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Abstract
One of the challenges of gaining a broader appreciation of Deaf history is the need to examine the contributions of Deaf people of color. This article summarizes the contributions of black Deaf individuals to the scholarly and public history of the period from the 1980s to the present. We begin with the 1980s since that was the era when the landmark book by Ernest Hairston and Linwood Smith, Black and Deaf in America: Are We That Different? was published and the National Black Deaf Advocates organization was founded. We then progress through the 1990s and 2000s, noting historical developments such as the advancement of black Deaf individuals to key leadership positions, expanded collaborative efforts between Gallaudet University and the black Deaf community, and the growth of black Deaf history scholarship, which addresses a broad spectrum of topics. We conclude that these historical developments, among others, during these three and a half decades gave impetus to the emergence of a dynamic collective of black Deaf scholars, leaders, and artists to further contribute to our understanding and appreciation of Deaf history.
AS THE AMERICAN DEAF community becomes increasingly multicultural, one of the challenges of gaining a broader and deeper appreciation of Deaf history is the need to examine the scholarly and public history contributions of diverse groups of Deaf people of color. We have chosen to assess and summarize the contributions of black Deaf individuals to the scholarly and public history of the period from the 1980s to the present. We believe these three and a half decades gave impetus to the emergence of a dynamic collective of black Deaf scholars, leaders, and artists who encompass diverse professional disciplines.
The 1980s
The 1980s witnessed the beginning of the "black Deaf renaissance." In 1983, Ernest Hairston and Linwood Smith published their book, Black and Deaf in America: Are We That Different? A key contribution of the book was that it was the first such publication to usher into the public sphere from largely private social circles what many in both the black and the white Deaf communities had talked about anecdotally as a "Black way of signing used by Black deaf people within their own cultural milieu."1 This eventually provided a source of inspiration for the...