Reflections on the Disability Revolution

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Season 4 of Down to the Struts is here, and we are delighted to begin with one of the most powerful voices in the conversation about disability civil rights, Judy Heumann.

In conversation with Qudsiya, Judy looks back on the lessons she learned as a disability civil rights leader, her vision of access and inclusion for disabled people in the future, and how to press forward, even amidst our divided politics.

Judy is one of three guests this season who are featured in the new book Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice from Women over 50, by Grace Bonney. If you enjoy this episode, you can learn more about the book here.

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Guest

Judith (Judy) Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people. She contracted polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for her mobility. She was denied the right to attend school because she was considered a "fire hazard" at the age of five. Her parents played a strong role in fighting for her rights as a child, but Judy soon determined that she, working in collaboration with other disabled people, had to play an advocacy role due to continuous discrimination.

Throughout her life, Judy has traveled in her motorized wheelchair to countries on every continent, in urban and rural communities alike. She has played a role in the development and implementation of major legislation including the IDEA, Section 504, the Americans with Disability Act and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

She is now an internationally recognized leader in the disability rights community, and has been featured in numerous documentaries about the history of the disability rights movement, including Netflix’s award-winning film Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution. Judy is the author of memoir Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist (Beacon Press).