Victor (Vic) Berel Finkelstein (25 January 1938 – 30 November 2011) was a

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

activist and writer. Born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, South Africa and later living in Britain, Finkelstein is known as a pioneer of the

social model of disability The social model of disability identifies systemic barriers, derogatory attitudes, and social exclusion (intentional or inadvertent), which make it difficult or impossible for disabled people to attain their valued functionings. The social mode ...

and a key figure in developing the understanding the oppression of disabled people.

Biography

Early life

Vic Finkelstein grew up in Durban, South Africa. He studied at The

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

, Durban and Pietermaritzburg, before taking a Masters in psychology at Witwaterstrand University in Johannesburg. During this time he became involved with anti-apartheid activism. In the 1960s, Finkelstein was imprisoned for his anti-apartheid activities. Following a spell of hard labour, he was issued with a five-year banning order (1967–1972) under the Suppression of Communism Act. Finkelstein came to the UK in 1968 as a refugee and joined the emergent British disability movement.A Personal Journey Into Disability Studies
by Vic Finkelstein. Retrieved 2nd Dec 2011. Finkelstein cites his first hand experiences witnessing

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

and his treatment by South African police as a disabled person, as experiences that initiated new ways of thinking about society and its oppression of disabled people. In the UK in 1972 Finkelstein co-founded

Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

(UPIAS) with Paul Hunt.Vic Finkelstein: Founder of the Social Model of Disability
by Rhian Davies. Retrieved 2 Dec 2011 UPIAS was the first organisation to reject 'compensatory' and tragic or medical approaches to disability. As an alternative, UPIAS developed attention to the social and structural barriers that oppress people with impairments, rendering them 'disabled'. This led to the development of the

Academic career

Finkelstein was a tutor in

disability studies Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability," where impairment was an impairment of an individual ...

at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

and later visiting senior research fellow in the Centre for Disability Studies

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. Vic’s ideas influenced and inspired a generation of disabled activists and gave rise to the development of the Disabled People’s Movement through the formation of Centres for Independent Living,Grove Road Housing Scheme http://historyof.place/location/grove-road-housing-scheme/ Coalitions of Disabled People and disability arts groups. His work also inspired the creation of Disability Equality Training, Direct Payments and the campaign for civil rights legislation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkelstein, Vic 1938 births 2011 deaths British disability rights activists White South African anti-apartheid activists People from Durban South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African disability rights activists