[Descriptive transcript: Video opens with a flyer for the 2024 Collaborative Experience Conference with the title in center, with a subtitle underneath: “For parents and professionals serving students who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing.” Title across top of flyer: “Keynote: Variable Language Input and Early Vocabulary or Development”. Across the bottom is a graphic showing an apple resting on a stack of books with a cup of pencils next to it. The Commission logo is on the right side, with text underneath: “build our future together”]
[Video transitions to a text slide with blue patterned background and white text. The title is across the top, “2024 Collaborative Experience Conference”. Text in center: “The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent, including the state of Minnesota.”]
[New slide: “This is a live recording from the 2024 Collaborative Experience Conference. The interpretations and captions were produced for the live audience in attendance at the conference. Some anomalies may exist due to the audience needs and the nature of simultaneous interpreting. This interpretation has not been reviewed by the presenter. We appreciate the interpreters’ and CART provider’s willingness to include their work with this recording.”]
[Video transitions to a split screen showing the PowerPoint on the left side with the presenter window on top, the moderator speaking, and the interpreter window on bottom. The CART captions scroll across the top on the left side. The PPT returns to the Collaborative home screen flyer image. The moderator signs.]
>> Moderator: So again, good morning. And I know time has gone really fast during this conference over the weekend, but it's been a very wonderful experience to be able to network and meet all of you and socialize with one another. And I'm really thrilled and honored to introduce Gloshanda Lawyer. Dra. Gloshanda Lawyer. So, welcome and welcome back to Minnesota. Dra. Lawyer does have a wealth of experience with her research teaching and efficacy and how she influences the community. So, the research and studies that she's doing now.
So the research that she's doing currently focuses on multilingual and multi-modal language accent, language acquisition and systemic power. She's currently working in an organization that was founded by herself, called Cocoa Consulting and Research and Advocacy. She's also the co-founder of another research organization called Myers and Lawyer. So she does not only research and teach, her expertise spans far and beyond. She is involved in education, from early intervention to high school to the post-secondary and university level. And so she also has international collaborations where she provides consultation research and advocacy for diverse groups and organizations. So I am beyond thrilled to have Dra. Lawyer here. But wait, before we proceed with the presentation, we have a special welcome for Dra. Lawyer, some of our graduate students from the University of Minnesota, have something for you.
[The moderator walks offstage. A group of three college-aged students come on stage. They sign.]
>> Student: Hello, good morning. Are we ready? Hello. Hello, welcome. Welcome, socialize. Socialize, collaborative. Collaborative memories, memories. See you in two years. Wait, Gloshanda is here. Barriers, barriers break down and break down Equity. Come, come And wait hand wave hand wave.
[Applause.]
[The students walk offstage and Dra. Lawyer walks onstage and stands behind the podium for a minute before walking around to the side and signs.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Thank you so much University of Minnesota. Honestly, it's really nice when you can have a culturally appropriate welcome, And it's so interesting. Some of you, I saw there are certain situations yesterday and during workshops that I really felt.
For example, the class workshop hosted by MDMC, I went and attended that workshop, and there were two executive directors there, and as they navigated their stories throughout the presentation, I was taken aback by the similarities to my presentation in the stories, and I'll be sharing. And I think that the comments as I was sitting right next to someone else, I was saying that it's really - we can use a lot of the things that we learn from the collaboration, and this - the sameness in our advocacy work. And so the song of welcome to the stage is really, really - I find solace in it and I've definitely felt that my culture is here with us today.
[Dra. Lawyer clicks on the laptop on the podium. The PPT changes to show her presentation. All slides have dark background and white or light text.]
[New slide: “Framing Intersectionality in Education Equality: Birth-21 and Beyond”. The logo for Myers & Lawyer is on top left corner, and the logo for Cocoa is on the bottom right corner. Subtext under title: “Dra Gloshanda Lawyer; Cocoa Language, Advocacy and Consulting LLC; Myers & Lawyer.”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So good morning, and I'm really happy. You all have continued to stay here until the last day. And last morning, I know that it can be hard to socialize and sit in workshops and take all the information in. Then also socially isolated at night and party with one another and wake up early ready and refresh for the next day. So, I'm happy you all are here. Again, I am Doctora Gloshanda Lawyer.
So, I add the a on Doctora - a doctora, because in Spanish, their - the language is gendered. And so, the a indicates feminine and the o indicates masculine. So, if I were to use x or e as an ending, you will know that I don't follow gender, binary. And so I use Doctora to indicate who I am, and how I choose to identify myself. So, I will describe - I will provide a visual description. I identify as a black Afro Latina indigenous Femme. And if I was sitting and doing protactile with you all, you would feel that I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt with a smooth texture, I have on a textured blouse that spans down to the ankle level. And so this is information for tactile access. I have my head wrapped in a bun in the back. I have a lip piercing. Those piercing dangly earrings and black glasses with gold inner framing. Next slide, please. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Tribal Nations” And blue map of the state of MN showing the 11 indigenous tribes’ locations around the state. In the corner of the orange flyer is a sun, and underneath is text in white print, too small to read.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, I do often travel around the world. And I do recognize that people use terms of land acknowledgment. But what I will do now is not land acknowledgment., This slide does have a picture with an orange color background. There are 11 tribal stations - nations all over the state of Minnesota that are listed, But I won't recognize the land. I want to recognize the people Often we use land To bypass the actual people to describe land is knife. Nice and important to have a relationship with our land, but the priority is to have a good relationship with people. To honor them to honor the people. So I want to honor the people who have historically and currently taken care of the place that you are able to gather. Are you able to take time to enjoy and learn and take in knowledge? So these are the people in the land that have been provided for you and I that have been benefiting from In the state of Minnesota. Next slide, please.
[New slide: Text quote “I want to recognize that corporations and capitalism have allowed for us to have access to theses institutions and technologies that we use today when many indigenous tribes in the USA and other countries (Congo and Sudan) are actively being denied access to these technologies and basic quality of life.”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So beyond land, recognition and beyond people in our value and honor toward them. I want to name that we ourselves are benefiting from current and previous harm. So we have gathered in this building, we have the opportunities to have access to lighting, technology slides, and present, presentations iPads. But really, we're actually causing harm to people and other countries Because they're the people that are finding the resources, going through, giving their blood sweat and tears to the work, for our ability, to benefit off of these technologies and resources such as the Congo and Sudan. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Embodying in this Space”. “Embodying in this” is sideways in a light blue box, with “Space” next to it, regular way up.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, now, I would like to provide context to what we will be embodying in this space. So before I just explain how we show up in this space, I want us to honor the people who make it possible for me to be here. My tribe Is Cherokee, and I know. So, from my knowledge, I am bringing here to you. So it's not only my knowledge that I bring before you is generations. Before me. That it poured into me and made me who I am to have a cumulative, understanding of how I navigate the world. And also with like - to honor and pick Hamas to be my partner in crime. Who leads me? Who knows that it leads from a place of equity. We research together. We co-author publications together, We travel the world together. Who's always the wind beneath my wings and letting me know, when I need to stop and sit down somewhere and we often go into different spaces That are honestly hostile. Because of the work that we do, We are challenging the system that has been historically entrenched in a lot of people's minds and how they navigate the world and having two black American Sign. Language interpreters, for example, is rare. Especially in a place like this In Minnesota. And so I want to thank you for what you two are doing, as you navigate the highs and lows to be here to support me. I want to say thank you and recognize that - what your experience is - are out there are valid. And so, I want to explain a little bit why it's important to have interpreters, who are culturally, responsive, and kind with my life experience. So multilingual and multi-ethnic person as a multilingual multi-acting person myself in this space. I have to really limit myself To have effective communication with you all and so that means that if I just decide to randomly use an international sign language, you all may not understand me, right? And my interpreter will, But you all won't. And so I have to really suppress, And dial it in And to press other parts of who I am so that we can have effective co-created space here together. So, I think there's something that I want you all to always be mindful of. And one thing is my, my biases, right? I believe that every deafBlind, deaf disabled and deaf and hard of hearing child deserves to be multilingual, or multimodal, period. Anything below that? It's not good enough. So, I just wanted to open up my presentation by foregrounding my bias as I stand here before you. And so that bias influences how I engage with each and every deafblind, deaf disabled, deaf and hard of hearing child? I do not approach it like will I use American Sign Language? Will I use English? I approach it as Language, an entire linguistic experience. Right. What do you need to thrive? And I think that oftentimes we form a myopic Viewpoint, right? We think of it, like, oh, this child needs to be able to communicate with their family, or this person needs to be able to succeed in the community. Yes. But - and however, these children need to become global citizens. And so if I'm not prepared, if I'm not preparing a child to live in any place in this world that I'm not doing my job, I'm not doing it well enough. And so my approach is to teach my approach to my research has that lens? So for this space, I am committed to use only American Sign Language and only English for you all. And that is my communicative burden. So, we have interpreters here, and they have committed to facilitate that communication For the audience's benefit. So now you all also have to commit to something as well. You have to commit to come to this space with an open mind, and an open heart Because if your mind and your heart is not open, it's not worth it. You can go ahead and exit stage left And save your time, right? So that's what I called a co-created space And that's how we are going to be successful here throughout this presentation. Okay, So now I also want to let you all know that culturally appropriate engagement is my culture. We back channel a lot. And so you will notice the interpreters nodding their heads assenting. You may notice some, wait, wait, wait a minute, back channeling and so they are letting me know that I'm following you. I'm tracking you, I'm understanding you. And if at any point there's an aberration of any kind that lets me know that I need to run it back, clarify and do what I need to do to make sure that message is clear. And so, I want you all to also meet me where I am, meet me at the level that my culture demands. Thank you so much, Again. I travel around the world, I mix and mingle and meet people all over the place.
>> Dra. Lawyer: And when I tell you that the United States, And when I tell you that the United States - the culture seems the most just completely oblivious, right? Like by, what are you? What are you doing? What do you think about you thinking about something at the house? Like what's going on? And so I need you all to meet me where I am right now, right? And I think I did a good job this weekend. I was very, you know, I just kind of did my things stick to myself. Hi, how are you? I'm good. But now I'ma be me. Okay. All right, We good Next slide, please.
[Additional text pop up below: “Lived and ancestral knowledge is as important as research and academic. “I statements”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Next slide, please.
[New text replaces the smaller text: “Collectivity and Resisting Capitalistic Grind Culture. Come to the front and state your name to make comments/ask questions.”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So resistance capitalistic. Everything's now culture, right? But not here. Not today. We are committed for the next hour and some change. We will take it easy. We're gonna pace it out. We're gonna go with the flow. And we're going to go based on our learning experiences. So that means that if I was to get through everything on the slice that is wonderful. And if not that's wonderful too. We're going to be fine either way. Okay, So if you do want to make a comment or if you have a question, I asked That you do but please come to the stage and make your comment, and make sure your comment is accessible for all, meaning that I don't want hearing people to come up talking while they're walking, absolutely not. You wait till you get in position, you are handed a microphone, You get the confirmation with the deaf interpreter and the interpreters that you're ready, and then you proceed with your comment. We're all good. Perfect Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Grounding Mindful Moment”. Two images below, with a sculpture of a person meditating, on the right.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So now we're gonna do some grounding right? Are you all familiar with box breathing? I'm seeing some nodding. It is very, very beneficial and I will start by modeling box breathing. I think we'll do it together With your consent of course. So that means that if you don't consent, that's absolutely fine. That's your right. You can sit there and respect those around you who do consent to participate. So we're going to inhale for four seconds, We're going to hold that. Inhale for four seconds, we're going to exhale for four seconds. I'm gonna hold for four seconds, right? And I, once more, take a moment to reflect on it. Why are you here? We've had several presentations. This is day three, and I remember that opening keynote where I thought that it was of myopic view of science and the reading which is extremely important. Yes, there's definitely value there then. Yesterday afternoon's keynote was a little bit more broad as it related to language acquisition. And so today I'm taking a more keen perspective and a more global perspective because everything that we do operates in a system. And so today, I want to help you all envision and materialize. How the system in and of itself. Impacts language acquisition and I would impact reading development. Okay, So once you all to really reflect on those experiences, I'm asking the interpreters to turn their voices off as well because I want them to also take part in the breathing exercise with us. Is everyone ready?
[Dra. Lawyer demonstrates the breathing exercises while walking back and forth across the stage for a few minutes.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Next slide, please.
[New slide: Image of a circular concrete labyrinth maze in a garden.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So now I'd like for all of you to journey, join me on a journey. I'm going to divide the room using this handy dandy divider here. So you don't have to get up and move around. You don’t have to do anything like that. You can just stay in your space and envision the journey. So now I'm splitting the room in half. Next slide, please.
[New slide: image of a bike race with several bikers grouped together biking.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So think of yourself as if we're cycling Okay, can everyone do the motion with me?
[She makes cycling motions with her hands.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Cycle with me. Come on, people cycling. Faster. Come on, come on. I want to see you. Wake up. Let's go. Now imagine, imagine your legs are working really hard, right? You're moving those legs. You're sweating. You're busy. You feel the wind blowing past your face. You're moving through the roads now you get a break. Okay, So I have a plethora of water. Many water bottles all over here, right? And I'm going to give it to this side of the room. Each person on this side of the room will have a water - bottled water. Are you good? Okay, I know you look thirsty. You've been biking. Come on. Okay. And now on this other room I'll throw five water bottles over here. Said whoever catches it you know it's yours. You got it okay? One person caught it. Anyone else and see some fighting. Okay. Okay cool. Now we're ready to take our rest And I have some pillows, everyone on this side of the room will get a pillow. Okay, let me hand them out, I'm giving you blankets. I want you to take your rest. It is very important, you know? To have that rest, and over here, I have about 10 pillows and I'm throwing them around. Here you go. And who gets it? Great. So rest for about five minutes, Next slide.
[Image of a climber summiting a snow-capped mountain.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Okay, now we're ready. Our rest, we're good. We feel energized. We're going to hike a mountain, we're hiking. Okay, let's go. We're hiking a mountain. Okay, we're hiking and we're hiking. Are you enjoying the hike? No? Okay, we're looking around with sightseeing. We're hiking. I'm tired. Okay, let's rest. So each of you, I will provide a massage. Enjoy this massage stretch, you work so hard. It's very important to take in this massage. Okay, I'm still tired. Yeah, but I think I could give a massage to three or four people over here, you know. I think I could do that for you all.
So let's just say I told you we're going to do this over again. Is repetitive Every day. Monday through Friday. We'll do this constantly for the next nine months. Then when we're done, we will advance to the next level. So now we're taking a longer run. We're taking a longer bike ride. You know, it's the same process. I'm still giving out water. Still giving out pillows, blankets, massages. Everything that you need. Now, imagine we do this for five years. What? On this side of the room? What would you feel When you're done? You're finished. You're over it. You're broke right. Interesting, It's not fair. Why do you feel like it's not fair? What's not fair about it? Well, this side of the room has more. It's interesting. Could you prove that they have more? You could ask them. You could.
>> Dra. Lawyer: So from my perspective, I can see that my foresight. But, where's your proof? Do you have it? Can you prove it? What would you start to believe about yourself on this side of the difference? Not that I'm not important. Okay. Interesting. Over here. What you feel about yourself? What you start to believe. I'm good. I'm sad Confident. I could keep going. Okay, so now let's just say this pass is on for three generations. So I'm predicting for my prediction, right? That this side of the room would have strong kids. Strong genes. A very active and powerful body. They enjoy exercise. Maybe right, I can see the benefit of that happening. Now on this other room for my prediction From your experience throughout generations will become weaker. So you should try to exercise every day. You know, you're trying to find as much food and nutrients and water and get as much rest as you can. And then when you have your children, they're also nutrient depleted. And their children will also be nutrient depleted. It doesn't matter if you have the same exposure to exercise, the same experience with exercise. You still don't have the same recovery. So now there's a generational disparity. Next slide.
[New slide: An image showing a sign “Embrace the journey” posted outside.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: What if I told you to embrace the journey. Life is Beautiful. Exercise is great. How would you feel? I'm done. Okay. I'm finished with it. Okay, You wouldn't believe me, right? You feel like I'm over it. I'm fed up. But what about this out of the room? Would you believe it? Yeah, life is great. Embrace the journey? Yeah. Next slide.
[New slide: Text overlaid on a landscape image of a beach shore: “Life is a journey, not a destination”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So the comment is not about the arrival, it is about the process. The process is beautiful. It is worth it. But how do you feel The process sucks? Okay. Right. What would you start to believe about me? That I can't see you, right? What else? That I'm not important, that I think that you're not important. I don't see you as important., I'm a hypocrite. You wouldn't trust me. Okay. Now, this side of the room, would you believe about me? I'm great. I'm supportive. I'm helpful. I'm a good leader, but these two ideas are conflicting, right? So, two things can be true at the same time. Next slide.
[New slide: Two illustrations side by side. The one on the left shows a flow chart for “Allostatic Load”. The one on the right shows a map chart with a person in the middle.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, I do have two pictures on my slide here. The picture on the left is called allostatic load. So this describes the psychological and physical And mental impacts that oppression has. So stress itself, could be neutral, positive, or negative stress does have both sides like with exercising. That's one kind of stressor. And that's fine. You know, it's good for the body when you have the right nutrients and support and rest, right? Kind of stresses, okay? But what happens when you start to experience a negative side of stress? As constant, there's no support. You started to plead. So this is what allostatic load defines. This is our ability to adapt into address. Those stressors and how we are impacted and how our body and mind are affected. Are you familiar with the concept adverse child experiences? ACE. Use that acronym ACE. So this is common in education and the health field as well to talk about how adverse child experience when they're growing up. Each negative or traumatic experience impacts the child's body and their development and how they function in the world as well. So when you think about ACE, we think about abuse. Trauma. Death in a family. Drug use in the family. But we don't talk about language deprivation as being a part of ACE. We don't talk about the constant Oppression And how it leads into ACE. So I want to keep - you all to keep that in mind as well. Next slide.
[Image of a person wearing sunglasses. This a screen capture from the film “The Matrix”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Okay, So this presentation Is not a place for inspiration. It's not where I'm going to help you feel good. I'm sorry, I won't. I'm not. I mean. Well, I'm sorry. But not sorry. So this is your Matrix Experience. You need to take the red pill Or the blue pill. It's up to you. So what I give you Is up to you to decide what to do with it, So, another bias that I have Is that I - for my entire full lifespan as a deaf deafblind, the hard of hearing children. So, I support - I'm a birth doula for marginalized people who are disabled or deaf ,deafblind, and I am a doula for the entire birth process, and I support them through that.
I'm also an early interventionist. I was a teacher in K-12 settings. I also taught Post-Secondary College level, And I've also trained those who've become teachers of the deaf. I've also trained interpreters. I've worked within the legal system advocating for deaf people who were wrongfully accused and wrongfully imprisoned, And they have been in prison for 20, plus years, fighting for their freedom. And I have taken the advocacy role in those efforts. And I'm also working with multilingual interpreters who work with deaf people from all over the world, and I am also a death doula. And so when I tell you, I'm not just commenting, my opinion. I am telling you what I have seen with my own eyes. What I have witnessed from cradle to the grave over and over, and over again, Where I am confronted with. And when I'm confronted with these things, I can't just simply move them to the side. I have to address them head on, and I'm trying to use my cumulative experience. And right now, to help you all understand your role within the system that I just described. And I will tell you that most deaf imprisoned people are there because of you all, Not you all literally. But because of teachers, because of interpreters, because of audiologists, because of speech therapists who have failed them since time immemorial. And so please, please take offense. We're offended. And if it's not, That's fine too. Are you still playing a part? And so, you know, people who see a crime happen, right? Right now, someone gets robbed, or something gets stolen. So we will have two groups of people, right? Two types of people. The other people that are left. Not It ain't my business. Lucky ain't happening to me, not my monkey, not my circus. We good over here. And then you have people who are like, oh my, Oh my gosh. Somebody help somebody help, and I'm that helper, right? I'm the one to intervene every single time because every time that I don't, every time that I'm a bystander, I'm supporting the person who committed the crime, and so I am aiding and abetting. Their escape essentially, right? So I want you all to envision yourselves in either one of those groups. Are you a bystander? Are you the person that is action based, right? Who's actively supporting The victim. Next slide please.
[New slide: A flow chart with three levels descending. From top to bottom: “54% of US adults have literacy below 6th grade. 21% of US adults are illiterate. Globally, ⅔ of adults who are illiterate are females”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Reading, We often talk about reading and language development for deaf and deafblind, deaf disabled, hard of hearing students, right? We talk about that ad nauseam. One day, two days, three days, four days. We've been talking all weekend, but look at the stats. We hold deaf students. Deaf children to a standard that we don't hold here in students. It's definitely imbalanced. And we always are talking about all deaf students who are reading delayed. Oh my God. We have to do something, But look at the hearing people. Here in the United States, quote unquote developed country. These are the stats: 54 of U.S. adults Are illiterate, I hate that word. But the national reading Institute uses that word. So that means that they have below a sixth grade level for reading. I'm not really sure about you all but I remember my years as a teacher, always hearing you go. “Oh deaf children graduate high school with third grade reading level.” But how many of y'all have seen those comments, right? Right. And so if the deaf child graduates with a third grade reading level, what's wrong with that? Look at the stats based on the numbers based on the data 54 of United States adults have literacy below sixth grade. So why are we always? Always stigmatizing Deaf children Because they're quote, unquote different And we don't like different, right?
>> Dra. Lawyer: And I also think it's important to recognize the third point on the slide, the two-thirds of adults, who are illiterate all over the world. Who can't read and write - our females. And one thing that I like from the national reading Institute, they did explain and elaborate about why that happens. Does anyone have any idea why? That is the case. Deprivation of Education. But why was education deprived? The system. You stay at home, you take care of the children. Maybe we literally have laws that Impede women from entering into school environments And we think oh, that's so awful. These other countries, what they're doing? What's happening here in the United States. You know, historically here in the United States. We all know what has transpired. Segregation. Voting oppression. It's oppression. So let me take it back and give you a little bit of context. Back in the day, that’s questionable. Recently. Slavery. During slavery, we had formal laws that banned slavery, meaning, black and indigenous people. Ban them from reading. Literally, you could not breathe. So that means that we're setting up this disparity from jump using legal - using the legal system. So when slavery was abolished, then came voting. So what was the criteria for being able to vote? Does anyone remember? You must pass the reading test, right? You had to pass a reading test. So, what does that mean? So the law says that you're free. The law says now that you can vote, But you can't read. So, you can't. So this is 2024 and I am a second generation reader in my family. So that means that my mom was the first generation reader. The first generation that could read in my family. Again, this is 2024 So how many other families are in the same boat, right? How many barriers that we had to overcome just to try to get equal footing with people who have been reading for generations and generations? So that's the kind of thing that we have to really foreground The innate disparity of the country and also as staff and professionals talking about, oh my gosh I don't understand why these parents are not showing up to the school meetings. Oh, I don't understand why these parents are not involved. Because they are busy trying to bridge and close that gap that they started from a point of disadvantage that started generations ago. Next slide, please.
[New slide: An image showing rows of people of all colors with text overlaid: “Intersectionality”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Oh okay. Intersectionality Are you familiar? But what is it? I'm seeing some yeses, I got this table saying yes, anywhere else? Everyone over here familiar? Okay, Often I've seen in her comments about intersectional identities, and I'm like skrt skrt. Hold on. Really you? I'm like, oh my gosh, it's an intersection of this and that I'm like pause. Intersectionality means multiple layers of oppression based on your identity. So, when I see a white man, say, oh my gosh, my intersectional identity and your - what It doesn't apply to you. So, it's important to be clear in your understanding, that intersectionality means multiple layers of oppression in society because of your identity. So that means me, as a black woman, like, queer woman. I do experience different things, but I'm working in higher education. So, that means that some things don't impact me in a negative, or adverse way. That's why I navigate the world differently. So, oftentimes, you hear the comment? Uh, Kimberly Crenshaw, who coined intersectionality fail? That's a falsity. Correction to the interpretation. That is not true. She did not come up with intersectionality. She actually coined the term intersectionality, but the concept was established long before by black queer. Feminists. So Kimberly again, brought the term to the legal sphere, so that it was recognized because we knew that something was happening, but we couldn't prove it in the court of law. And so women would go into the legal system and voice their grievances that I experienced discrimination. And the judge will say, well, pick one - are they discriminated against, an issue because you're black, or because you're a woman? I'm like both, right? What do you mean by one or the other? Both? So, that is the concept of intersectionality and practice just to be clear. I just wanted to make sure that that was a takeaway because it is an important takeaway. Intersectionality happens at three levels. We have structural Intersectionality, and so that means that there's different systems working in concert to negatively or adversely impact a person. We have political intersectionality, not political like politics. That means that I have two identities, and I need to advocate, but the identities conflict with one another. So what are you doing? For instance, for example, there’s a strong Hmong population or community here, and there's a Hmong school here, correct? Very strong. Entrance culture, Hmong language, linguistic, exposure, advocacy, and all the supports in place, which is wonderful. So you have a deaf school here as well. School for the deaf. You have two deaf schools who advocate for Deaf culture. Sign language, English. All the things. Uplifting language acquisition. That's great, right? So what happens when you have a deaf Hmong child? Which one, right? Which one, red pill or blue pill, right? Do I go to the school with the culture and the positive experience? And people who look like me, people who have like experiences, my family have a lot in common with these people. What if I go to a school for the deaf that does not have diversity? Will not have teachers who look like me, will not have people who understand and support my Hmong culture, but they do have that linguistic access right? So, that's political intersectionality where I don't know how to get both things without one of them suffering. Last, we have representational intersectionality. And so that means that - what my community looks like in the media, is it a positive representation? Or is it a negative representation? Do I see black disabled people on TV and when I do see representation, is it accurate or not? So that's representational intersectionality. Next slide, please, I know we're moving. We're moving.
[New slide: A flow chart showing overlapping circles with text inside each circle. On the left is a description for Kyriarchy inside a pink and white box. The circles from bottom to top: “grammatical-linguistic; system-cultural; ideological-cultural; and social-institutional”. Inside the overlapping circles are words and phrases associated with the term.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, this is Kyriarchy. So we have intersectionality As it ties into identity, visit direct relation to Kyriarchy, Kyriarchy is more of the entire system at large and what happens that causes these, this and this inequities and disparities, and some people are superordinate, and some people are subordinate, and so some context I can go in and have privilege, and then some context I can go in and be oppressed, and so it's where oppression can be. Oppression and privilege can be contact specific. So Kyriarchy has four levels. So we have a grammatical and linguistic level. So that's how we express it, right? For example, You in one ear and out the other. What's the English for that? You tend to use for that idiom.?
[Laughter]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So there's also a idiom in that says to follow on deaf ears. Did I say deafness was bad? When I said to follow their ears, I didn't directly say it, but it was definitely implied or commented. Like blind to the truth that I say, blindness is bad. Nobody was implied. Because if I tell you that you feel like I am not blind to the truth. I understood it. I understand their other comments. Like, Let me think. I have my notes for that one second.
[A pause as she looks at her notes.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Our sign choices, because often we go off on English about these, the English words in the vocabulary we use, but we do the same thing in American Sign Language. So, I have some favorites. This sign, you know the word that's associated with this sign, Immigration or immigrant. So what is it? So what is that actually mean? People who are sneaking their way into the country. So please stop using it. This is the sign for immigrant. This is an option, Another buried or diverse, This is diverse. I work with diverse people. You have the highs and you have the lows, right? Someone is superordinate and someone is subordinated. Diversity or diverse. So, our language use, Implicitly reveals what we really believe. And so next, we have a symbolic cultural level. So we make identities seem normal. We make things seem real. And so that means that everything is a social construct, for example, way back when in the 1800s, you know, the railroads? Who built the railroads in this country? Do you all know? Mexican, Chinese immigrants, at that time. Because this country - it really focuses on skin color. We used them to build the railroads, and when the World Wars were done and we saw no more built. When white people saw no more benefit, then it became all Mexicans aren't white. They're brown people. So they were subordinated, and their power was taken from them. So one example of how we make identities, you know, and not real thing.
>> Dra. Lawyer: So ideological and cultural level. Will you make it normal? Like, for example, we make things that are normal and not normal, and we separate them - and we have social and institutional level, where you aspire who's that. Who is the quote unquote, aspiration socially and institutionally? Next slide, please.
[New slide: The same slide, with new text on the left side: “LRE; eugenics; language deprivation; monolingual school standards and literacy laws; exclusion from hearing society on basis of differences; problematizing non-English languages; brain studies that focus on monolingual or bilingual brains; hearing-Deaf abled - disabled colonizer - colonized; fall on deaf ears; blacklisted; white lie; sign choices; language deprivation”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Next slide. Four more, one more. One more right there. So here you have some examples. So I want you all to focus on the social. The social level, the social institutional level, So we make laws and develop systems and then we figure out how they can justify our actions. And so, monolingual school standards, We all have K-12 standards that we have to comply with and when teaching children, and that is the direct correlation to reading, right? And so for reading we have children who come to this country who have full language from their respective countries for sign language from the respective countries, but they don't know English. And so they're labeled illiterate, and we addressed them as language list, and it's not true because our system is based on one language, that language being English. And you know somebody already first managed ASL and there as well. We are not at a place where we are ready to fully embrace multilingualism as a standard, because really, if we really valued people and their full humanity, It wouldn't matter what language they used. we value them as a person, and so that means that when we have a deaf child who shows up using LSM - Mexican sign language - you would say that's awesome. That's great. You see him have the whole child and then you figure out how can I support you and your LSM. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Five Faces of Oppression”. Five heads in a rifle with text overlaid across their tops, from top clockwise: “cultural imperialism; powerlessness; marginalization; violence; exploitation”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, we have Kyriarchy on this next slide. It's about how manifests - there are five faces of oppression. Cultural imperialism. So, we have the standard of speaking English, that is our standard in developing, being able-bodied, able minded with our children. And if that doesn't match then we automatically dismiss them. We feel like we have to fix them. Powerlessness. So this means that when I'm born the society, that teaches me about my social position. If I am someone with privilege, or from someone without privilege, and that's something that I can't change. Marginalization. This means I'm not included for the simplicity of the term. Exploitation - often we exploit for the benefit of the higher group, the dominant group. So, how would this benefit? We say things like: you can use ASL, but we have to support your English development, and ASL will foster their English development or not valuing their ASL use. We're using ASL to access the English. So, we're taking advantage of ASL to benefit that foundational English. And this - by the belief that all languages are equal. Violence. People consider physical harm as being the priority, but there's actually another system that causes harm. There is harm that is quote unquote, approved by the system. And so I want to be clear that I've used this sign for harm to reference, physical harm and this other time for harm because It's physical and beyond physical. So, for example, suppose you have a child who is placed in a particular room with no ability to socialize or interact, no ability to engage, and I decide to give a child maybe two or three times a day to visit, but no real forming of bonds. Not real. You know, bailing time or bad time. Is not very often. It just kind of leaves that child in isolation. Would you agree that that's harmful? All of you all unanimous - unanimously agree, that that is harm. But if I said that there's an older person in the same situation, and I just kind of leave them in the bed all day and I bring them food and one or two times and just kind of leave them there with no rule interaction. No real connection or exchange. Would you agree that that's harmful as well? All right, so let's just say, if I were to say that you have a murderer, and that murderer is put in prison In solitary confinement. Is that harmful? Yes. All three scenarios are the same, but in - however, the legal system has approved quote-unquote or endorsed a particular type of harm That is called legitimized harm. So that shows that violence is included in all types Of quote, unquote, legitimized harm, Next slide.
[New slide: ”Colonization”. Two circles on each side, with text inside the circles: “Stratification based on humanity; schooling; as if it never happened (erasure); science”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Next slide. Colonization. I know we see the work organization as in relation to land, But it also can be a part of the mind and body. So there are factors, and colonization - stratification, based on humanity, how I label humanity. So, some people could label things as fully human - humane or other things are less humane and often we'll use a language, like, if you killed an animal? Like, if you were to murder someone and say, oh, you're an animal, and sometimes we feel that, you know, any type of harm that we experience going forward, that person, they deserve it, right? And so, we make decisions about people and their humanity based on instances, like the aforementioned. We act like colonization just happened and all, we just made it up but that's called erasure. So then we have this science and it doesn't mean that science is bad. That is not the implication but how we weaponize science is, for example, eugenics. Are you familiar with eugenics? Are you familiar with the Bell curve? So, the history of the Bell curve. Can anyone tell me what that is? Segregation. So the goal of the Bell curve was developed from eugenics with a goal to decide what the perfect human is. And so you have this person who is lower and this person who has higher intelligence on this side of the spectrum. And so the point was to shift the skirt, the curve to one to the higher side, to prioritize the lower side and so later based on scientific research, they decided to measure, for example, the size of the head. They wanted to prove that for example, black people's head size was different with the intention of showing inferior intelligence because that meant that the brain was smaller. So that's the weaponization of science. So that is exactly the correlation of science and colonization. And so with the keynote with Dr. Caselli - was she was talking about language acquisition, she commented and said that the four research questions that were addressing that - she was addressing the four research questions. And that third research question asked that sign language impedes English development. And our comment said that that question in and of itself was deeply harmful. Extremely disappointing. And that's true because of how we use science to prove our bias to prove our linguistic, oppression And the like. We have schooling. We use school as a place. You know, that we know learning and erasing based on our positionality and society. And so that means that the school is a place where I learn. Am I good, am I accepted? Am I smart, the same concept? You remember the story from this morning, where I divided the rooms into those two different groups. I was the teacher in that instance, right? You all were the students, and I've never said that this side of the room was bad and I never said that this out of the road was good. But based on how I engaged and the provisions provided influenced who you are quote unquote or reflected who you were in my world essentially. So that is how schooling ties into colonization. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Curriculum of Colonization”. The slide overlaps the previous two slides together.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So all of the aforementioned and what I recently described is what I have coined entitled, the curriculum of colonization. I did research, I did interviews. I did research. I did interview deafblind, deaf disabled, deaf and hard of hearing persons. We have experienced the school setting in this country: K-12, college, somewhere immigrants who migrated to the country later in life and some were born and raised here in the United States, and all of them were people of color. So all of them proved over and over again. What you see before you on the screen. So that is the - make review of the problem. The king-sided view of the problem that I've described next, slide, please.
[New slide: Text in center: “The water is being poisoned at the epistemological well… where power is most dangerous because it’s most unnamed.” Dr. Ericka R. Edwards”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So on this slide, it says, the water Is being poisoned at the epistemological well. Where power is most dangerous because it is most unnamed. So things just happen over and over again and we just let it happen and we operate in that system, and we just keep blaming. It's a system. The system is the system. I don't have another choice. I have to follow what the system tells me to do, right? Yesterday at the MDMC presentation, someone asked a powerful question. They said, what do you do when the rules that you're following are harmful or deleterious to other people? What do you do? I can tell you the answer based on my experience to date. People don't absorb themselves. I'm just a teacher. I can't do much. I'm just as East Language. There are therapists. That's what you just meet with the child two times a week and that's it. Not just the audiologist. I just provide the resources. That's it. I'm just following the system. I'm following the state-based laws and guidelines. And that's the longest short of it. I remember I've already told you guys about those two types of people, right? You're either going to be action based, or you're gonna be a bystander Next slide. Please.
[New slide: “Pedagogy”. Image of a school desk with globes, pencils, books, etc on it, with a bookshelf behind it. The word “pedagogy” is on top, spelled out with letter dice.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Pedagogy. So, the pain for the conference is building the future together, Dr. Dinar. I mentioned in the opening. Next slide, please.
[New slide: ”Schooling of Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing Students”. Two rows of white triangles below with terms inside: audism, ableism, linguicism, distantism, vidism, anti-blackness”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So how do we build a future together when deafblind, deaf disabled, deaf and hard of hearing children experience these things? That's what we've been building since time in memorial - Audism, Ableism. So that means we prioritize. People will quote unquote have normal development? Distantism, That means is what we train or how we train people to distance themselves, and to value the quote unquote distance or touch avoidant. For example, you have worked with children. So what happens when you read stories with your children, what tends to happen? They sit. Yes. They sat together and then what do they do? You have a book and then you show the book and they touch all over the book. They touch all over the pages. So what's the first thing that most adults will tell the student to do. For now? Don't touch, look with your eyes. Listen with your ears. We train them. We indoctrinate these children to stop desiring touch. But touch is an actual sense - how we sense the world around us that we learn from the environment around us. So, that's distantism. Vidism, We give privilege to those who are sighted. Linguisticism. As linguistic oppression. So that means that we set English - spoken English at that, as the standard, and anyone who does that follow that standard in this country is seen as less than and these to be pulled up to be on par with the quote unquote, systemically established standard. And then we have anti-blackness, that's a whole other story for a whole other day. I’mma hold on to it though. But my point is racism. It was a common term that most of you are familiar with, but it's not limited to skin color. Anti-blackness focuses on how we can limit people all over the world In different categories. For example, you have black, right? Oftentimes when I travel people make comments and say who's that, and the first thing that people respond to say, oh she works in social justice because I'm black. Or my work is multilingual acquisition like legitimate research. But I always have a vision - hold you mind. Coming to talk about social justice, and I'm like, yo, woman to talk about my expertise. So I say okay, you know, but that's a concept of anti-blackness or one part of it. How we limit people based on our already preconceived mindsets of their capabilities and capacities black interpreters. For example, when a black interpreter walks into a space for the first thing that typically happens is, Oh, I want you to interpret for this black person. That black person, that black person. I got bees over here, you can get the black people. So we have this internal implicit bias, that becomes explicit in a lot of different ways. And all of the isms that I just mentioned impact those adverse childhood experiences, the ACE. Remember, at the beginning, I talked about the trauma. The abuse, the dearth and disparities the neglect. Those are all ACE oppression. Is also an adverse childhood experience as well. And so if we have a student who's experiencing all of the things plus other external environmental factors That's heavy. Next slide. Please.
[New slide: “Combating Pedagogical Inequalities.”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Next slide.
[New slide: Image of a circular lock with many cogs to the machinery behind the lock.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So, Dr. Zangara commented about the ways of the system need to be changed. Each of you and myself, included our cogs in the system As you see here in the picture. So we can blame the system and say it's terrible and feel any way about it. But What happens when you're trying to - when a cog breaks? The machine stops working, right? So we need to recognize that we are the system Instead of thinking this. There's an elusive thing out there. That is influencing our ability to influence our environment. I am the decision maker. My, in my classroom, In my field. When I'm interacting with families, when I am owning my part, I can become a cog that shifts the system or that could break down the system. Next slide.
[New slide: “Social Justice in Academia”. A row of four text blocks left to right: “Pedagogical Transformation: removing power and authority from classroom teaching consciously for social change; Curriculum Transformation: problematizing what is taught/accepted as knowledge; using community as resource; Faculty (staff) Transformation: dealing with pedagogy of fear and culture of complicity and complacency; Institutional Transformation: challenging structures (ie policies, practices, accessibility.)”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: What time is it? Okay. So with this slide, there are four levels here. It's just to help you understand how you impact the system, and I want to have an open discussion with this slide. So I'll just briefly discuss each point. The pedagogical transformation. How we - how we remove power and authority in our spaces of influence. Curriculum transformation. It's what I'm being taught and how I'm teaching others. So I have to have a more analytical approach, not just taking what I'm giving out in translating that. Faculty staff transformation. How we address our own fears And pedagogy of fear So often fear can be related to a loss of a job. You know, If I don't do XYZ, I can lose my job. And remember, we talked about violence at a systemic level. If you're afraid to do your job, you can, if you're afraid to lose your job, It can be a form of violence. And then we have institutional transformation. And so those are the policies and practices that happened. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Decolonizing intersectionality framework”. On the left side: “Educational Policy: Higher education (personnel prep; research) Schooling for deafblind, deaf disabled, deaf, hard of hearing”. In the middle is an arrow pointing both ways. On the right side: “US deafblind, deaf disabled, deaf and hard of hearing schooling experience: audism, ableism, linguicism, anti-blackness, vidism, distantism, homophobia, xenophobia.”]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So we don't have to talk about the solutions I want. Well, I want to talk about solutions in fact. So this was developed to address everything that I've been talking about throughout this presentation with the curriculum of colonization Next slide, please.
[New slide: The same slide, with a red X across the list of “isms”, and addition of four blocks of text on the higher education side: “remove the colonizer’s coat; methods + pedagogy that address curriculum of colonization; decolonizing performances addressing kyriarchy + intersectionality; identify the colonizer’s coat”.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: So there's four points. So we must identify the colonizer's coat, right? You are actors in this. So sometimes the colonial colonizers coats that we put on in the system we cause harm and then we conveniently take off that coat. So my methods, my teachings and my analysis of the processes, I have to be ready to challenge the system. My everyday momentum - moment decision making, my behaviors, to address the kyriarchy, to address intersectionality, to address colonization. So these will prevent those negative experiences affiliated with oppression and adverse childhood experiences, with for example, educational policies, higher education, training, teachers training, interpreters training, speech, language pathologist and the like. And then we definitely have to apply this to the school context and the school setting. Because oftentimes we come to conferences and we take in a lot of information but we never implement what we learn and that has to stop from this moment on. If, you know, and you don't do what's the point, right? Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Educational Policy”. Image of a judge’s hammer next to a stack of books and a justice scale on top.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Educational policy. I've been hearing about the read act, Read act, I live in the state that does have the Read Act. I'm raising multilingual children, and This being recorded. People who make the policies are people who, how do I say this? Who don't have life experience? I just showed what happens to deaf, deafblind. Deaf disabled deaf, hard of hearing children in the system, in the education system. There's audism. distantism, buddhism - all of the isms. These are based on the people who are making the system, the people making the policies do not have that lived experience. And so there's the policies and the live experiences are disjointed, and it continues to perpetuate the problem, and then we try to do research to address that perpetual problem, and things. Like I want to prove that deaf children can read. Oh, I want to show that deaf children are on par with non-deaf children stop, stop. Stop cutting. Look at the problem, What's wrong? If a child is different, a part of a different reading system, does - It doesn't - is in traditional English. That's not a problem but because they don't follow English or no English, then it becomes a problem - then it becomes a problematic level and there's this domino effect. Stop. Address the policy. Address things at a policy level. Oppress those who are operating under a colonized system, and we need to stop them in their tracks because we can never prove that deaf children are as successful in the system if they don't want deaf children to be successful. Does that make sense? So if I am a multilingual child, and I was literally, I am a multilingual adult. Now, I would always be labeled as a failure in their system, If English is not my best language, right? If I can't prove that my English prowess is Complicated in his own part with their monolingual testing. Well, I'll let me, let me tell you what happened. Remember, I opened this presentation? And I said that, I have to really suppress parts of who I am just to show up in this space as an English and ASL user, right? Remember I said that at the opening, How many people understand what that labor actually feels like? Many people. Yes. Yes, When someone tests me on my English abilities, I have to actively prune and turn off all of the other cultures and languages that I bring with me that aren't English. My brain is more dynamic than English, and I imagine, and come up with more than you can imagine that can't even be. It's not even fathomable in English, and I have concepts, experiences, and other languages that I cannot even express in English in the slightest. And so, when you get to testing our dynamic, beautiful deafblind. deaf disabled, deaf and hard of hearing children In English, only we are telling them that I'm testing, how will you - can turn off all of the other beautiful parts of you? I mean that's literally what we're testing, right? Is that valid? It's not. And so when we continue to support policies that try to quote unquote prove that the children can limit themselves to meet the quote, unquote policies that can be established for them is crazy. Talk. I mean, it's insanity, right? So that's an educational policy. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Higher education teacher preparation”. Image of a student studying with a laptop in front of them.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Higher education, preparation. Look around the room. I see three people who look similar, who are the same as me. My luck. I see other cultures in this room that have less representation. You have access to higher education, If 50% of people or more. 50 or more of our students are people of color. So 1 plus 1 is not equal here. So what happens right? Where are the barriers? Yeah, deafblind teachers, deaf, blind teachers of color. They're disabled teachers, Deaf teachers of color. Something is happening to - as a barrier to entry to where those representation is paramount. And we have to do better, right? I can explain how to do better, but again that's another presentation for another day. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Higher education: Postsecondary and beyond”. Image of a crowd of graduates wearing graduation hats.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Again. This is preparing for global citizenship. Not limiting deaf people to your skills, to your preferences. Your belief system. Provide everything that they need and have an open - have open access to resources. So they're able to - so they were able to decide who they are, who they will be, and you can do that by being an advocate, an advocate, an advocating for example, for immigrants, who move to this country and then advocating for those immigrants to for them to achieve success and because if they move back to their country, they may not have access to their home language because of schools here did not prepare them and support them to live as a global citizen in global society. Next slide, please.
[New slide: “Early intervention & K-12 Schooling”. Image of a child standing in front of a yellow school bus.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Early intervention and K-12 schooling. You are often the first point of contact for these families, right? So you all set the tone for what's to come so for what they can expect. So change our approaches. Boom. Done. Okay. So any questions or comments? Next slide, please.
[New slide: non-moving gif of a person on top right corner. In the middle is a QR code.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: This is a gift - is like learn - comment question, but it's not given. So any questions?
[Camera pans left to show an audience member standing onstage and signing.]
>> John: I am John and you really made all of us think about a myriad of things from A to Z. This is very inspiring because you know, once ball change can make a big difference. So, thank you so much,
[Camera pans back to Dra. Lawyer.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: Any others? And not only comments and questions, but points of disagreement are welcomed as well. Going. Going twice. You have a taker.
[The camera pans right to show a new audience member signing.]
>> Jessica: Hello. This is Jessica, I was so impressed with your presentation. I've learned quite a bit, and many of your points help me to realize, I really agree with a lot of what you're talking about. And A lot of that also applies to my own personal experience from when I was in high school. And it really made me think, and realize so many of the points that you were saying were true in K-12 and in higher education. There needs to be a lot of change. And so I very much appreciated your presentation. Some of your points actually apply for some of the homework I will be doing in my college courses as well. So, thank you so much for your presentation.
[The camera pans back to Dra. Lawyer.]
>> Dra. Lawyer: And thank you so much for your comment. It's really, I hope to have more community representation from people like you, who can - because really, deafblind children need you, right? But deaf children need you as well. And so that's one thing that I wanted to add the dangers of categorizing or grouping people, you know, like deafblind children need you. I said that, but all children need you, right? Hearing, deaf, deafblind, doesn't matter. All children need you But we will focus on the label that we've given all, you know, Not only for deafblind children. No. All children should be learning Protactile, or PT for short. All children should be learning American Sign Language. So, why are we limiting? Why are we pigeonholing again? That's my bush. You know that all children should be multilingual and multimodal but I'll leave it there. Anything else? Thank you so very much for your attention this morning. Thank you for being here. It is an honor to be amongst you and in your presence. Thank you.
[Applause.]
[Video ends.]
