Blog Archives

Clerc - Gallaudet Week

11/26/2021

1. When was Clerc-Gallaudet Week founded?

1972. David Anthony and Jerome Moers, late leaders of the Colorado Association of the Deaf successfully led the governor of Colorado to proclaim Deaf Awareness Week, the first-ever such event in the history of America. Over years, many cities and states in America, including the District of Columbia and San Juan, Puerto Rico, observed it at different times. Today we call it the birth of National Deaf History Month (NDHM).
1974. Clerc-Gallaudet Week originated by the D.C. Public Library in Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the National Association of the Deaf and the DC Community. It was then called Deaf Awareness Week followed by Deaf Action Week and Deaf Heritage Week.
1997. NAD FOLDA-USA Section voted to rename Clerc-Gallaudet Week and to add a new annual event called Deaf History Month. The NAD board approved it.
2022. During the year, the public celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of National Deaf History Month, March 13 – April 15, 1972-2022.

2. What is the difference between Clerc-Gallaudet Week
(CGW) and National Deaf History Month (NDHM)?

Clerc-Gallaudet Week, December 3-10 (CGW) draws the attention of politicians, authorities, librarians, and the general public in local communities of the nation to the achievements of people with disabilities, the deaf culture with its many aspects, and the concerns of deaf communities.
National Deaf History Month, March 13-April 15(NDHM) commemorates the three most important deaf milestones in American history. March 13, 1988: the first Deaf Civil Rights Victory which led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed into law on July 26, 1990; April 8, 1864: Charter signed by the US President Abraham Lincoln, authorizing the Board of Directors of the Columbia Institution (now Gallaudet University) to grant college degrees to deaf students. April 15, 1817: the first public school for deaf students in America known as the American School for the Deaf opened.

3. What About Other Deaf-Related Annual Events?

April - Last Sunday - Mother, Father Deaf Day. Est.1983 - Founded by Millie Brother. http://coda-international.org/MFDDay/ Purpose: To celebrate the unique heritage and multicultural identities of adult hearing individuals with deaf parent(s).

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. Est.1927 - Founded by Better Hearing Institute (BHI) and American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) https://www.asha.org/bhsm/ Purpose: to provide an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role of ASHA members in providing life-altering treatment.

June - the full week that includes the 27th - National Helen Keller DeafBlind Awareness Week. Est. 1984. US Presidential proclamation https://www.helenkeller.org/hknc/dbaw Purpose: To recognize the achievements of people who are DeafBlind.

September - the full week from last Monday to last Sunday of the month, International Week of Deaf People. Est. 1958. Founded by the World Federation of the Deaf.
September 23 - International Day of Sign Languages. 2017 United Nations resolution https://wfdeaf.org/iwdeaf2021/ To recognize that deaf people have their own communities, their own cultures, their own languages, sign languages, which unite them all.

4. What Should Deaf Culture Digital Library (DCDL) Be?

A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas – a place where history comes to life. In our case, whenever library communities observe deaf and appropriate annual events during the year, there will be inclusive deaf cultural books by authors, editors, illustrators! And videos that teach ASL and English! Much more with leisure, technology, health and others!

As of November 26, 2021.
By Alice L. Hagemeyer