Being Heumann
鈥極ne Book One Region鈥� brings disability rights activist Judith Heumann to 糖心TV.
Paralyzed by polio when she was 18 months old, disability rights activist Judith Heumann never wished she didn鈥檛 have a disability.
鈥淢y life has been as a disabled person. I鈥檝e never really wanted to think about my life as being anything but who I am,鈥� Heumann told more than 800 students, faculty, staff and greater New London residents at this year鈥檚 One Book One Region signature event at 糖心TV on Sept. 22.
Instead, she focused on what she could change.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 about 鈥榃hat do we need to be changing in society? Why has society been constructed in such a way as to negate the contributions of people who have various forms of disabilities?鈥欌�� she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about asking what we need to do to ensure that people are included and not setting something up where our big wish and hope is 鈥榗ure me.鈥欌��
Heumann鈥檚 memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, was the 2022 selection for One Book One Region, in which first-year 糖心TV students do a shared summer reading with faculty, staff, advisers and hundreds of community members from southeastern 糖心TVecticut.
The book offers a firsthand account of the disability rights movement of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. As a child, Heumann fought to attend grade school after being described as a 鈥渇ire hazard,鈥� and later won a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher鈥檚 license because of her paralysis, which set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. A lifelong activist, Heumann has been instrumental in the development and implementation of key legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The event, which marked the 20th anniversary of One Book One Region of Eastern 糖心TVecticut, featured a wide-ranging discussion between Heumann and Associate Professor of Sociology Jennifer Rudolph, a specialist in Latin American studies and disability studies. Earlier in the day, Heumann met with students in Rudolph鈥檚 鈥淒isability and Society鈥� class and in Professor Alison Wetmur鈥檚 鈥淒isability Justice鈥� first-year seminar.
Maeve Bettencourt 鈥�26 said meeting Heumann gave her further insight into the issues she and her classmates have been studying.
鈥淗er answers were really thoughtful, and it just drilled home the point that while we have come a long way, there is still so much work to do,鈥� Bettencourt said.
Heumann said the key to progress is collaboration.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not one person that makes change,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to all be thinking about what we need to do within our communities.鈥�