On December 5, 1934, the American Foundation for the Blind laid a time capsule into the cornerstone of its headquarters, then under construction. It was a historic event attended by a renowned deaf-blind advocate, Helen Keller; AFB’s founder, M.C. Migel; and an associate editor of the New York Times, John H. Finley. The capsule, welded shut in copper and buried, kept its contents a mystery for decades.

In 2021, the capsule was finally opened, revealing two silver disc records encased in clay jackets, along with backup acrylic copies, a record player, and a mirror etched with playback instructions. Covered in asbestos, and delicate due to its age, the records were sent to be properly preserved and digitized by archivists in the American Printing House, led by Justin Gardner. That’s where they stayed until Monday.

On March 17, 2025, the long-awaited audio recordings made their public debut during a special livestream event held at downtown Manhattan at the original site of the American Foundation for the Blind’s headquarters, now home to the Center for Jewish History. 

The historic recordings featured an NBC broadcast of the 1934 cornerstone ceremony, during which Helen Keller delivered a poignant speech in which she declared: “Deep emotions stir within me as we lay here the cornerstone of our house of hope.” 

Keller went on to honor her lifelong mentor, Anne Sullivan Macy: “For 50 years, Anne Sullivan Macy, my beloved teacher, has been the light in my life. Now she is ill, and the darkness that covers has fallen upon her. Still, the light of her love shines amid the encircling gloom, and we are happy.”

The assistant vice president of communications at the American Foundation for the Blind, Tony Stephens, tells The New York Sun that there was an additional recording found in the time capsule that features a conversation among individuals connected to the foundation, akin to a podcast. That recording’s release date is not yet decided. 

The AFB, in a show of gratitude for collaborating in the perpetuation of Keller’s legacy, presented to the president of the Center for Jewish History, Gavriel Rosenfeld, a framed recreation of the prescient letter Helen Keller sent to the German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1933, shortly after he came to power.  

In that note Keller writes: “History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas. … You can burn my books and the books of the best minds in Europe, but the ideas in them have seeped through a million channels, and will continue to quicken their minds. … Do not imagine your barbarities to the Jews are unknown here; we sleep not, and He will visit His judgment upon you. Better were it for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and sink into the sea than to be hated and despised of all men.”

Mr. Stephens also shared with the Sun that Keller “was passionate, and I think she’d be proud that this building, where the cornerstone was set, is still fighting for justice and inclusion in New York City at a time when we need it most.” PBS was also in attendance, filming the event for a future documentary series. The release date and title are in development.