#134 Dara Baldwin, The Center for Disability Rights

If Americans learn any collective lesson in 2020, it should be that until we face our history of marginalizing whole populations, we will not be a true democracy. Social uprisings around the country demonstrate that racism is structural and is seared into our public systems. People with disabilities experience structural inequity daily. Until 1974, so-called "ugly laws" forced those perceived to be "maimed" to be removed from public view. It is moving to learn that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, landmark legislation, was modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA bars discrimination against disabled people in employment, transportation and public accommodations. The current practice of institutionalizing disabled people compelled the Center for Disability Rights to advocate for new legislation, the Disability Integration Act. Dara Baldwin, National Policy Director of CDR is committed to liberating disabled people from institutions into safe environments within their own communities. And in this fight for justice, Dara honors the many courageous Black disabled leaders who have dedicated their lives to the cause. She is shaking up the white-led business-as-usual advocacy sector in DC. And in doing so, she raises the bar for us all.