Haben Girma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Haben Girma
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Girma in December 2019.
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| Born | July 29, 1988 Oakland, California, U.S.
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| Education | Lewis & Clark College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer Disability rights advocate |
Haben Girma, born on July 29, 1988, is an amazing American lawyer and a champion for people with disabilities. She made history as the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Haben works hard to make sure everyone, no matter their abilities, can access information and be part of the world.
Contents
Growing Up and Learning
Haben's Early Life
Haben Girma was born in Oakland, California, in 1988. Her parents came to the United States from Eritrea, a country in Africa. Haben's mother had to leave Eritrea during a war. Her parents speak three languages: Tigrinya, Amharic, and English.
Learning with Challenges
From a young age, Haben began to lose her sight and hearing. This was due to a condition that doctors still don't fully understand. She has only a tiny bit of sight left. Haben has shared that sometimes she felt left out because the world wasn't set up for her.
Help from Laws and Technology
Growing up in the U.S., Haben benefited from important laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act. This law helps protect the rights of people with disabilities. She also had access to cool technology, like a special digital Braille device. This device helps her read by turning words into raised dots she can feel. Her older brother, who is also deafblind, didn't have this kind of help when he was growing up in Eritrea.
Haben went to a regular public school, Skyline High School, and graduated in 2006. When she was 15, she even traveled to Mali in Africa to help build schools as a volunteer.
College and Law School
Haben went to Lewis & Clark College. There, she successfully argued for her right to have special help in the school cafeteria. She graduated with high honors in 2010. After that, she became the first deafblind student to attend and graduate from Harvard Law School in 2013. She remembers being told by some schools that she wouldn't succeed, but she proved them wrong!
Making a Difference
Becoming a Lawyer for Rights
In 2013, Haben started working at Disability Rights Advocates (DRA). This organization helps people with disabilities fight for their rights. She became a staff attorney there, working to make things fairer for everyone.
Haben decided to become a lawyer because she wanted to help people with disabilities get access to books and other digital information. She believes that digital information, like what's on websites, can be changed into many forms. She encourages people who create technology to make it easy for everyone to use.
Fighting for Online Access
One important case Haben worked on was against a company called Scribd in 2014. Scribd is a website where you can read books and documents. Haben represented blind readers who couldn't use Scribd. She argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act should also apply to online businesses, not just physical places.
In 2015, a court agreed with Haben! This was a big win. Scribd then agreed to make its content available for blind readers. Haben said that she found her voice when she was given the tools to learn.
Meeting Important People
Haben has given many talks, including one at TEDxBaltimore. She even spoke up to TED itself, asking them to add captions to all their videos so deaf people could understand them.
In 2015, Haben was asked to join the board of trustees for the Helen Keller Services for the Blind. This organization helps people who are blind or deafblind.
A very special moment happened on July 20, 2015. Haben met with US President Barack Obama at the White House. She spoke about how important accessible technology is, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Continuing Her Advocacy
In 2016, Haben left her job at DRA to focus full-time on advocating for disability rights without going to court. She gave a talk at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2016 about making technology easy for everyone to use.
In 2018, Haben wrote an article in The Washington Post. She spoke out against a decision by the Texas State Board of Education to remove Helen Keller from their school curriculum. The board later changed its mind.
In August 2019, Haben wrote a book about her life called Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.
Haben's Life Outside Work
Haben loves staying active! She enjoys many physical activities like surfing, rock climbing, kayaking, cycling, and dancing.
Haben also has a special helper: a guide dog. Her first guide dog was a German Shepherd named Maxine, who she got in 2009. After Maxine passed away in 2018, Haben adopted another German Shepherd named Mylo.
Awards and Recognition
- 2013 – Recognized by the Obama administration as a Champion of Change
- 2016 – Forbes 30 Under 30, Law & Policy
- 2016 – Top 30 Thinkers Under 30, Pacific Standard
- 2017 – Named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine
