Tuscumbia native Helen Keller is popularly remembered as the deaf and blind child who learned sign language from her teacher Anne Sullivan at the Keller home, Ivy Green. But during her adult life, she was a tireless activist on behalf of workers’ and women’s rights, a prolific author, and an unofficial U.S. ambassador to the world. Her most famous publication is her bestselling 1903 autobiography, “The Story of My Life”. Through her work with the American Foundation for the Blind, Keller advocated for broadened educational and employment possibilities for blind people, and the State Department funded her international travel and advocacy of people with disabilities. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson awarded her the Congressional Medal of Freedom. A bronze statue depicting a young Helen Keller represents Alabama in the U.S. Capitol and she is featured on our state quarter.
Photos courtesy of: Alamy, Archive.org