Judy Heumann: the pioneer of indipendent living for an inclusive society
Fabio Bocci
Judith Heumann, defined as the «mother» of the disability rights movement, was an inescapable point of reference in the process of the emancipation and self-determination of people with disabilities from the 1960s until her death in March 2023. A life, that of Judy Heumann, spent in political and social commitment. Whether it was the protests at the University of Berkeley with Ed Roberts and the Rolling Quads for the opening of the first Centre for Independent Living, the experience at Camp Jened, the organization and implementation in San Francisco of the famous 504 sit-in or of the institutional roles in the administrations of US presidents Clinton and Obama, Judy Heumann never held back, indeed, she was always in the front row. She is also the one who clearly formulated the necessity that the intersectional perspective orient and inhabit any struggle undertaken by those who are marginalized and disabled by capitalist society, be it people with impairments, women, Afro-descendants, Hispanic people or those with other cultural backgrounds or those who feel they belong to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Keywords
Judy Heuman, Independent living, Camp Jened, 504 sit-in, Inclusion.
