504: The Power of Staying Put

504: the power of staying put

the fight for a signature

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 needed a signature. For people with disabilities, it would guarantee basic human rights: access to public transportation, free public education, and job discrimination were all issues that needed resolving. For four years after the Rehabilitation Act was passed, this section went unsigned by Joseph Califano, the United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

People were fed up! People with disabilities demanded justice for their basic rights and demonstrated on April 5, 1977. These protests turned into sit-ins in HEW buildings around the country. After 24 hours of sit-ins though, everyone was forced out, except in San Francisco.

During the longest occupation of federal building in history, 120 people over 26 days made the HEW building their home.

outside support

While inside, the protesters had a lot of support. All types of people saw and felt their struggle and donated resources and time to them. The Black Panthers provided hot meals each day until the end of the occupation and never asked for payment. When FBI agents tried to prevent them from delivering food, the Panthers held their ground. The Salvation Army brought in mattresses, and Vietnam veterans and other allies came in and sat-in too. At the beginning of the sit-in, even the city provided portable showers to the protesters as a show of support.

struggles inside

But, people’s health suffered as a consequence. The bathrooms were not accessible for the protesters with disabilities and the offices even shut the bathrooms off so the protesters couldn’t use them. People were even unplugging protester’s motorized wheelchairs in the night. By the second week, eight of the protesters went on a hunger strike to demonstrate their commitment to justice and to show they weren’t going to back down.

empowered community

The protesters sense of community really grew in their time in the HEW building. In the hours of boredom waiting in an office building, protesters played games, held wheelchair races, and talked into the night. Every morning started with singing. They were meeting people with the same and different disabilities than their own and discovered a common sense of purpose. In addition, they really had to help each other out to survive as their health and hygiene wasn’t being supported by anyone else. One protester told a story that before the sit-in, she would have said she would erase her disability if she could. But having been in the empowering community of protesters, she said she felt beautiful.

off to D.C. Two weeks in, protesters realized they needed to get to Washington DC to directly confront Joseph Califano to sign Section 504. Led by Judy Heumann, 25 protesters made their way to DC to meet with congressional representatives and have candle-light vigils outside of Joseph Califano’s mansion. They had rallies near the White House that attracted hundreds of supporters and national attention through the media.

judy heumann

The woman at the head of the sit-in and getting the protests to D.C. was Judy Heumann. When confronting Califano and other senators, Huemann noticed Senator Alan Cranston was nodding his head sympathetically.

She called him out told him she would appreciate if he didn’t act like he understood what she was saying, because he doesn’t understand. She said, “we’re going through this. You’re not.”

These protests were led by women and especially queer women, and empowered those most marginalized by society.

success!

Califano signed Section 504 on April 28, 1977. The 504 protests and sit-in were significant not only because their goal was achieved, but also because it was the most powerful joint effort between people of different disabilities in support of such important legislation. It was also the longest occupation of federal building in American history, and remains the longest to this day! People with disabilities proved that their voices were many and that they deserved to be heard.

Works Cited “504 Demonstration.” Instant Recall, CBS Evening News, 1 Feb. 2008, www.you tube.com/watch?v=pbfNJpFni-E. “Judy Heumann Fights for People with Disabilities.” Drunk History, Comedy Central, 20 Feb. 2018, www.cc.com/video-clips/2p86bg/drunk-history-judy-he mann-fights-for-people-with-disabilities.

“Patient No More: 1977 Occupation of Federal Offices in San Francisco.” Found SF, Longmore Institute at San Francisco State University, www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Pa tient_No_More:_1977_Occupation_of_Federal_Offices_in_San_Francisco.

“The Power of 504.” Disability Rights Education Camp; Defense Fund, YouTube, 22 Aug. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyWcCuVta7M.

“No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the united states shall, solely on the basis of his handicap be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.� – section 504, rehabilitation act of 1973