Judith Heumann, special advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, sits at a table and speaks at the opening session of the China-U.S. Coordination Meeting on Disability in Beijing.
Associated Press

Judith Heumann On Her 50-Year Fight For Disability Rights

Judith Heumann has used a wheelchair since childhood – which forced her to fight for her right to an education. And that was just the beginning of her activism for disabled rights. Today, she’s an internationally recognized leader in the Disability Rights Independent Living Movement who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations and was the World Bank’s first adviser on disability and development. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her life’s work, the lawsuits and sit-ins that changed history for people with disabilities, and what it means to rebel against entrenched norms and win. Her book, co-authored with Kristen Joiner, is “Rolling Warrior: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution.”