Considered to be the “mother of disability rights,” Judy Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the disability community; spearheading the fight to pass the American with Disabilities Act, launching the Independent Living Movement globally, serving in leadership positions in the Clinton and Obama Administrations and the World Bank, and implementing legislation at the national level for programs serving more than 8 million youth and adults with disabilities. Her incredible story, showcasing the power of her intertwined personal and political lives, is chronicled in her 2020 memoirs, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, as well as in the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary, “Crip Camp”. WNDC is honored to host Heumann for an exclusive Q&A—we encourage attendees to view the film and purchase Heumann’s memoirs prior to the program. This is a show-stopping program you won’t want to miss!Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the disability rights community. After contracting polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, she was denied the right to attend school because she was a “fire hazard” at the age of five. Systemic and continuous discrimination against people with disabilities led Heumann to become an advocate, collaborating with other disabled people to fight for their rights. In 1970, Heumann sued the Department of Education for discrimination and won, becoming the first teacher in New York City to use a wheelchair. Heumann was a founding member of Disabled in Action and was on the board for the Berkeley Center for Independent Living from 1973-1993. In 1982, Heumann co-founded the World Institute on Disability with Ed Roberts and Joan Leon, a nonprofit that works to fully integrate people with disabilities into the communities around them via research, policy, and consulting efforts. She has played a role in the development and implementation the IDEA, Section 504, the ADA, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She has received numerous awards including being the first recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award in recognition of efforts to significantly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and the Max Starkloff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Independent Living. She has been awarded six honorary doctorates.
