11/07/2022
IAAM mourns the loss of Lois Curtis, a disabled Black activist and public speaker who passed away last Thursday. Curtis spent most of her young adulthood in state institutions. She was one of the plaintiffs in Supreme Court case Olmstead v. L.C. (1999) The case established the right of individuals with disabilities to live in the least restrictive settings possible. This decision had a massive impact on state budgeting, allowing more money to go to services that support people at home rather than state institutions.
Curtis spent the rest of her life living in various houses and communities with caregivers assisting her. In 2011, she travelled to the White House on the anniversary of the Olmstead decision. Curtis was also an artist (specializing in portraits), and she exhibited her work multiple times in galleries in Georgia. She passed from pancreatic cancer in her home outside of Atlanta.
Photo from respectability.org
