Lest We Forget: Silent Voices

Films by Mark Lyons

Lest We Forget is a powerful and empowering journey through the first-person stories of people with developmental disabilities — once labeled mentally defective — who were sent away to state institutions. The life-long impact of institutionalization was experienced not only by those who spent decades in these human warehouses. The story is also told through the voices of the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters who were left behind, as well as the pioneering professionals and advocates who put their own lives and careers in jeopardy to bring about change.

The film recognizes that when change came about, it was the work (among others) of staff with roots in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 60s and 70s — and some of the opponents were of the same background. One speaker recalls that when his institution attempted to prosecute an employee for severe abuse of a resident, the head of the local Ku Klux Klan came out to demonstrate. Early attempts to create community group homes as an alternative were vigorously and sometimes violently opposed by neighbors. Some homes were vandalized and threatened with arson.

These are stories that happened throughout America — and only a few decades ago. The film is an important and unusual effort to record and preserve these recollections accounts of a little-known part of the civil rights movement before they are lost to history.

Lest We Forget: Spoken Histories

The 2 CD audio documentary with stirring soundtrack by Jeff Moyer/Music from the Heart – Lest We Forget: Spoken Histories. Available only from Partners For Community Living.