1st follow up email sent to AG Bell association after the April 3 rally
2nd follow up email sent to AG Bell Association after one week with no reply from AGB
-------
Sent 4/13 at 8:22 am
Greetings Mr. Graham:
We have not received any reply from you in regards to our request below dated 4/6. Please let us know when you will be sending us a copy of the CART transcript as well as when the Board will be meeting to discuss our three demands.
During our Thursday April 2, 2009 meeting, the director of communications stated that AG Bell, the man, did not work to ban ASL and recommended that we read up on history a bit more.
We were each flabbergasted by this claim as it is counter to AG Bell’s own writings, work and purpose in founding his association. The statement is also contrary to several scholars and historians in the field.
Here is a list of scholarly sources that your staff, board and members may find enlightening to help you understand the legacy of audism on which your association is founded.
Again, we look forward to a reply from you very soon in regards to the CART transcript and the Board’s decision on our demands.
Thank you in advance for your attention to these matters.
Let Freedom Roll,
AFA
Sources:
Baynton, Douglas C. Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
Baynton, Douglas, Jack Gannon, and Jean Lindquist Bergey. Through Deaf Eyes: A Photogrpahic History of an American Community. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 2007.
Bell, Alexander Graham Memoir upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race. 1883.
Lane, Harlan. When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf. New York: Random House, 1984.
Schulman, Seth. The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Bell’s Secret. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008
Van Cleve, John V. and Barry A. Crouch. A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 1989.
Winefield, Richard. Never the Twain Shall Meet: Bell, Gallaudet and the Communication Debate. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University
On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 5:26 PM, Audism Free America
Greetings Mr. Graham:
Again, thank you for your time on April 2, 2009. We are requesting a copy of the computer assisted real time transcription (CART) of our meeting with you for our records. We were told that recording the meeting was not allowed. We understand that the CART was provided as an access provision for the two Deaf AG Bell representatives. Since the CART is a word file and permanent record of the meeting, we would very much value having a copy for our history.
We would also like to know when we can expect a response from the AG Bell board in regards to our three demands.
Thank you very much.
Patti Durr, AFA
