This page was created by Sierra Cadima.
Works Cited:
- Profile Picture: Andrew Foster Portrait. Gallaudet University, May 2014, https://gallaudet.edu/museum/celebrating-150-years/visionary-leader-may-2014-andrew-foster/.
- Cover Photo: Andrew Foster teaching a geography class in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1960. Gallaudet University, May 2014, https://gallaudet.edu/museum/celebrating-150-years/visionary-leader-may-2014-andrew-foster/.
- Education: Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
- Hometown & Family Relationships Section: Nicholas, Darrick F. “Andrew Foster, Educator for the Deaf Born.” African American Registry, 12 Jan. 2022, aaregistry.org/story/andrew-foster-the-deaf-will-hear-the-words-of-the-book/.
- Marriage Life Event: Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
Sources for posts in order:
- “Visionary Leader - May 2014, Andrew Foster - Celebrating 150 Years!” Gallaudet University, 1 June 2022, gallaudet.edu/museum/celebrating-150-years/visionary-leader-may-2014-andrew-foster/?fbclid=IwAR2XTYLdb5OZeyXxE6uTyUv_QNUdB0X8HqdTjvIKwDinUtCp6zgW1iqcLTs.
- Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
- Nicholas, Darrick F. “Andrew Foster, Educator for the Deaf Born.” African American Registry, 12 Jan. 2022, aaregistry.org/story/andrew-foster-the-deaf-will-hear-the-words-of-the-book/.
- Karagama, Yakubu. “Andrew Foster and Deaf Education.” ENT & Audiology News, 3 Mar. 2021, www.entandaudiologynews.com/features/ent-features/post/andrew-foster-and-deaf-education.
- “Quotes.” US Deaf History, 20 Nov. 2017, usdeafhistory.com/quotes/.
2022 Bristol CC Deaf History Project on: Andrew Foster
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"The father of deaf education in Africa"
June 27, 1925 - December 3, 1987 I was born in the Ensley district of Birmingham, Alabama on June 27, 1925.
My father, Wiley Foster, was a coal miner and previously served in WWI. My mother, Veline Foster, was a homemaker. I was the oldest of four children. In 1936, both myself and my brother Edward contracted spinal meningitis and became deaf (Fikes).
I received an honorary doctorate from Gallaudet University in 1970, the Alumni Honor Award from Eastern Michigan University, and the Alumni Medallion Award from Seattle University in 1982. Unfortunately, I perished in an airplane accident flying from Rwanda to Kenya on December 3rd, 1987.
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
The logic of this group of educators (pure oralists) is that it is the normal means by which normal people communicate…Employing restrictive and suppressive means of communication to achieve normalcy seem as illogical as it is impractical…quite universally, they (the oral ‘successes’) are overshadowed by the number of failures, a fact which rarely seems to bother exponents of the oral method…The loudest advocates of ‘demutization‘ are teachers and theorists who have no firsthand knowledge of living among the deaf. They seldom have anything to do with the deaf after they reach adulthood, when the effects of oralism could be better gauged. Few are the deaf adults themselves who look back upon their pure oral schooling and wholeheartedly endorse the method….Language skills are best learned through free usage; they evolve and expand in an atmosphere of freedom, as with hearing children.
“Quotes.” US Deaf History, 20 Nov. 2017, usdeafhistory.com/quotes/.
10/23/2022
Here is a photo of me and my wife Berta Zuther. We were married in 1961 and went on to have four sons and one daughter. She was also Deaf.
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
During my life, I founded 32 schools in 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Karagama). Of these countries were Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Togo, and Zaire. I also had training programs for teachers of the Deaf in places like Zimbabwe, Niger, Uganda, and Ethiopia (Fikes).
Karagama, Yakubu. “Andrew Foster and Deaf Education.” ENT & Audiology News, 3 Mar. 2021, www.entandaudiologynews.com/features/ent-features/post/andrew-foster-and-deaf-education.
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
I raised funds for the schools I helped establish in Africa by completing a speaking tour of the United States. Though people were trying to push oralism in Africa, I recognized that such a method was not entirely beneficial. Thus, my schools used American Sign Language and indigenous Adamorobe Sign Language. Teachers and students were often found by me.
Karagama, Yakubu. “Andrew Foster and Deaf Education.” ENT & Audiology News, 3 Mar. 2021, www.entandaudiologynews.com/features/ent-features/post/andrew-foster-and-deaf-education.
In 1956 I founded the Christian Mission for Deaf Africans. I have always wanted to travel to Africa, and as a believer in God I wanted to help people in their faith.
Karagama, Yakubu. “Andrew Foster and Deaf Education.” ENT & Audiology News, 3 Mar. 2021, www.entandaudiologynews.com/features/ent-features/post/andrew-foster-and-deaf-education.
Make sure to check out my "About" section, where I've added things like my family members, my education, and have liked the pages of the schools I've attended.
This is so great. I taught American Sign Language to the Deaf in Africa. It was very important to me because it brings me back to my favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 29:18: "In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book." It is very important to me that Deaf people are able to reach the Word of God. 🙏🙏🙏
Nicholas, Darrick F. “Andrew Foster, Educator for the Deaf Born.” African American Registry, 12 Jan. 2022, aaregistry.org/story/andrew-foster-the-deaf-will-hear-the-words-of-the-book/.
In 1954, I became the first black man to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University (my degree was in education). I then moved onto the Michigan State Normal College and, in 1955, became the first black man to earn a master's degree there (my concentration being deaf education). The following year I received a bachelor's degree with a concentration in Christian Missions from Seattle Pacific College. It felt so good to find my passions: the path of God and educating the Deaf.
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
In 1942 I moved from Birmingham, Alabama, to Detroit, Michigan, to live with my aunt. I was trying to find work, but what I also found there was the calling to follow God. I began attending the Bethany Pembroke Church. I soon received a high school diploma from a correspondence school and also graduated with honors from the Detroit Institute of Commerce in 1950. I also received a scholarship to attend THE Gallaudet University. I couldn’t believe it!
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
In 1936 my brother Edward and I both contracted spinal meningitis. We both became deaf as a result (Fikes). There were not a lot of education options back then for deaf black children. I attended the Alabama School for Colored Deaf, which I left with a sixth-grade education (Gallaudet University).
Fikes, contributed by: Robert. “Andrew Jackson Foster, II (1925-1987) .” Black Past, 8 June 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/foster-andrew-jackson-ii-1925-1987/.
“Visionary Leader - May 2014, Andrew Foster - Celebrating 150 Years!” Gallaudet University, 1 June 2022, gallaudet.edu/museum/celebrating-150-years/visionary-leader-may-2014-andrew-foster/?fbclid=IwAR2XTYLdb5OZeyXxE6uTyUv_QNUdB0X8HqdTjvIKwDinUtCp6zgW1iqcLTs.
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