[CT-NFB] Who Is the Perkins School for the Blind Named After?

Thu Jun 29 02:10:13 UTC 2023

Justin,

Here are a couple of thoughts on this complex matter.

First, I agree that Perkins’ statement omitting indigenous peoples should be addressed. It is straightforward to fix. You yourself, or other indigenous Federation members (especially in New England), are most appropriate to lead this advocacy effort which you have already started.

Renaming the school is much less straightforward. I have no attachment to Perkins, and I appreciate that Thomas Perkins himself led little in the education or advancement of the blind. But then must we then rename things associated with the Perkins School? For example, the Perkins Braillewriter? This would require a significant and broad effort, and the effort should be calculated carefully. I am inclined towards renaming the school, especially because there is little relevant nexus between Thomas Perkins and the blind. And I, too, am interested and open to what our colleagues have to say. What is most important to me is that blind people of every background have equal access to empowerment and the resources to get it.

Best,

Nathanael

From: CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Esther Levegnale via CT-NFB
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 8:26 PM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List
Cc: Esther Levegnale
Subject: Re: [CT-NFB] Who Is the Perkins School for the Blind Named After?

hi, Justin, thank you for sharing that with us. It was very interesting. Esther

Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 13 Pro Max!

On Jun 28, 2023, at 4:54 PM, Justin Salisbury via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hi again,

I kept looking for more information and found this page on the Perkins website, with the following passage:

Today, Perkins School for the Blind acknowledges that our school’s founding financially benefitted from both the slave trade and opium smuggling, and acknowledges the pain caused by this, particularly to those in Black and Chinese communities. 

The founding of Perkins highlights complex issues around slavery, race, and profit derived from the exploitation of enslaved and marginalized people. As we look to our future, it is our responsibility to acknowledge our past. Perkins is committed to confronting the truth about the people and history of our institution so as not to perpetuate narratives that obscure or diminish inhumane treatment of anyone or any group of people.

https://www.perkins.org/thomas-h-perkins/

This tells me that the leadership of Perkins is already aware of at least some of the history, though it notably leaves out the enslavement of Indigenous people. Many of the Indigenous people of New England who didn’t die from European diseases or attacks were captured and sold into slavery in the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic. Still, I think this page on their site is actually a step in the right direction, but why continue to honor a namesake when you know that he did these things?

So, the question remains: should we do anything about this?

Justin

From: CT-NFB <ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Justin Salisbury via CT-NFB
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 3:43 PM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Justin Salisbury <PRESIDENT at alumni.ecu.edu>
Subject: [CT-NFB] Who Is the Perkins School for the Blind Named After?

Hi everyone,

I have an idea for an advocacy initiative that Federationists could take on if we are interested. I am wondering if it is something that lots of members in Connecticut would be interested in addressing. 

Many of us are familiar with the Perkins School for the Blind, and Connecticut routinely sends some blind students to grow and learn at Perkins since it’s the local school for the blind. I bet most of us do not know who the school is named after. His name was Thomas Handasyd Perkins. Here is a Wikipedia article about him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Handasyd_Perkins

According to the Wikipedia page about him, he was one of those rich boys who received lots of money from his grandfather and father-in-law, and then he found some really nice things to do with that money. According to the Wikipedia article, he became a slave trader and opium smuggler. According to the article, from these activities, he amassed a greater fortune and then used that to philanthropically support the Perkins School for the Blind, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, McLean Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital. 

I imagine there are a lot of people who have appreciated some of the work of some of these institutions that he may have supported with donations. If we think about the Perkins School for the Blind today, though, there seems to be a real contradiction between being a school that is supposed to provide services to a diverse group of blind students and being named after a guy who got rich as a slave trader. Being a school named after a slave trader undermines the equal treatment of people of color at the Perkins School for the Blind and the blind community in New England more broadly because it is the residential school for the blind that serves New England. Quite frankly, I think it’s fair to say that continuing to celebrate Mr. Perkins by having a school named after him contributes to the ongoing marginalization of black and Indigenous people, both of whom were enslaved in his day, in our region, and transported by ships like his. 

Now, the question that can have multiple answers is this: Do we want to do anything about it? 

I understand that we all have our priorities. Do we want to raise this conversation? Do we want to talk to the Perkins School for the Blind about renaming? Do we want to raise awareness throughout the blind community in Connecticut about this context of the residential school where blind kids from Connecticut are routinely sent?

I think this would be a good thing to do, but I’m interested in taking the temperature of Federationists throughout New England before trying to do anything about it. 

Thanks, everyone,

Justin

Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury

he/him/his

Phone: 808.797.8606

Email:  <mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu> President at Alumni.ECU.edu

LinkedIn:  <https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury> https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury  

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury 

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”

Cesar Chavez

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