Interview with Ritchie Bryant, RID President
Alex (Daily Moth): Hello, Ritchie Bryant! Congratulations on your recent election as the president of RID. You are now the first deaf person in history to have the role, but to be more specific, the first Black Deaf man, and the first CDI, first certified deaf interpreter. Amazing. What does it mean to you, historically?
Ritchie Bryant, RID President: Yes... all of these things you said gave me a lot to think about. I feel that I have a huge responsibility for all of the communities that I represent. For example, as the first CDI to lead this organization, that—leading an organization means I bring certain views to the platform.
One important thing to add is that, as you mentioned, I’m the first deaf, well, the first Black Deaf man. Those identities are intersectional. The experience I bring to the platform is unique, because I bring both the “user” experience as someone who uses RID’s services, plus the “provider” experience, as someone who provides interpreting services. I have this duality I can offer to the table.
Ritchie: As president, I have to become more mindful of the issues that appear in RID and the communities we serve. How can we better advocate and promote an elevated quality of interpreters for all?
Alex: Wow, all of these topics. You made a good point about being a customer who now works in the leadership position and can understand both sides. Now, I wonder what your main challenges, your priorities, and your plans for the next two years of your term are?
Ritchie: Before I answer that, I wanted to clarify that my term isn’t two years- it is three. It was recently modified to three years instead of two from now on. Anyway, the challenge is to approach all of the -isms; audism, racism, and other -isms including DeafBlind distantism, and even vidism, and more. Also, we looked at the RID interpreting field and a high percentage are white, hearing interpreters. We have to figure out how we can remove the barriers of specific groups of deaf interpreters and people of color. How can we bring these stakeholders into our interpreting field? That is a challenge, and a second one is figuring out how RID’s system can be modified to be more diverse and deaf friendly, so that the communities and interpreters can take pride in RID.
Alex: That leads to my next question. You mentioned in your website among the vision and mission statement and vlogs that RID wants to work closer with “diverse deaf communities,” in order for RID to succeed and thrive. Could you expand on that- the diverse deaf communities, and how you imagine working closer with them. What would it look like?
Ritchie: The diverse deaf communities are the communities we provide interpreting services to. They can be deaf, hard of hearing, or DeafBlind, which are the primary three groups. But interpreters also come with varying backgrounds in BIPOC communities. We never really discussed trilingual interpreters or LSM- we have an expanding pool of deaf, Latino interpreters who are trilingual in LSM, Spanish, English, ASL—well, really, that’s four languages. Do we have a program to enrich them?
Also, we have a group of interpreters and deaf people from rural communities. What support and programs do we have for them? We have a lot of groups that we need to approach individually. K-12 interpreters, too, and the deaf students in K-12 who need language models. We incorporate and innovate through technology. It enables K-12 and rural interpreters to involve deaf interpreters through VRI. Really, there are multiple possibilities as to how RID can advocate in part to its policy of promoting better interpreter performance, according to all the diverse deaf communities as I previously stated.
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Alex: You have the understanding of all the differences in the interpreting field. I can imagine the challenges that come with it. Now, on the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of changes have been made in the interpreting field. I’m curious, what is your perspective on what has improved or been made better, or what might have worsened or declined. What do you think about these areas?
Ritchie: When the pandemic first hit, many challenges came up. At the same time, there were opportunities as well. Technologically, it has been amazing. I’ve seen how technology has truly redefined how we provide interpreting, especially as more deaf interpreters are participating in press conferences, with VRI, with many more opportunities. It’s just been eye-popping how technology plays such a significant role, after we were, well, forced to use it due to the pandemic. So it was basically a blessing in disguise.
Another challenge I’ve noticed for interpreting is related to the DeafBlind community. The distance, the inability to provide DeafBlind tactile interpreting through PT and such due to paranoia about contracting Covid-19. That’s where we missed the mark. We need to figure out how to include DeafBlind communities, to come up with the best practice and action to safely provide PT support and services for the DeafBlind communities.
Alex: You clearly see the rise in technological potential and CDI involvement, but also the harms of DeafBlind people and social distancing. You’re right. I didn’t think of it that way, that split into good and bad. That’s where you want to continue to look for improvements. Is there anything else you want to add to this, about your new role from now on?
Ritchie: Really, it has been an exciting time to be a part of RID. There are opportunities to push for change. I am partnering with the deaf CEO, Star, who recently joined (RID). We discussed our shared mission of raising the quality standards of interpreting. That is our ultimate goal. In order to promote that, we must provide support so interpreters can navigate ways to improve their quality of interpreting for all. That will benefit diverse deaf communities.
Now we should look at the bigger picture and make sure that any policies we have set that could be preventing BIPOC and deaf interpreters from getting certified, or any other barriers, are getting demolished. And we have to provide building foundations where they can become amazing interpreters. Not only for BIPOC or deaf interpreters, but also rural and K-12 interpreters, and everything. THEY represent the future of RID. That is my vision and motivation for becoming the president of RID. The goal is to be president of all interpreters, not only for community interpreters or other specific groups, but for all. That is our goal for the next three years, to pave the way for satisfaction, advocacy, and betterment of the quality of interpreting for all.
Alex: That is inspiring to see, your vision and your care for all the different, diverse deaf communities. You really aim to include everyone. Maybe we imagined RID meant something else, but you brought a new, broadening view. I really appreciate you explaining your vision. Good luck with the next three years of your term!
Ritchie: Thank you, and I appreciate the chat. Thank you for your time in meeting virtually with me!