The Million Gimp March is a national, disability advocacy event scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., on October 14, 2016. Disability advocates and allies from all over the country will be marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, the same route taken by civil rights advocates in 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his powerful “I Have A Dream” speech.
The Million Gimp March is a disability rights Call to Action as we confront, peel off, and emerge from the layers of oppression that have for decades denied equal employment opportunities and true inclusion to Americans with Disabilities.
Our advocacy quest is one of social justice and collective empowerment, carrying the message that we, as a people of multi-faceted abilities, will no longer tolerate the ableist policies, social attitudes, and the oppressive denial of our rights.
Our purpose is to come together in a peaceful march, bringing to light not only the obstacles, struggles and barriers to employment in the lives of those with disabilities, but also the power of our advocacy and the immensity of human potential, talent and ability, representative of who we really are and what we are able to give.
Our mission is to raise awareness about the alarming rate of unemployment keeping the disability community below poverty levels and to challenge policymakers to revise and create disability legislation that would strengthen our community’s ability to lead lives with dignity, respect, and independence.