Deaf Freedom

"Deaf Freedom" In America, the Statue of Liberty stands for freedom. We are recreating Lady Liberty to represent the emancipation of Deaf people all over the world from oppression. There are numerous symbols we have included in our picture. The fire of the torch represents the idea that Deaf people require light to see and to communicate. Deaf people's survival depends on the ability to communicate. The band on the torch honors the people in the Deaf President Now movement who marched on Washington much like Martin Luther King Jr. did to demand recognition of their civil rights. The statue has a crown with seven pointing fingers that shows that Deaf people are on every continent and have sailed all seven seas in the world. There is a tablet with the date of the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act on it. It has been dropped to the ground for a reason. The American government has "dropped the ball" in the area of the placement continuum in Deaf education. This is a symbol that even though there is a law protecting the rights of Deaf people, there is still De facto discrimination of Deaf people, their language, and their culture. On the statue's robe, there is a pocket with a pen and a pad of paper. This shows that all Deaf people can be bilingual and are able to communicate through written language with hearing people. The colors of the flag behind Lady Liberty reflect all the colors of the spectrum to symbolize how colorful American Sign Language and other foreign Sign Languages are. The stars on the flag are Deaf "Stars" in history. They are Deaf people who have shaped history for the better.