Advocates and advocacy groups have been fighting relentlessly to support individuals with developmental disabilities and demand reform as well as equity.
Judith Heumann
Some may know Judith Heumann as former President Barack Obama’s first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights or from being the World Bank’s first Advisor on Disability and Development, or even from the Netflix Documentary, “Crip Camp” executive produced by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. However, Heumann is well known for her successes as an advocate in implementing national legislation that helped millions of young people and adults with disabilities.
Netflix. “CRIP CAMP: A Disability Revolution.” YouTube, 11 Mar. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRrIs22plz0&t=135s&ab_channel=Netflix
Watch this short, yet informative TED Talk, “Our fight for disability rights — and why we’re not done yet” by Judith Heumann to hear her difficulties growing up in a wheelchair and her successes as an advocate for disability rights.
TED. “Our fight for disability rights — and why we’re not done yet” YouTube, commentary by Judith Heumann, 27 Mar. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJr4wGcLNsA&ab_channel=TED
Judith Heumann was born in 1947 in Philadelphia where she contracted polio at just 18 months old. Growing up in a wheelchair, Heumann faced adversities that hindered her passion for school. She was denied access to public education as she was considered a fire hazard for being in a wheelchair and was homeschooled until high school in 1961. It wasn’t until 1970 when Heumann finally stood up for the injustice against people with disabilities when she sued the Board of Education for her denial of a teaching license. Heumann was denied her license because she failed the physical examination for “paralysis of both lower extremities.” The court decided that the Board’s decision was unconstitutional and Heumann was granted her teaching license and $75,000 in damages (The New York Times).
Winning the court case was just the beginning of Heumann’s fight for disability rights. On April 5th, 1977, Heuman staged the historic 504 Sit-in where more than a hundred people from the disabled community protested by filling the D.C. offices of the Department of Health, Welfare, and Education to enforce the legislation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Disabled in Action
Judith Heumann alongside other disabled activists at Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus) organized Disabled in Action (DIA) in 1970. This advocacy group resides in New York City and its objectives are to raise awareness among people with or without disability regarding “ableism, paternalism and derogatory attitudes, as well as laws and customs that oppress disabled individuals in American society.” The DIA plans to carry out its goals by planning and participating in public demonstrations, educating government officials, the public, and leaders of institutions by obtaining media coverage through the radio, TV, press coverages, newspapers, and public speakouts. Also, by initiating and joining lawsuits to enforce legislation that will support disability rights.
Geraldo Rivera
Rivera is well-known for his exposure to the Willowbrook school back in 1972. Exposing the horrors the disabled patients had to endure in the facility. Ultimately, the publicity spread like wildfire, leading to the reformation of people with disabilities. Since then, Rivera hasn’t stopped advocating for equity for people with disabilities. Rivera’s constant fight for reform as an advocate changed many people’s lives and even influenced others to take on the role of an advocate for developmental disability.
Bernard Carabello (Left to Rivera) lived in Willowbrook from age 3 to 21. Carabello met the investigative reporter Geraldo Rivera when Rivera was working on his documentary to expose Willowbrook. From Carabello’s release from Willowbrook State School, Carabello’s experiences shaped his role as a self-advocate and disability activist.
“I became a self-advocate. I advocated for people who couldn’t speak up for themselves. I became their voice.” – Bernard Carabello (2017)
The Geraldo Rivera Fund for Social Work and Disability Studies
With more legislation supporting people with disabilities, many advocates and funds were set up to grant individuals opportunities and the equality they were once denied. In 2015, Rivera established the Geraldo Rivera Fund for Social Work and Disability Studies at the College of Staten Island. The fund is used to support public conferences, symposia, lectures, and new publications that inform the public and influence public policy to empower people with disabilities (“The Horrors of Willowbrook State School”). Exposing the atrocities in Willowbrook inspired reformation and unity to support individuals with disabilities.