Institute of Politics

Three decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the award-winning film Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution graced the documentary world with a story of campers-turned-activists and their fight for accessibility legislation. It’s a look back to a pivotal summer at Camp Jened, where campers Judy Heumann, James LeBrecht and others would meet and experience a liberation apart from a world of discrimination. Six years later, the campers would fight together in the Bay Area for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 through a 28-day sit-in, inspiring millions to join a nationwide movement for disability justice.

Crip Camp is a Higher Ground Productions film distributed by Netflix in 2020. Its numerous awards include Best Feature at the International Documentary Association and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Please join the Institute of Politics as we welcome Crip Camp’s co-director, Nicole Newnham - Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary film producer, director, and writer (The Rape of Europa, Collisions, Awavena).

She will discuss the production of Crip Camp, how Camp Jened helped transform the Disability Rights Movement, the inclusion of disability in conversations surrounding intersectional equity, and more.

This conversation will be moderated by Liz Plank, former political correspondent at Vox and CEO of Liz Plank Productions. She is the host of NBC News’ “Positive Spin” and a columnist at MSNBC, where she focuses on gender and disability.

Crip Camp is available to watch for free on YouTube or on Netflix. An audio description full feature is available here.