Looking At Some Notable Queer Disabled People In History

I'm sharing a few articles on disability rights. It's the history of forced sterilization in the United States. I think they give good insight and need more circulation.

Independent Lens

Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States

A shameful part of America’s history.

American Civil Liberties Union

Immigration Detention and Coerced Sterilization: History Tragically Repeats Itself | ACLU

The ICE detention story reflects a long pattern in the United States of the coerced sterilization of marginalized populations, particularly

Open captions. Eye contact. Proper closed captions. Audio description. ~1 minute.

From the video's info section:

Lawrence Carter-Long is the director of communications at Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF). In this video interview, he shines a spotlight on how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) came to be through the persistent work of disability activists. “The draft legislation for the Americans with Disabilities Act was put together in the mid-’80s. And then, right, 1990, over 20 years later, what did it take to pass that law? Disability being disruptive. Disabled people saying, ‘No, no, no. We’re not going to be taken for granted, we’re not going to be left behind, and we’re going to show you how determined and how dedicated we are.’ Those are decades between advances, decades between real progress. We’ve waited long enough. The time to be included, the time for this to change is now. And you can be a part of it. You should be a part of it.”

BTW, that Disability and Philanthropy Initiative is another thing the Biden Administration has done to try for more equity for marginalized groups -- including the Disabled.

It's arguable whether or not the philanthropy model is a good thing (personally, I've grown increasingly skeptical of it in my radical middle age). But this is another example of how the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are not the same.

Disability Timeline

A non-comprehensive list of important events about the Disability Rights Movement from 1800-1990

1815-1817 - Formal Deaf Education Begins in the U.S

1829 - Louis Braille Invents the Raise Point Alphabet

1907 - Eugenic Sterilization Law for People with Disabilities is Enacted

1932 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Person with a Disability, Elected President

1934-1940 - National Federation of the Blind Founded

1935 - Social Security Act Signed into Law

1939 - Nazi Program Kills Thousands of People with Disabilities

1946 - National Mental Health Foundation Founded

1947 - Paralyzed Veterans of America organization founded

1954 - Brown v Board of Education

1963 - Community Mental Health Act signed into Law

1965 - Medicaid Assistance for People with Disabilities and those with Low-Income

1968 - The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968

1973 - Disabled in Action, PA founded

1974 - Last of "Ugly Laws" Repealed

1975 - The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Enacted

1975 - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons

1978 - National Council on Disability Established

1982 - United Nations Encourages Global Equality and Participation for the Disabled

1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed into law.

This is a friendly reminder that none disabled people often do benefit from the same accommodations disabled people benefit from.

don't say "empathy" when you mean "helping others."

don't say "empathy" when you mean "moral values."

don't say "empathy" when you mean "taking people's problems into account."

don't say "empathy" when you mean "stand up for people who can't stand up for themselves."

don't say "empathy" when you mean "sense of justice."

don't say "empathy" when you mean "doing right things."

What is happening with section 504? And what you can do about it? Section 504 is under attack. If you live in any of these states, you can call your representatives.

DISABILITY INJUSTICE AFFECTS EVERYONE. You shouldn’t care “just because” you could be disabled one day. You should care *now*, because this will come back to everyone.

Images from @/myelasticheart on Instagram

feliciakornbluh.substack.com

History Teaches . . . The Power of (Imperiled) Disability Rights

Civil Rights Histories are 'All One Piece String': Disability and "DEI"

A really good overview of the disability rights protections threatened by Trump and how his ableist and racist policies are inextricably woven together.

Anti-vaxxer extremist RFK Jr, the US Health Secretary, is now actively trying to collect medical records of folks on the autism spectrum. First, he used dehumanizing and infantilizating language to insist people with autism won't 'pay taxes and live a 'normal life' which we all know is ableist bullshit and is literally a precursor to genocide. This man is a monster.

Disability History Crash Course

Throughout history, disabilities has been viewed in many different ways, from curses and bad luck, to simply unfortunate differences some are born with.  In some ancient civilizations, disabled individuals were often marginalized or viewed through religious/superstitious lenses.  In ancient Greece and Rome, individuals with physical or mental disabilities were abandoned or ostracized from civilization. 

 In Europe during the Middle Ages, disabilities were often linked to sin, religious disfavor, or divine punishment, which lead to social exile.  Often, if the disabled individuals received care, it was from family members or religious institutions.  As the age of Enlightenment came to prominence in the 17th and 18th centuries, society began to shift towards medicalization, which changed the view of disability from punishment, to a natural defect, to be diagnosed and treated. 

The 19th and 20th century brought about the rise of sanatoriums, asylums, and institutions designed as a way to 'treat' people with disabilities.  This new approach of 'treatment' was, in reality, a way to hide disabled people from the public, and often lead to isolation and severe medical mistreatment of the patients.  This, along with the creation of Eugenics movements, lead to many harmful stigmas surrounding disability.

As disability rights movements gained momentum in the mid-20th century, different bills and acts were passed in order to protect disabled people.  Some  landmark events were the Independent Living Movement and the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990).  As the U.S. shifted away from seclusion and towards inclusion, equality, and accessibility, many of the stigmas surrounding disability began to easy, and people began to see disability as not just a medical issue, but as a social and political issue.