VIEWS: Deaf-Blind Power Now

Deaf-Blind Power Now Joan Pellerin, MA, CSC, Vermont From: VIEWS, Spring 2011 I love Martin Luther King; his words, his approach and his passion. He modeled for many marginalized communities a march toward recognition and equality. As King became synonymous with the Civil Rights movement, so the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement at Gallaudet University became synonymous with the Deaf rights movement. The centuries of deaf peoples toiling to achieve the breakthroughs witnessed in recent years cannot be diminished; nor can Martin Luther King's insistence that we are all people worthy of justice and respect. Within my memory are the days when a deaf person had to drive hours to a friend's home only to find them away. The interpreting profession was in its infancy. Deaf careers were typically constrained to those few that the hearing overseers ordained as appropriate. Seeking out a Deaf perspective was an unlikely scenario. Ever-advancing technology now makes that fruitless journey to a deaf friend's vacant house unnecessary. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates interpreter access for many venues. Deaf people are making many and varied life and career choices. I now have the joy of looking to deaf leaders in my community, my state and my nation. All is not won, but more hearing people seem to understand that deaf people have the right to autonomy and self-determination. What about our deaf-blind community members? Do they deserve to be left in the dust as we blaze new trails? When will the deaf-blind have their march toward recognition and equality? Like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream! I look to the Deaf community and their interpreter allies to recognize the "solid rock of brotherhood" they have with the deaf-blind community. I look to a time when our deaf-blind community members are not judged by the degree of their vision loss but by their Deaf roots and their value to our community. Deaf people have made inroads toward achieving equal rights and inroads toward broad community access. Do deaf-blind people feel they have similar rights and similar access? Do they wake up each morning breathing in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?" Until this nation has a widespread model for provision of support service providers (SSPs), we are all authorizing deaf-blind community members to be "shut ins." We are approving the silencing of brilliant minds. We are being party to the extinction of a unique perspective. The "chains of discrimination" will not be broken for deaf-blind people without a call to action. Helen Keller, a cornerstone of the deaf-blind community, said that blindness separates people from things, but that deafness separates people from people. I have often thought of these words and their gravity, but then envisioned the vibrant Deaf community and have countered, "Yes, but deaf people have each other!" As I personally witness the ever increasing isolation of deaf-blindness, I am seeing Helen Keller's words from a deaf-blind vantage point, and I think I now understand. Deaf-blind people can lose their deaf peers, too. This mounting isolation needs to stop! Deaf and hearing interpreters unite! Let us recognize our own roles in furthering the isolation of deaf-blind people. Let us work with the Deaf and deaf-blind communities to develop the supports that are so sorely needed. Let us strengthen the role of deaf interpreters so that they can assist in reintegrating deaf-blind people into the fabric of the Deaf community, while also furthering the deaf-blind individual's access to the varied offerings of daily life. Let's take up the gauntlet! Deaf-Blind Power Now (DBPN)! Joan Pellerin is the Interpreter Coordinator for the University of Vermont. She is co-president of her affiliate chapter, Vermont Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and is the Regional Representative for the Deaf-Blind Member Section of RID. She has an older sister who is deaf and her husband, Rene, has Usher Syndrome. Together, Joan and Rene have six children. They have also provided many years of foster care to deaf youth.

 

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