Unforgotten. 25 Years After Willowbrook

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Description

In 1972, a young TV reporter named Geraldo Rivera exposed the horrific abuse of mentally disabled children at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. This program contains Rivera's original report, Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace, and presents a follow-up film about former residents of the now defunct facility. Viewers meet two individuals who suffered for years at the notorious institution but subsequently flourished in group homes located close to their families. Another interviewee, afflicted with cerebral palsy, spent 18 years at Willowbrook after being misdiagnosed as "mentally retarded" at the age of 3. Parents and siblings of victims provide additional testimony while Rivera also appears in the updated account, reflecting on his experiences with Willowbrook. An often heartbreaking, ultimately life-affirming human rights story with broad implications for education and public health policy.