Advocates Who Changed New York

Stacey Park Milbern was a prominent activist who helped coin the term “disability justice.” She is widely known as a key producer for the 2020 Netflix documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution,” which tells the story of Camp Jened in New York’s Catskill Mountains. The film, paired with Milbern’s virtual series and associated outreach efforts, helped raise awareness of the disability rights movement. Milbern is the first woman to appear on U.S. currency in a wheelchair.

Image courtesy of the Estate of Stacey Milbern.

Judith “Judy” Heumann is regarded as the “mother” of the disability rights movement. Diagnosed with polio as an infant, she was not allowed to attend New York City schools. Decades later, she became the first person using a wheelchair to teach in a New York City school. Heumann went on to become an influential teacher and activist who served in two presidential administrations.

Pat Figueroa launched the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York (CIDNY), the first Independent Living Center in New York. He also co-founded the 504 Democrats Club, a group that works toward disability inclusion. Dedicated to public service, Figueroa worked as an administrator for the New York State Office for the Aging in Albany.

After contracting a paralytic illness in 1921, President Franklin D. Roosevelt required a wheelchair but was rarely photographed in one. He founded the Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center in Georgia, a pioneering facility that helped people with disabilities gain strength and independence. Some historians credit President Roosevelt’s experience with illness, widely believed to be polio, with fostering his empathy for others and making him a more effective leader. Roosevelt served as Governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.