Scot Danforth wrote the first biography of one of the founders of the disability rights movement. An Independent Man chronicles the life of activist Ed Roberts who reimagined the meaning of equality and inspired generations of reformers.

Free drawing for the memoir at the event.

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Ed Roberts is often called the father of the Independent Living movement. His career as an advocate began when a high school administrator threatened to deny him his diploma because he had not completed driver's education and physical education. After attending the College of San Mateo, he was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley. He had to fight for the support he needed to attend college from the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, because his rehabilitation counselor thought he was too severely disabled to ever get a job.

 In what came to be called the 504 Sit-in, Roberts and his peers demonstrated to enforce section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stated that people with disabilities should not be excluded from activities, denied the right to receive benefits, or be discriminated against, from any program that uses federal financial assistance, solely because of their disability. His work led to the passage the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.