Civil Rights

The civil rights of people with disabilities can never be taken for granted. The resources in this section are here to help you stand up for those who are all too often overlooked.

About This Priority

In the United States, there are certain inalienable rights that all of us deserve to have protected. While threats to civil rights have unfortunately been a defining feature of the history of the disability community in America, an equally defining feature has been an enduring constituency of self-advocates and allies dedicating themselves to the protection of the civil rights of all people.

Fortunately, when it comes to upholding the civil rights of people with disabilities, we have the law on our side. Groundbreaking legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as landmark legal precedents such as that established by the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., are essential to ensuring people with disabilities enjoy the same rights as anyone else in our country.