AFA's Immediate Release re: ICED's Historic Announcement

http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AudismFreeAmerica@gmail.com

Historic Announcement Rejecting the Exclusion of Sign Language in Deaf Education

On July 19, 2010, the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) made important history by rejecting their resolutions from 1880 that banned the use of Sign Language in education for Deaf children and promoted the exclusive use of speech and residual hearing called Oralism. ICED also apologized for the detrimental effects that Oralism has had on the Deaf population for 130 years.

The infamous resolutions from 1880 have been described by many scholars and historians as an attempt at linguistic and cultural genocide as as well as a systematic effort to institutionalize audism, the belief that to hear and speak is superior to being Deaf.

The Congress organizers in conjunction with the British Columbia Deaf Community released at the opening ceremony, their “A New Era: Deaf Participation and Collaboration” which:

• Rejected all ICED Milan 1880 Congress resolutions passed that denied the inclusion of Sign Language in educational programs for Deaf students
• acknowledged and sincerely regretted the detrimental effects of the ICED Milan Congress,
• and called upon all Nations to ensure that educational programs for the Deaf accept and respect all languages.


According to the ICED 2010 press release, “The audience, both Deaf and hearing, spontaneously responded with an outpouring of emotion and a standing ovation.”

Audism Free America (AFA) joins with the Deaf community world-wide in the celebration of this historic event and will remain vigilant of the rights of Deaf citizens. AFA is grassroots Deaf activist organization which advocates for Deaf American rights, cultural resurgence, and seeks primarily to challenge the ideological foundations of audism in America.


Additionally, in a letter to Audism Free America (AFA), Claire Anderson, ICED 2010 Chair wrote, “The impact and decision of the Milan (1880) Congress to ban Sign Language from schools for the Deaf has clearly had a marked affect on the education and indeed the lives of Deaf students. We can all agree that this decision was, quite simply, wrong. it polarized the field of Deaf Education, introduced a contra-productive dogma and limited free choices of individuals and organizations. More importantly from a human and social/emotional aspect, it has been devastating for many Deaf people, their families and the Deaf Community.”

The timing of the New Era document is particularly auspicious, as scholars and activists have noted the beginnings of another wave of Oralism severely impacting Deaf babies and children. Excessive marketing and mandating of assistive listening devices are often integral components of educational programs serving Deaf students today. The claims of reliability and effectiveness of devices such as cochlear implants are highly questionable. Cochlear implants and digital hearing technologies are often coupled with Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT), which effectively prohibits Sign Language. Governments at various levels have begun to utilize developments in genetic engineering and genetic study to implement the diagnosing, documenting, and tracking of Deaf infants genes and family genealogy in a push to deny Deaf people true equality of condition.

The New Era manifesto from ICED 2010 includes an Accord for the Future, which is signed by representatives of ICED, BC Deaf Community, Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD) and World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), calls upon the Nations of the world to right past wrongs, guarantee all Deaf infants and children a right to natural and fully accessible language, and recognize the full human, cultural and linguistic rights of Deaf people. By actively partnering with Deaf people on this document, ICED reaffirmed its new commitment to ensuring equal involvement of Deaf people in their education and issues affecting future generations of Deaf people.

###
If you would like more information about Audism Free America please contact AudismFreeAmerica@gmail.com

ICED's Reply to AFA re: Apology and Our Follow Up Response

AFA had requested that ICED formally apologize for the ICED 1880 Milan Congress resolutions proclaiming the pure oral method to be superior and the law of the land in Deaf education. ICED's response is below as is AFA's follow up reply.


July 6, 2010

To Claire Anderson and the 2010 ICED Planning Committee,



Thank you for your letter in acknowledging the concerns expressed by Audism Free America (AFA) regarding the lack of apology that appears to be forthcoming from ICED for the 1880 Milan Conference resolutions.



While we appreciate the uniqueness of the organizational structure of ICED, there is clearly a continuous history of the Congress as your website traces the lineage of the current Congress back to 1878. In addition, those of you who take on the organizing of the conference do so under the banner of ICED. The explanation of the ICED organizational structure dangerously veers toward an attempt to deny accountability.



Nevertheless, we hope that you can look positively at other cases in which governments/organizations/individuals have made public apologies. For example in 2008, the Australian Prime Minister formally apologized to the indigenous Aboriginal peoples. This acknowledgement of the pain and suffering was caused by laws and policies enacted centuries ago. This apology is a first step toward healing. There are countless other precedents of apologies made in recent years:


Jewish People:

In 1994 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America apologized for the strong anti-Jewish statements made by Martin Luther and the lasting effects his words had on the church and future generations

In 1998 the Roman Catholic Church apologized for its inaction during the Nazi Holocaust.


Native People:


In 1998 the United Church of Canada issued an apology to former students of United Church Indian Residential Schools in regards to cultural assimilation and child abuse.


African-American People:


In 2008 the American Medical Association issued a formal apology for discriminating against black physicians, which did not end until the 1960s

In 2008 and 2009 the US House of Representatives and the US Senate apologized for slavery and Jim Crow injustices.



Deaf People:



None.





Your awareness of some of the devastating effects of the 1880 ICED Resolutions as “wrong” lends support for a formal apology. Scholars have noted that the concept of regret contains no right or wrong associated with the action. In addition, “regret” communicates that the consequences of the resolutions were unintended or something ICED had little control over.



We believe your intentions in working with the BC Deaf Community are good, but you should do the right thing. Be accountable. We are owed an apology.



Let Freedom Roll,



AFA

AFA's vlog and letter to ICED re: APOLOGY

Vlog explains AFA's position on the importance of an "apology"
letter to ICED:
Audism Free America (AFA) announces our grave discontent that the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) refuses to apologize for the ICED resolutions of 1880 at their Milan Congress. This infamous resolution erroneously and unjustly declared "the incontestable superiority of speech" to be the rule of the day in Deaf education resulting in decades of abuse (physical, emotional, social, spiritual, educational, and linguistic) and the removal of Deaf people from the classrooms and boardrooms of Deaf schools across the globe,

In declaring our discontent with ICED's refusal to acknowledge and apologize for their role in the ICED Milan 1880 resolutions we heed ML King Jr's words of "We must have the spiritual audacity to assert our somebodyness."

The resolutions were unjust and have never formally been rescinded or apologized for by ICED. We understand that ICED has been in negotiations with the British Columbia ICED Apology Committee and have reached an agreement for a "new beginning" document which does not include an apology. While we were always puzzled as to why the concept of an apology should have ever been a negotiable matter, we were assured numerous times that an apology was in order and would be forth coming. The latest information we have is that no apology will be granted.

In the spirit of asserting our somebodyness, AFA asserts that the apology is owed to us and those who came before us and will come after us. Now is the time for standing - not for yielding.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated "I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights."

We are only requesting that which is right, just, and good - and long overdue - an apology for your ICED MIlan 1880 resolutions.

Let Freedom Roll,
AFA