thinking of the 7th annual National Asian Deaf Congress conference happening this weekend at Berkeley City College, hosted by the Bay Area Asian Deaf Association. in 2011, i attended the conference as part of my job while a graduate assistant for the office of diversity at gallaudet. i remember taking the train to NYC, eating a falafel sandwich and leaving my backpack after eating and then rushing to back to find it still in my seat, getting lost in times square as i boarded a bus instead of the subway, taking 5 hours to get to my hotel in Queens... then waking up early the next morning to walk into the conference, only to see Brandon L. Ruiz-Williams sitting with other gallaudet students representing the Asian/Pacific Islander student club. both of us took in a sharp breath of air, nostrils flaring, and turned our heads away from each other in deep annoyance and ugh s/he is here for this whole week too? but in a matter of hours, we had started talking and the start of something really beautiful begun. (thats one reason why NADC will always have a special place in my heart.) the week was also such an important exposure for me to yet another often neglected intersection of DDBDD (Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled) West/Central/East/SouthEast Asian and PacificIslander folks. i had many moments where i had to be humbled for my inappropriate communication/behavior codes in meetings and other spaces. i connected with many people and those connections have sustained. this is why DDBDD BIPOC organizations, spaces, conferences, meetings, events, gatherings, are so important. its so important for us from Signing communities to give space and time for these events to keep happening through the generations. while i so wish i could be there this weekend, i am so glad that NADC and a new generation is being exposed to these transformative experiences.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 00:23:35 +0000
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