Vice President Kamala Harris was mocked on Tuesday by Republicans seizing on her introduction at a roundtable for disability advocates to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Harris told the group gathered at the White House that her pronouns are she and her, and she described what she was wearing. The clip went viral in conservative circles, with the Republican Party and GOP members of Congress joining in to ridicule Harris.
The vice president’s visual description was for the benefit of those who are blind or visually impaired – an effort celebrated by some advocates for people with disabilities.
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But advocates for blind people say that while the attempt of such visual descriptions is to be more inclusive, the debate about using them can be complex.
take away
The National Federation for the Blind doesn’t have a position on offering visual descriptions of people speaking in meetings but said it is a complex issue among people who are blind or visually impaired.
What they are saying
- VP aims for inclusivity: “I am Kamala Harris. My pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit.”
- Rep. Lauren BoebertR-Colo.: “Kamala Harris just introduced herself with she/her pronouns at an official event. She then clarified that she was a “woman” sitting at the table wearing a blue suit. This is what happens when your speechwriter quits and you hang around with Geriatric Joe too long.”
- Republican National Committee tweets Harris quote with video, sparking thousands of retweets
- American Association for People with Disabilities: “Visual descriptions are an accessibility practice for blind and low-vision people. We do them to ensure that everyone can have context that sighted people may take in visually… We are glad to see this accessibility practice expanded in government, and hope to see more government leaders give visual self-descriptions in the future!”
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why it matters
Complex issue: The National Federation for the Blind does not take an official position on using visual descriptions in meetings, but the organization noted in a tweet after the White House roundtable that debate about the practice is complex.
Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the organization, told USA TODAY that blind and visually impaired people who oppose using the descriptors argue that providing details about a speaker’s appearance can distract from making accessible meeting materials, such as handouts, slides or other presentations.
- Who’s it for? “It’s unclear to us how much of this is actually asked for by blind people. In the community, there’s really debate about whether it’s needed. It kind of seems to some of us like one of these things that sighted people have decided to do but it’s not necessarily something we said would be helpful,” Danielsen said.
- Including aim: “Attacking her for this is inappropriate just because the intent behind it is at least inclusive. A lot of the people who are attacking don’t have the perspective and lived experience of people with disabilities and have never asked us,” Danielsen said.
- Take it or leave it: Anil Lewis, executive director of blindness initiatives at the National Federation for the Blind, said while there is debate among blind and visually impaired people about the practice, offering the description is useful for those who want it, while those who don’t can ignore Item.
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism