Helen Keller

symbol of courage in the face of overwhelming odds

a woman of luminous intelligence, high ambition and great accomplishment who devoted
her life to helping others
from an early age, she championed the rights of the minorities and used her skills as a writer
to speak truth to power
a pacifist, she protested U.S. involvement in World War I
a committed socialist, she took up the cause of workers' rights
a tireless advocate for women's suffrage and an early member of the American Civil Liberties
Union
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Helen joined in 1921 and worked for the
organization for over 40 years
As a result of her travels across the United States, state commissions for the blind were
created, rehabilitation centers were built, and education was made accessible to those with
vision loss
Her message of faith and strength through adversity resonated with those returning from
WWII injured and maimed (eg 1946 formation of a special service for deaf-blind persons)
1915, when the Permanent Blind War Relief Fund, later called the American Braille Press,
was founded. She was a member of its first board of directors
ability to empathize with the individual citizen in need + ability to work with world leaders
to shape global policy on vision loss supremely effective ambassador for disabled
persons worldwide
Her wide range of political, cultural, and intellectual interests and activities ensured that she
knew people in all spheres of life

Hard facts

19 months old, she contracted a fever that left her blind and deaf
Spoiled, but intelligent
almost seven years old, her parents engaged Anne Mansfield Sullivan to be her tutor
Anne taught Helen by manually signing into the child's hand
In 1890, when she was just 10, she expressed a desire to learn to speak
Helen's extraordinary abilities and her teacher's unique skills were noticed by Alexander
Graham Bell and Mark Twain, two giants of American culture. Twain declared, "The two
most interesting characters of the 19th century are Napoleon and Helen Keller."
From a very young age, Helen was determined to go to college.
1898, she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe College.
1900, Radcliffe College, received a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in 1904, the first deafblind person to do so
In 1903, her autobiography, The Story of My Life, published, translated into 50 other
languages
Helen Keller Archives contain over 475 speeches and essays that she wrote on topics such as
faith, blindness prevention, birth control, the rise of fascism in Europe, and atomic energy

received honorary doctoral degrees from Temple and Harvard Universities in the United
States; Glasgow and Berlin Universities in Europe; Delhi University in India; and
Witwatersrand University in South Africa

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can
the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of
men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.
Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through selfgratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything good in the world.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt
within the heart.
When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door
that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or
nothing.
Anne Mansfield Sullivan

poor Irish background

only 14 years older than Helen
suffered from vision problems
Anne believed that the key to reaching Helen was to teach her obedience and love. She saw
the need to discipline, but not crush, the spirit of her young charge
Anne began her task of teaching Helen by manually signing into the child's hand. Anne had
brought a doll that the children at Perkins had made for her to take to Helen. By spelling "do-l-l" into the child's hand, she hoped to teach her to connect objects with letters.
With dedication, patience, courage and love, Anne helped Helen develop her intelligence
At college, Anne sat by Helen to spell out ever letter of the textbook. Her eyesight
deteriorated as a result of this.
Anne continued to labor by her pupil's side until her death in 1936

Maya Angelou
Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global
renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist,
producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist

Childhood, experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but also absorbed the
unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture
As a teenager, Dr. Angelous love for the arts won her a scholarship to study dance and
drama at San Franciscos Labor School
As a young single mother, she supported her son by working as a waitress and cook,
however her passion for music, dance, performance, and poetry would soon take center
stage. LIKE A STRONG, BLACK INDEPENDENT WOMAN WHO DONT NEED NO MAN.
During her years abroad, Dr. Angelou read and studied voraciously, mastering French,
Spanish, Italian, Arabic and the West African language Fanti
Dr. Angelou served as Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, requested by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
1970, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The list of her published verse, non-fiction, and fiction now includes more than 30
bestselling titles.
1972 film Georgia, Georgia, film and score. Her script, the first by an African American
woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential committees, was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has received 3 Grammy Awards.
Dr. Angelou has received over 50 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American
Studies at Wake Forest University.
Dr. Angelous words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate
our minds, and heal our hearts.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them feel.
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.
I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by
them.
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

Bill Cosby