Georgia Disability History Symposium panelists in 2015.
The Georgia Disability History Symposium is presented annually by the Richard B. Russell Library in collaboration with the University of Georgia’s Institute on Human Development and Disability and the Georgia Disability History Alliance (GDHA). The symposium showcases topics of interest to disability advocates, self-advocates, scholars, researchers, archivists, public officials, and organizations.
The University of Georgia’s Institute on Human Development and Disability and the Shepherd Center established the Georgia Disability History Alliance in 2013. The GDHA is a statewide organization that preserves and celebrates the state’s disability history. In addition to the Georgia Disability History Symposium, the Russell Library has partnered with the GDHA to develop and house the Georgia Disability History Archive and the Georgia Disability Community Oral History collection.
The Georgia Disability History Alliance received the 2015 Award for Excellence in Advocacy from the Archives Awards Program of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council (GHRAC).
For more information about the Georgia Disability History Symposium, Georgia Disability History Archive, or the Georgia Disability History Oral History collection, please contact Robert Lay at robert.lay@uga.edu or 706-542-0627.
Past Symposia
2015: “Georgia Disability History Symposium: Stories of Advocacy and Action” – October 23, 2015
2016: “The History of Mental Illness in Georgia: Moving Away from a Difficult Past” – October 19, 2016
2017: “Urgency of the Moment: Lessons from the Past, New Possibility for the Future” – November 1, 2017
2018: “From Exclusion to Building Communities” – November 1, 2018
2019: “The Power of Presence: From Segregation to Innovation” – October 30, 2019
2020: Postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic
2023: "The Road to the ADA: Section 504 at Fifty" – October 3, 2023