The Deaf and hard of hearing communities in the United States comprise nearly 30 million people. They live largely cut off from the general population that surrounds them and—too often—determines policy for them. They have less than full and equal access to cultural events, less than full and equal access to broadcast information, less than full and equal access to participating in society.

Chuck Baird

The situation is even more critical for Deaf children. Ninety percent of them are born to hearing parents, which leave them largely cut off from the language community of their own families.

But hearing society is cut off, too—cut off from learning about and experiencing the language, culture, and art of the Deaf world. And major cultural and educational institutions are cut off from serving the Deaf community, a population they want to reach.

There has been and continues to be a crucial need to bridge these divides that cut off community from community. There is, in a sense, a need to make the Deaf world hearing and the hearing world Deaf.

DEAF Media was founded to build those bridges, to make those connections between communities, and to advocate for those who need a voice. For over thirty years it has filled those needs in a variety of ways. It helps major cultural institutions work with the Deaf community, thereby ensuring that community’s full participation in society.It exposes the hearing world to the richness of Deaf culture, which promotes Deaf arts and the professional development of Deaf artists. It strives to increase education and opportunity for Deaf individuals. And, it works to foster mutual awareness, acceptance and understanding between the Deaf and hearing worlds.