Archive Legacy of the UK Disability Rights Movement

A groundbreaking new digital archive documenting the history of disabled people’s fight for civil rights in the UK has been launched.

NDMAC: Crip Fights For Civil Rights is a major new initiative from the National Disability Movement Archive and Collection (NDMAC), capturing the heritage story of the UK Disability Rights Movement from the 1970s to the present day.

Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project brings together a rich collection of oral histories, photography, protest materials and personal stories that reveal how disabled people fought barriers, fought for civil rights legislation and continue to fight for equality.

The archive tells the story behind landmark moments such as the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), while also exploring the ongoing struggle for justice in the face of austerity, welfare reform and accessibility challenges.

At its heart, NDMAC is a people’s history; documenting how individual experiences of exclusion and discrimination grew into a powerful, collective movement that transformed British society.

The online collection features:

· Rare and unseen protest photography

· Oral history interviews with activists

· Historic documents and campaign materials

A major highlight of the archive is the work of late photographer and activist Keith Armstrong, whose striking street photography (as shown) captured frontline moments of the movement, including campaigns for accessible transport by the Campaign For Accessible Transport and the Direct Action Network, when wheelchair users famously blocked buses in acts of civil disobedience.

Through collections like Armstrong’s, NDMAC challenges outdated narratives of disabled people as passive recipients of care, instead presenting a history defined by political action.

NDMAC ensures this vital history is preserved and made accessible for both those who lived it and new generations seeking to understand it.

For further information visit https://ndmac.org/