Being Heumann

Judith’s memoir takes place over the course over 70 years, beginning in 1947 when she was born. It is set against a backdrop of political upheaval and activism concerning disability rights in the United States and focuses on how Judith contributed to the advancement of these civil rights (The Effects of Discrimination and the Long Road to Equality). Judith fully understands the influence of history on her life and makes this clear from the prologue when she discusses her parents’ need to flee Germany as Hitler rose to power. She reflects on how, if she had been born in Germany in 1947 rather than in Brooklyn, she would likely have been a victim of the Holocaust, which began with the removal of children with disabilities from their homes to be killed. Hitler deeming people with disabilities as deserving death is an extreme example, but ableist violence is part of reality and Judith’s personal history specifically. This history sets the foundation for Judith’s activism and drive to change what she sees as wrong in the world.

From 1948 to 1955, before a vaccine was created, a polio epidemic swept across America, affecting approximately 45,000 people, over 3,000 of whom died.