A working definition of the term “Ableism” by HEARD’s founder, Talila Lewis in community with other disabled Black/negatively racialized folk. This version of the definition was last updated in January 2022.
Jeremy “Jay” Woody is a deafdisabled man who was formerly incarcerated in Georgia Department of Corrections. In this Marshall Project article, Jay shares his story about the isolation, discrimination, and deprivation he experienced while incarcerated.
A new rule from the Federal Communications Commission requiring full access for incarcerated people with communication disabilities will go into effect in January 2024. This rule is a product of 10+ years of advocacy from HEARD alongside deaf/disabled incarcerated people and community members.
This document, developed by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, is intended to provide education regarding professional practice in legal interpreting. This resource may be beneficial to lawyers, advocates, legal workers, and professionals when advocating for communication access for their deaf/disabled clients.
A law review article that describes why simply providing a sign language interpreter will not be an adequate remedy for deaf/disabled defendants. “This article looks at the intertwined issues of deafness, language, interpretation, and their cumulative effect on deaf people’s ability to meaningfully participate in the justice system.”
John Wilson, Jr., a Black DeafDisabled man who spent 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. We offer this video to help our communities learn more about some parts of John and his family’s journey. Sadly, he passed away just six months after returning home to DC last year.
The Atlanta Police Department wants to cut down 300 acres of forest to build a $90 million dollar police compound. Learn more about the movement to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest in Atlanta. Cop city will never be built! HEARD did not create the original resource, but translated it in ASL because … Continued
On Sept 3rd, 2020, HEARD had an online teach-into share about how disabled people are wrongfully convicted by sharing specific information about John Wilson Jr’s wrongful conviction. In this teach-in HEARD advocates show documents from his communication with DC MPD where fingerspelling officers and writing back-and-forth was used.
For more than 10 years, HEARD and our communities have pushed for accessible telecom for incarcerated people and their loved ones through our #DeafPrisonPhoneJustice campaign. The FCC finally ordered that incarcerated people with communication disabilities must have access to ALL forms of telecommunications relay services.
One of our Public Education Team members shares his perspective on Deaf/Disabled folks being imprisoned during the pandemic.
