Episode 12

full
Published on:

23rd Oct 2023

Helen Keller: From Darkness to Light

In this episode of The Remedial Scholar, we embark on an enlightening exploration of the incredible life and achievements of Helen Keller. Join us as we delve into the remarkable journey of a woman who not only overcame the profound challenges of being both deaf and blind but emerged as a symbol of perseverance and intellectual prowess. This episode takes you through the educational odyssey of a scholar who defied societal expectations and became an inspiration for generations to come. We dissect her educational methods, the influential figures who guided her, and the groundbreaking impact she made in the realm of education for those with sensory impairments. Tune in for an educational escapade that pays homage to Helen Keller's indomitable spirit and her invaluable contributions to the world of learning.

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Transcript

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Breaker of the glass ceiling

pioneer of disability rights in America,

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member of the Socialist Party.

Who might you ask?

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Am I referring to friends?

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It's none other than Helen Keller.

That's right.

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There's a lot more to her

than some of you may know.

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She is, of course,

part of the cultural zeitgeist in America.

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Let's find out more today about the writer

leader of disability rights.

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Overall human rights activist,

kind of Helen Keller

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on another episode

of The Remedial Scholar Bad

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Ancient History.

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I feel I was denied

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credit critically.

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I need to know

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information

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belongs to simply

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that step in your remedial class.

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Welcome, everyone, to another episode

of The Remedial Scholar.

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If you're new here,

thank you for joining us.

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Tell us to Truth in a lie.

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Just kidding.

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At a real classroom.

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But aren't those just so anxiety inducing?

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I have never liked that activity ever.

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And never once have I felt that I walked

away from it learning more about people.

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But anyway, we're not doing that.

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I'm excited for this one and excited

to have you all here with me.

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Before we get into the biggest phony

of all time,

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quick announcements as always,

stickers are available.

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Email me remedial scholar

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at gmail.com or message me on the Facebook

if you're interested.

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B about $2.50 a piece

and that's delivered at all.

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So you can order.

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I mean, I only have 50,

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but you could order a bunch

and I'll just mail them to you.

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No, no. Shipping included other merch.

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The t shirts are available,

prints available as well.

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The Marie Antoinette Heads Will Roll

was probably one of my favorite designs.

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I ordered a couple of myself

and I'm very excited.

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Also, thank you for the continued reviews

and ratings at all locations.

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Pod Jason, Apple Podcasts, Spotify.

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Communicate with other fans as well

on Facebook and in the Facebook group.

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You know, share means and talk

about the episodes and I think that's it.

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Time to get into it.

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Helen, of course, is one of the most

famous women in American history,

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conquering her disabilities

to become educated at high levels

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and even become an author.

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She's not the first,

and this is definitely not the last

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deafblind person to ever exist,

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but I believe her to be an inspiring tale

nonetheless.

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The disjointed

theme of Halloween will be slightly askew

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that was inspired to do this episode

because of the very real thought

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that is circulating

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around the internet that she is fake

or her her disability is fake.

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So if I know you personally we've ever had

this conversation,

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just know

that this entire episode is stuck on you.

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Not really, but kind of.

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Now, just to illuminate

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and hopefully explain the mystery a bit,

you know

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better than maybe

your elementary school did,

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because I'm pretty sure that's

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the last time I learned about Helen was,

you know, in like third grade.

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So this episode

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is going to be pretty straightforward

biography style, similar to Joan of Arc.

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But I'm pulling an episode,

so yeah, you know, birth, death,

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everything else pretty chronological.

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So let's go.

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th of June in:

in West Tuscumbia, Alabama.

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Her father was a man named Arthur

Hadley Keller and her mother was named

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Catherine Everett Keller.

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But she was mostly known as Kate, whose

the family lived on a gorgeous homestead

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named Ivy Green.

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Burrowed under a canopy of what else?

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English. Ivy.

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Ivy Green was a sprawling 640 acre

property built by David and Mary Fairfax.

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Moore Keller.

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Helen's grandparents grounds consisted

of a large main house, a cottage, endless

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gardens, an outdoor kitchen

and a fountain, amongst other things.

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But that's nothing fancy, just a humble,

humble home tucked in Alabama countryside.

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Helen had two four siblings,

both younger than her.

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Mildred and Philip.

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She also had two older half brothers

from her father's first marriage.

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James and William.

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Helen's early years

in the American South were formative.

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Set up a lifelong dichotomy

between her public and private identity.

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You see, Helen's

father had served in the Confederate Army.

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Yeah.

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You didn't think that gigantic homestead

was just a regular one, did you?

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Although he later worked

for a local newspaper.

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Obviously, Confederate Army

didn't last super long.

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Her mother,

a traditional Southern belle, 20 years.

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His junior, was a daughter

of the Confederate general, Charles W Adam

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family came from the pre American Civil

War slaveholding upper class.

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However, they would lose

a bulk of their fortune during the war,

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meaning that they were living modestly

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by the time Helen came around, save

for their extravagant property.

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Yeah, yeah.

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Super big house, sprawling acreage,

not a lot of money, but still, you know,

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they have that.

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So later in life,

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spurred by the differences

caused by her disabilities,

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Howard would place herself as a staunchly

opposed to the radical ideology

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of her southern background.

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In the:

were so commonplace, children

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often often succumb to diseases

such as measles, mumps and rubella.

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In her early life,

Helen was fully able bodied.

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She even she was even noted

as being a precarious child.

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Start speaking at six months

and was able to walk by one.

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However, in February of:

when Helen was just 19 months old,

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she became sick

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with an acute congestion in the stomach

and brain, and doctors surmised that

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Helen's sickness could have been a bout

of scarlet fever, meningitis or both.

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Afflictions can be

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be treated with antibiotics today,

but at the time this was not an option.

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Another theory that Helen caught a bout

of Haemophilus influenzae, a particular

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a particular virulent strain of influenza,

However, as it was a particularly deadly

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strain that resulted in a 95 or 97%

infant mortality rate at the time,

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it was highly unlikely that she had

contracted this illness and survived.

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Local doctor who treated

Helen was convinced that she would in fact

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not survive.

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However, eventually Helen's fear broke.

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She was soon in the clear, so to speak,

so to speak.

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Within a few days after

Helen's fever broke, Helen's mother began

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to know something was off with her,

with her daughter,

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who did not respond to the dinner bell

when it was rang

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and seemed to have no reaction when a hand

was waved in front of her face.

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Poor Helen had effectively become deaf

and blind as a result of her sickness

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and her autobiography.

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She muses about this time

as feeling a at sea in a dense fog.

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She's also quoted as saying

that she had thought that the sun had set

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and it was simply

taking a long time to rise.

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What a lot of childlike thought.

Kind of wholesome in a way.

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Anyway, at first Helen would cling to her

mother, afraid to venture off by herself.

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But soon she began walking around,

using her hands in lieu of her eyes,

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it is said as she grew from infancy to

childhood, Helen became wild and unruly.

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She was referred to by her family

as being a little monster.

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She would

sometimes throw objects, pinch people.

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Some later cinematic depictions of her

at this time rightfully portray her

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as a child who who tyrannized

her household with temper tantrums.

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I'm thinking of one specific example.

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I think it was in the nineties

version nineties movie.

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That kid back, the girl who played

or did a great job,

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it is quite normal and expected in a child

who is almost likely

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deeply frustrated that her needs

could not be seamlessly communicated.

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These tantrums were hard to understand

for the Keller family, and soon

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they realized that they would have

to seek out some outward assistance.

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Helen was noted

as being an exceptionally bright.

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Early

on, she would communicate successfully

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with what the daughter of the family cook,

a young girl

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named Martha Washington,

who was just two years older than her.

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Helen's mother, Kate, was also diligent

in trying to communicate

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with her daughter by the age of seven.

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Helen was able to communicate

using sticky home signs as a sidebar.

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A home

sign is when a deaf child is driven to use

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crude hand gestures to express themselves

within the family unit.

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Typically happens when the child is not

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close to deaf community

or standardized way of signing.

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So basically made up signs

like instead of the typical

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ASL signing, Helen's mother,

who was only 23 years old at

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the time, doted heavily upon Helen,

who was her first child.

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Kate Keller inherently knew that

her daughter was exceptionally bright.

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In:

of Charles Dickens, she urged her husband

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to seek out assistance from professionals

regarding Helen's condition.

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You see, Dickens notes, titled

American Notes, detailed how certain

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school in Boston had successfully educated

a young, deaf blind woman.

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That's right.

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She's not the first. So.

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So it was with this in mind

that Helen was sent to a physician, Dr.

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Julian Chisholm.

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Dr. Chisholm was an EMT specialist

in Boston, and McKellar

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sought him out for advice

regarding her condition

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and what possibilities

there were for her future.

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Chisholm maintained that medically

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nothing could be done for Helen,

as her eyesight could never be restored.

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However,

he did think that she could be taught

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how to communicate more effectively

with the people around her.

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Chisholm referred to the Keller family

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to none other than Alexander Graham

Bell of the telephone fame.

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Bell was passionate

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about working with deaf children

as his mother and wife were both deaf.

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He'd actually met his wife

while tutoring her sign language.

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I kind of find that hilarious.

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The man who is credited with

the telephone, a device used to listen

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last speak to people at great distances,

marries a lady who cannot hear.

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I mean, good for him, obviously.

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But it's a little funny,

if not ironic, right?

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Anyway, when Bell met Helen,

they had an immediate rapport

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and he would become one of her

lifelong friends.

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He referred to the callers to the Perkins

Institute for the Blind in Boston,

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founded in:

as the oldest institution of its kind.

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Perkins instituted the distinction

at the time of providing the most advanced

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English language education to a deaf

blind child named Laura Bridgman,

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who was from that book

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20 years prior to Helen, contemplating

a foray into formal education,

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she had successfully been able to learn

how to write.

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Prompted by this, Helen's father had

reached out to the director of the school

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and named Michael and Agnes and asked

if he if it would be possible

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for them to send over someone to help

that part of her budding education.

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Helen.

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Helen was assigned

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a tutor, 20 year old recent graduate

and star pupil of the Perkins Institute.

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Named and Sullivan.

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Anne was visually impaired, having

suffered a bout of trachoma as a child.

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In her autobiography, Helen refers

to the day she met and March 3rd,

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1887, as her soul's birthday

and was to be Helen's instructor.

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But their relationship would evolve

into lifelong companionship.

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Anne's

upbringing light in contrast to Helen's.

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She was the daughter of poor

Irish immigrants and had spent four years

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as a ward of the state at the Tewksbury

almshouse in Massachusetts prior

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to completing her education

at the Perkins Institute

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and was 14 years older than Helen

when she began working with her.

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Her vision

was partially restored at the time,

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but she had endured many botched surgeries

in order to get to that point.

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When she first arrived at Ivy Green

and realized

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that Helen's family had been enabling

some poor behavior in her.

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For instance, while at breakfast

one morning,

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Helen reached out to grab Anne's

plate, went and pushed her hand away.

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Helen had a full on temper tantrum.

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She kicked and screamed,

threw herself on the floor,

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and calmly asked Helen's family

to exit the room.

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Helen then got up and reached

for Anne's plate again and again, and

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Anne calmly pushed her hand away.

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Helen, through another fit

before finally setting in to

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it was evident to add that Helen's

parents, ill prepared

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for the education of a deaf blind

child, had been system

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systematically giving in to Helen's whims,

which make sense.

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You know, you're just trying

to give the child what you like.

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You know that this is what she wants

because he's grabbing at it like, okay,

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we can give her that

for the purpose of Helen's future

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and realize that she would have to

isolate Helen benevolently.

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Of course.

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As such, she placed Helen in a carriage

and pretended

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that the two of them were going

somewhere place far away.

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It was a ruse.

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As merely a week after arriving,

Anne and Helen moved,

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quote unquote, into the cottage

on Ivy Green's ground,

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and they lived there together

in order to focus on Helen's education.

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Helen, thinking she was far away from her

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family, had no choice

but to give in to this educational system.

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And the approach to Helen was one of

compassion, love and discipline.

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Remember, Helen was a bit spicy at times,

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but and approached Helen

with calmness and benevolent sternness.

00;11;36;13 - 00;11;38;14

And more importantly,

she did not give up on her.

00;11;38;14 - 00;11;40;27

She began to teach Helen

that each object had letters

00;11;40;27 - 00;11;43;22

attached to it by spelling out words

in the palm of your hand.

00;11;43;22 - 00;11;47;25

The first word to use was Darl,

using her fingers and trace the letters.

00;11;47;25 - 00;11;50;28

Deo L-l went to the palm of Helen's hand

00;11;50;28 - 00;11;53;28

and then handed her a doll so that she had

00;11;53;28 - 00;11;56;25

that she had brought Helen

as a gift for Helen's progress was steady.

00;11;56;25 - 00;12;00;24

She was learning to associate objects

with letters, but did not comprehend

00;12;00;24 - 00;12;02;26

right away

that the letters were spelling words

00;12;02;26 - 00;12;06;01

that signal signified

the object in her biography.

00;12;06;02 - 00;12;08;17

Helen reflects on this time. I did know.

00;12;08;17 - 00;12;11;25

I did not know that I was spelling a word

or even that words existed.

00;12;11;25 - 00;12;15;12

I was simply making my fingers

go in a monkey like imitation.

00;12;15;13 - 00;12;20;01

A month after arriving at Ivy Green

th,:

00;12;20;01 - 00;12;24;10

to dissipate the confusion that Helen

displayed between the nouns mug and water,

00;12;24;10 - 00;12;27;14

which she was apparently confusing

with the verb drink.

00;12;27;14 - 00;12;29;28

Now just denote some source material.

00;12;29;28 - 00;12;32;11

Cite the word milk instead of water.

00;12;32;11 - 00;12;35;22

There's also some sources that state

that Helen threw the mag on the ground

00;12;35;22 - 00;12;37;02

and it shattered anyway.

00;12;37;02 - 00;12;38;09

Instead of being discouraged

00;12;38;09 - 00;12;41;28

and was inspired,

she led Helen to the water pump outside.

00;12;42;01 - 00;12;45;03

Let the cool water

run over the little girl's hand as she did

00;12;45;03 - 00;12;50;27

so and trace the what the word water w

a tr over and over on Helen's hand.

00;12;50;29 - 00;12;52;17

This moment was pivotal for Helen,

00;12;52;17 - 00;12;56;14

as it was when signals first converted

into meaning inside her mind.

00;12;56;15 - 00;13;00;17

In her autobiography, Helen recalls

the moment as feeling a return of misty

00;13;00;24 - 00;13;04;09

consciousness as something forgotten,

a thrill of returning thought.

00;13;04;10 - 00;13;05;15

As you'll soon piece together.

00;13;05;15 - 00;13;09;07

It turns out our Helen, despite her

disabilities, is incredibly gifted

00;13;09;07 - 00;13;09;22

with language.

00;13;09;22 - 00;13;13;09

And this quote that I just had

was also really great

00;13;13;09 - 00;13;16;04

because it reminds us that,

you know, Helen, although deaf and blind,

00;13;16;04 - 00;13;19;06

had a rich inner world,

and when she found her voice, as it were,

00;13;19;06 - 00;13;22;06

she was able to convey her own thoughts

in her own right.

00;13;22;10 - 00;13;23;20

Instead of having other people

00;13;23;20 - 00;13;27;17

tell her words, show her

how to write, speak, you know, and so on.

00;13;27;17 - 00;13;29;28

Now it is reported that she was

then flooded

00;13;29;28 - 00;13;33;02

with understanding and curiosity

and apparently threw herself

00;13;33;02 - 00;13;37;06

under the ground, clamoring for the word

earth, clamoring for the word earth.

00;13;37;07 - 00;13;41;06

By nightfall, Helen had learned over

30 words to describe the world around her.

00;13;41;07 - 00;13;45;07

Is also reported that she even began

to add dozens of words for her vocabulary

00;13;45;07 - 00;13;47;17

every day. Helen quickly

learned the alphabet.

00;13;47;17 - 00;13;52;07

She was able to master the standard manual

alphabet as well as the raise print

00;13;52;07 - 00;13;55;07

that is commonly used in it

to aid in blind persons today.

00;13;55;08 - 00;13;57;08

She also learned how to read and write.

00;13;57;08 - 00;14;00;08

Helen's temper tantrums

began to dissipate with her

00;14;00;08 - 00;14;03;17

increasing knowledge came

an increased sense of being understood.

00;14;03;19 - 00;14;07;07

By that time, by the time that she was

nine years old, Helen was reading works

00;14;07;10 - 00;14;11;00

by literally literary greats

such as Shakespeare and Mary Shelley

00;14;11;00 - 00;14;14;05

placed her academically

as more advanced than children her age.

00;14;14;09 - 00;14;18;19

And it makes sense that once she was able

to finally convey the things

00;14;18;19 - 00;14;24;20

that or understand things around her,

her emotional meltdown started to slow.

00;14;24;21 - 00;14;27;28

It's like watching a dog

when you when you're trying to explain,

00;14;28;01 - 00;14;31;19

like you're trying to give a command

and the dog was like,

00;14;31;22 - 00;14;34;05

I don't know what's going on. Like,

they like shift around.

00;14;34;05 - 00;14;35;05

They're really confused.

00;14;35;05 - 00;14;38;07

And eventually they do the command

that you want to give them treat

00;14;38;07 - 00;14;40;23

and they're like, okay.

And then they start doing it a bunch.

00;14;40;23 - 00;14;44;18

Obviously, Helen's not a dog, but like,

that's the closest

00;14;44;18 - 00;14;47;23

I can get to like teaching somebody

because I've never been around

00;14;47;23 - 00;14;51;12

kids long enough to like,

see the progress of how they're learning.

00;14;51;12 - 00;14;54;15

So I can't

it's like I can't think in that way,

00;14;54;15 - 00;14;58;09

but I can, you know, I've been around dogs

watching them learn stuff, and I'm sure

00;14;58;09 - 00;15;02;17

parents, you've seen your child

start to grasp concepts and you're like,

00;15;02;20 - 00;15;03;26

yeah, they're getting it now.

00;15;03;26 - 00;15;07;23

I mean, infants, toddlers,

they do throw fits,

00;15;07;23 - 00;15;09;22

but how often is the fit thrown?

00;15;09;22 - 00;15;13;17

Because they can't properly

explain how they're feeling, you know?

00;15;13;17 - 00;15;14;18

Anyway.

00;15;14;18 - 00;15;18;23

Tangent aside, by:

expressed a desire to learn how to speak.

00;15;18;24 - 00;15;21;06

Shortly after, accompanied by

and she began to.

00;15;21;06 - 00;15;24;29

She began speech classes at Horace

Mann School for the Deaf in Boston.

00;15;25;00 - 00;15;27;11

She took some classes with a woman named

Sarah Fuller.

00;15;27;11 - 00;15;30;11

Sarah placed Helen's hand over her mouth,

allowing her to feel

00;15;30;11 - 00;15;31;14

the sound that she made.

00;15;31;14 - 00;15;33;16

When she spoke,

she encouraged Helen to copy

00;15;33;16 - 00;15;36;01

the movements using her own mouth

while emitting a sound.

00;15;36;01 - 00;15;39;27

After an hour or so, Helen would say her

first sentence is warm.

00;15;39;27 - 00;15;44;06

The sound produced by her unused

vocal cords was hoarse, but it was

00;15;44;09 - 00;15;45;28

a considerable moment nonetheless.

00;15;45;28 - 00;15;49;26

In addition to this, Helen regularly

visited the Perkins Institute alongside

00;15;49;26 - 00;15;50;08

Anne.

00;15;50;08 - 00;15;53;11

You see, Anne was in the mindset

that Helen should make friends

00;15;53;11 - 00;15;55;09

with fellow deaf and blind people her age.

00;15;55;09 - 00;15;59;01

In:

called The Frost King, which she

00;15;59;01 - 00;16;03;14

then gifted to the director of Perkins,

Michael and Agnes, as a birthday present.

00;16;03;16 - 00;16;04;16

Deeply impressed, Anne.

00;16;04;16 - 00;16;07;16

Agnes got the story

published in a magazine called The Mentor.

00;16;07;16 - 00;16;09;12

It was attempting to use it as attraction,

00;16;09;12 - 00;16;13;05

as traction for the school, dubbing Helen

as the new Laura Bridgman.

00;16;13;06 - 00;16;13;24

This backfired

00;16;13;24 - 00;16;17;05

spectacularly as the story ended up

creating more scandal than praise.

00;16;17;05 - 00;16;19;25

It is more or less implied

that the story was plagiarized.

00;16;19;25 - 00;16;21;04

You see, there was a book already

00;16;21;04 - 00;16;25;05

in circulation called The Frost Fairies

by Margaret can be the plot of the book.

00;16;25;08 - 00;16;28;28

The plot of the book was eerily similar

to Helen's written book, as believed,

00;16;28;28 - 00;16;33;13

since Helen had become a voracious reader,

that she likely assimilated can be story

00;16;33;13 - 00;16;37;08

and was unable to differentiate

between Carrie's work and her own

00;16;37;08 - 00;16;41;12

imagination, and was later revealed

that the worker that a worker at Parker's

00;16;41;12 - 00;16;44;25

Institute had read the Frost Fairies

to Helen in the years in a year,

00;16;44;25 - 00;16;45;25

the year prior.

00;16;45;25 - 00;16;49;24

It was a shocking twist,

and Agnes had held a committee to rule

00;16;49;24 - 00;16;50;21

whether or not

00;16;50;21 - 00;16;54;06

Helen had committed plagiarism with him

casting the tie breaking vote.

00;16;54;06 - 00;16;57;12

This mock trial deeply traumatized Helen.

00;16;57;13 - 00;17;00;19

Later in life, she would state

that she was a she would obsessively

00;17;00;19 - 00;17;03;25

check her sentences over and over and over

to make sure that they were her own.

00;17;04;02 - 00;17;07;20

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan cut ties

permanently with the Perkins Institute

00;17;07;20 - 00;17;08;25

after this whole ordeal.

00;17;08;25 - 00;17;10;01

Helen was always determined

00;17;10;01 - 00;17;14;01

to receive an education

for two years between:

00;17;14;02 - 00;17;17;29

She attended the right human

centered School for Deaf in New York,

00;17;18;01 - 00;17;21;26

where she began studying objects

while continuing to work on her

00;17;21;26 - 00;17;22;25

communication skills

00;17;22;25 - 00;17;26;25

and so then moved to New York in order

to accompany Helen during her studies.

00;17;26;26 - 00;17;31;06

Helen had her sights set to speak,

so to speak, on a grander things.

00;17;31;08 - 00;17;32;19

Helen wanted to go to college.

00;17;32;19 - 00;17;37;16

In:

for Young Ladies at a preparatory College

00;17;37;16 - 00;17;38;02

for Women

00;17;38;02 - 00;17;41;26

Learning under the tutelage of a man

named Arthur Gilman named Arthur Gilman.

00;17;41;27 - 00;17;43;17

However, Helen ultimately

00;17;43;17 - 00;17;47;11

had designs on Radcliffe College,

which was part of Harvard University.

00;17;47;15 - 00;17;50;13

This was essentially the woman's

Department of Harvard at the time.

00;17;50;13 - 00;17;53;12

In:

she was admitted to the prestigious school

00;17;53;12 - 00;17;56;02

where she would even serve as class

vice president.

00;17;56;02 - 00;17;58;16

Although she struggled in subjects

like mathematics.

00;17;58;16 - 00;18;01;11

She was truly gifted in English early on.

00;18;01;11 - 00;18;04;15

Early on, her professors even

encouraged her to write her life story

00;18;04;15 - 00;18;07;19

as such, while undertaking full undergrad

degree.

00;18;07;25 - 00;18;10;07

Helen was also writing a manuscript

no small feat.

00;18;10;07 - 00;18;12;04

During this time, Helen story began

00;18;12;04 - 00;18;15;25

gaining a bit of cultural traction

and was somewhat known in certain circles.

00;18;15;26 - 00;18;20;07

For example, Helen had a admirer in Mark

Twain of Tom Sawyer fame.

00;18;20;07 - 00;18;23;08

He actually went as far as to say

as the two most interesting

00;18;23;08 - 00;18;26;19

characters of the 19th century

are Napoleon and Helen Keller.

00;18;26;23 - 00;18;29;24

Any talk about a fan girl? Also Napoleon?

00;18;30;00 - 00;18;31;08

We just talked about that guy.

00;18;31;08 - 00;18;34;03

Maybe we need to do Mark Twain here soon

anyway.

00;18;34;03 - 00;18;37;15

Besides waxing poetically about her

to anyone who would listen, Twain

00;18;37;15 - 00;18;40;16

also introduced Helen to oil magnate Henry

Huddleston.

00;18;40;16 - 00;18;43;26

Rogers, who took it upon himself

to pay for Helen schooling.

00;18;43;26 - 00;18;46;26

Because, remember, although Helen's family

originally came from wealth,

00;18;47;00 - 00;18;50;14

they lost a majority of their fortune

in the Civil War,

00;18;50;16 - 00;18;53;25

retaining only their property

and broader ideologies.

00;18;53;25 - 00;18;59;15

I guess in:

from Radcliffe with a Bachelor of Arts.

00;18;59;16 - 00;19;02;00

She was the first deafblind person

to accomplish this feat.

00;19;02;00 - 00;19;03;15

However, let us not forget that

00;19;03;15 - 00;19;07;04

all through her schooling

and was still diligently by Helen's side.

00;19;07;07 - 00;19;11;15

Matter of fact, Anne, who you'll remember

as visually impaired, reported reported,

00;19;11;20 - 00;19;15;06

reportedly suffered greatly

from reading all the course material

00;19;15;06 - 00;19;18;08

when which she then

painstakingly signed into Helen's hand.

00;19;18;13 - 00;19;22;04

Imagine as quite a display of dedication,

if I do say so myself.

00;19;22;04 - 00;19;25;07

You know, one cannot discount

Anne Sullivan in this tale.

00;19;25;07 - 00;19;27;21

She truly is an unsung hero of this story.

00;19;27;21 - 00;19;31;13

Also, I feel like she probably should

have got a degree also.

00;19;31;15 - 00;19;35;02

I didn't look into it, but

you'd think if she's reading everything

00;19;35;02 - 00;19;38;02

to her, explaining it to her,

then she should probably get something.

00;19;38;03 - 00;19;38;18

I don't know.

00;19;38;18 - 00;19;41;05

Helen, by this time,

was able to communicate in many ways.

00;19;41;05 - 00;19;43;22

She was familiar with the two Dolma method

00;19;43;22 - 00;19;46;16

in which she would touch another person's

lips and throat in order

00;19;46;16 - 00;19;49;16

to piece together what they were saying,

which sounds very intimate.

00;19;49;17 - 00;19;52;28

She could also type, read Braille

finger spell and speak out loud.

00;19;52;29 - 00;19;55;29

Helen,

it turns out, was also able to write, but

00;19;55;29 - 00;19;59;22

her skills were beyond the regular day

to day prose of an average Joe.

00;19;59;22 - 00;20;01;08

Now, Helen was never average.

00;20;01;08 - 00;20;05;00

Helen was a writer through and through,

and her early in her university career,

00;20;05;01 - 00;20;06;15

she had developed a correspondence

00;20;06;15 - 00;20;10;05

with an Austrian philosopher

and pedagogue, as you do.

00;20;10;07 - 00;20;13;18

Named Wilhelm Jerusalem

as an amazing name.

00;20;13;19 - 00;20;15;17

That's like a biblical pornstar name

anyway.

00;20;15;17 - 00;20;19;18

He's noted as being one of the first

to take stock in her literary talent.

00;20;19;20 - 00;20;24;01

In the same year that she graduated in

1904, Helen purchased a home in Wrentham,

00;20;24;01 - 00;20;28;04

messaged sits in:

married a man named John Macy,

00;20;28;09 - 00;20;31;09

and the two moved in with Helen

in the Wrentham house.

00;20;31;10 - 00;20;32;14

It's normal stuff.

00;20;32;14 - 00;20;35;18

Just living with my bestie appears

that Helen and Anne's relationship

00;20;35;18 - 00;20;38;21

was fusion, all for both, as they were,

you know, seldomly apart.

00;20;38;22 - 00;20;42;08

And. And John helped Helen put together

her first book, an autobiography.

00;20;42;15 - 00;20;45;11

An autobiography

titled The Story of My Life,

00;20;45;11 - 00;20;48;26

famously turned into a song

by a Social Distortion.

00;20;49;00 - 00;20;51;18

The book chronicles

Helen's life from childhood

00;20;51;18 - 00;20;55;08

up until her time in college

and at the age of 21.

00;20;55;10 - 00;20;58;17

By this time in her life, Helen

was world renowned, and she was becoming

00;20;58;17 - 00;21;01;19

very in-demand person

for speaking engagements.

00;21;01;20 - 00;21;03;29

Shortly

after this, Helen begins a career chairing

00;21;03;29 - 00;21;07;20

various organizations that championed

the cause related to her disability.

00;21;07;21 - 00;21;11;01

In:

she was appointed to the Massachusetts

00;21;11;01 - 00;21;12;04

Commission for the Blind.

00;21;12;04 - 00;21;15;02

Two years later, her second book,

The World I Live In, was published.

00;21;15;02 - 00;21;18;02

She also worked towards

developing a uniform system of Braille,

00;21;18;02 - 00;21;20;23

which, by the way,

is the writing system in place today,

00;21;20;23 - 00;21;24;05

which allows visually impaired people

to read and write through touch.

00;21;24;06 - 00;21;27;28

She also championed nationwide or larger

social issues.

00;21;27;29 - 00;21;31;14

For example, in:

Hart, Indiana.

00;21;31;17 - 00;21;36;01

I'm not confident in how to pronounce

that, but she expressed her opposition

00;21;36;01 - 00;21;39;12

to prohibition, stating that poverty

caused drinking, not the reverse.

00;21;39;13 - 00;21;43;21

In:

joined the Wrentham house.

00;21;43;23 - 00;21;47;05

She was hired to keep house

as and Sullivan's health was beginning

00;21;47;05 - 00;21;50;06

to fade around this time, coincidentally,

and is also around this time

00;21;50;06 - 00;21;54;07

that Anna John separated as a couple

and was always extremely devoted to Helen.

00;21;54;07 - 00;21;57;13

It is believed that her marriage crumbled

under the weight of that relationship,

00;21;57;13 - 00;22;02;08

or at least the place that it took

in her life contributed to its devolution.

00;22;02;10 - 00;22;06;13

Helen, for her part, rounded out the year

by funding American Foundation for

00;22;06;13 - 00;22;10;23

Overseas Blind, which supported World War

One veterans who were blinded by the war.

00;22;10;24 - 00;22;14;00

The organization would later be known

as the Helen Keller International,

00;22;14;00 - 00;22;17;22

and it would be devoted to research

in health, vision and nutrition.

00;22;17;24 - 00;22;19;05

Many depictions of Helen Keller

00;22;19;05 - 00;22;23;01

place her as a saintly,

almost asexual being, however true

00;22;23;01 - 00;22;27;06

disability advocacy requires viewing

not able bodied people as you know well

00;22;27;06 - 00;22;31;08

people, people capable of love, romance,

marriage and long lasting relationships.

00;22;31;09 - 00;22;35;06

In:

a man named Peter Fagan, A finger spelling

00;22;35;06 - 00;22;39;15

specialist and journalist

Peter Fagan was also, gasp, a socialist.

00;22;39;18 - 00;22;41;20

But guess what, folks? So is Helen.

00;22;41;20 - 00;22;45;14

Our girl had in fact become a member

of the Socialist Party in:

00;22;45;15 - 00;22;46;24

As we touched upon earlier,

00;22;46;24 - 00;22;50;18

her public life was very different

from the private life she was born into.

00;22;50;20 - 00;22;53;01

Helen was a staunch activist

for the working class.

00;22;53;01 - 00;22;55;02

She also funneled a lot of her prolific

00;22;55;02 - 00;22;58;14

writing into the advancement of women's

rights, such as the right to vote,

00;22;58;14 - 00;23;01;13

you know, from small stuff,

and chronicled the efforts of war

00;23;01;13 - 00;23;04;20

on the populace in her support

of the causes of the workers rights.

00;23;04;21 - 00;23;09;20

She joined the IWW Industrial Workers

of the World back in:

00;23;09;20 - 00;23;13;25

she wrote how disabilities often resulted

from the overall lamentable

00;23;13;25 - 00;23;17;23

working conditions that were thrust upon

society's poorest laboring individual.

00;23;17;24 - 00;23;22;01

As a gifted writer, she saw it as her duty

to use her unique position to advocate

00;23;22;01 - 00;23;26;20

for the working class period that she was

active in called the Progressive Era.

00;23;26;20 - 00;23;29;02

And it was a time of rapid

industrialization.

00;23;29;02 - 00;23;31;22

As such,

the safety of workers was often overlooked

00;23;31;22 - 00;23;34;29

and many were blinded by workplace

incidences and accidents.

00;23;35;00 - 00;23;36;00

What's more, factory

00;23;36;00 - 00;23;39;22

owners and managers were rarely held

accountable for these accidents.

00;23;39;23 - 00;23;42;22

Helen

also corresponded with Eugene V Debs,

00;23;42;22 - 00;23;46;17

a socialist labor organizer

who ran for president repeatedly.

00;23;46;18 - 00;23;50;13

Helen was also a suffragist,

a suffragist and a staunch, outspoken

00;23;50;13 - 00;23;55;05

advocate for women's rights, stating that

this inferiority of women is man made.

00;23;55;11 - 00;23;56;19

Well, that's pretty cool.

00;23;56;19 - 00;23;58;13

That should be on a T-shirt.

00;23;58;13 - 00;24;01;23

Would you would you buy a t shirt

from a podcast written by a dude?

00;24;01;23 - 00;24;05;21

If it was

if it said that she was also a proponent

00;24;05;21 - 00;24;09;26

of birth control, which was highly unusual

and progressive for the time?

00;24;09;28 - 00;24;12;16

Helen also lent her skills

to the pacifist movement.

00;24;12;16 - 00;24;15;28

In:

denouncing the war.

00;24;15;28 - 00;24;18;05

At the time,

the United States was still neutral,

00;24;18;05 - 00;24;21;15

but there were rumblings of preparation

for invasion.

00;24;21;15 - 00;24;26;20

As such, Helen urged workers not to engage

with the wartime machine more or less,

00;24;26;20 - 00;24;28;15

more or less,

saying that the government's interests

00;24;28;15 - 00;24;32;03

ultimately lie with their investments

as opposed to their people.

00;24;32;04 - 00;24;34;12

For Helen, activism came easy.

00;24;34;12 - 00;24;37;12

As a disabled person,

she could sympathize and overall

00;24;37;16 - 00;24;41;08

and see overall themes repeated in social

ill treatment of others.

00;24;41;09 - 00;24;44;08

This was the climate of injustice

that fueled or fueled her.

00;24;44;09 - 00;24;47;26

For Helen, you could not advocate

for disability rights without folding

00;24;47;26 - 00;24;50;28

in other forms of injustice

like racism and sexism.

00;24;51;02 - 00;24;54;22

Helen was often typecast

as a virginal young woman who miraculously

00;24;54;22 - 00;24;56;15

learned to spell and read despite it all.

00;24;56;15 - 00;24;57;25

But she was much more than that.

00;24;57;25 - 00;25;01;17

She was a self-aware person

who landed on the radar of the FBI

00;25;01;17 - 00;25;05;04

for her opened far left associations

In Helen's own words.

00;25;05;04 - 00;25;07;28

Blindness with a big

B has never interested me.

00;25;07;28 - 00;25;09;13

What I say of the blind applies

00;25;09;13 - 00;25;13;11

equally for all hindered groups the deaf,

the impoverished, mentally disturbed.

00;25;13;11 - 00;25;16;01

And my desire is to help them

regain their human right.

00;25;16;01 - 00;25;18;17

During this time, Helen

published a collection of essays

00;25;18;17 - 00;25;21;07

titled Out of the Dark,

detailing her political views.

00;25;21;07 - 00;25;24;10

Now we must take a pause here in order

to touch upon a rarely highlighted

00;25;24;10 - 00;25;29;09

but nevertheless very real critique of

Helen Keller's disability rights advocacy.

00;25;29;10 - 00;25;31;25

Helen was once a supporter of eugenics.

00;25;31;25 - 00;25;33;00

Not right.

00;25;33;00 - 00;25;37;12

This is the school of thought that sought

to improve the human population

00;25;37;12 - 00;25;40;16

by effectively breeding out

certain traits like, for example,

00;25;40;16 - 00;25;41;17

people with disabilities.

00;25;41;17 - 00;25;43;02

Earlier in her writing career,

00;25;43;02 - 00;25;45;21

she wrote about her concerns

about the feasibility of children

00;25;45;21 - 00;25;48;03

with severe disabilities

living in society.

00;25;48;03 - 00;25;51;03

Later in life,

her stance on eugenics would change.

00;25;51;05 - 00;25;53;27

Keller Apologists would say that

she would be mortified

00;25;53;27 - 00;25;58;06

not to have advocated for all human life

In the same year that she met Peter Fagan.

00;25;58;07 - 00;26;00;16

Helen donated money to the ACP,

00;26;00;16 - 00;26;03;20

the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People,

00;26;03;20 - 00;26;07;15

as she was ashamed of the southern

un-Christian treatment of colored people.

00;26;07;20 - 00;26;13;00

That's a quote that quote extracted

from Kim E Nielsen's treatise on Helen's

00;26;13;06 - 00;26;17;03

Southern upbringing and how it would

and how it affected much of her worldview.

00;26;17;04 - 00;26;20;27

Helen was an early member of the NAACP

and she openly condemned

00;26;20;27 - 00;26;24;00

lynching as well as racism

against African-Americans altogether.

00;26;24;01 - 00;26;28;08

Must be said that this was highly atypical

at the time, especially for somebody

00;26;28;15 - 00;26;31;11

literally born on, you know,

00;26;31;11 - 00;26;35;29

an acreage in Alabama

like shortly after the Civil War.

00;26;36;05 - 00;26;40;19

To a family whose patriarch

was in the Confederate Army.

00;26;40;24 - 00;26;41;11

I don't know.

00;26;41;11 - 00;26;47;02

I don't know how often that happens where

the daughter of a Confederate soldier.

00;26;47;04 - 00;26;49;04

It's just the facts completely.

00;26;49;04 - 00;26;51;04

But that's kind of interesting.

00;26;51;04 - 00;26;52;26

Now back to Helen's love life.

00;26;52;26 - 00;26;56;20

Peter would communicate with Ellen

using finger spelling.

00;26;56;23 - 00;26;58;02

I bet he did.

00;26;58;02 - 00;26;58;23

I bet he did.

00;26;58;23 - 00;27;03;00

And the two fell in love while he served

as the secretary of war and was ill.

00;27;03;01 - 00;27;05;04

Come on. That joke has to be made.

00;27;05;04 - 00;27;07;09

There's

no way to not make that joke there.

00;27;07;09 - 00;27;09;13

They deal with it

00;27;09;15 - 00;27;11;00

without informing her family.

00;27;11;00 - 00;27;14;26

Or perhaps more tellingly,

Anne, Helen and Peter made plans to elope.

00;27;14;28 - 00;27;17;21

Helen's family simply did not see marriage

00;27;17;21 - 00;27;21;00

and childbearing in Helen's future

as she was a deaf blind woman.

00;27;21;01 - 00;27;23;05

Eventually,

she relented to her family's will

00;27;23;05 - 00;27;26;28

and abandoned the prospect of marriage,

stating in another one of her memoirs

00;27;26;28 - 00;27;30;19

that her quote unquote love

life, a love dream, was shattered.

00;27;30;20 - 00;27;35;11

In:

pivot towards the world of vaudeville.

00;27;35;13 - 00;27;37;10

That's right. A girl's in showbiz.

00;27;37;10 - 00;27;39;27

She had starred in a silent

film called Deliverance.

00;27;39;27 - 00;27;41;20

Not that one.

00;27;41;20 - 00;27;45;16

That movie would be so,

so vastly different

00;27;45;19 - 00;27;47;09

anyway.

00;27;47;09 - 00;27;50;09

I'm talking about the seventies

00;27;50;16 - 00;27;52;15

of the seventies Burt Reynolds movie.

00;27;52;15 - 00;27;54;01

Anyway, in:

00;27;54;01 - 00;27;57;01

she starred in Deliverance,

which was, incidentally, about her life.

00;27;57;01 - 00;28;01;11

So she starred in a biopic about herself,

which, you know, is still pretty cool.

00;28;01;12 - 00;28;04;06

Helen's vaudeville

career would spanned over five years.

00;28;04;06 - 00;28;07;06

Now, Helen had been offered

a vaudevillian act

00;28;07;12 - 00;28;10;20

before in her teenage years,

however, she had turned it down.

00;28;10;22 - 00;28;14;05

The lecture circuit, however,

wasn't the most financially fruitful, nor,

00;28;14;05 - 00;28;18;29

it turns out, were her treatise on the

political and social issues at the time.

00;28;18;29 - 00;28;23;25

As such, she and Ann agreed to perform

on vaudeville circuit, excepting a tour on

00;28;23;25 - 00;28;27;13

the Orpheum circuit, which would take them

all over the United States and Canada.

00;28;27;14 - 00;28;32;03

Tour ran from February:

and it was a huge success.

00;28;32;04 - 00;28;32;28

This particular

00;28;32;28 - 00;28;36;14

bout of Helen's life would be studied

later through the lens of academia.

00;28;36;15 - 00;28;37;24

Some would find that point,

00;28;37;24 - 00;28;40;18

some would find pointed connections,

or at least a fine line

00;28;40;18 - 00;28;44;09

between the vaudeville act

and certain elements of the freak show.

00;28;44;11 - 00;28;45;29

You know, are you in the show?

00;28;45;29 - 00;28;47;01

Capitalized on Helen's

00;28;47;01 - 00;28;50;23

physical differences from the status

quo to garner an audience.

00;28;50;24 - 00;28;55;24

Either way, Helen and Anne had by now

developed ease at performing in public

00;28;55;24 - 00;28;59;11

and made easy money by performing bits

about Helen's life publicly.

00;28;59;11 - 00;29;01;16

The vaudeville act would would see

00;29;01;16 - 00;29;05;06

Helen make even more famous friends

like Charlie Chaplin out of them.

00;29;05;10 - 00;29;08;00

This, however, did not deter Helen

from her activism.

00;29;08;00 - 00;29;13;14

In:

Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU,

00;29;13;14 - 00;29;17;12

an organization which we now broadly

associate with the concept of free speech.

00;29;17;13 - 00;29;20;21

ACLU's aim to defend the rights

and liberties of individuals

00;29;20;21 - 00;29;21;15

in the United States.

00;29;21;15 - 00;29;25;13

Often advocating for the underrepresented

folks in marginalized communities.

00;29;25;14 - 00;29;28;23

In:

Helen decided to shift her primary focus

00;29;28;23 - 00;29;32;21

from political activism to raising funds

for American Foundation for the Blind.

00;29;32;22 - 00;29;35;23

This was a cohesive

way for her to center her advocacy work.

00;29;35;23 - 00;29;37;23

She raised money, awareness and support

00;29;37;23 - 00;29;40;05

for the blind

and even spoke before Congress.

00;29;40;05 - 00;29;41;27

It wouldn't be the last of her feats.

00;29;41;27 - 00;29;45;08

Helen in time would be would befriend

and lineage of American

00;29;45;08 - 00;29;48;20

presidents

from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon Johnson.

00;29;48;21 - 00;29;53;19

In:

hospitals in the United States.

00;29;53;21 - 00;29;57;05

It's also around this time

that Helen and Sullivan and Polly Thompson

00;29;57;05 - 00;29;59;14

all moved to Forest Hills in Queens,

New York.

00;29;59;14 - 00;30;00;10

That would be her home

00;30;00;10 - 00;30;04;06

base for extensive fundraising tours

for the American Foundation for the Blind.

00;30;04;07 - 00;30;08;01

A relationship between the three women

was fraught at first with inferences

00;30;08;01 - 00;30;11;26

that Polly fell out of place

in light of Helen and Anne's unique bond.

00;30;11;28 - 00;30;14;05

Yeah, it's kind of hard to third

wheeled that operation.

00;30;14;05 - 00;30;18;16

In:

counselor of international Relations

00;30;18;16 - 00;30;21;20

for the American Foundation

of for the Overseas Blind.

00;30;21;21 - 00;30;25;22

As part of this position, she traveled

to 35 countries on five continents

00;30;25;22 - 00;30;29;17

and met many world leaders,

such as Winston Churchill and Golda meir.

00;30;29;20 - 00;30;30;12

Go the mayor.

00;30;30;12 - 00;30;32;21

Helen was also a civilian diplomat.

00;30;32;21 - 00;30;35;29

She would travel to Japan twice,

once in:

00;30;35;29 - 00;30;39;23

and another time in:

as a goodwill ambassador.

00;30;39;24 - 00;30;44;22

1948, she toured over 30 cities, including

the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

00;30;44;23 - 00;30;48;20

She met with Japanese

Emperor Hirohito and over 2

00;30;48;20 - 00;30;50;20

million

Japanese citizens came out to see her.

00;30;50;20 - 00;30;52;23

For the residents

of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

00;30;52;23 - 00;30;55;13

This was seen as a US

backed attempt to atonement.

00;30;55;13 - 00;30;59;05

This encouraged General Douglas MacArthur,

who had sent her to improve U.S.

00;30;59;05 - 00;31;00;18

Japanese relations.

00;31;00;18 - 00;31;02;02

No small feat, indeed.

00;31;02;02 - 00;31;04;25

So back in:

Anne Sullivan had Stratford

00;31;04;25 - 00;31;08;17

suffered a stroke back in:

and Sullivan had suffered a stroke

00;31;08;17 - 00;31;11;03

which robbed her of what little vision

she still possessed.

00;31;11;03 - 00;31;14;19

As such, she was completely blind

for the later part of her life.

00;31;14;20 - 00;31;17;13

,:

00;31;17;13 - 00;31;20;23

Anne suffered a coronary thrombosis

and fell into a coma.

00;31;20;24 - 00;31;23;02

Five days later,

she died holding Helen's hand.

00;31;23;02 - 00;31;26;28

This event, as we can imagine,

greatly affected Helen, who was consumed

00;31;26;28 - 00;31;27;16

with grief.

00;31;27;16 - 00;31;31;14

Helen described and as her other self

and owed a great deal to her.

00;31;31;15 - 00;31;34;00

Helen's life would have never panned out

the way it did

00;31;34;00 - 00;31;37;28

if it hadn't been for the dedication, love

and discipline of Anne Sullivan.

00;31;38;02 - 00;31;40;15

Sound a little like a like an old school.

00;31;40;15 - 00;31;44;19

Why did I read her name in, like,

such an old school news reporter

00;31;44;21 - 00;31;46;00

and Anne Sullivan?

00;31;46;00 - 00;31;49;08

It cannot be understated that

although Helen Keller was no doubt

00;31;49;08 - 00;31;52;24

bright and Sullivan was instrumental

in unlocking her genius.

00;31;52;26 - 00;31;56;00

After Anne's death, Helen

and Polly moved to Westport, Connecticut,

00;31;56;00 - 00;32;00;05

to a home named Archon Ridge,

which sounds like a villain base,

00;32;00;07 - 00;32;03;24

but it would also be remained Helen's home

for the rest of her life.

00;32;03;25 - 00;32;04;14

There, Helen

00;32;04;14 - 00;32;07;23

made friends with local artists,

one of them being sculptor Joe Davidson.

00;32;07;24 - 00;32;11;14

In:

with Helen and Polly.

00;32;11;14 - 00;32;14;18

Under Joe's guidance, Helen would run her

fingers over some of the world's most

00;32;14;18 - 00;32;18;21

famous sculptures, delighting in them,

which she was allowed to do that,

00;32;18;23 - 00;32;20;01

I guess it was in the fifties.

00;32;20;01 - 00;32;23;06

And maybe, maybe, maybe there was less

restrictions back then.

00;32;23;06 - 00;32;23;22

I don't know.

00;32;23;22 - 00;32;26;12

I mean,

if you have the opportunity stretch,

00;32;26;12 - 00;32;29;19

if you have the opportunity to touch

a world famous sculpture, I say, do it.

00;32;29;20 - 00;32;30;14

I'm not going to lie.

00;32;30;14 - 00;32;34;16

I touched the Jackson Pollock painting

at the Joslin Museum in Omaha one time.

00;32;34;16 - 00;32;36;20

The best day of my life.

00;32;36;22 - 00;32;39;29

In:

where she toured

00;32;39;29 - 00;32;44;13

Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan

and Israel for a period of three months.

00;32;44;13 - 00;32;47;16

During this trip, she advocated

for the rights of the blind and disabled.

00;32;47;21 - 00;32;51;16

Helen was nominated for a Nobel Peace

Prize in:

00;32;51;17 - 00;32;53;01

although she did not win the prize.

00;32;53;01 - 00;32;56;12

There are some enduring legacy

tied to her work during that campaign.

00;32;56;12 - 00;33;00;10

One of her feats, for example, is the fact

that she secured a promise from Egypt's

00;33;00;10 - 00;33;03;17

Minister of education to create

a secondary school for blind children

00;33;03;17 - 00;33;07;08

that would allow them chance to pursue

higher education, which is pretty cool.

00;33;07;09 - 00;33;13;13

In:

Helen undertook a most grueling trip ever.

00;33;13;14 - 00;33;18;06

Trip was a 40,000 mile tour through India,

Pakistan, Burma and the Philippines.

00;33;18;07 - 00;33;21;28

This South Asian campaign

undertook undertaken on behalf of

00;33;21;28 - 00;33;25;22

the American Foundation for the Overseas

Blind, was intended to inspire

00;33;25;22 - 00;33;29;01

the expansion of facilities for the deaf

and blind throughout the region.

00;33;29;01 - 00;33;33;03

During Helen's later life, World Travel's

Polly Thompson had been her constant

00;33;33;03 - 00;33;34;00

travel companion.

00;33;34;00 - 00;33;40;02

st,:

after 46 years spent by Helen Sight.

00;33;40;03 - 00;33;44;04

She was noted as having

a single minded dedication for help.

00;33;44;05 - 00;33;47;13

It is actually quite fascinating

how two women fuze their entire lives

00;33;47;13 - 00;33;50;27

together first and would be known

colloquially as teacher.

00;33;50;27 - 00;33;53;27

The woman responsible

for coaxing out Helen's greatness.

00;33;53;27 - 00;33;56;27

And second, Polly,

the steadfast secretary as the manager

00;33;56;27 - 00;34;00;07

of Helen's time

in her many correspondences, a devout

00;34;00;08 - 00;34;04;16

travel companion who bestowed deep

protectiveness over her dearest friend.

00;34;04;17 - 00;34;07;18

Now, in:

Helen had suffered a series of strokes

00;34;07;18 - 00;34;09;15

that limited her overall capacities.

00;34;09;15 - 00;34;11;18

However, she campaigned for the blind

and deaf

00;34;11;18 - 00;34;15;09

actively until:

after which she retired peacefully.

00;34;15;13 - 00;34;17;17

Arkan Ridge and led led a quiet life.

00;34;17;17 - 00;34;22;15

In:

Johnson awarded Helen the presidential

00;34;22;17 - 00;34;26;11

the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

the nation's highest civilian honor.

00;34;26;12 - 00;34;30;21

For many years, she was regarded as one of

the greatest living women in America.

00;34;30;22 - 00;34;33;21

st,:

00;34;33;21 - 00;34;37;08

peacefully in her sleep,

just a few weeks shy of her 80th birthday.

00;34;37;12 - 00;34;39;14

Helen Keller's legacy expands far greater

00;34;39;14 - 00;34;43;14

than overcoming the obstacles laid

before her by her blindness and deafness.

00;34;43;14 - 00;34;47;09

Although she is most commonly known

for being able to read, write and speak

00;34;47;09 - 00;34;51;05

against all odds and consequently advocate

for people with disabilities.

00;34;51;07 - 00;34;54;13

Helen also used her innate

mastery of words to stir up discussion

00;34;54;13 - 00;34;57;16

around race, women's

rights, workers rights to a socialist,

00;34;57;17 - 00;35;00;05

a suffragist, a pacifist,

among other things.

00;35;00;05 - 00;35;04;00

Conversations about the lesser known

and more radical advocacy work undertaken

00;35;04;00 - 00;35;07;27

by Helen Keller are directly tied to her

disability, as most depictions of her

00;35;07;27 - 00;35;11;05

stemmed from early childhood,

where she was made out to be a feral child

00;35;11;05 - 00;35;12;24

transformed into an intellectual.

00;35;12;24 - 00;35;15;28

It is easy for the common

cultural conversation around her

00;35;15;28 - 00;35;18;29

to infantile infantilize her, i.e.

00;35;18;29 - 00;35;22;07

Helen Keller, the child

who learned to speak despite it all.

00;35;22;08 - 00;35;25;28

However, shining light on her other

achievements helped shed that portrayal

00;35;25;28 - 00;35;30;12

and give us pause to admire her

for her complexities and ideals as well.

00;35;30;14 - 00;35;33;09

Today,

Helen's likeness is stamped onto Honor

00;35;33;09 - 00;35;36;14

State Quarter of Alabama,

one of many lasting tributes to her.

00;35;36;15 - 00;35;40;13

Interestingly, the coin shows

Helen dutiful, reading a Braille book.

00;35;40;15 - 00;35;45;05

And although this list fee is mountainous

and inches extent,

00;35;45;05 - 00;35;46;15

it certainly does not represent

00;35;46;15 - 00;35;50;07

the full scope of her impact and more

radical aspects of her personality.

00;35;50;08 - 00;35;51;05

As a sidebar,

00;35;51;05 - 00;35;55;00

the picture of her reading the book bears

the inscription Spirit of Courage below.

00;35;55;02 - 00;36;00;19

And as Professor Georgina College of UC

Berkeley says in one interview.

00;36;00;21 - 00;36;01;10

And I watched.

00;36;01;10 - 00;36;02;26

So in some sense,

00;36;02;26 - 00;36;06;22

we are supposed to understand that

a woman reading a book represents courage.

00;36;06;28 - 00;36;10;15

Part of what makes her story so important

is the fact that she centered her

00;36;10;21 - 00;36;11;11

humanness.

00;36;11;11 - 00;36;15;12

She was a person with disabilities, yes,

but she was also a person who was once

00;36;15;14 - 00;36;16;00

a love,

00;36;16;00 - 00;36;20;02

a person who struggled to make money,

who clamored for purpose, a performer,

00;36;20;02 - 00;36;23;19

and also someone who strayed from the path

sometimes, you know, eugenics.

00;36;23;19 - 00;36;26;25

In our modern era, conspiracy

theories seem to abound endlessly.

00;36;26;26 - 00;36;29;25

Helen Keller, of all people,

has actually come under fire as a

00;36;29;26 - 00;36;33;21

as part of conspiracy relating to the idea

that she was, in fact, a fraud.

00;36;33;21 - 00;36;37;18

In a shockingly able as twist

some tic daggers have actually posted

00;36;37;18 - 00;36;42;15

videos that suggest that Helen Keller

faked her disabilities, that her success

00;36;42;15 - 00;36;46;19

as an author, motivational speaker

and activist was part of some huge grift.

00;36;46;23 - 00;36;50;21

This idea was espoused in May:

under the hashtag hashtag, hashtag.

00;36;50;22 - 00;36;51;26

Helen Keller wasn't real.

00;36;51;26 - 00;36;54;10

What's interesting about this little slice

of cultural history

00;36;54;10 - 00;36;57;23

is that it does is that it does portray

just how real the need

00;36;57;23 - 00;37;01;28

for disability awareness

and justice is still is to this day.

00;37;01;29 - 00;37;03;12

Helen, Success wasn't

00;37;03;12 - 00;37;07;01

so vast that it couldn't

possibly be true that she was disabled.

00;37;07;03 - 00;37;09;05

Is the message that comes across

kind of like

00;37;09;05 - 00;37;13;02

how the TV show Ancient Aliens

would rather surmise that aliens build

00;37;13;02 - 00;37;17;19

the pyramids as opposed to a whole ancient

civilization of you, not white people,

00;37;17;19 - 00;37;21;26

as also underscores all the other people

who have the exact same disability.

00;37;21;27 - 00;37;25;24

There's a woman who I found

who's a lawyer and is deaf blind.

00;37;25;26 - 00;37;28;04

She even she like she speaks.

00;37;28;04 - 00;37;29;18

You can watch the video on YouTube.

00;37;29;18 - 00;37;32;03

She talks perfectly better than me.

00;37;32;03 - 00;37;36;16

Honestly, I think people just don't like

to admit when they don't understand.

00;37;36;19 - 00;37;38;04

Can't comprehend something.

00;37;38;04 - 00;37;42;08

It's easier to say, Helen Sake didn't know

the way she learned how to do anything

00;37;42;08 - 00;37;43;27

without being able to see her here.

00;37;43;27 - 00;37;48;17

Hopefully this episode dispelled any major

doubts, but if not, I can't help you.

00;37;48;19 - 00;37;52;09

Do you think Helen and 160 million

people around the world are faking

00;37;52;09 - 00;37;54;17

it just for clout?

Then I don't know what to tell you.

00;37;54;17 - 00;37;57;25

Some of the interesting

things are from this episode.

00;37;57;27 - 00;37;59;26

Helen Keller Eugenics. Who will thought?

00;37;59;26 - 00;38;01;23

I mean, it's kind of wild.

00;38;01;23 - 00;38;05;28

You know, At some point in her life,

Helen openly agreed with eugenics.

00;38;06;00 - 00;38;07;27

She did pedal back on the issue

pretty quickly,

00;38;07;27 - 00;38;10;26

but her writings are proof that she did

have those thoughts at some point.

00;38;10;26 - 00;38;12;12

You know,

00;38;12;12 - 00;38;15;08

on this fact,

I can't help but wonder if it's a little

00;38;15;08 - 00;38;18;18

like not selling the fetus, but,

you know, self-loathing.

00;38;18;18 - 00;38;18;28

Like,

00;38;18;28 - 00;38;22;26

I don't think people with disabilities

should be born because, like, they I know.

00;38;22;27 - 00;38;24;22

What's that like? I get it.

00;38;24;22 - 00;38;27;20

But that's just me putting thoughts

into somebody else's head.

00;38;27;20 - 00;38;30;16

I don't think that's what her message

is. That's just a hypothetical.

00;38;30;16 - 00;38;34;22

Also, some some disability activists,

00;38;34;24 - 00;38;37;25

some African-American and disability

activists such as Anita Cameron,

00;38;37;25 - 00;38;41;10

think of Helen as being radical,

but just being another privileged

00;38;41;10 - 00;38;45;21

white person, albeit

with the disabilities, as a direct quote.

00;38;45;23 - 00;38;47;10

Was part of a disability movement.

00;38;47;10 - 00;38;49;28

She, alongside fellow activist,

crawled up Capitol Hill

00;38;49;28 - 00;38;52;28

in order to raise an awareness

for disability access.

00;38;52;28 - 00;38;54;26

This is known as the Capitol Crawl.

00;38;54;26 - 00;38;57;26

Historically, folks like her receive

little attention, whereas,

00;38;57;28 - 00;39;00;21

you know, a white

woman like Helen gets a lot of attention.

00;39;00;21 - 00;39;02;03

And you know what? I.

00;39;02;03 - 00;39;06;05

I wonder if Helen, you know,

would have been around a little longer

00;39;06;05 - 00;39;09;24

or if somehow

she managed to live to be 150 years

00;39;09;24 - 00;39;12;25

old, that she's she's hanging around

still the day.

00;39;12;25 - 00;39;14;09

I bet she would probably agree.

00;39;14;09 - 00;39;18;18

You got to remember,

Helen Keller was daughter of a Confederate

00;39;18;21 - 00;39;22;03

soldier who lost whose family lost

a bunch of money.

00;39;22;03 - 00;39;22;22

They lost.

00;39;22;22 - 00;39;25;22

Matt saying they didn't lose enough

or they lost too much,

00;39;25;22 - 00;39;27;28

but they lost a lot of their money.

Their money.

00;39;27;28 - 00;39;30;10

And we're left

with still a gigantic property.

00;39;30;10 - 00;39;34;17

And, you know, Helen

probably had heard well, she didn't hear,

00;39;34;17 - 00;39;37;23

but she was probably told

some things later in life,

00;39;37;24 - 00;39;39;28

you know, when her parents

were able to communicate

00;39;39;28 - 00;39;43;01

about the plight that they were left

following the Civil War

00;39;43;01 - 00;39;47;05

or maybe maybe that because she couldn't

hear them, it was best

00;39;47;07 - 00;39;50;13

maybe that did help her,

but she didn't have to learn from them.

00;39;50;14 - 00;39;50;26

I don't know.

00;39;50;26 - 00;39;54;03

It is interesting to think about,

but I hope you like this episode.

00;39;54;03 - 00;39;56;01

I really enjoyed learning about Helen

Keller.

00;39;56;01 - 00;39;58;03

This,

you know, it really did. It really did.

00;39;58;03 - 00;39;59;26

Take me back to elementary school.

00;39;59;26 - 00;40;01;13

I remember learning about her.

00;40;01;13 - 00;40;03;27

I remember

learning about watching the movie.

00;40;03;27 - 00;40;06;20

I don't think we watched

The Miracle Worker in school,

00;40;06;20 - 00;40;10;04

but I remember watching that

and what a great, like great movie.

00;40;10;04 - 00;40;14;20

I think that a lot of people,

especially the ones who sympathize

00;40;14;20 - 00;40;18;17

with the conspiracy theory that, you know,

they they can't comprehend what's going

00;40;18;17 - 00;40;23;17

on, like just kind of miss the basic

fundamentals of how learning takes place.

00;40;23;18 - 00;40;27;29

Like it's not that complicated

to eventually figure out

00;40;27;29 - 00;40;31;24

that she just took word association

or letter or association

00;40;31;26 - 00;40;35;22

with sensations

like the simple fact of water

00;40;35;22 - 00;40;41;19

running over her hand and then and Sol

then going like saying the same thing

00;40;41;19 - 00;40;45;08

over and over, over and over, over

and over, like making that connection.

00;40;45;13 - 00;40;49;15

You know, I hate to bring it back

to this example, but when you are like

00;40;49;20 - 00;40;53;11

training a dog or,

you know, like when you're doing

00;40;53;15 - 00;40;58;13

training, word identification

is super important, saying ball, ball,

00;40;58;13 - 00;41;02;08

ball to emphasize that this is a ball,

you know,

00;41;02;10 - 00;41;05;10

to connect these things with is

00;41;05;10 - 00;41;08;22

obviously it's not a super easy process,

but it is possible.

00;41;08;22 - 00;41;10;12

Like, I don't know.

00;41;10;12 - 00;41;12;18

I don't I don't like that example either.

00;41;12;18 - 00;41;15;18

I don't I'm

not comparing Helen Keller to a dog,

00;41;15;18 - 00;41;18;22

but I think maybe maybe I'm

just speaking out of turn.

00;41;18;22 - 00;41;20;00

I don't know.

00;41;20;00 - 00;41;23;18

Anyway, so I hope all this has been,

you know,

00;41;23;24 - 00;41;28;01

helpful and enlightening,

illuminating other great words.

00;41;28;01 - 00;41;31;18

Next week is going to be a really,

really big change pace.

00;41;31;18 - 00;41;35;12

Next week we have the

the murders at the hinterland farm

00;41;35;12 - 00;41;38;24

in Bavaria, Bavarian farm

00;41;38;24 - 00;41;41;25

in what is Germany and:

00;41;41;26 - 00;41;46;26

But a family plus they are

made are all murdered in grisly fashion.

00;41;46;26 - 00;41;48;16

And then nobody knows what happened.

00;41;48;16 - 00;41;50;06

It's pretty interesting stuff.

00;41;50;06 - 00;41;53;11

I don't want to give too much of it away,

but God is dark.

00;41;53;14 - 00;41;55;07

It is pretty, pretty crazy.

00;41;55;07 - 00;41;58;25

And I think it's a perfect one to

to post on Halloween week.

00;41;58;25 - 00;41;59;22

I'm very excited.

00;41;59;22 - 00;42;02;25

So please, you know, tell your friends,

share this all over the place.

00;42;02;26 - 00;42;04;00

Do all the things.

00;42;04;00 - 00;42;06;27

Remember to write in reviews at all. Place

possible.

00;42;06;27 - 00;42;09;19

All places possible. That helps greatly.

00;42;09;19 - 00;42;12;20

If you want to check out the merch,

there's some cool stuff in there.

00;42;12;24 - 00;42;14;22

Maybe some Helen Keller inspired designs.

00;42;14;22 - 00;42;16;13

Maybe in the future, who knows?

00;42;16;13 - 00;42;18;18

Check out my other podcast

West of Nowhere.

00;42;18;18 - 00;42;22;04

Me and my buddy Shane

and we talk about things

00;42;22;04 - 00;42;24;08

happening in the world

and discussing the world's

00;42;24;08 - 00;42;28;02

problems in a less organized fashion

than this show. And.

00;42;28;03 - 00;42;28;22

And that's it.

00;42;28;22 - 00;42;31;10

Thank you for joining me

and we'll see you next time. Bye.

Show artwork for The Remedial Scholar

About the Podcast

The Remedial Scholar
A weekly dive into forgotten topics or underrepresented subjects. Anything historical and everything interesting.
Welcome to The Remedial Scholar, a captivating podcast that takes you on an extraordinary journey through history. Join me, Levi, your knowledgeable host, as I guide you through the vast realms of the past, unraveling captivating stories and shedding light on underrepresented historical subjects.

In this podcast, we embark on an adventure through time, offering you a unique perspective on the world's fascinating chronology. From ancient civilizations to modern revolutions, we delve into a wide range of topics that fall under the historical umbrella. However, our focus lies on those subjects that often go unnoticed or deserve a fresh approach.

Prepare to have your curiosity ignited as we dig deep into the annals of history, unearthing forgotten tales, and shedding new light on familiar narratives. Whether you're an avid history buff or someone with a budding interest in the past, The Remedial Scholar caters to all levels of historical knowledge. Our aim is to make history accessible and captivating, presenting it in a digestible format that will leave you craving more.

About your host

Profile picture for Levi Harrison

Levi Harrison

I was born and raised in a small town in Nebraska. Throughout my adolescence, I spent my time with family and friends, and I also pursued my love for art. This passion stayed with me even after I graduated from high school in 2012 and enlisted in the United States Navy, just two months later.

During my four-year service in the Navy, I worked as an aviation structural mechanic, mainly dealing with F/A-18s. My duty stations were in Fallon, Nevada, and Whidbey Island, Washington. In 2015, I embarked on a deployment aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt to support Operation Inherent Resolve, countering ISIS forces in the Persian Gulf.

After my deployment, I decided to conclude my enlistment and returned to Nebraska. I initially pursued a degree in History Education at the University of Nebraska at Kearney before shifting my focus to Art Education. However, I eventually paused my studies to pursue a full-time job opportunity.

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, I made the decision to move closer to my older brother and his children. Now, I'm back in school, studying Graphic Design. My passion for art and history has always been apparent, as evidenced by my choice of majors when I left the military. These passions continue to drive me to learn and create constantly.

It was this fervor that inspired me to launch "The Remedial Scholar," an endeavor through which I aim to share historical knowledge with others who share the same passion for learning and creating.