Becoming Real in 24 Days

de HolLynn D'Lil

Without the shutting down of U.S. Federal buildings in ten American cities and a direct confrontation with President Jimmy Carter in Washington, the shameful separate-but-equal doctrine would have been resurrected in 1977. It was people with disabilities who gave the final blow to that legacy of shame. The longest building occupation was a three-and-a-half week takeover of the San Francisco Federal Building. Unsure of when they would return to their lives, their jobs, their schools and their families, 150 people with disabilities went without showers, beds and meals to bring their desperate need for equal opportunity to the nation's attention. Two weeks into the takeover, 29 of the protesters flew to Washington, DC to join others in confronting President Carter at his church and meet with members of Congress. They held candlelight vigils at the White House and outside the home of then Health Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano. With the assistance of the International Association of Machinists, they held rallies and stormed the doors of the HEW headquarters. The author was one of those protesters and by the time it was over, had taken more than 350 photographs, made extensive notes and saved important original documents, including encouraging telegrams from the Black Panthers and United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez. This history, and the author's personal memoir of the transformative experience are preserved in Becoming Real in 24 Days which vividly captures this historic period in the evolution of the disability population's growth as a political force. It's the moment when people with disabilities began to change their personal and the country's view of their place in the world. Please see: http://becomingrealin24days.com/ for a sample chapter, more photographs and information about the author.