The Passing of Judy Heumann, the Legacy of Jimmy Carter, the Nature of a Revival

KTF Weekly Newsletter

SUBJECT: The Passing of Judy Heumann, The Legacy of Jimmy Carter, The Nature of a Revival

Hey everyone!

In our Shake the Dust episode last week about our new book, Faith Unleavened, author Tamice Spencer-Helms proclaimed that no matter where we go seeking truth and light, we will find Jesus around every corner. This is an especially helpful thought when our weeks are full of things to celebrate, lament, wrestle with, and interrogate. So with that, on to our resources for the week!

Sy’s recommendations:

• We lost a hero this week, and too few people knew her name. Judy Heumann was one of the first people I learned about when I began studying the disability rights movement many years ago. She was heavily involved in the passage of every major piece of disability rights legislation in the US, whether she was staging the longest nonviolent takeover of a federal building in history or serving in high-ranking government positions. She advocated for disability rights across the world as well, working among other things for the passage of the main international treaty on disability rights. She died unexpectedly on Friday from heart complications, possibly related to the polio she contracted as a child. I recommend listening to and learning from her as much as possible. Her podcast, The Heumann Perspective, is a long series of conversations between Judy and disability rights leaders from across the globe. She is one of the main subjects of the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, which we have recommended before. This obituary gives a good overview of her life. You can also watch her TED Talk here. And I would be extremely happy to hear if any of you decided to buy your kids this pull-string, wheelchair-using doll that is named Judy in her honor. It’s also well worth our time to ask why exactly we don’t all know the name of someone whose effect on the lives of untold millions of people was so enormous.