Hi everyone,

I am passing some information about what Audism Free America (AFA) has recently been doing to make system changes against Alexander Graham Bell (AGBAD). They are currently encouraging deaf and hard of hearing (deaf/HOH) individuals to send out letters to AGBAD. It would be great practice for all of us to do that. Including myself.

I’m going to copy what was posted at PEOPLE OF THE EYE blog site below and links will be shared at the far below (check them out):

Folks are encouraged to exercise good courage and to share their truths with the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. For those that do not know the AG Bell Association (AGBAD) – it is an organization that was born on the bedrock of promoting and propagating pure Oralism (banning of American Sign Language from the school rooms and living rooms of Deaf children). AG Bell Assoc. continues today to espouse its falsehood that one is made independent through listening and talking and that to hear and/or behave as a hearing person is superior to being Deaf. This notion is known as audism and audism has been very destructive to the lives of Deaf folks and those who
interact with Deaf folks – just as racism, sexism, heterosexism, antisemitism etc are destructive to the oppressed, the bystanders, and the oppressor.

Many Deaf lives have been interrupted due to the AG Bell Association’s promoting an exclusionary method and propagating the falsehood that to be Deaf is bad and ASL is an inferior language. We are all interdependent folks and no one is superior to anyBODY.

Its ok to be Deaf folks – it really is ok. and at times its dandy and handy to be so. So… t is not ok to deny folks a fully natural and accessible language or to judge folks based on what their ears and mouths do and not the content of their character (that is a prejudice folks and that is not cool).

Help AG Bell Association do right. Send them a message of truth. See brilliant and beautiful example below.

**Alexander Graham (CEO) ag*****@ag****.org 202-204-4671 x 107
Susan Boswell (director of communications and marketing)
sb******@ag****.org 202-204-4687 x 127**

Below are links to some of the letters send out to AGBAD organization:

Jen Witteborg’s Letter to AG Bell Association –http://bit.ly/qUY79H
Karen Christie’s Letter to the AG Bell Association – http://bit.ly/rooMtJ
Ruthie Jordan’s Letter to AG Bell Association – http://bit.ly/qgZ3Hg
Michele Westfall’s Letter to the AG Bell Association – http://bit.ly/qFGAaG
Barb DiGi’s Letter to AG Bell Association – http://bit.ly/n6Sac2
Dianrez’s Letter to AG Bell Assoc – http://bit.ly/pBGfew

So, the next letters should be yours… 🙂 Let’s join them on this effort on sending letters to AGBAD!

Thank you,

Dean DeRusso
Deaf Systems Advocate