When Judy Heumann, camp creator, joined alongside other students, their first question was not “what is your name?,” but rather a statement labeling her as “sick.” Before Judy even got the chance to identify herself, able-bodied children had identified her as someone with sickness—someone with a disability. Even the principle at Judy’s school engaged in these microaggressions by offering concerns that Judy was a “fire hazard.” As Judy recalled her own experience being a disabled student watching other “more” disabled students being sent into the basement for separated classroom sessions, she recalled knowing that she and her disabled classmates were being “sidelined.” When Judy found her way to becoming a counselor of a camp, it was her utmost priority to ensure that everyone had a chance to talk. In the documentary, we see individuals utilizing one another to better understand themselves and each other. The film highlighted the difference between how disabled people are treated in the depths of an ableist society versus how they are treated when disabled people can create a society that fits their needs. While ableism runs rampant as we see in texts such as the subaltern character of Maggie in Toni Morrison’s Recitatif, it does not have to. Ableism dictates that disabled people are only capable of certain things and the concept of a disabled person achieving something beyond those limitations seems unfathomable. However, this documentary proved all those limitations to be faulty; it displayed disabled people running their own camp entirely on their own. If this sound’s surprising, it should not. Disabled people live in a world that is designed against them and forces them to consistently be faced with the burdens of systemic ableism. Disabled people often cannot make it through one day without experiencing a systemic barrier and injustice. To assume the same people that are being treated as ‘others’ simultaneously cannot endure and achieve insurmountable things is only further degrading the incredible strength and power that disabled people withhold. The next time you enter a building, consider how accessible the door to enter is. The next time you walk through a grocery store, consider the accessibility barriers: narrow aisles, tall shelves, wheelchair-inaccessible checkout counters. The next time you post on social media, consider the language you use such as crazy, deaf, blind, dumb, etc. As was quoted in the Crip Camp documentary, “move the architectural barriers—we can work.”
Additional website with a longer video and some more information about the documentary:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/26/health/crip-camp-americans-with-disabilities-act-wellness/index.html