Uber Keeps Denying Service to Blind People with Guide Dogs – Join the Protest!

Uber and Lyft frequently deny service to blind people with guide dogs. Help advocate for our civil rights by joining the National Federation of the Blind’s Rideshare Rally in San Francisco on October 15, 10 am to 3 pm, outside the Uber and Lyft headquarters. More info.

You can also share your experiences with rideshare service denials by posting written, audio, or video stories using #RightToRide.

Descriptive Transcript

Haben and her Seeing Eye dog Mylo stand by a parking lot, and behind them is a large building with a sign that reads City Museum. There’s a medieval-style tower, large climbing structures, and a school bus with its front wheels hanging off the edge of the museum’s roof.

Haben: I’m blind with a guide dog and waiting for an Uber. This is going to be the third one. The first two canceled.

And that’s actually super normal. Wherever I travel—right now we’re in Saint Louis, Missouri—my home is in California, and this happens all the time. We’re regularly canceled on because we’re disabled and have an assistance animal. So the community of people with guide dogs are protesting, and there’s going to be a gathering in San Francisco on October 15th outside Uber headquarters. If you can, please join us, or you can share your stories using the hashtag Right To Ride. #RightToRide.

This shouldn’t be normal. We shouldn’t have to get used to drivers canceling as soon as they realize we’re blind or have another disability and an assistance dog. My dog helps me navigate the world, increasing my access to visual information and audio information. So join the movement. October 15th. #RightToRide.

Haben’s Interview with Vision Australia

Three women sitting around a table in a plant-filled terrace, and they all seem to be enjoying coffee and drinks. On the left is Charissa, in the middle is Gisele, and her Labrador guide dog Nyota is under the table. On the right is Haben with a Braille display on her lap.

Blind Australians campaigned for Vision Australia to open recruitment for their CEO position. Considering job applicants both inside and outside the agency would increase the opportunity for Vision Australia to hire their very first CEO who is blind. Hundreds of people signed the petition, and Vision Australia demonstrated true leadership by listening to blind people … Read more

I Ate Bugs in Australia!

Bug rolls are popular on the Gold Coast.

Video description: Haben sits at a beachside restaurant, and on the table in front of her are two small sandwiches. They have a golden brioche bun, lettuce, sauce, and a fried patty.

Haben: Australian food is fantastic! And the names for the items are really delightful. This one is called a bug roll and bug roll is short for Moreton bug, sorry – Moreton Bay Bug.

Photo: About nine small, ten-legged, long-tailed lobsters. Their heads are wide and their body narrows as you move toward the tail. The reddish shells are speckled with dark dots.

Haben (voiceover): They’re small lobsters without pincers, and in other parts of the world we call them flathead lobsters or slipper lobsters.

(She touches the fluffy, golden bread.)

Haben: We have it fried in a bun with bug mayo.

(She takes a bite and smiles.) 

Haben: That’s really good!

(She takes another bite.)

Haben: The flavor has a bit of spice to it. There’s a sriracha sauce, in addition to the bug mayo. And then the lobster part—I mean the bug part—is crunchy and the bun is soft and buttery. So you get a mix of textures in addition to different flavors.

(She moves her hand holding the roll, about to take another bite.) .)

Haben Will Speak at the Parsons’ School of Fashion

On the left is the book cover for Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law. On the right is text: "New York, Parsons’ School of Fashion, Wednesday, October 16, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.”

Join us at the Parsons’ School of Fashion for a lively conversation on accessibility, disability justice, and joyful designs. Registration is free, and wheelchair access, captioning, and ASL interpretation will be provided. Excited to share the stage with Sugandha Gupta, an award-winning artist, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Social Justice, and a wonderful friend. … Read more

Hire Disabled Leaders, Especially at Disability Organizations

When hiring for executive roles at disability organizations, isn’t it better to select the most qualified leader regardless of whether they have a disability?

Disability experience should be part of the qualification criteria for these jobs. These jobs involve representing the disabled community and speaking for the disability community. For example, the head of a blind organization should have a deep understanding of Braille, different screenreaders, cane travel, guide dogs, disability rights laws, alternative techniques commonly used, and the barriers facing blind people. Sighted people have the privilege of choosing how and when to engage with the blind community. By contrast, blind people live this every minute. When the clock strikes five, we’re still blind. When we go on vacation, we’re still blind and often encounter accessibility barriers that require us to keep advocating even while on vacation. So when disability organizations review job applications, the lived experience of disabled candidates deserves more weight.

Join the campaign to increase blind leadership: unitedblindleaders.org #UnitedBlindLeaders.

Join the campaign to increase Deafblind leadership: Deafblindleadershipnow.org #DeafBlindLeadershipNow.

Descriptive Transcript

Haben Girma and Jane Britt are sitting on a balcony overlooking a beautiful Eucalyptus tree. Haben has a Braille computer on her lap, and Jane has a colorful cane with a marshmallow tip by her chair. Haben speaks with an American accent and Jane speaks with an Australian accent.

Haben: Haben speaking. I’m here with Jane Britt, an Australian disability rights advocate. And we have an issue here that matters to people all over the world. And that’s disability leadership. What do you want people to know about disability leadership?

Jane: What I think is really important for people to know, and it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, is that there are so many people that are blind or visually impaired or indeed have any disability who have the experience, the expertise, as well as the lived experience they can bring uniquely to the role of disability leadership. And it doesn’t matter whether someone is trying to be a chief executive officer or be a non-executive director sitting on a board somewhere.

Haben: So for a lot of people, it’s a job. But when you have the lived experience, it’s something you’re thinking about all the time. When it’s 5 PM, you’re still blind. When you’re on vacation, you’re still blind. So you’re very invested in accessibility. We are having the same situation in the United States: a disability organization called Helen Keller National Center is Deafblind-centered. It’s a training center for Deafblind people, but they’ve never had a Deafblind executive director. And that’s really frustrating. So disabled people and allies are campaigning in the US for our Helen Keller National Center to have a Deafblind executive director. It’s called Deafblind Leadership Now. Is there a hashtag for the campaign to have blind leadership in Australia?

Jane: Yes, it’s United Blind Leaders and we do have a website where we are currently updating it, and be on the line for the campaign. We are aiming to increase the pool of leadership across the country in a number of manners, including, through a podcast series as well as through different leadership initiatives. So I think watch that space, there’ll be a lot more forthcoming. The one thing I would say too is that I think leadership is also important for disability, that you can’t believe what you don’t see in front of you. If you’re not seeing someone else who’s a leader for a young child to aspire to be anything they want to be. If you’re not seeing someone in front of you that maybe has the same disability or something similar, it’s very hard to see yourself in that role.

Haben: And I appreciate how social media helps us find other disabled people to learn from. I remember researching Deafblind leaders, and it’s one of the ways I found you Jane, through social media posts, people sharing online. So I hope more disabled people do that.

Jane: I hope so too. I certainly have found a really close and supportive community through there, and a lot of people with disability that I have never encountered before. I think as we spoke about earlier today , that I grew up in a country town where I didn’t really see people with disabilities. So now having this ready access at our fingertips, through social media and a global reach as well, is fantastic.

Haben: I hope more people will go to the website. Raise your voice. Write statements, make videos, and support disability leadership in Australia and the United States and everywhere around the world.

Trying Vegemite, The Famous Australian Spread

Trying Vegemite for the first time. A blend of vegetable extracts, B vitamins, and beer production leftovers, the spread packs a strong punch! Australians have eaten Vegemite for over a hundred years now. 

Descriptive Transcript

Seated at an outdoor cafe, Haben has a plate with toast covered in a dark brown paste.

Haben: When I arrived in Australia: several people have been asking, “Have you tried Vegemite?” So I’m finally going to try Vegemite! And we have toast here – sourdough toast with butter and Vegemite.

(She brings the toast close to her nose.) 

Haben: It smells kind of yeasty and salty.

(She takes a bite.)

Haben: That is fascinating! It kind of makes the butter more flavorful.

(She takes another bite.)

Haben: There’s a sour flavor to it too. So kind of several layers of flavors from sour to yeast and salt. I’m also feeling more awake! 

(She holds a hand up to her heart and laughs.) 

Haben: Something about the flavor, the salt and the yeast, feels like an energy boost. Probably also the butter interacting with it too. And also maybe just the flavors being very new. I’m glad I tried this!

Learning “Koala” in Australian Sign Language (Auslan)

Nessa and Haben sit on a stone pedestal, and behind them, with one monstrous paw on that same pedestal, is the scariest-looking koala. Black, white, and blue paint across his large body (possibly six feet tall) match the name the artists gave this sculpture: Darth Vader. His eyes glare with the face of an old, hooded person. The sculpture stands in the forest, and birds talk throughout the video. Haben’s Seeing Eye dog stands by, a bit bored.

Happy International Week of the Deaf! It’s technically next week, but let’s celebrate every week! I’m learning Australian Sign Language (Auslan) from Vanessa Vlajkovic. We’re both Deafblind and tactile signing. Video description: Nessa and Haben sit on a stone pedestal, and behind them, with one monstrous paw on that same pedestal, is the scariest-looking koala. … Read more

Sydney Opera House Tactile Tour

Haben and Seeing Eye dog Mylo stand next to a young woman. They’re all smiling, and behind them is the Sydney Opera House, the bright blue water of the harbor, and the bridge.

How does a building look like sails, shells, and boats? The Sydney Opera House recently installed a tactile model for blind guests!

Sydney Opera House Tactile Tour

Descriptive Transcript

Haben (Voiceover): The Sydney Opera House has a tactile model.

She leans down to touch the bronze coated sculpture sitting on a low pedestal. The shape of the three buildings resemble billowing sails pressed together in a row. The two largest buildings have four of these flowing sails, and a small building, the restaurant, has two sails. As Haben studies the model, she speaks to Rebeka, their tour guide.

Haben: It is very cool to actually feel the roof that people talk about and to actually experience it.

Rebeka: Yeah, it’s a very unique shape.

Photo: A close-up of the model shows print and Braille along four sides.

Haben: My friend Nessa reached out to them, arranging this tactile tour.

Photo: Haben and Seeing Eye dog Mylo stand next to a young woman. They’re all smiling, and behind them is the Sydney Opera House, the bright blue water of the harbor, and the bridge.

Haben: Which included going all the way up to the sail-shaped roof and feeling the tiles on the roof.

Photo: A curved concrete shell covered in diamond-shaped tiles rises into the blue sky. Alternating white and cream colors create a slight checkerboard effect. Haben stretches her arm up to touch the tiles.

Haben Speaks at the University of New South Wales

Two women sit on stage facing each other, and a small table with flowers is between their chairs. Nas has a laptop wired to an earpiece that allows her to read questions and notes using her screenreader. Haben sits with her fingers on a Braille computer, listening as Nas asks a question. Seeing Eye dog Mylo rests by Haben’s feet.

Will you try vegemite? ABC journalist Nas Campanella posed this question during our keynote at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. We discovered many similarities in the Australian and American disability experiences. Disability camps facilitate connection, allowing disabled people to share adaptive techniques and disability pride. But disability organizations need to do more … Read more