Stephanie D. Johnson, a.k.a. "Najma", a Deaf-Blind Black Panqueer community educator explains different examples and situations where intersectionality* exists. She emphasizes that, without intersectionality, Deaf communities will fall apart. Full transcript is provided here: http://intersectionalsouls.weebly.com/what-is-intersectionality.html
"What exactly is intersectionality?" by Najma Johnson. (5 minutes) [video thumbnail description: ]
Supplemental Videos:
Click on this YouTube video to watch. Transcript is provided here:
[video description-brown male sitting cross-legged leaning against white wall with what appears to be shelf brackets on each side. Male is wearing black t-shirt with rounded collar and short sleeves; he wears blue jeans. Male’s head is shaven or bald with black square-ish glasses. He has a touch of a five-o-clock shadow.]
TRANSCRIPT: Allow me to introduce myself-I am Felix Gonzalez. I am DeafBlind with tunnel vision. I am Latino, Chicano. My major is Computer Science/Software Engineering (abbreviation SE).
I want to share with you my amazing experiences at Ohlone College O-h-l-o-n-e College. The past three weeks have been incredible. For the past five years I have been mainstreamed with hearing students with ASL/English interpreters. I have been able to get through my classes with some struggle. For this semester I requested CDI and DI for the first time. I wanted to experiment and see how it would work. It has been three weeks and the experience has been mind boggling. W-o-w. Wow. I want to share with you in detail my experiences with CDI/DI.
The physical set up in a mainstreamed classroom setting I would sit in front with an interpreter in front of me actually a team of two interpreters in front of me. They would take turns working as you know interpreters to do. The CDI/DI would sit behind me. Off to the side of me would be a CCTV which the CDI/DI would manage the camera.
If the instructor walked to the left of the room to write something on the board, the CDI/DI would direct the camera in the correct direction enabling me to watch the instructor without losing visual tracking. I could see the CCTV with the instructor and the interpreters within my viewscape without losing visual cues. This set up proved to be a very smooth efficient access.
During a hands on activity or in lab environment working on computers, the instructor would use multiple modalities in instruction. The instructor may start speaking which my CDI/DI would clasp my right shoulder interpreting the instructor was on my right. I could find the ASL/English interpreter within the same view space. If the instructor moved to the left to write something, the CDI/DI would scribble on my left shoulder. If the instructor was walking around, the CDI/DI would walk on my back using the first two finders following the instructor’s path in the room. All of this gave me full access to the environment with all the happenings. In addition to all that, I knew what the other students’ cues were; whether they were quiet (line across my back) or laughing (two claw-shaped hands ‘scratching back’) or students raising their hands (fingertips on back going upward). This feeding of information was W-O-W-O-W.
I asked the instructor if they were aware of a program called TeamViewer. This program connected my iPad to the instructor’s computer as the instructor uses it during the lecture. The program provides a seamless smooth way to follow the instructor coupled with the CDI/DI providing environmental cues. With all of this I followed the instruction with full access. Further, screen shots could be taken which I could use later on when doing assignments. Ironically this program also benefitted the other students in the room especially those sitting way back whose view of the screen was blurry. Each of them could connect using TeamView.
I also use note takers who would take notes on the instructions for use later especially for quizzes, exams, or something similar. It is essential to have every step laid out clearly in computer science.
Finally, I have my own 1:1 interaction with the instructor away from all the distractions. The CDI/DI are behind me as before with the ASL/English interpreters behind the instructor. I interact directly with the instructor using the environment cues interpreted by CDI/DI; hand grasp on shoulder (everything is good), hand tap on shoulder (carry on with conversation), hand clasp on mid arm (puzzled or there is a question or need for clarification). This set up makes for a smooth 1:1 interaction.