The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities

In Honor of Ed Roberts on His 87th Birthday

Ed Roberts was born on January 23, 1939. He died on March 14, 1995. We salute Ed's contributions to the civil rights of people with disabilities by adding two interviews to our website.

In 1993, Ed gave a first-person account of his college days at the University of California, Berkeley, to Lucy Gwin at Mouth Magazine. This interview, entitled "Our Man on the Moon," has been lightly edited and posted at the Council's website section about Ed.

"Whenever we start by believing people can't do it, we set up systems to do it for them. Charities do that. At the University of California, Berkeley, in the beginning, people's attitude was that I would get my PhD and then go live in a nursing home. Society's expectations of us—very low expectations—have tremendous power over us. We were very clear philosophically. We were beginning to talk about disability issues as civil rights issues."

"Our Man in the Moon" >>

Ed Roberts

Ed also provided a first-person account of how Independent Living was born on the University of California, Berkeley campus and then moved off-campus. That 1993 interview was lightly edited and is entitled, "Independent Living: Born on Campus."

"What would I do differently if we were starting Independent Living today (1993)? First, I would do a lot more training, getting people in touch with the history and philosophy. Today, we are not grounded in our own ideology.

Second, I would build more leadership as we go along. Give people the same basic activist training we got at UC Berkeley [in the anti-war movement, the women's movement, the free speech movement, the civil rights movement] in the Sixties.

Third, the leadership would be around political advocacy and political change, rather than one advocate working to get services for one person. We discovered that over and over. All things change when you get political power. Politics changes lives."

Independent Living: Born on Campus >>

Disclaimer: Please note that we did not update the term "cripple" because that is what Ed was called, and he wanted to repeat the terminology that college officials used to describe him.

Ed Roberts: "Independent Living"

An Unfinished Journey

Civil Rights for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Role of the Federal Courts

"An Unfinished Journey" traces the powerful, yet often overlooked story of how people with developmental disabilities fought for — and continue to fight for — their civil rights in Minnesota and across America. From the dark history of institutions, restraints and forced sterilization to landmark federal court cases that reshaped freedom, dignity, and inclusion, this film reveals a movement still in motion. Through historic images, courtroom milestones, and voices of resilience, An Unfinished Journey reminds us that equality is not a destination — it's a responsibility we all share.

Exhibit of educational banners focused on disability rights in Minnesota:

On March 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and its Public Outreach Committee, the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Minnesota Disability Bar Association, and MSS hosted a public outreach effort that debuted a series of 21 educational banners focused on disability rights in Minnesota.

View all Unfinished Journey banners »

View the PDF of all Unfinished Journey Banners »

An Unfinished Journey Civil Rights for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Role of the Federal Courts

November 1, 2025

Treat People Like People Website Revamped

The Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities sponsored new features for the Treat People Like People (TPLP) campaign including Spanish, Hmong, and Somali translations of content. The updated website also contains specially designed activities for children. The revamped TPLP website is now officially relaunched. https://treatpeoplelikepeople.org

The Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities has supported the campaign since its 2019 launch. During the past six years, the TPLP campaign has had outstanding results with over 6.9 million views of social media posts; 5.3 million views of ads; and over 2.9 million views of videos.

Visit the children's activities—https://treatpeoplelikepeople.org/kids-disabilities-toolkit/

(9/4/25)

Inclusion Mobile Museum

A traveling exhibit that celebrates the journey from 1900 to the present to increase the independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion of Minnesotans with developmental disabilities and their families.

Inclusion offers visitors a deeper understanding and perspective as Minnesotans with developmental disabilities work towards greater inclusion. Through photos and time, learn about:

Society's perception and treatment of people with developmental disabilities for the past century
The important role of parents of children with developmental disabilities and self advocates in the pursuit of better living conditions, educational rights, and employment opportunities.
The Partners in Policymaking® program and the self-advocacy movement
Key legal actions and decisions that work to ensure the Constitutional rights of people with developmental disabilities
What can be done to support people with developmental disabilities to enjoy the same rights as everyone

Download the Banners:

(09/11/24)

Bending the Arc of Disability History Toward Rights, Freedom, Social Justice, and Belonging

Presented by Allan Bergman

The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities is pleased to present Allan Bergman offering a video training series "Bending the Arc of Disability History Toward Rights and Freedom". For over 6 ½ hours Mr. Bergman covers more than two centuries of progress in disability history and policy. The series is divided into nine sections and allows the user to browse by topic. The nine sections are:

View Allan Bergman's presentation on Disability History »

(6/27/23)