vue - Deaf President Now!

Thanks for watching, Noah Motter. Deaf President Now: The Protest That Started a Movement Written By: Noah Motter Intro. Protest Videos Start. Fade Out. Music Starts. Narrator: In March of 1988 the Deaf President Now! movement was at it’s peak. Thousands of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing people protested at the Capitol, Gallaudet, and other places over the incredibly short period of 6 days. The protests were caused when Elizabeth Zinser, a hearing who could not even communicate with Deaf people, without an interpreter, was selected as president of Gallaudet university. A Deaf University. Even though many Deaf advocacy groups had made it abundantly clear that they had wanted a Deaf president. Gallaudet to the Deaf people was as Mecca was to the Muslims. Therefore it felt only logical for Deaf people to have a Deaf leader. So student leaders gathered, and people got angry, causing 6 long days of protest and shutting down Gallaudet classes. Gallaudet students had 4 demands. First they demanded Zinser’s resignation and that a Deaf president be selected in her place. Secondly they demanded the resignation of Jane Bassett Spilman, Chair of the Gallaudet Board of Trustees who had said that “Deaf people were not ready to function in the hearing world.” Thirdly reconstruction of the Board of Trustees so that 51% of the board was Deaf. Lastly they demanded there would be no reprisals. Monday March 7th was the first day of the protest. Gallaudet students barred the entrance to the university forcing the board to come out and listen to their demands. They were ignored and Gallaudet students took their 1st march to the capitol, so they were noticed by the Board of Trustees. Tuesday March 8th, while no specific events happened, the protest grew in size and energy as effigies of Zinser were burned. The board continued to ignore under Jane Bassett Spilmans’ influence. Wednesday March 9th, the protested continued (in light of spring break) the students demanded they would not stop blocking the gates until their demands were met. Zinser in response said it was the role of the Bard to decide the president, even though she could’ve easily have stepped down. Also on this same day was ABC News nightline special, where they interviewed Marlee Matlin, a Deaf actress, Greg Hilbok, a student leader, and Elizabeth Zinser, current president of Gallaudet. This was a pivotal interview because the relatively small protests of Gallaudet were now gaining tumultuous amounts of attention in a national news media cycle. This helped the protests strengthen, and the Board of Trustees weaken. Thursday March 10th, students met with Zinser, she agreed to the 3rd and 4th demands but refused to step down. A turning point in this day was when I. King Jordan gave a passionate speech, changing his mind and advocating for the protesters. Zinser resigned that night. Friday March 11th, Gallaudet protesters, more than 2500 of them, marched on Capitol Hill, holding posters that said “We still had a dream.” Sunday March 13th, students, faculty, and staff celebrated in the Gallaudet fieldhouse because their 4 demands were finally met. I. King Jordan, the man who had given his passionate speech to make Zinser resign, was selected as the next president of Gallaudet. During the celebration at the fieldhouse, I. King Jordan delivered speech with his very famous quote. “Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do except hear.” With this quote came tremendous impact. Deaf people now felt as they could anything. Insert. [Interview with Terri Waddell-Motter] Interview end. Narrator: There was such a large of waves in the Deaf community, caused from DPN!, because everyone had gotten involved. Every Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and evening Hearing person who could to help, went to the protest. Because they wanted to make a change with protesting and through proving that a Deaf person could do anything. For Deaf this finally meant proving they could do anything a hearing person could. This attitude led to new ways to contribute, encountering new ways to live, exploring and embracing the fight for their civil rights to this day, and exchanging new ways to contribute to their community and the world. From the ashes of the Deaf President Now! protest, Deaf people cultivated a new fight for their civil rights, wanting to prove they could do anything hearing people could do, except hear. Credits roll. End.