Description: Placed at Pennhurst State School as a teenager and confined there for fifteen years, Roland Johnson overcame oppression and prejudice to become a leader for disability rights in America.
Brief description: Dennis B. Downey is an emeritus professor of history at Millersville University, and a nationally recognized author and parent-advocate. He has published ten books and scores of scholarly chapters and articles, as well as more than fifty op/ed commentaries focusing on disability rights, race relations, and American culture. A past president of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, Downey is co-editor of Pennhurst and the Struggle for Disability Rights and editor of the award-winning Exploring Disability History in Pennsylvania. He is past chair of the PILCOP Disability Policy Circle.