Judith Heumann: Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet
Judith Heumann: Notre combat pour les droits des handicapés n'est pas terminé
Judith Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people. Full bio
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dans un poumon d'acier
for three years.
pendant trois ans.
in our Brooklyn neighborhood,
dans notre quartier de Brooklyn,
very helpful for my parents.
afraid of contagion,
refusaient de passer devant chez nous.
in front of our house.
walk across the street.
when my family really began to realize
ma famille a commencé à comprendre
pour certains :
that I would live at home,
que je vivrais à la maison,
until I was 36 years old.
with my father one night,
when you were two years old,
suggested to your mom and I
go ahead with their lives
with all the disability-related things.
des choses liées à ton handicap. »
not because he was a liar,
non parce qu'il était un menteur,
je découvrais cette histoire,
I was really surprised by this story,
pourquoi cette histoire m'a surprise,
all across the United States,
comme tous les parents des États-Unis,
in walking distance to our house,
à quelques pas de notre maison,
up the steps into the school,
no, I couldn't come to that school
ne pouvait pas m'accueillir
de ne pas nous inquiéter,
would send a teacher to my house.
allait m'envoyer un professeur.
une compétence très importante :
in a real building
only with disabled children
avec des élèves handicapés
mainly nondisabled children.
où ils étaient minoritaires.
dans des ateliers protégés,
called sheltered workshops
or below minimum wage.
sinon moins que le minimum légal.
ce qu'était la discrimination.
who left in the 1930s,
qui s'étaient exilés dans les années 30,
and they lost parents.
et des parents.
their parents in the Holocaust.
durant l'Holocauste.
for me in my life.
I used a wheelchair,
in New York City, in the entire city,
n'était accessible à New York
back onto home instruction
with other parents.
à d'autres parents.
make some of the high schools accessible.
de rendre accessible des lycées.
a regular high school,
about what discrimination was,
sur les discriminations,
that I needed to become my own advocate.
j'apprenais que je devais me défendre.
Long Island University,
à l'université de Long Island,
je voulais être enseignante,
and I took all the appropriate courses,
et j'ai suivi tous les cours appropriés,
for me to go for my license,
inaccessible buildings,
totalement inaccessibles,
up and down the steps
afin de monter et descendre les marches
completely different.
pour l'examen médical.
the doctor asked me
que m'a posées le docteur fut :
how I went to the bathroom.
comment j'allais aux toilettes ? »
for any kind of an interview,
dans ce genre d'entretiens,
of questions that people could ask you?
qu'on vous posera.
no disabled people using wheelchairs
I was expecting something bad.
that teachers show their students
montrer à leurs étudiants
that I was denied my job
sequelae of -- I'm sorry.
séquelles de... je suis désolée.
sequelae of poliomyelitis.
séquelles de la poliomyélite.
what the word "sequelae" meant,
le sens du mot « séquelles »,
and it meant "because of."
qui indiquait « à cause de ».
because I couldn't walk.
car je ne pouvais pas marcher.
time in my life,
challenging the system, me,
of other friends who had disabilities
avec beaucoup d'amis handicapés
to move forward with this,
at Long Island University
étudiant à l'université de Long Island
at the "New York Times,"
un très bon article
about what had happened
ce qui s'était passé
what had happened was wrong.
in the "New York Times"
publiait un éditorial.
"Human v. The Board of Education"
contre le conseil d'établissement »
came out in support
ma licence d'enseignement.
who was writing a book about civil rights.
écrivait un livre sur les droits civiques.
I want to sue the Board of Education."
face au conseil d'établissement ? »
were aligned around this court case,
les étoiles étaient bien alignées
female federal judge --
when she saw it.
lorsqu'elle y était confrontée.
le conseil d'établissement
to offer me a job,
d'un directeur d'établissement,
and I started teaching that fall
et j'ai enseigné dès cet automne-là
around the country,
nous défendre nous-mêmes,
you needed to be cured,
les personnes handicapées
part of the equation.
l'égalité était un sujet secondaire.
from the Civil Rights Movement
du Mouvement des droits civiques
about their activism
the Disability Rights Movement.
des personnes handicapées.
a couple of riddles.
sur Madison Avenue
étaient inaccessibles,
une autre devinette.
to stop a bus in New York City
pour arrêter un bus à New York
because you're in a wheelchair?
à cause de votre fauteuil roulant ?
right in front of the steps
juste en face des marches,
to learn how to do that,
vetoed the Rehabilitation Act.
à la loi relative à la réadaptation.
to be promulgated to implement that law
pour appliquer la loi
Elles ont été signées.
With Disabilities Act, the ADA,
aux Américains handicapés (ADA),
in fact be passed in the House or Senate,
par une des chambres du Congrès,
the United States came together
se sont rassemblées
on the lawn of the White House.
sur la pelouse de la Maison Blanche.
statements he had in his speech
il a fait cette célèbre déclaration :
of exclusion finally come tumbling down."
s'effondrer définitivement. »
or maybe or even 40 or older,
voire 40 ans ou plus,
there were no ramps on the streets,
où les rues n'avaient pas de rampes,
bathrooms in shopping malls,
a sign language interpreter,
d'interprètes en langue des signes,
or other kinds of supports.
ni aucune autre forme d'adaptation.
want laws like we have,
par des personnes handicapées,
of Persons with Disabilities.
des personnes handicapées.
have joined this treaty.
human rights treaty
sur les droits humains
les personnes handicapées.
que notre Sénat
that we ratify the treaty.
de le ratifier.
into force until ratification,
il ne peut entrer en vigueur
no president can ratify a treaty
to enable us as Americans
notre Sénat doit nous permettre
people and governments around the world
et les gouvernements du monde entier
that we've been doing,
have the same opportunities
aient autant d'opportunités
et travailler à l'étranger
don't have the same laws as we do
n'imiteront pas notre législation
are more limited.
pour les personnes handicapées.
violence and rape
qu'elles subissent
these forms of violence
and people that they know,
ou de connaissances,
are not adjudicated.
de la part d'entreprises
where there's a quota system,
où il existe un système de quota,
in the facility."
dans l'entreprise. »
où la puanteur de l'urine est si forte
the door of your vehicle,
la porte de votre voiture,
in the community with appropriate supports
avec les moyens appropriés
lives of despair.
needs to be doing more to correct.
pour améliorer cela.
lorsque nous la voyons,
be doing together?
you can join at any point in your life.
que vous pouvez rejoindre un jour.
how many of you have ever broken a bone?
combien se sont déjà cassé quelque chose ?
you to maybe write a couple of sentences
j'aimerais que vous écriviez
has been like for you,
durant cette période,
des personnes dire :
I couldn't do that.
faire ceci ou cela.
They acted differently towards me."
On agissait autrement avec moi. »
and other disabled people see
comme moi constatent
and watching this TED Talk --
et regardent cette conférence TED,
faire bouger les choses.
pour la justice.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Judith Heumann - Disability rights activistJudith Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people.
Why you should listen
Judith (Judy) Heumann contracted polio in 1949 in Brooklyn, NY and began to experience discrimination at five years old when she was denied the right to attend school because she was a "fire hazard." Her parents played a strong role in fighting for her rights as a child. Heumann determined that she, working in collaboration with other disabled people, had to play an increasing advocacy role as she and others experienced continuous discrimination because of their disabilities. She is now an internationally recognized leader in the disability rights community and a lifelong civil rights advocate. As a Senior Fellow at the Ford Foundation, she is currently working to help advance the inclusion of disability in the Foundation’s work and is leading a project to advance the inclusion of disabled people in the media.
President Obama appointed Heumann as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, where she served from 2010-2017. Prior to this position, she served as the Director for the Department on Disability Services for the District of Columbia, where she was responsible for the Developmental Disability Administration and the Rehabilitation Services Administration.
From June 2002- 2006, Heumann served as the World Bank's first Adviser on Disability and Development. In this position, she led the World Bank's disability work to expand the Bank’s knowledge and capability to work with governments and civil society on including disability in the global conversation. From 1993 to 2001, Heumann served in the Clinton Administration as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education. She was also responsible for the implementation of legislation at the national level for programs in special education, disability research, vocational rehabilitation and independent living, serving more than 8 million youth and adults with disabilities.
Heumann graduated from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY in 1969 and received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975. Her goal in life is to continue to advance the rights and empowerment of ALL disabled people around the world. She is also currently building an online presence through The Heumann Perspective which can found on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Judith Heumann | Speaker | TED.com