Q&A: Socialist & Civil Rights Activist

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icon "Disability Q&A"Disability Network Southwest Michigan is pleased to bring you Disability Q & A to test your knowledge of disability-related topics. We post questions on Facebook and provide a link for you to check the answer and learn more about each topic.

Q: What famous person with a disability was a socialist and civil rights activist?

A: Helen Keller

Helen Keller is most known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker, which tell the story of Anne Sullivan teaching Keller to break through the barriers of her disabilities. While that is a true story, it is only the beginning of Keller’s education. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree and had access to the extensive political library of Annie Sullivan’s socialist spouse, John Macy.

Keller joined the American Socialist Party and campaigned for its candidates and was an outspoken activist for many civil rights causes, including the newly formed NAACP, labor rights, disability rights and the suffrage movement.

You can learn more about Helen Keller’s life as an activist in this article: Helen Keller: Socialist, anti-racist, disability rights activist.

 

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