Compare and contrast the efforts, strategies, and actions of Judith Heumann and others seeking civil rights for the disabled with those of African American civil rights leaders, such as Thurgood Marshall, who desired desegregation in public schools and other public accommodations.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Leaders such as Ms. Heumann and others who sought civil rights for the disabled were seeking specific recognition of the disabled as a protected class and appropriate court-ordered accommodations that would provide them with equal access to public facilities and educational opportunities. Civil rights leaders such as Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Martin Luther King were seeking recognition as a protected class as well with the intent to end legal (de jure) and actual (de facto) segregation in public facilities and educational programs, particularly public schools and universities.
In both cases, de facto segregation tended to be a problem, but in the case of African American civil rights, de jure segregation was also a major hurdle. The fight for African American desegregation required an end to both de jure and de facto segregation as well as recognition and protection of voting rights. In both cases, the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment became the key to applying federal laws and policies to the states. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 was used to compel states to honor and accommodate civil rights and equal access for the disabled. For African Americans, the fight is much more complex and longer in its duration, with such important legislation as the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments along with the Brown v. Board of Education court decision and such federal legislation as the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964, along with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.