Disability Activism Bristol aims to tell the story of the Disabled People’s Movement in Bristol from the 1980’s to 2010. 

Bristol was a central place for Disability activism during this period and the Social Model of Disability became widely used here long before it did in many other cities. But this history has not been written before.  The National Lottery Heritage Funded Forging Our Future project was developed to fill this gap.

Forging Our Future, Resistance, Change and Leadership in Bristol’s Disabled People’s Movement

Bristol Disability Equality Forum (BDEF) commissioned Local Learning to produce a learning resource as part of the Forging Our Future project.

This learning resource, Disability Activism Bristol, has been co-created by Ruth Myers of Myers-Insole Local Learning CIC, Disability History researcher, Daisy Holder and filmmaker, David Ellington in collaboration with BDEF.

Below is a brief montage of activities that David Ellington filmed when we were creating the learning resources with students and staff from Elmfield School for Deaf Children, City Academy, City of Bristol College and the University of the West of England.

The free learning resource can be accessed HERE.

The Process

A group of young Disabled people got together to gather the stories of Disabled activists who campaigned for equality and independent living and worked to see the Social Model implemented in Bristol’s services.  They had training in research and interviewing skills to inform their conversations with 15 people who had played key roles in the Disabled People’s Movement in Bristol.

The activists’ stories have been edited into stories that convey the work they did, the struggles they had, and the achievements and successes that have changed attitudes, provision and the built environment in Bristol – and beyond. We have used these stories to inform digital learning activities aimed at secondary school and beyond. 

The project has been fortunate to work in partnership with Bristol Culture who have developed a display in the ‘We Make Bristol’ gallery at Bristol’s M Shed which also tells the story of Disability Activism Bristol.

For further information about Disability Activism in Bristol: pioneers, protests and progress from the 1980s to now, display at M Shed, click here.

Thanks to continuing support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project was revisited post-Covid under the expert guidance of Ruth Pickersgill. Ruth Myers of Local Learning and Disability researcher, Daisy Holder were appointed again, this time having the opportunity to pilot the resources in three participating educational institutions; Elmfield School for Deaf Children, City Academy and City of Bristol College.

As part of the process, we worked with filmmaker, David Ellington to co-create films with students and staff from the schools, college and the University of the West of England to accompany some of the learning activities.

In this second phase, the project was renamed Disability Activism Bristol.