Haben Girma
Haben Girma (born in 1988) is an American lawyer, writer and disability rights advocate.[1][2] She is deaf and blind.[2] She uses the word "deafblind" to describe herself.[1] Girma was the first person who is deafblind to graduate from law school in the United States.[2] President Barack Obama recognized her as a 2013 White House Champion of Change.[1][3] She was recognized by Forbes Magazine as a 2016 "30 Under 30."[2] In 2018, the American Foundation for the Blind awarded her the Helen Keller Achievement Award.[3] Her work was recognized by both Justin Tredeau and Angela Merkel.[3]
Haben Girma | |
|---|---|
 Girma in December 2019 | |
| Nationality | USA |
Early Life
Haben Girma was born in 1988 in California.[2] Girma’s mother, Saba Gebreyesus, Came to the United States from Eritrea.[2] Her father is Ethiopian.[1] Girma also had a brother who was deafblind.[2]
She attended school in Oakland, California. When she was in elementary school, she communicated with a keyboard that was linked to a braille reader.[2] The Oakland schools acknowledged disability rights and made sure she had the tools she needed to learn.[1]
Girma didn’t start advocating for ability rights until she attended college.[2] She studied at Lewis and Clark College located in Portland, OR, USA.[2] The menu in the cafeteria was only in print. The manager would not help her. She had to eat whatever someone put on her plate.[1][2] This experience made her realize that she also had a right to make choices like other people do.[2] She learned that the Americans with Disabilities Act required the cafeteria to give her a menu she could read.[1]
Girma earned her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.[2] To help herself study and learn, Girma invented a new machine to make communicating easier.[1] People can type into the machine and it gives her Braille to read. She speaks in response.[1]
Career
Girma is a civil rights attorney.[2] Much of her work focuses on fighting for equal access to educational opportunities.[2] She wants strong schools for Black American children.[3] She also argues that people with disabilities can contribute in the workplace and also buy useful products. They are productive members of the economy.[1] She helped fight a legal case against Scribd, a digital library, for the National Federation for the Blind (NFB).[1] NFB wanted Scribd to make their collection accessible to people who are blind. Scribd did not want to. The court ruled that Scribd had to make its work accessible.[1]
Girma often travels around the world to give speeches about experiences with disability.[2] She wants to change people's opinions about ability.[2] She thinks of her disability as “an opportunity for innovation”.[1]
Portrayals of disabled people in television and movies is also important to Girma.[2] She gives talks to media organizations about opportunities to create realistic stories about people with different abilities.[2] She also wants actors with disabilities cast in roles that do not specify that the character has a disability.[2]
She also published a memoir: Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.[1]
Personal life
Girma enjoys kayaking, skiing, river rafting, rock climbing, ice skating, and surfing.[3] She appreciates curiosity.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Lee, Danny (18 Dec 2019). "Haben Girma: My disability has been an opportunity for innovation". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/17/haben-girma-deafblind-disability-opportunity-innovation. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 Appelbaum, Lauren (2019-03-05). "Deafblind Lawyer Haben Girma Advocates for Disability Rights". Respect Ability. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Disability Rights Activist Haben Girma to Deliver Closing General Session Keynote | Conference Content | Parks and Recreation Magazine | NRPA". www.nrpa.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.