African American Deaf Community

Heather ClarkIntroduction to Disability Studies

November 10, 2009

Outline• Definitions

• Identity Politics

• African American Style of ASL

• Interpreters

• Question/Answer

Definitions (1)

• African American/Black: individuals of African descent who were born and raised in the United States

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)

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

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

Examples of historical African American Signs (1)

Examples of historical African American Signs (2)

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).

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)

African American Style of ASL (3)

Jasmine, Phyllis & Marie share their ideas about the different signing style

Interpreters (1)

Jasmine explains the importance of having an interpreter match her language choice and style

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.

Thank you!

Heather Clarkhdc2@u.washington.edu