You can pass a law, but until you change society’s attitudes, that law won’t mean much.” Denise Sherer Jacobson, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
The hospitality industry has been significantly impacted by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The 2020 Academy Award nominated documentary film Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution provides an introduction to disability civil rights history and leaders. Watch the film on Netflix or youtube and thoughtfully respond in complete sentences to the following questions.
What specific actions taken by the disability activists contributed to success in getting Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 finally enforced in 1977? How did other cultural and historical events also contribute?
(Note: Section 504 states of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states: No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall….solely by reason of her or his disability, 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 or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Post Office.)
2. How did the passage of and enforcement of Section 504 improve the lives of people with disabilities and all Americans?
3. What specific actions taken by the disability activists contributed to success in getting the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990? How did other cultural and historical events also contribute?
4. How did the passage of and enforcement of the ADA further improve the lives of people with disabilities and all Americans?
5. Share your general reaction to the film or to a specific part of the film.
