Posted on August 5, 2021
Fireside chat features renowned disability rights activist Judy Heumann
Grand Rapids, Mich. – Internationally known disability rights advocate Judy Heumann is the featured guest for the upcoming Ms. Wheelchair America competition being presented by Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation.
Heumann will discuss her life’s work during a live, virtual fireside chat with Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle and current Ms. Wheelchair America Hilary Muehlberger.
When: 1-1:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10
Where: Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital Facebook page
Ms. Wheelchair America judges look for the most accomplished and articulate spokeswoman for people with disabilities. Tuesday’s conversation with Heumann is one of several virtual workshops on leadership training, self-care and advocacy that contestants will enjoy during the competition, which runs Monday, Aug. 9 through Saturday, Aug. 14. The winner will be announced Saturday.
A lifelong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, Heumann was instrumental in development of policies and legislation, including for programs in special education, disability research, vocational rehabilitation and independent living. A Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation, she was appointed by President Obama as the first special advisor for international disability rights. She’s also served in various capacities for the Clinton Administration, the Department of Disability Services for the District of Columbia and the World Bank.
Heumann contracted polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, New York and began to use a wheelchair for mobility. After being denied the ability to attend school at the age of five because she was considered a “fire hazard,” her parents began to fight for her rights. Heumann eventually took up the fight for herself and the rights of others with disabilities.
Her story was featured in the 2020 Oscar-nominated documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” and she recently released her memoir “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist.”
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation joined forces with Ms. Wheelchair America this year after COVID-19 forced the event’s cancellation in 2020. Mary Free Bed is the competition’s presenting sponsor and is producing the virtual event.
