The Mind Hears affirms that Black Lives Matter

-Michele Cooke and Ana Caicedo

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others stem from historic and continued systemic oppression of Black Americans. The disabled and deaf communities are not without white privilege and we need to do the uncomfortable work of recognizing and dismantling these privileges. BarbaraSpiecker and Alicia Wooten express this beautifully in their Atomic Hands video (link here). We encourage you all to watch the video.

White privilege within the Deaf (signing deaf) community has been manifest as better education for white Deaf students and a greater proportion of whites in leadership positions within the Deaf community. Furthermore, a study of the Post-secondary achievement of Black Deaf People in the US by Garberoglio et al (2019)  reports that more Black deaf people are looking for work than white deaf people. David A. Player’s blog provides a summary of white deaf privilege. 

“White people with disabilities also have a white privilege because whiteness superseded all forms of identities that could be considered as deviance attributes. They will also get a form of assistance from a white able-bodied hearing dominate society” 

David A Player, Dear White Deaf People  (link here)

We deaf and hard of hearing academics know what it is like not to be heard. We know what it is like not to be included. But white deaf/HoH academics have the privilege of our whiteness as we interact within our communities and navigate our careers.

The Black community in the US has historically helped the deaf and disabled communities in their struggle to be heard and recognized. In 1977, disability activists led nationwide sit-ins to protest the lack of enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits institutions, such as universities, that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of disability; however, until 1977, there were no regulations to enforce the law. During the 26-day-long sit-in within the Federal Building at 50 United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, the Black Panthers fed, assisted and supported disabled protesters (read here or here or here about Bradley Lomax’s key role in the protests). The sit-in concluded with the signing of regulations that enforce Section 504. By the way, these regulations are why US universities have disability service centers for students. During the Deaf President Now protests in 1988, Gallaudet University students shut down campus to protest that the University had only had hearing presidents in its 124 year history. During that week-long protest, the local Black community supported Gallaudet student protesters. Both of these impactful protests as well as the 1990 Capital Crawl led the way towards the passing in 1991 of the comprehensive Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability regardless of whether businesses receive federal funds.  

It is long past time for us to support our Black colleagues, friends, and neighbors. The Mind Hears commits to amplifying Black deaf/HoH voices and perspectives.