Being Heumann Film Rallies a New Generation of Activists

Before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990, there was Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It was a single sentence in the law. It promised people with disabilities fair employment and access to public life without discrimination.

For years, no rules made the federal government enforce it. In spring 1977, activists led by Heumann and Kitty Cone took over the former Department of Health, Education and Welfare building in San Francisco for nearly a month. It is widely considered the longest sit-in of a federal building in U.S. history.

Wheelchair users and people with intellectual and health-related disabilities camped out together. They eventually won rules that made Section 504 enforceable. Schools, libraries, city buildings and other federally funded institutions had to become accessible.

A floor, not a ceiling

"Judy always said, 'disability only becomes a tragedy for me when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives,'" said former correspondent Joe Shapiro, who covered disability and was Heumann's friend until she died in 2023.

Shapiro said Heumann was fueled by the idea of young disabled people 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," he said.

Today's fight

Kaleigh Brendle started Judy's League, a disability rights group formed to push back against the Trump administration's efforts to roll back protections tied to Section 504. "It is our job to carry on her legacy and keep that fire burning all these decades later," she said.

Last month, a federal judge dealt activists a blow by agreeing to strip mentions of "integration" of people with disabilities from Section 504 regulations. That erased language Heumann's movement had helped win 50 years ago.

Brendle, who is blind and has other disabilities, held a watch party for the film with four other League members, including Liam Holland, 25, of Philadelphia. Watching it, she said, she felt sad "that we're here again because I know she would be hurting to see so much of what she fought for at risk. But it also strengthened my resolve."