Deaf President Now!
Deaf President Now!
8.0100%
Discover the story of the greatest civil rights movement most people have never heard about. During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world's only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead a revolution—and change the course of history.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
Absolutely compelling. While watching The Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, I was introduced to the Deaf President Now! movement, which that documentary directly references as one of the most pivotal moments in the American Civil Rights movement, particularly for the Deaf community. The protest took place in 1988, and I was a little too young to remember it, but when I saw SXSW had a documentary dedicated to the movement, I was eager to check it out.
This film delivers a beat-by-beat account of how Gallaudet University’s students and allies fought back when the board of directors ignored two qualified Deaf candidates and instead appointed a hearing president. The students organized and literally locked down the school, preventing any staff from entering. The talking heads recounting from a handful of the protesters is very powerful, capturing the sheer determination of a group so often dismissed as “less than” refusing to back down until real change was made. Their demands weren’t radical—they simply wanted a Deaf president to lead a Deaf university—but seeing the resistance they faced is infuriating. Essentially, a small group of social elites presume to know what’s best for a community of Deaf students, completely disregarding their voices. The hubris of board chairman Jane Bassett Spilman in choosing the president—when she herself doesn’t sign or understand sign language—is one of the most out-of-touch displays of leadership I’ve ever seen. Her infamous comment, claiming that “Deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world,” is the perfect encapsulation of why this protest needed to happen.
By the end, you can’t help but feel the weight of this moment, not just for Gallaudet but for the broader fight for disability rights. A necessary and moving documentary that deserves to be seen.