They include names like Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Arizona Dranes, Art Tatum, and Marcus Roberts, Lawrence W. Reed writes for the Foundation for Economic Education.
They persevered against both their disability and racial prejudice. Their brilliance helped them overcome.
Among them:
- Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929), whom biographer Robert Uzzel describes as “the first downhome blues singer to enjoy commercial success” and “the first truly great male blues singer to record” his music. One of his best-known songs were See that My Grave is Kept Clean.
- Blind Tom Wiggins (1849-1908), born a slave and blind at birth, and sold along with his parents in 1850 to the first southern newspaper editor to advocate for secession. Today he would probably be regarded as an autistic savant; he could His memorize entire conversations and musical compositions, repeating them flawlessly after one hearing. His owner, John Bethune, made a fortune from touring Wiggins around the U.S., but the musician never saw any of the money.
- The Blind Boys of Alabama (1939-present), a gospel group founded in 1939 that featured many different black musicians over the years. It numbered five or six at a time and since its founding more than 80 years ago, almost all have been blind or partially so. In a 2011 interview, the group’s Ricky McKinnie said, “Our disability doesn’t have to be a handicap. It’s not about what you can’t do. It’s about what you do. And what we do is sing good gospel music.”
