Photo Source: President Barack Obama White House Archive

First female deaf black lawyer Claudia Gordon, anti-discrimination advocate

Former President Obama’s key advisors for disability issues

Jamaicans are known for defying the odds in pursuit of better circumstances and a better life, whether at home or in the diaspora. This is the case of Jamaica-born Claudia Gordon, who became deaf at the age of eight and left the island to escape the stigma associated with being deaf. Several years later, she was the first Black woman to become an attorney who is deaf in the United States.

Gordon was born in March 1972 and grew up in St. Mary, a parish in rural Jamaica. When she was still a child, her mother migrated to South Bronx, New York, to work as a domestic helper leaving her and her siblings in the care of her mother’s eldest sister, who was a teacher.

While attending the Cascade Primary School in St. Mary, Gordon began developing severe pain in her ears. The pain resulted from a serious defect in her ear which eventually led to her losing her hearing.

After eventually losing her hearing, she was taken out of school for almost two years because no institutions in St. Mary or surrounding parishes could accommodate deaf students.

When Gordon was 11 years old, she was reunited with her mother in New York City, and later enrolled at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York. At Lexington, Gordon began learning sign language. She was also engaged in sports and became a top student.

In her junior year in high school, Gordon decided that she wanted to pursue law at the tertiary level. However, many people discouraged her from doing so.

Defying the odds, Claudia Gordon went on to study political science at Howard University and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1995.

The Jamaican subsequently made American history, by becoming the first deaf Black woman in the United States to earn a Juris Doctor (law degree) when she graduated from the American University Washington College of Law in 2000. There, she had specialized in disability rights law and policy.

“Thanks to the values that were instilled in me during my formative years, I understood then that those voices of doubt neither dictated my worth nor my capacity,” said Gordon. “I want to contribute to a better society where there is more understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities and where the same opportunities are provided for all” she added.

Claudia Gordon | Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities | ADA 25th Anniversary

The discrimination she faced growing up did not stop Gordon from achieving her goals. “It is uplifting when you can empower another and help someone discover a sense of self-worth and confidence in his or her abilities,” she said of her efforts to continue to inspire many, especially those who are deaf as well.

Fully one-in-five Americans have a disability, and polls show that most of them want to work. Yet 70 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities are outside of the workforce.

The 50-year-old currently works with corporate companies like T-Mobile and Sprint to implement inclusion initiatives geared towards people with disabilities.

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