Dr. Andrew Foster
The Man, the Mission, the Legend
Abstract:
“You will be a living proof that what has been believed impossible – the education of those born deaf – is indeed possible.” (Lane 199)
After losing his hearing at age eleven to Spinal Meningitis, Andrew Jackson Foster had some steep mountains to climb. First of all, as a black child growing up in the south in the 1930’s, he had to deal with segregation and prejudice. After losing his hearing, he was then a deaf black child, which brought about feelings of isolation in a predominantly hearing world. Andrew Foster was persistent and overcame obstacles in his path. He knew at a young age that he wanted to be a missionary, and that is when he felt his life’s purpose become clear. He went on to be the first black graduate of Gallaudet College and earned other degrees beyond that. He set foot for the first time in Africa in 1957. His life’s work was educating and spreading the Word of God to the deaf; those Africans who were previously hidden in shame. Foster has been compared to both Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet and has shown the possibilities that can be obtained by those who believe.
The Man
Andrew Foster was born in Ensley, Alabama in 1925. He was born at a time when segregation and severe prejudice existed here in America. As a black boy, he not only faced school segregation, he had to also deal with sub-human acts and laws such as separate textbooks for blacks and whites and the inability to put money into the hand of a white store clerk. White laundry businesses only accepted white people’s clothes and blacks could only perform bottom of the barrel jobs. They had to follow degrading laws such as when a white person and a black person neared each other on a sidewalk, the black person had to abide the law and step aside so the white person could pass by. This experience was expected to take a toll on the children. “Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn.” (Haskins 108-9) Another barrier that was preventing an equal education for all was the differences in financial allocation. According to Haskins, as stated in the official publication of the NAACP (Crisis), results from studies that looked to evaluate school financing showed great differences in not only the amount spent per pupil, but also in the teachers’ salaries. For example, as recorded in Georgia, the white pupil expenditure was $36.29 vs. $4.59 per black pupil. The white teachers were paid $97.88 per month and the black teachers were only paid $49.41 per month. (Haskins 82) To add to these tortures of the time, Andrew Foster became deaf at age eleven by Spinal Meningitis. Now, getting an education and a fruitful one at that, became a greater challenge. Foster attended the Alabama School for Colored Deaf in Talladega and then later moved to Michigan to live with a relative so he could attend the Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint, where he finished the eighth grade. He worked several different jobs in bakeries, restaurants and factories, but school was constantly on his mind. He enrolled in a night school, the Detroit Institute of Commerce and received his degree in 1950. Realizing the gap of information between elementary school and college, he started a correspondence course and received his high school diploma in 1951. According to Gwen Hood,
a writer for Compass Magazine, Foster also developed a great sense for religion. He struggled with it for a while, unsure where it would take him. A missionary from Jamaica had visited the church where Andrew belonged and a series of questions had commenced. Foster had asked about the deaf people in Jamaica and the missionary saw this question as a sign from God. Perhaps it was a calling for Andrew to go and ‘mission’ there, or maybe even to Africa. Foster’s first response was he would never go to Africa; he had instant thoughts of jungles and wild animals and poverty and he did not want to give up his good life to go there. As the thought sunk in, his mind began changing, yet he felt that he lacked the qualifications and experience he would need to perform an effective job. It was then that he wrote to Gallaudet College. In their response, they offered him a free four-year scholarship. At the age of twenty-six, he became the first black deaf person to enroll in and be accepted to the college. He got a Bachelors of Arts in education and then went on to earn a Masters of Arts from Michigan State. He continued onto Bible college. (Diouf Compass Magazine cite) He originally was going to use his business schooling experience to work with the Africans, but then he discovered there were no schools for the deaf except in the politically troubled north and south.
In the same year when Foster was to graduate from Gallaudet, a great change came across the land. “On Monday, May 14, 1954, the chief justice read the decision of the court in the case of school desegregation. Unanimously the court decided that segregation had no place in present society. All people in America were to be equal.” (Haskins 135-8) What a monumental decision this had been! In addition, the fact that it happened at the same time that the first black deaf student graduated from Gallaudet College made Foster’s accomplishment even more memorable; or was this decision an impactful one? The white folks of the United States did not comply so easily with the court’s decision. The prejudice feelings still were in the air. “…it set the stage for a change in American Society and sparked a mass movement for civil rights.” (Haskins 141)
The Mission
When Foster completed his college education, he tried to find a missionary that would sponsor him and lead him to assist people in Africa, but they all refused. “Some mission societies turned me down on racial grounds despite my college degrees.” (Foster Roots out of a Dry Ground) He felt very discouraged. Shortly, thereafter, Foster received a suggestion to start a Mission for the deaf. Then he received even more discouragement as “Hearing Missionaries told Foster that deaf children didn’t even exist in Africa.” (NBDA Programs & Advocacy) Foster did not let that stand in his way. He took that suggestion and created The Christian Mission for Deaf Africa, which eventually became known as Christian Mission for the Deaf. “Christian Mission for the Deaf is a non-profit organization that focuses on the spiritual needs of deaf Africans. With a home office in Detroit, MI, CMD utilizes a variety of resources to reach the deaf.” (CMD website) This all took place years before the Peace Corp even came into existence. He started his journey in Ghana, where not far from the capital, was a village in which half of the inhabitants were deaf. Foster spent a great deal of time searching for funding. He had to rely on donations to help pay for materials, teachers and buildings to house the schools. When he first arrived in Ghana, he gathered a few deaf children and taught them in the hearing school buildings, after the hearing children went home in the late afternoon. He also taught some deaf adults at night. This was a new beginning for the deaf. In an article written in 2003 it was stated that the education of deaf students in Africa during colonial times (19th century) began with Roman Catholic and Protestant members who wanted religious conversion. They attempted to teach the deaf using the oral method and it was mainly offered to affluent families. The methods seemed to follow that of the schools of Great Britain and France and would not incorporate any use of sign language; it was strictly oral instruction. (Kiyaga & Moores 19) This movement did nothing to help the people who really needed help. Most of Africa is very well below poverty level, even to this day, and from what has been seen thus far, the deaf were kept hidden.
Foster’s work continued and the need for deaf education became greater. He was finally able to open a boarding school. A school was set up in Nigeria in 1960 and to this day, Nigeria is the headquarters for the Christian Mission for the Deaf organization. He would return to the states to seek financial support on occasion. According to the Gallaudet school newspaper, he made a visit to his alma mater in 1959, and was a guest speaker at the Sunday chapel service. He discussed his African mission with the students. At that point in time, he had twenty-five boarding students, twenty daytime students and one hundred students on a waiting list. (Buff & Blue ’54 Grad..) During that same year, Andrew Foster also went to West Germany to attend the Third World Congress for the Deaf. It was there that he met Berta, who was deafened at age four from the measles. She was interested in missionary work as well and had read about Foster’s work in Ghana. The couple worked together in Africa to spread God’s Word and they were married in Nigeria in 1961. The Fosters started their family and eventually had five children; one girl and four boys. The family worked together in Africa and then in 1975, Berta was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so she and the children remained at their home in the states. (Berta beat the odds and continues to write the CMD newsletter to this day) Andrew would stay with them for six months and then go to Africa for the next six months to set up schools and ‘mission’ to the deaf. He taught them American Sign Language, focused on Total Communication and taught them the Word of God.
Foster had succeeded and realized his dream of helping the deaf in Africa. He eventually went on to establish thirty-one schools and many Sunday schools for the deaf. He gave of himself, sacrificed a great deal of his time and even spent months at a time away from his family during a period when communication, especially for the deaf, was no where near what it is today. How often did he get to communicate with his family while in Africa for six months? Was he only able to send letters? Even though the United States had a few more advancements than Africa, what was available to him in the remote areas that he was trying to help? This man is a great role model to not only the Africans, but to the deaf community as a whole. He truly believed in his cause and went to the ends of the earth to bring it to its fruition. “Roughly 500 restless deaf youths are now literate in West Africa. Over twice the number are studying in various special schools. Elsewhere on the continent, around 50 schools for the deaf now exist, with a staggering student and alumni population.” (Foster Roots…) This is a great accomplishment when
compared to thirty years earlier when Foster first set foot in Africa. The deaf children and adults have such an opportunity before them that would not have existed had it not been for Andrew Foster. What if Foster was not in attendance during the missionary’s visit? What would have become of the deaf? “Foster is credited with establishing more than twenty schools for the deaf in Africa. Some of them have been taken over by the government, a change from earlier days when government authorities doubted that deaf people could be educated.” (Sanders A1)
Foster has been self-recognized through the Christian Deaf Mission numerous times over. He had written the quarterly newsletter for the organization for nearly thirty years. He informed his fellow missionaries of the accomplishments that were made and the help that was still needed. He asked for prayers that the financial needs would be met and the goals realized. He had, in addition to setting up schools, set up numerous training programs. Adults from all over Africa would come to these training programs and then take back the knowledge to their countries.
The Legend
In recognition of his important contributions to deaf people, Gallaudet College awarded Andrew Foster an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters – honoris causa degree in 1970. Foster has also been referred to as “the father of education of the deaf in West Africa.” (Memorial 1988) Imagine, receiving an honorary Doctorate degree for your contributions to the world? This very seldom occurs and it is an honor to cherish. Foster was a humble, religious man and never let this recognition go to his head. He was the one out there getting his hands dirty, so to speak. He sacrificed a great deal of himself to help the less fortunate. “In spite of all he did, he would say, it’s only a drop in the bathtub.” (Sanders A11) Many people still needed assistance. Several African countries still would not allow the CMD to set up schools; Yet Foster always tried to focus on the good and would find another reason he could thank God for. He has done a great deed for the African people who were not only oppressed by poverty and disease, but by deafness too. These students made great achievements and let nothing stand in their way. “A growing number of students from these schools (in Africa) have attended Gallaudet University, earned advanced degrees and entered the education profession. Gallaudet University now has second generation students from Foster’s schools.” (Memorial 1988) Even one author of references used in this paper was a graduate student in education at Gallaudet and chose to write about the plight of the deaf in Africa.
Thirty years after Foster first set foot in Africa to begin his mission, he was tragically killed in a plane crash in that very place. According to a newspaper article, he had taken an empty seat on a chartered plane with some fellow Americans who were on safari. He was attempting to reach Nairobi, Kenya. Twenty minutes into the flight, something went wrong with the small plane. Thirteen people (11 Americans) were on the flight and witnesses said the passengers could be seen waving their arms and throwing their belongings out of the plane. The plane hit a tree, then a hill and burst into flames; there were no survivors. (Sanders A11) What a horrible way for life to end! What about Foster; on the plane, deaf, not able to fully communicate with the other passengers, what must have his last minutes been like? He obviously sensed that the plane was in grave danger, and saw that the people were frantic, but were his screams heard?
December 3, 1987 was a sad day, not only for the Foster family, but also for the deaf all over Africa. Andrew Foster sacrificed so much of his time to ensure the education of and mission to the deaf in many countries throughout this continent and now he gave the ultimate sacrifice: his life. How ironic that the very place he started his life’s work, is where his life ended. Nevertheless, his work did not end. Schools continued to go on and educate the deaf. “In Nigeria, several of Andrew Foster’s students have carried on his work, and the Total Communication has become the dominant mode of instruction in schools for the deaf.” (Kiyaga and Moores 22) Foster left behind a great legacy in Africa and was recognized numerous times. “On October 22, 2004, Gallaudet University dedicated an auditorium in Andrew Foster’s name, calling him the ‘Father of Deaf Education in Africa’.” (CMD CMD’s History) Foster has also been compared to Laurent Clerc, the first teacher of the deaf here in America. Like Foster, Clerc left his home (in France) and set foot in a new country. He brought his knowledge of Sign Language and his experience of teaching here to America to give the deaf a means of communication. Another likeness between the two contributors is that Foster also had a bust sculpted in his honor and was the second deaf person to have that bust placed on the Gallaudet campus (Clerc being the first).
Adepoju is quoted by Moore and Panera (1996) as comparing Foster to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, the first superintendent of a school for the deaf in the United States. In reality, however, Foster surpassed both of these leaders (Clerc & Gallaudet). In the sheer number of schools he established by himself, Foster is unrivaled by anyone, hearing or deaf, in the history of education of the Deaf. Not only did he leave behind educated deaf Africans trained to teach their own people, he also demonstrated to thousands of hearing Africans that deaf people had unlimited potential.
Kiyaga and Moores 20
Yet despite all of those honors that Dr. Foster has received during his life and posthumous, there has yet to be a biographical book written about him. The struggle that the author of this paper encountered when trying to obtain research information was a great one. Most of the references used were merely snips of information from various articles. There was one book that had one chapter written about Foster, yet that chapter was only a couple of pages in length. Through e-mail communications with a former trainee and acquaintance of Foster and the CMD, the author has learned that a biography is currently in the works and will be published shortly. How sad to learn that such a great contributor to deaf education in Africa has not been recognized and his words and life’s work have not been published sooner. It has been over twenty years of lost time that could have been used to further spread his work and teachings to the world. The world needs to know more of this selfless individual’s contributions. “Yet as you survey the nooks and crannies of this community, you cannot find a single full biographical book produced by elements within the fold in memory of their benefactor. His precious memory and life work are being allowed to fossilize gradually, to become nameless entity and negligible relics of history.” (Diouf Preface) Fossilize! No, we cannot allow this. We have a responsibility, as Deaf individuals, interpreters of the Deaf and students to preserve this historian’s memory and allow his legacy to live on.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
JENNIFER DUDEK-LOZADA
My name is Jennifer. I am a hearing individual and I am currently starting my 2nd year in the ASL Interpreter Training Program at Ocean County College, NJ. I graduated in 1995 from Rutgers University with a degree in Biology. From there, I started working with a pharmaceutical company and worked there 10 years. I married my husband in 1997. November 2004, my daughter was born and I resigned to stay home and care for her. Shortly after, I read about the interpreter training program that was being offered and that I could attend classes at night. I always had a love for ASL, but there weren’t any programs locally when I first started college. I began my journey in the fall of 2006, taking Basic American Sign Language 1. The following Spring semester, I took Basic American Sign Language 2. I officially began the program in September of 2007. The way that the program is arranged, I have 2 classes each semester, including summers. I will complete my degree and become a qualified interpreter in December 2009.
Currently I am starting my role as President of the Interpreter Training Program Club at our school. We run meetings and socials for the students and Deaf community. We also put on “Rock and Roll shows”, presented in ASL. The students and some faculty chose songs and perform them in sign.
Once I complete my training, my goal is to become an educational interpreter and interpret for children in mainstreamed schools. I would also like to do something involving hearing young children - teaching them ASL early!
Works Cited
“About CMD”, Christian Mission for the Deaf Web Site. 30 Mar 2008. <http://www.cmdeaf.org/>
Diouf, Kenneth Yali. “Missionary Biographical Sketch of Andrew Jackson Foster
(1925-1987)”. 15 Aug 2007. High Calling Outreach Publications. 1 Apr 2008.
<http://www.freewebs.com/kennethdiouf/foster.htm>
“Dr. Andrew J. Foster Memorial Service”, Gallaudet Office of Alumni
Relations and Advancement, International Center on Deafness, 26 Jan1988. (Gallaudet Archives)*
Foster, Andrew. “Roots Out of a Dry Ground” CMDeaf.org. 1976. 3 Apr 2008.
<http://www.cmdeaf.org/articles/roots.asp>
Haskins, Jim. Separate But Not Equal: The Dream and the Struggle. New York:
Scholastic Press, 1988.
Kiyaga, Nassozi B, and Donald F. Moores. “Deafness in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
American Annals of the Deaf. Vol. 148 No. 1. Mar 2003: p. 18-24. Academic Search
Premier. EBSCO Host research databases. Ocean County College Library, Toms
River, NJ. 1 Apr 2008.
<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9758094&
loginpage =login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site>
Lane, Harlan. When The Mind Hears. New York:Vintage Books, 1989.
“Programs & Advocacy” NBDA. 2003-2008. National Black Deaf Advocates Web Site
3 Apr 2008. <http://www.nbda.org>
Sanders, Rhonda S. “Crash Victim left mark in Africa by creating 20 schools for deaf.”
The Flint Journal 5 Dec 1987. A1 + (Gallaudet Archives)*
“ ’54 Graduate Visits Campus On Mission”. Buff & Blue 10 Nov 1959.
(Gallaudet Archives)*
*received photocopies mailed from Gallaudet University Archives, Washington, D.C.
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