Howdy Y'all. A Letter to the NAD.

To the National Association of the Deaf:

I am writing to you this letter because I WANT to support you and the purpose that OUR National Association was founded: to protect and preserve our Deaf way of life. Please do take the time to not only read this letter but digest it well. It is our common objective to represent ourselves and our lifestyle in the most accurate way possible. It is my hope that the National Association can truly be representative of the Deaf people in the United States as a Class in its own right and not as subordinates.


"The mission of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is to promote, protect, and preserve the rights and quality of life of the (d)eaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America."

-NADmag, Spring 2012, Vol. 11, No. 1

"Why a national organization? Deaf Americans were beginning to realize that if anyone was going to resolve their problems it would have to be themselves. They were concerned about the educational conditions in schools for the deaf and about the method of instruction. Pure oralism was threatening the learning freedom of deaf children and the employment of deaf teachers."

-Jack R. Gannon, Deaf Heritage, 1981, p. 61

One hundred and thirty-two years ago, a group of Deaf men and women got together for the first convention of the National Association of the Deaf in Cincinnati, Ohio. This convention resolved "...to bring the Deaf of the different sections of the United States in close contact and to deliberate on the needs of the deaf as a class. We have interests peculiar to ourselves which can be taken care of by ourselves."

Now...

I am particularly interested in noting a few things regarding the above-mentioned:


a. In the mission statement above, the NAD does not recognize the word Deaf, that is to stress, the proper identity of the person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing that embraces their cultural and linguistic values as well as traditions in a world that is predominantly hearing.

b. If we do not stress the importance of our language, the need for it to be officially recognized, the benefits it has on educating deaf children, we will, as a society, fail everything we were called to achieve for our kind, the human race.

c. For the National Association of the Deaf to bring in a plenary speaker who has a track record of bigotry and discrimination is akin to inviting Alexander Graham Bell. I use Mr. Bell as an example because he has always been of the belief that Deaf people are not to be seen as they are but to be shaped into what they are expected to be. Mr. Dennis Daugaard might have parents that instilled in him the ability to communicate with Deaf people but that does not credit him with an understanding of the dilemmas that Deaf people, as a class, are dealing with. To assume that this man is capable of leading us in the right direction is no different than to say that hearing people know what is best for us.


As a community, we express our discontent with your, the National Association of the Deaf, choice. It would be mighty righteous and wise of you to rescind the decision to have Mr. Daugaard as a plenary speaker. The National Association is nothing without the members of OUR Deaf community. To ignore the people of the community is the equivalent of a political and corporate scandal. Do the right thing NAD, listen to the members of YOUR community.

Thank you,
Jeffrey A. Roberts