Trailer | CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT | American Experience | PBS

Summary

The transcript details the disability rights movement's struggle for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), highlighting activists' persistent protests and civil disobedience to combat systemic exclusion and architectural barriers. Key figures like Anita Cameron and Pat Wright emphasize how disabled people mobilized as a political force, challenging the "out of sight, out of mind" public policy through militant activism and strategic demonstrations. The movement culminated in a landmark legislative victory that symbolically and practically dismantled discrimination, with President George H.W. Bush signing the ADA and declaring an end to the "shameful wall of exclusion," ultimately providing people with disabilities unprecedented opportunities for inclusion and dignity.