The Self-Advocacy Movement
Do you remember when...
...women did not have the freedom to vote? It is hard to imagine a time in which people of color were not allowed to share a lunch counter, a school system or a water fountain with a white person. Yet just a few short years ago these were the laws of the land.
Did you know that...
...people with disabilities experience similar discrimination. People were separated from their families, isolated and placed in institutions. The treatment in the institutions was often inhumane and abusive. A local institution in which similar abuses took place, Pineland, didn't close until 1996. Until very recently, they were denied citizenship.
Self-Advocacy is the next civil rights movement
Just as women fought for the right to vote and ethnic groups fought against discrimination, people with disabilities are taking a stand. We advocate for ourselves, rather than having others advocate on our behalf. We are self-advocates!
We are "People First"
We need to change society's attitudes toward people with disabilities. We need to help others see that we are people first. As a result of recent laws, people with disabilites now go to local schools, participate and work in their communities and live full lives, just like other citizens of the United States. We must continue to work toward our mission.