I Am Blind Yet I See... I Am Deaf Yet I Hear
(Helen Keller)
Helen Keller declared the politics of being disabled in America. She saw herself victimized by myths: “childlike,” “dependent,” disabled. She knew discrimination firsthand. And she broke its hold on her. Helen Keller emerged as a forerunner of the disability rights movement. Today the goals of this social movement include: an end to segregating and institutionalizing people with disabilities; a shift from human services founded upon charity to services as a matter of public right; the rooting out of prejudice; barrier-free architectural design; an end to discrimination in hiring—64% of disabled people are jobless; rethinking devaluing images of the disabled in literature, art, film, and the mass media; and self-determination. Helen Keller gave us this legacy.
The actual poster for this saying and more advocacy materials can be found at: Human Policy Press, Center on Human Policy, Syracuse University, P.O. Box 35127, Syracuse, NY 13235, 315-443-2761 (voice) 315-443-4355 (tty) 315-443-4338 (fax) E-mail: thechp@syr.edu Website: http://thechp.syr.edu/HumanPolicyPress/