The Disability Reference Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s Archives Center
This Advertising in the Archives article shares materials from the Disability Reference Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s (NMAH) Archives Center. It highlights the Collection’s wealth of archival materials documenting the history of disability rights, advocacy, and representation in media and advertising. Through selected items, including a 1981 conference pamphlet on representations of disability in media, a 1993 article on models with disabilities in Mainstream magazine, and advertisements commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this article stresses the need to recognize the long-standing assessment of disability representation in commercial messaging. Additionally, material artifacts, such as Justin Dart, Jr.’s iconic cowboy hat and boots and a tactile model of a Wizard of Oz character from a Comcast ad, reveal the depth of the NMAH’s collection of disability materials. This piece aims to inspire further scholarly engagement with disability perspectives in the archives, which can hopefully foster a more inclusive understanding of the cultural and social history of advertising and its place in society.
activism, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), archives, disability, disability rights, Justin Dart Jr., history, material objects, Mainstream, media representation
Note: Read the contributing editors’ introduction to this article: From the Archives Introduction: The Disability Reference Collection.
My research has increasingly centered on the intersection of disabilities and advertising, propelled by my lifelong experience with a permanent hearing disability and my strong commitment to understanding how advertising influences identity, access, and social inclusion. This dedication stems from a deep concern about how commercial messaging can shape perceptions and foster a sense of belonging or exclusion.
Recently, a colleague remarked that my work is rare and groundbreaking, but I’m not sure I agree. There aren’t many of us in advertising studies who focus on disabilities, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t received the baton from others.1 It is vital to recognize the scholars and advocates who laid the groundwork long before us and made it possible to voice concerns about disability issues in advertising in the first place. A recent visit to the Disability Reference Collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History’s Archives Center reminded me of that essential point.2 This collection sits alongside over 1,600 collections, over half of which provide references to business and consumer culture, including advertising.3
Before sharing a few items from my recent visit to the NMAH, I first must stress the extensive scope of the Disability Reference Collection. The archive spans from 1853 to 2015 and consists of approximately forty cubic feet of materials housed in eighty-nine boxes and two map-folders. The collection includes scholarly articles, promotional materials, photographs, ephemera, audio and visual materials, and trade literature, all of which help document the history and advocacy of disability rights and accessibility. It features accessibility policies, exhibition research, product literature, and personal accounts. It was assembled by Katherine Ott, curator of medicine and science at the NMAH, and Audrey Davis, curator of medical sciences at the NMAH, and includes materials gathered by Janice Majewski, the first director of the Smithsonian’s Accessibility Program. Without their efforts to compile and preserve these materials, threads of disability history and materiality would certainly have been lost.
The first item I’d like to highlight seems mundane but important, especially given the ephemeral nature of documents from meetings and conferences. I found a flier that provides an overview of a December 1981 conference held at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication focused on images of abilities and people with disabilities in the media. The inside of the pamphlet reveals the longstanding collaboration among activists, scholars, and practitioners to make disability inclusion a reality in our media:
1981 has been proclaimed the International Year of Disabled Persons (I.Y.D.P.). The theme is “Full Participation” for 35 million Americans with disabilities. For that to happen, barriers, myths and attitudes need to change. We, the Entertainment Industry, can do that. We create the most powerful influence in the world today. Whether you work in television, radio or film and whether you act, cast, direct, produce, represent or write, we have the power and responsibility to change the images, expectations and attitudes of each other. Cosponsors and speakers span the spectrum of the Industry and Disability Movement. The future of full participation depends upon IMAGES OF ABILITIES people with disabilities in the media. Please join us.
A flier for the Images of Abilities: People with Disabilities in the Media conference held on Saturday, December 5, 1981, at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School of Communications from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. The flier features an art deco-style marquee design, with a filmstrip motif at the bottom displaying the abbreviation IYDP, representing the International Year of Disabled Persons. The flier is printed on light green paper.4
An open registration pamphlet displaying information about the Images of Abilities: People with Disabilities in the Media Conference. On the left page is a registration form with spaces to enter personal information, including name, address, phone number, union/guild affiliation, and any special needs, such as wheelchair access, a reader, or a sign language interpreter. On the right page, the Conference Goals and Objectives section explains that 1981 was designated the International Year of Disabled Persons, with a theme of “Full Participation” for people with disabilities. It emphasizes the media’s role in changing perceptions of disabilities. Below, there is a list of cosponsors, including organizations such as AFTRA (American Federation of Radio and Television Artists), the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).5
The second item that stood out to me is an article discussing models with disabilities featured in the October 1993 edition of Mainstream.6 This magazine and its articles reveal ongoing conversations around disability representation in advertising and society going back more than four decades.
Cover of the October 1993 issue of Mainstream: Magazine of the Able-Disabled. The cover features a photo of Sandi Francis and Jerome McGill, two Black models with disabilities. As cover models, they are additionally notable given a historical lack of representation of people of color with disabilities. Jerome is seated in a wheelchair and Sandi holds up her crutch while embracing Jerome from behind. Headlines include “Models with Disabilities,” “Bumpy Flights for People with Disabilities,” “An Advocate Sees Alarming Trends in Germany,” and “What You Wear Affects Your Success.” A banner at the top reads, “Computer Power Creates an Office on Wheels.” The magazine price is marked as $3.00.
Sandra H. Silfarman’s article “The Look” in the October 1993 issue of Mainstream discusses the increasing visibility of models with disabilities in media and advertising. It explains these models’ growing impact on awareness and representation. Four black-and-white photographs show paraplegic dancer, actor, and activist Kitty Lunn in various poses (three of which where she is in a wheelchair). A black-and-white headshot shows actor-model Lois Fern Hamilton with a cat (viewers do not see her wheelchair). The article’s text emphasizes how models with disabilities are appearing more frequently in newspapers, catalogs, and on television, which reflected a shift toward recognizing people with disabilities as an important market.
A page from Sandra H. Silfarman’s Mainstream article includes two black-and-white photographs of models with disabilities. The top photo shows Sandi Francis and Jerome McGill featured on the cover of the magazine. The lower photo captures a still shot from a Levi’s commercial showing a man in a wheelchair rolling alongside a jogging woman. The article centers on the inclusion of models with disabilities in advertising and the challenges they face in gaining visibility.7
The third item I will highlight from the Reference Collection is a selection of advertisements from the Faircount Media Group’s 2015 book commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).8 Throughout the book, numerous corporations publicly expressed their commitment to disability inclusion and accessibility. However, as I paged through this lengthy document, two significant questions kept crossing my mind: How well did companies’ public displays of commitment align with internal business practices and customer experiences? And how committed were companies to genuine disability inclusion in the long run and not just at historic moments such as the ADA’s twenty-fifth anniversary?
Cover of a commemorative 2015 book, titled Equal Access, Equal Opportunity: 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The cover features a grid of photos illustrating moments from disability rights history and advocacy. Images include people with disabilities in protests, military personnel with prosthetics, activists with signs, a person giving a graduation speech in sign language, a family studio portrait people of small stature, and individuals crawling up the steps of the Capitol in protest, symbolizing the fight for accessibility. The “ADA 25” logo appears at the bottom with the years 1990–2015. The colors used for the title are blue and red.9
A full-page advertisement from Ernst & Young (EY) featuring a portrait of Stephen R. Howe, Jr., the managing partner and Americas executive board chair at EY. At the top, a quote reads, “It’s up to each of us to deliver on the promise of the ADA.” The 2014 ad includes a personal statement from Howe about his experiences with disability awareness, reflecting on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. He mentions EY’s commitment to building an inclusive environment for people of all abilities and the role of the ADA in creating equal opportunities. The EY logo and tagline, “Building a better working world,” appear at the bottom right.
An Estée Lauder Companies ad commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ADA. The ad, set on a blue background, features the large text “25” and the phrase “We are proud to join the ADA Legacy Project in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).” It highlights Estée Lauder’s commitment to equal access, social responsibility, inclusion, and diversity.
An HP advertisement with the headline “Celebrate Opportunity” features a professional interaction between a man in a wheelchair and a woman standing nearby. The 2014 ad emphasizes HP’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, highlighting its support for individuals with disabilities in the workplace. The tagline “Make it matter” and the HP logo are displayed prominently. The ad presents HP’s dedication to creating an inclusive work environment, with a focus on accessibility and equal opportunity for all employees.
These items are just a small sampling of what this archival collection offers, and my consultation with archivists and curators before and during my visit helped me expand the scope of my research by suggesting materials I didn’t originally find before arriving at the archive.10 In fact, the archival documents I examined complement the many material objects held at the NMAH, telling a three-dimensional story of disability rights and activism through persuasive messages. These include protest and awareness buttons, t-shirts, and even the imaginative creature of the Cowardly Lion envisioned by a blind girl named Emily for a Comcast ad promoting its voice-enabled accessible interface (see fig. 10 and video 1). This rich collection is further enhanced by notable items such as “ADA father” Justin Dart Jr.’s iconic cowboy boots and hat, the latter adorned with a pin featuring the US flag where the white stars form an icon of a person in a wheelchair.
A tactile model of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, envisioned by a blind child named Emily for a Comcast commercial promoting its accessible voice-enabled television interface. The puppet includes an orange-brown mane, duck-like front feet, a body covered in shaggy brown chenille, and burlap back limbs and tail. The creature has large red eyes, an open mouth with a curled tongue, and is posed with its front feet on the ground and hind feet in the air. Designed for Comcast’s “Emily’s Oz” ad, this model represents accessible technology for audiences with visual impairments.11
Comcast’s ad for its voice-enabled, accessible TV interface shows how Emily, a blind girl, imagines The Wizard of Oz characters.12
A photograph of Justin Dart, Jr.’s iconic cowboy hat and boots, which have symbolized his role as a prominent disability rights activist and key actor behind the ADA. The tan cowboy hat features a small pin with the US flag, with white stars in the shape of a person in a wheelchair. Next to the hat are his pair of well-worn brown leather cowboy boots, representing his commitment to the ADA and his advocacy across the country. A blue button with white text reading “ADA White House Signing Ceremony, Independence Day, July 26, 1990” sits in front, commemorating Dart’s role in the ADA’s historic signing. Dart was a key figure in the disability rights movement, and his hat and boots have become emblematic of his dedication to equal rights and inclusion for people with disabilities.13
A photograph from Faircount Media Group’s ADA commemoration book shows President George H. W. Bush signing the ADA on a sunny day on the South Lawn of the White House. From left to right, in the foreground are Evan Kemp, chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; President Bush; and Justin Dart, Jr. Standing behind them are Reverend Harold Wilke and Swift Parrino, chairperson of the National Council on Disability. Dart is wearing his notable cowboy hat with USA flag wheelchair pin as well as the blue ADA button shown in Figure 11. Although they aren’t visible in the photograph, Dart is also wearing his cowboy boots.14
The Disability Reference Collection and these material objects collectively paint a vivid picture of the history and ongoing advocacy for disability inclusion and representation in media and advertising. I hope that more people join me and the committed group of scholars, curators, archivists, activists, and practitioners seeking to advance our understanding of disability perspectives in advertising and society, which can make for a broader and more inclusive conversation that benefits people of all abilities.
Edward Timke is an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising + PR at Michigan State University. He is a public cultural historian of advertising and its place in society and culture. His scholarship focuses on preserving and sharing histories of advertising within and beyond the United States, with a significant focus on disability and accessibility. Before coming to Michigan State University, Dr. Timke held positions at the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute, Duke University (Cultural Anthropology and Innovation & Entrepreneurship), American University (School of International Service), and the University of California, Berkeley (Media Studies). Since 2016, he has been an editor (currently coeditor) of Advertising & Society Quarterly.
He works closely with the Advertising Educational Foundation in New York to develop educational programs that build bridges between academia and industry. He recently cospearheaded the creation of the SeeHer Education Certificate focused on gender and advertising. Timke received a Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the Circulating American Magazines Project (www.circulatingamericanmagazines.org). He has also received numerous awards and nominations recognizing his excellence in teaching and mentoring of student research. Timke earned his PhD in communication from the University of Michigan and his master’s in international and intercultural communication from the University of Denver.
Edward has lived with a permanent hearing disability since birth and is a proud user of bone-anchored hearing aids. He has been recognized for his advocacy for students with disabilities, including a Certificate of Recognition by the University of Michigan’s Council for Disability Concerns. In 2023 and 2024, he served on a committee of disability experts assisting Travel Michigan, within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, to award close to $1 million in accessible traveler grants for communities across the state of Michigan. Timke is currently a co-faculty advisor to Tower Guard, one of Michigan State University’s oldest honor societies supporting and providing allyship for students with disabilities. He was a Tower Guard member during his undergraduate studies at MSU. With many allies and mentors by his side, he has worked hard throughout his life to prove a pediatric doctor—who said he would never amount to anything intellectually—wrong.
Footnotes
1. Unfortunately, the topic of disability has been historically marginalized within academic research, especially in advertising and marketing studies. While disciplines such as sociology and media studies have explored issues related to race, gender, and class, disability has remained an understudied dimension of diversity. This gap stems from long-standing stigmas and biases that portray disability primarily as a medical or individual issue rather than a significant social and cultural identity. In advertising, people with disabilities have often been portrayed using stereotypes or excluded altogether, which has reinforced our marginalization and contributed to a narrow representation that fails to capture our lived experiences. Consequently, the academic study of advertising has replicated these exclusions by rarely focusing on how advertising shapes or reflects societal attitudes toward disability. This neglect underscores the need to recognize more inclusive research frameworks that address how disability intersects with other social identities and is represented in media and commercial messaging. For a recent discussion advancing research from the perspective of people with disabilities, see Mara Mills and Rebecca Sanchez, Crip Authorship: Disability as Method (New York: New York University Press, 2023). Ella Houston's Advertising Disability (New York: Routledge, 2024) is also making important advances in applying cultural disability studies perspectives to advertising.
2. For a detailed description and finding aid, see https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.1319.
3. More details about the Archives Center are available at https://americanhistory.si.edu/about/centers/archives. For an in-depth discussion, see John A. Fleckner and Kathleen Franz, “Advertising in the Archives: National Museum of American History at The Smithsonian Institution,” Advertising & Society Quarterly 19, no. 2 (2018), https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/asr.2018.0021.
4. See Box 32, Folder 3.
5. See Box 32, Folder 3.
6. See Box 54, Folder 1.
7. For more details about the Levi’s commercial featuring the man in the wheelchair, which has been cited as the first televised commercial ad with a man with a disability in an everyday situation, see Edward Timke, “Disability and Advertising,” Advertising & Society Quarterly 20, no. 3 (2019), https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/asr.2019.0024.
8. See Box 35, Folder 2.
9. A digital version of this book is found here: https://issuu.com/faircountmedia/docs/ada25_complete_book. Of note, the family of three shown on the cover is credited to photographer Rick Guidotti who is the founder of Positive Exposure, an organization that “partners with hundreds of nonprofits, hospital systems, advocacy groups, and educational institutions, creating educational resources and programming to reconstruct societal attitudes towards individuals living with genetic, physical, behavioral, or intellectual difference. [It strives] to create spaces rooted in unity, respect, and inclusion” (https://positiveexposure.org/who-we-are).
10. The Archives Center welcomes readers to conduct their own research in this and other advertising collections by contacting them at [email protected].
11. Although I saw this object in person, this image is available on the NMAH’s website, along with an extensive description of the object. See NMAH, “The Wizard of Oz" Cowardly Lion tactile model - Comcast model,” n.d., https://www.si.edu/object/wizard-oz-cowardly-lion-tactile-model-comcast-model%3Anmah_1820194. Also see curator Katherine Ott, “‘Emily's Oz’ Brought a Little Girl's Imagination to Life,” NMAH Behring Center, November 4, 2016, https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/emilys-oz-brought-little-girls-imagination-life.
12. MASSIVE, “Comcast - Emily’s Oz,” YouTube video, December 16, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlpXAHMFNAg.
13. Although I was fortunate to see these objects in person, this image is from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justin_Dart,_Jr.%27s_hat_and_boots.jpg. More on Dart, Jr., and objects related to the ADA at the NMAH are available at Katherine Ott, “Celebrating 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” NMAH, July 1, 2015, https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/celebrating-25-years-americans-disabilities-act.
14. For a wider angle version of this photograph, see https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/americans-with-disabilities-act-signing.
