SASL Newsletter - Spring 2020 Issue Issue 17 - Spring 2020 | Page 5

A Note from the President
By Samuel J. Supalla
Food for Thought in Difficult Times
As anxious and distressing as it may be in the present time of Coronavirus, I am struck by
watching the national news and seeing clips of signed language interpreters standing next to
mayors and governors all across the country conveying information about the outbreak during the
emergency briefings. Although I have seen interpreters signing alongside different government
officials during other times of crises, what we are experiencing in the last month or so is
unprecedented. During the time of this pandemic, we are witnessing deaf people's language
receiving widespread attention like never before, with millions of people watching television and
seeing ASL in action.
With this experience, I find it appropriate to refer to the scholarly work of A. Avon, who
published Watching Films, Learning Language, Experiencing Culture: An Account of Deaf Culture
through History and Popular Films in The Journal of Popular Culture in 2006. Avon made important
insights as follow:
...the visibility of sign[ed] language interpreters reinforces not only a respect for the use of
sign, but also that the use of sign unites those for whom sign is their dominant language.
Although once severely oppressed, through sign[ed] language, stories are told, information is
given and received, and a culture is reinforced and strengthened... (p. 199)
Source: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/03/26/detroit-mike-duggan-coronavirus-relief/2918670001/
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The Power of ASL
5
Spring 2020 – Issue 17