01/23/2026
Busy schedule? Here are some quick "good-to-know" bullet points for why we honor Ed Roberts today:
(Bookworms, there's a longer story and video shared further down.)
Ed Roberts was a disabled teen who was told “no” a lot.He said “watch me.”
He:
Used a wheelchair and an iron lung
Fought to graduate high school
Became the first wheelchair user at UC Berkeley
Helped start the Independent Living Movement
Believed disabled people should lead their own lives
Because of Ed:
Disabled people have more rights
Independent Living Centers exist
Disability is about access, not ability
Big lesson:
👉 Independence is a right
👉 Community makes change
👉 Disabled people belong everywhere
At Youth LEAD NC, we follow Ed’s lead by helping young disabled people speak up, make choices, and become leaders.
Thanks, Ed — we’re still rolling forward. 🛞✨
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMYDoCr5lEg
Long Version
Once upon a time, in sunny San Mateo, California, a boy named Ed Roberts was born on January 23, 1939. When Ed was 14, he got polio. Polio made him paralyzed from the neck down. He used a wheelchair and an iron lung to breathe. While many kids his age were dreaming about bikes and baseball, Ed was dreaming about independence.
High school wasn’t easy. The school said Ed couldn’t graduate because he couldn’t take gym or driver’s education. Ed didn’t accept that answer. With determination—and strong support from his mom, Zona—Ed pushed back. And he won. Ed earned his diploma.
Next stop: college.
Ed was accepted to University of California, Berkeley, but school officials weren’t sure what to do with a student who used an iron lung. They even said his equipment wouldn’t fit in the dorms.
Ed stood his ground. He didn’t just attend Berkeley—he made history as the first wheelchair user to study there.
Once on campus, Ed didn’t just focus on classes. He noticed something important: disabled students needed support—and community. So Ed and other disabled students created the Physically Disabled Students Program. It offered peer support, wheelchair repair, and a place to belong.
That idea grew into something big.
In 1972, Ed and his peers helped start the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley. It was a place run by disabled people, for disabled people. This center became a model for hundreds of independent living centers across the country.
Ed’s impact didn’t stop there.
In 1976, he became the director of the California Department of Rehabilitation—the same agency that once said he was “unemployable.” From that role, Ed helped change systems and open doors for people with disabilities across the state and beyond.
People everywhere started to notice.
Ed received a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and co-founded the World Institute on Disability, which still works today to advance disability rights and leadership. Ed’s work helped shape major disability civil rights laws and changed how the world thinks about disability, access, and independence.
Ed passed away in 1995—but his legacy is alive and strong.
Independent living centers. Disability rights laws. Disabled leaders speaking for themselves.
All of it connects back to Ed’s belief that people with disabilities should control their own lives.
✨ What Ed Roberts Teaches Us Today
Don’t wait for permission. Build the future you want to see.
Community matters. We are stronger when we lead together.
Independence is a right—not a privilege. Barriers can be removed.
At Youth LEAD NC, we honor Ed Roberts by lifting up disabled youth, supporting self-advocacy, and growing the next generation of leaders.
Because Ed showed us something powerful:
When disabled people lead, everyone moves forward.
Who was Ed Roberts? Watch the video to learn about Ed Roberts, a pioneering member of the disability-rights movement who served as executive director of The...
