Law Schools, Technology

Haben Girma: A Zealous Advocate For Disability Rights

She's accomplished in the span of just a few years what many of us can only hope to tackle in a lifetime.

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In 2014, I wrote about how Haben Girma, a deafblind lawyer, used technology to practice law and advocate for the rights of the disabled. Back then, Haben, a Harvard Law graduate, had already been named a White House “Champion of Change” and was serving as a Skadden Fellowship Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates (DRA).

Since then, as I learned from her just-published memoir, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, she’s had continued success with her efforts to advocate for the disabled, all the while accomplishing in the span of just a few years what many of us can only hope to tackle in a lifetime.

For starters, she was part of the DRA legal team that prevailed in its efforts to force Scribd, the eBook company that provides online access to millions of digital titles, to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The United States District Court for the District of Vermont concluded that “because Scribd’s website and apps are not programmed to be accessible through [screen reader] software, Scribd is denying blind persons access to all of the services, privileges, advantages, and accommodations that Scribd offers and is excluding them from accessing information critical to their education, employment, and community integration.”

In her memoir, you also learn that since that victory, she’s: 1) spoken at the White House and met President Obama during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the ADA, 2) received the Helen Keller Achievement Award, 3) made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and 4) been honored by President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

And those experiences just scratch the surface of what you’ll find in this book. Haben’s memoir is a thoughtful and entertaining tale that offers an enlightening glimpse into so many aspects of her world. Her journey takes you from her early years as the child of Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants in California to the halls of Harvard Law School and beyond.

Given my tech-focused perspective, I found the descriptions of the technology that she used throughout her schooling to be fascinating. But as Haben points out again and again throughout the book, while technology plays an important part in making the world more accessible to the disabled, what matters even more are cultural attitudes about disabilities and the disabled.

This concept was driven home in Chapter 18, wherein Haben shared her uphill struggle for accessibility to the menu at her college’s dining hall. All she sought was advance knowledge of what was being served ahead of time so that she could successfully navigate the dining hall and choose foods that comported to her vegetarian diet. Her simple request was that the menu be forwarded to her in an email each morning; software on her computer would handle the rest and convert the emails into digital braille for her.

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She was inexplicably met with resistance and non-compliance, and, after what can only be described as a series of Herculean efforts on her part — and the threat of litigation — she finally received the accommodations that she needed and was entitled to. It was this experience that inspired her to attend law school and devote her life to fighting for the rights of the disabled.

In continuation of that goal, Haben shifted her focus in 2016 and launched a business providing disability rights consulting, writing, and public speaking. As part of those efforts, she offers advice on ways to increase access for people with disabilities.

At the end of her memoir she includes a short guide designed to aid in that goal. Here are two excerpts that I hope will help lawyers and law firms be more inclusive to those who are disabled:

Harmful Messages to Avoid

  • Nondisabled people should feel grateful they don’t have disabilities. This perpetuates hierarchies of us versus them, continuing the marginalization of people with disabilities.
  • Successful people with disabilities overcame their disabilities. When the media portrays the problem as the disability, society is not encouraged to change. The biggest barriers exist not in the person, but in the physical, social, and digital environment. People with disabilities and their communities succeed when the community decides to dismantle digital, attitudinal, and physical barriers.
  • Flat, one-dimensional portrayals of people with disabilities. Stories that reduce a person to just their disability encourage potential employers, teachers, and other community members to similarly reduce the person to just a disability.
  • Victimizing Language. Avoid victimizing language when describing medical conditions and other aspects of the disability experience. E.g., “She is blind” is neutral, but, “She suffers from blindness” encourages pity.
  • Jumping through hoops to avoid saying “disability” and related words.
WHAT CAN ORGANIZATIONS DO TO BECOME MORE ACCESSIBLE?
  • Conduct a survey to identify physical, social, and digital barriers. Work to remove these barriers.
  • Plan for accessibility from the start. Designing a new service or product with access in mind is easier than trying to jury-rig accessibility after the product or service has been created.
  • Increase hiring of people with disabilities—one of the largest untapped talent pools.
  • Hold regular disability rights training sessions to help create a more inclusive culture.
  • Promote positive disability stories in the media.

And, last but not least, if for some inexplicable reason you’re not yet sold on this book, then let me tell you about Chapter 20. In it, Haben details her somewhat rocky, but ultimately successful path toward a wonderful relationship with her first guide dog, Maxine. Heartbreakingly, Maxine died of cancer in 2018, and Haben went on to train a new lifelong companion and now shares her days with her guide dog, Mylo.

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I’ll leave you with Haben’s touching description of her unique bond with her guide dogs: “Love takes time. Love forms through the expression of genuine appreciation, the creation of clear boundaries, the practice of forgiveness, and mutual respect. Over time, these experiences weave together, forming a strong bond between two beings. Time and experience have fostered a trust that draws us together, building a shared understanding that continues to grow.”

Wise words for any relationship whether it’s between a deafblind person and her guide dog, or two people.

I guarantee you’ll find many more tidbits of wisdom and insight where that came, so what are you waiting for?  Grab a copy of her book right now.

Niki BlackNicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

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