From Exclusion to Empowerment: A Short History of the Disability Rights Movement for Disability Pride Month

The history of disability in the United States is one of resilience and resistance. For much of history – and even today – disabled people were excluded from society, often institutionalized, hidden from public life, or treated as objects of pity or inconvenience rather than as full human beings.

But disabled people have always pushed back. 

In the U.S., modern disability rights gained momentum in the 1960s and 70s, alongside and intertwined with the civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ movements. The Independent Living Movement, led by Black, disabled people such as Johnnie Lacy, emphasized self-determination and the right to live in communities with support and not in institutions. The 504 Sit-In of 1977, led in part by queer, disabled activist Judy Heumann, forced the U.S. government to implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the first federal civil rights protection for disabled people. In 1990, more than 500 disabled activists and allies marched across D.C., and over 60 physically disabled children and adults ascended the Capitol’s 83 steps on their hands and knees in protest of the lack of accessibility and legal protections. This protest, now known as the Capitol Crawl, was critical to the passage of the landmark bill, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Today’s disability movement builds on that legacy—but also pushes it further.

The current disability rights movement, led increasingly by disabled, minority voices centers not only on legal rights, but on justice, access, and dignity. It’s about representation, safe access, community care, and the right to exist unapologetically.

This shift includes the rise of the disability justice framework, created by disabled BIPOC, poor, queer, and trans activists. Disability justice recognizes that ableism doesn't exist in a vacuum—it’s intertwined with racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism. Disability justice emphasizes intersectionality, collective access, anti-capitalism, and leadership from those most impacted. In short, it centers liberation. 

The disability rights movement isn't just history—it's evolving, ongoing, and happening right now. It’s calling all of us to not just imagine but co-create a world where disabled people, particularly those at the intersection of minority races, genders, and sexualities, don’t have to fight to exist, belong, and thrive.