Sep 12, 2022
Gabriela Brimmer's 75th Birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today’s Doodle celebrates Mexican-Jewish writer and disability rights activist Gabriela Brimmer on what would have been her 75th birthday. Brimmer made impactful contributions to books and films that authentically portrayed her experience as a person with cerebral palsy, ultimately creating more opportunities for those in the disabled community.
Brimmer was born in Mexico City in 1947 to parents who escaped Nazi Austria. Soon after, her parents learned she had severe cerebral palsy, a muscular disorder that can affect a person's movement, muscle tone and posture. Brimmer’scaregivers taught her to communicate through written words and poetry, as she was nonverbal.
Her left leg and foot, the only part of her body she could move, became her means of communication with the world. As depicted in today’s artwork, she wrote beautiful passages by using a typewriter that she operated with the big toe on her left foot.
Brimmer later teamed up with Mexican novelists and journalists to write three bestselling books that accurately depicted her life. She also worked with producers to repurpose her autobiography into the movie Gaby, a True Story (1987), which won Golden Globes and Oscar nominations.
Brimmer went on to found the Association for the Rights of People with Motor Disabilities and participated in many other organizations that advocated for disability rights and accessibility.
In 2016, the Gaby Brimmer National Center for Rehabilitation and Educational Integration was created in her honor.
Happy birthday, Gabriela Brimmer!
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