Celebrating the Americans With Disabilities Act in San Francisco
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act into law, declaring: “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.”
The law had been hard-fought, with disability rights activists working for more than a decade to get it passed. An important core group of those activists, including Judy Heumann and Ed Roberts, were based in the Bay Area, and had proved to be an unstoppable force.
Thirteen years earlier, they led more than 100 disability rights protesters in a 26-day occupation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare inside San Francisco’s Federal Building. They demanded that Section 504 of 1973’s Rehabilitation Act finally be signed, so that any organization receiving federal funds would be compeled to make buildings accessible for the disabled.
The sit-in was brought to wider attention in 2020, thanks to the acclaimed Netflix documentary Crip Camp. This weekend, meanwhile, offers an opportunity to see the federal building occupation from a whole new angle.
To mark the 36th anniversary of the ADA’s passage, the GLBT Historical Society will screen its own short film about the protest at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater. Sign 504 Now! lasts a swift 30 minutes, comprised of on-the-ground insider footage. The short, sometimes grainy black-and-white film offers an immersive view into what really went on behind the scenes during the grueling sit-in.
Inside the federal building, we see the squatters navigating overcrowded and inaccessible conditions using only a collective sense of righteousness, a tenacious dedication to organizing and — grabbing joy where they can — a surprising amount of singing and bubble-blowing. Holed up in the offices, the protesters pass the time engaged in philosophical debates, or discussing the erasure of disabled folks from pop culture. They also express gratitude for the support the protest receives from Black Panthers, union organizers and LGBTQ advocates, among many others.
Near the federal building’s front doors, we see supporters gathering, passionate speeches being made, and protest musicians demanding in song (accompanied by an ASL translator, of course) that 504 be signed. After almost a month of the federal building occupation, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph Califano finally caved and 504 was enacted.
It marked a triumphant win for the protesters. Once their work was done, however, they soon regrouped and began campaigning for what would later become the ADA.
Sign 504 Now! captures both the hardship and hardiness of the protesters during what was, at the time, the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in U.S. history. In 2026, their story serves as an inspiring reminder of what can happen when ordinary people fight back against oppression in large enough numbers.
At the Roxie Theater, which made its own ADA upgrades during the pandemic’s downtime, the Sign 504 Now! screening will be followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Crip Camp director Jim LeBrecht. Disability rights experts Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda and Dr. Kevin Mintz join as guests, along with renowned Bay Area film editor Vivien Hillgrove.
Following the conversation is a screening of Hillgrove’s own documentary, Vivien’s Wild Ride. Self-directed, the film charts her struggles with macular degeneration and sight loss. As her disability progresses, Hillgrove mentally retreats into her past to examine the strengths she formed and lessons she learned in the 1960s as a single teen mom forced to give her child up for adoption. Like Sign 504 Now!, Hillgrove’s story is one of resilience and disability, and also features fantastic footage of a bygone San Francisco.
The Roxie and GLBT Historical Society joined forces with the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Center for Independent Living for the double-feature event. It is a fitting way to celebrate the existence of the ADA, to remember what life might be like without it, and remember the tenacious activists who made the law a reality.
The Roxie’s ADA Celebration, featuring ‘Sign 504 Now!’ and ‘Vivien’s Wild Ride,’ takes place at the Roxie (3117 16th St., San Francisco) on July 26, 2026, at 1 p.m.