Disability Rights Movement: History, Leaders, and Impact

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Disability rights movement
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Disability rights movement
Introduction
The disability rights movement is begun between 1960 and 1970 and was inspired by the
civil rights movement (Jones, 2017). The primary purpose of the movement was to help
Americans and anyone with disabilities. Additionally, the movement wanted to create awareness
among the public to reduce the stigma and isolation affecting people with disability in the US
(Scotch, 1989). The prominent leaders of the movement were leaders; Brad Lomax, Bessie
Blount, Johnnie Lacy, and Chuck Jackson, who led different contributions to the movement
(NCLD- National Center for learning disability, 2021).
Johnnie Lacy
Johnnie Lacy was a black American diagnosed with polio at 19 years, which paralyzed
her and confined in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. In the past, Lacy experienced stigma,
racism, and disability discrimination through her education in college. Her primary role was to
fight for a voice among black women living with disabilities in society. Lukin (2013) highlights
an interview that Lacy was involved in, and she describes her university experience where a
professor organized a movement to stop her from furthering her studies because the professor
had seen no place for a profession of a wheelchair user. In the 1970s, after Lacy interacted with
fellow activists, she realized that the black community experienced prejudice against the
disabled.
Bessie Blount
Bessie Blount was a black American who was an activist for people living with disability
and made her contribution during World War II. Blount was a licensed physiotherapist devoted
to helping veteran amputees and believed they could live independently without assistance

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(NCLD, 2021). Blount came up with a tube that helped transport food to the patients' mouths,
which helped them gain self-esteem and independence. This was an invention/ assistive
technology that paved the way for more advancement for people living with disabilities.
Brad Lomax and Chuk Jackson
Lomax was an activist of the disability rights movement who was confined to a
wheelchair and participated in 504 Sit-In (NCLD, 2021). The Sit-In was meant to advocate for
disability rights which the federal government was to address the discrimination and other
disability rights for people living with disabilities. In 1977, there was a 28-day protest at the San
Francisco federal building, which advocated for disability rights. People with disabilities had
attended the protest but needed care and food (NCLD, 2021). Chuk worked with the community
in cooking and delivering meals to the disability rights advocates during the protests.
Demands of the movement
People living with disability experience exclusion in society due to their condition; I
think this can be due to their situation as some of them require aid in movement, hearing, and
other care, which is demanding. Therefore, one of the demands from the activists was citizenship
rights and participation (Sabatello & Schulz, 2014). This is one of the demands that was made
during the drafting of the movement. Consequently, it has been a global thing in the United
Nations and elsewhere that has been boosting the rights of people with a disability. Another
demand was understood well using the Vienna Declaration, which was held in 1993 (Sabatello &
Schulz, 2014). Among the aspects of the declaration that concerned people with a disability
included; the reinforcement of the notion of universality, indivisibility, and recognition of
interdependence.