Good can often come from passionate visions of past government decisions. The State of Missouri gave Gaines the option of either attending an all-black law school that it would build (Missouri did not have any all-black law schools at this time) or having Missouri help to pay for him to attend a law school in a neighboring state.
Over the past 16 years, she has used her professional qualifications and life experience as a woman with a disability from the Global South to 1) research and advise on inclusive education policies and practices from early Childhood Development through to Higher Education; 2) advocate for the rights of children with disabilities and people with disabilities in general; and 3) train teachers, education officials and communities on aspects of inclusive education.
Today, more than 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education, the debate continues over how to combat racial inequalities in the nation’s school system, largely based on residential patterns and differences in resources between schools in wealthier and economically disadvantaged districts across the country.
Nafisa is a recognized thought-leader in her field and has authored several prominent publications on inclusive education including: #CostingEquity: The Case for Inclusive Education Financing ; Towards a Disability Inclusive Education; Documenting the Realities of Children with Disabilities in Africa.
Four decades ago the ground-breaking law of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) began to take effect and help ensure that more than six million students with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate education, which means they too get to be included in with the general education population.