LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION celebrating the hard work and achievement of the
independent living movement over the past several decades

WHEREAS, The history of the independent living movement stems from a
philosophy which states that people with disabilities should have the
same civil rights, options, and control over choices in their own lives
as do people without disabilities; and
WHEREAS, The history of independent living is closely tied to the
civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as other poli-
tical and social movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and
WHEREAS, Using the principles of the independent living model, which
proposed identifying problems or deficiencies in society, not in indi-
viduals, people began to view themselves as powerful and self-directed
as opposed to passive victims, objects of charity, cripples, or not-
whole, and disability began to be seen as a natural, not uncommon, expe-
rience in life, not a tragedy; and
WHEREAS, The early 1970s was a time of awakening for the disability
rights movement; as disability rights activists were fighting for the
rights of people with disabilities presumed to be forever homebound and
were working to assure that participation in society, in school, in
work, and at play was a realistic, proper, and achievable goal, others
were coming to see how destructive and wrong the systematic institution-
alization of people with disabilities could be; and
WHEREAS, The modern history of civil rights for people with disabili-
ties is almost four decades old, and a key piece of this decades-long
process is the story of how the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was finally
passed and implemented; and
WHEREAS, Disability activists staged protests and sit-ins across the
country in 1973 to convince Congress to override President Nixon's veto
of the Rehabilitation Act, a pivotal law that was the beginning of an
ongoing fight for implementation and revision of the law according to
the vision of independent living advocates and disability rights activ-
ists; and
WHEREAS, A number of important federal civil rights laws affecting
people with disabilities have been passed by Congress since, including:
the Developmental Disabilities Bill of Rights Act of 1975; the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975; the Mental Illness Bill of
Rights Act of 1985; the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988; the Fair
Housing Amendments Act of 1988; and the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990; and
WHEREAS, The New York State Legislature enacted legislation in 1982 to
authorize funding for the State's Independent Living Centers that exist
to serve people with disabilities; today, there are 36 centers and
satellite offices serving thousands of New Yorkers; and
WHEREAS, Independent Living Centers in New York State are part of a
national network of centers that provide support, resources, and
services to assist individuals to become as independent as they can be;
and
WHEREAS,The independent living movement was critical to New York State
establishing the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance program in 1995
to provide services to physically disabled individuals who have a
medical need for help with activities of daily living; and
WHEREAS, The authorization of the Nursing Home Transition and Diver-
sion Waiver in 2004 was fought for and administered by the Independent
Living Centers and provides New Yorkers living with disabilities a wide
array of health and supportive services in the least restrictive, most
appropriate available setting; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and achievement of the independ-
ent living movement over the past several decades.