Deaf TikTok video goes viral
Deaf TikTok video goes viral
THE DAILY MOTH (RENCA DUNN):
Let’s meet Nakia Smith! She’s a Deaf woman known for posting ASL and Deaf culture related videos on her TikTok account for her 360k followers.
[TikTok video by @Caunisa: “Why do you complain about some of my videos don’t have no sounds? My hands are loud enough! Since you complain, I turned on tne sounds. You hear something? Learn how to read the captions! That’s why you continue used “Death” instead of DEAF. I’m sorry…..I don’t speak “TH language. “TH” language (with tongue emoji). EXIT.”]
Nakia, a current college student, always emphasizes in her videos “my hands are loud enough” and “exit.” About a month ago, she posted a video featuring her Deaf great-grandparents.
[TikTok video by @Caunisa: “Hello everyone! This is my great grandfather & he’s deaf too! Tell them your name. (My name is Jake Smith Sr). How old are you? (I’m 95 years old.) And this is my great grandmother. Tell them your name. (My name is Mattie Smith) How old are you? (How old am I? I am 85 years old.) We Love You!]
This video hit over a million views on TikTok and over 900k views on Twitter. We got a hold of her for a quick interview. In this interview is Nakia with her deaf grandpa, Jake Smith. You saw her great grandpa in the TikTok video, but now this is her grandpa, Jake.
We want to let you know that this interview was done through Facetime and be aware that there are a few choppy parts due to internet connectivity issues.
First we asked them to explain a little bit about the Smith family and how they felt when this video went viral.
JAKE SMITH:
I told her why don’t you just keep going so others will notice her. They will see that Nakia can do anything through her teachings. Keep going. I always love to encourage all of my grandchildren. Now, Nakia, oh she always picks on me, but that is why I love her. Now about my life, I went to school at TSD (Texas School for the Deaf), but I did not graduate. I left out to the world. I just kept going with my life. I kept fighting. I kept going. I got married. Our children were born deaf.
NAKIA SMITH:
5th generation.
JAKE SMITH:
Yes, 5th generation of having a Deaf family. I want to keep making all the Smith family strong so everyone knows who we are.
THE DAILY MOTH:
We were curious if Nakia’s great grandparents knew that they are “TikTok famous.”
NAKIA SMITH:
I did explain it to them. I told them I will post a video on TikTok. They said sure. So, I went ahead and recorded them. I asked them to explain their names and age. Great-grandpa said sure. My great grandma was next. I did not expect this video to go viral. I posted the video on Twitter and also went viral there. That’s what people want to see- Black Deaf families. There are more out there.
THE DAILY MOTH:
We asked Jake what he thought of Nakia’s videos.
JAKE SMITH:
For example, hearing people will just speak to each other. Me, as a Deaf person, do not know what they’re talking about. I just sit quiet. Now, we have it the other way around when a Deaf person is signing then a hearing person cannot understand. That - same! Now, Nakia, showing her signs on her videos, the videos make hearing people go “huh? what are you talking about?” That will make hearing people want to learn more signs. That is what I want. I want them to understand how Deaf people feel when we cannot communicate with hearing people. That struggle of trying to understand what they are saying, trying to lipread, etc. I tell them I cannot hear and they do not know what to do. They think I’m crazy. No. We are the same. Humans. Same. Deaf people are not crazy.
THE DAILY MOTH:
We also notice a lot of hearing people on TikTok starting to “teach” ASL, so we asked Nakia what her thoughts were.
NAKIA SMITH:
It needs to be a Deaf person. It is a Deaf person’s opportunity to teach, not a hearing person. Hearing people are trying to catch “clout” means attention. No. Deaf people need to do it. If hearing people teach speech therapy then Deaf people teach ASL.
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THE DAILY MOTH:
We asked Nakia what her next step is.
NAKIA SMITH:
I am teaching people ASL, but now I am starting to teach BASL (Black ASL). Why? It includes more attitude and expression- more voice coming from my hands.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Nakia mentioned the importance of preserving Black Deaf stories. She said that she just set up a YouTube account for subscription. She will continue teaching ASL and BASL (Black ASL). You can follow Nakia on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and now YouTube. Links to her profiles are in this transcript.
IG username: @Caunsia
TikTok username: @Caunsia
Twitter: @realcaunsia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabqOo2yh4CNU_vB6V2PQ4Q