Leader of Disability Movement: UC Berkeley alumnus Judy Heumann dies at 75

The Daily Californian on Judy Heumann

https://dailycal.org/2023/03/07/leader-of-the-disability-movement-uc-berkeley-alumnus-judy-heumann-dies-at-75

"Hari Srinivasan, a campus alumnus who was mentored by Heumann and former Daily Californian employee, said she has left an impact on his perspective of disability justice and his own advocacy journey.

“Getting to interact with Judy has had a[n] OVERSIZED impact on how I’ve come to regard disability, including my own sense of self-worth,” Srinivasan said in an email. “Judy was just so empowering.”

Heumann took the time out of her “extremely busy schedule” to attend Srinivasan’s undergraduate academic colloquium at UC Berkeley, where he presented his research on autism, he said.

Srinivasan noted that Heumann was a self-described “bad-ass” who encouraged other people with disabilities to demand their rights and call out discrimination.

“I loved that she was so grounded, approachable and showed so much humility, and so generous of her time and guidance,” Srinivasan said in an email. “It was like she was nudging and encouraging us to become pebbles that were widening ripples in the pond of change, adding to giant ripples that had been initiated by her.”

Srinivasan said he hopes the advocacy work by himself and others will continue Heumann’s legacy."