Laura Wilhelm

Executive Director & Event Facilitator

Disability:IN Chicagoland

presents:

Change Not Charity

35th Anniversary of the

American’s with Disabilities Act

a StoryBolt Screening & Discussion Event

Featured in this event, live, will be Karen Tamley, who was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Access Board in 2016 and elected Chair in 2019.

Karen is the president & CEO of Access Living.

Christopher Bell will be joining us too! Christopher was instrumental in legal interpretation and implementation of the ADA.

brought to you by:

Storybolt

Disability:IN Chicagoland invites you to an exceptional documentary film screening and discussion event.

Please join us for a screening of Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a powerful new documentary directed by Jim LeBrecht (co‑director of Crip Camp) and narrated by Peter Dinklage. It premiered March 25, 2025, on PBS’s American Experience

This session focuses the long, dramatic fight culminating in the 1990 ADA, spotlighting curb-cuts, ramps, braille signage—now everyday accessibility features.

Bringing archival footage and firsthand testimony from activists who used civil disobedience (e.e., chaining to buses, Capitol sit-ins) to force change.

It celebrates the coalition-building and bipartisan compromise that led to the ADA’s passage.

Date & Time: July 23, 2025 | 12:00 PM Central Time (60 min)

Watch Trailer