“It is our job to carry on her legacy and keep that fire burning all these decades later,” said Kaleigh Brendle, who started a disability rights organization called Judy’s League, as NPR reported on Sunday.
A new film titled Being Heumann premiered on Apple TV on Friday bringing fresh attention to the mother of the disability rights movement.
- Being Heumann explores the historic 1977 San Francisco sit-in that made Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 enforceable.
- Members of the modern “ADA generation” point out that contemporary challenges echo the civil rights battles of the 1970s.
- Activists recently organized watch parties to connect the screen depiction of Judy Heumann with ongoing advocacy efforts.
Directed by Oscar-winning director Sian Heder, Being Heumann stars Andrew Pilkington, Siena Rafter, Charlie Rush-Reese, Dylan O’Brien, Roberta Colindrez, Ruth Madeley, and Madeline Delp. The film highlights the Brooklyn-born activist who spearheaded the fight for the first federal civil rights protections for people with disabilities. Before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, Section 504 promised fair employment and public access, but lacked rules for federal enforcement.
That void led to the spring of 1977, when activists led by Heumann and Kitty Cone occupied the former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare building in San Francisco for nearly a month. NPR reported that this remains the longest sit-in of a federal building in U.S. history, successfully forcing the regulations that paved the way for accessible schools, libraries, and city buildings.
As the film streams on Apple TV, contemporary activists see eerie parallels between the past and present. Last month, a federal judge agreed to remove mentions of “integration” from Section 504 regulations, sparking concern among advocates who view the Americans with Disabilities Act as a foundation rather than a ceiling.
“I feel I’ve never seen so many real disabled people on screen in one place … They are laughing, they are swearing, they’re telling dirty jokes,” said Ellana Crew, 30, Baltimore, telling NPR. She praised the film for portraying disabled individuals as sexual and romantic beings.
For Liam Holland, 25, Philadelphia, watching the film struck a deeply personal chord. “The very first line of the movie is Judy chanting ‘[Sign 504]!’ That gave me chills right away, because almost 50 years later, 504 is the exact reason we founded Judy’s League,” Holland told NPR.
Holland said that every curb cut he rolls over in his wheelchair directly ties back to the 1977 protests.
“Unfortunately, history rhymes. And we’re not right back where we started, but we are in the crucible, if you will, where we’re kind of being fired at on all sides,” said Leigh White, 30, Galloway, N.J., telling NPR.
