Being Heumann

“Most things are possible when you assume problems can be solved.”

Judith believes that a sense of optimism is one of the key factors in achieving success while fighting for justice and civil rights. This mentality can be traced back to her childhood when her friends would find ways to include her in games and get her around and did not think twice about doing so. Judith‘s wheelchair was sometimes a problem to be solved but never one that she and her friends were unwilling to tackle. This sense of optimism and self-efficacy is what allowed Judith to achieve so much in her life.

“I was different. But I’d always known that. It wasn’t that. It was the world and how it saw me. The world thought I was sick.”

Judith has known her entire life that her disability has made her different from others but has never seen that as a negative thing. More importantly, Judith has never viewed her disability as a setback or a reason to pity her; instead, it was society and those around her who, due to stereotyping and discrimination, saw her as feeble and sick. When Judith realizes this at age eight, it transforms her worldview and is one of the experiences that motivates her to effect change. This quote illustrates the theme of Seeing Disability Differently.

“We were learning that despite what society might be telling us, we all had something to contribute […] We shared similar goals, had similar struggles, and as we continued to grow in the future, we would come to support each other in our dreams of what we wanted our lives to become. Now I know that what we were all beginning to learn was what today might be called disability culture.”

When Judith joins Health Conservation 21 at age nine, her first class in a school, she meets other children with disabilities who have had similar experiences of discrimination and feeling ignored. She refers to the sense of community and comfort that formed between them as disability culture as it was sourced from their shared struggles. The sense of support that Judith finds in her classmates is demonstrative of The Power of Unity in Effecting Change, as it becomes pivotal in shaping the way Judith advocates by forming NGOs and partnering with people all over the world. This quote also illustrates how Judith and her classmates begin Seeing Disability Differently by finding friends in each other.

“We were beginning to see our lack of access as a problem with society, rather than our individual problem. From our perspective, disability was something that could happen to anyone at any time, and frequently did, so it was right for society to design its infrastructure and systems around this fact of life.”

The more time that Judith spends with like-minded people and others with disabilities, the more they all come to understand that the feelings of inadequacy and otherness that they have felt were not their own doing or even the result of their disabilities. Instead, these feelings are part of The Effects of Discrimination, and it is through this realization that Judith and her peers begin their journey down the Long Road to Equality. They start Seeing Disability Differently and aim to help the world do the same, as well as make an effort to accommodate their needs.

“Accidents, illnesses, genetic conditions, neurological disorders, and aging are facts of the human condition, just as much as race or sex. So allowing schools and employers and city councils to design policies or buildings or buses in such a way that we couldn’t participate was a violation of our civil rights. Which the government had a responsibility to protect.”

Throughout her memoir, Judith stresses the importance of Seeing Disability Differently and acknowledging that disability is a basic fact of life that can happen to anyone. For this reason, it is logical and right for society to structure itself to accommodate this basic fact. Furthermore, as a democratic nation, the United States has a responsibility to protect and support its citizens in every way possible.

“This sentence acknowledged that the way we were being treated was actually discrimination.”

Although Judith and her peers have long suspected that they have been discriminated against their entire lives, it is not until Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is announced that they find their view solidified in an official and public way. When Judith first reads the bill, she is stunned and filled with a sense of hope. The bill promises to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities in the public sector, which is a huge step in the right direction. This quote illustrates The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality.

“Right there was our catch-22: Because the country was so inaccessible, disabled people had a hard time getting out and doing things—which made us invisible. So, we were easy to discount and ignore. Until institutions were forced to accommodate us we would remain locked out and invisible—and as long as we were locked out and invisible, no one would see our true force and would dismiss us.”

The Rehabilitation Act experiences severe delays in being passed as various businesses and institutions push back against it, citing the cost and time of accommodating people with disabilities. In this way, they put people with disabilities in the impossible position of not being able to speak out because they are unable to access the means to do so. This dismissal of their basic rights leads them to start a protest that lasts 24 days and forces the bill to be signed. This quote illustrates the themes The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality and The Power of Unity in Effecting Change.

“If we didn’t speak as one voice we’d never win.”

The Power of Unity in Effecting Change is a recurring theme in Judith’s memoir and something she cites as the primary factor in her success in achieving results for disability rights. During the occupation of the Federal Building and the subsequent protests, Judith knows that unity is essential to win and move civil rights for people with disabilities forward. Together, she, Kitty Cone, Ed Roberts, and the hundreds of protestors and supporters achieve their goal.

“These sick, pitiful images of disabled people contributed to the assumption that most folks had about us—that it was because of our medical condition that we weren’t out and about in society. WE were seen as helpless and childlike, as the kind of people for whom you felt pity and raised money to cure their disease. Not the kind of people who fought back.”

Judith reflects on depictions of people with disabilities in movies and on television. These depictions almost always featured someone who was rendered completely helpless by their disability and needed pity and money. Stereotypical depictions of people with disabilities are a large part of the continued discrimination and ignorance regarding disabilities. This issue is part of The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality and one of the justifications Judith employs to drive home the idea of Seeing Disability Differently.

“In no other area of civil rights would the concept of ‘separate but equal’ be tolerated, much less discussed with such insistence.”

After the Rehabilitation Act is introduced, it is delayed and opposed by several institutions as well as the Health, Education, and Welfare Department (HEW). The director of HEW, Joseph Califano, attempts to amend the act with a “separate but equal” approach, and this enrages Judith and her teammates. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, segregation was torn down and deeply opposed; therefore, it was outrageous to assume that segregation could be a solution to a civil rights issue at all. This quote demonstrates The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality.

“One by one, speaker after speaker got up, blind, deaf, physically disabled, former addicts, parents of disabled, sharing thoughts, feelings, pain, isolation, anger, heartbreak, telling of years spent trying to get a job, an education, trying to count, trying to matter.”

During the occupation of the Federal Building in San Francisco, countless people with disabilities take the stage and share their stories of The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality. These stories share themes of ostracization and being treated as incapable. By coming together and telling the world what has happened to them, the protestors demonstrate The Power of Unity in Effecting Change.

“When someone ignores you, it’s an intentional display of power. They’re essentially acting like you don’t exist, and they do it because they can. They believe that nothing will happen to them. Ignoring silences people. It intentionally avoids resolution or compromise. It ignites your worst fears of unworthiness because it makes you feel that you deserve to be ignored. Inevitably, being ignored puts you in the position of having to choose between making a fuss or accepting the silent treatment.”

As the protests of 1977 continue, Califano hides away, avoids protestors and media, and even takes to slipping out the backdoor of his house when Judith and her cohort move their protests to his doorstep. This process of continually ignoring the protests is something that people with disabilities have always experienced, and Judith is aware of the effects that being ignored can have on a person’s self-esteem and motivation. Because of her awareness, she refuses to let it affect her in this way.

“The truth is, the status quo loves to say no.”

Change is an arduous and lengthy road that is frequently met with angry pushback. Throughout Judith’s career, she has seen firsthand how much governments, institutions, and everyday people resist change and accept the status quo. Judith has always refused to accept things as they are. She believes that in order to effect change, you must have a team. This quote solidifies the idea of The Power of Unity in Effecting Change.

“I refuse to give in to the pressure of silence.”

Judith was taught from a young age never to back down or remain silent in the face of injustice. Her parents were Holocaust survivors and believed strongly in standing up for their rights. Throughout her life, Judith is constantly pressured to back down but never does. This persistence and willingness to self-sacrifice characterize Judith and are a part of her success and importance in the 20th-century disability rights movement.

“In order to work, a democracy needs checks and balances, thoughtful deliberations, analysis, negotiation, and compromise. This is what helps to prevent the people in whom we have invested power from pulling fast ones, or simply making hasty bad decisions.”

Judith constantly reiterates The Power of Unity in Effecting Change and how she could never have achieved the successes she did without friends, teammates, and supporters. In this same vein, Judith believes that democracy is about unity, collaboration, and compromise. Many different types of people have to live together, get along, and feel satisfied that their needs are met. It is democracy’s purpose to achieve this, and it is because of democracy that change takes time but is carefully deliberated.

“After nearly twenty years of protesting—from one coast to the other, under five presidents, Republicans and Democrats—we had created what I believe to be the strongest, most comprehensive civil rights legislation for disability in the world. I was forty-one years old, and, finally, I was an equal citizen.”

When the Americans with Disabilities Act is finally passed in 1990, Judith feels like she has helped to effect the most important change in the history of disability rights worldwide. After decades of fighting for equality, being pressured to stay silent, and never allowing her disability to hold her back, tangible results are being achieved, and Judith can look to the future with confidence that the lives of people with disabilities will improve. This quote illustrates each of the memoir’s themes, including The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality, The Power of Unity in Effecting Change, and Seeing Disability Differently.

“Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing, and pulling all the levers they possibly can. Gradually, excruciatingly slowly, things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, something will tip.”

Throughout her memoir, Judith drives home The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality as she describes her experiences of discrimination and the long career of activism they inspired. Judith knows that change is complex and takes time, and while it may seem like change happens suddenly, it is always the result of gradual progress and many small steps. Additionally, change requires people who work together to create it (The Power of Unity in Effecting Change).

“We were some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, some of the poorest of the poor, and we were still invisible. Even to activists.”

As Judith starts to travel abroad and discover the presence or absence of disability legislation and activism around the world, she comes to several realizations. She meets people who are shamed and ostracized and others who work to prevent the same experiences. Unfortunately, Judith notices that despite efforts by the UN to create a treaty that countries could adopt and employ (CRPD), many countries were not signing or had signed but were failing to implement its policies. The US is one of the countries that refuses to sign, which Judith finds disappointing.

“Disability is a natural aspect of the human condition. As people live longer, as we fight more wars, as medical care continues to improve—more and more people who might have died in an earlier era will live. Perhaps with a disability. We should accept it. Plan for it. Build our society around it.”

Judith has never wished she did not have a disability. She sees it as a normal aspect of human life that happens to create some differences but ultimately does not define a person and should not hold them back. Instead, society holds people with disabilities back through discrimination, lack of accommodation, and the failure to implement laws that address the civil rights of people with disabilities. Anyone may acquire a disability in their lifetime, and many more will be born that way; this is a fact of life, and society should accommodate it. This quote illustrates the theme Seeing Disability Differently.

“You drop a petal in the water and it has a ripple effect.”

Change is a gradual process, but sometimes, small actions can have large effects. Judith has noticed that when she starts attempting to change the status quo, it inspires others to do the same. For example, during the 1977 protests, Judith’s group of occupiers steadily grows as the days go by, and the number of supporters outside grows as well. Furthermore, when one country implements policies to address issues related to disability rights, other countries may follow suit. Every small step counts.

“Disability is seen as a burden, a tragedy. But what if it wasn’t? What if someone’s story began with the words: ‘I never wished I didn’t have a disability.’”

Judith challenges her readers toward Seeing Disability Differently. She urges people to view disability how she does: a motivation, a source of community, and a reason to learn and become more accepting. Throughout history, disability has been portrayed and seen as something to hide, fear, and even shame. Judith hopes for a future in which people can be comfortable and proud of their disabilities, and society works to support that.

“We looked beyond how we each spoke and moved, how we thought and how we looked. We respected the humanity in each other. We stood for inclusiveness and community, for our love of equity and justice—and we won.”

When Judith speaks of “we” here, she refers to the many hundreds of thousands of people with whom she has worked and fought over the years to strive toward equality for people with disabilities. She notes that the successes she and others achieved were the results of understanding, empathy, and searching for commonalities rather than differences. This quote demonstrates The Power of Unity in Effecting Change.

“How we treat disabled people, how we treat minorities, boils down to our fundamental beliefs about humanity. Do we believe that we all have something to contribute, regardless of where we’re from, how we move or think, the language we speak, the color of our skin, the religion we choose, and the people we love? Do we believe in equality?”

The way that people with disabilities have been discriminated against and ignored throughout history reflects the way the general populace views humanity itself. Judith believes that every single person has something to offer, and each individual is responsible for contributing to change. Judith believes in the humanity of all people and that by Seeing Disability Differently, people with disabilities can continue to experience improvements in their quality of life.