Virtual Tour

Because some people - by nature of geography or impairments – will not be able to attend in person, we provide this virtual access to the content featured in the main Patient No More Exhibit.

"IN THE FACE OF GOVERNMENT IGNORANCE, WE PERSISTED AND WON. NO ONE GAVE US ANYTHING." - Organizer Kitty Cone

Photographed by Anthony Tusler

Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights

The Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability invites you to discover a remarkable, overlooked moment in U.S. history when people with disabilities occupied a government building to demand their rights. Known as the “Section 504 Sit-In,” the protest profoundly changed the lives of people with and without disabilities, and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.

On April 5, 1977, American people with and without disabilities showed the world the power of grassroots activism. In San Francisco, more than 100 people began a twenty-six day occupation of the Federal Building to insist on getting civil rights. Four years earlier, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 had made it illegal for any federally funded facilities or programs to discriminate against disabled people. One signature from the Head of Health Education and Welfare (HEW) stood in the way of the law taking effect. People waited and waited. At last in 1977 frustration turned into bold action. A diverse coalition launched protests across the country. San Francisco's occupation was the most significant.

On April 30, 1977, San Francisco's Section 504 occupiers emerged victorious from the longest take-over of a federal building in US history. A national disability rights movement was born. “Patient No More” remembers this pivotal moment that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed twenty-five years ago on July 26, 1990.

Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

The following video explores the motivations that made the 504 protesters decide they were "Patient No More":

Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

San Francisco Examiner Archive. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Skip ahead:

The Protest Grows

FRIDAY APRIL 1

Organizers contact everyone they know and urge them to call everyone they know to join the upcoming action.

SATURDAY APRIL 2

American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) prepares a national sit-in for April 5. Berkeley Center for Independent Living organizers agree to keep plans quiet. Cesar Chavez, President of the Farm Workers of America, sends an early letter of support.

SUNDAY APRIL 3

More phone calls and long conversations at the Berkeley Center for Independent Living about the upcoming protest.

MONDAY APRIL 4

Deadline the ACCD sets for signing the Section 504 regulations, threatening nationwide protests.

Occupiers Take the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Offices

DAY 1 TUESDAY APRIL 5

Demonstrators at ten federal offices across the US demand that President Carter's Administration sign the 504 regulations without watering them down. Sit-ins begin in SF and D.C. San Francisco:A large group enters the HEW offices and over 100 are locked in for the night. Community organizers from Delancey Street the residential rehabilitation program for substance abusers, bring food; Salvation Army provides blankets and mattresses. Washington D.C.: 300 protesters heckle Secretary Joseph Califano to sign the 504 regulations unchanged. Many stay in the HEW office overnight.

DAY 2 WEDNESDAY APRIL 6

San Francisco: After sleeping on the Federal Building floor, over 100 people wake to their first full day of the sit-in. Washington D.C.: The occupiers leave the building — no food or access to medicine and unsympathetic guards made it impossible to stay. Other Cities: Protests fizzle out without community support.

DAY 3 THURSDAY APRIL 7

San Francisco: At least 130 people now at the sit-in. HEW officials turn off hot water, reduce phone lines to two pay phones, and limit all other phones to incoming calls. HEW prohibits occupiers leaving the building from re-entering.

DAY 4 FRIDAY APRIL 8

San Francisco: Occupiers learn that Los Angeles protest is over. Congressman George Miller visits the sit-in. Delancey Street and a few local businesses donate food. Eight people participate in the hunger strike. Black Panther Party sends letter of support. A small group protesters celebrate the last day of Passover inside the fourth floor elevator.

DAY 5 SATURDAY APRIL 9

San Francisco: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the occupiers are now 150 strong. 504 Coalition issues press release urging supporters to come to the sit-in for most up-to-date information. Hunger strikers remain in high spirits. Occupiers join committees to handle daily tasks inside and duties for keeping the protest going; a routine develops and each day counts.

DAY 6 SUNDAY APRIL 10

San Francisco: Easter service held at 10am followed by an egg hunt for occupiers’ children in the Federal Building’s courtyard. US congressman George Miller speaks to occupiers and urges them to remain. California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Director Ed Roberts, sends a telegram to President Carter. Pay phones are jammed with coins; occupiers can’t communicate with anyone outside.

DAY 7 MONDAY APRIL 11

San Francisco: Protesters give daffodils to arriving HEW staff. Congressmen Phillip Burton and George Miller announce that a semi-official “hearing” will be held inside on April 15th. More than 120 protesters now in the building discuss concerns about the regulations being diluted. Buttercup Restaurant, Brick Hut lesbian cooperative in Berkeley, and Glide Memorial Church donate dinner. Neighborhood pharmacists help with medicines. Channel 7 journalist Evan White commits to telling the protest’s story, reports on his travels downtown in a borrowed wheelchair.

DAY 8 TUESDAY APRIL 12

San Francisco: Organizers have one incoming phone line. Congressman Burton pressures Regional Secretary for HEW, Joseph Maldonado for three more lines so protesters can obtain food and medical supplies. Georgia Senator Julian Bond visits the protest and connects event to the 1960s civil rights movement. CA assemblyman Tom Bates sends a letter of support signed by forty-six members of the California Assembly to President Carter. City Council of Pacifica passes a resolution supporting the demonstration. Thirty Junior National Association of the Deaf students participate in a vigil outside the building.

DAY 9 WEDNESDAY APRIL 13

San Francisco: CA assemblyman Milton Marks asks Maldonado to let sit-in numbers numbers return to 150, allow in eight ASL interpreters, and restore the phone lines. SF protesters learn of Washington D.C. activists’ vigil to support them. Committees monitor press coverage, raise money to support the occupation, and prepare for next day's hearing. Women's rap group builds bonds. Wheelchair races in hallways let off steam.

DAY 10 THURSDAY APRIL 14

San Francisco: Daily food deliveries from the Black Panthers, Glide Memorial Church, and others sustain the protesters.

DAY 11 FRIDAY APRIL 15

San Francisco: 10:00AM—4:00PM congressmen Miller and Burton hold hearings inside the occupied building by declaring room 406 a “satellite office of Congress.” Individuals from diverse groups give testimony on 504 regulations. SF Chronicle reports that most of the original 150 protesters remain inside. Outside hundreds attend a public rally. Senator Alan Cranston sends telegram of support.

DAY 12 SATURDAY APRIL 16

San Francisco: After a long meeting, occupiers elect delegation of twenty-five to go to Washington D.C. to put pressure on Secretary Califano to sign 504 regulations. Concerned for their health, some occupiers leave to join supporters outside.

DAY 13 SUNDAY APRIL 17

San Francisco: Conditions get more difficult inside the Federal Building and some protesters report developing body lice and crabs. But food keeps coming and hopes remain high as protesters make plans for going to Washington. SF protest has raised $5,000 to send the delegation, including significant funds from International Association of Machinists (IAM).

DAY 14 MONDAY APRIL 18

San Francisco: Mayor Moscone has mobile showers and towels brought in but local HEW officials push back. Moscone gains White House permission; portable showers are installed.

DAY 15 TUESDAY APRIL 19

San Francisco: About seventy-five remaining occupiers vow to hold the fort while eighteen of them and seven attendants fly to Washington. Washington D.C.: Newly arrived San Francisco protesters travel in a rented windowless Hertz truck with a hydraulic tail lift to Califano’s house to hold a candlelight vigil until dawn. Most stay at the Lutheran Place Memorial Church, sleeping on foam mattresses on the floor; eat food provided by local Washington IAM.

DAY 16 WEDNESDAY APRIL 20

San Francisco: Protesters learn that Ed Roberts plans to visit Washington D.C. to lend support to protest. Washington D.C.: With little sleep, San Francisco delegation meets Senators Alan Cranston and Harrison Williams in Congressman Phillip Burton’s office. Protesters discover that few restrooms in the Capitol are accessible.

DAY 17 THURSDAY APRIL 21

San Francisco: Protesters hang on; committees still active; in downtime some play cards, musical instruments, eat home-cooked food from Black Panthers, talk late into the night. Washington D.C.: SF delegation spends day lobbying; gives up on meeting with Carter or Califano after repeatedly being rebuffed. Group of eight meets with Stuart Eisenstat, Carter’s Chief Domestic Policy Adviser. Evening vigil held outside the White House.

DAY 18 FRIDAY APRIL 22

San Francisco: Four protesters return from D.C. and hold an evening press conference with demonstrators outside the SF Federal Building. CA assemblyman Milton Marks and around 100 supporters attend. Washington D.C.: Armed police block entrance to national HEW office as SF delegation tries to meet Califano. Senator Cranston and twenty-eight colleagues write or sign letters of support. Protesters remain hopeful.

DAY 19 SATURDAY APRIL 23

Washington D.C.: Day of rest; protesters deal with hot, sticky weather.

DAY 20 SUNDAY APRIL 24

Washington D.C.: SF delegates lobby outside Carter’s First Baptist Church; President escapes through the back door. Protesters plan rally in front of the White House for next day.

DAY 21 MONDAY APRIL 25

Washington D.C.: Lutheran pastor, the Reverend John Steinbruck invites Carter and Califano to prayer breakfast with the protesters but gets no response.

DAY 22 TUESDAY APRIL 26

San Francisco: Over 100 protesters remain inside the Federal Building; dozens of Bay Area supporters continue demonstrating outside. Washington D.C.: SF delegates and over 100 demonstrators march in front of the White House and hold a rally. Parallel events take place in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Hartford, CT.

DAY 23 WEDNESDAY APRIL 27

Washington D.C.: SF delegation protests in front of a hotel where Califano is holding an event. With their press passes, occupier Michael Williams and journalist Evan White gain access and corner Califano with difficult questions. Most SF delegates fly home, six remain in Washington.

HEW Secretary Joseph Califano Signs the Section 504 Regulations

DAY 24 THURSDAY APRIL 28

Califano signs the Section 504 regulations without fanfare. News of success spreads fast; some protesters worry it might be a trick. San Francisco: Protesters are elated; vote to wait for Washington group to return so everyone can leave the building triumphantly together. Occupier Margaret (Dusty) Irvine ends twenty-one day hunger strike. Washington D.C.: Here too news spreads quickly and protesters worry that changes have been made. By end of day, attorneys confirm that Califano did sign the regulations unchanged as protesters had demanded from the beginning.

DAY 25 FRIDAY APRIL 29

San Francisco: Protesters clean up the HEW offices; they celebrate one last night in the building together; bonds are strong and not everyone wants to leave; they vow to carry on the disability rights struggle.

DAY 26 SATURDAY APRIL 30

San Francisco: Late morning the occupiers leave the building together; to cheers from many HEW employees and federal security staff, they join a large public rally on UN Plaza and toast their victory with champagne.

Audio Track

Listen to the Sound Cloud track

A Mecca for disabled people.
- New York Times, April 17, 1977
Center for Independent Living Group

Courtesy CIL

Berkeley's Center for Independent Living (CIL) attracted many people with disabilities. Everyone in this group photo participated in the Section 504 occupation.

The San Francisco occupiers came from the entire Bay Area, which had attracted many people with disabilities. In fact, Berkeley’s disabled population increased from an estimated 400 in 1972 to 5,000 in 1976. Why?

  • The growing Independent Living Movement employed people with disabilities, fostered disability pride, and gave advice for living in the community.
  • California had a personal care attendant allowance.
  • Good weather and more curb cuts on sidewalks than any other city made it easy to get around.
  • Like other immigrants, disabled newcomers found support from people who had already paved the way.
  • Everyone who wanted change could find social movements with like-minded people.
Sather Gate man in wheelchair and others walking

Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Archive, Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Wheelchair rider and student John Thorn, photographed in front of Sather Gate, University of California, 1977.

Cover of California Monthly magazine with woman in wheelchair

Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Archive, Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Word was out: students with disabilities at the University of California, Berkeley were bonding and making trouble. Here, wheelchair rider Judy Taylor features on the cover of the December issue of California Monthly, December 1976.

Map of wheelchair ramps

Berkeley City Council authorized 125 curb cuts in January 1973. Dots with numbers mark them on the map below.

One of the broadest coalitions I had ever seen.
- Organizer Kitty Cone
Protestors demonstrate in favor of 504

Photographed by HolLynn D'Lil

The protest drew strength from its broad coalition of supporters such as the many shown here in front of City Hall.

The 504 protest stirred the Bay Area’s many activist communities. People from different racial, ethnic, religious and sexual backgrounds showed support. The Black Panther Party, Glide Memorial Church, the Gay Men’s Butterfly Brigade, and many others pitched in with food, equipment and people. Daily vigils outside the building kept the focus on the protest.

    Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

    Letters of Support

    Exhibit audio track:

    Listen to the Sound Cloud for Building Networks of Support

    Find Out More…

    They're tired. They're grubby. They're uncomfortable...
    - KGO report, April 7th, 1977
    Protestors demonstrate in favor of 504

    Photograph by HolLynn D'Lil

    Protesters gather around a cluttered office desk to plan next actions. The HEW offices at 50 United Nations Plaza became the office of the ‘Section 504 Emergency Coalition.’

    When the sit-in began, nobody dreamed they'd be there for nearly a month. Most arrived with nothing. Some risked losing jobs and relationships. For many, this was the first time they had slept away from home. Despite hardships, they also found camaraderie as they talked, played cards, sang, partied, made friends, and fell in love.

      Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

      Exhibit audio track:

      Listen to the Sound Cloud for At Home

      Find Out More…

      Images

      silhouette of people in wheelchairs inside a building

      Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

      A security guard watches as three wheelchair riders look through the door at supporters protesting outside.

      someone sleeping at bottom of stairs in building

      Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

      Two occupiers sleep together under blankets.

      Several people sitting around a crowded area

      Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

      Everyone had a job: serving food, cleaning-up, writing press releases, boosting morale, handling security, or fundraising. In this photo, protesters show fatigue in one of the many long meetings.

      people in wheelchairs working around a table

      Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

      Protesters gather around a cluttered office desk to plan next actions. The HEW offices at 50 United Nations Plaza became the office of the ‘Section 504 Emergency Coalition'.

      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

      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.

        Joseph Califano kneels on top of a desk
        Handicapped Persist in SF, D.C. Contingent Starved Out
        - Oakland Independent and Gazette, April 7, 1977
        This newspaper clipping shows supplies donated by groups

        Photograph by Lonnie Wilson, courtesy The Oakland Tribune

        This This newspaper clipping shows supplies donated by groups like Glide Memorial Church and Delancey Street Foundation, a non-profit working with ex-prisoners, alcoholics, and drug addicts. (Courtesy The Oakland Tribune)

        Daily meals sustained the protesters and helped them bond. Inside the building a busy Food Committee coordinated donations and served over 100 protesters a day.

        “We would have some very strange meals, like Hot Dog Soup, with a ketchup base. You know, that was our broth. And white bread with mayonnaise. It sort of went on like that. But we were always ... everybody was so ... we were so happy to be doing what we were doing that it didn’t matter” - Cece Weeks, “We Shall Not be Moved, The 504 Sit-In for Disability Civil Rights, audio documentary,” 1997. Produced by Asata Iman, courtesy DREDF

          Three people sitting around talking

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          A Black Panther Party member relaxes with occupiers after delivering home-cooked meals that protesters loved.

          Handwritten sign that says Hunger Strike

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          A dozen occupiers expanded the non-violent protest by engaging in a hunger strike. Several only had fluids and vitamins.

          Oakland Tribune clipping

          Photograph by Lonnie Wilson, courtesy The Oakland Tribune

          This newspaper clipping shows supplies donated by groups like Glide Memorial Church and Delancey Street Foundation, a non-profit working with ex-prisoners, alcoholics, and drug addicts.

          You educated America.
          - Cecil Williams, Pastor of Glide Memorial Church, 20th Anniversary Celebration
          From left: Hale Zukas, Ron Washington, and Judy Heumann

          San Francisco Examiner Archive. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          From left: Hale Zukas, Ron Washington, and Judy Heumann respond to a question at a press conference held at the San Francisco airport before protesters leave for Washington. Lynette Taylor provides American Sign Language interpretation.

          A Press Committee issued daily briefings for journalists from around the world. Soon accounts of people with disabilities demanding their civil rights replaced inspirational stories of individuals overcoming adversity.

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

           

          Occupier Eddie Jauregui signs to Channel 7's Evan White

          Photograph by HolLynn D'Lil

          Occupier Eddie Jauregui signs to Channel 7's Evan White, who covered the sit-in in San Francisco and Washington D.C.

           

          Exhibit audio track:

          Listen to the Sound Cloud for Educating a Nation

          [The hearing]...put the administrators in the room[and] made them answer questions
          - US congressman George Miller
          George Miller (left) and Phillip Burton (right) chair the hearing

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          George Miller (left) and Phillip Burton (right) chair the hearing while Joe Quinn stands to interpret the proceedings. Miller and Quinn sporting 1970s bushy mustaches and sideburns

          On day ten of the sit-in, US congressmen George Miller and Philip Burton declared the occupied floor of the Federal Building a “satellite office of Congress.” The five hours testimony from protesters attracted the media. For the first time people with disabilities were experts with valuable knowledge.

          Exhibit audio track:

          Listen to the Sound Cloud for Political Theater

          Images

          Man at hearing in room

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          Dick Santos stands to give testimony, supported by Mary Jane Owen to his right and Gil Johnson (in striped sports coat that makes a true 1970s fashion statement) to his left.

          Packed courtroom with desk and people

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          New to his job, Gene Eidenberg struggled to answer tough questions as the lone representative of Health, Education and Welfare.

          People in courtroom around a table and standing

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          George Miller (left) and Phillip Burton (right) chair the hearing while Joe Quinn stands to interpret the proceedings. Miller and Quinn sporting 1970s bushy mustaches and sideburns.

          If Carter won’t come out here to talk to us, we’ll have to come to him.
          - Protester Linda Gill, The Daily Californian, April 18, 1977.
          Section 504 rally at Lafayette Park

          Photograph by HolLynn D'Lil

          The San Francisco group worked with Washington-based American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) to organize a Section 504 rally at Lafayette Park opposite the White House on April 26, 1977.

          Two weeks into the occupation, San Francisco protesters sent a delegation to Washington. They elected twenty-five people representing different disabilities and racial backgrounds to educate and pressure politicians.

          Person playing guitar outside the white house

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          The San Francisco protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the White House and even followed President Carter to his church.

          Man in wheelchair being lowered out of truck

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          Even the nation's capital had no accessible transport in 1977. To get around, the protesters had to rent a truck with a lift.

          Protestors with signs outside white house

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          Protestors took their demands to the nation’s centers of power. Here, protestor Judy Heumann displays a sign reading “SIGN 504 REGS NOW” outside the White House.

          Protesters gathered on lawn

          Photograph by HolLynn D’Lil

          The San Francisco group worked with Washington-based American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) to organize a Section 504 rally at Lafayette Park opposite the White House on April 26, 1977.

          We won, we won, we won! - Organizer Kitty Cone, April 30, 1977
          Supporters celebrate signing of the Section 504 regulations

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          Occupiers and their supporters in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza celebrate the signing of the Section 504 regulations.

          On April 28, 1977, Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), signed the Section 504 regulations. Protesters in San Francisco stayed for two more days to clean up and say good-byes. Everyone was energized by this huge accomplishment; there would be no turning back.

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          The struggle has only just begun. - Occupier Linda Gill
          It was like an awakening. - Occupier Dennis Billups
          We will assure a future for the millions of people who are not now disabled. - Ed Roberts, Director, California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation in 1977
          Victory with speaker on stage

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          The crowd listens to lead organizer Kitty Cone’s victory speech at a rally in front of the Federal Building.

          Woman in wheelchair kissing a police officer

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          A hearty kiss between building guard and occupier marks the end of the long occupation.

          Woman in wheelchair with fist up celebrating

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          Occupier Lydia Larson triumphantly holds a fist in the air to celebrate the victory.

          Celebrating 504 victory with signs

          San Francisco Examiner Archive, Courtesy of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

          Occupiers and their supporters in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza celebrate the signing of the Section 504 regulations.

          We set the stage for the ADA - Organizer Judy Heumann, 20th Anniversary Celebration

          Without Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, there would be no Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The 1973 Act served as a template for the more comprehensive law passed in 1990. 504 gave ADA advocates evidence that disability rights could benefit many without adding a huge burden on society.

          • Because 504 defined disability flexibly and took prejudice into account, the ADA could be about civil rights rather than medical diagnoses.

          • By building in ideas such as “reasonable accommodation” and “avoiding undue hardship,” Section 504 ensured that the ADA would always be about compromise.

          • After the long wait to have Section 504 signed, those who wrote the ADA made sure that it had to be signed into law within one year.

          • Section 504 and the battle to have it signed forged a generation of disability activists who would help draft and pass the ADA.

          • Because the Section 504 protests and legislation grouped people with many different disabilities together, there would be one big ADA instead of mini-ADAs for each impairment group.

          • The Section 504 protest lit the spark for a national disability rights movement and national disability organizations that could promote and defend the ADA.

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          Exhibit audio track:

          Listen to the Sound Cloud for 504 and the ADA

          A Short Law With A Long Reach

          HEW employee Bruce Lee posts a hand-made sign

          Photograph by HolLynn D'Lil

          Inside his Federal Building office during the Section 504 protest, HEW employee Bruce Lee posts a hand-made sign ‘504 is law now make it reality.

          Thanks to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, people with disabilities have the right to:

          • Accessible public buildings
          • A public education alongside nondisabled peers, without extra costs or put into “separate but equal” schools
          • Freedom from discrimination in federal employment and related benefits
          • Freedom from discrimination in federal housing, healthcare and other assistance programs

          Exhibit audio track:

          Listen to the Sound Cloud on 504 Today

          Did You Know? 

          • Even people who were there cannot agree on how long the sit-in lasted and how many occupiers were in the building.

          • A lot of HEW employees supported the protest

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          • The key role of lesbians and radical organizations like the Black Panther Party is only now beginning to emerge.

          • Women wheelchair riders led the San Francisco 504 Protest.

          • Many disabled people thought the San Francisco protesters were too radical and believed it was wiser to work within the system rather than against it.

          • Some occupiers got past the Federal security guards with relative ease; a few even snuck off for showers or to the beach.

          • Deaf people participated in the sit-in but the Deaf community has mixed feelings about the Section 504 regulations because mainstreaming in education threatens Deaf language and culture.

          Exhibit audio track:

          Listen to the Sound Cloud for Untold Stories

          We are extremely grateful to Lucy Muir for recording this footage and to Ken Stein and the Disability Rights Education Defense Fund for donating them to the Bancroft collection at UC Berkeley.

          Ed Roberts Victory Speech

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          Kitty Cone Victory Speech

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          Montage of Victory Speeches

           

          Bruce Oka, Linda Gill, Denise Darensbourg, Ron Washington, Lucy Muir, Jack McClosky

          Photographs in video courtesy of HolLynn D'Lil

          Montage of Victory Songs

          We Shall Not Be Moved, Sign 504!, We Shall Overcome, It Could Have Been Me, Amazing Grace, We Have Not Been Moved

          The Ed Roberts Campus ramp of the Section 504 protest

          The Ed Roberts Campus ramp displays a mural of black and white photographs of the Section 504 protest, featuring a diverse array of the participants who took part in the 26-day sit-in. View the photographs and the photo credits here.

          Poetry Inspired by the Mural

          We Need a Great Flock of Stories by Eli Clare Read the full Great Flock text.

          cripstory by leah lakshmi piepzna-samarasinha Read the full Cripstory text.

          Main Exhibit

          After a 7 month run at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley and 3 months at the San Francisco Public Main Library, the main exhibit has returned to storage. To see the traveling version of Patient No More, visit Exhibit Envoy!

          Traveling Exhibit

          • Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, TN: November 8, 2020 – January 24, 2021

          • Miami University, Miami, OH: February 28 – April 25, 2021

          • East Texas Oil Museum at Kilgore College, Kilgore, TX: August 22 – October 17, 2021

          • Museum on Main, Pleasonton, CA: April 3 – May 29, 2022

          • Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County, Moorhead, MN: March 25 – June 11, 2023