Review of “Being Heumann: An unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner

Hello readers, I had intended this post to be a review of a different book, but once I started reading this, I simply couldn’t stop. I first heard of Judith Heumann on a Netflix show called “Crip Camp” which was about the freedom a group of people with disabilities in their teens experienced in an annual camp they would go on. They would get to choose themselves what clothes they wanted to wear, what they wanted to eat and got an opportunity for sexual experiences. This was during the sixties, when their lives at home were very stifled. Importantly key friendships were formed that would later play a key role in the disability rights movement in the US. The camp is mentioned in the book, but it only takes up a few pages.

Heumann was affected by polio from a very early age, leaving her with limited use of her arms and legs. Her fight for anything even approaching equality started at an early age. The doctor told her parents that they should institutionalize her. But having fled the Nazis, this was not something they would let happen. None of the local schools would accept her, with one calling her a “fire hazard”. A regular blocking tactic used against those with disabilities. But, she had a strong advocate in her mother, who eventually managed to get her into a special school at the age of nine. Fortunately, her mother had been teaching her prior to that so had not fallen behind the curve.

From this inauspicious start, she goes on to become one of the most influential disability rights activists in US history fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human.

As regards her activism, there are two things she is best remembered for. One is for suing the New York school system based on them refusing to give her a teacher’s license due to her disability and the second is for the role she played in the 1977 Section 504 sit in of Federal Buildings. Section 504 more or less outlawed organizations that received federal funding from discriminating on the grounds of disability. However, the Government were slow to enact the law leading to the sit in. It was the longest takeover of a government building in history. Of course, it wasn’t plain sailing and this was probably the most interesting part of the book as a complex game of strategy and intrigue played out.

The passing of Section 504, was an important precedent of the later American with Disabilities Act whose consequences reverberated around the world leading to many other countries following suit.

An important insight is also provided into the early beginnings of the CIL movement, not only through her own struggles, but also the different roles she played in Berkeley where it all began. She also documents trying to spread the movement internationally, something that has benefited many people with disabilities in Ireland.

Heumann is the type of woman, the movement as a whole was very luck to have. Steely, driven with a supreme intellect I can’t shake the feeling she underplayed her role in important events.

The only drawback to this memoir is that at times it is too heavy on facts and lacks a more personal touch. Her romantic relationships are barely covered and truly intimate details are rarely disclosed. The price is also steep, having paid twelve euro for an electronic version. It’s way too high.

Overall, I’d give this book four stars out of five. But try to get it in the library.