Today is a day to celebrate the legacy of a leader who worked tirelessly for greater equality and civil rights for all people. Through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, King was instrumental in achieving voting rights for African-Americans and ending segregation. He showed what a determined minority could accomplish through nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.
Dr. King's life was cut short, and so it is impossible to know what he might have achieved had he not been assassinated. At the time of his death, King was expanding his civil rights advocacy to include anti-poverty efforts, so we know he was opposed to injustice and inequity of all forms. He was quite clear in his message that “it is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.”
Even in death, Dr. King lives on. His nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience served as the inspiration for the disability rights movement thirty years later. In the fight leading up to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the disability rights movement emulated King’s non-violent approach to social justice with civil disobedience, including sit-ins, boycotts, blocking traffic, and protest marches. Dr. King and his supporters proved that these approaches could lead to widespread change, thus giving the disability rights movement a map to follow.
Dr. King's legacy is not only that he opened peoples' eyes to the many forms of injustice in this country, but also that it was possible to force action and new legislation through nonviolence. It is hard to imagine where the disability rights movement would be today were it not for Dr. King.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), a time to recognize and celebrate the incredible contributions of workers with disabilities while raising awareness about the importance of creating truly inclusive employment opportunities.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to work, contribute their talents, build independence, and experience the pride that comes with earning a paycheck.
This month, we had the privilege of speaking with Marie, a woman who dreamed of working and earning her own paycheck, not only for the independence it would provide, but for the simple joys of being able to shop and buy gifts for her family. We asked her to share, in her own words, why employment is meaningful and the difference that an opportunity to work can make in someone’s life.
July is Disability Pride Month. But with community living protections being challenged by the Department of Justice, increased concern about a reduced commitment to home and community based services (HCBS), and shifting oversight on special education, many people in the disability community are feeling less-than-celebratory. Mustering enthusiasm for Disability Pride Month may feel hard this year, and people may be wondering what there is to celebrate.
However, Disability Pride Month has never been about pretending everything is fine. Disability Pride Month exists because disability rights took decades of organizing, protest, and persistence—even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
