Deaf Heroes: Greg Hlibok

Signed by David O. Reynolds From Hofstra website: When Gregory Hlibok was 9 years old, he wanted to be a lawyer — until adults told him to consider another field, since it was "not possible" for him to litigate in a courtroom as a deaf person. Profoundly deaf since birth, Hlibok at first dutifully studied engineering, but never gave up on his dream. Now one of an estimated 170 deaf lawyers in the United States (out of a population of 36 million people with impaired hearing), Hlibok, 43, is the new head of the Federal Communications Commission's Disability Rights Office. The first-ever chief of the office to have a disability, Hlibok is charged with helping implement a groundbreaking law that ensures new broadband and communications technologies are accessible to people who are blind or deaf. It's a task that requires delicate balancing. The law, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, triggered concern from trade groups such as the Consumer Electronics Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association, which want to make sure new rules won't stifle innovation. It's not the first time Hlibok has assumed a leadership position at a critical juncture. As student body president of Gallaudet University in 1988, he became a leader of the Deaf President Now protest. Students erected barricades and shut the university down for a week after the board of trustees ignored calls for a deaf president, allegedly stating, "Deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world." The protest, said Hlibok in an interview conducted with The National Law Journal via e-mail, "has proven to be the milestone of the deaf history and my life." As a spokesman for the movement, he appeared on Nightline and Good Morning America ("an exhilarating experience," he said). The protest led to the selection of Gallaudet's first deaf president, and it also fueled momentum for passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. In 1989, Hlibok testified before Congress about the proposed law. "Now it is time to remove communication barriers and provide reasonable accommodation," the then-22-year-old Hlibok said via American Sign Language during a joint hearing of the House and Senate. "We can help ourselves if things are accessible for us."