Crip Camp and the People Involved in History

Crip Camp is a documentary that followed a group of people that met at a camp for disabled kids and stayed connected throughout their lives. A central part of the story is the sit-in protest that occurred at the Federal Building in San Francisco on April 5th, 1977. Disability rights activists occupied the building and camped out for 25 days, gradually accruing more support and coverage until Secretary Califano caved into the pressure on April 28th and signed the Section 504 regulations and accommodations for disabled people. The documentary allows the viewer to experience the event through the eyes of the people who lived it and listen to what they had to do to stay strong and not give in until their demands were met. We see their struggles, their solutions, and things they did to pass the time. They tell us all the thoughts they had and the emotions they were feeling.

Viewing history through personal narratives helps connect people not just to the event, but to the people that were there and the hardships that they faced. This article from the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/21/stonewall-san-francisco-riot-tenderloin-neighborhood-trans-women) centers Donna Personna as one of the voices recalling the Compton’s Cafeteria riot. This uprising took place in 1966 in San Francisco. “A trans woman fed up with the harassment and abuse is said to have thrown a cup of coffee in an officer’s face, sparking a chaotic riot and unprecedented moment of trans resistance to police violence” (Levin).

Personna explains that the queer and trans community in San Francisco wouldn’t be where it is without those women that stood up to mistreatment. She also goes on to provide background about her upbringing and her experiences at the bar. Without Personna’s version of the events amongst others featured in

the article, nobody would know that this event even happened, much less the significance of it.