Did you know that the first college in the world established specifically to provide education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students is in Washington, DC? Gallaudet College (now University) was founded on April 15, 1817 through a charter signed by Abraham Lincoln. 

Did you also know that the University did not have a deaf president until thirty years ago today, on March 13, 1988, when the Deaf President Now movement resulted in the appointment of Dr. I King Jordan?

These two historical events now mark the first (March 13) and last (April 15) days of Deaf History Month annually. Celebrate these moments and other significant landmarks for the deaf and hard-of-hearing culture and community throughout these weeks! 

Check out this Timeline of Deaf History, from Ancient Greece to the present, to learn more. Translations available in English, French, German, Korean, and Spanish. http://www.deafjam.org/timeline.html

Resource Spotlight

Photo credit: Made-By-Hand, LLC. (n.d.). “Press Kit”. DeafJam.org. Retrieved from http://www.deafjam.org/presskit.html

Deaf Jam (2011) Available to watch through our Kanopy video streaming service: http://proxy-su.researchport.umd.edu/login?url=http://www.salisbury.kanopystreaming.com/video/deaf-jam

Read more about this film on its official website:

In Deaf Jam, Aneta Brodski seizes the day. She is a deaf teen introduced to American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry, who then boldly enters the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet - creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf. (DeafJam.org, “About the Film”)