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In a panel discussion, speakers reflected on Halprin’s leadership, his integration of art and landscape, and the Memorial’s return to figurative sculpture and narrative after modernist abstraction.

The FDR Memorial Foundation recently hosted a special program exploring how Franklin D. Roosevelt’s experience with disability shaped his leadership and legacy. Through reflections from advocates, historians, artists, and family members, the event highlighted the lasting significance of the FDR Memorial and wheelchair statue as symbols of visibility, resilience, and inclusion.

The Foundation’s contribution to the Memorial’s upkeep reflects the historic public-private cooperation that have built and maintained America’s national parks and memorials. Foundation leaders aim to dedicate additional resources in the future to support the Memorial’s upkeep, and fund maintenance and preservation work.

The FDR Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and promoting the FDR Memorial in Washington, D.C., will host a commemorative event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the FDR Memorial wheelchair statue and the completion of the FDR Memorial.

On March 31, 2026, the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee launched the kickoff to the 25th anniversary of the completion of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and its wheelchair statue with a public program at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., sponsored by American University.

In the 1990s, during the campaign to add the FDR wheelchair statue, more than 50 disability organizations publicly lent their names in support.

The FDR Memorial Legacy Committee has announced the 25th Anniversary of the FDR Memorial Wheelchair Statue, marking a historic milestone in the fight for disability inclusion and representation. The 2026 celebration will honor the disabled Americans who championed the wheelchair statue’s inclusion, commemorate the enduring legacy of the Memorial itself, and supporters to reflect ...

In May, we released the long-awaited documentary short FDR: Great Abilities at an event with students from Browne Education Campus, a DC public school. Following the viewing, a panel discussion was held with film narrator Nila Morton and disability rights legend Jim Dickson, who was profiled ...

The FDR Committee has won a prestigious Best of Short designation from The Best Shorts Film Competition. The award was given for FDR’s compelling series, “FDR: Great Abilities,” that sheds light on how Americans with disabilities successfully advocated for the inclusion of a wheelchair statue at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC, demonstrating to the world what true leadership looks like.

Now Showing: FDR: Great Abilities. The 20-minute educational documentary short highlights how Americans with disabilities changed a presidential memorial to show the world what real leadership looks like.