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I admit it: I’ve never watched Drunk History on Comedy Central before. Not being a drinker myself, I wasn’t sure what the appeal might be for me. When I found out they were covering the monumental 504 sit-in with Ali Stroker, Zach Anner, and AJ Murray (to name only a few), I had to check it out. It’s hilarious and informative, and the Closed Captions are on fire. (No YouTube auto craptions for them.)

DREDF has a clearinghouse of information about the demonstration, its history, documentaries, and personal narratives from the relentless protestors–and their supporters–who demanded that disability rights be treated as civil rights. Outside of disabilities communities, most people think ADA is the only major legislation, but it’s not. The nearly month-long 504 demonstration in 1977 paved the way for legislation like the ADA. Which is now severely under threat by the HR 620 “Education” and Reform Act that just passed in the House of Representatives last week (not by a lot, I might add) and is moving to the Senate next. (Call, email, and tweet your Senators and tell them to vote no. Don’t assume Democrats are against it because plenty voted for HR 620. Contact Democrat Senators too.)

The Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability and Disability Visibility Project hosted a live tweet fest during the screening. Click here for tweets that used the #Drunk504 to see who was in the conversation and what it was like for activists watching the show when it aired.

Please check out Senior Public Policy Analyst for the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) Dara Baldwin talking with Alice Wong about HR 620 and how it is absolutely going to hurt fights for accessibility and disability rights in the second half of Episode 18 of Disability Visibility Podcast. The link takes you to audio, transcripts, and even more links with tons of useful information.