6 renowned black women in history who made a big impact despite their disabilities

Nathie Marbury

Nathie Marbury was the first Black deaf woman to enter the National Leadership Training Program for the Deaf at California State University, Northridge and the first Black deaf female teacher at the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School for the Deaf in Washington, DC.

Nathie was born in Grenada, MS in 1944 but grew up in Pennsylvania. She graduated from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in 1962. In 1975, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University and her two Master’s degrees from California State University at Northridge (CSUN) in 1976.

Nathie completed her doctoral coursework in applied linguistics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She completed her doctorate in Deaf Studies/Deaf education during the fall of 2007 at Lamar University.

According to her biography, Nathie has steered various workshops and seminars in the United States and Canada. She has also taught deaf and hearing students throughout the United States at schools for the deaf, universities/colleges, and community colleges. She has made a variety of videotapes for several companies over the last 25 years. Nathie taught primarily ASL classes at Austin Community College (Austin, TX).

Through teaching and advocacy, she shared her passion for American Sign Language and Deaf culture until she gave in to cancer at the age of 69.