Statue of Helen Keller installed in Capitol

'Courage and strength can exist in the most unlikely places,' said Gov. Riley

Video

Helen Keller statue unveiled at U.S. Capitol
Oct. 7: A statue of Helen Keller, the first in the Capitol to honor a child or a disabled person, commemorates the moment when she, at age 7, solved the mystery of language without being able to hear or see. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

Nightly News

NBC Video: Politics

Tea partiers heckle grieving grandparents
Nov. 25: A couple who lost their daughter-in-law and unborn grandchild due to health issues and a lack of insurance was heckled at a recent town hall. Midge and Dan Huff talk to msnbc’s Ed Schultz. The Huffington Post’s Roy Sekoff offers analysis.

Obama's Afghanistan decision a done deal

Obama fires up climate target ahead of summit

Countdown to Obama’s Afghan announcement

Public option a barrier to reform?

2010 Update: GOP purity test dangers

Mitchell: settlement freeze first step

Obama grants 'Courage' a pardon

Slideshow

The Week in Political Cartoons
Msnbc.com’s political cartoonists take a look back at the past week.

more photos

updated 2:26 p.m. ET Oct. 7, 2009

WASHINGTON - Alabama installed the first statue honoring a disabled person in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, unveiling a bronze of a 7-year-old Helen Keller at her moment of epiphany when she solved "the mystery of language" without sight or hearing.

The statue — also the only one of a child in the Capitol collection — depicts Keller at her home in Tuscumbia, Ala., as her teacher Anne Sullivan spelled out the word "water" in her hand while pumping water over her other hand.

Keller said the moment "awakened (her) soul" to the potential for her life. She later became an internationally celebrated advocate for those with disabilities. She died in 1968.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

In a ceremony unveiling the statue in the Capitol Rotunda, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the monument will remind people "that courage and strength can exist in the most unlikely places."

"Children especially need to be reminded of this basic truth, and this statue will get their attention," he said of the millions of children who visit the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Keller laid the groundwork for laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. She said the statue shows "that people must be respected for what they can do rather than judged by what they cannot."

Each state has two statues in the Capitol as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection, which was permanent until 2000, when Congress allowed for changes.

The Keller statue replaces one of Jabez Curry, a former Confederate officer, educator, ambassador and preacher who was once well known for advocating for free public education.

Image: Helen Keller statue
Evan Vucci / AP
A statue of Helen Keller is unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
Riley, a former congressman, came up with the idea to replace Curry when he found that most Alabama visitors didn't know who Curry was.