Class of 1974: Curtis Brewer

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• Warren Shaw

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Curtis Brewer ’74 (1926–1991)

Brewer was a pioneering disability rights attorney and advocate who founded Untapped Resources, a nonprofit legal-services organization dedicated to advancing the rights of disabled people. After a viral infection of the spine in 1955 left him paralyzed from the neck down, Brewer became a prominent campaigner for accessibility and social services for people with disabilities. In 1964 he established Untapped Resources, serving as its executive director and general counsel while pursuing legal action on behalf of disabled individuals who faced bureaucratic barriers to benefits and services. He later earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1974. He pursued advocacy on issues ranging from Social Security benefits to public accessibility, successfully campaigning for wheelchair access at Carnegie Hall after being unable to enter the building to attend a concert. In recognition of his leadership in the disability rights movement, he was named Handicapped American of the Year in 1980 by the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.