HUMAN

“I wanna see feisty disabled people change the world.”

Judy Heumann

Judy Heumann was a badass. She still is. I am reading her memoir right now, which was published in 2020. I had been vaguely aware of her name for years but I didn’t dig into her life until she passed in March. I have quickly learned that this woman was in the center of everything throughout her 75 years on the planet.

What I am saying is that Judy never seemed to be on the periphery of anything that was happening in and around her life. She is known as “The Mother of the Disability Rights Movement” and I now understand why. Here is a short list of stuff not that Heumann did, but was RIGHT. IN. THE. MIDDLE. OF. It’s crazy. Ready?

• IDEA law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (passed in the 1970’s, before which, disabled kids could be denied public education in the United States, and schools did not have to be accessible) GAME CHANGER.
• Section 504: A federal code allowing students physical accommodations in public schools ( passed in the 1970’s, now called a 504 plan in schools). Parents, along with special education school staff create individual plans together to benefit the student. Interestingly, the 504 also applies to disabled teachers who work in a public school. Judy pushed for that after she was denied a teaching license in New York State. Because she used a power wheelchair, the board of education told her she couldn’t teach since she would not be able to “rescue kids in her class during a fire.” She sued, and her young lawyer just happened to be a gentleman who later went on to write arguments for Roe V. Wade allowing abortion to become a Constitutional right. The judge who heard her suit against the state of New York clerked for judges who argued Brown v. Board of Education (the law that finally desegregated schools in the United States) when she was beginning her justice career. See? Judy was in the center….on purpose AND by chance. Read her memoir for the whole wild story of her lawsuit. The link is below.
• The Rehabilitation Act: Predating the Americans with Disabilities Act by nearly twenty years. This law prohibits discrimination based on disability in employment, education, communication and programs, activities and services by entities that receive federal financial funding or assistance. Code 504 is in this, but I likely would not have been able to attend college or get a full time job without this law. It is the blueprint for EVERY disabled law that came after it.
•  The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): This treaty promotes, protects and ensures the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and promotes respect for their inherent dignity. Judy at the United Nations? BADASS.
• The Americans With Disabilities Act: Everyone has heard of this law, which is now 35 years old. Far from perfect, but a giant leap forward, this act covers ALL public spaces in America, building on the basics that the Rehabilitation Act laid down. All you “ables” that have ever parked in a handicapped spot “just for a minute”, the lines between the spots (you suck) or used a bigger bathroom stall for convenience….you are using this law. Actually, you are abusing this law. Stop being a douchebag. My favorite are the men at airports who use the handicap bathroom stall to change in or out of their business suits while I wait patiently outside said stall waiting to pee. Usually they emerge and pretend not to see me because they are very important. Again….douchebags.
• Berkeley Center (California) for Independent Living: Now in all 50 states, these federally funded agencies help disabled individuals with housing, personal care attendants, home modification, and connect us with services that we otherwise wouldn’t know anything about. HUGE.
• World Institute on Disability (WID): One of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities that works to fully integrate people with disabilities into the communities around them via research, policy, and consulting efforts.

But wait, there’s more….

In 2010, Heumann became the Special Advisor on International Disability Rights for the U.S. State Department appointed by President Obama. Heumann was the first to hold this role, and served from 2010 to 2017. Judy rolling into the Oval Office? BADASS.

Feel free to google her and you will find a long list of awards as well as her podcast, television and documentary appearances as well as other projects she took the lead on. Her memoir “Being Heumann” should be read by everyone as it shows how amazing things happen when people come together to fight for the betterment of human life. Individuals who work to improve society so ALL individuals can take an active, positive role in it. In one way or another, we ALL stand on the shoulders of Judy Heumann. My friend Adith was lucky enough to meet Judy twice and interview her. I recently saw the footage and was moved when Judy was quick to tell Adith that SHE is not a hero…but ALL of us who TAKE ACTION to change the world are worthy of the praise that she has been given. Get to know Judy Heumann. Her platform was disability rights, but when you drill down, her actions should resonate with all of us. We will miss you Judy, but we will fight on. We are the disabled feisty people that are STILL changing the world.

Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay Human.