R.I.P.

Judy Heumann, Trailblazing Disability Rights Activist, Dies at 75

Heumann lobbied for legislation that eventually led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Judy Heumann, an internationally recognized activist who spent decades advocating for disability civil rights, died on Saturday in Washington, D.C., the American Association of People with Disabilities confirmed. She was 75. A cause of death was not immediately shared in a notice posted to her website on Sunday, which called Heumann “‘the mother’ of the disability rights movement.” Born in 1947, Heumann was two years old when she contracted polio and lost the ability to walk. Growing up in New York City, she was barred from attending public school for years, with officials calling her wheelchair a “fire hazard.” But every summer from ages 9 to 18, Heumann went upstate to Camp Jened, the revolutionary camp for children with disabilities featured in the 2020 documentary, Crip Camp. After graduating from college, she rose to national prominence as a founder of the group Disabled in Action, lobbying for the legislation that would eventually become the Americans with Disabilities Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. She also served in the Clinton and Obama administrations.