Book Announcement – An Independent Man: Ed Roberts and the Fight for Disability Rights

When Ed Roberts—paralyzed by polio as a teen—was told he was “infeasible” for rehabilitation, he refused to accept it. Instead, he changed the world. A new book, An Independent Man: Ed Roberts and the Fight for Disability Rights, explores how Roberts’ fight to live and study on his own terms helped spark the global independent living movement. From battling exclusion at school to building the first Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, Roberts showed that people with disabilities could—and should—direct their own lives. With disability rights once again under attack, his story is more relevant than ever. Read Julia Métraux’s feature in Mother Jones: “The Radical Life of the Father of the Independent Living Movement.”