Disability Activists At HEW Building Entrance

View of disability rights activists as they stage a sit-on outside the South Portal Building (later known as the Hubert H Humphrey Federal Building, at 200 Independence Avenue SW), home of the National Department of Health, Education, & Welfare (HEW), Washington DC, April 22, 1977. Among those pictured are Debby Yeager (center left, in wheelchair with dark hair), Siggy Shapiro (center, in a headscarf), Hale Zukas (center right in wheelchair with back to camera). The group, which included delegates from San Francisco's 'Section 504' demonstration, attempted to meet with HEW Secretary Joseph Califano. A sign above the doors reads, in part, 'Welcome to Bi-Cent-Ex' (referencing the Bicentennial Exhibit Center). This sit-in took place while fellow activists were occupying the San Francisco Federal Building (also referenced as the Region 9 Federal Building), resulting in the enforcement of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973's Section 504 and, eventually, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. (Photo by HolLynn D'Lil/Getty Images)