On July 9, 1867, San Francisco created the first "Ugly Law." "Any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated, or in any way deformed … shall not … expose himself or herself to public view," it read.
This country fined and JAILED people for being "ugly" in public. But it wasn't just any people.
These laws, which quickly spread across the country targeted disabled people - especially newly emancipated African-Americans. At the time, Black people were 3.6x more likely to undergo "ugly" procedures, like amputations, than whites.
But here's the kicker.
It was actually Northern anti-slavery activists who drove Ugly Laws! They aimed to force "unsightly beggars" to work, stigmatizing being Black, poor, unhoused, AND disabled all at once. Black disabled people were blamed for poverty and crime.
Though these laws weren't dissolved until 1978, today, the cycle of disability, poverty, and incarceration continues. 25% of Black Americans are disabled - and 40% of that population lives in poverty. Police disproportionately kill disabled Black people, politicians swear to sweep unhoused people off the streets, and the healthcare system still discriminates against us.
Tackling ableism, or discrimination against disabled people, is CRITICAL within our communities. And it always has been!