By Dara Baldwin

Lois Curtis, plaintiff in the “Olmstead v. L.C.” SCOTUS case, (center) presents President Barack Obama with a self-portrait of herself as a child, 20 June 2011. Photo credit: Pete Souza

This June 22, we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic civil rights Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) case, Olmstead v. Lois Curtis. In 1999, SCOTUS “upheld the unjustified segregation of people with disabilities.” Many people are unaware of this significant civil rights case and its significance to the lives of disabled people. But even more egregious is the erasure from history of its lead plaintiff: a Black disabled woman.

Lois Curtis had a mental health diagnosis and developmental disabilities and was voluntarily institutionalized in a Georgia state facility. But after her treatment was completed and clinicians in the facilities stated she should be released, the administrators forced her to remain for multiple years. It was never the intent to permanently institutionalize her, and she made it clear that her life was outside of that place. Her determination to be free and being a Black woman are imperative to the legacy of this historic case. 

In the advocacy work of the disability rights movement, they call on the Olmstead case, which is used in the de-institutionalization of this community. The Supreme Court ruled that “unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.” This case is used around the country to move states to get disabled people out of institutions. Over the years, it continues to be referred to with one word—Olmstead—which completely erases lead plaintiff Lois Curtis.

The disability rights movement centers white disabled people and is steeped in oppression. For years, it has been called out for not recognizing Lois Curtis as the lead plaintiff in this SCOTUS case. This is part of the erasure of many BIPOC disabled and particularly of Black disabled people from the history of the movement. The erasure of people like Lois Curtis from disability history has led to the creation of disability justice, a movement that negates the disability rights movement and centers BIPOC disabled people in the work of creating change.

For years and even today, when referring to this case, the only name used is Olmstead. It is ironic and even insulting that a community with a focus on ending institutionalization uplifts Tommy Olmstead instead of Lois Curtis. Olmstead was the white man and commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources who wanted to keep disabled people in these institutions. Yet in the many disability rights celebrations of this case, there is little mention of Lois Curtis being a Black woman.

There are two plaintiffs on this case, but Lois is the first. When citing these cases, the practice is to state both sides, such as Brown v. Board of Education, and to use the lead plaintiff. So, on June 22, when celebrating this case, let’s all make sure to include this woman and her plight for freedom.

About the Author 

Dara Baldwin, MPA (she/her/hers) is an activist for human rights and Black liberation and is the author of To Be a Problem: A Black Woman’s Survival in the Racist Disability Rights Movement (forthcoming from Beacon Press, July 2024).