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A key organizer of the 504 Sit-in. Co-Founder of Disabled in Action and the World Institute on Disability. Leader of the Independent Living Movement. Counselor at Camp Jened, star of Crip Camp. Teacher. Mentor. Legend.
Judy Heumann will be remembered as an icon of the Disability Rights Movement. She worked within and outside an array of public offices, using direct action protest to hold leaders to account but also joining elected officials to help advise and lead their administrations’ commitment to disability equality.
“The harassment, the lack of equity, that has been provided for disabled individuals […] is so intolerable that I can’t quite put it into words.”
As she spoke during the 1977 504 Sit-in to federal officials who refused to enforce anti-discrimination legislation that had already been passed into law, one official starts to nod along to what she is saying.
“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!”
Judy taught us what to do with our outrage. She taught us how to stay mad until we find the change we need. May her memory be for a blessing and a revolution.
