Massage Therapy Journal Fall 2024

Fall 2024 • 35

A Brief History of Disability Rights The disability rights movement has been similar to other movements in some important ways because attitudes needed to change before social change was possible. However, there are also some crucial differences that should be noted. needed were different among many subgroups under the larger disability umbrella. The following is a brief timeline of important events during the early to mid-1900s. 2 (Note that while the U.S. provides federal protections, some states have anti-discrimination laws with even more robust protections.) For example, architectural barriers needed to be addressed, and accommodations and services

• 1920 : The Smith-Fess Act established a federal program to provide job-related assistance to Americans with physical disabilities. This Act was modeled after a previous law designed to rehabilitate disabled veterans of World War I. The Smith-Fess Act was also known as the Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation Act. • 1932 : Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was the first president with a disability to be elected in the history of the United States. FDR was diagnosed with polio in 1921 at the age of 39. Even though images of him were carefully managed for political reasons, his paralysis was not kept a secret. • 1950 : National Standards for Barrier-Free Buildings emerged from a group of disabled veterans within the U.S. Veterans Administration. The President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the National Easter Seals Society, among others, were instrumental in the development of national standards for “barrier-free” buildings. • 1973 : The Rehabilitation Act was passed and prohibited discrimination based on disability by federal agencies, federally funded and assisted programs, federal employers, federal contractors

or programs receiving federal funding. This legislation discusses reasonable accommodations and modifications, which will be discussed in more detail later in this course. NOTE : The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not protect people with disabilities. This oversight was corrected with the installment of The Rehabilitation Act. However, the Rehabilitation Act did not go into effect immediately. It took an act of protest in 1977 for the Rehabilitation Act to be enforced. During the protest, disabled people entered federal buildings in several cities and refused to leave. The sit-in protest in San Francisco lasted 25 days, included more than 150 people, and is the longest sit-in in U.S. history. • 1990 : The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) , part of the Civil Rights Act, was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. This act is the most comprehensive disability rights legislation in U.S. history. Its provisions prohibit discrimination based on disability in employment, in public and private education, in the delivery of public services and within public places. The overarching goal of the ADA is to promote equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self sufficiency for all Americans with disabilities.

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