2. Early Life
Jennifer was born with Cerebral Palsy
She was forced to take separate classes
because of the lack of building accessibility
She witnessed her first disability rights
protest in downtown Phoenix Arizona
That event changed her life!
3. Activism
She participated in her first protest at
6 years old.
At age seven Jennifer was taken into
custody during a protest in Montreal
She also protested in San Francisco,
Phoenix, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Denver
At Age 8 Jennifer she participated in
the famous Capital Crawl
5. The Capital
Crawl
• Washington, D.C.
• A group of protesters gathered at the bottom of the
steps of the United States Capitol Building listening
to speeches in support of the Americans with
Disability Act.
• It was March 12, 1990…some protesters were sitting
in wheelchairs and others leaning on crutches.
• The moment the speeches finished the protestors
abandoned their assistive devices and began climbing
the 83 marble steps up the Capitol's West Front.
• Eight-year-old Jennifer Keelan, with Cerebral Palsy,
got out of her wheelchair, got on all fours and began
the ascent up the Capital Stairs.
• The climb up the 83 stone steps took Jennifer almost
an hour.
6. Jennifer Quote
• As I got further and further up the steps, once
people realized that I was actually climbing
and participating in the Capitol Crawl, all I
could hear was this humongous roar of
cheering," Keelan-Chaffins said. "Of people
cheering me on, telling me that I can -- that I'll
be able to make it. That I can, you know, just
take one step at a time."
7. Jennifer Keelan
Today
• In addition to fighting for disability rights,
Jennifer fought for education rights and civil
rights
• Jennifer graduated from Arizona State
University
• She earned a Bachelors of Science in Family
and Human Development in 2017
• At the time of graduation, she had a GPA of
3.2
8. American with
Disabilities Act
ADA
• On July 26, 1990, President George
H.W. Bush signed into law the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
which prohibits discrimination against
people with disabilities and requires that
public buildings and transportation be
accessible to them.
