Christmas in Purgatory
Book •
Christmas in Purgatory, produced by Burton Blatt with photographs by Fred Kaplan, presents stark, covert images and testimony revealing the neglect and abuse within large institutions for people with disabilities.
The book shocked the American public and lawmakers, helping to catalyze deinstitutionalization and reforms to move services into community settings.
Blatt combined his training as a special educator with investigative work to show that many residents were educable and had been unjustly warehoused.
The work influenced policy shifts around Medicaid, community services, and raised public expectations about treating people with disabilities as citizens.
Its impact extended beyond photography by reframing the national conversation about care, rights, and institutional accountability.
The book shocked the American public and lawmakers, helping to catalyze deinstitutionalization and reforms to move services into community settings.
Blatt combined his training as a special educator with investigative work to show that many residents were educable and had been unjustly warehoused.
The work influenced policy shifts around Medicaid, community services, and raised public expectations about treating people with disabilities as citizens.
Its impact extended beyond photography by reframing the national conversation about care, rights, and institutional accountability.
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Doug Crandell
Doug Crandell, "Twenty-Two Cents an Hour: Disability Rights and the Fight to End Subminimum Wages" (Cornell UP, 2022)
Mentioned by Doug Crandell when referencing the book of photographs and reporting that exposed abusive conditions in institutions.
Doug Crandell, "Twenty-Two Cents an Hour: Disability Rights and the Fight to End Subminimum Wages" (Cornell UP, 2022)
