In this image: Sepia-toned photograph of adult Black man with shaved head, wearing a white shirt and tie.

Curtis Brewer was among the pioneers of the modern New York City Disability Rights Movement. Very much a man who went his own way, he stood apart from the primary organizations of the era, yet he compiled quite a roster of accomplishments. A very smooth speaker with a calm soothing manner, he served as press liaison at the pivotal City Hall towaway picket of 1967, one of the modern movement’s most formative events.

Curtis was obviously an individual with exceptional drive. Able-bodied until 1955, at age 30 he contracted an infection of the spine which rendered him a quadriplegic. Undaunted, he later founded an advocacy group called Untapped Resources, went to Brooklyn Law School and became a lawyer. He befriended the famed (and disabled) violinist Itzhak Perlman and, when he found himself unable to attend his friend’s performance at Carnegie Hall, began a successful campaign to secure wheelchair access to the famed concert venue.

In spite of his increasingly severe disability, Brewer developed a substantial legal practice and served as counsel to both people with disabilities and several prominent African Americans, in some pretty high-profile controversies. He was married three times and fathered a son. In 1980 he was named Handicapped American of the Year by the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

by Warren Shaw

DHNYC.com sits down with violinist Itzhak Perlman to discuss Curtis Brewer.

Above is my interview with the world famous violinist Itzhak Perlman, in which he discusses his friendship with Curtis and his friend’s importance in the early years of the New York City Disability Rights Movement. The interview, of course, is fully captioned.