Black Deaf Americans: Education, Culture, and History
Citizenship and Education: The Black Deaf Community
Key Amendments:
- 13th (1865): Abolished slavery.
- 14th (1868): Defined citizenship for all born in the U.S.
- 15th (1870): Prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
Education Barriers for Black Deaf Americans:
Slavery laws prohibited education for all Black people, including Black Deaf individuals, with severe punishment for those caught learning to read or write.
After the Civil War, education was provided for freed slaves through efforts like the Freedmen’s Bureau, but Black Deaf Americans continued to face exclusion.
Desegregation: Even after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954), some Black Deaf schools remained segregated until the 1970s (e.g., Louisiana, 1978).
Notable Schools:
P. H. Skinner School for the Deaf (1856): Pioneered education for Black Deaf children in New York.
Benevolent Paternalism in Deaf Education
Paternalism in Education:
Early Deaf education was driven by hearing administrators who made decisions on behalf of Deaf students, often without consulting them.
Created a system where Deaf individuals were seen as needing guidance rather than being capable of self-advocacy.
Impact on Autonomy:
Deaf individuals were marginalized from leadership roles, and their ability to self-determine was restricted.
Set the stage for later movements advocating for Deaf rights and leadership in education (e.g., Deaf President Now movement at Gallaudet University in 1988).
Oralism vs. Manualism Debate
Oralism:
Teaching Deaf students to speak and lip-read, prioritizing spoken language over sign language.
Figures like Horace Mann and Samuel Gridley Howe advocated for oral methods to integrate Deaf individuals into mainstream society.
Criticism: Often led to the suppression of sign language, alienation from the Deaf community, and feelings of inadequacy among Deaf individuals.
Manualism:
Use of sign language in education, championed by Deaf educators like Laurent Clerc.
Strengthened Deaf identity and culture by promoting a visual language that aligned with their lived experiences.
Result: A long-standing tension between oralist and manualist approaches, with manualism prevailing in Deaf cultural communities.
Formation of Deaf Culture and Community
Gallaudet and Clerc:
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (hearing) and Laurent Clerc (Deaf) founded the first American school for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817.
Established American Sign Language (ASL) as the language of instruction and communication within the Deaf community.
Residential Schools:
Deaf children often experienced isolation at home but found community and identity at residential schools for the Deaf.
These schools were vital in the creation of a Deaf culture, where students connected through shared language and experiences.
Key School: American School for the Deaf, founded in 1817, marked the beginning of formal Deaf education in the U.S.
Martha’s Vineyard Deaf Community
Hereditary Deafness: Martha’s Vineyard had a high concentration of hereditary Deafness due to a genetic mutation.
Bilingual Society: Both hearing and Deaf residents used sign language, making it a fully integrated, inclusive society.
Deaf individuals were not marginalized as they were in other parts of the U.S.
Significance: Demonstrates how societal attitudes can shape the experience of Deafness. On Martha’s Vineyard, Deafness was normalized and celebrated.
A Disability History of the United States
Colonial Views on Disability:
Disabilities, including Deafness, were often viewed as divine will or punishment in early American history.
The colonial period was marked by exclusion, with few accommodations for people with disabilities.
19th Century: The rise of industrialization further marginalized disabled individuals as society placed more value on physical labor.
Changing Views: By the late 19th century, disability began to be seen less as a personal flaw and more as a societal issue, paving the way for advocacy and rights movements.
Early Deaf education movements played a role in shaping disability rights activism by creating spaces where Deaf individuals could advocate for themselves.