“THE NATION’S DISABLED HAVE DECLARED WAR” - The Berkeley Barb, April 22–28, 1977
Line Drawing of a US map showing the location of HEW offices where protests first took place: Washington D.C., Boston, Seattle, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and Denver.
After four years of government stalling, people with disabilities took action. Protests organized by the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) began on April 5, 1977. They soon fizzled out everywhere except San Francisco.
Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano kneels on top of a desk as he faces reporters and Section 504 protesters in Washington D.C. on the first day of action, April 5, 1977. Exhibit audio track:
Find out more…
- American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral Histories. Located in the Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
- Doris Zames Fleischer and Frieda Zames, The Disability Rights Movement From Charity to Confrontation
- Smithsonian Museum "The Disability Rights Movement" virtual exhibit