Patrisha Wright is 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. She is legally blind. She was instrumental in enacting the

Americans with Disabilities Act 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 1964 ...

Activism

She was at the San Francisco sit-in to support

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 ...

in April 1977, as a personal assistant to Judy Heumann. In 1979 she cofounded the

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), located in Berkeley, California, and Washington, DC, USA is a national cross-disability civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents who have chi ...

(DREDF) with

Mary Lou Breslin Mary Lou Breslin (born in 1944) is a disability rights law and policy advocate and analyst. She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco in the McLaren School of Business Executive Master of Management and Disability Services ...

and Robert Funk. From 1979 until 2005 she worked as Director of Government Affairs for DREDF. She fought for the enactment of the Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986 and amendments to the

Fair Housing Act The Civil Rights Act of 1968 () is a landmark law in the United States signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, which applie ...

regarding people with disabilities. Wright represented disability concerns in an alliance of civil rights groups that were all working to pass the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. Also in the 1980s, when the

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

administration threatened to amend or revoke regulations implementing Section 504 of the (American)

Rehabilitation Act The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 () is a United States federal law, codified at et seq. The principal sponsor of the bill was Rep. John Brademas (D-IN-3). The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 replaces preexisting laws (collectively referred to as the V ...

of 1973 and the

Education for All Handicapped Children Act The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (sometimes referred to using the acronyms EAHCA or EHA, or Public Law (PL) 94-142 was enacted by the United States Congress in 1975. This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to p ...

of 1975, Wright and Evan Kemp, Jr. (of the Disability Rights Center) led a grassroots and lobbying campaign against this that generated more than 40,000 cards and letters. In 1984, the administration dropped its attempts to amend or revoke those regulations; however, they did end the Social Security benefits of hundreds of thousands of disabled recipients. Wright is widely considered the main force behind the campaign lobbying for the

, and she is known as "the General" for her work in coordinating the campaign to enact the Act. In 2000, she was awarded the George Bush Medal for her disability rights work. In 2001 she was awarded the

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...

. She is Secretary; Vice-President of the Baja Coastal Institute.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Patrisha American disability rights activists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)