Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #89: Interview with Ben Akuoko, MSW, Advocate of Diversity & Inclusion, Public Speaker, Consultant, Entertainer, Community Connector

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Remarkable World Commentary Episode #89: Interview with Ben Akuoko, MSW, Advocate of Diversity & Inclusion, Public Speaker, Consultant, Entertainer, Community Connector · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

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Podcast Commentator: Greetings, Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA invites you to listen to
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her biweekly podcast, Remarkable World Commentary.
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Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
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insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
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Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
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especially kids with disabilities.
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Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach,
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dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
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law graduate, and podcast commentator.
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She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
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skills and expertise in access, technology and information.
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As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles,
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she just wants to make things better than possible.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary.
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I'm Donna J. Jodhan, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly
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through sound, touch and stubborn optimism.
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I am a law graduate, accessibility consultant,
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author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be,
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who also happens to be blind.
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You may know me from a few headline moments, as in November 2010,
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I won the landmark charter case that forced the Canadian government to make its websites
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accessible to every Canadian, not just his sighted ones.
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And in July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen
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disability groups to turn equal access into federal law.
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And most recently, on June the 3rd, 2022, I was very humbled by Her Late
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Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless commitment to removing barriers.
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When I'm not in a courtroom or in a committee room or in a pottery studio,
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you'll find me coaching kids with vision loss,
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producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies to make their
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gadgets talk back in real time.
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Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from an afterthought into
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everyday practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench,
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where a policy meets lived experience and lived experience sparks fresh ideas.
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Now, before we jump into today's conversation,
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let me shine a spotlight on today's guest, a change maker whose work is every bit as
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remarkable as the world that we are trying to build.
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Ben Akuoko, welcome to my podcast and it is a pleasure to have you.
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Ben Akuoko: Absolutely. Thank you so much.
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And it is an honor just hearing all those credentials and the lived experience that you
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have experienced. It is an absolute honor being here.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Thank you very much. So, Ben, if I may call you Ben?
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Ben Akuoko: Yeah.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Welcome to the remarkable world of commentary.
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I would love to begin where so many of our listeners begin.
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And this is at the very beginning.
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And when you were diagnosed with retina.
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Retinitis pigmentosa at the age of two.
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Can you take us back to those early years and tell us how that diagnosis shaped the way
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that you understood yourself, your family, and the world around you?
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Ben Akuoko: Wonderful. Very good question.
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Absolutely. And I liked how you brought in the sector of family,
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because when it comes to any disability, being diagnosed to someone when they're
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young, family is a huge part, so it does affect the family as much as it
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affects the person, especially when it's the parents.
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So even with that said, as you may mentioned,
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with retinitis pigmentosa, I was diagnosed at two years old and even
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growing up as a young person because the eye condition,
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although you have it when you're earlier in the years of having the eye condition,
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you could pass as a person who sighted.
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So I didn't fully understand that I was a person who had low vision.
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So with that said, I thought all the other kids saw like me,
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right. So I would still use regular prints, but I would have to have lights.
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And then also I would play basketball and football and play sports and video games.
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Just I would sit closer to the TV when I'm playing video games and with sports,
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I, I was a little bit more clumsier, but I totally never knew I had any form of a
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disability. A visual disability at all.
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So with that, it was years of finally understanding.
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So I remember when I was in grade three, which I believe you're seven years old.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right?
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Ben Akuoko: And I noticed that like all the kids are looking on the board and taking notes.
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And then there was me who was like, I can't see the board.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Like, oh, dear. Yes.
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Ben Akuoko: So it's like, what is what's going on in my little mind?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes. Wow.
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Ben Akuoko: Yeah. Like what's going on?
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And then it was times, and I told this story before.
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It was times where we'd get to pick out a book during reading time.
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And I remember I'd pick out a book and I'd pretend to read a book because you used to
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get stars for all the books you read, right?
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But I couldn't even see the book.
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So there was probably times I had it like, upside down.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh gosh. Yes.
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Ben Akuoko: And then here I am pretending to read the book.
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So I think as I got older, I was like, okay,
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I am different. And yeah, I remember when I was only in grade three,
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they taught me they were starting to teach me Braille.
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And using a cane. And it was so confusing, like I found through elementary school,
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it was very confusing because I'm like, what is going on?
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I, I can see fine. Like, I don't get why you're teaching me and you're
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teaching me cane skills and I'm going to camp with other kids with blindness,
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low vision. But even with that said, it was the fact that with retinitis
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pigmentosa, you eventually lose your vision.
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And as you get older, it gradually gets worse.
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So pretty much they were preparing me for for the future.
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So I am very grateful.
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Although I still have some usable vision, I am very grateful that I learned cane skills
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because I'm a full time cane user, and then also Braille like I do use Braille
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moderately. So pretty much with if I didn't learn Braille,
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I'd be trapped in a lot of elevators.
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That's what I gotta say for sure.
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So yeah, just even in the journey, I feel like as I got older,
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I started to understand my vision loss and how vision loss is a spectrum.
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And then I know probably the hardest times with vision loss was when I was a teenager.
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And then when I was my in my 20s.
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Right? Because you're in that phase where it's like,
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why me? Like I'm being punished and I can't get a license like all my other friends.
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And also, oh my gosh, I'm left off of the sports teams and you're
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just finding yourself and it's like, oh my gosh,
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I'm different. I'm different.
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I'm the butt of everybody's jokes.
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Being a person who's, who's blind.
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And with that time, it was very difficult.
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And I, I've been to low places when it came to that.
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And it makes perfect sense because as a young person,
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you're, you're developing right.
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You're, you're, you're growing, your self-esteem is growing,
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your self-awareness is growing. So I really appreciate that journey in the low life or
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low times of living with sight loss, because now I am so grateful and I'm
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appreciative of how I made it out of that the low times and kind of having to deal with low
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vision.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You know, your story reminds me a lot of myself.
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When I first started going to school, well, I was put right into a school for kids
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with vision loss. And I kind of thought, why the hell am I learning to use my fingers
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instead of reading with my eyes?
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Because I, too, had a little bit of vision.
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And why is it my brothers are going to to another school and I'm going to this school?
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Like, what the heck is going on?
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And my little mind, I started to sort it out very quickly,
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and my parents kept gently reminding me it's because you can't see and it's because you're
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blind, you know? So. Your story is no different than mine in that aspect,
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you know?
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Ben Akuoko: Yeah.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. So you are the son of Ghanaian immigrant parents,
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and you have spoken publicly how disability was rarely Discussed in your West African
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cultural context, almost a taboo subject during your formative years.
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Okay. For listeners in our global global audience who may share that experience,
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what was it like growing up at the intersection of two identities,
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blackness and blindness, that the world around you did not always know
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how to hold together?
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Ben Akuoko: A very good question and very good topic.
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And I look back at it and I think to myself the importance of inviting
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multiple identities in a conversation.
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Because as a black male, Ghanaian parents living with vision.
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Disability is a different experience than a Canadian born family with kids with
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disabilities, right?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
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Ben Akuoko: Because when I look back at my culture, Ghanaian culture,
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although our culture is very family oriented,
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where we're loving culture, we're very welcoming to to everybody who
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comes to your doorstep.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
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Ben Akuoko: It was a lot of fear. And when it comes to disability,
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it's associated with religion and curses, right?
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So.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay.
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Ben Akuoko: Where it was, we gotta heal you.
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We have to find a way to heal you.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Like, oh, gosh.
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Ben Akuoko: Yes. Yeah. We, you would be so much better and so much happier if you had eyes and oh my
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gosh, like the world will never accept you for low vision.
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And it wasn't necessarily My parents say that,
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but at the same time, that's how they grew up,
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right? And it makes so much sense because when you go to places like Ghana and I would
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say developing countries, the main thing in life is to survive,
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right?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
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Ben Akuoko: Not not that it's like, oh my gosh, survival of the fittest,
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but pretty much with countries like that, like jobs can be scarce.
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There's some poverty. It is hard to get certain resources.
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So when you have a community or families or people who are part of society,
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whose main thing is just to kind of survive, disabilities can push to the side.
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It's not in the forefront.
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So I completely get why it was that mentality where it's just like,
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you're coming from a mentality where it's about living prosperous with money,
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right? That's success.
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That's how you pretty much the Maslow hierarchy.
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Like money leads to shelter, leads to clothing,
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leads to food. And when you look at a disability,
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it's just not talked about because that sets you back in making money in survival.
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So back in Ghana and I feel like it's better now.
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I feel like there's more voices and more prominent voices coming along,
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but it is still a little bit scarce where disability is not mentioned,
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right? Disability is associated with the medical model where you need to to be healed.
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And this something happened to you.
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And this is a curse, right?
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So with that said, it was a lot of butting heads with my parents and looking back,
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I don't blame them because here's them coming from a different country.
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As I made mention of the importance of intersectionality,
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a lot of organizations, especially when it comes to disability
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oriented organizations, go under the motto of that North American
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model, like, this is how we do it.
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We don't talk about race.
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We don't talk about culture.
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It's only disability. And I feel like that could be a little bit harmful because a
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perfect example for the audience members, if people know independent living skills.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes.
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Ben Akuoko: So an example would be they wanted to teach me how to make meals for myself.
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So you would have an iOS specialist sent.
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And here's me if I want to make a meal of, I don't know,
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one of the traditional foods of jollof rice.
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If I wanted to make a meal of jollof rice, that orientation mobility specialist,
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if the like Canadian bound, they're like, what is that?
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Like, how do you make that?
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Although like people could easily look it up,
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but it's just not aware of like the other cultural sides of a person.
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And even another example, because my parents were at the time unaware
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about my vision, they're like, oh, this guy can see this guy could catch a
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football. He's not blind.
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When I he would use a cane, like my orientation mobility specialist would
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be like, man, you have to use a cane, you have to use a cane.
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And I'm like I don't want to really, but okay,
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let me try it out. And then when I go home, my parents are like, you don't need that. Why
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are you using cane?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, I understand.
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Ben Akuoko: And then and then after I would go back to school and not use the cane there like Ben.
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You're so stubborn. You don't want to listen.
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Why are you not using a cane? Then I get sent back and I'm using cane.
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My parents are like, we just told you, you don't need a cane. And it's like.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes. Yeah, yeah.
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Ben Akuoko: What do you do as a young person who's right in the situation?
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You're like, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong,
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you know?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You know, this is certainly an eye opener for our North American listeners,
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because I would say that a lot of us North Americans grew up in a different type of of
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milieu. And listening to your story, I think it's an eye opener for them.
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It's a lesson for them.
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And I want to admire the way that you've dealt with it.
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You know, like you're laughing about it now, but maybe at the time you weren't.
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But, you know, I can certainly empathize with going to school.
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You got to lose a cane, you got to use a cane,
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and then you go home. No, you don't need the king.
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Throw it away, you know, so it.
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Oh yes, indeed. It's it's quite something
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Ben Akuoko: It's very, very true. And then on top of that,
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you have so many other layers of barriers and stereotypes,
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right? So you have the stereotype of, oh, you're not smart enough to because your,
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your vision. Yeah. Or you can't do this.
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And then having as a black male as well, like,
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yeah, it was times where even the education system and educators would like,
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just give up on me. They're like, okay, like,
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you know, so it's almost like low standards.
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So it's like this compounded of extra layers of barriers.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: My goodness. Now, many of our listeners will recognize the experience of hiding their
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disability in order to fit in.
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You have described a period in your life when you refused the white cane,
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refused assistive technology and leaned on sports as a way to pass.
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What was the turning point that allowed you to stop hiding and to begin showing up as
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your full self?
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Ben Akuoko: So it has it's it's been a journey.
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It's been a journey of mistakes.
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It's been a journey of learning.
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It's been a journey of even seeing other people.
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So I used to tear up when I, I talked about my vision.
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I used to, there was friends of mine who were friends with me for ten years and didn't even
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really know what was going on with my eyes.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh, okay. Okay.
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Ben Akuoko: And I am lucky enough that I was part of the social service worker field.
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So yeah, as I go on on your podcast, I tell more about that,
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but I was lucky to be in that field.
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I was lucky to really be immersed in like psychology in the way we think a lot of like
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social work theories, as we know, cognitive behavior theory,
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right? Where I would I used to do counseling,
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like get counseled. And I remember my counselor using CBT and making mention,
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I'd be like, oh, I don't want to use a cane. Everybody's looking at me. And he,
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he made mention that, you know what, what if I told you that no
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one's looking at you? What if I told you people have their own lives that they could
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deal with and no one's looking at you.
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You just think people are looking at you, right?
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And just aspects such as that and like even meeting such successful,
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amazing people. And I feel like with the, the transformation of technology,
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we're able to, to see people do the things, you know,
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like successfully. So I know social media gets a bad rap,
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you know, like, yeah, but it has opened, no pun intended or eyes to
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the amazing things that people are doing around the world.
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And it is connecting people with sight loss and people with disabilities and people of
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interest together. Where before I'm like, I did not know another black person who had
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low vision. Like I felt like I was the only one.
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And then here comes the, the Zoom era and we're connecting.
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We're like, whoa, okay, I wasn't the only one.
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And, and you're getting to know people even just even with sailors in general.
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So I feel that what really helped me was being involved.
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And I would say technology really helped to connect.
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And then also using that social work background and that psychology background is
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the fact that, you know, you can't dwell on something you can't
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control.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right? Very important.
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Yes.
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Ben Akuoko: And another thing I told myself, you can't victimize yourself.
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You can't see yourself as a victim or people will see it as well.
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Right. And the less you see yourself as a victim and the more that you say,
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okay, I can't control it.
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Let me just just ride the wave.
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Let me ride the wave. See where it takes me.
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Then it's just I feel like life gets easier.
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And I feel like you. You don't let things bother you.
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So as I made mention, right now I am a full fledged cane user.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I good for you Mike.
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Ben Akuoko: I tell I do presentations for young people and I always tell people I'm like,
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I love my cane. Like it just seems like people come up to you,
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people talk to you, people move out of your way.
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I always joke around before I was a cane user and I walk around,
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I bump into someone and they'd be like now I bump into someone and it's not even their
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fault. And they're apologizing to me and I'm like.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah.
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Ben Akuoko: Yeah, yes, yes.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I remember growing up, I was quite conscious of my own vision loss.
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And often times my mom or my granny would say to me,
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you think someone's looking at you?
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No one's looking at you.
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So I can empathize with with what you're saying for sure,
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you know? Now, some of the most painful stories that you have shared publicly is
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involved involves being racially profiled by police at university and being wrongly
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accused of theft in a store simply because of your vision impairment.
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Oh my goodness. And it required you to scan.
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Sorry, required you to scan aisles closely.
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Okay. What do those moments teach the rest of us about how disability and race intersect
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every day? Public spaces, and what should our authority figures be
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doing differently?
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Ben Akuoko: Yeah. So understand that by having these behaviors,
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it will get harder. Like no one wants to be accused of something they didn't do.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right?
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Ben Akuoko: But yeah. And just understand, like even me navigating this world as a young
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black man. Understand that even just that accusation will hit me harder.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Of course.
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Ben Akuoko: Because I've seen it happen to people I love.
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I have experienced it.
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And sometimes you just have to like the understanding of Noah.
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This. This may hit someone a little bit harder.
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Let me take it in a different way.
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Right. And even just the understanding of like the,
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the oppression that certain people have been through and the marginalization.
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So I, even me, as I would say a cisgendered male.
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Right, right. I understand in the workplace to speak to,
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I have to watch the way I speak to a woman in the workplace.
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Right?
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
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Ben Akuoko: Because they can, they probably have experience being talked down to or extra
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explaining or even prejudice or discrimination.
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Right. So at the back of my mind, I have to be aware that,
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okay, maybe my tone has to change, right?
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So I feel that it's so important to sort of understand that you just have to approach
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things a little bit differently.
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So like I said, as a young man, I remember being accused of stealing
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something I didn't. And it's just like, why is it that I am having to go through this
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or take off my bag. I remember back in the day when someone else just walked in with a
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purse. Yeah, yeah. And it's just kind of like,
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you have to understand that, you know, it definitely hits harder.
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And I know people are like, we want to treat everybody the same.
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And oh, we, we don't want theft and all that stuff,
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but just to kind of be a little bit more gentler.
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Right. Because you might not know this, but I probably at one point,
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I experienced this all the time.
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And it's just like when you get accused of things that you're not,
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you're not like even with sight loss, there's times where people would accuse me of
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being shady and sheisty.
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And it's like literally, I'm just walking to school.
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Or people would see someone who accused me of stealing at the store.
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I'm literally just picking up deodorant, like,
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you know what I mean? So it's just you can really create a monster out of these false
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accusations, right? And I think it's also important for us as a society and have these
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different, I like to say coliseums of life, right?
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Where people get the opportunity to explain and share their stories.
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So even me as a black man with a low vision, right?
28:49
I have my Coliseum and instances where I can share my story even for a person white dude
28:56
with a disability, like has his opportunity to share his experiences even as a white male
29:03
having the opportunity to share your experiences racialized woman.
29:07
Like I think everybody should have the opportunity and we should give time to listen
29:12
to everybody, right? And I feel like that gives a good way of conversation.
29:19
And just to know that this behavior of like stereotyping and accusations,
29:29
it's just not right. You know what I mean?
29:31
It's, it's something that like, we have to, to really address.
29:36
Right.
29:37
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right. I think yours is a very, very interesting and unique story in many,
29:44
many ways. I mean, you know, you have to battle not only being a person
29:49
with a vision loss, but also a person who you know,
29:55
you're black, but it is nothing we can do about it.
29:59
You know, I'm a woman.
30:00
I have a vision impairment.
30:02
So, you know, my mine is a different set of, of variables,
30:07
but we're both in the same boat and boat in many ways.
30:11
Right? So your educational journey took you from a social service worker
30:21
diploma at Sheridan College through continuing studies at the Toronto
30:29
Metropolitan University to a Bachelor of Social Work at Laurentian University,
30:38
and finally to a Master of Social Work at Renaissance University College at
30:48
the University of Waterloo.
30:50
My goodness, you've traveled a lot.
30:53
What pulled you towards social work in the first place and what kept you climbing?
31:03
Ben Akuoko: Yes, yes. So I gotta say, at first, when I started my journey of social
31:10
work at 18, I had no wanted, no part like I just took it to to take it.
31:19
Oh, yeah.
31:21
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: The truth comes out. Tell us, tell us.
31:23
Ben Akuoko: The tea is spilling right now.
31:25
The tea is filling.
31:26
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, the tea is coming over the cup.
31:28
I want to know more. Go ahead.
31:30
Ben Akuoko: Absolutely, absolutely.
31:32
So I remember, like coming out of school, I wanted to do massage therapy.
31:38
I wanted to do video game programmer and just these just something that wasn't like social
31:48
work. But I remember I had a, a family friend who used to be an employment
31:54
counselor and she did that whole test, like,
31:59
what color are you? So you have gold, you have green,
32:03
you have orange and you have blue.
32:06
And with blue, blue means that you're compassionate and empathetic and skills that
32:13
fit social work. Okay, so she recommended her.
32:17
Why don't you try social work? Right. So I was like,
32:20
okay, here's a 18 year old me.
32:23
I, I was in a phase where I used to dress a little bit urban for sure.
32:30
So like, you know, like I was inspired by rappers and all that stuff.
32:35
So I definitely didn't look like I fit into to the class.
32:40
And I remember I'm like, oh, why am I going into this field?
32:44
18 year old me thought, oh, this is a field for women.
32:48
Like.
32:49
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I love it.
32:51
Ben Akuoko: Why am I here?
32:53
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Sorry. Go ahead.
32:54
Ben Akuoko: That's okay. And then all of a sudden, I remember my first three months and I was
32:59
like, I love this.
33:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Like
33:02
Ben Akuoko: It was so much self exploration.
33:06
It had the psychology aspect.
33:08
It had the sociology aspect.
33:10
It had why we act this way.
33:13
It showed something that I also learned with social work is like,
33:18
you can pick what field you want to be in.
33:22
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right?
33:22
Ben Akuoko: And there's so many sectors when it comes to social work.
33:26
You could do musical therapy, you could do theater therapy because I'm a
33:31
huge creative, right?
33:33
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay.
33:34
Ben Akuoko: Yeah. You could do counseling.
33:35
You could work with underprivileged youth.
33:38
And even the thing that as I did social work,
33:42
I always wanted to work with youth as like, I always want to work with youth.
33:47
And then as I went into my my concurrent ed education,
33:53
so continue education.
33:56
I took my bachelor's after and then I was just like,
34:00
oh, I had my placement at a youth probation office and I was like,
34:04
I love this. I like, I just love working with youth.
34:08
Like, I just feel that it's so important to help our youth because they are our future.
34:14
They're going to be our policy makers and decision makers.
34:17
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right?
34:18
Ben Akuoko: So as I, I went through my journey and I quickly highlight some of the,
34:25
the sectors I was part of.
34:26
I worked at a, a group home for individuals with mental health,
34:30
which taught me a lot.
34:32
I worked, as I said, in the youth probation office for my placement.
34:37
I worked as an employment counselor.
34:41
I worked as a peer employment mentor.
34:44
I worked at a school for the blind as well.
34:46
And it was just all these things were like, I connected so much with the young people and
34:53
individuals that I worked with.
34:56
And then I decided I was like, okay, you know what?
35:00
Let me go get my master's.
35:02
And it was such an emotional accomplishment because when I was younger,
35:09
I did not apply myself.
35:12
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh no.
35:13
Ben Akuoko: I in school I was a D student.
35:18
Like I almost got held back in elementary school and I was just not a good student.
35:24
Like I, I didn't make the grades.
35:27
I wouldn't do my homework.
35:29
I just, I, I just wouldn't apply myself like I,
35:34
I didn't, and even this is the intersectionality part of it as a black male,
35:39
it's like, I don't want to be good at school.
35:41
Like I want to be good at sports.
35:43
Like. Like, I don't want to be a nerd.
35:46
I don't want to be Steve Urkel, you know?
35:48
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah.
35:50
Ben Akuoko: So my master's getting that just showed everybody that,
35:55
like, although you're in elementary school, I didn't do that well in high school or I was
36:02
subpar. Even my first year of university, I,
36:04
I almost, I was on academic probation because I was so occupied in the social life and just
36:12
to complete my master's.
36:15
It was just the icing on the cake of my accomplishments.
36:20
I used my technology to the fullest.
36:22
I was able to advocate for myself when it came to the accessibility office.
36:27
So this was like the pinnacle right there where it's just like,
36:31
I never thought like us 16 to 25 year old me,
36:37
if I would do my master's or if I could do my master's,
36:39
and I'd be like, nope, I can't do that.
36:42
It's too much. But now it's like with perseverance,
36:47
with putting your nose to the grindstone, like it's possible.
36:52
It is possible. And it was hard, but I overcame it for sure.
36:58
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now my clock is winding down.
36:59
But I got to ask you this question.
37:01
Ben Akuoko: Yeah.
37:02
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: At Laurentian, you were the only Black male in your graduating class.
37:09
Looking back now, what did that demographic isolation teach you that you carried into
37:19
the advocacy work that you do today?
37:23
Ben Akuoko: Absolutely. At first I was kind of like, oh man.
37:26
Like, here's me being the only black male in my graduating class.
37:30
But now I feel like I just kicked down the door to young black men who want to get into
37:38
the social work field.
37:40
And especially with my, my tenure at Laurentian,
37:43
I went all the way up to Aurelia, where it's not really that much of a certain
37:50
population. Right. So I feel that even with young black men racialized men,
37:59
to get in the field like we need you, you guys.
38:02
You know what I mean? We need you guys because there is young,
38:07
young, black, racialized or even just racialized little boys out there who need
38:13
someone in the social work field and who want to talk to someone who has experience,
38:19
what they experience. Right? So I feel like it was such a blessing to be in that
38:24
position. And I feel like I'm a trailblazer and like,
38:31
really, I feel like these skills really help me navigate through life and got me to where
38:37
I am today.
38:40
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: You shouldn't feel that you are a trailblazer.
38:42
You are a trailblazer.
38:44
I love that. Are the future you.
38:47
We need people like you to really encourage and motivate the youngsters.
38:53
Because if we don't take care of their future,
38:56
who is going to do it?
39:00
So my final question to you, Ben, is.
39:04
Have you thought of writing a book?
39:06
Ben Akuoko: Absolutely. You took the thoughts right out of my head.
39:10
I would love to write a book, and I'm actually writing sort of a draft.
39:15
But yeah, still, you know, when you have to talk about yourself or write
39:19
about yourself. Yes, you're like, I'm not that interesting.
39:23
I'm, I'm not like, not that interesting, but even something like this and having the
39:30
podcast, like what you're doing, it really pulls up a lot of things that I
39:35
almost forgot about. So absolutely, I would,
39:38
I would love to write a book.
39:41
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I think you owe it to the future of our children to write that book.
39:45
And I would be one of the first ones to read that book because I think,
39:50
you know, you've talked about so many different dimensions,
39:53
so many different variables.
39:55
And yours is in many ways is a very unique experience.
39:59
And, and listening to you tells me that you're not afraid to tell what goes on.
40:03
I mean, like your story about being in the store and being being falsely accused.
40:09
I mean, I can understand, you know, like people think,
40:12
oh, well, he's he's not blind because he can see.
40:16
But then why the heck is he, you know, going close to things to see what
40:19
they are, what's going on here, you know.
40:22
You know. So what's next for Ben?
40:26
What do you what's what's going on with you?
40:28
Where are you going?
40:30
Ben Akuoko: Good question. So I do have my, my business of the bright side scope,
40:37
and that pretty much embodies everything we talked about today,
40:41
where I want people to see like something different out there,
40:46
a voice that's not heard because we hear a lot about blindness.
40:51
Yeah, we hear a lot about race.
40:52
We hear a lot about culture.
40:54
But do we hear about it all mixed up together?
40:58
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: So no, we don't.
41:01
Ben Akuoko: So with the bright side scope, it's an opportunity to not lose my culture,
41:06
be proud of my my low vision.
41:09
And just to show people from a positive ending or part of positive side of it,
41:14
where when we think about race and oppression and disability and ableism,
41:20
it's so heavy. It is so heavy.
41:25
It can get really can bring us down, right?
41:29
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes.
41:30
Ben Akuoko: But what I like to do is coming from what used to bring us down,
41:35
what used to make us so heavy, and looking at our accomplishments and
41:39
looking at the obstacles that we, we overcame and being able to enjoy it,
41:45
being able to have those conversations like we're having today.
41:48
And that's what the bright side scope is all about to show people,
41:52
look, I'm having fun. I'm, I'm doing boxing as a,
41:56
a blind person, boxing training.
41:58
I ran a marathon as a blind person.
42:01
I have a cane that I decorated with the Ghana colors.
42:06
I'm going to watch the Ghana game in FIFA, you know?
42:10
So.
42:10
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh wow.
42:11
Ben Akuoko: It's it's just these different things and these exciting things that people if you
42:18
start to celebrate yourself, if you start to not victimize yourself,
42:23
if you start to see yourself as worth it and just live what you want to live,
42:28
don't, don't let blindness or don't let oppression or discrimination hold you back to
42:35
where you got to be.
42:37
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: This has been one of the most motivating interviews that I have had,
42:42
and I. I want others to hear it.
42:46
The kids of the future deserve to hear what you have just said,
42:49
and I want to thank you for having been on my podcast.
42:53
And if at any time you want to come back and talk to us more about Brightside or anything,
42:59
please do not hesitate to contact me.
43:03
Ben Akuoko: Absolutely. And I'm so happy on all the things that you're doing.
43:07
You are definitely, definitely amazing for what you're you're showing people.
43:14
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Thank you very much, Ben.
43:15
So good luck to you. And I look forward to seeing that book maybe in the next year.
43:21
How about that?
43:23
Ben Akuoko: I get you to write my foreword.
43:24
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, I'll be happy to do it.
43:28
Thank you very much.
43:30
Ben Akuoko: Thank you, I appreciate you.
43:31
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. You take care now.
43:33
Ben Akuoko: You as well.
43:34
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. Bye bye.
43:36
Ben Akuoko: Okay.
43:36
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Bye bye.
43:40
Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at donnajodhan@gmail.com.
43:46
Until next time.