As part of Civic Life’s Disability Leadership grant program, please join grant recipient, Linda K. Akagi and co-presenter Dr. Aisha Y. Musa for a powerful training “The Shizu Akagi and Mary Foumal Memorial Webinar Series.” The webinars will aim to change mindsets and to raise expectations of and for disabled people.
“While there have been significant legal victories for disabled people over the course of the half-century, it is important to underscore that disabled people still experience low expectations from non-disabled parents, teachers, and the public at large. This often leads disabled people to have low expectations for themselves. We aim to break this cycle, by raising expectations, challenging perceptions, and supporting a new pattern of thinking,” said Dr. Musa.
Akagi and Musa presenters are dedicating this webinar to their mother’s, Shizu Akagi and Mary Foumal, because “they fought relentlessly to ensure that we had every possible opportunity to succeed,” said Musa. “They never accepted less for us or expected less of us than to make the most of those opportunities. It is only because of them that we are where we are today.” The date for the training is also intentional as Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of Mary Foumal’s birth, making it an important and auspicious date for our first webinar in the series.
The training is intended for a wide audience, including disabled youth and adults, and the people who live and work with, and/or provide services to disabled people. The webinar presentation will include verbal descriptions of images and closed captioning.
You can sign up for the webinars on their website.
Learn more about Civic Life’s disability program by visiting: Disability Program