Deaf History - Deaf People - Great Depression

Facing the Same Challenges as Hearing People

One of the most intriguing things about the book "In This Sign" by Joanne Greenburg, is that the fictional deaf characters manage to survive and raise a family during the Great Depression. How did the deaf community fare during the great depression, given that there probably was much discrimination against the deaf at that time?

There are some surviving records. One is on the History Matters website of George Mason University. "Deaf and Unemployed in Dubuque: The DiMarcos Remember the Great Depression," is reprinted from the book The Great Depression (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1960), pp. 163–171. In it, the couple describes how they managed to survive despite the unwillingness of employers to hire deaf people, through a combination of relief, odd jobs, and the kindness of others.

The Great Depression was also experienced by a real-life child of deaf parents, Lila Worzel Miller. Miller described her childhood in her book "The Best of Both Worlds: A Not-So-Silent Life."

The Depression gets a brief mention in chapter 6 of the Gallaudet University Press book "Illusions of Equality: Deaf Americans in School and Factory 1850-1950." The nonfiction book "Sounds Like Home: Growing Up Black and Deaf in the South" read review) also describes deaf life during the Great Depression.

Do you know any deaf people who lived through the Great Depression? I would love to have their experiences to add to this article.