograph: Staff with disabilities representing a center for independent living hold a South Carolina sign. An older woman in a scooter is surrounded by other people with and without disabilities on a sidewalk.

Audio: The Independent Living or Disability Rights Movement is the other aspect of Independent Living.

• Photograph: Justin Dart and two women in a chair participate in a march with four other people, one wearing a Free our People t shirt.

Audio: Various organizations, groups, and individuals have participated in this movement over the years, with the purpose of securing civil rights, legal protections, and policies for people with disabilities.

• Photograph: Many individuals with disabilities crawl up the Capitol steps while cameramen shoot footage. Justin and a woman in a chair talk to a reporter while Yoshiko looks on. Many people with and without disabilities gather in the middle of the street bordered by restaurants and other buildings.

Audio: How, why, and where did this revolutionary change in self- and public perception of people with disabilities come about?

• Text on the screen states: History and Early Leaders of Independent Living. A young woman using crutches assesses herself in a mirror with a medical professional looking over her shoulder.

Audio: Who were the leaders involved in initiating this paradigm?

• Photograph: Justin Dart, Judy Heumann, and many other people with disabilities and advocates march underneath a large banner).

Audio: We will now address the answers to these questions with the emergence of Independent Living in the 1960's.

Note: The photographs in the following section are all from the 1960’s.

• Photograph: Man in a wheelchair with other advocates hold an American flag with a wheelchair symbol in front of the U.S. Capitol steps.

Audio: The seeds for Independent Living were originally planted by war veterans who came home with disabilities.

• Photograph: A couple of dozen veterans in wheelchairs wearing suits hold signs that read, Keep Faith in Disabled Vets, in a long line next to a building.

Audio: In addition, many more people survived accidents, disease, and birth impairments.

• Photograph: A college aged man and woman in wheelchairs talk to another man with a beard in front of a large tie-dye hanging cloth.

Audio: Life expectancy also increased, often resulting in age-related disabilities.

• Photograph: An older man wearing a white shirt and black pants works at a large machine.

Audio: During this time period, other movements such as the civil rights, self-help, and "normalization" movements were quietly building.

• Photograph: Large crowd of mostly men in suits congregate on a plaza with a huge bullhorn in the center. Men and women protest outside a courthouse holding flags and signs.

Audio: Parents were starting to organize so their children with disabilities could receive a better education and acceptance.

• Photograph: Young college aged men and women walk across campus holding books. A boy with a tray of food drinks from a glass in a hospital bed by a window.

Audio: The time was right for social change.

• Photograph: A college aged male talks to several reporters in front of a large column with an American flag.

Audio: During the 1960's and 1970's, a solid philosophical and organizational base was laid for Independent Living.

• Photograph: A group of people with and without disabilities hold a huge American flag with the disability symbol in the corner. A wheelchair is mounted on a flagpole with a cameramen shooting footage.

Audio: Lex Frieden and other disability leaders came together at ILRU in 1978 to develop a definition of independent living, a definition still in use today.

• Photograph: Early shot of Lex Frieden with his colleagues.

Audio: The movement and organized efforts to protect civil rights have further developed in the following decades.

• Photograph: Man speaking at a podium to a crowd of people with some in wheelchairs, including Justin Dart.

Audio: New disability rights organizations and initiatives were launched with more collaboration and coalition building between national organizations.

• Photograph: Crowd of children and adults with disabilities, including Justin Dart, family, friends, and advocates march with a large sign that says, We shall overcome, and a large American flag.

Audio: Many new leaders emerged.

• Photograph: Justin Dart speaks to President Clinton with Senator Harkin watching.

Audio: Ed Roberts is known as the Father of Independent Living.

• Photograph: Ed Roberts in his wheelchair speaks outdoors into a microphone with a long term care flag behind him.

Audio: He had polio at age 16, resulting in quadriplegia and the use of a wheelchair, ventilator, and iron lung.

• Photograph: Old newspaper article and photo of Ed with a small boy behind him holding on to his chair.

Audio: He struggled to be admitted to the University of California at Berkeley.

• Photograph: Large student protest at Berkeley under a large ornamental iron overhead gate.

Audio: First, he was denied financial help by the state Vocational Rehabilitation agency because they thought he was "not feasible for employment." Roberts successfully fought this decision but then Berkeley officials said that they had "admitted cripples before and it didn't work out." This is not surprising since accessibility was almost nonexistent.

• White text is shown on a black screen as follows: Ed Robert’s struggle at University of California. Denied financial assistance – “Not feasible for employment”. Denied university admission, “cripples” didn’t work out. Admitted, but accessibility almost nonexistent.

Audio: With persistence, he was finally admitted in 1962, and lived in the student infirmary.

• Photograph: Ed Roberts on campus talks to several television reporters with a large camera and microphone.

Audio: As Roberts learned about what he needed to function successfully at Berkeley, he pressured University officials to make needed changes such as wheelchair repair, ramps, transportation, and accessible housing.

• Photograph: A man works on the spokes of a manual wheelchair. A man in his wheelchair is lowered on the lift of a large van while three people in wheelchairs wait. Before long, other people with significant disabilities joined him.

• Photograph: College aged man with a beard and woman talk in front of a desk by a window.

Audio: They became known as the "Rolling Quads" and provided other students with assistance concerning disability-related issues.

• Old blurry video footage: Seven “rolling quads” on the Berkeley campus.

Audio: Roberts and a colleague wrote a successful proposal in 1970 resulting in the Physically Disabled Student Program with John Hessler as the Director.

• Photograph: Ed Roberts posing with Jerry Brown, two other men in suits, and a woman in a wheelchair.

The new program was overwhelmed with requests for assistance by people with disabilities within the community, so Roberts started a Center for Independent Living in 1972 with a $1 million grant.

• Photograph: Three students from the 1970’s talk on a sidewalk, one in a wheelchair.

Audio: The Berkeley Center was a community-based, private, nonprofit, nonresidential program run by people with disabilities for people with all types of disabilities.

• Footage of the Berkeley Center showing the Center for Independent Living sign, bulletin board, and people working.

• Photograph: A man with a bushy beard in a wheelchair working in a lab.

Audio: When Roberts was asked what the three most important services were, he answered, "Advocacy, advocacy, and advocacy."

• Photograph: Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, and Joan Leone smiling in an office.

• Text on the screen: Advocacy, advocacy, and advocacy.

Audio: In the early '70s, other programs were developed across the nation based on similar principles.

• Photograph: Lex Frieden in a studio with two other women in wheelchairs.

Audio: The Boston Center for Independent Living was organized under the leadership of Fred Fay.

• Photograph: Fred Fay smiling as he lies prone in his bed.

Audio: Lex Frieden, another prominent leader in Houston, founded the Independent Living Research Utilization program in 1977.

• Photograph: Lex Frieden being interviewed by a reporter with a big microphone in front of a rock wall.

Audio: In Denver, Wade Blank founded the Atlantis Community, which includes people who once lived in nursing homes.

• Photograph: Wade Blank with long blond hair and sunglasses wearing a t-shirt in front of an American flag.

• Photograph: Woman in a wheelchair eats at a table in a nursing home.

Audio: Blank was also the founder of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, now known as American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today or ADAPT.

• Photograph: Woman stands in front of a large ADAPT and Free Our People banner.

• Photograph: Young man with one arm raised wearing an ADAPT orange vest surrounded by other protestors with disabilities and camera men in front of the U.S. Capitol.

Audio: This organization carried out its first civil disobedience action in 1978, when it immobilized buses to gain attention for the need for wheelchair public bus lifts in Denver.

• Photograph: Protestors with and without disabilities hold large signs that read, Freedom Now and No More Broken Promises.

• Photograph: Woman in a wheelchair boards an accessible bus.

Audio: Roberts became Director of the Berkeley Center for Independent Living in 1974.

• Photograph: Ed Roberts smiling in a room with four other people.

Audio: In 1975, Roberts was appointed by the California Governor to be the State Director of the Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, which just 14 years earlier had deemed him too disabled to work.

• Text on the screen: Ed Roberts appointed as the California Vocational Rehabilitation Director.

Audio: Judy Heumann is known as the Mother of Independent Living.

• Photograph: Judy Heumann speaks in a microphone wearing a NCIL hat.

Audio: She had polio as an infant, which resulted in quadriplegia. Upon graduating from college and passing all the required exams, Heumann applied for her teaching certificate. She was denied because officials determined that she would constitute a "fire hazard" in a school, the same reason given for keeping her out of regular school classes earlier.

• Video footage of Judy Heumann entering her office in her motorized wheelchair and going to work at her large desk in front of a bookcase and framed certificates.

Audio: She immediately sued the school district in 1970 and won.

• Photograph: Judy and Justin Dart march with many other people with disabilities underneath a large justice banner.

Audio: She was later quoted as saying, "When I speak out about the oppression of people with disabilities, some professionals will ask, 'Is she bitter about being handicapped?' The answer is yes, I am bitter about being handicapped, but not about having a disability for it is not my disability that handicaps me.

• Photograph: Judy speaks in a microphone in front of a large federal building with people watching on a balcony behind her.

• Photograph: Judy speaks on a NCIL stage with a woman signing and a man in a wheelchair holding a guitar.

• Photograph: Judy posing with an adolescent male student wearing an IDEA sticker, and his parents, all smiling.

Audio: It is society that handicaps me and my brothers and sisters, handicaps us by building inaccessible schools, theaters, buses, houses, and the list goes on.

• Photograph: Shot of an entryway into a building with many stairs lined by rocks. A large light building with many steps. An interior staircase leading to a narrow landing. Two women sit on the back of a trolley.

Audio: All this helps keep us in our place."

• Photograph: Older woman using a scooter stops in front of the entrance to a building with three steps.

Audio: She organized a contingent of people with disabilities in New York City called Disabled in Action (DIA).

• Photograph: Judy Heumann speaks in her office.

Audio: DIA groups were also formed in Philadelphia and Baltimore.

• Text on the screen: Judy Heumann organized Disabled in Action (DIA) groups in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Audio: In 1971, she observed that “there is not one large national foundation working for the handicapped that has a disabled person on its board.”

• Photograph: Judy Heumann posing with Justin Dart, Marca Bristo, Paul Marchand, and four other people.

Audio: When President Nixon vetoed the new Rehabilitation Act passed by Congress in 1972, because he said it was too costly, DIA shut down traffic on Madison Avenue in New York with about 80 people with disabilities in protest.

• Photograph: President Nixon’s face with a broad smile. Protest on Madison Avenue in New York. Dozens of people with disabilities in wheelchairs and scooters protesting.

Audio: This legislation contained funding for Independent Living Centers and the very first provision to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities against discrimination.

• Photograph: Several men and women with disabilities wave flags among a larger group.

Audio: Section 504 states, "No otherwise qualified handicapped individual shall be excluded from participation in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance."

• The exact narration shows on the screen.

Audio: In 1973, Congress sent Nixon a bill with Section 504 but without the Independent Living provisions and funding, which he finally signed.

• Photograph: 1970’s Congressional session with individuals testifying before legislators.

Audio: When the required regulations had not been implemented by 1976, even after prodding by disability groups, it became clear that delay was being used as a means not to honor the law.

• Text on the screen: Bill signed in 1973, but required regulations had not been implemented by 1976.

Audio: In the meantime, Judy Heumann had joined Ed Roberts at the Berkeley Independent Living Center as the Deputy Director.

• Photograph: Judy Heumann, Ed Roberts, and Joan Leone smiling in a corner office.

Audio: A cross-disability organization called the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities gave President Carter an ultimatum date for the Section 504 regulations.

• Photograph: Many people with and without disabilities wait in a long line in front of the Capitol. Text on the screen states, American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. President Jimmy Carter smiles in front of a bookcase with an American flag.

Audio: When the ultimatum date passed with no regulations, protests took place at ten regional Health, Education, and Welfare offices across the country.

• Handwritten sign that reads, Sign 504 Now. Photo of a large Health, Education, and Welfare office building.

Audio: Most lasted a day, but under Heumann's leadership in San Francisco, approximately 150 people with ALL types of disabilities and at great risk to their health stayed for 28 days and refused to leave until the regulations were signed.

• Blurry early video footage of Judy Heumann in her wheelchair talking to another woman.

• Blurry video footage of the protest with people in wheelchairs holding Sign 504 Now signs.

• Text over darkened video states, 150 people with all types of disabilities stayed for 28 days until the Section 504 regulations were signed.

Audio: They left the building after 28 days of occupation, 2 days after the regulations were signed, having read and approved them. They were singing "We Have Overcome." This prolonged event was electric for people with disabilities all across the nation!

• Video: Showing many cameramen, Judy Heumann, and other people with disabilities jubilantly coming out of the building.

Audio: The Disabilities Rights Education and Defense Fund, founded in 1977 by Mary Lou Breslin, Bob Funk, and Patrisha Wright provided training on the provisions of 504 to thousands of people with disabilities across the country between 1979 and 1982.

• Text on the screen: The Disabilities Rights Education and Defense Fund, founded in 1977 by Mary Lou Breslin, Bob Funk, and Patrisha Wright.

• Photograph: Shot of people with and without disabilities sitting at dozens of tables in a large room receiving training.

• Photograph: Large group of people sitting in a circle taking notes.

Audio: These founders fought protracted battles to keep the 504 legislation intact.

• Photograph: Side view of protestors, including Justin Dart, marching in Washington D.C.

Audio: They were later active in the formulation and passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA.

• Photograph: President Bush signs the ADA with a gigantic crowd witnessing the event.

Audio: In 1978, a reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act contained provisions for Centers for Independent Living and $2 million was appropriated to fund 10 states around the country.

• Text on screen: 1978 Reauthorization Act contained provisions for Centers for Independent Living.

Audio: Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, and Joan Leon came together again in the early 1980's to found the World Institute on Disability, a national think tank and research organization.

• Photograph: Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann and Joan Leon. Text reads, World Institute on Disability.

Audio: Its purpose was to address Independent Living and broaden its scope in the world.

• Photograph: A long banner that reads, Independent Living Resource Center, written in both English and Chinese with an Asian man standing underneath it speaking to several people.

Audio: In 1982, the Directors of the original Centers for Independent Living, decided to start an organization called the National Council on Independent Living or NCIL.

• Photograph: Marca Bristo in front of a large building speaks into a handheld microphone with several people in wheelchairs behind her.

Audio: Marca Bristo, of Access Living in Chicago, and Max Starkloff, of Paraquad in St. Louis, were instrumental in founding this organization.

• Close photograph: Marca with long brown hair, earrings, and glasses speaking into a large handheld microphone.

• Photograph: Max Starkloff with a salt and pepper beard and mustache wearing three long term care stickers on his jacket smiling at a rally.

Audio: NCIL has become a major national leader and strong advocate for disability civil rights, legislation, policies, and issues.

• Photograph: A group of activists clap while Justin Dart speaks outdoors on the terrace of a building. Dozens of people with disabilities and activists carry flags and signs in front of the reflecting pool with the Washington Monument in the background.

Audio: Bristo was later appointed by President Clinton to chair the National Council on Disability.

• Photograph: President Clinton speaks in front of the White House with Justin Dart, Judy Heumann, Marca Bristo, and others seated behind him clapping.

Audio: One of the significant advances of the Independent Living Movement took place at Gallaudet University, a college for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

• Photograph: People speak and sign on stage with a NCIL banner underneath. Black and white photo of Gallaudet University with cars parked in front.

• Photograph: Another shot of a smaller building.

Audio: In 1988, a new president of Gallaudet was to be appointed. The selection committee chose a woman who had no hearing loss and could not use American Sign Language or ASL.

• Photograph: Students protest with a large sign that reads Deaf President Now. Sign reading, Our demands are: Deaf President Now, etc.

Audio: No previous president in Gallaudet's 100 plus years of existence had been deaf or hearing impaired. The students, who had previously called for a president who was deaf, immediately revolted and shut down the University.

• Photograph: Dozens of deaf students yelling and protesting.

Audio: After a week of rallies and marches, the Board of Trustees relented and appointed I. King Jordan, the first Gallaudet president who was deaf.

• Photograph: Many deaf students smiling and “clapping” by raising their arms over their heads with their hands moving. I. King Jordan giving a victorious thumbs-up signal with students behind him.

Audio: This event was a significant victory for people with disabilities everywhere.

• Photograph: Plane flying large banner that reads, Gallaudet: the whole world salutes you.

Audio: It demonstrated the power of unified advocacy, and provided consumer control at a high level.

• Photograph: Justin Dart and other people with disabilities march down the middle of a busy street with supporters, policemen, and cars behind them.

Audio: Another very significant victory was the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA

• White text on a black screen: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Audio: Many people worked to get this legislation passed, but only a few of the leaders will be noted here.

• Photograph: Camera men shooting footage over a huge crowd with President Bush, Justin Dart, and others on a platform for the signing of the ADA.

Audio: Justin Dart and his wife Yoshiko gathered data from across the country, at their own expense, to document discrimination.

• Photograph: Justin Dart speaks into a microphone with Yoshiko kneeling beside him on stage with a Do Not Tread on Disability sign behind them.

Audio: The National Council on the Handicapped, later renamed the National Council on Disability, or NCD, under the leadership of Lex Frieden, published, “Toward Independence” and other influential reports on the status of people with disabilities.

• Photograph: Lex Frieden, a woman in a chair, and three women standing behind them smile.

Audio: Two years after publication of Toward Independence, the NCD observed that no bill had been written to carry out the principles advanced in its groundbreaking document.

• Publication: Toward Independence, printed in blue with the outline of a large white eagle.

Audio: Consequently, the Council produced another report, On the Threshold of Independence, which included the initial draft proposal of a bill that led the way to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Publication, On the Threshold of Independence, with blue letters printed on a white background showing the outline of a blue eagle.

Audio: Patrisha Wright of DREDF directed advocates’ congressional contacts. Liz Savage, then of the Epilepsy Foundation, focused on grassroots advocacy.

• Photograph: Patrisha Wright and Liz Savage smile as they stand close together with three other people.

Audio: Under Marca Bristo's leadership, NCIL carried out a variety of advocacy activities.

• Photograph: Marca Bristo with Justin and Yoshiko Dart lead other activists in a march down the street.

Audio: ADAPT, with the leadership of Wade Blank and Bob Kafka, held a "crawl up" the steps of the United States Capitol building and a rally in the rotunda that generated a lot of attention.

• Photograph: A woman and older child crawl up the U.S. Capitol steps with the media and other people watching.

Audio: The National Council on Disability and many other organizations and individuals also advocated persistently.

• Photograph: Behind Justin Dart speaking into several microphones in front of an immense crowd of thousands of people in D.C..

Audio: After many revisions, the ADA was signed into law July 26, 1990.

• Photograph: President Bush signs the ADA with Justin Dart right next to him and a woman standing behind them, all smiling.

Audio: The disability community was jubilant.

• Photograph: Lex Frieden, Justin Dart, and Fenmore Seton smile as they victoriously hold hands and show their medals.

Audio: Many organizations still celebrate the anniversary of the signing.

• Photograph: Justin Dart and President Bush sitting at a long table filled with men and women wearing suits with name tags.

Audio: Around this time, NCIL opened its Washington office and began to work more closely with ADAPT.

• Photograph: Justin Dart sits in front of a large NCIL sign. Bob Kafka speaks in a microphone in front of a huge ADAPT banner.

Audio: In 1994, the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, or APRIL, held its first National Conference under the leadership of Linda Gonzales.

• Photograph: APRIL conference with many people sitting at small conference tables. Linda Gonzales with long gray hair wearing a white jacket smiling.

Audio: It is the national voice for rural Centers for Independent Living. ILRU in Houston continued its support of Centers for Independent Living through programs of research, training, and technical assistance.

• Photograph: Lex Frieden in a tux at a social event with a woman in a wheelchair, his attendant, and others.

Audio: During this time period, three other important organizations were founded.

• Photograph: Men and women sit before microphones at a long L shaped table.

Audio: In 1994, Justice for All, a computer listserve dedicated to getting information out to the disability community in a timely manner, was founded by Justin Dart, Fred Fay, Becky Ogle, and Mark Smith.

• Photograph: Justin Dart, Judy Heumann, and others wearing Justice for All t-shirts.

• Photograph: Fred Fay lying in bed surrounded by hanging medical equipment.

Audio: The next year, the American Association of People with Disabilities was founded by Justin Dart, Paul Hearne, and Fred Fay.

• Photograph: Side view of Justin Dart speaking to a reporter in front of people holding banners.

Audio: This is a cross-disability organization created to empower people with disabilities economically and politically.

• Photograph: Several people with disabilities, including a woman in a chair with a white dog guide, gather at a rally.

• Photograph: President Clinton speaks to many people in wheelchairs in a beautiful room with a chandelier.

Audio: Diane Coleman, the Illinois Director of a Center for Independent Living, founded Not Dead Yet in 1996, concerned with preventing assisted suicide and euthanasia targeted almost exclusively toward people with disabilities.

• Photograph: Diane Coleman, with glasses and shoulder length blond hair, talks into a large microphone.

• Sign: Not Dead Yet, with squiggly letters.

• Photograph: Group of people hold a bright pink Not Dead Yet sign that states, We Want to Live.

Audio: These organizations have furthered the Independent Living Movement.

• Photograph: Dozens of people with and without disabilities stand in front of the Capitol building.

Audio: Unfortunately, the Movement lost the esteemed leadership of Wade Blank, Ed Roberts, and Justin Dart, who all passed away.

• Photograph: Yoshiko Dart, people with disabilities, and advocates push Justin’s wheelchair with his hat resting on the seat.

Audio: In 1999, the Disability Movement got a big boost from the Supreme Court.

• Photograph: Justin Dart and eight other people in wheelchairs pose with several dozen men and women on the steps of the Supreme Court.

Audio: The Olmstead decision essentially stated that it was discriminatory for states to keep people with disabilities in segregated institutions when they could live in the community with appropriate supports.

• Photograph: Man in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank alone in an institutional corridor. Young woman in a wheelchair loads the dishwasher in her kitchen.

Audio: The decision was based on provisions of the ADA.

• Photograph: Man working on a wheelchair with two people watching.

Audio: At the same time, the Supreme Court has handed down a number of decisions that have narrowed the scope of the ADA.

• Photograph: People with disabilities and advocates sit on the steps of the Supreme Court.

Audio: Many other organizations and individuals are attempting to counteract these weakening attacks through new legislation or other means.

• Photograph: A man and woman in wheelchairs speak in front of half a dozen microphones.

Audio: The "Free Our People March," from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. in 2003, was undertaken to raise public awareness of the need for changes in the Medicaid law to eliminate the bias which mandates Medicaid payment for institutional care, such as nursing homes, but makes support for people to live in the community optional.

• Photograph: People in wheelchairs with signs participating in the Free Our People march.

• Photograph: Man holding large Free Our People sign.

• Photograph: Justin Dart and other people with disabilities marching with an American flag, bullhorn, and We Shall Overcome sign.

Audio: Over 200 people walked and rolled the distance.

• Photograph: Several people with disabilities holding signs.

• Photograph: Older man in a nursing home eating at a table with an employee.

• Photograph: Justin and Yoshiko Dart with other people with disabilities marching with Free our People signs).

Audio: More than 80 electric wheelchairs had to be hooked up to battery chargers every night on the way.

• Photograph: Huge row of people in wheelchairs.

Audio: It was a huge logistical effort.

• Photograph: Stage with huge banner that reads Free our People and Adapt on either side with an audience of dozens of people in wheelchairs wearing ADAPT orange vests.

Audio: The march culminated in a rally near the capitol in Washington D.C. with many Congressmen and activists in attendance to promote the passage of the Medicaid Attendant Services and Supports Act and support the Independent Living Movement.

• Photograph: Man in a wheelchair speaking in front of the U.S. Capitol.

• Photograph: Tom Harkin with his hand on the shoulder of Bob Kakfa speaking into several microphones.

• Photograph: Woman with a MICASSA sign on the back of her wheelchair in front of dozens of people with disabilities with the U.S. Capitol in the background.

• Photograph: Dozens of people with disabilities in front of a large Free our People banner.

Audio: The emergence of the Independent Living Movement has been a long, difficult process and the movement has not yet fully matured.

• White letters: Maturing of Independent Living, on a black screen.

• Photograph: About a dozen individuals in wheelchairs and scooters speaking to one another.

Audio: Although it has changed the way many people with disabilities think of themselves and the way many others perceive them, it still has a long way to go.

• Photograph: African American man in a wheelchair with his wife and four children gathered around him. The youngest daughter is sitting on his lap making a face.

• Photograph: Woman in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses, a hat, and an ADAPT vest clapping.

Audio: The movement, with its revolutionary concepts, has barely begun to penetrate the psyche of the general public.

• Photograph: Justin Dart speaking to dozens of people with disabilities in front of the reflecting pool in Washington D.C.

Audio: Until more of the general public and people with disabilities understand and embrace the paradigm shift to civil rights from medical/charity models, there likely will be further vigorous attempts to weaken the ADA and to reject changes to Social Security and other disability-related laws that would free people with disabilities to make their own choices and control their own lives.

• Photograph: People march down a sidewalk holding up a huge Free Our People sign.

• Photograph: Man in a scooter wearing an orange ADAPT vest holds a large video camera with several other people in scooters.

• Photograph: A group of people with disabilities in orange vests cheer and wave flags.

• Photograph: Several individuals in wheelchairs carry a large flag with one person wearing a spirit of the ADA t-shirt.

• Photograph: Man with a handkerchief and an orange vest clap at a gathering in front of the White House.

Audio: We have an excellent start but we need every staff person in Centers for Independent Living to understand and support the Independent Living Philosophy, to grasp what is at stake here for people with disabilities, and to always tailor their activities to promote the Independent Living Movement.

• Photograph: Large rally with long banner, It’s Time to Roar America for All.

• Photograph: Marca Bristo, Justin Dart and other individuals in wheelchairs are on stage with several other people.

• Photograph: Young woman with developmental disabilities works with plants in front of many containers.

• Photograph: Man with developmental disabilities with a big smile and his arms raised.

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