A thread on race and sign language interpreting for my fellow white deaf people. Dr. Ford highlighted the centrality of race in the work of black interpreters. And how important it is for black deaf people to have black interpreters. Black deaf people and black interpreters have

long been saying this. We shouldn't rely on scholars to affirm what folks in the communities know as their truth. In a nutshell, Dr. Ford's work showed black interpreters experience racism on the job. SLI as a field, including interpreter education, is hostile to black students.

We should assume competence. Avoid comments like articulate, well-spoken, or about dress. Those can come across as expressions of surprise about intelligence, language ability, or professionalism. Those "compliments" comes from assuming incompetence as a starting point.

For those teaching ASL or within interpreter education program, here's a few thoughts on the racist and ableist things we do as teachers. Check on yourselves. Punitive attendance and tardy policies. Those are racist and ableist. If you have to coerce your students into showing up

then what you're doing isn't teaching. Policies banning natural hair have to go. Yes, they exist. Curls are not unprofessional. Bantu knots are not unprofessional. The only hairstyle that warrants comment is Cousin It's. We need the face for linguistic meaning making.

Dump policies requiring professional dress be worn to every class. Interpreting settings vary. You don't need high heels & a business suit for an overnight winter camp out in the mountains. Ideas about professional dress are subjective & assumes students can afford this policy.

And honestly, does nothing to actually prepare students for the reality of interpreting work. Telling them what to wear via policy avoids difficult yet important conversations about the politics of clothes/appearance & power.

Do some heavy reading in raciolinguistics. So many of our comments and feedback on interpreted work product & language products for the ASL classroom is racist and often ableist as fuck. One starting point is the latest chapter with @jmhenner on DisCrit & Raciolinguistics in SL.

Check your syllabi and curriculum to decenter whiteness. See Moutinho's thesis: https://indigo.uic.edu/articles/thesis/Reproducing_Whiteness_in_Sign_Language_Interpreter_Education_A_Critical_Examination_of_Curriculum/10906895/1

Finally, Deaf Studies needs to continue to work on unpacking & decentering Whiteness & the Global North. Hairston and Anderson said this way back in the 1980s when Deaf Studies was in its infancy. 2021 now and still?