Since 1972, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has advocated for the civil rights, full inclusion and equality of adults and children with mental disabilities. We were pivotal in expanding the civil rights movement to include fighting discrimination against, and segregation of, people with mental disabilities, culminating in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. Today, the Bazelon Center accomplishes its goals through a combination of litigation, public policy advocacy, coalition building and leadership, public education, media outreach and technical assistance.