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On This Date In Disability History

November 10^th, 1969 -- National Education Television debuts "Sesame Street." "Sesame Street" premiered on the Public Broadcasting Service, combining Jim Henson's Muppets, animation, live shorts and cultural references. The show was one of the first on television to regularly feature children with physical and developmental disabilities, including Jason Kingsley, an individual with Down's Syndrome who was often seen on the show in the '70s and still continues to advocate for individuals with disabilities. By its 40th anniversary in 2009, "Sesame Street" had become the most widely viewed children's television show in the world, with 20 independent international versions, broadcast in more than 120 countries.

November 13^th, 1956 -- James Troesh is born. As a teenager, he suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of a swimming accident, which left him a quadriplegic. His entertainment career took off when he landed the recurring role of the quadriplegic attorney on "Highway to Heaven," starring Michael Landon. The lead role catapulted him into appearances on several other series, TV movies and films. Troesh later won the prestigious ABC/Disney writing fellowship. His first script, "Color of the Cross," was made into a film in 2006. He currently is developing a pilot for a comedy titled "The Hollywood Quad."

November 23^rd, 2003 -- “The Disability Gulag” by Harriet McBryde Johnson is published in The New York Times. Johnson won widespread praise for her groundbreaking essay about her dealings with famed controversial ethicist Peter Singer. In that essay, she discussed her visit to Princeton to debate Singer over his view that parents should be able to kill their children up to 28 days old. In "The Disability Gulag," Johnson discusses her activism and how close she came to living in a nursing home because of her physical disability. A lawyer who fought tirelessly for the rights of people with disabilities, and against Jerry Lewis, Johnson published two books before passing away in June 2007.

November 25^th, 1950 -- Janine Bertram Kemp is born. Bertram became famous in the 1960s as a member of the radical anti-war group the George Jackson Brigade. Her husband, Evan Kemp, who became head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the '80s. Bertram Kemp is a tireless advocate for the rights of the disabled; she is active in the prison rights movement and is working to end the institutional bias of Medicare.

November 24^th, 1986 -- Susan Sontag's story, “The Way We Live Now," is published in The New Yorker. The short story describes the beginnings of the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s, as the disease began to claim members of the New York cultural elite. The story is told entirely in the form of fragments of conversation, mentioned and whispered by numerous friends of an unnamed man who lies sick in a hospital bed. Although AIDS was new to many who read the story when it first appeared, "The Way We Live Now" remains a signature work in the literature of the epidemic.

December 1st, 1937 -- The federal government bans the use of cannabis with the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act. Since the mid-1990s, disabled activists and people with AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other disabilities have fought the government ban by arguing that the plant has medical benefits for individuals with glaucoma and muscle spasms. They also have argued that cannabis use stimulates the appetite and decreases nausea for individuals undergoing chemotherapy. Thirteen states have legalized cannabis in one form or another; many states also have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In February 2009, the Drug Enforcement Agency announced that it was no longer a federal priority to prosecute medical users of the drug.

December 3^rd, 1992 -- The United Nations first celebrates the "International Day of the Disabled Person." It has since been celebrated with varying degrees of success around the planet. Typically, the day's activities are conducted by volunteers. In 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had a theme of "Dignity and justice for all of us." The day is a reminder of the International Year of the Disabled in 1981.

-- Compiled from various sources by Mike Reynolds