Helen Keller: From Darkness to Light

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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: 1880

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: 1800

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: 1882

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: 1886

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: 1829

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.

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And more importantly,

she did not give up on her.

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She began to teach Helen

that each object had letters

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attached to it by spelling out words

in the palm of your hand.

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The first word to use was Darl,

using her fingers and trace the letters.

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

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and then handed her a doll so that she had

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that she had brought Helen

as a gift for Helen's progress was steady.

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She was learning to associate objects

with letters, but did not comprehend

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right away

that the letters were spelling words

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that signal signified

the object in her biography.

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Helen reflects on this time. I did know.

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I did not know that I was spelling a word

or even that words existed.

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I was simply making my fingers

go in a monkey like imitation.

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A month after arriving at Ivy Green

th,: 1887

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: 1890

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: 1891

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: 1894

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: 1896

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: 1900

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: 1904

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: 1905

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: 1906

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: 1910

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: 1914

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: 1916

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: 1909

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: 1912

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: 1916

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: 1919

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: 1919

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: 1920

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: 1920

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: 1921

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: 1943

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: 1946

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: 1937

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

and another time in: 1948

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: 1901

Anne Sullivan had Stratford

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

suffered a stroke back in: 1901

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

,: 1936

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: 1950

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: 1953

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: 1954

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: 1955

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,: 1960

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: 1961

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: 1962

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: 1964

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,: 1968

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: 2020

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: 1922

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.