Over the past two weeks, communities across the United States have held protests and vigils in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and others who have died during arrest or in police custody. Sadly, these are just not rare occurrences, and reflect a history of Black oppression that cannot be separated from the very founding of the United States.

Kate Weitz and Dr. Brent Elder have been collaborating on her son Freddie’s homeschool program for the last three-and-a-half years. Kate homeschooled Freddie due to multiple immune-related health conditions and his label of autism. Acknowledging the monumental task of forced homeschooling that is likely to be a trainwreck for most if not all parents around the world, Kate and Brent decided to write this piece.

Judith (Judy) Heumann formerly served as the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State from 2010-2017. She is now building an online presence under The Heumann Perspective through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. This new project is intended to broaden and spur discussions on the intersectionality of disability rights. On a recent trip to Washington, DC, Dr. Brent Elder made dinner plans with Judy Heumann, and she invited him to her home to film an episode of The Heumann Perspective. What follows is a short video of their conversation about inclusive education, representation in the media, and disability rights.

The October 2018 “technical learning session” began like the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The Global Disability Advisor of the World Bank, Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, introduced each of the 12 country delegations represented at the session.

I was invited to speak at a conference on disability in Seoul, South Korea, that was also a celebration of the Korean translation of “Federal Disability Law in a Nutshell,” written by Ruth Colker (the original edition included the late Adam Milani as co-editor). The conference coincided with International Disability Day, Monday, December 3rd. My wife, Trisha Moloney Schwartz, accompanied me as the trip’s sign language interpreter.

Bernard Bragg, founder of the world-renowned National Theater of the Deaf, actor extraordinaire, author and educator, died Monday, October 29, 2018, in Los Angeles. He was 90. Bragg singlehandedly transformed the Deaf community in the United States and overseas with his revolutionary work as a mime, stage actor, sign master and all-around Renaissance man of the theater.

I am a student attending California State University, Channel Islands, and I am double majoring in Political Science and Performing Arts with an emphasis in Dance. Now, these are two totally different majors so let me explain myself. I have Cerebral Palsy and use a power wheelchair.

You know you are in Japan when you see Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Dome brings to life the moment the bomb hit – it was one of a very few structures still standing after the blast, and it bears mute witness to the horror of that morning in August 1945. Here’s what ended World War II, and look at what it entailed: vaporized human beings, burning corpses, whole blocks and neighborhoods completely destroyed – gone without a trace. Visiting Hiroshima is like visiting Auschwitz. The context is different, but one basic truth remains: human beings destroyed other human beings on a massive scale.

Literacy skills are a fundamental component of most daily living skills. Literacy skills are needed to break out of the poverty cycle, to access health services, and gain employment. Literacy skills for children with disabilities can also help support future independent living and improve the ability to be self-advocates and enable self-determination. However, most international education programs that focus on early grade reading do not or only minimally address the needs of students with different types of disabilities.

TANGATA GROUP, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to the proposition that disability rights are human rights and founded by two School of Education graduates, has received a $200,000 grant through the United Kingdom’s Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) to further its work on deaf access to justice in Northern Ireland. The DRILL grant comes from the world’s first major research program led by people with disabilities and is financed with money from the United Kingdom’s National Lottery.