Led by Judith E. Heumann, eighty activists staged this sit-in on Madison Avenue, stopping traffic.
This means no disabled person should be excluded from any program, service, or similar which receives federal funds.
[4] The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) was to provide the regulations addressing Section 504.
On April 5, 1977, activists began to demonstrate and sit-in at the HEW offices found in regions including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
[6] The more successful sit-in occurred in San Francisco, planned by Judith Heumann, Kitty Cone, and Mary Jane Owen, lasted until May 4, 1977, a total of 25 days, with more than 150 people refusing to leave.
Having tried multiple options, including letter-writing, lobbying, and personal pleas, they decided to call for a national protest if Califano did not sign the regulations by April 4, 1977.
After Frank Bowe, head of the ACCD, failed to convince the new administration, approximately 300 protesters in Washington, DC marched outside Califano's house and then into his office demanding that he sign the regulations.
In addition to Washington D.C., protests took place in Boston, Seattle, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, and Denver.
In Washington DC, protesters held out for 26 hours that included a standoff between them at Califano who climbed on top of a table to say that the regulations needed further study.
[11][10] Organizing an occupation that involved people with disabilities presented certain challenges that helped spur the decision to occupy.
[11] This meant having to plan for a longer occupation in advance but without alerting too many participants so as to prevent law enforcement from barring entrance to the building.
A prevailing view held that people with disabilities were pathetic and deserving of pity, and therefore incapable of such political actions.
"[11] Television stations and newspapers covered the initial confrontation between the protesters and Maldonado, who appeared to have no idea about the regulations or his boss's stand in Washington.
They also included many nondisabled allies such as ASL interpreters, personal care attendants, and parents of children with disabilities.
But the large number of people, combined with the Bay Area's atmosphere of activism and social justice, meant that the protesters had many outside allies.
Letters of support came from Cesar Chavez and labor unions, including the International Association of Machinists (IAM).
The City brought in inflatable air mattresses and portable showers and had new pay phones installed after HEW officials in DC had ordered the lines to be cut.
[12][14] Occupiers found innovative ways to transform an office building into a temporary place for over one hundred people to live.
Major outlets such as McDonald's and Safeway contributed in the spirit of "helping the handicapped" until it became clear that protesters were engaging in civil disobedience.
[12] Within the first few days members of the Black Panther Party arrived to volunteer to feed all of the occupiers, including Brad Lomax and Chuck Jackson.
[9][14] When the FBI began restricting entry, occupiers convinced building guards that ASL interpreters and anyone provided healthcare needed to be free to come and go.
[9][12][14] To pass the many hours of boredom waiting inside an office building, occupiers played cards, sang, held wheelchair races, and talked late into the night.
Ten days in, they came up with the idea of working with representatives Philip Burton and George Miller to host a day-long hearing in the building so that protesters could educate America about the plight of people with disabilities.
The sympathetic politicians declared the 4th floor of 50 UN Plaza "a satellite office of Congress," which brought television and newspaper reporters.
As cameras rolled, dozens of protesters testified on one of several panels related to specific disabling conditions: blindness, deafness, addiction, and others.
Twenty-five people reflecting racial and disability diversity were elected to travel to the nation's capitol where they planned to meet with groups on the east coast and put more pressure on politicians.
In these early days of the disability rights movement, it was hard to find accessible transportation, public or private, for people who used wheelchairs.
[12][14] In Washington, protesters had meetings with congressional representatives, a challenge at a time when many federal buildings - including the Capitol - were not accessible for people in wheelchairs.
[14] They also held candle-light vigils outside the wealthy suburban home of HEW Secretary Califano where they sang "Sign 504" to the tune of the Civil Rights Anthem "We Shall Overcome".
Another day, they held a large rally in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House that attracted hundreds of supporters.