1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 2: Hello, and Welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 2: and I'm Holly Fryed. Today's episode was inspired by some 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 2: stuff that's been going on here in the United States 6 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 2: for a while now. Honestly hard to figure out exactly 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 2: when to start the clock on this one. But in 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 2: September of twenty twenty four, seventeen states filed a lawsuit 9 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 2: against the US Department of Health and Human Services. HHS 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 2: had issued its final rule implementing section five oh four 11 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,560 Speaker 2: of the Rehabilitation Act of nineteen seventy three, and those 12 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 2: seventeen states were challenging language from the preamble of that rule, 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 2: and that language indicated that gender dysphoria could be considered 14 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 2: a disability under the law. This lawsuit also argued that 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 2: section five oh four as a whole was unconstitutional. We 16 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 2: ran a Saturday classic related to this in February of 17 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: last year when it was in the news. That was 18 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 2: six Impossible episodes from Sippins to fishi Ins, which talked 19 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 2: about the five oh four sit ins which pressured what 20 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 2: is now known as the Department of Health and Human 21 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 2: Services to establish the policies that would implement Section five 22 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 2: oh four. Back in nineteen seventy seven, when all this 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 2: was happening in the news, I also wanted to find 24 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 2: a new episode that was related in some way, but 25 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 2: I wound up just focused on other topics. That lawsuit 26 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 2: was effectively dismissed in October of twenty twenty five. Among 27 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 2: other things, the seventeen states that filed it dropped their 28 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 2: argument that Section five oh four was unconstitutional, and HHS 29 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 2: asued guidance, calling that preamble that mentioned gender dysphoria unenforceable 30 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 2: under the Day one executive order titled Defending Women from 31 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 2: Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal government. 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 2: The federal government's also basically on the same side as 33 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 2: the plaintiffs now when it comes to gender dysphoria, but 34 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 2: Section five oh four and the sit ins are still 35 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 2: deeply relevant. Other executive orders targeting DEI have been interpreted 36 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:30,000 Speaker 2: as applying to things like disability and accessibility. Ban Those 37 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 2: and other related terms have showed up on things like 38 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 2: widely reported lists of words that are banned from applications 39 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: for government grants and head start funding. So the five 40 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 2: oh four sit ins have continued to be on my 41 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 2: mind even after that lawsuit was dropped. And today we're 42 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 2: going to take another look at section five oh four 43 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 2: and a couple of the people who were a big 44 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 2: part of this sit in. 45 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,639 Speaker 1: Should it briefly recap and add a little more detail 46 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,959 Speaker 1: to it. Tracy just talked about. The Rehabilitation Act of 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:08,239 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy three was focused primarily on vocational rehabilitation, meaning 48 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: services and programs intended to help disabled people prepare for 49 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: employment or to be able to work. It also authorized 50 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: programs to figure out how to meet the needs of 51 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: people for whom a vocational goal is not possible or feasible, 52 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: although that wasn't one of its primary purposes. It was 53 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,880 Speaker 1: signed into law by President Richard Nixon, who vetoed earlier 54 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: versions of the law because he said that those would 55 00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: be too expensive to implement. If you look at the 56 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: whole of this law, I would call it kind of 57 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: a mixed bag. At its core, it is a law 58 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: that views disabled people as needing to be rehabilitated, and 59 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: it's really underpinned by a mindset that a person's value 60 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,080 Speaker 1: is tied to their ability to work. At the same time, 61 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: it included requirements and funding for programs and services that 62 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: really would make things more accessible, including interpreter services for 63 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: deaf people, reader services for blind people, telecommunication services, and 64 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: mobility services. It required federal agencies to assess things like 65 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,559 Speaker 1: transportation barriers that could prevent disabled people from being able 66 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: to work or to participate in these programs. It also 67 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: required federal departments and agencies to create affirmative action plans 68 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: for the hiring, placement, and advancement of disabled people, and 69 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: to have a plan to meet the needs of those employees. 70 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: If the words affirmative action gave you an internal yikes, 71 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: that just means taking proactive steps to make sure disabled 72 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: people were not being discriminated against and were being provided 73 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: with reasonable accommodations to access their workplace and do their work. 74 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,040 Speaker 1: The Rehabilitation Act of nineteen seventy three built on earlier laws, 75 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: and it was amended and adjusted by laws that came afterward. 76 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,679 Speaker 1: One of the parts that still discussed the most today 77 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: is Section five oh four, which was the broadest piece 78 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: of disability rights legislation in the United States until the 79 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In nineteen ninety, 80 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: when the Rehabilitation Act of nineteen seventy three was passed. 81 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: Section five oh four read quote, no otherwise qualified handicapped 82 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: individual in the United States, as defined in section seven six, shall, 83 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the 84 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 1: participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected 85 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:42,040 Speaker 1: to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. 86 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: It has been amended by other laws since then, and 87 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: the language that's in place today uses the term disability 88 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: rather than handicap, as that is no longer really considered 89 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 1: the current way to manage those words today. Section five 90 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: oh four also specifies that it applies to the United 91 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: States Postal Service. The Rehabilitation Act of nineteen seventy three 92 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,480 Speaker 1: is about forty pages long, and some of its other 93 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: sections had a lot more detail, including things like dollar 94 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: amounts for the funding and definitions of terms, references to 95 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: how this federal law relates to the states and to 96 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: state agencies. But section five oh four was just that 97 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,720 Speaker 1: bit we read. It had no direction about how it 98 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: could actually be implemented, so the agencies that section five 99 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: oh four applied to had to draft rules and regulations 100 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: that would allow them to implement it. The Department of Health, Education, 101 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: and Welfare was selected as the lead agency, meaning that 102 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: they would draft their regulations first and then other departments 103 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: and agencies would follow based on those regulations, but not 104 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: much actually happened after Richard Nixon signed the Rehabilitation Act 105 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: into law on September twenty sixth, nineteen seventy three. He 106 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: resigned as president on August eighth, nineteen seventy four, and 107 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: his successor, Gerald Ford left office on January twentieth, nineteen 108 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: seventy seven. Their administrations had drafted regulations but had not 109 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: actually implemented anything. After Jimmy Carter took office, activists demanded 110 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: that the drafted regulations be put into place, but instead 111 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: Joseph Klifano, Carter's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, assigned 112 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: a task force to start reviewing them. A lot of 113 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: people interpreted this as a delaying tactic and an opportunity 114 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: for the government to try to water things down. This 115 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: is where the five oh four sients come into the picture, 116 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:44,680 Speaker 1: which we talked about in that Saturday classic that we 117 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: mentioned at the top of the show, which ran in 118 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: early twenty twenty five. In nineteen seventy seven, after years 119 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: of other advocacy, disabled activists started taking over HW offices 120 00:07:57,800 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: around the country. 121 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 2: These occupations were brief. They ended within a day or 122 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 2: two after activists were either removed from the buildings or 123 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 2: they left on their own because they didn't have the 124 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 2: food or the supplies that they would need to stay 125 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 2: longer than that. But in San Francisco, disabled people and 126 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 2: their attendants occupied the HW office twenty four hours a 127 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 2: day for twenty six days. Eventually, the demonstrators selected a 128 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 2: delegation of people to go to Washington, d C. To 129 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 2: try to meet with legislators and Secretary Califano directly. The 130 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 2: International Association of Machinists helped pay for plane tickets from 131 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 2: San Francisco to Washington, d C. And, because there were 132 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 2: no accessible options for ground transportation, they also paid for 133 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 2: a moving truck with a lift that could accommodate wheelchairs. 134 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 2: After being turned away from the Washington, d C. Office 135 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,439 Speaker 2: of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the demonstrators 136 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 2: had a candlelight vigil outside of Califano's house. They also 137 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 2: demonstrated outside the church where the president and his family 138 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 2: went to Sunday Services. Califano finally signed the regulations on 139 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 2: April twenty eighth, nineteen seventy seven, almost four years after 140 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 2: the law had been passed. We talked about this sit 141 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,199 Speaker 2: in and the delegation to Washington in that Saturday Classic 142 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 2: that we mentioned earlier, but we didn't really talk about 143 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 2: any of the people who organized it or kept it going. 144 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 2: One person we did mention briefly is Judith Human, who 145 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,719 Speaker 2: went by Judy. She became disabled after surviving polio when 146 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 2: she was a child, and she was an enormous part 147 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,520 Speaker 2: of this sit in and the disability rights movement more broadly. 148 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 2: She has been referred to as the mother of the 149 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 2: disability rights movement. In our earlier episode, we quoted her 150 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 2: as saying, quote, through the sit in, we turned ourselves 151 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:55,559 Speaker 2: from being oppressed individuals into being empowered people. We demonstrated 152 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 2: to the entire nation that disabled people could take control 153 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 2: over our own lives, take leadership in the struggle for equality. 154 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 2: We overcame years of parochialism. We really cannot overstate what 155 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 2: a huge part of this sit in Judy Human was. 156 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 2: She was deeply involved in organizing it and carrying it 157 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 2: out and just keeping people going day after day. She 158 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,800 Speaker 2: was one of the people who traveled to Washington, d C. 159 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,319 Speaker 2: And some of the people who stayed behind in San 160 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 2: Francisco said that they kept occupying the HW building there 161 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 2: not just for their own rights and the rights of 162 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 2: other disabled people, because they just did not want to 163 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 2: disappoint her. 164 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 1: Today's episode is not focused on Judy Human. Though she 165 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: died on March fourth, twenty twenty three, she was seventy five, 166 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: and there are some various challenges with trying to cover 167 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: the life of someone whose death was in the very 168 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: recent past. Her work also continued until the very end 169 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: of her life, meaning a lot of it took place 170 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: in really recent years as well. She was the Assistant 171 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services 172 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: during the Clinton administration, and President Barack Obama appointed her 173 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 1: Special Advisor on Disability Rights for the US State Department. 174 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: She was the first person to ever fill that role. 175 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, Highy. There have been times we have 176 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 2: tried to do episodes on someone who just died, and 177 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 2: that has been something that I ultimately wish we had 178 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,959 Speaker 2: done differently, at least once or twice. Yeah, there are 179 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,600 Speaker 2: just various things that make it more difficult with someone 180 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 2: whose death was in the recent past. In addition to 181 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 2: all of that, her memoir Being Human, An Unrepentant Memoir 182 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 2: of a disability rights activist, was published just in twenty twenty, 183 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 2: and she was a big part of the twenty twenty 184 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 2: film Crip Camp a Disability Revolution. That film is about 185 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 2: Camp Janeed, which is a summer camp for disabled teenagers 186 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 2: that ran from nineteen fifty one to nineteen seventy seven. 187 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 2: Human worked as a counselor at the camp, and a 188 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 2: lot of other people who either went to or worked 189 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 2: at Camp Jeaneed wound up being a huge part of 190 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 2: the disability rights movement, including in the five oh four 191 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:11,959 Speaker 2: sit Ins. The last episodes of her podcast Human Perspective 192 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 2: were also recorded just a few weeks before her death 193 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:19,000 Speaker 2: and published posthumously. So there's really a lot of information 194 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 2: about her, a lot of it very recent, and a 195 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 2: lot of it in her own words. While we are 196 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,240 Speaker 2: focused on two other people who are not as widely 197 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 2: known today, we just did want to acknowledge how important 198 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 2: Judy Human was to the five oh four sit Ins 199 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 2: and the disability rights movement before we move on. So 200 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 2: after we take a quick sponsor break, we will talk 201 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 2: about Kitty Kohane. The Section five oh four sit in 202 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,440 Speaker 2: that took place in San Francisco was the work of 203 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 2: a large number of disabled people supported by a broad 204 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 2: coalition of allies and organizations, and Kitty Cone was a 205 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:07,119 Speaker 2: big part of the reason why the demonstrators had that coalition. 206 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 2: Curtis Selden Cone, known as Kitty, was born on April seventh, 207 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 2: nineteen forty four, in Champagne, Illinois. Her parents were Molly 208 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 2: Mattis Cone and Hutchinson Ingham Cone. Kitty's father was in 209 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 2: the military and the family moved several times when she 210 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 2: was a child, including to Japan. When Kitty was in 211 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,439 Speaker 2: first grade, her teacher noticed that she walked on her 212 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 2: toes all the time, and the teacher pointed this out. 213 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: To Kitty's mother. 214 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 2: It seems like Kitty's family wasn't really concerned at first, 215 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 2: but as her symptoms progressed, they took her to the doctor. 216 00:13:42,559 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 2: It took a really long time to get an accurate diagnosis. 217 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,199 Speaker 2: At first, doctors thought she had cerebral palsy and then polio. 218 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 2: Some of the treatments she received after these misdiagnoses seemed 219 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 2: to make things worse. Eventually, she was diagnosed with muscular 220 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: dystrophy at the age of fifteen, and she and her 221 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 2: family were told that she probably would not live far 222 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 2: into adulthood. 223 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 1: In addition to changing schools when her father was transferred, 224 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: Kitty also had to change schools for accessibility reasons, like 225 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,520 Speaker 1: school buildings having lots of stairs that she could no 226 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: longer climb, and she often faced discrimination from teachers and staff, 227 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,040 Speaker 1: like being told that she wasn't allowed to participate in 228 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: activities because of her disability, or when she was at 229 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: boarding school, being housed away from the other students, which 230 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: was not only isolating, but it also forced her to 231 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: use a bathroom with a tub that she couldn't get 232 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: into or out of on her own. Between her father's 233 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: moves and issues like these, she changed schools more than 234 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: a dozen times over the course of her K through 235 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: twelve education. 236 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 2: When she was looking at colleges, con wanted to go 237 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:54,479 Speaker 2: to an Ivy League school or maybe to a women's college, 238 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 2: but a lot of their campuses weren't accessible either. She 239 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 2: described her college to visions being made by her family. 240 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 2: She enrolled at the University of Illinois at Arpana Champagne, 241 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 2: which was close to some family members and also had 242 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 2: a significant number of other students who also used wheelchairs. 243 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty three, Kohane's mother died. Kitty was only 244 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: nineteen at this point and she was still in college 245 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: and she took some time off after the funeral before 246 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: going back to school, and when she did, she really 247 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: threw herself into activism. Being interested in things like equal 248 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: rights and racial justice was not new to her. She 249 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: had started getting into fights about her classmates racism during 250 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: her early school years, and she had fierce disagreements with 251 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: her father over the subject of school segregation. After getting 252 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: back to college, she protested against apartheid in South Africa 253 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: and against the Vietnam War. She joined the Friends of 254 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and raised money for civil 255 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: rights protesters who were arrested in the South. She got 256 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: arrested herself during protests, something that infuriated some members of 257 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,240 Speaker 1: her family, including an uncle who was running for public 258 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: office and her father, who actually disowned her. They thought 259 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,600 Speaker 1: that Kitty was making them look bad. Over time, Cone 260 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,280 Speaker 1: started focusing more on activism than on class work, and 261 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: she actually left school in nineteen sixty seven without graduating. 262 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: At this point, Coan wanted to be a parent, but 263 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: her doctors had concerns about the physical effects that a 264 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: pregnancy would have on her body. She also still believed 265 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: that she was not likely to live long. She ultimately 266 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: decided to be sterilized. We have talked about the eugenics 267 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: program in the United States and involuntary sterilizations that were 268 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: enacted on disabled people. The impression that I have from 269 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: this and from what she said about it, was that 270 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: she made the decision that she felt like was best 271 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: for her based on the information that she had, and 272 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: that some of the concerns that her doctor had She 273 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: really agrees with other things, maybe not so much, but 274 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,360 Speaker 1: like this was an informed decision that she made for herself, 275 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: not something someone else decided for her. In the early 276 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,280 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies, Cohne became a socialist, and she also came 277 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: out as a lesbian. She moved to Berkeley, California, and 278 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: started working with the Center for Independent Living. We talked 279 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 1: about that in our episode on Ed Roberts in the 280 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 1: Independent living Movement. We ran that episode as a Saturday 281 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: Classic on December third, twenty twenty two, Cone also became 282 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: active with the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. 283 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,439 Speaker 2: One of the things Cone talked about a lot was 284 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 2: how important it was for organizations that were working on 285 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:45,040 Speaker 2: an issue to get the broadest level of support possible. So, 286 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 2: for example, she thought disability rights organizations should not connect 287 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,119 Speaker 2: only with one another, but they should also connect with 288 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 2: abortion rights groups, anti war groups, women's rights groups, and 289 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 2: labor unions, forming a really powerful network of solid air 290 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 2: anywhere they could find some common ground with other people 291 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 2: who had other objectives. She made connections like this with 292 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 2: organizations all over the San Francisco Bay area, and that 293 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 2: coalition building was a huge part of why the five 294 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 2: h four sit ins in San Francisco went on for 295 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 2: almost a month, when most of the sit ins at 296 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:24,239 Speaker 2: HW offices in other cities ended after just a day 297 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 2: or two. When disabled activists took over the San Francisco 298 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:33,520 Speaker 2: HW offices, their support system included so many organizations. There 299 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 2: was Glide Memorial Church, a non denominational church dedicated to 300 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,639 Speaker 2: social justice that was founded in San Francisco in nineteen 301 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 2: twenty nine, brick Hut Lesbian Cooperative, the Gay Men's Butterfly Brigade, 302 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 2: which coordinated safety patrols to protect gay men in the 303 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:52,399 Speaker 2: Castro District. The Delancey Street Foundation, which was a nonprofit 304 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 2: providing residential services for people with substance use disorder or 305 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,439 Speaker 2: who had been released from prison. Multiple labor unions, including 306 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 2: the International Association of Machinists, the Teamsters, the Federal Workers Union, 307 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 2: and the United farm Workers. The Black Panthers, which we 308 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 2: will be talking about more in just a bit. The 309 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 2: demonstrators also had some support from HW employees who helped 310 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 2: out where they could, and the San Francisco City government. 311 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 2: Mayor George Moscone brought in portable showers, getting them authorized 312 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,439 Speaker 2: by the White House after HW officials turned him away. 313 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 2: And that's just a sampling of the support coalition. Cone 314 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 2: called it one of the broadest coalitions she had ever seen. Yeah, 315 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 2: in terms of ATW employees. Obviously, for the most part, 316 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 2: ATW like leadership did not want them there, but the 317 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,640 Speaker 2: employees would be kind of like, here's where the soap is, 318 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,959 Speaker 2: and we made it so you can open this window. 319 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:53,120 Speaker 2: That kind of thing, a little subversive assist. Yeah, These 320 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 2: and other organizations supported the five zero four sit in 321 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,719 Speaker 2: both within and outside the building, doctors and nurse offered 322 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 2: care to people who had complex medical needs, and volunteers 323 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 2: from across multiple organizations provided attendant care, like helping people 324 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 2: dress and take care of their hygiene. Organizations donated food 325 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 2: and blankets and cots to sleep on, soap and cleaning supplies. 326 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 2: While people occupied the offices in the building, other supporters 327 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 2: picketed outside, and they signed petitions, and they contacted their 328 00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 2: legislators demanding action on the five oh four regulations. This 329 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 2: coalition also involved organizations for people of different disabilities, who 330 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 2: sometimes had very different needs and perspectives. For example, the 331 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,960 Speaker 2: proposed five oh four regulations got a lot of criticism 332 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 2: from deaf people because part of the focus was on 333 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 2: mainstreaming or assimilating disabled people into non disabled culture. But 334 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 2: a lot of deaf people saw and still see deafness 335 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,720 Speaker 2: as a unique culture with its own language and norms, 336 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 2: not necessarily as a disability, and not something that should 337 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 2: be a similar laid it away but organizations for the 338 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 2: death were also part of the sit in, with death 339 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 2: activists taking the lead with communicating with people outside the building, 340 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 2: signing conversations through the windows. After authorities cut off the phones. 341 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 2: All these intersecting layers of support helped the demonstrators deal 342 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 2: with the realities of living in a government office twenty 343 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:25,160 Speaker 2: four hours a day for almost a month. That would 344 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 2: be uncomfortable for pretty much anybody, but it came with 345 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,520 Speaker 2: additional specific challenges for a lot of the five h 346 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 2: four demonstrators. A lot of people had particular medical and 347 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:38,879 Speaker 2: physical needs and no real way to accommodate them the 348 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 2: way they would where they normally lived. For some demonstrators 349 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 2: who relied on specialized medical equipment or skilled nursing, this 350 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 2: could actually be life threatening, so people did a lot 351 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,199 Speaker 2: of improvising and jury rigging and just doing their best 352 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,120 Speaker 2: with the help of supporters both inside and outside the building. 353 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 2: Kitty Kohane in particular, dealt with a lot a lot 354 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 2: of pain over the course of the sit in and 355 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 2: had to take a lot of painkillers to try to 356 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 2: deal with it. She also needed to be turned over 357 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,040 Speaker 2: during the night, and that was something that other people 358 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 2: helped her with over the course of the sit in. 359 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: Kitty Cone was one of the people chosen to be 360 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,680 Speaker 2: part of the delegation to Washington, d C. To discuss 361 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 2: the five oh four regulations with legislators. The coalition that 362 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 2: Cone had built helped arrange and fund the trip, including 363 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 2: the Machinists' Union, which we mentioned earlier. After the new 364 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,120 Speaker 2: regulations were signed, Cohne gave a victory speech in which 365 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,280 Speaker 2: she said, in part quote, we showed strength and courage 366 00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:38,399 Speaker 2: and power and commitment that we the shut ins or 367 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 2: the shutouts, we the hidden, supposedly the frail in the week, 368 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 2: that we can wage a struggle at the highest level 369 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 2: of government and win. Cone was also one of the 370 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,680 Speaker 2: many people to point out the importance of the five 371 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 2: oh four sit ins in the disability rights movement, including 372 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:00,520 Speaker 2: growing awareness of how accessibility was a political issue. She 373 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 2: was quoted as calling it quote the public birth of 374 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 2: the disability rights movement. For the first time, disability was 375 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 2: really looked at as an issue of civil rights rather 376 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 2: than an issue of charity and rehabilitation at best, pity 377 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 2: at worst. 378 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 1: After the five oh four sit ins, Cohane's work as 379 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:23,720 Speaker 1: an activist continued to be focused on building coalitions among organizations. 380 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,000 Speaker 1: This included connecting disability rights organizations and the League of 381 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,119 Speaker 1: Women Voters. When Bay Area Rapid Transit, which commonly known 382 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,679 Speaker 1: as BART, proposed removing agents from stations. Yeah, there were 383 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: a lot of reasons that a person might need to 384 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,679 Speaker 1: talk to a human employee at a transit station, and 385 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 1: a lot of those reasons applied mainly to women and 386 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,880 Speaker 1: to disabled people more than they did to non disabled men. 387 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,159 Speaker 1: Although the federal government had recognized the civil rights of 388 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: disabled people through Section five oh four and its associated regulations, 389 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,479 Speaker 1: in practice after those regulations were signed, a lot of 390 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: things didn't really change that much. For example, as Cone 391 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: tried to travel for her activism work, she often found 392 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: that things like hotels and public transportation were still inaccessible 393 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: to someone who used a wheelchair. Around nineteen eighty, Cone 394 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 1: started a relationship with Kathy Martinez, who was blind. Cone 395 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,439 Speaker 1: talked about getting around town with her and her power wheelchair, 396 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 1: and Martinez keeping up with her on roller skates. The 397 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: two of them traveled together, including to Nicaragua, which had 398 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:37,200 Speaker 1: a large population of disabled people who had experienced spinal injuries, amputations, 399 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: and other injuries due to the Nicaraguan Revolution. Around this time, Cohne, 400 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,800 Speaker 1: who had struggled with alcohol misuse, became sober and joined 401 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 1: Alcoholics Anonymous. 402 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,120 Speaker 2: She also still wanted to have a child and at 403 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 2: this point, it seemed like her doctor's worries about her 404 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:59,280 Speaker 2: life expectancy being really shortened that that seemed unfounded. In 405 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 2: nineteen eight, when she and Martinez started trying to adopt, 406 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 2: they were rejected as adoptive parents for multiple overlapping reasons. 407 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 2: They were both disabled. Since they were both women, they 408 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 2: could not legally marry. Martinez was Latina, so they were 409 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:19,200 Speaker 2: regarded as an interracial couple. Ultimately, they went to Mexico 410 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 2: and they adopted a son named Jorge. They returned to 411 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 2: the United States a couple of years later. At some 412 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 2: point after this, Cone and Martinez separated. After adopting Jorge, 413 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,959 Speaker 2: parenting became Cone's primary focus. She was still an activist, 414 00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 2: but a lot of her activism was through organizations where 415 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,040 Speaker 2: she could be paid for her work so she could 416 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 2: support herself and her son. She worked with the Disability Rights, 417 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 2: Education and Defense Fund for years, eventually becoming its development 418 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 2: director in nineteen ninety three. She retired in nineteen ninety 419 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:53,480 Speaker 2: nine at the age of fifty five, but she continued 420 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,720 Speaker 2: to be involved in the organization's work well after that point. 421 00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 2: Toward the end of her life, Cone reconciled with some 422 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 2: of her family members who had ostracized her due to 423 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 2: her activism. She died of pancreatic cancer on March twenty first, 424 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 2: twenty fifteen, at the age of seventy. And now we 425 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:12,600 Speaker 2: are going to take a little break, and then we 426 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:25,160 Speaker 2: are going to talk about Brad Lomax. The other person 427 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 2: we're going to talk about today is Brad Lomax. One 428 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 2: of the things that comes up a lot in descriptions 429 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,719 Speaker 2: of the five oh four sit in is that the 430 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 2: Black Panthers brought food to the demonstrators in the San 431 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 2: Francisco HW offices every day. Brad Lomax was a big 432 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 2: part of the reason for that. His full name was 433 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 2: Bradford Clyde Lomax, and he was the oldest of three 434 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:51,160 Speaker 2: children born to Katie and Joseph Lomax. He was born 435 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 2: in Philadelphia on September thirteenth, nineteen fifty There's actually not 436 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 2: a lot of information that's publicly available about Lomax's life. 437 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,120 Speaker 2: His father was a World War Two veteran and an electrician. 438 00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 2: Growing up, Lomax was a boy scout and an athlete. 439 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: He played football. He said to have had his first 440 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,399 Speaker 1: experiences with civil rights activism when He visited his mother's 441 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: family in Alabama when he was in his early teens 442 00:27:17,480 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 1: and saw first hand the differences between life and Alabama 443 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: and life in Philadelphia. 444 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,440 Speaker 2: As Lomax started getting close to graduating from Benjamin Franklin 445 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,800 Speaker 2: High School, he thought about joining the military, but his 446 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 2: graduation was in nineteen sixty seven, and at that point 447 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 2: the United States was really escalating its involvement in the 448 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 2: Vietnam War. We talked about this in our episode on 449 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,080 Speaker 2: the draft board riots that took place during the Vietnam 450 00:27:44,119 --> 00:27:46,760 Speaker 2: War in April of last year. That's one of the 451 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 2: other subjects I wound up focused on rather than going 452 00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 2: back to five oh four. In the spring of last year, 453 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,959 Speaker 2: Lomax understood how the war and the draft were disproportionately 454 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 2: affecting black men, so rather than volunteering for service, he 455 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 2: went to Howard University in Washington, d C. 456 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: If he hadn't changed his mind, it's possible that he 457 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't have been able to pass the physical needed to enlist. 458 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,919 Speaker 1: In his late teens, Lomax started experiencing some physical symptoms, 459 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,639 Speaker 1: including losing his balance and falling when he walked. He 460 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,919 Speaker 1: was eventually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and started using a wheelchair. 461 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: He started experiencing the many ways that society was not 462 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,960 Speaker 1: accessible to wheelchair users, things like a lack of curb 463 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 1: cuts and doors that were too narrow to get through. 464 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,640 Speaker 1: And he also saw the ways in which black disabled 465 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: people faced multiple layers of discrimination, like housing buildings could 466 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,640 Speaker 1: be inaccessible, and then on top of that, there were 467 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: landlords who just refused to rent to tenants based on 468 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: their race. This was outlawed federally under the Fair Housing 469 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 1: Act in nineteen sixty eight. In nineteen sixty nine, Lomax 470 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: helped found the Washington, DCA chapter of the Black Panther Party. 471 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 1: The Black Panther Party was first founded by Huey P. 472 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: Newton and Bobby Seal in Oakland, California, in nineteen sixty six. 473 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: It was originally called the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, 474 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: and a big part of its initial focus was the 475 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: forming of armed patrols to protect black neighborhoods, protecting them 476 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: from police brutality. Soon, the Black Panther Party started establishing 477 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: community service programs in black neighborhoods, including medical clinics, ambulance services, 478 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: legal aid, education programs, and breakfast programs for school children. 479 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,440 Speaker 1: Lomax's worked with a Black Panther Party in Washington, d C. 480 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,120 Speaker 1: Including helping to build a free health clinic that provided 481 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: screenings for sickle cell disease, running the first aid tent 482 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: at various Black Panther events, and helping to organize the 483 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 1: first African Liberation Day in nineteen seventy two that was 484 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: a demonstration on the National Mall whose speakers included Angela Davis, 485 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: Stokely Carmichael, Jesse Jackson. At some point, Brad moved to Oakland, 486 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: California with his brother Glenn, which seems to have been 487 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:11,000 Speaker 1: largely at Glenn's encouragement. In addition to being where the 488 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,000 Speaker 1: Black Panthers had been founded, the San Francisco Bay Area 489 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,200 Speaker 1: was becoming more accessible than many other parts of the 490 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: US were. There were multiple interconnected reasons for this. The 491 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: Bay area had generally mild weather, which made it easier 492 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: for people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids to get around. 493 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: California had established an Attendant Care program in the nineteen 494 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,479 Speaker 1: fifties to provide grants for elderly and disabled people to 495 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: pay for home care services. Organizations like the Center for 496 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 1: Independent Living founded by ed Roberts were being run by 497 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: and for disabled people, providing information and support and advocating 498 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: for accessibility and services. Even so, when Brad and his 499 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 1: brother got to California, they found that the buses were 500 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: not accessible. If Brad wanted to take the bus, Glenn 501 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,360 Speaker 1: had to go with him and then physically lift him 502 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: onto the bus and then go back for Brad's chair. 503 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 2: In theory, the Center for Independent Living served Berkeley and Oakland, 504 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 2: but in reality a lot of the services did not 505 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 2: extend into Oakland's predominantly black neighborhoods. So in nineteen seventy five, 506 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,480 Speaker 2: Brad Lomax worked with ed Roberts to establish a new 507 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,880 Speaker 2: chapter of the Center for Independent Living in East Oakland, 508 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 2: and Lomax did this with support from the Black Panthers. 509 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 2: In nineteen seventy seven, Lomax became part of the five 510 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 2: oh four sit in at the San Francisco HW office. 511 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 2: Another Black Panther Party member, Chuck Jackson, acted as Lomax's attendant, 512 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 2: and he also provided attendant care for some of the 513 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 2: other demonstrators inside the building. The Black Panther Party was 514 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 2: heavily involved throughout the sit in, bringing food and other supplies, 515 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:57,160 Speaker 2: including making sure all of the demonstrators got a hot 516 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:00,760 Speaker 2: meal every day and leaving food for the next breakfast 517 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,600 Speaker 2: at lunch. Multiple demonstrators said they would not have survived 518 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 2: without the Black Panthers. Yeah, we've talked about the enormous 519 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 2: coalition of organizations that were involved before the break but 520 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 2: the Black Panthers are reputedly cited as just holding the 521 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 2: whole thing together with food, and that without enough food, 522 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:24,080 Speaker 2: it wouldn't have worked. In a documentary short called Brad 523 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:28,640 Speaker 2: Lomax Creating Communities of Care five o four, demonstrator Corbett 524 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 2: Jon O'Toole said that she asked one of the Panthers 525 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 2: why they were helping when almost everybody in that building 526 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,080 Speaker 2: who was demonstrating was white. That was really true of 527 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 2: a lot of disability rights organizations in the Bay Area. 528 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 2: Their answer was because the demonstrators were fighting for social 529 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 2: justice and willing to put their lives on the line 530 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 2: for it, and because Brad was there. In addition to 531 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,160 Speaker 2: providing food, the Black Panthers helped spread the word about 532 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 2: what was happening at the HGW office by covering it 533 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,360 Speaker 2: in their newspaper that was also called The Black Panther, 534 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 2: and that paper had a national circulation. They also helped 535 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:10,280 Speaker 2: raise funds for the delegation's trip to Washington, d C. 536 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 2: After the five oh four sid in, Brad Lomax continued 537 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,160 Speaker 2: to be involved with the Black Panthers and with disability 538 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 2: rights activism for as long as he was able, but 539 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:25,280 Speaker 2: eventually he started experiencing cognitive changes due to multiple sclerosis, 540 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 2: and MS had also affected his ability to speak. He 541 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 2: died of complications from MS on August twenty eighth, nineteen 542 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 2: eighty four, at the age of thirty three. 543 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,200 Speaker 1: As we've said in this episode that one brief paragraph 544 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,480 Speaker 1: of Section five oh four was really the biggest piece 545 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:45,720 Speaker 1: of civil rights legislation for disabled people in the US 546 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:49,080 Speaker 1: when it was passed, but in spite of the regulations 547 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 1: that were eventually created around it, a lot of the 548 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: same barriers to access and patterns of discrimination remained for years. 549 00:33:57,200 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 1: Section five oh four also applied only to the federal 550 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:04,600 Speaker 1: government and government contractors. It did not apply to private 551 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:09,160 Speaker 1: businesses at all. Ongoing advocacy to try to close these 552 00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,360 Speaker 1: gaps and ensure equal rights and access for disabled people 553 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:16,480 Speaker 1: eventually led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities 554 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:19,040 Speaker 1: Act that happened in nineteen ninety nine. 555 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,280 Speaker 2: If it was a private business that was getting federal funding, 556 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 2: then that would apply. But I mean otherwise, there were 557 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,760 Speaker 2: a lot of things that were not affected by Section 558 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,360 Speaker 2: five oh four. Some of the language of the ADA 559 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:33,760 Speaker 2: is rooted in Section five oh four, and it applied 560 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 2: a lot of the same protections of the Equal Rights 561 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,359 Speaker 2: Act of nineteen sixty four to disabled people who had 562 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,120 Speaker 2: not been included in the Civil Rights Act. The Act 563 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 2: was amended in two thousand and eight in part to 564 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:48,040 Speaker 2: address some court decisions that had limited the scope of 565 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:52,760 Speaker 2: the ADA as it was originally written. Even so, even 566 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 2: with the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are still a 567 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 2: lot of barriers to access. Some of this is because 568 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 2: the old changes, like the Department of Justice just issued 569 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,520 Speaker 2: a final rule on how the ADA applies to state 570 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:11,480 Speaker 2: and local government websites in twenty twenty four, That is 571 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:17,239 Speaker 2: many many years after governments started communicating with their constituencies online. 572 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 2: Some of this is because of EIGHTYA standards just not 573 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,160 Speaker 2: being followed even in new building construction. And some of 574 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,680 Speaker 2: it is because the Americans with Disabilities Act represents a 575 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:31,200 Speaker 2: minimum level of access requirements and that minimum level is 576 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,799 Speaker 2: just not enough to make things accessible to everyone. In 577 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,000 Speaker 2: some cases, not enough to make things accessible to a 578 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:39,640 Speaker 2: lot of people, not just a few people who may 579 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 2: be seen as having different needs than others. 580 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: Do you also have listener mail for us today? Yes, 581 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,320 Speaker 1: I do have listener mail. This is from Anna. Anna 582 00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:54,760 Speaker 1: wrote and said hello. I have always wanted to write 583 00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:58,400 Speaker 1: in and after two mentions of Montana over the past 584 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,120 Speaker 1: couple of episodes, I finally had a reason. I live 585 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 1: an hour away from Hamilton, Montana and the Rocky Mountain Labs. 586 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,279 Speaker 1: I remember learning during the twenty fourteen Ebola outbreak that 587 00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: the local hospital was one of three in the nation 588 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,279 Speaker 1: that could accept and treat people with ebola due to 589 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: its partnership with the LAP I was pretty shocked to 590 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:21,359 Speaker 1: learn our little local hospital was in the same rank 591 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,360 Speaker 1: as massive hospitals in New York and LA. 592 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 2: I foster kittens for my local animal shelter and have 593 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 2: four of my own kiddies. When I've had particularly spicy kittens, 594 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:34,920 Speaker 2: I've played your podcast to help get them used to 595 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,360 Speaker 2: human voices and hopefully foster a love of history. I 596 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 2: fostered twenty one kittens and one mama cat this year 597 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,279 Speaker 2: and all have found loving homes. The pictures include my 598 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,719 Speaker 2: cats Gracie, the One Eyed Beauty, Todd and Wendy as 599 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,040 Speaker 2: babies on my lap, Sammy Brown Tabby, and a photo 600 00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,720 Speaker 2: of a foster family and one of Tink, a foster kitty, 601 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:59,319 Speaker 2: meeting our chickens. Thanks for all that you do. You 602 00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 2: bring so much joy. Anna, Anna playing our show for 603 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,680 Speaker 2: spicy foster kittens is I think the best use of 604 00:37:09,719 --> 00:37:11,960 Speaker 2: our show I have ever heard in my life by 605 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:12,720 Speaker 2: a wide margin. 606 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:14,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. 607 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:18,080 Speaker 2: If you are fostering any kind of animal, or if 608 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,200 Speaker 2: you have maybe a dog who's a little anxious and 609 00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:24,680 Speaker 2: does better with voices, if you want to use our 610 00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 2: podcast for that purposes, just go for it. 611 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,680 Speaker 1: Go for it. Do that every time. Such an odd 612 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 1: I love it. 613 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:32,160 Speaker 2: Thank you so much. 614 00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:34,720 Speaker 1: I feel like we should start to bake in little 615 00:37:34,719 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: secret messages for kitties. Now for kitty cats. 616 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:41,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, one time, a long time ago, somebody sent us 617 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,200 Speaker 2: a note that said, hey, was there maybe a cat 618 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,200 Speaker 2: in the background at this time? Code in this episode? 619 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,880 Speaker 2: Because all of a sudden my cat was very interested, 620 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,280 Speaker 2: and I think at that point I had started recording 621 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 2: at home, but we hadn't told listeners that was happening. 622 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:58,160 Speaker 2: I was like, there's. 623 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,120 Speaker 1: Not not who knows. 624 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:07,360 Speaker 2: Possibly these pictures are all really adorable, so cute. 625 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Also, Anna, thank you for fostering. 626 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:15,080 Speaker 2: Yeah. So it's such a big important step in animal 627 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:17,440 Speaker 2: welfare in the US, and you clearly have a very 628 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,000 Speaker 2: big heart and I appreciate it. Foster families for animals 629 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 2: also make a huge, huge difference in how those animals 630 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,240 Speaker 2: live as pets afterward. The fact that our kittens whose 631 00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:39,120 Speaker 2: mother was feral were incredibly well socialized and tolerated having 632 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:43,520 Speaker 2: their nails clipped and you know, great around people. I 633 00:38:43,719 --> 00:38:46,279 Speaker 2: really credit with the family that took care of them 634 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:50,920 Speaker 2: after their mother returned to the feral colony, because they 635 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:56,120 Speaker 2: were not thriving in the shelter. So thank you so much. 636 00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:56,680 Speaker 1: Anna. 637 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:58,760 Speaker 2: If you would like to send us a note about 638 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:01,840 Speaker 2: this or any other part podcast, we're at History Podcasts 639 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:05,160 Speaker 2: at iHeartRadio dot com, and you can subscribe to our 640 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:07,560 Speaker 2: show on the iHeartRadio app and anywhere else you'd like 641 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:15,600 Speaker 2: to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 642 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:19,640 Speaker 2: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 643 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:23,400 Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen 644 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:24,440 Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.