The humble beginnings of ASL is when the monks as a commitment to silence developed and used sign language. It was derived into the use of LSF. This is how and why Laurent Clerc used it and brought it to the new world. It was August 22, 1816. It will soon be 200 years of ASL Celebration! Let's designate August 22, 2016 as our national celebration of 200 years of American Sign Language. That will be 7 years from now. We can have weekend of celebration from Friday, August 19, 2016 to Monday, August 22, 2016.
We need to celebrate our proud heritage and culture of American Sign Language. We need to recognize ASL as the official language of the Deaf community.
We could ask the United States Post Office to help us commerate a stamp to recognize Laurent Clerc and George Veditz for their tireless work in advocating ASL. Of course, they have not met each other, but we will help them meet on the postage stamp. The postage stamp can go on sale on August 22, 2016 on the 200th anniversary of Clerc's arrival in the New World.
We could ask organizations supporting ASL to set up simultaneous activities from sea to shining sea on the same weekend. It will be nice to showcase our deaf heritage and culture at state schools for the deaf and other places where deaf history has been made.
So I call for having ASL BICENTENNIAL 1816 - 2016: 200 YEARS OF ASL CELEBRATION. We might do it in Hartford where it was the beginning. We may include ASLTA and other groups as well as NAD, DBC, Deafhood, etc in supporting the program and educate America from sea to shining sea!
Onward we go! Let's celebrate 200 years of ASL!
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, August 19, 2016: OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE WEEKEND STARTING AT NOON
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2016: ALL DAY FESTIVITIES WITH WORKSHOPS, FESTIVAL AND FOOD
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2016: ALL DAY FESTIVITIES
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016: HONORING LAURENT CLERC ON HIS ARRIVAL TO HARTFORD (MORNING)
and HONORING GEORGE VEDITZ ON HIS ADVOCACY OF ASL (AFTERNOON)
*Possible Commerative Stamp Ceremony to see CLERC and VEDITZ on same stamp
Deaf artists can have opportunity to design a stamp with picture of Clerc and Veditz meeting together. More information soon.
I am working on a book titled:ASL BICENTENNIAL 1816 - 2016: 200 YEARS OF ASL CELEBRATION. It will be released on August 19, 2016.
If you have stories and pictures from 1816 to 2016, please send them in .jpg format and credits (who they belong to so I can get copyright permission )
The front cover will have picture of Clerc and Veditz. More information soon!
If you are interested to be on working committee, please let me know!
All rights reserved: Deaf Images/Paul Kiel - 2009-2016
