For generations, disabled people were often treated as patients, charity recipients, or people whose lives were controlled by others. The disability rights and independent living movements challenged that framework and demanded something different: autonomy, access, self-determination, and civil rights.

Disabled people have always been part of American history, but their organizing, protests, and fight for civil rights are often left out of the story. From Section 504 to the ADA, disability history shows us that accessibility was not simply given. It was fought for.