Stepping into the home of Louis Braille in #Coupvray France felt like a literary pilgrimage. Exploring his inventions to help blind people read and write filled me with admiration. I recommend visiting this museum.
Transcript: habengirma.com/2026/02/24/v...
youtu.be/zDlRsbfoI1c
I’m exuberantly raising my arms in the air, palms forward, smiling in a meadow with purple flowers peaking out of the fog. A breeze blows the grass and my long dark hair to the left. My navy blue shirt features a turquoise outline of an inverted triangle framing a stylized sun, and large, white letters over the shirt say, “digital equality is my jam.”
Join us at Axe-Con, a free, global, and virtual conference on all things digital accessibility. Learn about making your social media, websites, and all digital spaces more accessible on Feb 24 and 25. Captioning and ASL will be provided.
Register: www.deque.com/axe-con/regi...
#AxeCon
Share this job opening with lawyers interested in advocating for the blind community: remote, full-time, and with a great team at the American Council of the Blind. Deadline to apply is Feb 10.
www.acb.org/jobs
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2026/01/21/c...
Buy the book: www.clovernookprints.org/product/Book...
A delightful new book shares disability wisdom while introducing readers to disabled leaders like Dr. Sami Schalk, Alice Wong, Miso Kwak, and Emily Nott. You can order a copy in print or in Braille.
youtu.be/LeZ_LG4C1EA?...
Kitcha fitfit, a dish from Eritrea and Ethiopia, is one of my favorite breakfasts. Chef Azeb creates tender bites seasoned with delightful berbere spice. If you love kitcha fitfit or are curious, visit Yosi’s Cafe in Oakland, CA.
Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/12/30/c...
I'm sitting on the floor holding open a print book for Mylo. The cover has a portrait of me in profile with the title, “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.” Beside me, relaxing on a black sofa, a German Shepherd dog with the pointiest ears looks down at the book with complete fascination.
Mylo gave it five stars! If you haven’t read it yet, the ebook and audiobook are on a limited-time promotional price on Apple Books, Kobo, and Libro.fm through January 6.
habengirma.com/book/
No one wanted to hire me when I was a Deafblind student. As my understanding of ableism grew, I learned how to transform that painful job hunt into stories that deliver wisdom, build connection, and even spark laughter.
youtu.be/UGWIq92eGEA?...
Blind people can’t see the royal crown, so we should be allowed to touch it, right? Edinburgh Castle wanted to increase accessibility while managing the security concerns posed by large crowds. What do you think of their creative solution?
Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/11/12/w...
On the left is the book cover for Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law. On the right is text: “San Francisco Bay Area, October 21, 11:00 AM, Foothill College, Appreciation Hall, 12345 El Monte Rd., Los Altos Hills, CA.”
I’m excited to deliver a keynote for Foothill College’s Disability Awareness Month celebrations! Join us on Tuesday October 21 in Los Altos Hills, located near San Jose. The event is open to all, free, and captioning + ASL interpretation will be provided.
axe-con 2026: Accelerating digital accessibility. Virtual conference: February 24 through 25, 2026.
Axe-con is back! Join us on February 24-26, 2026, to come together with the global digital accessibility community.
Plus, we’re thrilled to announce this year’s stellar keynotes: @habengirma.bsky.social and @ranaelkaliouby.bsky.social! www.deque.com/axe-con/ #a11y
Raise a glass to Braille! The only blindness organization with its own winery in France, Voir Ensemble crafted this red Bordeaux for the Braille Bicentennial.
youtube.com/shorts/pDHYz...
In France, Braille may refer to the tactile reading system, the surname of its inventor, or the call of a strange and gorgeous bird!
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/09/17/b...
Reading Braille out loud over the radio, a young blind woman assists the Allies in the Netflix series “All the Light We Cannot See.” The show inspired me to visit Saint-Malo on my journey through France for the Braille Bicentennial.
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/09/10/b...
Having a seat at the table doesn’t always mean being included. Deaf and Deafblind people often face dinner table syndrome — missing out because communication barriers build walls. Watch Haben Girma and Rachel Kolb break it down and share solutions.
Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/08/21/w...
Join us in celebrating 200 years of Braille at the Coupvray castle park on September 20, 2025. Visit Coupvray’s website for more information about the Braille Bicentennial: www.coupvray.fr/evenement/sa...
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/08/19/d...
The Lighthouse plans to cut more programs, despite having millions of dollars. #Blind people, #Deafblind people & allies are calling for the leadership team behind these brutal decisions to step down.
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
When you’re done with that, read the Deafblind community’s response and sign the petition.
www.decertifylighthouse.org/post/beyond-...
The San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind recently cut programs and terminated over forty people. If you want to know why blind people and allies are calling for the Lighthouse’s leadership to step down, read this investigative report by the San Francisco Standard. sfstandard.com/2025/07/17/l...
You’re welcome! I can understand the fear. Years of conversations and friendships within the disability community has helped me get past a lot of fear, and I hope my experiences can do that for others. :)
I broke my ankle, and let me tell you: using a wheelchair while Deafblind is an experience for the next book! In honor of #DisabilityPrideMonth here are my favorite things about using a chair.
Shoutout to my friend Dr. H’Sien Hayward @drhsienhayward.bsky.social!
youtu.be/i2RIaNIUnZQ
The first time I experienced a Braille map of a garden was in Seattle. While most gardens focus on sight, this one celebrates six senses!
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/07/10/m...
Imagine a future where blind people building planes, flying planes, and shaping aviation policy is so common it ceases to be remarkable. Seattle’s Museum of Flight has a selection of planes both blind and sighted people are encouraged to touch. Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/06/25/t...
5/5
“Respect the dignity of every human being,” “Fight fascism,” “Hands off the rule of law,” “Don’t tread on our first amendment rights,” “Stop the big ugly betrayal bill,” “Dissent,” and more.
4/5
and her Seeing Eye dog on the ground beside her. The video pans around the park showing hundreds of people of all ages—some sitting, some standing, and some holding signs that say:
3/5
Advocate in any way you can, whether that’s standing, sitting, voicing, signing, online or offline. The video shows Haben and her parents smiling and waving under a majestic redwood. A short wooden border circles the tree, and Haben is sitting on the border with one hand on her Braille computer,
2/5
Organizers who share detailed accessibility information make it easier for disabled people to join. Descriptive Transcript
Haben (voiceover):
Braille helps me protest, allowing me to read signs that I'm not able to see.
For many disabled people, showing up at a protest requires planning. Will there be an ASL interpreter or will you need to find a volunteer? Will the space be wheelchair accessible? For me, as a Deafblind person, I need a seat or table for my Braille computer and keyboard. 1/5
You make a great point that faster electric bikes are creating more challenges for pedestrians!
It’s #InternationalGuideDogDay! Please share this video and encourage people to support The Seeing Eye. You can volunteer to help raise Seeing Eye puppies or make a donation by going to SeeingEye.org.
Descriptive Transcript: habengirma.com/2025/04/30/l...
