Ernest & Mencie Hairston
Leaders in Deaf Education
I had only heard of all of the amazing accolades and awards the Hairstons, Dr. Ernest Hairston and Mencie Hairston, had achieved during their careers and now I had the opportunity to meet them in person at their home tucked away in Bowie Maryland. Ernest and Mencie both attended Gallaudet university, where Ernest was able to become the first Black deaf person to earn a Ph.D in Special Education Administration from Gallaudet in 1994.
Mencie while working towards her master’s degree in Education, attended a lecture where Ernest was speaking and since all the seats had been filled she quietly snuck up towards the front and sat on the floor. After his lecture he noticed Mencie, he decided to go over and chat. Little did he know he would quickly became enamored by her spirit and quick wit, and that the two of them would be inseparable ever since.
Ernest looking at a photo of him walking to accept his PH.D. from Gallaudet University as the first deaf Black person to earn such a degree in 1994.
I was curious to see their home office that had housed all of their hard work in establishing their non-profit, High Bridge Foundation in 2012. Their foundation aims at financially supporting young people from underserved populations, including new immigrants and disabled persons to pursue higher education.
Upon arrival I was immediately welcomed by a fresh pot of coffee and a tour around Mencie’s beautiful home vegetable garden where she grows vegetables she grew up with in the Philippines. Mencie also showed me her impressive art studio where she paints a wide variety of subjects and styles. “I come here to decompress and tap into my creative side, I actually taught myself how to paint once I retired only a few years ago” Mencie mentioned as she showed me a beautiful painted portrait she painted of her grandmother.
The Hairstons have a seemingly endless collection of books, and one of their home libraries proves to be an example of this.
Ernest’s office is modest in a homely sense, but is adorned with all of the posters of the productions he was able to co-direct for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Art’s sign-interpreted productions in Washington, D.C. As I looked around all of the awards from the state of Maryland, The Department of Education and more neatly hung on the walls surrounding his shelves of numerous books, I asked him what future plans he had in store. “To be honest I’m not sure, I am retired,” but after a pause and a quick laugh, “what retirement?!”
Ernest sitting for a portrait in his secondary home office, behind him is an award for commitment to education access from the state department and the state of Maryland.
