Malden Reads book discussion with Mayor

The Malden Public Library and Malden Reads invite you to join Mayor Gary Christenson to discuss this year’s book selection, “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist” by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner. The discussion will take place on Wednesday, March 27, from 6:30–7:30 p.m. in the beautiful art galleries at the Malden Public Library. Light refreshments will be served.

  “Some people say that what I did changed the world. But really, I simply refused to accept what I was told about who I could be. And I was willing to make a fuss about it.”—Judith Heumann

So begins “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist.” Malden Reads’ Book Selection Committee, which is made up of volunteers from across our community, along with librarians from the Malden Public Library, unanimously selected “Being Heumann” as their 2024 community read. The book highlights the history of the disability rights movement in our country through a personal memoir of one of its most recognized leaders.

Imagine a time in the United States when it was acceptable and legal for a child with disabilities to not attend school because their physical disability made them a “fire hazard.” Imagine, as well, that a child using a wheelchair could not play with a child that lived across the street because sidewalks did not have curb ramps. Imagine being carried by your father in your wheelchair up and down stairs wherever you went. Imagine the daily struggle in every possible way to survive in a world that isn’t built for your existence. This is the era in which Judith Heumann had grown up – before Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) made practices like these illegal.

How did these laws get passed? Who were the people involved? Through “Being Heumann,” we learn that laws were enacted through the tireless work of disability awareness activists like Heumann who helped people understand that disability rights are human rights. Working with over 150 disabled activists and allies, Heumann helped lead a sit-in and the longest takeover of a government building in U.S. history through collaboration, banding together with one voice and strategic planning (as well as food delivered by the Black Panthers every night!).

Booklist has this praise for “Being Heumann”: “Consider this book an inspiring call for inclusiveness, courage, equity, and justice as well as a reminder of people’s power to change the world for the better.”

Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, called the book a “moving chronicle of social change” that “will restore your hope in our democracy and the power of our shared humanity.”

Publishers Weekly named it a Best Book of the Year for Nonfiction.

Join “Malden Reads: One City, One Book” to explore themes related to “Being Heumann” for Malden Reads’ 14th year, including disability awareness, hidden disabilities, the benefit of ADA to nondisabled people, advances in technology for people with disabilities, civil rights, human rights, and how bills like the ADA become law and the power of one person working in collaboration with a team to create change.

Malden Reads is a community reading organization run by residents in collaboration with the Malden Public Library and Urban Media Arts. Each season, Malden Reads invites the city of Malden, Mass., to read a selected book and participate in a program of events, projects and community initiatives centered around the themes of the book. Malden Reads looks forward to having you join Mayor Christenson and the Malden community to discuss this book and share your thoughts about this important phase of American history.

Copies of both the physical book and downloadable versions are available at the Malden Public Library and copies may be purchased at The Gallery@57 (57 Pleasant St., Malden).