Georgia School for the Black Deaf in the spotlight
All Deaf schools, no matter what kind, are equally important. Georgia School for the Black Deaf is an example. We do not talk about, recognize, or celebrate GSBD nearly as much as we should. This week, the school is in the spotlight.
First, the name, “Georgia School for the Black Deaf,” and other Black Deaf schools in my columns are not official school names. The actual names include derogatory terms that I do not use.
The same goes for Deaf schools in general.
Black Deaf Georgians finally had access to education after the Civil War ended in 1865. The first Black Deaf school opened in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1869. Other schools followed in the southern U.S. GSBD was established on Feb. 23, 1876, and opened on May 15, 1882, in Cave Spring.
GSBD originally stood on its own campus somewhere near the entrance of present-day Rehab Drive to the present-day Cave Spring Center. GSBD fans rooted for the panthers as their mascot. Nearby Georgia School for the Deaf cheered on the blue jays, and later the tigers.
Black Deaf schools typically hired a white Deaf principal. For example, Alfred F. Wood, an Ohio School for the Deaf graduate, was the first principal at Alabama School for the Black Deaf when it opened in 1892 and listed as a VIP at the GSD 50th Anniversary Celebrations. Contrary to the norm, GSBD had a Black, hearing, principal.
Frederick M. Gordon was an alumnus of Fairview Brown School, the first Black school in Cave Spring, which stood across from GSD, close to GSBD. He served as GSBD principal for 46 years until his death on Jan. 24, 1928. He married Lucinda Jackson in 1857. After Lucinda’s death in 1893, he married Maria C. Leigh Gordon in 1894. GSD’S centennial publication has a photo of Frederick. On the Georgia School for the Deaf Alumni Association Facebook page, June (Davis) Alsobrook, a GSBD alumnus, celebrates Frederick’s life and accomplishments in a video.
A rugged, vintage admission book holds the names of students who attended GSBD. The first students recorded, as shown, were Nathan Walker, March 15; Mary Freeman, March 15; Leanna Holland, March 15; Thomas Richards, March 15; Edward Robinson, March 15; Caesar Smith, March 15; Thomas H. Sutton, March 15; John Williams, March 15; Adam Adams, March 15; John Weems, March 15; Clara Williams, March 15; Mary Jenkins, March 20; Jerrietta Shaw, April 15; Bertha Morris, April 4; and George Williams, March 15. Discords in records and newspaper articles often occur, so the dissonance in this book is not surprising.
In 1937, GSBD relocated to the Gordon Campus, named for Frederick. The name fell into disuse after the Fannin Campus closed in 1984. The campus was later renamed the Perry Campus. Back then, we signed, “Rt. 1,” as the campus was on Route 1 at the time. The book commemorating the 150th anniversary of GSD contains a picture of the Old Rock Barn, a structure that predates the campus to around 1892 and still stands today.
During segregation, fraternization of GSD and GSBD students was forbidden. A GSD student learned through the school newsletter, The School Helper, that there was a Black Deaf campus a quarter mile away! Determined to reach someone there, the student wrote a letter, folded it very small, and stood first in line for breakfast. Milk was delivered from that campus, so the student secretly asked the delivery person to make a special delivery.
After several days of waiting and wondering, she got a reply. They became pen pals through the milk deliveries. After a while, the letters stopped. Several years later, both went to Gallaudet University and discovered they were on the same dorm floor. Finally, they could talk to each other in ASL. They remain friends to this day.
In May 1954, the milestone decision in Brown v. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and declared that all Black schools would desegregate in the U.S., impacted GSD and GSBD. The process at GSBD began in 1966 and was completed in 1975.
In 1974, a new law encouraged students with disabilities to mainstream at their local schools. All Deaf students were deeply affected.
There are books that capture the history of the Black Deaf schools in the South. “The Segregated Georgia School for the Deaf” relates the history and stories of the school. Another book, “Deaf Culture and Race — The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL,” presents research on the Black Deaf schools of the U.S. and the evolution of Black ASL.
A reunion was held solely for GSBD alumni in 2009 with a great turnout. Lois Smiley, a 1968 graduate who attended GSBD and GSD, donated a program book to the GSDAA Museum that will hopefully be included in a GSBD history display made possible by a donation from the GSD Class of 1988.
The Cedar Valley Academy in Cedartown, GSD, and GSBD in Cave Spring should be celebrated equally. They all contributed to valuable education for Deaf Georgians.