Judith E. Heumann Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Heumann, Judith E. (Judith Ellen) (1947-12-18-2023-03-04)
label: Donor
content: Pineda, Jorge H. , 1955-
label: Names
content: American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation
label: Names
content: United States (Title of work: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.)
label: Names
content: United States. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Education
label: Names
content: World Bank
label: Names
content: World Institute on Disability
label: Names
content: Clinton, Bill, 1946-
label: Names
content: Clinton, Hillary Rodham
label: Names
content: Kennedy, Edward M. (Edward Moore), 1932-2009
label: Names
content: Noor, Queen, consort of Hussein, King of Jordan, 1951-
label: Names
content: Riley, Richard W. (Richard Wilson)
label: Names
content: Wolfensohn, James D. (James David) (1933-12-01-2020-11-25)
place: label: Place
content: Mexico
topic: label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Civil rights
label: Topic
content: Civil rights -- United States
label: Topic
content: Disabilities
label: Topic
content: Local transit accessibility
label: Topic
content: Meeting notes
label: Topic
content: Name tags
label: Topic
content: People with disabilities
label: Topic
content: People with disabilities -- Civil rights -- United States
label: Topic
content: Pin-back buttons
label: Topic
content: Women's rights
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Jorge H. Gonzalez Pineda, in 2024.
creator: label: Creator
content: Heumann, Judith E. (Judith Ellen) (1947-12-18-2023-03-04)
label: Donor
content: Pineda, Jorge H. , 1955-
culture: label: Culture
content: Latinos
setName: label: See more items in
content: Judith E. Heumann Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Judith E. Heumann Papers document her activism as a disability rights advocate.
bioghist: label: Biographical
content: Judy Heumann was an internationally recognized advocate for the rights of disabled people. She was widely regarded as "the mother" of the Disability Rights Movement. At 18-months-old, Judy contracted polio in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for mobility. She was denied the right to attend school at the age of five because she was considered a "fire hazard." Later in life, Judy was denied her teaching license by the same school district. After passing her oral and written exams, she was failed on her medical exam because she could not walk. Judy sued the New York Board of Education, and Judge Constance Baker Motley (the first Black female federal judge) strongly suggested the board reconsider. They did, and Judy went on to become the first wheelchair user to teach in the state of New York.

In 1977, Judy was a leader in the historic 504 Sit-In in San Francisco. This 26-day protest (the longest sit-in at a federal building to date) led to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act being signed into law. Judy was instrumental in the development and implementation of other legislation including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These pieces of legislation have been integral in advancing the inclusion of disabled people in the US and around the world.

From 1993 to 2001, Judy served in the Clinton Administration as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education. Judy then served as the World Bank's first Adviser on Disability and Development from 2002 to 2006. In this position, she led the World Bank's disability work to expand its knowledge and capability to work with governments and civil society on including disability in the global conversation. In 2010, President Obama appointed Judy as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, where she served until 2017. Mayor Fenty of D.C. appointed Judy as the first Director for the Department on Disability Services, where she was responsible for the Developmental Disability Administration and the Rehabilitation Services Administration. She also was a Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation, where she produced the white paper Road Map for Inclusion.

Judy was a founding member of Berkeley Center for Independent Living which was the first grassroots center in the United States and helped to launch the Independent Living Movement both nationally and globally. In 1983, Judy co-founded the World Institute on Disability (WID) with Ed Roberts and Joan Leon, as one of the first global disability rights organizations founded and continually led by people with disabilities that works to fully integrate people with disabilities into the communities around them via research, policy, and consulting efforts.

Throughout her life, Judy served on a number of non-profit boards, including the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Humanity and Inclusion, Human Rights Watch, United States International Council on Disability, and Save the Children. 

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, written by Judy with coauthor Kristen Joiner, was published by Beacon Press in 2020. Following in 2021 was the Young Adult version, Rolling Warrior. Both audiobooks are read by Ali Stroker, the first wheelchair user to perform on Broadway. After a four studio bidding war, Being Heumann's movie adaptation will be done by Apple TV+ with producer David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge) and writer/director Sian Heder (Academy Award Winning 'Best Picture' CODA).

Judy is featured in Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, the 2020 award winning, Oscar-nominated documentary film, directed by James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham and produced by the Obama Higher Ground Production Company. She has been featured in numerous other documentaries on the history of the disability rights movement, including Lives Worth Living and the Power of 504. She delivered a TED talk in 2016, "Our Fight for Disability Rights- and Why We're Not Done Yet". Her story was also told on Comedy Central's Drunk History in early 2018, in which she was portrayed by Ali Stroker. In 2020, Judy was featured on the Trevor Noah show. She also hosted an award-winning podcast called The Heumann Perspective, featuring a variety of members from the disability community.

Judy graduated from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY in 1969 and received her Master's in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975. She was awarded several honorary doctorate degrees from universities across the United States including New York University, University of Pittsburgh, Middlebury College, and Smith College. She also received numerous awards including being the first recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award in recognition of efforts to significantly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and the Max Starkloff Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council on Independent Living. Judy Heumann passed away on March 4th, 2023 at the age of 75. News of her passing was reported on by major outlets in the United States and around the world. 

Source

https://judithheumann.com/project/about/ (last accessed January 29, 2025)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 22 Cubic feet (55 boxes, 2 map folders)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1945-2023
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1633
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Business cards
label: Type
content: Calendars
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Dvds
label: Type
content: Ephemera
label: Type
content: Greeting cards
label: Type
content: Minutes
label: Type
content: Newsletters
label: Type
content: Notebooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Photograph albums
label: Type
content: Programs
label: Type
content: Publications
label: Type
content: Speeches
label: Type
content: Stickers
label: Type
content: Videotapes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Personal/Biographical Materials, 1945-2023

Series 2: Correspondence, 1970-2023

Series 3: Notebooks, 2000-2020

Series 4: Speeches, 1990-2020; bulk 1999-2000

Series 4: Subject Files, 1976-2022

Series 5: Jorge Pineda Materials, 1971-2007

Series 6: Writings (About Disability), 1978-2020

Series 7: Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1940s-2020
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2025. 

An arrangement scheme for the papers was imposed during processing in the absence of a usable original order. Original file folder titles were retained in most cases.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Business cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Calendars
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: DVDs
label: Genre/Form
content: Ephemera
label: Genre/Form
content: Greeting cards
label: Genre/Form
content: Minutes
label: Genre/Form
content: Newsletters
label: Genre/Form
content: Notebooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Photograph albums
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs -- Memorial services
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Programs -- 21st century
label: Genre/Form
content: Publications
label: Genre/Form
content: Speeches
label: Genre/Form
content: Stickers
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
scopecontent: label: Content Description
content: Collection documents Judith E. Heumann, leading disability rights activist, through photographs, correspondence, notebooks, and printed materials.  

Heumann wrote in 1990 upon receipt of the Henry B. Betts Award, "disability isn't a tragedy. The tragedy is being excluded from contributing to society because of a narrow doorway, or a lack of a diploma or a job."
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center


Disability Reference Collection (NMAH.AC.1319)

Elaine Ostroff Universal Design Papers (NMAH.AC.1356)

Van Philips Video History and Papers (NMAH.AC.0859)

Target Stores Collection of Fashion Advertising Using Models with Disabilities (NMAH.AC.0436)

Adaptive Mobility Oral History Project Collection (NMAH.AC.1359)

Safko International, Inc., Records (NMAH.AC.0911)

Materials at Other Organizations

The Bancroft Library, University of California

Judith E. Heumann papers, BANC MSS 99/143z

Judith Heumann photograph collection, BANC PIC 1999.091

Disability rights photographs: activities in Berkeley, California and elsewhere, BANC PIC 1999.090

World Institute on Disability records, 1983-2002, BANC MSS 99/148z 

Center for Independent Living records, BANC MSS 2000/43c

Judith Heumann: Pioneering Disability Rights Advocate and Leader in Disabled in Action, New York; Center for Independent Living, Berkeley; World Institute on Disability; and the US Department of Education, 1960s-2000/Judith Heumann; interviews conducted by Susan Brown, David Landes, and Jonathan Young in 1998-2001.