HELEN KELLER IN D.C.

Statue in U.S. Capitol Honors Legend

Espa6nol

To Advertise
Call Us At
516-939-2253

More than 400 people recently attended a dedication ceremony for the unveiling of a bronze memorial statue of Helen Keller at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.

Many representatives from disability organizations turned out, including AAPD Pres. Andrew Imparato and AAPD board members, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Exec. Dir. Bruce Ramirez, and representatives of the American Association for Deaf-Blind, the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Council on Independent Living, the National Association of the Deaf, the AG Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Helen Keller National Center.

Event speakers included Congressional Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), John Boehner (R-Ohio), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Sens. Mitch McConnell (RKy.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Several of the speakers quoted Keller’s statement, “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.”

Keller was famous for being the first person who is deafblind to earn a Bachelor of Arts (Radcliffe, 1904). She was world famous as a speaker, writer, political activist and symbol for all people with disabilities. The statue is the first child to be depicted in The National Statuary Hall and the first well-known person with a disability.