Chapman University’s Attallah College Assistant Dean of Research and Professor Scot Danforth, Jack H. and Paula A. Hassinger Chair in Education, has released his new book, An Independent Man: Ed Roberts and the Fight for Disability Rights, published by University of California Press. 

Professor Danforth, a leading scholar in disability studies and inclusive education, said the inspiration for the project grew from his years working to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. 

“I often noted that the teachers, sadly, even the special education educators, knew almost nothing about the disability rights movement,” Danforth said. “I decided at first to do a small history of the Rolling Quads, a group of disabled activists led by Ed Roberts at the University of California, Berkeley, in the late ‘60s. In completing that work, I saw that not one biography had been written about Ed Roberts, one of the American leaders of the movement. I felt like, other than Ed’s family and loved ones, I was the one person on the planet who knew him best. It was an overwhelming project. I have never written a biography, but I decided to jump in.” 

Ed Roberts is widely regarded as a founder of the disability rights movement. His advocacy helped pave the way for accessible environments, anti-discrimination protections, and greater representation for people with disabilities in education and public life. 

Danforth spent eight years researching Ed Roberts’s life and the broader history of the disability rights movement. “Of course, the research process involved endless hours plowing through documents in library archives,” he said. “But the most memorable moments were the dozens of interviews I conducted with people who knew and worked with Ed. Congressional representatives, state legislators, family members, colleagues, friends. They told me fantastic, sad, and often funny stories. The book is filled with those stories.” 

Through the book, Danforth said he hopes to honor the disability community and its ongoing fight for equality. “First, I hope that the disability community around the country appreciates and approves of how I have represented them. I want them to be proud of Ed Roberts and what they have accomplished. That’s most important to me.”  

He also hopes educators will engage with the book as a meaningful part of American history. “I want them to understand that the history of disability rights, like the history of African American civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights, is filled with stories about the conflicts and victories that made our country what it is,” he said. “These are our stories.” 

An Independent Man: Ed Roberts and the Fight for Disability Rights will be available through University of California Press beginning Oct. 14, 2025.