Miss-Delectable
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Signing Pride - Southern Voice Atlanta
LYNNE JOHNSON RECALLS STROLLING into Piedmont Park in 1993 with her partner, curious to see what all the hubbub was about. She had recently moved from Florida and didn’t realize it was Atlanta Pride weekend.
“We had no idea what was taking place,” she says, via an American Sign Language interpreter using a videophone. Today, deaf and hard of hearing people can use a videophone to sign with an interpreter and communicate in a much simpler, quicker way than the old TTY method.
“I noticed they had an [ASL] interpreter on the stage. I was shocked and impressed, and saw how many deaf people were there,” Johnson says. “I thought, ‘Yes, this is for me!’”
Johnson, a member of the gay Peachtree Rainbow Deaf Society, is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of gay deaf people who benefit from Atlanta Pride’s dedication to having ASL interpreters on all stages for all events.
ASL INTERPRETATION HAS BEEN provided at Pride since the 1980s, but began on a volunteer basis. When Donna Flanders joined the Pride Committee in early 2000, she wrote grants to secure professional ASL interpreters for the event. Today, all ASL interpreters are paid out of Pride’s budget. And it’s an investment worth making, Flanders says.
Last year Atlanta Pride was named “Outstanding Interpreted Event of the Year” by the Georgia Association of the Deaf, a non-gay organization. Flanders was also named “Outstanding ASL Interpreter of the Year.”
Over the upcoming Pride weekend, there will likely be eight ASL interpreters working the stages, Flanders says, and each one has done a lot of homework before the party even starts.
“We will get lyrics from the performers ahead of time so we can study them and even sometimes interview the writer to make sure we get the full and complete understanding of what they wrote,” Flanders explains.
When one musician wrote about being scared and sinking to the bottom of the sea in a song, Flanders interviewed the songwriter and learned the artist was actually describing how she felt when her conservative Christian family rejected her for being gay.
“And that completely changes my interpretation,” says Flanders. “Our goal is to give the best interpretation so that the deaf and hard of hearing can get meaning and intonation of a hearing person. We want to be as true to the message as we can, so this person ends the day having the same experience as the hearing audience.”
“It’s a tough challenge and a huge responsibility,” she says of the constant circle ASL interpreters face. “We want people to be laughing at the right time, crying at the same time as hearing people. The reason we do this is not because of ‘poor deaf people’ but we want to be an equalizer. And for me, [interpreting at Pride] is especially rewarding because it’s like two worlds colliding — deafness and gayness. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
AS PRESIDENT OF GAD, Christopher Patterson, who is gay, understands the hard, extensive work that goes into ASL interpretation at Atlanta Pride and other events. He says the organization’s honor last year was well deserved.
“It was selected by people in the community who strongly feel Atlanta Pride should be honored for the interpreting services which the interpreters did an outstanding job,” he says in an e-mail.
Patterson and his partner, Brad, have been together 11 years and Patterson says they are glad to see more and more events providing ASL interpretations in the city.
“Plays, outdoor events, etc. are becoming more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing people who wishes to participate in events where in the past they were not afforded the opportunity to enjoy events like hearing people,” he says.
LYNNE JOHNSON RECALLS STROLLING into Piedmont Park in 1993 with her partner, curious to see what all the hubbub was about. She had recently moved from Florida and didn’t realize it was Atlanta Pride weekend.
“We had no idea what was taking place,” she says, via an American Sign Language interpreter using a videophone. Today, deaf and hard of hearing people can use a videophone to sign with an interpreter and communicate in a much simpler, quicker way than the old TTY method.
“I noticed they had an [ASL] interpreter on the stage. I was shocked and impressed, and saw how many deaf people were there,” Johnson says. “I thought, ‘Yes, this is for me!’”
Johnson, a member of the gay Peachtree Rainbow Deaf Society, is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of gay deaf people who benefit from Atlanta Pride’s dedication to having ASL interpreters on all stages for all events.
ASL INTERPRETATION HAS BEEN provided at Pride since the 1980s, but began on a volunteer basis. When Donna Flanders joined the Pride Committee in early 2000, she wrote grants to secure professional ASL interpreters for the event. Today, all ASL interpreters are paid out of Pride’s budget. And it’s an investment worth making, Flanders says.
Last year Atlanta Pride was named “Outstanding Interpreted Event of the Year” by the Georgia Association of the Deaf, a non-gay organization. Flanders was also named “Outstanding ASL Interpreter of the Year.”
Over the upcoming Pride weekend, there will likely be eight ASL interpreters working the stages, Flanders says, and each one has done a lot of homework before the party even starts.
“We will get lyrics from the performers ahead of time so we can study them and even sometimes interview the writer to make sure we get the full and complete understanding of what they wrote,” Flanders explains.
When one musician wrote about being scared and sinking to the bottom of the sea in a song, Flanders interviewed the songwriter and learned the artist was actually describing how she felt when her conservative Christian family rejected her for being gay.
“And that completely changes my interpretation,” says Flanders. “Our goal is to give the best interpretation so that the deaf and hard of hearing can get meaning and intonation of a hearing person. We want to be as true to the message as we can, so this person ends the day having the same experience as the hearing audience.”
“It’s a tough challenge and a huge responsibility,” she says of the constant circle ASL interpreters face. “We want people to be laughing at the right time, crying at the same time as hearing people. The reason we do this is not because of ‘poor deaf people’ but we want to be an equalizer. And for me, [interpreting at Pride] is especially rewarding because it’s like two worlds colliding — deafness and gayness. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
AS PRESIDENT OF GAD, Christopher Patterson, who is gay, understands the hard, extensive work that goes into ASL interpretation at Atlanta Pride and other events. He says the organization’s honor last year was well deserved.
“It was selected by people in the community who strongly feel Atlanta Pride should be honored for the interpreting services which the interpreters did an outstanding job,” he says in an e-mail.
Patterson and his partner, Brad, have been together 11 years and Patterson says they are glad to see more and more events providing ASL interpretations in the city.
“Plays, outdoor events, etc. are becoming more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing people who wishes to participate in events where in the past they were not afforded the opportunity to enjoy events like hearing people,” he says.