Judith Heumann, one of the founders and primary movers of the disability rights movement, died recently at the too-young age of 75.
Judith Heumann was a force of nature. She was the consummate activist -- a brilliant communicator, a charismatic organizer, and a warm, compassionate, attentive person. Judy was the kind of person that made you want to do more, to be better.
She is one of the leads in "Crip Camp," the brilliant documentary about a summer camp experience that radicalized a group of young people with disabilities, and became an incubator of the disability rights movement. If you haven't seen it, I hope you will.
At the very beginning of my foray into the disability rights movement, I attended an event where Judy was speaking. I don't remember much about it -- we're talking 35 years ago -- but I remember being riveted as Judy spoke. She gave me so much clarity about the intersection of feminism, human rights, and disability rights -- that indeed they were all the same thing.
Here are some obits: The New York Times, NPR, The Guardian. Judith's own website is here.
The headline from the NPR obit is "Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled".
4 comments:
I was introduced to her through the Crip Camp film. It was so moving, and she was amazing.
I'm so glad you saw that movie!
I may be misremembering, but you probably are the one who told me about it!
Double yay!
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