Being Heumann: Disability advocation at its finest

“Although ‘disability culture’ is really just a term for a culture that has learned to value the humanity in all people, without dismissing anyone for looking, thinking, believing, or acting differently.”

Late activist Judith Heumann was an unyielding force when it came to disability advocacy, and her autobiography Being Heumann captures her ferocity perfectly. 

Heumann was diagnosed with polio, which took away her ability to walk and required her to use a wheelchair when she was just 18 months old. Unfortunately, when she was diagnosed in 1949, it was standard practice for children with disabilities to be institutionalized. Luckily for Heumann, her parents refused to separate their daughter from her family.

Heumann has experienced many obstacles in her journey to receive a fair and just education. Her book outlines her struggle of not being able to attend any form of schooling until she was nine-years-old. One reason Heumann recalls being presented by the schools was that due to her being in a wheelchair, she was a “fire hazard.”

Heumann’s fight for justice did not end with her battle for elementary and high school education. She fought profusely to acquire her undergraduate education to become a teacher. Heumann passed her board exams with ease but when it came to the physical medical exam she faced ableist doctors who deemed her unfit to be in a classroom even though she was highly qualified.

Heumann then goes into great detail about a sit-in that she organized in San Francisco,  which lasted 25 days. Heumann and about 150 other people occupied a federal building in support of signing section 504 without changes. People inside and outside of the building included people with disabilities, aids to assist these people, and anyone who felt strongly about this issue. Section 504 is meant to protect people with disabilities from discrimination based on their disability so this issue was not taken lightly.

At times during the sit-in, the federal building employees tried to “persuade” people to leave by cutting them off from the outside world. They cut the phone lines making people inside the building unable to contact the press to publicize their cause. Unfortunately for the federal workers, there were people who communicated via sign language both inside and outside the building protesting. The activists took to communicating through glass windows to alert the press to their cause.

The federal building also would not let people into the building causing the protestors to not have access to food and medical supplies. They were having an issue with that until one of the lobbyists was able to find a way to communicate with another organization they were a part of– the Black Panthers. From the point of contact with that organization, the protestors received their full support. The Black Panthers pushed their way into the federal building providing food, water, and any medical supplies the activists required. 

Heumann and a delegation of 34 other people then took this protest to Washington D.C. to further push their cause. When these activists arrived in D.C. they found that not everything was accessible, even being transported via a giant Ryder moving truck to their protest.

The work of these activists did not go unnoticed, and the bill was signed without changes. Heumann went on to continue with her advocacy work even working in the federal office in Washington. 

Heumann was a firecracker who didn’t take no for an answer. Her book Being Heumann will change your perspective on life and how you view your reality. This book changed my life and has instilled in me that anyone can make a change. Heumann also was adamant that you do not have to be at the forefront of change to make a difference; you can work behind the scenes.

If you want to read a book where the author is blunt and even humorous about her life’s work as a disability advocate, this is the book for you.

Thumbnail via Wikimedia Commons