Black History Month Spotlight: Glenn and Jamaal Anderson

Alex:

This week we will be posting a series of interviews with Black Deaf people in honor of Black History Month. The first is an interview with Dr. Glenn Anderson and his son, Jamaal. Glenn is the first deaf African-American to receive a doctorate degree in the U.S. and is the current Gallaudet University Board of Trustees Chairman. He retired from his full-time job at the University of Arkansas in December. Jamaal was a star college football player at the University of Arkansas and was drafted in the first round in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He played several seasons in the NFL and currently works at the Chip Smith Performance Systems in Atlanta.

This interview was made possible with the support and coordination of USADSF and an interpreter provided by Convo.

Here is the interview!

[Glenn Anderson, Jamaal Anderson, Alex Abenchuchan, and Dana Austin appear on screen. They are each in their own individual screens next to each other.]

Glenn Anderson: I’m Glenn Anderson. I live in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Alex: Go ahead, Jamaal.

Jamaal Anderson: Jamaal Anderson. Hello. This is my sign name. [J down the side of the face.] I live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dana Austin: Hello, my name is Dana Austin. I live in New York City, New York.

Alex: In your young lives, in high school and college, who were your Black heroes?

Jamaal: I’m grateful. I have my own Black hero, my dad, in Little Rock, Arkansas. My father has just been so much inspiration for me. I have a father who I can always look up to, and I’m forever grateful for it. I recognize it. I know it’s not common for Black people in their homes, so I can always reflect back on it as I get older and appreciate it even more. He’s iconic, and at the same time, for me he’s simply “Dad”.

Glenn: Growing up, I looked up to Bill Russell, who played basketball for the Boston Celtics. He was a leader, good at defense, and strong at teamwork. I truly appreciated that. The second person in my professional career and that had a big influence on me was Dr. Andrew Foster. This is his sign name. [A handshape on the neck]. He was the first Black Deaf graduate at Gallaudet in 1954. Then he went to Africa to establish schools for the deaf there. He started more than 30 schools. That’s more than anyone in the history of deaf education has done. That’s a remarkable feat.

Alex: Glenn, you were a star athlete at Gallaudet University. You played basketball and track, plus you’re a part of the Gallaudet and USADSF Hall of Fame. Jamaal was also a star athlete at the University of Arkansas with football, plus you’ve played for a few seasons in the NFL. I read an ESPN article where Jamaal said it would be impossible for him to have been a successful college athlete without his father, Glenn.

[A picture appears on screen of the ESPN article, posted on Monday, April 9, 2007 and updated on April 19 at 10:37 AM ET. The title is “Jamaal Anderson knows everyday is Father’s day”, written by Tom Friend of ESPN The Magazine, and the text reads “His son is a possible Top-10 NFL draft pick, but he doesn’t listen to the gossip, the rumor or the innuendo. Because he cannot hear. On draft day, he will not jump up at the exact moment his son’s name is called. Because he cannot hear. The team that picks his son will have found a special player. All because Glenn Anderson cannot hear.” Below are two photos, of Jamaal Anderson wearing an Arkansas Razorbacks football jersey with the number 92, and a photo of his laughing father, Glenn Anderson, next to it. In the small font below the photo, the text reads “Asked if he would be a NFL prospect without his dad, Jamaal Anderson says ‘Impossible’.” The same quote is maximized on the right hand of the screen.]

Alex: Jamaal, can you explain what your father-son relationship looked like growing up in Arkansas?

Jamaal: It seemed as if I never had a break. I was always at school, practice, school, practice. It didn’t matter if it was spring break or Christmas break - dad would be like “Ok, it’s a school break”, and he’d hand me a book to read. I needed to keep up with my education and keep learning. And my dad is also a teacher. So when he gave me a book to read and I finished it, he’d ask me to write a report. And then he would edit it. The first time I started - you know how in college, sometimes you skip lines. My dad would add notes telling me I missed a line and needed to add more. So, that was me and my dad’s relationship. It was great. Often, if the two of us were in the car we’d talk about his growing up in Chicago, and a lot of tough times and experiences that he overcame. That was always positive wisdom and that helped me become a young adult.

Glenn: When it was time to recruit Jamaal for college, a few coaches came to our home to visit. Most of them couldn’t sign, so we needed an interpreter. Later, the last coach came - Houston Nutt and his brother Danny. Houston is the head of the University of Arkansas football team. Danny was the running back coach. Houston and Danny’s father was in the USADSF Hall of Fame, plus two uncles too. Their father worked at ASD, Arkansas School of the Deaf, for over 30 years, plus their mother as well. They both came and they signed. We didn’t need an interpreter. We bonded immediately and so did Jamaal. There was a strong sense of comfort, so… That was a very impressive memory. Then Jamaal went to the University of Arkansas and played on the football team, and the coach could stand on the sidelines and sign back and forth with him.

Jamaal: Growing up, I knew ASL, and now in that environment with over 80,000 people cheering, I could understand the defense coordinator without having to strain to listen. I had the benefit of understanding him with no problem and was ready to go. I thought that was definitely because of my upbringing with my dad.

Alex: In an article, Glenn said that your father, who has passed away, advised you that you have to be twice as good as anybody else to be successful.

[Photo of the text. The text reads as follows: “Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black American Pioneers, Chapter 4.” and “From the Windy City to Academia and the Boardroom”, by “Glenn B. Anderson, Interpreter Education Program, Department of Counseling, Adult and Rehabilitation Education, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas; Former Chairman, Board of Trustees, Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.” Next to that is a quote in a large font: “(My parents) had many wise words for us. Some I remember were, ‘you have to be twice as good as anyone else to be successful.’”]

Alex: Can you explain that point of view, and was your father right?

Glenn Anderson: Yes, he was right. He always made many remarks, such as “you have to be twice as good”, and “don’t give up too easily”. To me, that saying about not giving up too easily is a very important lesson. At that time, when I was in high school in the Chicago public school system, I made the high school basketball team. I didn’t play at all. I was always on the bench for all these years. Oh, I was frustrated. Wow. I was angry. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t that I was a lousy player and not good enough, no. I wasn’t part of the clique. My home was further away. Most of the players lived closer to the high school than me. So, I was outcast. My father said I was still benefitting, I was still learning the game, and I was still improving as a player, so don’t give up. I got through it, warming the bench, until I graduated from high school. Later, when I moved to Gallaudet University, I finally got to play. I had a great career and later made the Gallaudet University Athletics Hall of Fame. So, the lesson was, if I gave up too easily that would never have happened and I would never have had that opportunity.

Alex: I want to ask the same question for Jamal, but about your father. What did Glenn instill in you, such as good advice or a mantra?

Jamaal: My dad always said “Trust the process”. Also, trust myself. Things will happen. Everything happens for a reason. The result is success. No one thought my story, my journey would be where it is now, but I’m very grateful for other people in my home that know me who supported me, and my dad. Anytime I felt down or upset, my dad was always optimistic. My mind was wired to think that tomorrow is always another day. It’s time to work and keep going.

[Sponsored Video from Convo: https://www.convorelay.com/download]

[Video advertisement from USADSF: www.usadeafsports.org]

Alex: Now, it’s 2021. The world is always changing. Now, what are your feelings about Black History Month in February, our country, and the future? Any thoughts or perspectives on where we are and looking forward to in the future?

Glenn: For me, it’s like I swing on a pendulum with one side being hopeful that things will improve, to the other end, which is worried. I move between the two. I wish I could stay hopeful, not worried. As for hopeful, to use Gallaudet as a simple example, students, faculty, staff, and the leadership team are now more diverse than ever. So, Gallaudet has changed in that respect. Often, Gallaudet has vlogs of people signing or using an interpreter. I notice that more often now, there is a BIPOC person signing or interpreting. Before, they were all white. So, that’s progress. Gallaudet founded the Center for Black Deaf Studies, and that’s progress! But at the same time, there’s that worry. One of the goals is for everyone to have the right to vote, but at the same time we still see a lot of resistance to allowing people to have the right to vote. Now, several states have had proposed laws to limit who can vote. America should be supporting and encouraging people to have a voice about who their leaders are. So, how I’m able to continue to be hopeful - one way is to always keep a quote in mind from Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the leaders with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He always said, “Keep hope alive”. That’s good. So, I do my best to advocate for equity, diversity, inclusion, and antiracism.

Jamaal: In the football world, you see now there’s more diversity happening with QB positions itself. Before, most of the time, it was white only but now you notice in college and universities that there are more Black quarterbacks, that they’re very athletic and also smart and can read specific plays with high performances. Now, in our situation, we see a little more diversity. We still must remember to stay optimistic and also, if you notice wrongdoings, don’t stay silent. You need to step in and let them know it’s not ok. Now, we have the power of technology and also social media. People can notice things and let each other know we see it. In society, we all see it. If we’re not satisfied, we will let you know. Don’t give us a little bit of the bread. That’s not good enough. We want the full loaf. How to do that? Express yourself. If you need, tell people to join you. Don’t be a bystander and stay in comfort. Now, with the NFL, many people are looking at Black Americans. If they were head coaches or in front office positions - I know that’s something that a lot of current players and retired players still aren’t satisfied with all the way. White coaches compared to Black America - that’s something we need to keep speaking up about. Continue to give them opportunities. And, again, it’s not just about accepting things the way they are. No. Keep going and keep speaking up.

Alex: Thank you so much, it was very nice to meet and chat with you.

Glenn: Sure, it was cool. Take care too.

Jamaal: Bye, ILY.