Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights
Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights
*This lesson was developed by Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability and links to an external source.
The Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability invites you to discover a remarkable, overlooked moment in U.S. history when people with disabilities occupied a government building to demand their rights. Known as the “Section 504 Sit-In,” the protest profoundly changed the lives of people with and without disabilities, and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
On April 5, 1977, American people with and without disabilities showed the world the power of grassroots activism. In San Francisco, more than 100 people began a twenty-six day occupation of the Federal Building to insist on getting civil rights. Four years earlier, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 had made it illegal for any federally funded facilities or programs to discriminate against disabled people. One signature from the Head of Health Education and Welfare (HEW) stood in the way of the law taking effect. People waited and waited. At last in 1977 frustration turned into bold action. A diverse coalition launched protests across the country. San Francisco's occupation was the most significant.
On April 30, 1977, San Francisco's Section 504 occupiers emerged victorious from the longest take-over of a federal building in US history. A national disability rights movement was born. “Patient No More” remembers this pivotal moment that led to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed twenty-five years ago on July 26, 1990.
To provide context and link the "Patient No More" story to more familiar topics and concepts, the Curriculum Guide first details the historical significance of the disability rights movement and the Section 504 protest, then follows with activities designed to be used in conjunction with the virtual "online tour" of the Patient No More exhibit.
Downloadable curriculum guide includes historical background, suggested activities, and handouts that can be used whether you will visit the main, traveling, or virtual exhibit with your students.
Individual Activities and Lessons include:
Defining disability, historical background, 504 occupation, and guiding questions
Universal Design and the Ed Roberts Campus
Government in Action: What’s in a law?
“This is 504!”
Thinking like an Organizer
Exhibit Scavenger Hunt
“Patient No More” Questions
“What makes you “Patient No More”?
This entry links to the resources that are owned by the creators and listed here for easier access within our database of lessons and resources.
Subject and topic:
History, Diversity and Equity, Social and Emotional Learning, Disability History
Grade level:
7th to 12th
Links to exhibit and related lessons:
Educator Page for Longmore Institute’s Patient No More: https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/educators
Download Curriculum Guide directly: https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/file/504-curriculum-guide-simplified
Virtual Exhibit of “Patient No More”: https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/virtual-tour
Audio Description of Exhibit: https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/audio-description-track