Greetings!

I'm thrilled to read all your responses to the book and be able to be part of this discussion. Thank you all so much.

I was especially moved by one thread of the discussion. Rachel pointed out (and then several of you responded to it) that she felt a little uncomfortable when we were:

...talking about what he might have thought, or how he might have felt, presumably because the authors were unable to communicate with Wilson in a way that they could access such information, and because other people they spoke to that had contact with Wilson were also unable to have such comprehensive conversations with Wilson. While it is admirable and appreciated that the authors were able to imagine, and decided to document, how Wilson probably felt, it is also disheartening that Wilson was limited in the ways he could express himself to others....I wish he was able to tell the authors of his biography exactly how he felt about his life and what he was thinking and feeling when he was granted his "freedom"...

This was the most difficult part of writing Unspeakable. And unfortunately, we did not even have the opportunity to meet Mr. Wilson in person. When we tried to schedule an opportunity to meet him, we were told he was quite ill. He died a few weeks later. (Is that not clear in the text? We'll have to fix that in the second edition.) All the information we attained was from his friends, attendants, activists on his behalf, and family members. He did have one close signing friend at the end of his life, but even he felt he was always guessing about what Wilson actually felt. Seventy years of incarceration--away from language he understood well--definitely had a severe impact on his ability to communicate with others. And before other signers met him, Wilson had a stroke that compromised his language abilities still further.

But as so many of you said, what happened to Mr. Wilson was a story too important to ignore, despite this tragic difficulty. Had we not explicitly stated that we were trying to imagine how he might have seen it all, Susan and I would have felt that we had merely contributed to the exploitation he experienced. We wanted to make sure we made it extremely clear that we did not know what Wilson thought and that we were merely guessing. Otherwise, we might have been perceived as claiming we knew what Wilson's "voice" really was. And that would simply be taking his voice away once again. Know what I mean?

For those of you interested in hearing more from the authors, you can read an interview with us that the publishers conducted.

A short book about a somewhat similar story was released a few years ago and some of you might like checking it out: God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24.

Enjoy your class and thanks for letting me participate. Tomorrow morning I am off for a book signing and a conference in North Carolina where Susan and I will share our research on Junius Wilson. I look forward to meeting you all!

My personal

As being black woman myself, if i was in Junius's shoe at that time and I dont know how I can handle that being black, while in jim crow law, family worried for my life, and everything? I don't know if i can surivie about 70 years in the same place? For me, i would really be lost with myself to go through that like Junius did but I was amazed of how he had alot of patient as experieced through those many years and I wanted to meet him but i know he passed away just few years ago...... I think he should be recognized as hero in deaf commmunity especially for the black people.

"Unspeakable" and Untouchable

This story is utterly amazing. I was amazed to read about the little known history of Junius Wilson, situated within the context of the Jim Crow south. I have always been aware of how grim things tended to be during the years of segregation and the lawful inferiority of blacks in America, but I never realized the implications for someone black and Deaf, nor did I realize to what extent it could affect such a person.

Junius Wilson's story was particularly interesting because the primary issue that was underlying most of the confusion regarding the alleged rape and Wilson's intelligence, was the lack of clear communication. And though the mental institution became tolerable by Wilson, and seemingly favorable, that does not get rid of nor excuse the fact that he was placed there despite his innocence. Nonetheless, I find it remarkable that the nature of a mental institution, that is, a facility where people are required to care for you and protect your well-being, became the pretext of what became somewhat of a safe haven for Wilson--ironic, to say the least! And not just for him, but also for James McNeil, and other residents in the facility. On one hand, it makes me thankful for those that cared for him, but on the other hand, why not exonerate his name and then use his innocence and the ways in which he helped out around the facility to dismantle some of the inequalities of Blacks, of Deaf people, exposing the inherently inequality of segregation?

The other thing that I thought was very interesting was how the book told his story in a way that is somewhat pretentious. For example, talking about what he might have thought, or how he might have felt, presumably because the authors were unable to communicate with Wilson in a way that they could access such information, and because other people they spoke to that had contact with Wilson were also unable to have such comprehensive conversations with Wilson. While it is admirable and appreciated that the authors were able to imagine, and decided to document, how Wilson probably felt, it is also disheartening that Wilson was limited in the ways he could express himself to others. One of my most dearest abilities is my ability to express myself--to have that stripped from me, or else never even granted to me, would be like severing my very soul. This is not to suggest that Wilson was without any way to express himself, as it is clear from this story that he often found ways to convey many various messages. But I wish he was able to explain how his family made him feel. I wish he was able to tell the people at the mental institution exactly how much he loved them or exactly how much he resented them. I wish he was able to tell the young kids he often passed by or played with why he loved to collect bicycles so much, and how he managed to save so much money without spending it all on candy! I wish he was able to tell the authors of his biography exactly how he felt about his life and what he was thinking and feeling when he was granted his "freedom"...

Another thing that intrigued me about this story was that it took place near where my parents grew up! My father still goes online to look at current issues of "The Daily Record" and my mom remembers the name, "Julius Wilson," that he was Deaf and misplaced in a mental institution. My aunt worked at the Dorothea Cox hospital that was briefly mentioned in the story (the only other mental institution in Raleigh, I think) and also remembers Wilson's predicament. My uncle's last name is McNeil, but I have not been able to contact him and see if there is any relation to James McNeil. If I do find out, I will let you know! So the personal connections made it that much more fascinating!

Admittedly, I have not yet finished the whole book, but I can tell you that this is a remarkable tale that is very telling about an outstanding man and the story of his tremendous experiences before civil rights took over the south. However, it also about much more than Junius Wilson, about more than being Black and Deaf in the Jim Crow South. It is a story about strength and triumph in the face of injustice, the epitome of making lemons into lemonade! I am so very inspired by this book. For one, I am now curious to know more about Black, Deaf history. However, I think I am moreso enlightened as to how one can find themselves wrongly placed in a particular predicament, seemingly in the wrong place, at the worst time, but then find out that everything happens for a reason; for that very unsettling, unfortunate, seemingly deplorable predicament might just be the very thing that saves our lives... My heart goes out to Junius Wilson, his family, and anyone else that has had similar experiences.

To the authors and to BGG, thank you!

History in the Book

Hello!

I wanted to comment about the history that I have learned in the book. At first, I was wanting the history to go a little faster so I could get into the heart of the story, but now I understand why it was presented in that way. The story could not have been told appropriately without knowing what was going on at the turn of the century with African Americans and whites. This interested me because we usually are taught what happened during the civil rights movement later on or what was happening with slavery in the 1800's.

Another comment on the history was that I liked how they incorporated Deaf culture history. I had no idea that black people at that time would have a different signed language than the traditional American Sign Language. This really helped to understand the story and why these things were happening to Junius in the story.

More later :-)

Julie

Touched By Junius Wilson

After outlining my thoughts about the book, I thought I would like to begin this blog with my expectations before I read it. I was expecting to hear a personal tragedy of a deaf black man that had lost his life over misunderstanding. But, the book began with explaining that his personal story could not be shared due to the language and communication barriers. Initially, I was disappointed but then, this also impacted me tremendously. The power of communication is so critical for someone to be heard. I realized that the authors should be credited for their efforts in giving Junius Wilson his voice that was taken from him years ago. It is clear that it took intensive research and time to present important information and events of Junius’s life.

Right at the beginning, it truly sickened me to read about white privileges and behavior towards the African Americans through time. It made me almost ashamed of myself as a white person, although I’m a strong advocate of multiculturalism and sensitive towards people of different background. In the beginning, the book discussed about the newspaper company that was run by African Americans, The Daily Record, I am reminded of the Cherokee story in Georgia. During my undergraduate studies, I did a research about the Cherokees because my great great grandmother on my dad's side was Cherokee and Blackfoot and my great great grandfather on my mom's side was a Cherokee. They all were from Georgia as well. The Cherokees were prosperous and successful in Georgia like the African Americans in North Carolina. They held political position, ran newspaper, became doctors and owned slaves as well. They saw how white people were successful in owning lands and such. They felt they needed to keep up with them in order to be respected and left alone. Then, the white people of Georgia were fearful of them taking over the whole state, hence the trail of tears. The quote, History Repeats Itself could not ring any truer than this. It seems to be so senseless and cruel but how could it not seem that way to them back then? That is something I cannot fathom at all.

When they described Junius Wilson and James McNeil’s life in the institution, I was truly fascinated with the fact that they were able to function well as businessmen. They had no training or business operations were not taught to them, yet they are able to make sales and gather money somehow. This brings in the question of language defining a person’s intelligence. Oftentimes, we look down on those that cannot communicate, read, or write. We do not look at their abilities to function for survival, for leisure, and imagine their perspective based on their behavior and whatnot. This brings my dad into my mind when I thought about intelligence and language. My deaf father did not have language access until he was 15. He was diagnosed with spinal meningitis at the age of two and within recover; he was diagnosed with mental retardation. Until he was eight, they finally discover that he was just deaf. And, he enrolled in kindergarten without knowing his name, the alphabetic, or the color labels. He struggled throughout until he enrolled in deaf school at fifteen. He finally learned ASL and understood a little better academic wise. But, he was already delayed in English and ASL. He was never able to have opportunity to be taught about things, to read and write, and so on. However, he went on to become successful in life by being a hard workingman that provided everything for his family. He bought a home, owned a car, and became very financially secured. Although he cannot really read or write well, he is the smartest man I know. Again, this brings in the question of language defining intelligence. I do believe it is important to read and write for survival and leisure. But, it does not define a person’s ability or comprehension of the world because you cannot see what is inside their heads. This applies to Junius and James. I really wish I could see inside their minds and how they view the world during that time. I’m almost sure that they thought of things that we would have thought of or maybe the things we never would have thought of.

During the time of segregation and desegregation, it was a confusing period for all races, gender, and age. Now, I am thinking about all the deaf people during that time; white and black, green and purple and whatnot. They must have been so confused and scared, especially with limited language access. They probably struggled with understanding the point of segregation and desegregation because nearly no one would take the time to explain or had no way of explaining due to limited communication abilities. For Junius and James, they must have had so much questions that they pondered on such as the reason for their stay in the institution and desegregation. It was difficult for me to read throughout the book as a deaf person. I struggle with the thought of not being able to express my feelings, thoughts, and gather information about my life and everything around me. I just cannot imagine the limitations and inability to live freely as a normal person. I was thinking that I would slowly die inside as a person. Then, I thought about how amazing it is to see those two men still laugh and find ways to enjoy their presence in the world by participating and interacting with staffs and people. They made the best of their environment and that is so impressive.

Throughout the court proceeding and guardianship controversy, I found myself feeling that Junius should stay at the cottage although he had lost his life to the hospital and should be granted his freedom. But, the fact that he had no way of communicating with his hearing family and has never associated with them pushed me over to the hospital’s side. I have heard and read about those who were imprisoned or institutionalized and when they returned to the real world, they struggled and became lost. I felt Junius was already lost and found his way already by accommodating to the hospital and his life. And, to make him lose his way again will just take away his genuine soul. The cottage gave him some freedom and security. And, people around him have grown to love him so much. Junius deserved that much. It was interesting to see my perspective change throughout the book, whereas in the beginning I hated the hospital and sympathized with the family then, in the end, I appreciated the hospital and disappointed in the family.

I have several questions, especially for the family. I do not understand Carrie Gill, his sister. Why wouldn’t she be involved or testify? It’s her brother. I also wondered about the cousin, Andre Branch. What were his true intentions? Was it really Junius he cared about or the money? Also, there was a mention of Black Sign Language, which I found so fascinating. I wanted to know in detail about the difference between that communication system and ASL. I wondered whether there was intensive research about that certain sign system and its history.

All in all, the story was not what I expected; yet so very impacting. Everyone goes on with their lives, never knowing about some stories that lingers in this world that are profound and perhaps, cruel. We turn a blind eye and pretend that those things do not happen. In my deaf world, I am aware of discrimination and audism. But, deaf and mental institution never came to my knowledge. This is the first story I have heard related to deafness and mental institution. And, it will stay with me.

Andrea's post

Andrea Watson from the Thursday class posted in Blackboard. I'm sorry that I forgot to put a link to the Blogger blog in Blackboard for her group.
I am posting what she said here.



At first, it was boring to read but as i go through, i was very very interesting into reading of how Junius Wilson go through and the Jim Crow law in the south at the time. I was very pissed off when Arthur Smith Jr. had Junius arrested for raping the black woman, Lizzie but i see how Arthur wanted to protect Junius from white mob if he touch any white woman because Junius dont understand whats going on at that time. I really dont like how his family didn't tell the court that he is deaf and that the court decided to put him into intsitution for the mental. It really irriated me as i go through. No wonder what the family was afraid and that Junius couldn't communicate at all expect his deaf friends. WOW that is very interesting story and still reading!!!! Anyone want to comment on it??????????????