Google Doodle honors activist Ed Roberts, pioneer of 'independent living' movement
Ed Roberts helped change Americans' perceptions of people with handicaps, helping enable generations of people with disabilities with live more independent lives.
Monday鈥檚 Google Doodle celebrated the birthday and legacy of Ed Roberts, a quadriplegic leader聽whose life's work聽helped redefine national perceptions of people with disabilities.
Considered the 鈥渇ather鈥� of the disability rights movement, Mr. Roberts changed how schools, employers, and the nation responded to people with disabilities, tirelessly advocating for inclusive infrastructure and policies that have since given opportunities and access to thousands.
"What a black man like Bob Moses had been in the civil rights movement or a woman like Betty Friedan had been for the feminists, Ed Roberts was for the disabled," Michael Lesy wrote in the 1991 book "Rescues: The Lives of Heroes."
From the age of 14, Roberts could only move the muscles in his face and two fingers. He also depended on an iron lung or respirator at night to breathe regularly.
Yet instead of restricting his accomplishments, those limitations served to inspire and motivate him.聽鈥淗e took great pleasure in聽,鈥� his mother, Zona Roberts, said, according to a Google press release.聽
In a time when able-bodied people believed they knew best and should dictate the care and scope of the lives of those with perceived disabilities, Roberts , pushing for equal opportunities and increased handicapped access to public spaces. As a high school student, he was initially denied his diploma, having failed to meet the physical education requirements. Upon appeal, Roberts and his family successfully overturned the school鈥檚 decision, granting him an early win against public officials.
In the 1960s, Roberts became the first "severely disabled" student to attend the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied political science and earned both a bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degree. There, he began his first foray into activism and launched the student-run Physically Disabled Students Program, which became a model for his later work with the Center for Independent Living (CIL).
Formally founded in 1972, the CIL sought to bring greater assistance and independence for those living with disabilities, fighting for modifications in cars and vans as well as public transportation that made traveling independently more accessible. The group campaigned to block and remove laws that discouraged those with physical limitations from entering the workforce.
The championed by Roberts focused on the importance of self-determination and autonomy in decision making, rather than remaining at the mercy of able-bodied people. It emphasized the importance of finding ways to live with one's disabilities, rather than being limited or defined by them.聽
Roberts traveled the nation and the world 鈥� even聽swimming with dolphins and rafting, according to Smithsonian magazine聽鈥撀燼nd also married and raised a son, all while navigating the world in a custom-built wheelchair steered by his two fingers. He became head of the California Department of Rehabilitation, and a founder of the World Institute on Disability.聽
鈥淢y father never settled for anything and ,鈥漅oberts鈥檚 son, Lee Roberts, said in an interview with The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities. 鈥淎nd he always, always followed his gut, followed his passion, went with it no matter who was against him, and oftentimes there was more people against him than it was for him.鈥�
Today, Roberts鈥檚 in the National Museum of American History. With a reclining seat, portable ramp, respirator, and a headlight for night time driving, the chair represents Roberts鈥檚 innovative thinking and drive to achieve independence 鈥撀爐wo things that have shaped modern policies and perceptions for those with disabilities.
鈥淪ome objects don鈥檛 immediately reference a person. With a plate or a tea cup, you don鈥檛 have to think about who used it or how that person used it,鈥� Katherine Ott, curator of the museum鈥檚 Division of Medicine and Science, told Smithsonian Magazine, noting that Roberts鈥檚 wheelchair is a different kind of artifact. 鈥淲ho used it 鈥� and how it was used 鈥� is always hanging in the air.鈥�