After publishing my first blog on the issue, I have been following the recent discussions about AB 2190 across various forums and conversations. There are thoughtful people on both sides of this issue, including individuals and organizations I respect. The disagreement is real, and it reflects different views about how best to achieve accessibility. What … Continue reading Reconsidering The Case For AB 2190
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The Misleading Case for Internet Accessibility Reform: Why We Must Oppose AB 2190
For decades, California has stood at the forefront of civil rights innovation. From environmental protection to consumer safeguards to employee rights, the state has consistently set standards that the rest of the nation often follows. Disability rights have been no exception. California’s accessibility laws, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, have long served as a … Continue reading The Misleading Case for Internet Accessibility Reform: Why We Must Oppose AB 2190
Deafblind people and 21st century communications
"The disabled want what all of us want: the opportunity to contribute to our communities, to use our creativity, and to go as far as our God-given talents will take us." – President Ronald Reagan, National Decade of Disabled Persons Proclamation. In this blog, I focus on the critically important subject of communication access … Continue reading Deafblind people and 21st century communications
No “America First” without disabled Americans
Since the election of Donald J. Trump to a second term, there has been heightened anxiety about what this means for the disability community. Indeed, many argue that Trump’s policies during his first term do not bode well for disabled Americans. Others have cited Trump’s recent rhetoric, in which he called VP Kamala Harris “mentally … Continue reading No “America First” without disabled Americans
40 Years of Deafblind Awareness Week: What have we learned?
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Do Deafblind People Matter? Fourteen years ago this month, Congress was considering enacting a … Continue reading 40 Years of Deafblind Awareness Week: What have we learned?
Celebrating global accessibility
May 16 is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). As the founder of iBraille, this day resonates with me personally and professionally. My company is all about advancing global accessibility so that more than one billion disabled people can live with equality and dignity. In celebration of GAAD, I dedicate this post to two of … Continue reading Celebrating global accessibility
When there is no accountability, accessibility suffers
In 2010, Congress passed the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). This law set aside $10 million for the establishment of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP) which “provides equipment needed to make telecommunications, advanced communications, and the Internet accessible to low-income individuals who have both significant vision loss and significant hearing … Continue reading When there is no accountability, accessibility suffers
On the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Thirty years ago today, July 26, I was a little boy living in Asmara, Eritrea. I was living my life in the shadow of what would become a thirty-year armed struggle for independence from Ethiopia, with the safety and security of my family still under constant threat amid a near-daily cacophony of sound and vibration … Continue reading On the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Living While Deafblind in the Age of Coronavirus
There has never been a moment in my life like the current global public health crisis. Although I was born in a country during a long-running armed struggle for independence, in which countless lives and livelihoods were both destroyed and under constant threat, I have never witnessed anything like what the novel coronavirus has caused … Continue reading Living While Deafblind in the Age of Coronavirus
Deafblind, African immigrant — and dreaming
Growing up in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, I dreamed what in that day and place seemed like lofty dreams considering the circumstances of my life. I wanted to be a horseman, because horses seemed to typify the Eritrean way of life. My grandmother and I would frequently ride on a horse-drawn carriage hauling sacks … Continue reading Deafblind, African immigrant — and dreaming