Close your eyes and view the world…. Cover your ears and listen to others.
What is a paradox for the rest of the world was one woman’s source of determination to inspire many.
Helen Keller is one of the most influential figures in modern history whose life demonstrates that a handicap can be a catalyst to do the impossible. Why is she still a role model for many women who feel restricted by their weaknesses? Why is she the inspiration for countless dreams bounded by wheelchairs? Let us navigate the extraordinary life of the woman who stopped at nothing.
Who Was Helen Keller, and Why Was She Important?
Born on 27 June 1880, Helen Keller was a healthy baby without any complications/congenital disabilities. She was the world for her father, Arthur Henley Keller, and mother, Catherine Everett Keller, known as “Kate.”
Their small world flipped upside down when Helen suffered from a severe illness at 19 months old. The doctors struggled to diagnose her illness, ultimately narrowing it down to either scarlet fever or meningitis. But due to the aggravating fever, baby Helen lost her vision and hearing.
An agitated toddler, frustrated with her inability to communicate with others, started withdrawing herself at such a young age. And in the pitch darkness of her life, one man came into her life as the last glimmer of hope… will reveal it shortly!
With persistence, patience, ad immense willpower, Keller managed to get into Perkins School for the Blind. There she met another angel of hope, Anne Sullivan, who guided her throughout her life. Ms. Sullivan would sign words on Helen’s palm to teach her how to read and write. Within a year, Keller was able to read Braille.
Her relentless efforts paved the way for admission to the prestigious Radcliffe College of Harvard University. And just like that, she became a role model to people worldwide as the first deaf-blind person to achieve a degree in Bachelor of Arts.
She continued to empower people who have limitations or are struggling with their lives through the power of words. After graduating, she wrote several essays, delivered multiple speeches, and has 14 books under her name.
At just 22 years old, she introduced her autobiography, The Story Of My Life, which she began to write in 1902 and took a year to publish. The book was later adapted into a play and then brought to big screens in 1962 with the movie, The Miracle Worker.
What Was Helen Keller Honored For?
Helen Keller can be defined by much more than her handicap. While she primarily advocated for more practical measures for people with disabilities, she also was driven to several other social causes.
She openly supported birth control.
While the women’s rights movement was heavily criticized for obstructing wartime politics, Helen Keller lent her full support and was a member of the suffragist. Due to her popularity, the movement gained more traction nationwide.
She traveled worldwide as a public speaker, addressing her stance on the political environment.
In 1920, she took a bold initiative to form American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to support the workers’ strike and improve their working conditions and wages.
And within the civil unrest, Hellen Keller’s voice proved significant against white supremacy and lynching. She also supported the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
She later founded the Helen Keller International organization HKI when she discovered that poverty and oppression were the roots of light for disabled people. She was a major contributor to American Foundation For the Blind spanning 40 years.
Helen was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts in 1964.
Who Did Helen Keller Dedicate Her Book?
“To ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
Who has taught the deaf to speak
and enabled the listening ear to hear speech
from the Atlantic to the Rockies,
I dedicate this Story of My Life.”
Rember the glimmer of hope early in her life?
Helen’s parents sought help from Graham Bell, who was known to work with deaf children. The scientist and engineer, who also invented the telephone, helped Keller with her first stage of communication.
How Did Dr. Alexander Graham Bell Help Helen Keller?
Dr. Alex Graham Bell prepared an extensive lesson for Keller to help with her deafness. He first taught her to practice oralism– communication through speech and lip-reading instead of sign language.
According to Rebecca Alexander, disability rights advocate–
“Oralism in general, I think, has a very oppressive quality to it because what oralism is predicated on is the idea that the only way to communicate effectively is being able to speak.”
Her autobiography details her initial steps with Graham Bell and her life journey with Anne Sullivan.
What are your thoughts on Keller’s exceptional story? What do you think of Graham Bell’s contribution to Keller’s life?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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