So , I was always active although there were not many other wheelchair users on campus . My social life was centered mainly around my sorority and the various projects they undertook .
FRED : I too had an active social life in college . I made many friends . We would go to the movies , go bowling , go to parties , or they would come to my house . I was commuting to classes every day and my dad , who was building an office building less than 10 minutes from my college , would drive me to class or have one of his workers take me there , and would pick me up at the end of class .
Barriers in the workplace
FRED : I started working in a corporate setting during my first year of college . Encouraged by my father , I attended a job fair . I recall there were hundreds of people in line , but I applied and they literally hired me on the spot . Ironically , my
After JUDY ’ S teaching career , she moved on to hold various influential positions , such as :
• The first Advisor on Disability and Development with the World Bank
• Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services in the Clinton Administration
• The deputy director of the Center for Independent Living , California
• Special Advisor on International Disability Rights for the U . S . State Department in the Obama Administration
She helped to develop legislation that became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ; with friends , formed the Disabled in Action ( DIA ) organization ; is the recipient of numerous awards and have appeared in many documentaries . company was in a two-story building with no elevator . My office was on the second floor and the accessible toilet was on the first floor ! Either my dad or one of his workers would drop me off at work every morning after my classes . The guard would come out , he would call upstairs and two guys who ended up being my best friends would carry me up and down the stairs as needed .
JUDY : When I left college in 1969 , I applied to be a teacher but was denied . It was in the 1960 ’ s in New York where applying for a teaching position required taking a written and oral exam plus a medical exam and if you pass those you can get a job . I passed my written and oral . I failed the medical only because I had polio and could not walk ! I sued the Board of Education of the city of New York , which was settled and I was given my license and was hired as a teacher . I then became the first wheelchair user to teach in New York City , which I did for three years .
Her book : Being Heumann : An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist , speaks about her struggle for equality as someone who lived paralyzed from polio and “ her lifelong battle to achieve respect , acceptance , and inclusion in society . . .” It is available on Amazon , IndieBound , Barnes and Noble , as well as in audiobook format on Audible , narrated by Ali Stroker .
Also insightful is the Netflix documentary , Crip Camp . A Disability Revolution which gives a glimpse into the summer lives of kids with disabilities at Camp Jened in upstate New York during the 50 ’ s -70 ’ s . Disability rights activists later emerged from within the camp-goers , Judy being one of them , organizing and fighting for an end to discrimination against people with disabilities .
Follow Judy on : Facebook : @ Heumann Perspective and Twitter : @ judithheumann
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