In the spring of 1988 Gallaudet University’s Board of Trustees was in the process of selecting a new president; their decision set in motion a turning point in Deaf history. Prior to the board’s decision, a growing movement advocated selection of a deaf person. Individuals and groups wrote letters to the board encouraging a deaf president, and the National Association of the Deaf published a special issue of the NAD Broadcaster with articles stating that it was time for a deaf individual to lead the 124-year-old university.

A 2-hour “Deaf President Now” rally on the first day of March started at the president’s residence where one of the organizers, Jeff Rosen, Gallaudet alum and attorney, stood on the back of a pickup truck so his signs ...