The disabled-rights activist group, which started in 1983 and has grown to about 1,500 members, was instrumental in gaining support for the Americans with Disabilities Act, enacted July 26, 1990. The ADA became one of the biggest pieces of U.S. civil rights legislation. To the disabled, the ADA has the same resonance as the 1964 Civil Rights Act had for African Americans.
The law requires the government and private sector to provide access to buildings and public transportation for disabled people, but the fight is not over. Ten years after President Bush signed the legislation, ADAPT members continue to use tactics of civil disobedience - which they call "actions" - to draw attention to their cause. Members have chained themselves to buses and blocked doors and elevators of corporate and government buildings. They've adopted the chant "Free Our People" during demonstrations.
"For a person with a disability at an ADAPT action, that's the most powerful moment of their lives," says Jim Glozier, Kyle's father. "Here's a person who can't do anything, who needs total assistance with everything, but at that moment when they're blocking that door, they're the most powerful person on Earth. You can see that in their eyes."
Bobby Coward visits Washington-area nursing homes and informs residents about disability benefits. Kyle Glozier, 14, dreams of becoming the first U.S. president with cerebral palsy. Spitfire, a devout Buddhist whose nickname fits her personality, believes strongly in a nonviolent approach for advocating rights for the disabled. And Linda Anthony can't imagine a day when she won't be fighting for those rights.
