This album is a bit different from my other learning activities. It started when I came across an episode of the BackStory podcast from 2015, called “Body Politics: Disability in America” on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. This hour-long program provided brief, but nuanced discussions of many important moments in US disability history, including short interviews with expert scholars. I thought this was such a great resource that I decided to find some primary sources to pair with each of the segments. The podcast provides background information and helpful framing, while the primary sources allow for a richer understanding of the topic.

The podcast is available at: https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-532-x34mk66q7m (with a transcript), as well as on other podcast apps, including Spotify.

*Note: Before using some of these sources, discuss respectful language and historical terms (like crippled and defective) which are considered offensive today.

Here are the timestamps for each topic:

-1:45: Millie & Christine McCoy (African American conjoined twins) and side shows

-6:35: Immigration restrictions

-14:55: Graham Bell & oralism

-20:20: Institutionalization in the 19th century

-24:30: Gallaudet's "Deaf President Now" protest (1988)

-33:47: Enslaved people & disabilities; story of Ellen &William Craft

-39:50: Sealo the Seal Boy and side shows

-43:58: Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & the 504 Sit Ins and the Americans with Disabilities Act