50 United Nations Plaza - The 504 Sit-In
Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
A stop on San Francisco, District by District, a free self-guided tour.
The federal office building at 50 United Nations Plaza was the scene of one of the longest occupations of a federal building in American history. On April 5, 1977, people with disabilities and their allies entered the regional office of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to demand that the government sign rules enforcing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which barred discrimination against disabled people by federally funded programs.
More than 100 protesters, including wheelchair users, blind people and deaf people, stayed for nearly four weeks. Leaders such as Judy Heumann and Kitty Cone held the line, the Black Panther Party brought hot meals every day, and churches and unions sent supplies. On April 28 the regulations were signed. The sit-in helped pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Stand on United Nations Plaza and picture the crowds that rallied outside in support.
More on Wikipedia: Section 504 sit-ins · Judith Heumann · Kitty Cone
Stops on this tour
- Ferry Building and the Embarcadero - Where the City Met the World
- Financial District and Jackson Square - Gold Rush on the Old Shoreline
- Chinatown - The Neighborhood That Refused to Move
- North Beach and Telegraph Hill - Little Italy and the Beats
- Fisherman's Wharf - Italian Boats and Old Ships
- Nob Hill and Russian Hill - Cable Cars, Mansions and the Great Fire
- The Presidio - Two Centuries Guarding the Golden Gate
- Japantown and the Fillmore - Two Communities, One Neighborhood
- Haight-Ashbury - From Victorian Suburb to Summer of Love
- Golden Gate Park - Sand Dunes Turned Into a Park
- The Castro - A Neighborhood That Became a Movement
- The Mission - Where San Francisco Began
- Civic Center - Domes, Charters and Protest
- South of Market - From Rincon Hill to the Tech Boom