Equity & Access Bulletin
From the Office of Equity and Access Sent to Campus Community on March 13, 2023
Remembering Judith Heumann Advocate for Disability Civil Rights
The fight for justice lost a great warrior last week when Judith Heumann, disability rights activist and pioneer, passed away on March 4, 2022, at the age of 74. Her passing is a loss for the disability community and those who have been inspired by her tireless work for equity and justice.
Heumann was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1947. At the age of 18 months she contracted polio, which left her paralyzed from the waist down. She used a wheelchair for the remainder of her life for mobility. Heumann was denied access to kindergarten by New York City Public Schools who characterized her as a "fire hazard." The experience of watching her mother fight for Heumann's access to public education helped to shaped the activist she would become.
As a child Heumann attended Camp Jened, a camp for disabled youth. As depicted in the the Oscar-nominated Netflix film "Crip Camp," Heumann and other campers she met, such as Bobbi Linn and Freida Tanus, went on to form a core group of disability activists that would change the landscape of how the laws of the United States treat and protect individuals with disability.
Stony Brook University was fortunate to host Judith Heumann via zoom as recently October 2022 as part of the SBU's events for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Following a screening of the film, Heumann contributed to a fascinating panel discussion. The event was co-sponsored by Stony Brook Medicine, the Office of Equity & Access and the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer,
Watch a clip of Judith Heumann's appearance via Zoom at Stony Brook University in October 2022. Watch entire panel discussion.
After high school Heumann graduated from Long Island University, and was then denied her teaching certificate by the same public school system that refused to allow 5 year old Judy to attend kindergarten. She sued the New York City Board of Education, inspiring the headline "You Can Be President, Not Teacher, with Polio" and she won. Heumann became the first wheelchair-bound public school teacher in New York City.
When early versions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities, were vetoed by President Nixon, led by Heumann eighty Disability In Action activists held a sit-in protest in New York City stopping traffic on Madison Avenue.
While working for the US Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare in 1974, Heumann helped develop legislation that eventually became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
In 1977, when Secretary Califano refused to sign regulations that would meaningfully implement Section 504 of the Rehab Act of 1973, Heumann and over 125 largely-disabled protestors staged a sit-in at the San Francisco offices of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The sit-in inspired similar protests in 10 other cities. After 28 days, Secretary Caliano signed the regulations.
One of Heumann's most significant achievements was her work on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As a member of the National Council on Disability, she played a critical role in the development of the ADA, which was signed into law in 1990. The ADA is a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and other areas of life.
Heumann was a co-founder of the World Institute on Disability and served as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the U.S. Department of Education under President Clinton.
Heumann also played a pivotal role in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted in 2006. She was appointed as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010.
Judith Heumann's memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, co-authored by Kristen Joiner was published in 2020. It was followed by a Young Adult version, entitled Rolling Warrior. A movie adaptation of the book is being produced by David Permut and Sian Heder for Apple TV+.