(July 26, 2015) marked the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and to commemorate the dedication of those involved in making this legislation a reality, the Denver Public Library's Western History/Genealogy department is currently processing a collection (Wade and Molly Blank Papers, WH2283) that intimately details the history and turmoil of the disability rights movement. Some of the foundational protests that ignited the movement took place on July 5-6, 1978, just around the corner from the Denver Public Library at Colfax and Broadway. Men and women of the Atlantis community, known as “The Gang of 19,” threw themselves in front of buses in an attempt to convey their disenfranchisement. This group blocked the intersection all day and night, chanting their mantra, “We will ride!” until representatives of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) were willing to talk about the absence of wheelchair-accessible buses. It was this initial protest that brought public light to the many other kinds of discrimination and abuse faced by the disabled community.
ADAPT Bumper sticker supporting the Disability Rights movement. |
ADAPT members march in Los Angeles to protest the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in October of 1985. |
ADAPT members block a bus with their wheelchairs to demonstrate RTD's inaccessible buses on February 15, 1985. |
Denver Public Library Article by KATIE RUDOLPH for | May 18, 2015
https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/we-will-ride-origin-disability-rights-movement-denver-0
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