Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #HelenKeller
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It’s #HelenKeller’s birthday & the start of #Deafblind Awareness Week! Deafblind people face higher levels of depression in part because ableist barriers often exclude us from conversations. Today, and every day, practice these steps to help make your stories more accessible. 1/5 
1. If you post a photo, add image descriptions, also called alt text. Describe the key details in the image so someone who can’t see it can receive the emotional message through words. If there is text in the image, include that, too. Tap “Alt” on my photo for a sample. 2/5
2. Videos should have captions, on-screen text that captures the video’s audio. Bold, large font that contrasts with the background is easier for people with low vision. 3/5
--serve as superintendent of a school for the Deaf and the Blind, found and edit magazines, become a nun, be thrown in jail for not responding to commands from police, be wrongfully instiutionalized, be sterlized against their will, sue a company for stealing their invention--
--and marry. Not just marry, but marrying each other, two #DeafBlind people vowing to face a distantist world together. Multiple DB-DB couples during the time #HelenKeller tried but failed to elope with a hearing-sighted man. She was brave to do so, but others were still braver.
It's hard to stop listing #DeafBlind doings. Be found guilty of treason by a show trial! Flee the Hapsburgs' secret police! Or humler tasks, such as patiently saving money from making brooms to buy a house. But my point remains: #HelenKeller was not a wonder.
Another historical misunderstanding surrounding #HelenKeller is that she is this one-of-a-kind wonder, the first or only #DeafBlind person to do or be this and that, someone you cannot compare anyone with. The relentless erasure of other DeafBlind stories creates this illusion.
In the public consciousness, related to #DeafBlind history, #HelenKeller is a statue in the middle of a desert, with Laura Bridgman off to the distance. In reality, she was one of many DeafBlind people crawling all over the place, doing similar things.
A #DeafBlind man graduated from university five years before #HelenKeller famously became the "first" DeafBlind person to do so. She wanted very much to be married but couldn't swing it, while DeafBlind folks had already been marrying and having families for over a century.
"The miracle at the water pump" is one of the most misunderstood moments in history. What happened was not a breakthrough for #HelenKeller in learning language. There was already a word for water. But it wasn't English. What Helen learned to do was to perform a stunt.
Annie was attempting the equivalent of forcing #HelenKeller to utter a pentasyllabic word, such as "accommodation" or "laboratory" or "representative," whenever she wanted water. If you're thirsty, say "ideology" or "specificiation" or "liability." It was difficult.
Annie: What is this?
Helen: Manufacturer.
Annie: Good girl! Here, have a cup of cold sweet personality.
#HelenKeller
Helen: Manufacturer.
Annie: Good girl! Here, have a cup of cold sweet personality.
#HelenKeller
Helen Keller’s birthday is June 27 & it’s #Deafblind Awareness Week. Helen knew she benefited from white privilege. A fierce activist, she protested, wrote articles & donated to orgs working to end racism. I'm confident #HelenKeller would emphatically affirm #BlackLivesMatter
Video Transcript (I’m speaking): June 27 is #HelenKeller's birthday & all week is #Deafblind Awareness Week. Helen Keller was a fierce activist working to end racism. 1/x
Video transcript continued: She was a white woman who recognized white privilege & worked to help end all the racism that exists in our country. There's still a lot of work to do. 2/x
