Sheena McFeely, creator of The Pearls, watched Oprah’s television special “The Legends.” In the special, Oprah honored a group of African American women who made history by paving the way for other women. “Oh, how wonderful if we can have that for Deaf women,” wondered by Sheena while watching. Giving birth to a Deaf daughter, Shaylee, triggered the birth of The Pearls.
The Pearls applauds extraordinary Deaf women across America in their respective fields. They are being honored in six categories: advocate, artist, business owner, first/of/founder, hidden pearl, and black pearl. The first strand of The Pearls happened in the heart of Los Angeles in 2011. A second second took place three years later in 2014.
The team behind The Pearls worked hard to bring such a glow to the event. Thanks to our photographers (Tate Tullier, Ali Mojahedi, and Sharon De Lao) for capturing such raw shots of our Pearls. Both events were also filmed, made possible by Laura Harvey and Convo, and released online. You can check the videos below: