CRIP CAMP: documentary chronicles the sacrifices of the 1970s disability movements

Since the vast majority of people have become prisoners in their own homes, thanks to the shelter-in-place orders, it’s been tough for many to figure out how to keep busy each day. We have one small solution that could eat up some of your free time. When you watch Netflix's new documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, you'll undoubtedly be inspired and curious to learn more about the disability rights movement in the 1970s that eventually led to the passing of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

The documentary follows several young people who attended Camp Jened, a New York campground for people with disabilities. That alone is a wonderful subject: a story about what happens when a group of teens neglected by society finally discovers a place where they are treated as complete, whole people. But Crip Camp is going somewhere incredible, and a story about how a camp changed a group of teenagers’ lives becomes a story about how the country was changed for the better.

We can’t emphasize enough how uplifting this film is and how it reminds us of the heavy price those before us paid that have made our world a bit more accessible and inclusive while securing equal rights for those with a disability and though there is still much work to be done in those areas, we are grateful to movements such as those depicted in this documentary.