Judith Heumann: Our fight for disability rights -- and why we're not done yet
ג'ודית האומן: המאבק שלנו לזכויות הנכים - ולמה עוד לא סיימנו
Judith Heumann is a lifelong advocate for the rights of disabled people. Full bio
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for three years.
במשך שלוש שנים.
in our Brooklyn neighborhood,
very helpful for my parents.
afraid of contagion,
in front of our house.
walk across the street.
when my family really began to realize
המשפחה שלי ממש התחילה להבין
that I would live at home,
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.
עם כל הדברים הכרוכים במוגבלות.
not because he was a liar,
לא בגלל שחשבתי שהוא שקרן,
I was really surprised by this story,
למה ממש הופתעתי מהסיפור הזה,
all across the United States,
ברחבי ארצות הברית,
in walking distance to our house,
שהיה במרחק הליכה מהבית שלנו,
up the steps into the school,
שהובילו לבית הספר,
no, I couldn't come to that school
לא אוכל ללמוד בבית הספר הזה
would send a teacher to my house.
in a real building
only with disabled children
mainly nondisabled children.
called sheltered workshops
or below minimum wage.
פחות משכר מינימום.
who left in the 1930s,
and they lost parents.
הם איבדו את ההורים שלהם.
their parents in the Holocaust.
for me in my life.
I used a wheelchair,
in New York City, in the entire city,
בעיר כולה,
back onto home instruction
with other parents.
make some of the high schools accessible.
a regular high school,
about what discrimination was,
that I needed to become my own advocate.
לנציגה של עצמי.
Long Island University,
and I took all the appropriate courses,
ולקחתי את כל הקורסים המתאימים,
for me to go for my license,
inaccessible buildings,
up and down the steps
למעלה ולמטה
completely different.
the doctor asked me
how I went to the bathroom.
איך אני הולכת לשירותים.
for any kind of an interview,
לכל סוג של ראיון,
of questions that people could ask you?
שאנשים יכולים לשאול אתכם?
no disabled people using wheelchairs
I was expecting something bad.
that teachers show their students
that I was denied my job
sequelae of -- I'm sorry.
של -- סליחה.
sequelae of poliomyelitis.
כתוצאה מסיבוכים של פוליאומילייטיס.
what the word "sequelae" meant,
and it meant "because of."
because I couldn't walk.
בגלל שלא יכולתי ללכת.
time in my life,
challenging the system, me,
of other friends who had disabilities
חברים אחרים בעלי מוגבלויות
to move forward with this,
at Long Island University
באוניברסיטת לונד איילנד
at the "New York Times,"
about what had happened
what had happened was wrong.
in the "New York Times"
ב"ניו יורק טיימס"
"Human v. The Board of Education"
came out in support
who was writing a book about civil rights.
שכתב ספר על זכויות אדם.
I want to sue the Board of Education."
אני רוצה לתבוע את משרד החינוך".
were aligned around this court case,
היו מסודרים סביב התביעה הזו,
female federal judge --
בבית המשפט הפדרלי --
when she saw it.
to offer me a job,
and I started teaching that fall
והתחלתי ללמד באותו הסתיו
around the country,
you needed to be cured,
צריך לרפא אותך,
part of the equation.
from the Civil Rights Movement
about their activism
the Disability Rights Movement.
a couple of riddles.
to stop a bus in New York City
because you're in a wheelchair?
בגלל שאתה בכסא גלגלים?
right in front of the steps
to learn how to do that,
vetoed the Rehabilitation Act.
to be promulgated to implement that law
כדי ליישם את החוק הזה
With Disabilities Act, the ADA,
in fact be passed in the House or Senate,
the United States came together
מכל רחבי ארצות הברית התאחדו
on the lawn of the White House.
על מדשאת הבית הלבן.
statements he had in his speech
שהוא אמר בנאום שלו
of exclusion finally come tumbling down."
להתפורר סוף סוף".
or maybe or even 40 or older,
there were no ramps on the streets,
לא היו שום רמפות ברחובות,
bathrooms in shopping malls,
לכסאות גלגלים במרכזי קניות,
a sign language interpreter,
or other kinds of supports.
או כל סוג אחר של עזרה.
want laws like we have,
רוצים חוקים כמו שלנו,
of Persons with Disabilities.
have joined this treaty.
human rights treaty
that we ratify the treaty.
into force until ratification,
no president can ratify a treaty
to enable us as Americans
people and governments around the world
וממשלות ברחבי העולם
that we've been doing,
have the same opportunities
don't have the same laws as we do
אין את אותם החוקים כמו שלנו
are more limited.
הינן מצומצמות יותר.
violence and rape
these forms of violence
and people that they know,
על ידי אנשים שהן מכירות,
are not adjudicated.
where there's a quota system,
in the facility."
the door of your vehicle,
in the community with appropriate supports
בעלת תמיכות מתאימות
lives of despair.
needs to be doing more to correct.
צריכה לפעול יותר כדי לתקן.
be doing together?
you can join at any point in your life.
יכולים להצטרף בכל נקודה בחייכם.
how many of you have ever broken a bone?
אם אי פעם שברתם עצם?
you to maybe write a couple of sentences
שאולי תכתבו כמה משפטים
has been like for you,
I couldn't do that.
They acted differently towards me."
הם התנהגו באופן שונה כלפי".
and other disabled people see
בעלי מוגבלויות רואים
and watching this TED Talk --
אני צריכה ללכת לתפוס את האוטובוס שלי.
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