Visiting the Anne Frank House

Inside the gift shop stands a detailed, 3D model of the museum. The tall, narrow house on the right is Anne Frank’s house, and I’m gently feeling the interior layout.

At the Anne Frank House, a wonderful guide led us on a touch tour: a sculpture of Anne writing with a fountain pen, the original bookcase that concealed the secret annex, steep ankle-twisting stairs that were challenging for my guide dog Mylo (he managed with assistance), empty rooms carrying the immense loss of the Frank … Read more

Mylo meets Milo the Horse

Milo, a black horse with a white blaze, pokes his head through the fence of his paddock to sniff my hands. Beside me, Mylo, my German Shepherd dog, wears a goofy smile with his tongue licking his nose. Photo by our friend & equestrian guide Lauren Janicki.

Milo, a lovely horse, meets Mylo, my Seeing Eye dog. To their surprise and delight, they both have humans who went to Harvard Law!

Ableism at the British Museum

Haben, a Black woman wearing a puffy coat and face covering, feels a large stylized boat in a crowded museum. Her German Shepherd Seeing Eye dog looks up in alarm when a sightie starts angry poking his person. The hand of ableism appears white, and there’s a smart watch on their wrist.

Only blind people can touch ancient treasures at the British Museum, but this jealous sightie can’t handle it. The museum has an astounding number of ancient sculptures not covered in glass or even roped off. Signs next to them prohibit touching, but that ban is for the sighted. On the same sign is a symbol … Read more

Delivering a Marriage Application in Atlanta

Seeing Eye dog Mylo and I stand on the steps of the Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse. I’m smiling and signing ILY. Behind us, the courthouse doors glow golden in the sun.

I delivered a marriage application for a dear friend. Serving as an officiant, celebrating two people’s love for each other, is one of the most beautiful experiences. Feeling incredibly grateful. Happy to share that everyone at the courthouse was welcoming, too. The clerk said, “Congratulations!” My role, officiant not bride, was quickly clarified, but that … Read more

World Braille Day

Brailling on a beach in Alaska. A small, secluded island full of evergreens sits in the middle of Gastineau Channel, and on the far shore rise mountains. I’m smiling as I hold a cone on top of a large, snow-covered log. The log has twenty-five Spruce and Hemlock cones half submerged in snow. The cones spell: brrraille! Photography by Cameron Byrnes.

Happy World Braille Day! Louis Braille, a blind teacher, dreamed of a way for his students to enjoy books on their own. How would one read or write without sight? He invented a tactile reading system used by millions of blind people, and his birthday is now a day to celebrate this marvelous way to … Read more

Delivering a Lecture at the Lighthouse Guild

Three people standing by a podium that says Lighthouse Guild. Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, President & CEO of Lighthouse Guild, holds up a large glass, diamond-shaped award with my name on it. I’m standing in the middle, smiling and holding my braille computer. On my right stands Dr. Alan R. Morse, a professor at Columbia University’s Department of Ophthalmology and president emeritus of Lighthouse Guild.

I was honored to deliver Lighthouse Guild’s very first Dr. Alan R. Morse Lecture in Advocacy! They supported my college education through a scholarship, and back then I never imagined that I would one day become a disability justice leader. Thank you, Lighthouse Guild! Let’s keep lifting up disabled advocates! Do you know a blind … Read more

Cool Tactile Guiding Paths for Blind People

Tactile paths for blind people are popping up all over the world! I loved feeling them under my feet. Strangely, some paths abruptly end for no reason. Tactile paths can’t replace canes and guide dogs, but many communities don’t have blind travel instructors. Lara Guide Dog School provides orientation & mobility training to blind people … Read more

Zap Ableism from Space Exploration

Zap Ableism from Space Exploration

Because of limited support for this great organization, because of systemic ableism, the disabled researchers will not be paid. Society needs to invest in STEM accessibility and treat disabled researchers as equals.

Transcript

They’re asking disabled people to put our bodies on the line for research. A team of disabled researchers will go on a parabolic flight and experience zero G environments to conduct research, and do experiments to help make space more accessible. AstroAccess is the organization behind this. Right now, all the tools for space exploration are designed for nondisabled people. That’s a problem. That’s a *design* problem, and we should be building tools for humankind. And that includes disabled people.

The disabled researchers who will go on this mission, they’re volunteers. They will not get paid. There is a big need for volunteers in our society, but I’m also aware of the high unemployment rates, and the employment discrimination that’s rampant in the United States and around the world. As we work on space exploration, let’s make sure it’s accessible at all stages. This part is easy! I’m not asking for the moon and stars. I’m asking for disabled researchers and nondisabled researchers to be treated as equal.

My name is Haben Girma. I’m a Black woman, Eritrean and Ethiopian ancestry. I am sitting in my yard. My guide dog, Mylo, is lying down behind me. I am a human rights lawyer, author, speaker, and my goal is for ableism to disappear. I don’t want it to go out into space or stay on Earth! I want ableism to disappear.

Learn about Mission AstroAccess.

I’m in National Geographic! And the accessibility issue is…

I’m in National Geographic! And the accessibility issue is…

Thank you to all of you who advocate when you notice an accessibility barrier!

Visual description: Haben is sitting outside speaking, and her guide dog is chilling on the ground.

Transcript

National Geographic featured me on their Instagram page. I couldn’t see the photo, but I recognized the photographer’s name. And I remembered that day when I sat down with her, it was just before my book came out, so there was a lot of excitement around the book launch. I decided to just celebrate being featured in National Geographic. And, It was a really hard week, so I just decided I’m not going to advocate on the accessibility of the photo. Then I was reading through the comments and I noticed people commenting: This is missing an image description!

Blind people are also on Instagram. There need to be image descriptions so all people can have access, including the person in the photo! This video is to say thank you to everyone who’s called out a barrier when you’ve noticed it. Right now, the bulk of that work falls on the shoulders of disabled people, and that’s exhausting. We need more people calling out barriers. So if you notice something, if you notice an access issue, say something, do something about it.