The Nation - News from May 16, 1988

Forty-one handicapped activists in wheelchairs were arrested outside a mass transit convention in St. Louis during a protest demanding that every new public bus in the country be equipped with wheelchair lifts. About 75 demonstrators in wheelchairs, accompanied by about 40 supporters on foot, staged a march from the city’s Gateway Arch to the Omni Hotel, where the protesters blocked entrances to the hotel with their wheelchairs. Police allowed the demonstrators to remain in front of the hotel for about 30 minutes before arresting the activists for being disruptive. Those arrested were members of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, which has campaigned vigorously for wheelchair lifts on every new public bus in the country.