Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light. – Helen Keller
Helen Keller was an American author, activist and lecturer is best known for overcoming her disability, becoming the first deaf-blind person to earn a degree and for co-founding the ACLU. Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Alabama and lost both her sight and hearing two years later following an illness. As a young child, Keller learned how to communicate achieving a 60 word vocabulary with the help of her best friend, Martha Washington, daughter to the family cook. At the age of 7, she began a formal education with teacher, Anne Sullivan, a graduate of the school for the blind. Under her tutelage, Keller‘s communication skills flourished, using the method of having people sign into her hand so she could feel the letters or words. By the age of 24, Keller had graduated from Radcliffe College, cum laude and authored her first book, The Story of My Life, detailing her childhood. Her activism work included women’s suffrage, wider access to birth control for women, and the welfare of blind people. In 1915 she co-founded Helen Keller International and five years later, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Keller died on June 1, 1968, at 87 years old. Her accolades and achievements throughout her lifetime include authoring and publishing 12 books, recipient of the Lions Humanitarian Award and The Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1980, to mark her 100th birthday, the United States Postal Services issued a stamp featuring Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Also, in 1999, Time Magazine listed her as one of the most influential people of the Twentieth Century. These words may say it best:
Her (Keller) legacy reminds us that with faith and courage, we can overcome obstacles in our own lives. With endurance and determination, we can help to better the lives of those around us. With love and patience, we can leave this world a better place. – The Helen Keller Foundation
http://helenkellerfoundation.org/helen-keller/
https://learnodo-newtonic.com/helen-keller-achievements
https://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967
http://www.afb.org/info/about-us/helen-keller/biography-and-chronology/biography/1235