[NFBMI-Talk] "The World Mourns the Passing of Judy Heumann, Disability Rights Activist" - AAPD

[Martha Moore]

Kane, Thank you for sharing. Her life touched many and her legacy lives on. Albeit at that time during her life’s journey, did she know her voice would make a difference in many people’s lives here and abroad. 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 6, 2023, at 1:47 PM, Kane Brolin via NFBMI-Talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Greetings and a happy Monday to all within reach of this message.
> 
> A wise friend once pointed out to me that "gratitude never goes out of style."
> 
> It is with a grateful heart, albeit a sad heart, that we mourn the
> passing of someone whose life matters a lot to us in the organized
> blind movement, even if many of us might never have heard of Ms. Judy
> Heumann.  Her last name is spelled h e u m a n n.  Here are a few
> excerpts from the obituary prepared by the American Association of
> People with Disabilities (AAPD).
> 
> " ... Judy was instrumental in developing and implementing national
> disability rights legislation, including Section 504, the Individuals
> with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act
> (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of
> Persons with Disabilities. ...
> 
> "Born in 1947 in Philadelphia and raised in Brooklyn, New York to
> parents Ilse and Werner Heumann, Judy contracted polio at age two. Her
> doctor advised her parents to institutionalize her when it was clear
> that she would never be able to walk. “Institutionalization was the
> status quo in 1949,” she wrote. “Kids with disabilities were
> considered a hardship, economically and socially.” When Judy attempted
> to enter kindergarten, the principal blocked her family from entering
> the school, labeling her a “fire hazard.” However, her parents,
> particularly her mother, fought back and demanded that Judy have
> access to a classroom. Judy eventually was able to attend a special
> school, high school, Long Island University (from which she earned a
> B.A. in 1969), and the University of California, Berkeley, where she
> earned a Master’s in Public Health six years later.
> 
> "In the 1960s, Heumann attended Camp Jened, a summer camp for people
> with disabilities in the Catskills, and she later returned there as a
> counselor in the 1970s. Several of the leaders of the disability
> rights movement also were at Camp Jened, which was the focus of the
> documentary Crip Camp.
> 
> "During the same decade, the New York Board of Education refused to
> give Judy a teaching license because they feared she could not help
> evacuate students or herself in case of fire. She sued and went on to
> become the first teacher in the state to use a wheelchair. Continuing
> her fight for civil rights, Judy helped lead a protest that shut down
> traffic in Manhattan against Richard Nixon’s veto of the 1972
> Rehabilitation Act, and she launched a 26-day sit-in at a federal
> building in San Francisco to get Section 504 of the revived
> Rehabilitation Act enforced. ...
> 
> "In addition, Judy helped found the Berkeley Center for Independent
> Living, the Independent Living Movement, and the World Institute on
> Disability. She also served on the boards of the American Association
> of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and
> Defense Fund, Humanity and Inclusion, Human Rights Watch, the United
> States International Council on Disability, Save the Children, and
> several others.
> 
> "In 1993, Judy moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as the Assistant
> Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation
> Services in the Clinton Administration, a role she filled until 2001.
> From 2002-2006, she served as the first Advisor on Disability and
> Development at the World Bank. From 2010-2017, during the Obama
> Administration, she worked as the first Special Advisor for
> International Disability Rights at the U.S. State Department. She also
> was appointed as Washington, D.C.’s first Director for the Department
> on Disability Services.
> 
> "“Some people say that what I did changed the world,” she wrote, “But
> really, I simply refused to accept what I was told about who I could
> be. And I was willing to make a fuss about it.”"
> 
> Does her tone and her emphasis on raised expectations sound familiar?
> It should.
> 
> You might be interested to know that just a couple of years prior to
> her death, Judy Heumann published two autobiographies.  Both are
> available from NLS BARD, the downloadable Talking Book service
> maintained for print and disabled people by the Library of Congress.
> The grown-up version "Being Heumann: An Unrepentant memoir Of A
> Disability Rights Activist" is DB100399.  The other version, intended
> for youngsters of grades 6 through 9: "Rolling Warrior: The
> Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story Of A Rebel Girl On Wheels
> Who Helped Spark A Revolution" is DB105457.
> 
> To read the full obituary from AAPD's Website, please visit
> https://www.aapd.com/press-releases/the-world-mourns-the-passing-of-judy-heumann-disability-rights-activist/.
> 
> Cordially,
> 
> Kane Brolin
> President, Indiana State Affiliate
> National Federation of the Blind
> (574)386-8868 (mobile)
> 
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