The American Disabilities Act (ADA) recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary.  One of the social groups I belong to held a zoom event with some of the people associated with the movement.  The guest speakers at the event were Judith Heuman, James Le Brecht, and Nicole Newnhan.  Judith and James attended Camp Jened, which was a summer camp in the Catskills, started in 1951 for teens with physical disabilities.   In the 60’s and 70’s Camp Jened was influenced by the hippie culture.  It was unstructured and the campers felt empowerment, and that it was like a utopia. Through their discussions at this camp, many of the campers and counselors went on to become disability rights activist and advocates who were responsible for the passage of the ADA.

Judith was one of the strongest activist and civil rights advocate for the disabled. Even as a young student, she and her mother fought for her right to attend public school. After years of home instruction, she won the right to atttend.  After graduating College, she sued the Board of Education for her right to teach in a public school and was victorious. She went on to lead the ADA movement. She is known internationally.

James works as a sound designer for theatre and film and has won awards for his work, including, “Crip Camp”. He wanted to make a documentary to share his experiences of what the camp meant to him and his fellow campers. It explains the impact this group of campers had on rights for the disabled. At 15 years old, James shot a lot of footage of the campers. His orginal footage from the 70’s was used in the movie. Co-director, Nicole Newnhan, agreed to do it with him. It not only shows the time spent at camp, but how the campers stayed in touch for many years later, and went on to protest and fight for disability rights. When trying to come up with a title for the documentary, they decided to go with Crip Camp to make a bold statement. (Slang for Cripples)

They wanted people to realize that the disabled community is just like any other, and reprogram how non-disabled people think about those with disabilities. It is an amazing, interesting and informative documentary for all to watch.  My parents and I watched it together and learned so much, and were so impressed by what the “Jenedians” accomplished for disability rights.  If you haven’t seen the movie yet, it is a must see! (on Netflix) You can also find lots of information on “Camp “Jened” and the campers on the internet. Truly Inspiring!