ASL at Home
20 August 2024
To Whom It May Concern,
On behalf of ASL at Home, we are writing to express our full support for the #DeafBlindLeadershipNow movement. The recent appointment of a hearing-sighted individual as the Executive Director of the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) by Helen Keller Services (HKS) has sparked rightful concern and frustration within the DeafBlind community. This decision, which disregards qualified DeafBlind candidates, not only perpetuates a history of exclusion but also breaks a decade-old promise to elevate a DeafBlind person to this crucial leadership role for the first time in the organization's history.
We recognize the immense value of lived experience in leadership, particularly within communities that have been historically marginalized. The DeafBlind community, like any other, deserves leaders who intimately understand their unique challenges, aspirations, and strengths. This understanding cannot be fully grasped by those who have not lived the experience of being DeafBlind. It is only through authentic representation that true progress and meaningful change can occur.
The precedent set by the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement at Gallaudet University in 1988 underscores the importance of self-representation. That historic grassroots movement ensured that the deaf community was led by one of its own, and it is now time for the DeafBlind community to be afforded the same respect and agency. As Dante Q. Allen aptly stated, “Systemically, we also need to address the limitations that others place on those with disabilities. For too long, we have underestimated what individuals can contribute based on perceived lack of abilities that often have little to do with the opportunities at hand.”
At ASL at Home, our mission has always centered on communication access and advocacy. We believe that children and their families deserve early access to language and communication, facilitated by those who model what is possible. The situation at HKNCis directly aligned with our values—organizations that serve the DeafBlind community should be led by those with the lived experience necessary to promote their community's access, learning, and leadership.
We stand in support of the DeafBlind community and call on Helen Keller Services, and all organizations that serve DeafBlind individuals, to prioritize DeafBlind leadership. The time for DeafBlind leadership is now.
In solidarity,
Razi M. Zarchy
Co-author and owner
Leah C. Geer
Co-author and owner
info@aslathome.org
https://aslathome
