If you’ve spoken to me at all over the past two months, you’ve likely had the chance to listen to me rave about a movie that has completely changed my life. If you haven’t had the pleasure, here’s your opportunity to hear all about it. Crip Camp, directed by James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, was released on March 25th and chronicles the disability rights revolution of the past century. It starts in a place that I, and likely the majority of viewers, had never previously heard of—Camp Jened.
The movie introduces viewers to young adults who attended Camp Jened, a summer camp that operated throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s as a way to bring disabled youth together. Though there is so much more to Crip Camp—Jened is very clearly at the heart and soul of the story. As a disabled eighteen-year-old who has always felt a little too attracted to the life of the ‘70s, the movie immediately felt like it was made just for me. Saying “I was born in the wrong era” was always too cliché for me (no matter how much I love the music, the fashion, and the, uh… lifestyle), but in watching Crip Camp I actually felt like I belonged at Camp Jened, right alongside featured campers like Jim, Denise, and the ever-iconic Judy Heumann. There is little that one could offer that would be more appealing to me than “summer camp for the handicapped run by hippies,” and I don’t think I’ll ever fully give up on trying to live that dream.
One of the major themes of the film is togetherness, a feeling which cannot be missed in the clips of campers talking, laughing, and living together. There are poignant conversations documented about everything from schoolroom exclusion to sexual hygiene (a case of rapidly spreading crabs at a summer camp for “crips” is perhaps one of the best things one can witness in a documentary as a disabled person—but I imagine it might be even more entertaining for the non-disabled crowd.) Even through the short, sometimes shaky, black-and-white glimpses into camp life, it is easy to tell that everyone belonged at Jened. Campers helped each other do anything from eat to bathe, and the sense of community curated there jumps through screens and directly into viewers’ hearts. Just as you fall in love with Jened and its campers, Crip Camp takes you through to an even more monumental period in disability history.
Judy Heumann, one of the campers we see in the early parts of the film, is one of the most influential disability rights activists of all time, and Crip Camp documents her journey from Jened to social justice flawlessly. Footage from monumental events such as the 504 sit-ins and the Capitol Crawl for the ADA was what, frankly, changed my life in a matter of moments. I have been interested in disability rights for as long as I can remember. In university I now study political science, a choice I made as a direct result of my life with a disability. I have known of the mistreatment of people with disabilities in the past, and I’ve long known in my heart that things still need to improve.
Watching Crip Camp, I was reminded what I want to fight for, and what I’ve been trying to fight for my whole life. It has been easy enough for me to say my goal is to advocate for disabled justice, but it never stays quite that simple.
I see the awful things that happen still today, and sometimes it can seem like I could never possibly make a difference. Crip Camp changed my mind about that forever. Snapshots from protests of the ‘70s and ‘80s and footage of disabled people refusing to back down reminded me that that’s what I’m meant to be doing. The incredible power of a bunch of “crips” working together has made change happen before, and when change needs to happen again—I’ll be right up at the forefront trying to make my activist ancestors proud.
Disability history is not something we are taught in school and, for the better part of my life, it’s been something I’ve had to hunt around for as if it were some kind of secret. The history I learned from Crip Camp empowered me so massively that I immediately showed it to everyone I knew. Even as a disabled person who has dedicated time to researching my own history, there was still so much I didn’t know and that this film taught me. Its narratives like the ones offered in Crip Camp that not only remind disabled people how capable we are, but can serve as a jumping-off point for our abled allies to better understand our history, our identity, and our fight. If you haven’t watched the movie, take this as my personal pleading for you to do so. You will learn more than you could ever imagine, and after only an hour and forty-odd minutes—you’ll be ready to march (or roll) alongside us in our fight for disability justice. You will also get to hear a stellar soundtrack, which I only mention here because I had nowhere else to say it and it simply must be acknowledged as the beautiful thing it is.
Once you’re done watching or rewatching the movie (or rewatching for the fifth time, if you’re me), the creators of Crip Camp have organized an amazing opportunity for you to get actively involved in the fight. Starting on May 17, they are hosting a series of online workshops focusing on disability advocacy, featuring some of today’s most prominent activists. The events are virtual and completely free, so if at any moment during your viewing of Crip Camp you thought “wow, I wish I could’ve been there”—your wish has come true. You can look at the link in their Instagram bio, @cripcampfilm, for more information and to register for this event that will without a doubt be history in the making.
