“Deafblindness is not my biggest barrier,” Haben Girma told a packed audience in Wilde Auditorium. “My biggest barrier is ableism.”
Girma was the speaker at the spring 2025 Rogow Distinguished Visiting Lecturer Series, which brings celebrated authors, journalists, historians, academics, and artists to campus and the Greater Hartford area. Girma spoke on “Disability and Innovation” – a topic she brings to schools and organizations around the country as a human rights lawyer and disability advocate.
Girma encouraged the audience in Wilde, many of whom were also deafblind, to think differently about disability.
Read the full story here and view the recording by clicking below.
Haben Girma, Human Rights Attorney and Disability Advocate“There are many, many stories woven into our world of disability sparking innovation. The difference is that now we're more aware of ableism and we can talk about disability without the shame that often made these stories hidden and invisible in the past.”