This landmark Supreme Court case led to one of the most important civil rights decisions for disabled people in the United States.

It was 1995, and artist Lois Curtis had spent most of her life in and out of Georgia institutions because of her cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Lois's condition required her to have assistance from others, but without funding for proper community support, she was confined to hospitals and state institutions-- a placement that even her doctor said wasn't necessary.

But when the state of Georgia denied Lois the funding to pursue care outside of institutions, she remained determined to live life on her own terms.

I'm Felecia For The Win, and this is "Roots of Resistance."

[gentle music] Lois Curtis's case would become known as the Olmsted decision.

The outcome of this case opened the door for people with disabilities to receive care within their communities and break free from the confines of institutionalized settings.

It's important to differentiate between institutionalized care and community care, and to recognize that there are multiple forms of each.

Having access to community care means having the right supports, access to resources, including financial resources, to ensure that people with disabilities can be cared for among their families, among their friends-- not isolated, not segregated away.

Everybody should have that right.

In the 1800s, many institutions in the U.S. opened specifically for the disabled, but their goal was more to segregate and restrain than it was to help provide a better quality of life for its patients.

People with physical or mental disabilities were often seen as outcasts and were impacted by the same level of stigma experienced by people who were convicted of crimes or those who lived in poverty.

The day-to-day at these institutions was more akin to a prison with overcrowding, limited freedoms, and inhumane treatment.

They were physically restrained, abused, and even fed rotten food.

Many of these institutions were unregulated, not up to code, and considered unsafe.

This was a reality that rang especially true for Rosemary Kennedy, the sister of John F. Kennedy, the president.

Growing up in the 1920s and '30s, Rosemary had difficulty keeping up with her siblings.

And, as she got older, her temperament and developmental disabilities became even more precarious.

Her father, Joseph Kennedy, made the decision for her to receive a lobotomy in 1941, an operation that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex.

Now widely discredited, lobotomies were used to treat psychiatric and neurological issues at the time.

And it was this procedure that left Rosemary completely incapacitated at just 23.

Joe then sent her to an institution and hid her not only from the public, but from the family as well.

Decades passed before she saw her brothers and sisters again, and when they uncovered the truth of what really happened to their lost sister, the siblings made efforts to transform the lives of people with disabilities in the United States.

Eunice Kennedy founded the Special Olympics, and JFK signed the Community Mental Health Act into law in 1963.

The act was designed to offer more research on disabilities, eradicate asylums, and fund community care centers through local organizations.

But the states operated with poor oversight, and the CMHA ultimately fell short of its promises.

Long before JFK's initiatives, the League of the Physically Handicapped was founded in 1935, becoming the first direct action civil disobedience disability organization in the U.S.

Momentum continued to grow in the 1940s and '50s, first with the National Federation of the Blind, and then the Barrier-Free Movement started by disabled veterans who championed accessible public spaces and more education and employment opportunities.

The early '70s were transformative for disability rights as well.

The Center for Independent Living, founded in Berkeley in 1972, was the first of its kind to provide crucial support and advocacy for people with disabilities to live autonomously.

In 1973, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was passed.

This mandated that entities receiving federal funds could not discriminate against individuals with disabilities, but it took the pressure of the 504 Sit-In in 1977 for the law to be fully implemented with proper regulations and enforcement timelines.

Direct action has pretty much always been necessary when it comes to moving the needle for disability rights.

This has been shown time and again, fight after fight.

And for the 504 Sit-Ins, disabled people had been asking for the regulations to be signed.

We constantly have to put our lives and our bodies on the line to get the basic message of our humanity across.

When it came to the Capitol Crawl, disabled people gathered to show what it means to be shut out of processes that affect their lives.

And this was the central theme around so much of the activism that happened to make the Americans with Disabilities Act come to fruition.

(Felecia) 1990 was a game changer for disability legislation when President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The ADA expands on the rights of Section 504 by explicitly prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to state and local government programs and services.

All of these watershed moments served a crucial role in the foundation of the 1999 Olmsted decision, a case where discrimination, the right to choose one's accommodations and inclusivity all come into play.

Much like the Kennedys, Lois's family struggled to provide accommodations for her cognitive and developmental disabilities.

However, Lois's family did not have the means to give her the complete support that she needed.

Lois would often run away, and her mom would call 911 desperate to get her daughter back.

But the police repeatedly took Lois to jail or mental institutions instead of just returning her home.

Lois was only 11 years old when she was admitted to Georgia Regional Hospital for her disabilities due to a lack of feasible solutions by the state.

The staff treated Lois with psychiatric drugs that would keep her sedated for long periods of time, and the more time that she spent at institutions, the more miserable she became.

Over the years, Lois's family made attempts to relocate her, but they were ultimately unsuccessful simply because better options didn't really exist.

Diane Cobb was a nurse who treated Lois at Georgia Regional Hospital in the 1980s.

She described Lois as sullen and depressed.

"She was withdrawn into herself and rarely smiled.

"That's how she survived that environment.

"She didn't look forward to something "that she couldn't keep, like a friendship "with someone or a rapport with a staff person.

"There wasn't any nurturing within the psychiatric unit, only more meds and endless monotony."

Employees at Georgia Regional Hospital were fully aware that Lois would thrive in a community-care setting but, ultimately, they didn't have the power to make this transition for her themselves.

Lois continued to express her desire to leave.

A social worker connected her with Sue Jamieson, a lawyer from Atlanta's Legal Aid Society.

And upon hearing Lois's story and pleading for her freedom, Jamieson immediately decided to help.

And together, they were going to sue the State of Georgia.

Some social worker brought her to my attention because I don't think Lois would've thought to ask for legal assistance.

But as soon as I met her and we talked, you know, she definitely had no hesitation in saying that-- as we always say, "What is it "that you think we could do for you?

"I work at Legal Aid and I'm a lawyer," and she'd say, "Get me outta here.

"Would you please get me out of here?

When am I getting out of here?"

In the early stages of developing their lawsuit, Sue came across the 1995 Supreme Court case by the name of Helen L. versus DiDario.

A disabled mother in Pennsylvania had sued the state to pay for her at-home care and remain with her children instead of in an institution.

The court agreed that instead of using the funds given to pay for a facility, Helen could use those same funds to find the situation that best suited her.

And just like that, Lois and Jamieson had the framework for their own case.

After the case was filed, another Georgia Regional Hospital resident, Elaine Wilson, joined as a second plaintiff.

Elaine experienced similar cognitive disabilities as Lois and also shared grievances with the state.

Elaine was repeatedly discharged from facilities and hospitals and threatened with placement in a homeless shelter.

In addition to the precedent set in Helen L. versus DiDario in 1995, Sue argued that Lois and Elaine were being discriminated against according to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On May 11th, 1995, their plans were set into motion when Jamieson filed suit against Tommy Olmsted, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

After four years of litigation, Lois and Elaine won their case.

The Supreme Court ruled that it was truly discriminatory for a state to withhold financial support for non-institutional care.

In their verdict, the court stated, "Confinement in an institution severely diminishes "everyday life activities of individuals, "including family relations, social contacts, "work options, economic independence, educational advancement and cultural enrichment."

The Olmsted verdict provided a pathway for disabled people to experience long-term freedom and autonomy in community care settings.

Community care gives patients more freedom to make decisions for their own medical treatments and be better engaged with society at large.

This kind of care can look like 24/7 live-in support, daily help with household work, access to adult day programs, and even respite support for caretakers.

(Felecia) Lois and Elaine left a significant legacy, but even so, 25 years later, advocates are still working towards more independent and proper care.

So often, people who are seeking long-term services and supports end up being relegated to institutionalized care settings.

Despite the fact that Olmsted is very much legal precedent, a signature on a law does not necessarily mean that it's being enacted to its fullest potential.

So much of the stigma is based on the fact that disabled people are not able to thrive in community settings.

As we hold onto these very outdated, very incorrect ideas about disability, it interferes with disabled people having access to very basic civil rights.

We are ignoring the fact that disability is very much part of the fabric of our humanity.

It's been reported that 16,000 disabled people are still housed in institutions across the U.S. today, adding fuel to the fire that disabilities are still very much stigmatized in our society.

Conversations around the needs for people with disabilities without their input have been a norm throughout history, even with legislation like the Olmsted decision in existence.

And it's this reality that sustains activists like Emily Ladau in ensuring that the Olmsted decision can be a reality for all.

I'm Felecia For The Win, and I'll see you for the next episode.