Judith Heumann (1947-present) opened the door for millions of Americans to gain better accessibility to everyday life. She’s known as the mother of the disability rights movement.
Judith Heumann (1947-present) opened the door for millions of Americans to gain better accessibility to everyday life. She’s known as the mother of the disability rights movement.
You’re probably familiar with rebels without a cause, but what about rebels with a cause? This month on Womanica, we’re talking about women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. From the “Godmother of Title IX” Bernice Sandler, to the most prominent figure of the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino, to the “Queen of Civil Rights” Ruby Hurley, these women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Rebels WITH a cause: women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. These women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
Today, we’re talking about a woman whose relentless work opened the door for millions of Americans to gain better accessibility to everyday life. She’s known as the mother of the disability rights movement.
Let’s meet Judith Heumann.
Judy was born on December 18, 1947, in Philadelphia, and raised in Brooklyn.. Her parents were German Jewish immigrants. They had fled Europe just before World War II. Judy’s mother, Ilse, never took “no” for an answer. Because Ilse was always putting up a fight when she didn’t like the cards she was dealt, Judy’s father gave her the nickname “Mighty Mite.”
When Judy was 18 months old, she contracted polio. There was no vaccine at the time, and the disease paralyzed her legs. From that time on, Judy used a wheelchair to get around.
Judy was raised under her mother – Mighty Mite’s – roof so fighting against injustice was second nature. The family table was a stage for lively debates and analysis. If someone asked you a question, you’d better answer. And if you had an opinion, you better be able to defend it. If not, it was off to read up and write a report about it to bring to tomorrow’s meal.
But when it came time for Judy to start kindergarten, she and her family learned just how ill-prepared, and unwilling the world was to accommodate disability. When she showed up for school, the principal physically blocked her from entering the building. He called Judy a “fire hazard.”
This was only the beginning. Time and again, Judy was denied the same schooling that was available to any nondisabled child. But her mother wouldn’t stop trying. After four years of homeschooling, she finally got off the waitlist for a special program for kids with disabilities, and later she attended a public high school. She later said: “Although my parents had expectations I would be like my brothers, the system itself did not.”
In the summer, though, Judy found a reprieve in the sprawling green fields of Camp Jened. Up in the valleys of New York State, Camp Jened created a space for children with disabilities to exist in a place where they never felt excluded. Accessibility was key for campers and counselors alike. There, campers like Judy began to ask the question: if accessibility is possible at Camp Jened, why isn’t it possible everywhere else?
She would go on to fight for that accessibility. At college, she organized students to demand ramps for access to classrooms. From there, she applied to become a teacher.
Despite possessing all the necessary qualifications, The New York City Board of Education denied Judy her teaching license. The reason: Judy used a wheelchair. A friend of Judy’s passed her story along to the New York Times, where it gained significant attention– and from there, a civil rights lawyer contacted Judy asking to take up her case. At 22, Judy had become a national voice in the disability rights movement… and, eventually, the first wheelchair user to teach in New York City.
By 1970, as people approached Judy for help with discrimination cases, she turned more fully to activism. She set up an organization called Disabled in Action, which focuses on protecting and advancing the civil rights of disabled individuals.
In 1972, The Rehabilitation Act was making its way through Congress. One particular piece of legislation, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, would bar organizations, programs, and employers with federal funding from discriminating against people with disabilities. That – of course – includes public schools. When the time came, President Nixon vetoed the act.
But, Judy and other activists knew Nixon was vulnerable: he wanted to get re-elected. So, they staged a protest. Four days before the election, Judy and just 13 other activists traveled to Nixon’s headquarters on Madison Avenue. They blocked traffic during rush hour in Manhattan for almost an hour. fic. The Act was finally signed the following year, but before it could be enforced, the government had to pass additional regulations.
In 1977, they protested again. This time, more than 100 activists staged a sit-in at a federal building in San Francisco. While similar demonstrations took place around the country, the one in San Francisco – where Judy took part – lasted the longest. For nearly a month, they refused to leave until President Jimmy Carter’s administration agreed to implement Section 504. As opponents cut off the water and phone lines, the protestors got support from the community– people relayed messages outside the building using sign language; they fashioned a fridge from an AC unit; they manufactured showers out of bathroom sinks; they slept on mattresses provided by supporters; and the Black Panthers dropped off nightly meals to keep spirits high. Inside the building, folks sang and played games, even creating an Egg hunt on Easter day.
When the government called a special hearing, Judy gave a forceful, and tearful address. She said: “We will no longer allow the government to oppress disabled individuals. We want the law enforced. We want no more segregation. We will accept no more discussion of segregation, and I would appreciate it if you would stop shaking your head in agreement when I don’t think you understand what we are talking about.”
The administration was silent for weeks. Judy even traveled to DC to continue the protest. Then, on April 28, 1977, while sitting in a bar on Capitol Hill, she looked up at the TV, and saw the news: Section 504 had been signed after 24 days of protests.
In 1990, President Bush would sign into law the well-known Americans with Disabilities Act. It wouldn’t have been possible without Judy’s work in the decades earlier.
In 1983, Judy helped establish the World Institute on Disability, to push for disability rights beyond the US. Under the Clinton Administration, she served as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. Afterwards, she worked at the World Bank as their first Advisor on Disability and Development. She pushed to make disability rights part of the State Department’s Agenda under the Obama Administration and continues to work for an international version of the ADA.
Most recently, Judy was part of an Oscar-award nominated documentary about Camp Jened, called Crip Camp. She also published a memoir about her life. Today, Judy and her husband Jorge Pineda live in Washington, D.C. and continue to work in disability activism, especially around the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All month, we’re talking about rebels with a cause. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
As always, we’ll be taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you Monday!