Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground, is releasing a feature-length documentary telling the story of those who attended a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Crip Camp" is part of Higher Ground's first phase of releases in their partnership with Netflix.
"Crip Camp" is supported by the Sundance Institute and according to Netflix, "Just down the road from Woodstock, in the early 1970s, a parallel revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers that would transform young lives, and American forever by helping to set in motion the disability rights movement."
Those in the accessibility community know that accessibility is a civil right. Increasingly, disability civil rights and the concepts of accessibility are becoming part of public awareness due to factors like high-visibility accessibility lawsuits. "Crip Camp" should help put disability rights in front of the many viewers of the streaming service. When these stories go mainstream, they can have a big impact.
Related: Why is website accessibility becoming so popular?
"We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That's why we couldn't be more excited about these projects," said President Obama. "Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights, and much more, we believe each of these productions won't just entertain, but will educate, connect, and inspire us all."
This documentary is being released with the Obama's first slate of Netflix films within the next few years. More projects are expected to be announced in the upcoming months.
