Joseph E. Chamberlin: Journalist and Early Advocate of Helen Keller
Joseph Edgar Chamberlin
As it turns out, in a certain generation, our family’s best memory keeper was Helen Keller.
I am indebted to the Helen Keller Archive at the American Foundation for the Blind for allowing me to come to know – four generations later – my great-great grandfather, the Boston author and journalist, Joseph Edgar Chamberlin. My current book in progress, called Letters from Red Farm, reveals new information about Helen Keller as it tells the untold story of her deep and…
Blog Topics
Education, Helen Keller
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Helen Keller's Friends: Famous and Progressive
Seen left to right are Joseph Lash, Trude Wenzel Lash, Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Katharine Cornell, David Levy, Polly Thomson, and Adele Levy, 1954.
On a late summer’s day in 1954 a group of friends gathered in Martha’s Vineyard for tea and conversation. The setting was Chip Chop, a sprawling compound owned by the married actors Katharine Cornell (known to friends as Kit) and Guthrie McClintic, and a few photos were taken to mark the occasion. The image above is one of them.
The man…
Blog Topics
Arts and Leisure, Helen Keller
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Helen Keller and the Love of a Metadata Specialist for Her Subject
Left to right are Anne Bancroft and Helen Keller at an 80th birthday party for Keller.
I thought I knew what I would find when I started my tenure as the Metadata Specialist for the digitization project of the Helen Keller Archive.
During my graduate school internship at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, I processed several collections relating to the education and history of those who are blind and visually impaired. I knew all of the major Massachusetts players: Samuel…
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Helen Keller, Accessibility
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Born Accessible: The Digital Helen Keller Archive
Helen Keller seated and reading a book in braille, Westport, CT, 1960.
I have the honor of being an advisor for the Helen Keller Digital Archive, a project of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). One of the great aspects of a digital archive is that it makes the content more accessible to people with disabilities. AFB has gone even further to make the Helen Keller archive more usable by people with visual impairments or blindness. Helen Keller was one of the most famous social…
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Education, Helen Keller, Accessibility
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Helen Keller: Persistence and Resistance
Head and shoulders image of Helen Keller taken at her 80th birthday in 1960.
Helen Keller died 50 years ago today – just a few weeks short of her 88th birthday. As the archivist and caretaker of her collection, I initially wondered how I nearly overlooked this anniversary. Upon consideration, I have several theories about this that I’d like to share with you.
In the decade and a half of my professional role, I have never focused on her death date. Keller was fortunate enough to live a long…
Blog Topics
Helen Keller, In the News, Technology
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Make Vision a Focus for Healthy Vision Month
Editor's note: The National Eye Institute (NEI) has proclaimed May as Healthy Vision Month.— and the National Eye Institute (NEI) needs your help to Make Vision a Focus!
Did you know more than 23 million American adults have never had an eye exam? Getting regular eye exams can catch vision problems early, when they may be easier to treat. That’s why NEI is interested in making vision health a priority, by encouraging adults to take action to protect their vision and inspiring health…
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Inclusion for All: Celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2018
Thursday, May 17, marks the seventh Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), the purpose of which is to get everyone talking, thinking, and learning about digital access/inclusion and people with different disabilities.
Every year on this day, AFB takes this opportunity to share our own resources to get the public thinking about accessibility. This year, we put together a free webinar to commemorate the day, featuring presentations by Cristopher Broyles, Chief Consulting Solutions Officer;…
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Helen Keller, Technology, Accessibility
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Engage at Every Age: This Year's Older American's Month Theme
Editor's note: Every May, the Administration on Aging, part of the Administration for Community Living, leads our nation's observance of Older American's Month. The 2018 theme, "Engage at Every Age," emphasizes that you are never too old (or young) to take part in activities that can enrich your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It also celebrates the many ways in which older adults make a difference in our communities.
Creating a World With No Limits for Older Persons with Vision…
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In the News, Public Policy
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AFB Consulting Applauds W3C’s Proposed Recommendations
It can only be seen as a positive that W3C has made the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 an official Candidate Recommendation. The latest proposed recommendation adds helpful guidance on certain areas without being overly restrictive.
The focus for WCAG 2.1 has been to more fully address the accessibility requirements for:
People with cognitive and learning disabilities
People with low vision
Mobile accessibility
W3C is also working to meet an ambitious timeline to publish…
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Technology, Accessibility
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AFB Staff on What Their Dog Guides Mean to Them
April 25 is International Guide Dog Day, which recognizes and celebrates the crucial role that working dogs play in enabling and supporting people who are blind or visually impaired to get around safely and independently. To that end, here at AFB we asked some of our colleagues to share their thoughts about getting around as a blind individual, their own dog guides, and the special relationship they have with their canine counterparts.
Neva Fairchild, National Independent Living and Employment…