Personal Care Assistance Do you or a loved one need help with everyday activities? From a few hours a week of grooming help, to more services to fit your needs, we are here.
Learn More
Independent Living Services Independence First has more than forty programs and workshops that are often necessary to help a person live independently in the community. We also have programs and workshops that are fun, creative, and educational.
Business Services Build your business by opening your doors to more customers, diversifying...
By Andrew Levinson | December 18, 2025
MILWAUKEE - Judy Heumann was not someone who always did as she was told, and the world is better off for it. As a young girl new to using a wheelchair, she was told she couldn’t attend school because she was a “fire hazard”. It didn’t stop her from gaining an education. Then she was told her condition meant she could never become a teacher. That didn’t stop her either. She later went on to become the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement, and we at Independence First are thankful for her contributions every day.
Thursday, December 18th marks what would have been Judy’s 78th birthday. She was a trailblazer whose name every advocate for disability rights should know. Judy Heumann dedicated her life to breaking down barriers and building a world where people with disabilities could live, learn, and thrive on their own terms.
Born in 1947 and paralyzed by polio at 18 months old, Judy’s first foray into activism began at the door of her kindergarten classroom. According to her memoir, she was blocked at the doorway by the principal himself, a man uncomfortable with her mobility device. But with the help of her mother she began a fight against injustice that would last her entire life.
In the 1970s, she helped organize the landmark Section 504 sit-ins, demanding the enforcement of the first federal civil rights law protecting people with disabilities. The San Francisco protest, which lasted nearly a month, became the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in U.S. history. Thanks to Judy and her fellow activists, Section 504 was finally signed and enforced, laying the groundwork for future laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Judy’s influence reached far beyond the United States. She went on to serve as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services under President Bill Clinton and later as Special Advisor for International Disability Rights under President Barack Obama.
Through her work with the World Bank, the State Department, and international organizations, Judy helped make disability rights a global human rights issue. Her story was featured in the Academy Award–nominated documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, which brought her lifelong fight for justice to new generations.
Judy’s life and activism are now being brought to a wider audience through an upcoming film adaptation of her bestselling autobiography, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist. Titled Being Heumann, the film is being produced by Apple Original Films for Apple TV+ and directed by Academy Award–winner Siân Heder. The film dramatizes Judy’s pivotal role in the 1977 Section 504 sit-in and her leadership in the disability rights movement.
British actress Ruth Madeley, a wheelchair user and strong advocate for disability representation in film and television has been cast as Judy Heumann, bringing her own lived experience to the role. The cast also includes Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O’Brien, and others portraying key figures in Judy’s life and the disability rights struggle.
This film represents an important cultural moment: not only does it give long-overdue visibility to disability rights history, but it also does so through authentic casting and storytelling that feature voices from the disability community itself. Being Heumann promises to honor Judy’s legacy while educating new generations about how far disability rights have come and how far we still have to go.
Judy Heumann’s legacy continues to shape the work of organizations like Independence First, where we believe in the same values she championed: inclusion, accessibility, and the right of every person with a disability to live independently and with dignity.
She once said, “Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives.” Those words remind us that disability is not a limitation, it’s society’s responsibility to ensure equal access and opportunity for all.
As we remember Judy Heumann on her birthday, we honor not only what she achieved, but also what she made possible for generations to come. The ramps we roll up, the classrooms we learn in, the jobs we hold, and the communities we build, all carry her fingerprints.
You can learn more about Judy’s life and work through her memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, and through Crip Camp on Netflix.
And if you’re feeling jovial (and don’t mind some colorful language) Comedy Central’s Drunk History segment about the Section 504 protest featuring Ali Stroker is worth a watch.
At Independence First, we’re proud to continue her mission, empowering people with disabilities in Milwaukee and beyond to live the lives they choose.
Happy birthday, Judy. Your voice still moves us forward.