Deaf culture and community perspectives

Deaf Culture

Deaf President Now!

"Deaf President Now!" summarized the student protests of March 1998, of the appointment the 7th hearing President of Gallaudet University.

This video was very moving; it showed students fervently campaigning for the removal of the newly appointed hearing President of Gallaudet University Mrs. Zinser. The Gallaudet community felt it was time to have a deaf President. The protest spanned nearly a week, there were no classes held as students took to the streets to protest the appointment Zinser. The Gallaudet community even went so far as to create mock dolls of Zinser and burn them in the streets. I doubt they wanted her dead but that was just how strongly they felt about her removal and the placement of a deaf person as President of the school. I wasn't shocked when the Board gave in to the students' demands. Zinser finally resigned making way for a deaf man to be appointed as President. Initially, thought the students were overreacting; but I begin to see parallels between the women's movement and the civil rights movement and realized that when women and minorities fought for equality, many people believed they too, were overreacting. I was reminded that you can't judge someone, because you don't understand what it is like to walk a mile in their shoes. The appointment of a deaf President to the students would have legitimize deaf people, without a deaf President the message was sent that deaf people somehow weren't good enough to be leaders. But as a little boy pointed out in the video that having a hearing President didn't adequately serve the deaf community at Gallaudet since a hearing President could never "share the same experience" as a deaf person.

The questions I have after watching this video are:

What happened to Zinser after she resigned?

What happened to the first hearing President, Dr. Jordan? Where is he now?

I was able to locate information or Dr. Jordan. Dr. I. King Jordan, Gallaudet's first deaf President served as President from 1998-2006, he resigned in 2006. He currently serves on the Commission on Presidential Scholars. He was appointed by President Obama and is an international renowned speaker. Dr. Jordan also received numerous awards throughout his career including: the Presidential Citizen's Medal, the Washingtonian of the Year Award, the James L. Fisher Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for Community Leadership.

See What I Say

"See What I Say" is a short documentary about deaf women and their use of sign language in everyday life.

A gripping documentary which made me rethink what is normal vs. abnormal and being different doesn't make you bad or abnormal…it just makes you different. I physically felt the pain that the women endured when dealing with situations that made it difficult to communicate with others because of the language barrier. It make me realize just how difficult it can be for deaf people in society to do things that we as hearing individuals take for granted and don't think twice about. Through this film, I could really see Holly's struggles and also her triumphs. Also, the stories of the other women enhanced the documentary and gave me other perspectives' of deaf women and their plight. I feel like the notion of "not being heard" is something that women have struggled with throughout the ages. Women are often overlooked and our voices are not heard by men in the workplace, even in 2011! It would be unfair to say that the experience of being deaf and the issues women face are similar, but I can definitely say It's a frustrating feeling to be seen yet not heard, even when you are communicating.

Two questions I have as a result of viewing this video are:

What similar documentaries/films today address this same issue? Have deaf people finally found their voice in society? Or, has there been no progress?