Being Heumann Film Documents Judy Heumann’s Disability Rights Legacy
Sidewalk ramps and curb cuts provide daily independence for wheelchair users across cities, linking directly to civil rights history as a new generation of activists confronts current legal rollbacks.
Before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 promised fair employment and access to public life without discrimination, though the federal government enforced no rules or regulations for years, NPR reported.
Activists led by Judy Heumann and Kitty Cone changed that in the spring of 1977 by taking over the former Department of Health, Education, and Welfare building in San Francisco for nearly a month, marking the longest sit-in of a federal building in U.S. history.
That protest forced the passage of rules making Section 504 enforceable, paving the way for accessible schools, libraries, and city buildings. Joe Shapiro, a former NPR correspondent who covered disability and remained a friend of Heumann until she died in 2023, said that Heumann viewed disability as a tragedy only when society fails to provide necessary job opportunities or barrier-free buildings.
Shapiro said Heumann was fueled by the idea of a young disabled generation coming of age under the ADA. “They see the ADA as a floor, not a ceiling, and Judy loved that there’s this new generation demanding more,” Shapiro told NPR.
The film Being Heumann, directed by Sian Heder, premiered on November 13, 2026, on Apple TV, putting the history of the Brooklyn-born activist back into public view. Following the release, NPR spoke with members of the ADA generation about Heumann’s legacy and ongoing threats to the movement.
“It is our job to carry on her legacy and keep that fire burning all these decades later,” Kaleigh Brendle told NPR. Brendle started a disability rights organization named Judy’s League to push back against efforts to roll back Section 504 protections.
A federal judge dealt a blow to disability rights activists last month by agreeing to strip out mentions of the “integration” of people with disabilities from Section 504 regulations, erasing language Heumann and her movement helped secure 50 years ago. Brendle watched the film with four other members of Judy’s League.
“The very first line of the movie is Judy chanting ‘[Sign 504]!’ That gave me chills right away, because almost 50 years later, 504 is the exact reason we founded Judy’s League,” Liam Holland, 25, told NPR.
Cricket Bidleman, 27, noted the cyclical nature of the fight. “Like Liam said, seeing history come full circle was not particularly encouraging. But we did it once, so we can do it again.”
Ellana Crew, 30, pointed out that the film portrays disabled people laughing, swearing, and expressing romantic and sexual desires. “They are not shying away from disabled people as sexual and romantic beings, which is rarely something that society lets us talk about,” Crew told NPR.
Holland described his weekly trips in his wheelchair to buy food, rolling over curb cuts mandated by the 1977 protests. “So what Judy means to me, quite simply, is independence and normalcy,” Holland told NPR.
Leigh White emphasized the scale of the community. “Us being part of the ‘ADA generation,’ we’re able to reap the benefits. And with hindsight we’re really able to appreciate the work that she’s done and then kind of carry the torch into the future,” White told NPR.
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