Came across this article by Chris Soukup, Chief Executive Officer of the Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD), one of the Largest Organizations in the World dedicated to Inspiring and Cultivating greater Opportunity for Deaf People. He is a Graduate of Gallaudet University, where he served as Student Body President.

My daughter, Lisa Drucker Dramin and my Son-in-Law Bob Dramin, were Students at Gallaudet during this Shockwave. My granddaughter, Ariella Dramin, is in her 2nd term at Gallaudet, after attending the Indiana School for the Deaf. My grandson, Joel Dramin, will attend Gallaudet this year after graduating the Indiana School for the Deaf this June.

In March 1988, the Deaf Community was hit by a Shockwave: The Board of Trustees at Washington’s Gallaudet University, the World’s only Liberal Arts College for Deaf People, announced the Selection of a Hearing President over Two Qualified Deaf Candidates. In its then, 124 years, Gallaudet had never had a Deaf President, that is, it had never been helmed by someone who came from the very Community it Served.

Students Rebelled, Staging a Lockout and Shutting down the entire Campus. Their Protest for a “Deaf President Now” (DPN) rallied the Deaf Community and its Allies, and the University reversed its Decision. Gallaudet also conceded to a Key Demand: From then on, the University Board was to have at least a 51% Deaf Majority. Three decades later, DPN is still considered one of the most Pivotal Moments for the America’s Deaf Community, which is 30 Million strong, and for Deaf People all over the World.

Since that week, the World heard the Deaf Community, Gallaudet has named a succession of Deaf Presidents, an unlikely outcome if they hadn’t stacked the deck in their own favor. The Forced implementation of a Deaf Board Majority was arguably the Critical Ingredient to ensure Continuation of a Deaf Presidency.


From left is Bob Dramin, his mother Marion B. Dramin, his sister Susan Dramin-Weiss, current Gallaudet President Roberta J. Cordano, and Lisa Drucker Dramin

In retrospect, the Rationale for supporting DPN is obvious: Representation and Owning their own spaces matter. In the face of Rampant Discrimination, they Matter Profoundly.

DPN wasn’t a Destination, but rather a seminal Entry Point. The Protest helped Catalyze a long-standing Disability Rights Movement, which won a Major Victory with the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) two years later in 1990. The Unintended consequence of this Law, which is currently under attack through Legislative Reform efforts in Bill H.R. 620, is that with Newfound Freedoms and greater Access to Society, Deaf People have also had to prove their Worth and Maintain a Foothold, to show they Deserved to be in All of the New Rooms and in Seats at Decision-making Tables.

Some will argue that this means Deaf People are competing in the same meritocracy as Hearing People, but it’s tough to argue for a meritocracy when Negative Attitudes and Biases Stack the Deck against You, making it difficult to gain Employment and Develop Skills and Knowledge.

They have made incredible Progress over the past 30 years, quietly and steadily doing Groundwork to create Change from the Bottom Up. Imagine what they could do if they had more Visible Change Makers, more Deaf Presidents producing Change from the Top Down.
Deaf People need to be allowed to move into the Unexpected Places, Places that don’t yet have a Culture that Accepts and Values Leaders who do not fit Preconceived Ideas of what a Leader looks like.

Just take a look at Two individuals who have vaulted to Prominence and are enacting great Changes: Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Officer at Microsoft, and Michael Ellis, Global Vice President of Accessibility at Sprint. They lead Disability-centered Inclusion Initiatives at their Companies and have Created a Culture where Deaf and Disabled People are Valued. Others demand this Attention and Respect, like the ADAPT and #CripTheVote Activists, who have put their bodies on the line to protest Cruel Cuts to Health Care Coverage, which would hit People with Disabilities especially Hard.

Now, Deaf People need to be Allowed to Move into the Unexpected places, places that don’t yet have a Culture that Accepts and Values Leaders who do not fit Preconceived Ideas of what a Leader looks like. For that to be possible, Everyone, Deaf and Hearing People alike, must do the uncomfortable but necessary Work of uncovering Hidden Biases about Disability and the Capabilities of Deaf and Disabled People. We need to Admit that we all are complicit in too often creating a Culture that determines the Value of People based on Limited Ideas about Capability and Leadership.

This is why we need Deaf and Disabled People in the Highest and most Visible Places in Society. Stories about Deaf People’s successes beget more Success Stories, not Stories about “overcoming,” but about Excelling in Roles of Prominence, Responsibility, and Import far beyond the Walls of a Deaf School. Presidents, Doctors, and CEOs need to be there not in spite of being Deaf, but because they are Deaf. Already we have some fine examples, like Amanda Folendorf of Angels Camp, California, the first Deaf Woman Mayor in the United States, and Shoshannah Stern and Joshua Feldman, the Deaf Showrunners behind the TV series “This Close” on Sundance Now.

Three Decades after DPN, we need more Deaf Presidents, more Deaf People running Businesses, Managing Teams, and recognized as the Leaders, the “faces”, of Products and Services. We need more Representation, more Awareness, and more Authenticity. And we need Deaf People to take the Lead. We know their Worth; lets prove that Inclusion and Diversity pays Dividends for Everyone.


Artist and TED Fellow Christine Sun Kim was born Deaf, and she was taught to believe that Sound wasn't a part of her Life, that it was a Hearing Person's thing. Through her Art, she discovered similarities between American Sign Language (ASL) and Music, and she realized that Sound doesn't have to be known solely through the Ears, it can be Felt, Seen, and Experienced as an Idea. In this Talk, she invites us to Open our Eyes and Ears and Participate in the Rich Treasure of Visual Language.









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