Dear John,

I’ve been thinking a lot about progress lately. My brother Chris was born into a world with support and services for disabled people, thanks to the work of disability activists before him. It was just shy of a year before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. I don’t want to think about what his life would be like if he’d been born even 10 years before.

But winning a truly accessible world for disabled people in the U.S. is still a work in progress. Now, it’s up to us to keep the fight going.

Are you with us, John? Share our “Disability rights are human rights” graphic with your family and friends over social media now to show your dedication to the disability rights movement. [[link removed]]

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I get choked up with pride thinking about the disability rights activists that have come before me, whose legacy we’re carrying with us today. Some of whom we have lost recently, like Judy Heumann. When my friends and disability rights colleagues got the news of Judy’s passing, we shared stories of our friend whose fierce advocacy we all aspire to.

50 years ago today, the Rehabilitation Act was passed. It was the first-ever piece of federal legislation that addressed access and equity for disabled people. But it wasn’t enforced or put into practice until 1977, after the disability community and activists, including Judy, across the U.S. took action by staging sit-ins across the country to call for basic human rights for disabled people.

Those sit-ins showed the power of what people like me and you can do when we take action together – work that we at Caring Across Generations are carrying forward today.

The Rehabilitation Act hadn’t seen any updates or revisions since it was passed until this month, when the Department of Human and Health Services proposed a new rule change that would protect disabled people in health care settings through better standards and easier access.

The rule change will help address some horrific wrongs that have happened, like disabled people being sent to be weighed at grocery stores, grain elevators, and zoos because current medical equipment does not accommodate them.

I’m fighting for a more caring world so my brother Chris never has to question if he’ll be treated with respect and dignity.

John, share our “Disability rights are human rights” graphic to show your support. [[link removed]]

With care,

Nicole Jorwic, Chief of Campaigns & Advocacy
Caring Across Generations

A gift to Caring Across Generations helps us win affordable child care, paid leave, and accessible long-term home and community care for all. Because #CareCantWait for families in the U.S.

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