In 1977, 13 years before the American with Disabilities Act, Kitty Cone and other disability rights activists occupied a federal building in San Francisco. They demanded the government protect their rights.

Because of Her Story presents a YouTube miniseries where students speak with Smithsonian curators about four women who shaped American history and culture. In How Did Kitty Cone Change Disability Rights?, Ren, a student, speaks with Katherine Ott, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, about why Cone’s work matters.

See more YouTube videos from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, Because of Her Story. #BecauseOfHerStory