Most state governors provide ASL interpreters for COVID-19 briefings; New York and White House lacking
A deaf man from Buffalo, New York, David Wantuck, has been frustrated with New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo because there are no ASL interpreters during important daily briefings on the coronavirus pandemic.
He took it upon himself to do research on which states provide interpreters or not for their press briefings on COVID-19. Here is what he found.
DAVID WANTUCK:
I have seen a lot of issues this week. It has been hard on some states that does not have access to interpreters for their governor’s press conferences. Coronavirus is a very big deal. It is a national crisis right now, and a worldwide one too. They’re announcing things and there isn’t full accessibility to sign language. I decided to reach out to a few friends and family to check on what went on in their states, on whether interpreters were provided on the screen. I got some submissions with images that show that certain states did this. This is good. But the New York state never did this. I decided to do more research. How did I do it? I looked up to each state’s government and checked their news releases. I took many screenshots and video clippings of news. Many of them had interpreters present right there. It was a mix of Certified Deaf Interpreters and hearing interpreters that were provided. But New York had nothing. So, it was a total of 47 out of 50 states that provided interpreters. Three states didn’t. New York, Vermont, and Montana.
THE DAILY MOTH:
The Daily Moth did a double-check, and sure enough, 47 states and the District of Columbia provided interpreters for at least one of their COVID-19 related briefings. New York, Montana, and Vermont did not, as far as we know.
WANTUCK:
I know that many people said there are captions provided. But, keep in mind that not all deaf people have access to English language as their primary language. Many of their first language is ASL. So it is great to have an ASL interpreter there and ready to go so there is full understanding of what is going on, especially with the daily changes in news. Also, it is important to give out a positive message. Don’t post insults or send terrible messages. Keep on advocating. Tell them why you need it. Your feelings will be heard. It’s already being heard now. So keep it up.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Thank you, David, for your advocacy. He was recognized by the National Association of the Deaf yesterday in a release yesterday. NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum said he agrees with those who reached out to the NAD imploring that the White House provide an ASL interpreter for press conferences and make sure he or she is visible on screen. Rosenblum said the NAD has sent a letter to the White House. They have also sent a letter to the National Association of Broadcasters to “make sure that TV broadcasters include the ASL interpreter on the screen and fully and accurately captions for all coronavirus press conferences.”
https://www.nad.org/.../access-during-coronavirus-public.../
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