Links

ADA Home Page Information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project "[A] four hour documentary radio series about the shared experience of people with disabilities and their families since the beginning of the 19th century. This web site includes excerpts from the shows as well as many of the primary source documents--extended interviews, images, and texts--from which the on-air programs were developed."

Deaf Resource Library "The Deaf Resource Library is a virtual library -- an online collection of reference material and links intended to educate and inform people about Deaf cultures in Japan and the United States, as well as deaf and hard of hearing related topics."

Disability Rights Commission Home Page (Great Britain): "Our vision: A society where all disabled people can participate fully as equal citizens." An interesting comparison, perhaps, in terms of how these issues are being dealt with in a country similar to our own.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is "a national law and policy center dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities through legislation, litigation, advocacy, technical assistance, and education and training of attorneys, advocates, persons with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities."

Disability Social History Project "Disability is not a 'brave struggle' or 'courage in the fact of adversity'. . . disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live." Neil Marcus, 1993.

Disability World Web-zine A bi-monthly web-zine of international disability news and views.

Disability Studies "The emerging field of disability studies encompasses a broad range of academic, humanitarian and social disciplines. General web sites for and about the study of disability are followed by specific university programs."

History Through Deaf Eyes Developed by Gallaudet University, History Through Deaf Eyes is a traveling social history exhibition aligning nearly 200 years of United States history with the experiences of deaf people: "They are facing not a theory but a condition, for they are first, last, and all the time the people of the eye." George Veditz, President, National Association of the Deaf, 1913. "We have been called deaf-mutes, mutes, objects of charity, deaf and dumb, semi-mutes, dummy, and now, hearing impaired. We have been described as 'the most misunderstood among the sons of man.' Some of us are deaf and some of us are Deaf. Some of us use American Sign Language and some of us do not. This exhibition is our untold and largely unknown history. It is American history…Through Deaf Eyes."—Jack R. Gannon, Curator

The History of the ADA Text of a paper summarizing the disability rights movement.

National Theatre of the Deaf "Through its thirty-four year history, The National Theatre of the Deaf stands as testimony to the artistry and capability of its Actors. There have been 64 national tours, performances in all 50 states, all the continents, 31 international tours and over 8,000 performances earning NTD its place in theatrical history as the oldest continually-producing touring theatre company in the United States. Discover The National Theatre of the Deaf's highly visual performances . Through NTD's signature style of visual language, American Sign Language, the audience enjoys a greater appreciation that no other theatre company can approach. Through its art, the NTD has created profound social change. The magic of it all has been The National Theatre of the Deaf's remarkable ability to entertain and inform at the same time. As one critic has praised, "sculpture in the air."

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History: The Disability Rights Movement A Virtual exhibit of the disability rights movement; includes discussion of the movement, dissent, self-definition, etc.

US Holocaust Museum: The Murder of the Handicapped "'Wartime', Adolf Hitler suggested, 'was the best time for the elimination of the incurably ill.' Many Germans did not want to be reminded of individuals who did not measure up to their concept of a 'master race.' The physically and mentally handicapped were viewed as 'useless' to society, a threat to Aryan genetic purity, and, ultimately, unworthy of life. At the beginning of World War II, individuals who were mentally retarded, physically handicapped, or mentally ill were targeted for murder in what the Nazis called the 'T-4,' or 'euthanasia,' program."

 

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