Digital Museum: Utah Disability History
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Utah Disability History From 1970 to Present
In the 1970s, disability rights activists lobbied Congress and marched on Washington to include civil rights language for people with disabilities into the 1972 Rehabilitation Act. In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in history, civil rights of people with disabilities were protected by law.
In the 1980s, disability activists began to lobby for a consolidation of various pieces of legislation under one broad civil rights statute that would protect the rights of people with disabilities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender, but people with disabilities were not included under such protection.
After decades of campaigning and lobbying, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, and ensured the equal treatment and equal access of people with disabilities to employment opportunities and to public accommodations.
In the early 2000s, disability activists and advocates fought for the implementation of the ADA in public life, including improving the accessibility of public transportation, availability of accessible housing, and access to non-institutional forms of community-based care.
Today, disability activists in Utah and beyond continue to fight for fair housing, accessible transportation, and access to community-based care. We live in a world where accessibility is still not the norm, and the fight is not over.
