I. King Jordan Quotes

Deaf people can do anything, except hear.

Deafness and sign language are extremely close to my heart.

I was born deaf. I was raised in a hearing world and in a deaf world at the same time. I can't say that I like one better than I like the other. I like them both. I speak pretty well; I gesture. If I don't understand something, you know, pen and paper, texting. I use it all.

I'm really excited to educate the world about what deaf people can do.

You must speak loud to those who are hard of hearing.

The late Président de Montesquieu told me that he knew how to be blind--he had been so for such a long time--but I swear that I do not know how to be deaf: I cannot get used to it, and I am as humiliated and distressed by it today as I was during the first week. No philosophy in the world can palliate deafness.

The students at Gallaudet University deserve our congratulations. They educated the nation about deafness, and won a long overdue victory for all disabled people.

I am fourth-generation deaf, which means everyone in my immediate family is deaf. So I grew up always having 100 percent accessibility to language and communication, which was wonderful and something so many deaf people don't have.

I know what it's like to be growing up, called 'deaf and mute' and 'deaf and dumb.' They're words that are very degrading and demeaning to people who are deaf and hard of hearing. It's almost... it's almost libelous, if you want to say that.

I became deaf when I was 18 months old. And I learned to sign when I was 5 years old.

I just have a connection with sign language. I always thought the deaf community was a different community to be a part of. In high school, me and my friend took sign language.

Seriously, I don't find not being able to hear an obstacle or a boundary. For me, and for many of us, it is an advantage, and it's a part of my identity, in fact. It's a huge part of who I am.

With the right support, a deaf child can do exactly the same as a hearing child, yet constantly, they're being failed.

Texting has definitely improved the communication between the deaf and hearing communities, but it shouldn't be... a substitute for learning the language to really connect with someone, especially someone you want to date or have a relationship with.

Say what you want about the deaf.

When I learned to sign and speak at the same time, the whole world opened up to me. That's the beauty of encouraging kids who are deaf to use whatever it takes to communicate.

I've always wanted to write a book relating my experiences growing up as a deaf child in Chicago. Contrary to what people might think, it wasn't all about hearing aids and speech classes or frustrations.

At Gallaudet, deafness isn't an issue. You don't even think about it. Students can pay attention to accounting or psychology or journalism. But when a deaf person goes to another college, no matter how supportive it is, that person doesn't get the same access.

At the end of the day, 'My Deaf Family' is about a typical family that all of us can identify with but told from an unusual and what I believe will be a fascinating perspective.

At some point we have to stop and say, There's Marlee, not, There's the deaf actress.

I can see that 'Switched at Birth' is attracting audiences because of the diversity and the American Sign Language as well. American Sign Language is such a beautiful language, and people want more of that.

In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss... you have to have hearing loss.

People with disabilities have abilities too and that is what this course is all about - making sure those abilities blossom and shine so that all the dreams you have can come true.

I like to play around with people who don't know me. Often I'm talking to people through my speaker phone, and after 10 minutes or so they say, 'Wait a minute, Marlee, how can you hear me?' They forget I have an interpreter there who is signing to me as they talk. So I say, 'You know what? I can hear on Wednesdays.'

I know a little bit about deaf culture because a friend of mine has been in the deaf culture for awhile. Over the course of 25 years, she and I have talked about many of the issues and concerns for deaf people and deaf culture.