Maya G. / 2024-12-31
Every year, December 3rd represents the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This day of recognition was officially enacted in 1992, by the United Nations General Assembly, in order to raise awareness among policymakers and the general public of the contemporary issues that people with disabilities are facing. Many people of importance championed the cause in order for this day to come about, but I want to focus on one individual in particular: Judy Heumann. She’s universally known as the “mother of the disability rights movement”, and the title is certainly earned. Heumann began activism at an early age, because she had polio as a baby and has used a wheelchair ever since, and was discriminated against for it. Most notably, she applied for a teaching license but was rejected by the New York City board of education, due to being a “fire hazard”. Heumann sued for discrimination and won in a landmark case, becoming the first wheelchair user ever to teach in the city’s schools. After that, she founded her own disability-rights group in 1970 and became a proud advocate for the independent-living movement. However, she is perhaps best known for the historic 1977 Section 504 sit-in that she organized. Without her involvement, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act may have never come about, which would’ve left disabled people without protection from being denied benefits and services from programs that receive federal funds. Plus, it eventually paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which persuaded countries all around the world to follow suit in furthering disability rights. Since then, Judy Huemann has been featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, as well as in “100 Women of the Year”—TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Needless to say, Judy Huemann is undoubtedly an inspiration, and absolutely a person we should honor on this day of recognition, along with every other day of the year.