President's Report

Inclusivity: hearing (and sighted) users of English. These

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Our Shared Responsibility their lived experiences. The structure of the

Jonathan Webb, Ph.D CI and CT, NIC Advanced President US was then modeled after how these men saw the world. And because systems replicate themselves, this meant that subsequent systems were based on the same frames and ideals held by those men.

In case you don’t read much further, let me get right to the point- we are all 100% re- We’ve all been raised in these systems. We’ve sponsible 100% of the time. I understand that lived within the context of not only the counstatement reflects several concepts, including try that was founded by these men, but in the the cultural value of excellence. Excellence is states, communities, school systems, job marmandatory when we talk about engaging in kets, professional societies and other systems change and transformation relative to a profes- that replicate those original systems. Fundasion and people’s participation in such. mentally, we can enter a school, a place of employment, a place designed for social gathAudism and racism, if we follow Critical Race ering, a medical care facility, or any number Theory, are permanent and pervasive. The of places and see that audism is alive and well. first step might be to unpack what permanent And it isn’t that there is a conscious intention and pervasive really means. to perpetuate and promulgate audism. Rather, The US Constitution was constructed by to these systems. audism is an unconscious foundational element white, literate, formally-educated, land-owning Likewise, racism is an unconscious foundationmen wrote the document through the lens of al element to the systems we live in. Whether

it be a school, a library, an office building or any number of societal constructs, racism will serve as part of the foundational fabric of the system. Again, many of the people functioning in these systems have no desire to guard and uphold features of racism, and yet the systems continue to replicate themselves.

If we consider all this in light of the sign language interpreting profession, there are several discussions requisite to us navigating our larger world and our personal practice with a greater degree of inclusivity. Some of those discussions have to do with our personal level of accountability and responsibility within the macro-, meso-, and micro- systems of the profession. In terms of our professional context, we could conceptualize the macro as national RID, the meso as affiliate chapters, and the micro as individual practitioners. Based on this understanding, one of the primary discussions that must ensue is the difference between eradication and management/ resistance. Eradicating audism and eradicating racism is fanciful at best and pernicious at worst. If we live in an illusory existence where we posit the idea of eradicating isms, the danger is manifold. What happens when we work on this for years yet see only minimal improvement? We often give up and stop working on it all together. What happens relative to our expectations? We consistently live in disappointment. What happens to our relationships? As humans we are typically uncomfortable around our own inadequacies, so we often unconsciously project those inadequacies on others, abdicating our own growth in favor of highlighting the failings of a system or an individual.

Management and resistance is an altogether different approach. This way of relating to isms requires consciousness and fortitude. It requires grit and longevity. We understand that while the odds are stacked against us, that we can make movement and positive change. We understand that while we exist within systems that seek to erase us, that we can nevertheless thrive and

racism is an unconscious foundational element

survive if we remain conscious and are vigilant in not allowing the negative aspects of the system to overtake us.

I had a personal experience with this in the Fall of 2019. I was invited to an affiliate chapter’s conference and amongst other duties, was asked to provide Power, Privilege, & Oppression training. I happily did so. While there were several incidents of note during this training, one experience very much stays with me a year later. A couple of participants, sitting in the back, wore hoodies and tinted glasses. I didn’t think much of it. Admittedly it was a mildly odd sight as these participants were white women and I was not accustomed to seeing them dressed in that manner. However, this was a gathering of interpreters and I chalked it up to dealing with the repercussions of networking around the bar late in the evening/morning hours. It was only after the training was complete that other participants conveyed to me who they were and why they were there. Attending in cowardice, they were apparently masking

their earbuds with their hoods in order to listen to the local game, all while they wore tinted glasses to mask that they were not taking notes on their tablets and attentive to the work, but rather streaming the game. They successfully exploited the system meant to ensure growth in terms of inclusivity, so that they could sit there comfortably in their unconsciousness and bias while participating in the local game. They earned CMP PPO units based on the ability to feign presence and attention. They minimized the work their colleagues were engaging, some of the very colleagues that would attest to those interpreters’ need to unpack their power and privilege and develop strategies to mitigate against oppressive and marginalizing speech and activity. I share this story for a singular purpose- to illustrate that we are all responsible. Just as we understand that to team interpret means that regardless of who is actively producing the target language we are all 100% responsible for 100% of the information, we also are all 100% responsible for 100% of inclusivity efforts made in our system we call The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. If “we are RID”, then … we are RID. This means we are responsible for our personal practice, how our profession operates at the state/local level, and the health of our national organization. None of us are off the hook in this work. This is complex, no doubt. On top of the myriad responsibilities we all have we are also expected to take responsibility for our profession. We are asked to be responsible for how we engage in our practice, ensuring that we are not utilizing practices that further marginalize members of our deaf communities, our colleagues, and the general public. In our personal practice we utilize our hearing and/ or linguistic privilege to make space for those who would otherwise have none. We are asked to be responsible for the profession at our state/local level. We are asked to be cog-

None of us are off the hook in this work.

nizant of practices that further the inclusion of deaf and marginalized peoples. We are asked to make sure that we make space so that a diversity of experiences and perspectives are taken into account. At the national level we are asked to ensure we promote policies and practices that make space for those who have been underrepresented in our profession- to move past exploitation of people in service to a system, into partnering with those very people to facilitate them claiming space and installing needed world frames we otherwise lack.

As I stated, this is complex. The work we have before us is not easy. Yet, the reality is that it isn’t going to get any easier. We must simply dig in. And even then, digging in isn’t going to magically resolve audism and racism; but it will help us become more conscious and proactive. I commit to remembering more often that I am responsible 100% of the time- regardless of what systems level I am working. I commit to remembering more often that this work takes fortitude, perseverance, and grit. I commit to authentic dialogue with those who are authentically interested in change and growth at various levels. I commit to remembering that

interrogating my personal practice is not enough, but that I must continue to interrogate my participation in systems at the meso and macro levels. I also commit to remembering the joy in this work. I commit to remembering that I want to know I have positively impacted the world in a way that makes life a bit more comfortable for others. I invite you to reaffirm your commitment as well, and stand as an example to other practitioners, other affiliate chapters, and other professional organizations that we don’t have to settle for the

We must simply dig in.

systems that we operate in and that operate in us. Instead, we can determine how we show up at all levels.

While audism, racism, and a host of other isms are both pervasive and often permanent, we can’t discount our personal power as we choose to come together and work a different experience of those systems into an altered reality. This is an opportunity; and in the final analysis whatever we make of these systems is based on our work to take personal responsibility for them.

Finally, thank you. I want to take a moment to express gratitude to all of you who have modeled for me what inclusivity means in the context of our profession. I have been able to witness deep processing, dialogue, introspection, strategic partnership and alliances, and measurable outcomes. Thank you for demonstrating what meaningful growth looks like! As we continue this good work and change ourselves, we naturally change RID. Our personal transformation, then, transforms that which we are- RID. 5

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