Not many people realize that J. Edgar Hoover was a longtime member of "Alexander Graham Bell Association of the Deaf (AGBell). He proclaimed that was a real importance for deaf people to speak orally in clear and understanding "Spoken English" and be very patriotic beings. Hoover also served as a board member of AGBell along with the chairman of the AT&T phone company on the very same governance board.
http://books.google.com/books?id=6lfFSjLuBIMC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=j.+edgar+hoover+and+deaf&source=bl&ots=2FywAPYz3q&sig=R3ynnEKapaUwwGd2Kv_KgPjunbo&hl=en#v=onepage&q=j.%20edgar%20hoover%20and%20deaf&f=false
The current FBI Headquarter (HQ) sits on the former site of Metropolitan Washington Association of the Deaf clubhouse well-known as the "MWAD" on the northeast corner of the Ninth Street,Northwest. J. Edgar Hoover chose the site and designed the "Brutalism" architecture of the current FBI HQ. He had the longtime site of MWAD to be bulldozed as a favor to the AGBell to get the culturally Deaf people out of the sight of Downtown Washington, DC area. The large presence of Culturally Deaf people often were seen in the present Chinatown/Gallery Place neighborhood due to the nearby church served the deaf parishioners.
J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI HQ, regularly corresponded with Louis M. Balfour, deaf printer and researcher on the history of Deaf Education and deaf peddling. Balfour dutifully informed Hoover about the ringleaders of deaf peddlers known as "king" and "queen" in the world of deaf peddling. http://www.gallaudet.edu/deaf_library_collections_and_archives/collections/manuscript_collection/mss_160.html
J. Edgar Hoover also had secret files on deaf leaders. Hoover had the huge secret file on Helen Keller for her socialist activities along with Keller's communist sympathizer boyfriend, too.
Rumors about J. Edgar Hoover being the Children of Deaf Adults (CODA) himself, had a deaf parent. No evidence pointed out to Hoover's parents being deaf themselves. Hoover knew basic ASL fingerspellings as widely believed within the deaf communities of the 1930s to 1970s.
J. Edgar Hoover and his so-called lifetime partner/friend, Clyde Tolson regularly had the Sunday brunch at the Mayflower hotel in Northwest Washington, DC almost every Sundays. The Mayflower hotel was also the site of massive confrontational protest against Gallaudet University's Board of Trustees on the very first night of the "Deaf President Now" (DPN) 1988 protest. The board members of Gallaudet University dined and celebrated Dr. Elizabeth Zinser as the seventh university president. The DPN protesters marched all the way from the Kendall Green campus to the Mayflower hotel on the Florida Avenue, Northeast to Connecticut Avenue, Northwest. The DPN protesters demanded to speak with the board members about the erroneous selection of Zinser as a new Gallaudet president against the wishes of Gallaudet community and alumnus.
If J. Edgar Hoover was still in the control of the FBI Headquarter leadership back in 1988. Hoover surely instructed the FBI agents and DC police to shoot down the DPN protesters right away on the scene. Hoover vigorously opposed the existence of American Sign Language (ASL) along with the AGBell Association.
ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason
RLMDEAF blog
COPYRIGHT PROTECTIONTo answer "Anoymous" -
I am very surprised that I could not possibly leaving my own comment in response to your
comment posting. So here is my reply:
Anonymous,
I already said "IF Hoover was STILL in the control of FBI leadership ....." That meant the likely possibilities of J. Edgar Hoover to order the FBI agents and DC police to shoot down the deaf protestors marched on the Florida Avenue".
You were NOT there to experience the first night of the DPN protest which we, deaf protestors IGNORED the DC police to stop our march on the street without any legal permit.
Do you understand what I am saying???
RLM
