Camp Jened was a

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

for disabled people in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

that became a springboard for the

disability rights movement The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

and

independent living movement Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context of e ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Many campers and counselors (known as "Jenedians") became disability rights

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, such as

Judith Heumann Judith Ellen "Judy" Heumann (; December 18, 1947March 4, 2023) was an American disability rights activist, known as the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement". She was recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heuma ...

, James LeBrecht, and Bobbi Linn.

History

In 1951, Camp Jened was established at the foot of Hunter Mountain in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

as a camp for disabled children, teenagers, and adults. The camp was meant to provide a nurturing community environment for people with a range of disabilities, such as

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

. Camp sessions were typically four or eight weeks. In the 1950s, the camp followed a relatively traditional summer camp structure. Alan Winters served as an early director of the camp. The camp was partially funded and supported by the Jened Foundation, a parent-led foundation that organized fundraisers. Counselors were typically college students who had been recruited for summer jobs. In the 1960s and 1970s, the camp became heavily influenced by the

1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...

and

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

values. In the mid-1960s, Jack Birnbaum, a social worker, came to Camp Jened. He had previously worked at another camp for disabled youth in

Oakhurst, New Jersey Oakhurst is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. In this role, he was "an affable longhair" with a "dry fuck-you sense of humor". Camp Jened was a notably social environment. Some campers saw it as utopian. Former camper Denise Jacobson said: "It was so funky! But it was utopia when we were there. There was no outside world." There were about 120 campers with minimal adult supervision. Campers formed bonds removed from the stigma, shame, and isolation they often encountered back home. Some campers experimented with cannabis and formed romantic relationships. Counselors slept in the same cabins as the campers, and music was often played. Most of the campers were from New York, but some came from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and other parts of the U.S. Despite its profound social impact, the camp often experienced financial issues. Allison said in an interview that "money was a constant struggle", and counselors were paid $250 for the summer. In 1977, the camp closed due to financial difficulty. In 1980, Camp Jened reopened in Rock Hill, New York, and became a part of the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State. It closed again in 2009. Camp Jened Marker

Influence on activism

Camp Jened provided a fertile environment for political and social discussions.

, a former counselor at the camp, said: "At Camp Jened we were able to envision a world that didn’t have to be set up in a way that excluded us. We started to have a common vision and were beginning to talk about things like, ‘Why are buses not accessible?'" Former camper James LeBrecht said: "I had this sense that the world was unfair. As a young teenager I realized, 'Wow, we can actually fight back.'" Jenedians also discussed the role of the family, including disabled people's right to privacy (rather than constant family intervention) and the impact of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

in how parents treated their disabled children. Furthermore, non-disabled staff came to deeply consider the struggles of disabled individuals. Allison said: "We realized the problem did not exist with disabled people. The problem existed with people that didn't have disabilities. It was our problem." An African-American counselor, Lionel Je' Woodyard, said, "Whatever obstacles there were in my way for being a Black man, the same thing was held true for individuals in wheelchairs." These experiences helped inspire Jenedians to become politically active. In 1970, Heumann sued the Board of Education for

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

after she was denied a teacher's license. She won the case, becoming the first person in a wheelchair to teach in New York City. That same year, Disabled in Action was formed by a group that included Heumann, Bobbi Linn, and other Jenedians. The organization advocated for the civil rights and security for disabled people. Of the formation of Disabled in Action, Linn said: "I think of Camp Jened as the training ground where people learned that they had the same rights as everybody else, and a lot of the original people were people from Jened." In the early 1970s, Disabled in Action organized protests, such as the 1972 Manhattan traffic blockade to protest

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's veto of the Rehabilitation Act of 1972. The act would have provided supplies for

dialysis Dialysis may refer to: * Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution **Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric po ...

machines and established centers for people living with

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

visual impairment Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

, and

spinal cord injuries A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

. By the mid-1970s, a group of Jenedians joined the

Center for Independent Living Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context of e ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. The center, which had been formed by disabled student activists at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, aimed to support the independence, dignity, and self-determination of disabled people. It was near the UC Berkeley campus and provided peer-based services to assist with housing and job training. Independent living became a cornerstone of the disability rights movement. In 1977, Jenedians participated in the

504 Sit-in The 504 Sit-in was a disability rights protest that began on April 5, 1977. People with disabilities and the disability community occupied federal buildings in the United States in order to push the issuance of long-delayed regulations regarding S ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, a sit-in protest at the local Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) office that lasted nearly a month. Many organizations participated in the sit-in.

The Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

provided meals, and

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

provided mattresses. Other groups that joined the sit-in included the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the National Farm Workers Associatio ...

Glide Memorial Church Glide Memorial Church is a nondenominational church in San Francisco, California, which opened in 1930. Since the 1960s, it has served as a counter-culture rallying point, as one of the most prominently liberal churches in the United States. Lo ...

, the Gay Men's Butterfly Brigade, and

Delancey Street Foundation The Delancey Street Foundation, often simply referred to as Delancey Street, is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that provides residential Drug rehabilitation, rehabilitation services and Vocational education, vocational training pro ...

. For decades, Jenedians participated in activism and advocacy that led to the passing of the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

, among other achievements. Heumann became the first Director for the Department on Disability Services, and served as an advisor on disability rights for the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. Linn became the first executive director of the Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) and in 2019 was inducted into the New York State Disability Rights Hall of Fame. LeBrecht helped form the Disabled Student Union at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

and co-directed a documentary, ''

Crip Camp ''Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution'' is a 2020 American documentary film directed, written, and co-produced by Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht. Barack and Michelle Obama served as executive producers under their Higher Ground Productions ba ...

'', about Camp Jened. Allison served as deputy director at the New York City Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities from 1973 to 1991, worked to improve polling place accessibility, and taught

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Portrayal in publications

In 2004, Camp Jened was covered in ''New York Activists and Leaders in the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement,'' published by the

Regents of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...

. The three-part publication provided an oral history account of the disability rights movement in New York, as part of the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement Oral History Project. Subjects who discussed Camp Jened were Allison, interviewed by Denise Sherer Jacobson in 2001, and Linn, interviewed by Sharon Bonney in 2001.

Portrayal in popular culture

In March 2020, Camp Jened was profiled in the documentary ''

'', directed by LeBrecht and

Nicole Newnham Nicole Newnham is an American documentary film producer, writer, and director known for the Academy Award, Oscar-nominated movie ''Crip Camp'' (2020) which she co-directed and produced with James LeBrecht, and the multiple-Emmy Award, Emmy-nominate ...

. The film features former camp members, including Heumann, as well as footage that LeBrecht shot as a 15-year-old camper in 1971. The film is critically acclaimed and won several accolades, including the Audience Award at the

2020 Sundance Film Festival The 2020 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 23 to February 2, 2020. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 4, 2019. The opening night film was '' Miss Americana'' directed by Lana Wilson and produced by Morg ...

and the Zeno Mountain Award at the 2020 Miami Film Festival.

References

{{reflist Greene County, New York Jened 1951 establishments in New York (state) 2009 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct disability organizations based in New York (state) Summer camps for children with disabilities