Skip to main content
Access to this video is a benefit for members through PBS Passport.
Back to Show
American Experience

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act

Season 37 Episode 2

The emotional and dramatic story of the decades-long push for equality and accessibility that culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. A story of courage and perseverance, the film highlights the determined people who literally put their bodies on the line to achieve their goal and change the lives of all Americans. From AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.

Watch Preview
Support Provided By
Season
Part 1 | The Vote | American Experience
1:52:42
The fiery campaign that led to passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the vote.
The Eugenics Crusade
1:53:12
The Eugenics Crusade tells the story of the campaign to breed a “better” American race,
The Gilded Age
1:52:46
The Gilded Age: Full Film
Rachel Carson
1:53:15
The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
The Perfect Crime
52:03
After attempting to commit the perfect crime, would two boys get the death penalty?
stonewall-uprising-preview
1:20:50
The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
My Lai
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:21
The 1968 My Lai massacre and its subsequent cover-up.
The Polio Crusade
52:01
In the 1950's a Polio outbreak swept the U.S., devastating communities nationwide.
The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:49:38
The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.
Victory in the Pacific
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:49:22
The final months of WWII from the vantage points of both the Japanese and the Americans.
The Presidents
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:37
Part of the award-winning "The Presidents" collection.
The Presidents: Reagan (Part 2)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:50
Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century.
Active loading indicator