The Necessity of Now: Honoring the 24 Black Deaf Children and Black Teachers of Kendall School Division II

Please join in donating to the Necessity of Now Campaign in honor of the 24 Black Deaf students and Teachers of Kendall School Division II.

Gallaudet University is committed to confronting its past and leading a national reckoning with the destructive legacy of segregation through a memorial that both witnesses and honors the Black Deaf community’s fight for educational justice in America.

Throughout its history, Gallaudet University has been a site of incredible civil resistance, cultural resolve, and social empowerment, crystallized through the tireless advocacy of Edward Miner Gallaudet and the Deaf President Now movement of 1988. At the same time, Gallaudet acknowledges the need to examine its fraught racial legacy and participate in a national reckoning with the destructive legacy of segregation. As part of President Cordano’s commitment to creating a more inclusive university, Gallaudet has commissioned the award-winning collective MASS Design Group to design a symbolic Black Deaf space and a memorial at the site of the Division II School. With the generosity of our community and supporters like you, the Memorial will witness and honor the legacy of Louise B. Miller’s advocacy, the 24 Black Deaf students and four teachers of the Division II School, and the Black Deaf experience, and serve as a catalyst for collective healing.