Hale J. Zukas (May 31, 1943 – November 30, 2022) was an American disability rights activist. He was a member of the Rolling Quads at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and a founder of the first

Center for Independent Living Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context o ...

(CIL) in Berkeley. He was active in working for accessible streets and public transit, and in the creation of the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

Early life and education

Zukas was born in Los Angeles and educated in

San Luis Obispo, California San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

. He was diagnosed with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

as a child. He learned to use an electric wheelchair and communicate using a helmet-mounted pointer to point to a letter board. He earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in mathematics at the

in 1971.

Activism and career

Zukas joined the

Rolling Quads Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...

, a group of students at the

in the mid-1960s. The university was amongst the first in the world to begin admitting people with physical disabilities, including prominent activist Ed Roberts. The university began the Cowell Residence Program (CRP) to provide housing and assistance, and the Rolling Quads were a group of students in the CRP who organized to advocate for the rights of students with disabilities. Zukas became one of the founders of the Physically Disabled Students Program on the Berkeley campus. In 1972, Zukas, Roberts, and others founded the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley (CIL). He served as the CIL's first Coordinator of Community Affairs and held that position until 1982. Zukas became a leading advocate for the elimination of architectural and transportation barriers, especially on the

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...

(BART) system in the San Francisco Bay area. The CIL led a movement in Berkeley to install

curb cut A curb cut (U.S.), curb ramp, depressed curb, dropped kerb ( UK), pram ramp, or kerb ramp (Australia) is a solid (usually concrete) ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed primarily ...

s up and down Telegraph and Shattuck Avenues creating an extensive path of travel for wheelchair riders. In 1973, when there were protests for the ratification of

section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, is American legislation that guarantees certain rights to people with disabilities. It was one of the first U.S. federal civil rights laws offering protection for people with disabilities. It set preced ...

, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, Zukas was one of the leaders of the movement and was chosen among other activists to lobby in Washington D.C. to confront the Carter Administration. Zukas co-founded the BART's accessibility advisory group in 1975. He was a driving force in designing the button placement inside BART elevators at a height that could easily be reached by wheelchair users. Zukas worked on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He was on the board of Transit Accessibility which meets monthly to discuss ways to make public transportation available to more people. Zukas became the vice chair of the United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in 1983. Zukas died on November 30, 2022, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zukas, Hale 1943 births 2022 deaths American disability rights activists Activists from Los Angeles University of California, Berkeley alumni People with cerebral palsy