Please Join Me at the Florence Gibbs Momeyer Inaugural Endowed Lecture!

This is a very different post from my usual, and I may have invited you by email or Facebook or Linked In, but I want all my blog readers to know about it too.

I created an annual event at the University of Pittsburgh to honor my Mother, Florence Gibbs Momeyer. You may not be aware that she was an instrumental leader, as the Executive Director in Pittsburgh of the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC), in the mainstreaming of children with intellectual disabilities - - called the mentally retarded in those days - - into public schools. In the 1960’s, there were no such children in public schools in Pennsylvania or any of the other 49 states. The state constitution said free public education for all, but all did not include these children. All meant some, and she sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and after an epic court battle, known as PARC vs. Pennsylvania, PARC won. The law of the land changed in Pennsylvania, and in all other states in the years that followed, and people with such intellectual disabilities entered the mainstream.

I created the Lecture Fund as an annual event, to honor my Mother and to continue the battle to pursue equal rights for all, regardless of anything else.  The battle to admit those with intellectual disabilities to public schools has been won, but many more battles remain to be fought. The Endowed Lecture will be an annual event, and is established at The Center on Race and Social Problems at Pitt, within the Graduate School of Social Work, of which I am a graduate and on whose Board I serve.   The Florence Gibbs Momeyer inaugural lecture is next week, on February 2 as described below, and it would be truly special to me if you could take the time and attend.  There is no charge.  The instructions for registering and attending virtually are below.

Please join me for the inaugural Florence Gibbs Momeyer Lecture in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Center on Race and Social Problems at Pitt Social Work. The lecture will be conducted by the esteemed scholar and White House Champion of Change, Haben Girma.

Tuesday, February 2, 2022

4:45 - 6:00 pm

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About Haben Girma

The first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, Haben Girma is a human rights lawyer advancing disability justice. President Obama named her a White House Champion of Change. She received the Helen Keller Achievement Award, a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and TIME100 Talks. President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Chancellor Angela Merkel have all honored Haben. Haben believes disability is an opportunity for innovation, and she teaches organizations the importance of choosing inclusion. The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, and TODAY Show featured her memoir, Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law.

Haben was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she currently lives. Her memoir takes readers on adventures around the world, including her parents’ homes in Eritrea and Ethiopia, building a school under the scorching Saharan sun, training with a guide dog in New Jersey, climbing an iceberg in Alaska, fighting for blind readers at a courthouse in Vermont, and talking with President Obama at The White House. Warm, funny, thoughtful, and uplifting, this captivating book is a testament to Haben’s determination to resist isolation and find the keys to connection.

Professional captioning services and ASL interpretation will be provided, please email Penny Miller at prm15@pitt.edu for additional accessibility requests or with any questions.