Helen Keller Statue Unveiled in Capitol

First Statue Honoring Disabled Person In U.S. Capitol Replaces Statue Of Confederate Veteran

(AP)  Alabama installed the first statue honoring a disabled person in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, unveiling a bronze of a 7-year-old Helen Keller at her moment of epiphany when she solved "the mystery of language" without sight or hearing.

The statue, also the only one of a child in the Capitol collection, depicts Keller at her home in Tuscumbia, Ala., as her teacher Anne Sullivan spelled out the word "water" in her hand while pumping water over her other hand.

Keller said the moment "awakened (her) soul" to the potential for her life. She later became an internationally celebrated advocate for those with disabilities. She died in 1968.

In a ceremony unveiling the statue in the Capitol Rotunda, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the monument will remind people "that courage and strength can exist in the most unlikely places."

"Children especially need to be reminded of this basic truth, and this statue will get their attention," he said of the millions of children who visit the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Keller laid the groundwork for laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. She said the statue shows "that people must be respected for what they can do rather than judged by what they cannot."

Each state has two statues in the Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which was permanent until 2000, when Congress allowed for changes.

The Keller statue replaces one of Jabez Curry, a former Confederate officer, educator, ambassador and preacher who was once well known for advocating for free public education.

Riley, a former congressman, came up with the idea to replace Curry when he found that most Alabama visitors didn't know who Curry was.

The Keller statue was funded with private donations raised by the state and will be placed in the new Capitol Visitor Center. The project cost about $325,000.

The statue of Curry, who died in 1903, will be moved to Samford University, near Birmingham.

[ElizabethVT]

As a descendent of Helen Keller's,allow me to clarify a couple of issues.
1. Originally,this statue was made depicting BOTH Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan at the water spout. Apparently,statues at the capitol can only contain one figure,not two,so Annie Sullivan was removed.
2. Helen Keller was a Socialist,not a Communist. She worked for the rights of workers and disabled individuals across the world.

[texbelle123]

Helen Keller was an amazing woman. We would all do well to look to her example in more than the area of "disability." She couldl not see or hear, but her writings are full of wisdom and courage. She possessed what too many people with "ability" lack: a brain that works and the courage to speak the truth.

[filmguy107]

Well...here in Virginia that would NEVER happen!

[kamsack50]

Yes, the North has always discriminated against the South.

Lovely statue by the way.

[ToolMangler1]

No we don't...
We treat South Carolina just like we do ourselves in North Carolina........ ;)

[pickaguitar1]

Wasn't she a communist party member?

[mjvwsr]

"Alabama installed the first statue honoring a disabled person in the U.S. Capitol..."

I wonder if the enlightened will give the SOUTH credit for this.

[ToolMangler1]

"Her teacher Anne Sullivan spelled out the word "water" in her hand while pumping water over her other hand."


The statue Is a very good thing. This should be a "dual honor". To downplay "Anne Sullivan's" role in this is criminal. Helen Keller overcame great adversity to emerge as a World figure. But People tend not to realize that without Anne Sullivan's refusal to quit when many others had, is the main reason that there is a Helen keller to honor today.....
I hold Helen Keller in the highest regard but I hold her teacher on equal footing with her, so should America...

If the young Helen had not been able to make the connection of the 'signed' word 'Water' and the real thing, all of her accomplishments would never have happened. Learning how to communicate without being able to 'see' or 'hear' anything is what brought the 'real' Helen to the surface.