Honoring And Celebrating Deaf History Month

The origins of National Deaf History Month (March 13-April 15)

March 13, 1996, is believed to have marked the beginning of what we now know as Deaf History Month.

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This may have started when two Deaf employees at a library in Washington, DC, taught their colleagues sign language. This gesture is believed to have evolved into a week-long celebration of Deaf awareness, which then grew into a month-long recognition of the Deaf community. The National Association of the Deaf proposed the week become a month, and in 1997, the first annual National Deaf History Month was officially recognized nationwide.

In 2006, the American Library Association partnered with the National Association of the Deaf to announce the dates of National Deaf History Month: March 13–April 15. Today, Deaf History Month is celebrated in April and serves as a time for members of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community and those in the hearing community to come together to celebrate the importance of Deaf history and the positive impact of Deaf individuals. Those who are Deaf or hard-to-fearing may benefit from mental health services like online therapy, which may enable them to communicate with licensed mental health professionals through features like online chat and messaging.

Deaf Americans who changed history 

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, “2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears.” Despite the challenges often presented by hearing loss, many Deaf individuals have made remarkable accomplishments in numerous fields. The following list includes just a few of the many Deaf people who dedicated their lives to expanding opportunities for Deaf Americans. 

Laurent Clerc

Born in 1785, Laurent Clerc was a French man known for his impact on Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in America. As a child, Clerc attended the world’s first public school for Deaf students, the Institut National des Jeune Sourds-Muets. He later moved to America and worked closely with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, another pivotal figure in reachable education. Not only did Clerc help build an education system for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the United States, but he was also influential in the creation of American Sign Language (ASL).

William Stokoe

William Stokoe was a professor at Gallaudet University, the first institution of higher education for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students. He published several books during his 25-year career at Gallaudet, most notably Sign Language Structure and, as a co-author, A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. Due to his work researching and defining American Sign Language, he generally helped change the understanding of ASL from being perceived as a form of English to an autonomous language all its own.

Thomas Edison

Most people know of Thomas Edison’s impact on history as the inventor of the light bulb, automatic telegraph, phonograph, and alkaline storage batteries. Still, many might be surprised to learn that Edison was Deaf. He typically considered his deafness a blessing and an asset to his work, saying, “My deafness has not been a handicap but a help to me.” His life’s work may prove, once again, that the “limitations” of a disability may largely come from society’s lack of willingness to support people with hearing loss.

Eugene Hairston

Eugene Hairston was the first deaf African American boxer. During his youth, he experienced spinal meningitis, which led to his loss of hearing. He attended schools for people who are Deaf until the age of 15, when he began working various jobs to support his family. He eventually started training as a boxer in New York and went on to win 45 fights, including 2 fights against world champions.  

Dr. Shirley Allen

Dr. Shirley Allen is the first deaf black woman in the United States to earn a doctorate. Dr. Allen became deaf due to typhoid fever at the age of 20. She was studying music at the time, and she continued playing piano for audiences after losing her hearing. She eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University, a master’s degree from Howard University, and a doctorate from the University of Rochester.

Glenn B. Anderson

Dr. Anderson is believed to have been the first Deaf African American to earn a doctorate at an American school in the United States. He attended Gallaudet University (then known as Gallaudet College), graduating in 1968 and earning his doctoral degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at New York University in 1982. Thanks to his long and varied career as a counselor, educator, and advocate, Dr. Anderson was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Council on Disability from 2002 to 2005. Dr. Anderson has won many awards for his leadership, humanitarianism, and achievements.

Nyle DiMarco

In even more recent history, Nyle DiMarco has generally gained attention for spreading awareness about Deaf issues, inaccessibility, and more. DiMarco started his career as a model and actor. In 2015, he became the winner of the show America’s Next Top Model and also went on to win Dancing with the Stars. He founded The Nyle DiMarco Foundation in 2016, which mainly focuses on raising awareness about the importance of literacy and bilingual education (ASL and English) for Deaf children. DiMarco can be considered an important figure in bringing awareness of Deaf culture to the forefront of social media and television.

Vint Cerf

Often recognized as one of the fathers of the internet, Vint Cerf is an inventor, mathematician, and activist. He is often credited with co-developing TCP/IP protocols, which gave way to the invention of the internet as we know it today. He was also one of the co-developers of MCI Mail, one of the first commercial email services. Cerf’s interest in developing email is believed to be, in part, due to his own hearing loss and his wife Sigrid’s Deafness. Due to his early work on email, the couple was able to communicate while Cerf was working overseas on business. Cerf has been a life-long advocate of increased technological accessibility for all people with disabilities. In honor of Cerf’s significant contributions to the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. 

Chella Man

Chella Man first gained popularity as a YouTube star but is now primarily known as an actor, model, artist, and activist. He began his career posting videos about his experiences as a Deaf, transgender, and genderqueer person of color and is now the first Deaf, Jewish-Asian, transgender actor cast in a superhero series since his casting on Titans. The character Man plays is also Deaf and communicates in sign language. Man has consistently spoken up about the need for casting disabled actors in roles of disabled characters.

Haben Girma

Haben Girma was born to Eritrean and Ethiopian parents in California. Girma began her advocacy after facing multiple barriers to accessibility as a young Deaf-blind person. She became a disability rights lawyer after becoming the first Deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. As a civil rights attorney, she has fought for increased accessibility for disabled people, including winning a notable lawsuit that ruled that the defense provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act was applicable to digital spaces, such as websites. She has won numerous awards for her activism, including the Hellen Keller Achievement Award and the White House Champion of Change award. She famously stated, “The dominant narrative is that disability is a burden. I view it as an opportunity for innovation.” 

A look at our future

Learning about the impact of past and current figures in Deaf history can be a great place to start, but this Deaf History Month, we may also want to focus on what we can do to make society more reachable for people in the Deaf community. In general, some positive strides have been made, such as providing more universal closed captioning and including ASL interpreters in some broadcasting. However, there may be a long way to go. In the 2020 presidential election, for example, Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers were left without an ASL interpreter at the presidential debates.

The relationship between mental health and disability

The strain of coping with discrimination and inaccessibility can negatively affect some people’s mental health. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recognizes that adults with disabilities may experience “frequent mental distress” five times more often than people without disabilities. However, therapy has not always been available for people with disabilities, including Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. 

One tool for mental health treatment may be online therapy, which can enable individuals to connect with professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Attending therapy sessions online may give you more control over the environment in which you receive care. With a platform like BetterHelp, patients generally have the option of communicating with their therapist via video, phone call, or online chat, which may be helpful for Deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals.

Research suggests that online therapy options can be effective both for treating mental health concerns and minimizing the burden put on patients. A recent review of 17 studies analyzing the benefits of online cognitive behavioral therapy found it could successfully treat many mental health disorder symptoms. The same review also noted that online therapy was generally more cost-effective for clients than in-person therapy.