Crip Camp and Disability Rights Movement

• Crip Camptells the story of Jened, a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities that operated from the early 1950s until 2009.

• Jened provided a rare respite from the challenges of everyday life for its campers and counselors, and helped to radicalize some of them into activists in the disability rights movement.

• The 1970s in America was the staging ground for the return of wounded and disabled veterans from the Vietnam War, changes in the racial makeup of the labor force, and many other important social and political movements.

• The politics of representation were everywhere in the 1970s, and images and narratives of disability were largely absent from this historical ground.

• In 1977, a group of campers and counselors staged a sit-in at government offices in Washington DC and San Francisco, which is the longest sit-in ever held at a federal building.

Explore the history and impact of Jened, a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, and its role in radicalizing activists in the disability rights movement. Learn about the political and social landscape of the 1970s in America and the actions taken by campers and counselors to advocate for disability rights.