AFB Blog

During the 1940s, Helen Keller corresponded from her home in Westport, Connecticut with her good friend Clare Heineman in Chicago. One letter, written by Keller on Independence Day 1942 is particularly wonderful and classically Helen Keller – sweeping in its subject matter and passionate in its descriptions of how she physically experienced the world around her. The letter begins with gratitude for a 62nd birthday gift from Heineman. She writes that she will use the gift to purchase and plant…

We are only halfway through the summer, but it has already been a busy one for AFB’s Public Policy team. In addition to bringing on board our new Director of Public Policy, Stacy Cervenka, we have been hard at work lending our expertise to the federal government on issues affecting people who are blind or visually impaired. Keep reading for an insight into the recent positions we have taken and comments submitted! Eliminating Subminimum Wages and Realizing Our Employment Potential The…

The ability for all Americans to participate in the voting process is vital to ensuring our collective voices across the U.S. are heard. If candidates don't offer accessible websites or platforms for people with disabilities to participate, they nix our right to engage in decisions that impact us. Remember that there are many different types of disabilities and many different types of assistive technologies to help these users. Here are some basic guidelines that will help ensure your campaign…

Helen Keller was born 139 years ago today! Keller worked for AFB for 44 years. Within that time, and after her death in 1968, AFB amassed an enormous trove of materials by and about her. This extraordinary collection is a goldmine of social, political, and cultural history. It also presents a unique opportunity to teach and learn about Keller’s life, the times in which she lived, the history of disabilities, and the importance of universal accessibility. As a result of generous funding from…

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Often hailed by the disability rights community as the most important civil rights decision for people with disabilities in US history, the Olmstead decision flung open the doors of institutions and gave previously segregated people the right to live in their communities. Subsequent court decisions…

AFB’s mission to bring Helen Keller’s inspiring legacy to a global audience took a massive step forward with the Helen Keller Archive digitization project. Begun in 2015, over 176,000 digital images are now available at one’s fingertips. One of the project’s goals is to make the digital archive a stellar educational tool. Last summer, at a party celebrating the launch of the archive, our archivist introduced the digital archive to visually impaired 5th graders at the New York Institute for…

On June 15, 1917, the US Congress passed the Espionage Act, and that same day anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were arrested and sent to prison. The following year, Goldman wrote to Helen Keller from prison. Her penciled letter begins as if she were writing to Helen Keller from her home: “Beloved Comrade I am terribly sorry I did not get the chance to see you again. I wanted so much to know you more intimately and have you know me.” Emma thanks Helen for her support during her…

Last week, we asked you to join us in exploring the Helen Keller Archive and sharing the treasures you found during your online journey. Thanks to all of you who participated in the event! Of course, AFB staff was excited to dig into the digital archive and show a few of the fascinating artifacts their searches uncovered. We hope you enjoy these letters, gifts, and photographs from the fascinating life of Helen Keller. Elizabeth: I love this photo of Helen Keller sitting and reading braille…

Please visit the Helen Keller Archive today between 12:00 and 12:30pm U.S. Eastern time. Our goal is to have a large number of visitors test the site’s ability to handle heavy traffic. So we need as many of you out there as possible to take a few minutes and enjoy the treasure trove that is the Helen Keller digital archive! Learn something new! Check out her correspondence with Mark Twain and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Or read a letter she wrote to her good friend Nella Braddy Henney, describing…