DREDF Honors the Life and Legacy of Marca Bristo

September 10, 2019

Many of us at Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund were fortunate to work with Marca Bristo for many years, and all of us have been touched by Marca’s pioneering disability rights work. We send our condolences to her family, friends, and everyone at Access Living, which she established in 1980.

In addition to her work at Access Living, Marca served as chair of the National Council on Disability from 1994-2002 and played an important role in the political and cultural development of the disability rights movement. She was one of the key leaders who helped secure passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and was also an early champion of the independent living movement.

Among her many accomplishments, Marca was also vocal about the ways in which disability rights are intrinsically linked to civil and human rights.

Recently, at the July 2019 National Council on Independent Living awards luncheon that, in part, honored her work – a luncheon both celebratory and embroiled in protest – Marca did not resist or ignore the controversy that occurred around her. True to form, Marca leaned in, embraced the opportunity, and urged us all to learn, listen, and hear, then to do better, by reminding attendees:

“Think of the times we’ve talked about ableism to nondisabled people and they deny it or say things like, ‘Oh, I never thought of it that way.’ Part of our journey has been to reeducate the world as to what stigma looks and feels like… But in the same way that stigma takes shapes and forms, so does the backlash against our forward progress… Make no mistake about it: There is an active effort on the part of people who would like to see our movements fail and us to go back home, or back into institutions, or wherever we came from. Another country? They see our forward progress as a threat. And we cannot let them win.”

Yes, we mourn Marca’s passing, but perhaps the most fitting tribute to Marca Bristo is for the disability movement to emulate her example going forward. To keep striving to do better, to listen and to keep learning, and to ensure that fairness, equality, and justice win.