A Brief but Spectacular Take on the Disability Rights Movement

Summary

Since childhood, Judy Heumann has faced ableism (discrimination of people with a disability) — institutionally, socially, and personally. New York’s public school system prevented her from enrolling, and she was often bullied or excluded by her own peers. After a lifetime of activism, she is finally seeing a shift in how people with disabilities are viewed and treated. She gives NewsHour her Brief But Spectacular on the disability rights movement.

Discussion Questions

• Who is Judy Heumann, and what is her background?
• What do you think “ableism” means, based on this piece?
• When did Heumann join other activists to push for legislation protecting those with disabilities?
• Why did the principal at the local school tell Heumann’s mother that she couldn’t attend?
• How has there been a “shift” in how people with disabilities are viewed in the U.S., according to Heumann?

Focus Question

What do you think Heumann means when she says of people with disabilities that the disabilities are “a part of who we are, but it’s not who we are”?

Media literacy

Did you get a good sense of who Heumann was in this clip and some of what she’s accomplished? What else would you like to know after watching?

Additional Resources

• If you’d like to know more about Judy Heumann and the Americans with Disabilities Act that she helped pass 30 years ago, see this lesson.
• Read more news.

Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Extra.