A Letter of Support from the Black Panther Party

Background: The twenty-five-day-long sit-in at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) on the fourth floor of San Francisco’s federal building would not have been possible without the involvement of the Black Panther Party. On April 8, 1977, three days into the protest, the Black Panther Party issued this press release in support of Section 504. It named Secretary Joseph Califano, head of the HEW, who was responsible for issuing new federal guidelines to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The Panthers delivered hot meals and other necessities to the protesters, which allowed them to remain in the building for an extended period.

Along with all fair and good-thinking people, the Black Panther Party gives its full support to Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and calls for President Carter and Secretary Califano to sign guidelines for its implementation as negotiated and agreed to on January 21 of this year. The issue here is human rights—rights of meaningful employment, of education, of basic human survival—of an oppressed minority, the disabled and the handicapped.

Further, we deplore the treatment afforded to occupants of the fourth floor and join with them in full solidarity. 

Source: Black Panther Party, Press Release, April 8, 1977, in Patient No More exhibit, Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability, https://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/patient-no-more/Support3.