40 Big Ideas

Summary

The Independent Living Movement was about moving people out of institutions and into homes and community settings. It pushed for accessibility and for people with disabilities having the level of control over their lives that they choose. The goal was to remove barriers so people with disabilities could participate fully in society. This was a huge shift in how disability was understood.

The Independent Living Movement (ILM) was part of the broader Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation movements of the 1960s and 70s. As people marched against racism, segregation, and other kinds of discrimination, disability activists also organized. They fought against the stereotype of the “helpless cripple” and demanded the right to go to school, get jobs, and live fully in their communities. Independent living fundamentally reshaped opportunities and expectations for people with various disabilities. It was the opposite of being placed in large, impersonal institutions or being completely dependent on parents or professionals. Instead, it meant having the power to make decisions about one’s own life and the freedom to pursue activities of one’s choosing. Independent living does not mean living alone; it means self-determination: making choices, having the right to succeed or fail, and receiving the supports and services needed to thrive. At the heart of this idea is the dignity of risk—the belief that people with disabilities, like everyone else, should have the right to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them.

The ILM also focused on moving people out of institutions and into homes and community settings. It pushed for accessibility and consumer control, meaning people with disabilities should guide and oversee the services meant for them. The goal was to remove barriers so people with disabilities could participate fully in society. This was a huge shift in how disability was understood. For many years, society viewed people with disabilities as patients with medical problems who needed to be “fixed.” The ILM rejected this medical model and instead embraced the social model of disability, which said that the real problem was not people’s impairments but the barriers society created. “Nothing About Us Without Us” became the movement's rallying cry. Leaders like Judy Heumann, Ed Roberts, and Justin Dart gave this idea life. Heumann, a polio survivor often called the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement,” knew from her own experience how important it was to live outside of institutions. Roberts, considered the “Father of the Independent Living Movement,” was the first student with significant disabilities to attend the University of California, Berkeley. In 1972, he joined with other classmates with disabilities from Berkeley to establish the first Center for Independent Living (CIL), which provided peer support, services, and advocacy training. Today, more than 400 CILs operate across the United States. The ILM also inspired the Self-Advocacy Movement among people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (IDD). They declared, “We are People First!” and demanded the right to live in their own communities rather than institutions. These efforts led to important changes in law and policy. A landmark achievement was Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which banned discrimination against people with disabilities in federally funded programs. This law came only after the country’s longest sit-in protest and laid the foundation for future disability rights protections.

By breaking down barriers and challenging stereotypes, the ILM reshaped opportunities for people with disabilities. It showed the nation thatequality and justice must include everyone—and that true community means full participation by all.