Smithsonian Disability Exhibit

In case you haven't already heard, the exhibit on the History of the Disability Rights Movement at the Smithsonian Museum of American History is excellent. The exhibit, which opened July 6, chronicles our progress towards civil rights, beginning with disabled veteran and parent organizations, moving through ADAPT and Not Dead Yet, with a section devoted to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Standing next to the Woolworth's lunch counter which was used in the famous 1960s sit-in to gain African American civil rights, the exhibit's placement firmly frames ours as a civil rights struggle, not a medical problem. A t-shirt reads, "Same struggle, different difference." Speaking at a press conference, White House disability liaison Jonathan Young noted that "there's an assumption that physical characteristics make a person inherently inferior." Interactive kiosks, developed by NCR and Is SOUND provide access to the exhibit through an audio tour option and with easy -to-use buttons and levers. The exhibit can be viewed online at: http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/disabilityrights/

Also be sure to see the new Disability History Museum:
http://www.disabilitymuseum.org