When Your Meme is in Braille

“We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability,” proclaimed Stevie Wonder, as he awarded the song of the year at the Grammys. His co-presenters expressed surprise that the announcement was in Braille, and Wonder teased them about not being able to read it, and then got serious, using the moment to highlight the importance of universal access. Disability employment advocacy group #RespectTheAbility turned Wonder’s words into a widely-shared meme.[fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”https://newmobility.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/RespectTheAbility.jpg” linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”https://newmobility.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Gaelynn-Lea.jpg” linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe]

Tiny Desk Coup

Irish fiddler and singer Gaelynn Lea beat out 6,000 other artists who submitted videos of themselves playing an original song to win NPR’s second annual Tiny Desk contest. Lea, who has osteogenesis imperfect and teaches music in Duluth, Minnesota. The March 11 concert is online at www.npr.org/2016/03/10/469966998/gaelynn-lea-tiny-desk-concert.

Bolivia Blows Up the Internet

Bolivian disability rights activists blew up the Internet when they took their protests to a new level by suspending themselves from the Viaduct Bridge in Cochabamba. They want the government to raise their monthly pension to 500 bolivianos (that’s $70 a month in U.S. dollars).[fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”https://newmobility.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bolivia.jpg” linktarget=”_blank” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe]