Barbara Toomer | |
|---|---|
 Toomer in 2016 | |
| Born | Barbara Greenlee August 26, 1929 |
| Died | April 24, 2018 (aged 88) |
| Education | El Camino College St. Joseph's College of Nursing |
| Occupation(s) | Nurse, activist |
| Years active | 1976–2018 |
| Known for | Disability rights activism |
| Movement | Disability rights movement |
| Spouse | Gerald "Ross" Toomer |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Greenlee Gertrude Greenlee |
| Awards | Woman of Courageous Action Award, National Organization for Women Rosa Parks Award, Salt Lake NAACP |
Barbara Greenlee Toomer (August 26, 1929 – April 24, 2018) was an American advocate for disability rights. She was born and raised in Southern California and attended nursing school in San Francisco. She then joined the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1953 and was stationed at Fort Bragg. In 1956, Toomer contracted polio and became a wheelchair user. She spent the remainder of her life advocating for disability rights in Utah. She founded and participated in multiple activist organizations, participated in protests against inaccessible transportation, and lobbied for housing freedom for disabled persons. Much of her activism involved ensuring that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was upheld. Toomer received numerous awards for her efforts; she was awarded the Woman of Courageous Action Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Organization for Women in 2000 and the Rosa Parks Award by the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP in 2017. Toomer died in 2018 and was buried in the Utah Veterans Cemetery.