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African American Deaf Community

African American Deaf Community. Heather Clark Introduction to Disability Studies November 10, 2009. Outline. Definitions Identity Politics African American Style of ASL Interpreters Question/Answer. Definitions (1).

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African American Deaf Community

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  1. African American Deaf Community Heather Clark Introduction to Disability Studies November 10, 2009

  2. Outline • Definitions • Identity Politics • African American Style of ASL • Interpreters • Question/Answer

  3. Definitions (1) • African American/Black: individuals of African descent who were born and raised in the United States

  4. Definitions (2) • deaf: physical condition of not being able to hear • Deaf: cultural Deaf identity (Padden and Humphries, 1988; Lane et al., 1996; Senghas & Monaghan, 2002)

  5. Identity Politics (1) “You see I am black first. My deafness is not noticed until I speak or use my hands to communicate” (Aramburo, 1989:110). • 87% identify African American then Deaf • 13% identify as Deaf first -have Deaf parents -attended residential schools -active in mainstream Deaf community

  6. Identity Politics (2) “I always identified as a Deaf person first. I was more concerned about people accepting me as a Deaf person, it was more important than having a Black identity” (Clark, 2006). • Older African American Deaf identified as Deaf then African American -not racially/ethnically segregated during school -Deaf community taught them ASL -not large population of African American Deaf community in Northwest

  7. Examples of historical African American Signs (1)

  8. Examples of historical African American Signs (2)

  9. African American Style of ASL (1) “It has been observed that while African American signers use the same lexical and syntactic structures as white signers, their signing may be said to “look black” or possess some characteristic “Blackness” (Lewis, 1989:233).

  10. African American Style of ASL (2) • Use signing space to its fullest • More exaggerated/emphasized facial expressions • More body movements (i.e. knees bending, upper body coming forward & head bobbing) (Woodward, 1976; Maxwell & Smith-Todd, 1986; Aramburo, 1989; Hairston & Smith, 1989; Bruce, 1993; Lewis, Palmer, & Williams, 1995; Lewis, 1998)

  11. African American Style of ASL (3) Jasmine, Phyllis & Marie share their ideas about the different signing style

  12. Interpreters (1) Jasmine explains the importance of having an interpreter match her language choice and style

  13. Interpreters (2) Mission The mission of NAOBI is to promote excellence and empowerment among African Americans/Blacks in the profession of sign language interpreting in the context of a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment.

  14. Thank you! Heather Clark hdc2@u.washington.edu

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