Sophie Morgan Leads BBC Radio 4 Series on Disabled Activists
On November 8, 1995, Britain passed the Disability Discrimination Act, a law that enabled disabled activists to challenge entrenched attitudes and powerful institutions.
That decades-long struggle forms the core of For Pity’s Sake, an eight-part series from BBC Radio 4’s The History Podcast. Presenter, author and disability advocate Sophie Morgan leads the audio documentary, introducing listeners to the key figures who drove the movement.
David Ruebain is one of those featured, having been dispatched to a specialized youth institution in his early years where the focus was on vocational training rather than his personal scholastic goals.
The series also highlights Barbara Lisicki, who once threw her wheelchair into hospital bushes so she could escape to the pub, and Sue Elsegood, who gathered with friends each year to watch ITV’s annual Telethon while furious at its portrayal of disabled people.
The program likewise showcases Alan Holdsworth, who transformed his experiences of navigating 1980s Britain with a disability into musical tracks that balanced personal reflection with political urgency.
“The activists in this important new series didn’t wait for permission to make change,” Sophie Morgan said, according to bbc.com. “They took to the streets, took on the establishment and refused to be anyone’s object of pity, and because of them the law in this country, and along with it, millions of lives, changed.”
Morgan said that the legislation was never the finish line for the community. Three decades after the act passed, disabled people continue to face barriers in employment, housing, transport, and public life.
“Disability can come into anyone’s life at any moment, so this fight belongs to all of us,” Morgan told bbc.com. “I want people to learn about this often-overlooked part of history and society – and most importantly be inspired by these brilliant change makers.”
Episodes of For Pity’s Sake broadcast on Radio 4 on Mondays at 1.45pm and are available to stream on BBC Sounds.
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