“Is ASL Too White?” among topics discussed by Gallaudet panels

RENCA DUNN:

Gallaudet University’s Office of Chief of Bilingual Officer, Dr. Laurene Simms, hosted a lecture series with three topics.

The first, in February, was “Is ASL Too White?”

The second lecture was in March: “Is ASL Visual Only?”

The third webinar will happen this month, “English = ASL True Business?”

The first topic, “Is ASL Too White” was a hot topic. It had 7 BIPOC panelists with credentials such as PhD or EdD. It was co-hosted and moderated by Dr. Simms and Dr. Elizabeth Moore, the Interim Chief Diversity Officer at Gallaudet University. The seven BIPOC panelists were:

FULL SCREEN IMAGE: In clockwise order:

Dominic A. Harrison, M.Ed.

Joseph Hill, PhD

Rezenet Moges-Riedel, BFA, EdD

Jenelle Rouse, PhD

Melanie McKay-Cody, PhD

Carolyn McCaskill, PhD

Gloshanda Lawyer, PhD

RENCA DUNN:

Bottom line: all 7 panelists said that yes, ASL is too White. The panelists discussed the importance of acknowledging and recognizing Black ASL and Indigenous Sign Languages. We will show you short snippets of the various discussions on this topic.

Panelist Dominic Harrison:

I interacted with my Black Deaf friends in New Jersey — how we signed, how we interacted — it was very different from how I talk with my other classmates who were non-Black. My Deaf twin brother is an exception. So how our language developed, how we gave speeches, we did it in ways that were more accepted by white people.

Panelist Dr. Joseph Hill:

In linguistic studies and discoveries, most of it centers on white Deaf people. Their influence is there in publications of ASL curriculums. That has an influence on interpreting programs. That affects Deaf education. So, if the linguistic discoveries did not have diversity in it, if it did not include languages based on race and culture, that means they are overlooked and there is an assumption that ASL is uniform. But it’s according to the white system.

Panelist Dr. Melanie McKay-Cody:

Since 1817, there were many Native Americans who attended Deaf schools. But were their sign language honored? No. So, this means what? Whatever Native American signs they learned, or home signs, they were discouraged at school. It was viewed as incorrect or too graphic or vulgar. You know how white English snobs are. The children were told that ASL was better. But where did ASL come from? White teachers and a white administration. So is ASL white? Yes.

Panelist Dr. Rezenet Moges-Riedel:

It is a pattern that ASL courses or Deaf Culture courses would maintain a narrative of where ASL comes from. It is not the only narrative, just the most popular one and the one that gets the most attention. Others are ignored, so they could be lost stories in ASL history.

Panelist Dr. Gloshanda Lawyer:

I must be clear when I use the words, “white,” “white,” or “Black,” when I reflect on whether ASL is too white, I don’t mean just skin color. I mean “white” as a belief system. White as an ideology. It means, who believes who has the right or wrong sign scale? Who provides the critique based on signing and facial expressions? Who is viewed as having the best signing ability because they are the most “pure?” That is not based on skin color, no, but it becomes a system of beliefs and an ideology that grants people decisions on who is dominant and inferior based on language use.

Panelist Dr. Jenelle Rouse:

I’ve seen that when people become more aware that a group is not as diverse — we have to made adjustments to remove things we’ve held on and to bring diverse people to the table and have conversations instead of staying in some kind of ivory tower. We should bring everyone to the table and make decisions and announce them.

Panelist Dr. Carolyn McCaskill:

It’s time to have an open and healthy dialogue about this. Thank you.

[Video clip of nine people in a Zoom meeting saying bye bye ILY]

RENCA DUNN: The panelists and the moderators said we need to recognize and embrace the diversity in ASL. To watch the full video- we have included a link in this transcript.

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RENCA DUNN: In the second lecture in March, “Is ASL Visual Only?” There were a total of 5 DeafBlind panelists with credentials.

FULL SCREEN IMAGE: From left to right:

Sarah Morrison, M.Ed.

Kimberly Han, M.A.

Hunta Williams, M.A.

Korian Koko Thomas, M.A.

Roberto Cabrera, M.S.

RENCA DUNN: The panelists discussed vidism and distantism. All panelists said yes ASL is visual only. They talked about how to dismantle the system of vidism. Here are short snippets.

Panelist Korian KoKo Thomas:

Tactual / ProTacticle used by DeafBlind people is a part of “Copresence Theory” which is getting information by touch. You learn from touch. There is clear space here. A PTASL interpreter is with me and I am able to communicate and learn through touch.

Panelist Roberto Cabrera:

ProTacticle includes language — adverbs, nouns, adjectives, punctuation marks, all that — ProTacticle has it. It is achieved through touch. It is recognized as a language.

Panelist Kimberly Han:

sighted people approach DeafBlind people with certain attitudes that I’ve noticed. If I say that I’m DeafBlind, their attitude is apparent in the reaction. They will ask how much I can see or what my medical term is. But that is personal and it is something you don’t need to know. Also, do all DeafBlind people see the same? No. There is diversity. The same goes with our access levels. Some of us prefer a transcript or a PT interpreter. There are so many things. So how sighted people express their attitude — they need to cut down on the negativity and learn how to respect and accept DeafBlind identities. That's it.

Panelist Hunta Williams:

In the same way that both languages have parallels — ASL and English — or ASL and BSL, ASL and LSM, ASL and LS, there are many others, but with ProTacticle, where is it? It does have a real language there.

Panelist Sarah Morrison:

With the pandemic, it’s had a huge impact on DeafBlind people especially with social distancing per CDC orders. So we can’t approach each other and touch. I can’t touch things when I’m food shopping. There are more restrictions. So that adds to our frustrations and challenges. DeafBlind people are stuck in a world that is designed for sighted people.

RENCA DUNN: The link to watch this webinar is in the transcript. We reached out to Dr. Simms and asked her what the purpose of the lecture series was.

Dr. Simms explained to us that Gallaudet University’s mission statement says that it is a bilingual university. So, as part of her responsibility as an Interim CBO, she wants to see how does our Deaf community view ASL today? How can Gallaudet ensure inclusivity?

Dr. Simms explained that the rule-governed system for ASL is the same, but we have to analyze how to include various lexicalized signs. The name sign for lexicalized is this (shows sign). Lexicalized signs means various communities and their expression of signs from dialects. Why? Because the lexicalized signs vary based on the change of society, region, etc. So, this is why the lecture series is needed for further discussion and dialogue.

The third and last webinar is on April 14th on the topic of “ASL = English True Business?” We have included a link for you to register if you are interested.

Dr. Simms said they would host another series in the fall.

“IS ASL TOO WHITE?” WEBINAR video: https://youtu.be/ib_4f4zdMSA

“IS ASL VISUAL?” WEBINAR video: https://bit.ly/3fYmobS

“ASL = English True Business?” registration link: https://tinyurl.com/16YLJTPX