Background and Brief Chronology of the Disability Rights Movement

In honor of the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this chronology highlights movements, organizations, and people who have influenced the civil rights that the United States affirms for people with disabilities today. Severe prejudices against people with disabilities led to forced sterilizations and other atrocities committed against them. The landmark civil rights legislation passed in 1990, the ADA, outlawed a variety of practices committed against people with disabilities and opened new possibilities for their involvement in society. Much progress has been made; much more work needs to be done.