JUDITH “JUDY” HEUMANN (1947-2023)
A photograph of Judith "Judy" Heumann

Judith “Judy” Heumann is widely regarded as the mother of the disability rights movement. Diagnosed with polio as a toddler, Heumann experienced permanent paralysis and was denied access to her neighborhood New York City school due to wheelchair inaccessibility. With her family’s support, she attended public high school and became the first New York City public school teacher to use a wheelchair. Heumann went on to become an influential activist and served in two presidential administrations.

WILLIE MAE (b.1931) AND MARGUERITE GOODMAN (b.1955)
A black and white image of Willie Mae and Marguerite Goodman
Both Marguerite (left) and Willie Mae Goodman (right) continue to champion the importance of community living for people with disabilities. Image courtesy of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Marguerite Goodman was born with developmental disabilities that significantly affected her ability to live on her own. She was first placed at Willowbrook State School and later transferred to the Gouverneur State School, a formerly condemned hospital in lower Manhattan. When Gouverneur faced closure in 1970, Marguerite’s mother, Willie Mae Goodman, established the Gouverneur Parents Association to prevent children from being transferred back to Willowbrook and called for better, more humane care for their children, an essential human right. Willie Mae Goodman’s leadership successfully integrated the methodologies of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement into the emerging Disability Rights Movement in New York.

EUNICE FIORITO (1930-1999)
An image of Eunice Fiorito during the inaugural run of New York City’s City Hall elevator.
Eunice Fiorito (far right) pictured during the inaugural run of New York City’s City Hall elevator, December 27, 1977. Image courtesy of Warren Shaw, Disability History NYC.

Eunice Fiorito was a social worker with a vision disability who became a central figure in the New York City Disability Rights Movement. In 1970, Fiorito became the first coordinator of the newly created New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. Here, she developed guidelines for accessibility in public spaces. 

As co-founder and president of the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD), she conducted nationwide sit-ins pushing for the enforcement of Section 504 of the 1973 Federal Rehabilitation Act.

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