On September 26, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Rehabilitation Act, one of the first federal laws protecting the rights of Americans with disabilities. But it was not enforced right away. Meet the dedicated activists and Washington insiders who pushed for disability rights in CHANGE, NOT CHARITY: THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, now streaming on YouTube and the PBS app. #ChangeNotCharityPBS | American Experience | PBS

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act promised Americans with disabilities protections against discrimination and accessible accommodations in all federally-funded institutions. But three-and-a-half years later, it remained unenforced. Disability rights activists had enough. On April 5, 1977, demonstrations took place across the country at regional offices of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), the agency responsible for the regulations. In most places, the protests last