July 17, 2026 • 26 mins
This week on The Latest with Loren LoRosa, Loren sits down with nationally certified ASL interpreter, accessibility advocate, and entrepreneur Cheyenne Atkins for a conversation that goes far beyond the viral clips from Essence Festival.
Cheyenne shares her journey into the profession, why Black ASL interpreters are still underrepresented, and what it really takes to interpret concerts, festivals, and live events. From translating hip-hop lyrics in real time to explaining the teamwork behind those unforgettable viral performances, she gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at a career many people don't fully understand.
The conversation also explores accessibility, cultural representation, pay equity, mentorship, and why creating inclusive experiences for the Deaf community is about much more than checking a box.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FM
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Jewists.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm a homegrowl that knows a little bit about everything
and everybody, you know, if you don't lie about that.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Right, Hey, y'all's up.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's Lauren Rosa and this is another episode of the
Latest with Lauren Rosa. This is your DELI Dig on
all things pop culture, entertainment, news and all of the
conversations that shake the room.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
So today we are about to get into a conversation
that I know is going to shake the room for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Moved to broncog grinding.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Pillow a little bit more in the screen because this
is about to be a real brown girl grinding conversation
here in Fis. Then this is about to be a
real browngog grinding conversation here because joining me, I have
a a SL interpreter. Her name is Shyanne Atkins, and
you guys may have seen her in some of her
work and work like hers because recently during the Essence
(00:52):
Festival we talked about here on the podcast as well too,
there were a group of black women ASL interpreters who
went so viral during the Essence Festival for interpreting the
concert space of the festival and just how they were
doing it going off having a good time and doing
what you know black people do, just bringing Joey to
everything that we do and everything that we touch. So
we're going to get into that conversation and the conversation
(01:14):
overall about being an ASL interpreter, those vibra moments we
see online when they go viral for various things tied
to celebrity, interaction and interpretation and just the grind and
the hustle of it all.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So Shyanne, welcome, welcome to the podcast. Thank you, Thanks Rob.
Me so frazy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So first talk to me a bit about your background.
Your nationally certified ASL interpreter, accessibility advocate, and a founder
of a CIA interpreting and consulting with more than eight
years of a professional experience in a space. So how
did you get into becoming an interpreter?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
So it's really it's like this long journey, but it's
also really like a short journey. So when I was
in elementary school and from Roosevelt, New York, and after
school they set up an ASL program where you could take classes,
and I was fascinated, Like sometimes I would just go
to school just so I can get to the after
school program and take the ASL courses and.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I just fell in love with the language.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And so around two thousand and six, my family relocated
to Florida, and at that time I had no interaction
with the deaf community, but I kind of use YouTube
to just keep up, keep learning things and.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So cause I was just really fascinated by it.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
And then when I moved to North Carolina, there was
a community college right around from where I was staying,
shout out to Central Piedmont, and I got the catalog
with the majors and minors in it, and I was
looking through and I was like interpret education, and very naively,
I was like, I know my ABC's, I can become
an interpreter. Had no idea what I was getting myself
(02:49):
into four years of that program. I often tell people
that interpreting and knowing how to sign or two different skills.
So I had to take ASL courses to build my
language foundation and then tak interpering courses to learn how
to interpret ASL. After that was finished, I graduated from
there in twenty eighteen, I took a gap year and
I did an internship at RIT called the Randoming program,
(03:12):
which was helping to increase the number of black and
brown interpreters in the field.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
After that, I transferred to.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Galadat in the fall of twenty nineteen, graduated in twenty
twenty one, and then I got my certification in April
of twenty twenty two. And so my journey has had
its fair shares of ups and downs. But you know,
with my community, with my village along the way, I
was able to get to where I had to go
and get certified and do all the things. And I'm
(03:39):
so grateful and blessed to be here and in the
position that I am in.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So you said that it was a program at after
school program. How common is that because I've never heard.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Of that as an after school program.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Oh so it growing up, I you know, I was
a kid, I didn't know. But now it's I'm seeing
more people interested in ASL. I live in Baltimore, and
there was a lady that was saying that she was
starting an ASL after school program here, and I think
it's amazing because I'm noticing that a lot of people
don't even know about ASL. They don't know that being
an interpreter is a career until they see an interpreter
(04:15):
go viral until they're.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Like, oh, like, how do you do that?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
So now I'm seeing like the influx of people being
interested in taking ASL courses, people asking me, They're like,
how do you become an interpreter and curious about that
journey because I realized that a lot of people don't
know that's a career choice in the life path that
you can take.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I think a lot of people are like, I mean,
we see you guys all the time at like concerts
and in different spaces, but I think it always amazes
people when it's in like a black space, like hip
hop or like whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I don't know why though, because interpret.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I feel like for as long as I can remember,
at most concerts or like really public gatherings, I would
see interpret like, I don't know what it is, Like,
what is it about being a black women in this
space or black person in the space that you think
makes people so like Wold.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
It's a very twofolded question.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think that the interpreting profession is eighty eight percent
of white gotrue, So most people when they see an interpreter,
more than likely they're seeing a white interpreter. And if
I'm being honest, I think that black interpreters hearing and
death are just now getting their credit due because we've
always been around. Black interpreters have always been doing the things.
(05:29):
They've always been providing the access, but I don't think
it was just as highlighted on the same level as
white interpreters.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And so being that the field is eighty eight percent white.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
And you know, so there's certified interpreters and there's unsortified interpreters,
so total, I just check the statistics, maybe we're hovering
around six hundred black certified interpreters in general.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So in the field that.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Is eighty eight percent white, you have like around five
six hundred black certified interpreters, And so it's not a
lot of us, given the context of the field.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
And how long we've been around. And I think now
we're seeing.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
This shift towards like having cultural inclusion and having you know,
deaf people often want interpreters that look like them, that
understand them, that come from us the same background as them,
And I feel like oftentimes there's a cultural mismatch. Right,
So if I'm a white interpreter and I show up
at a place like Essence Fest, it's kind of.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Like, oh, you may know but you may not, right.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, So it's like, we need to have these interpreters
in these spaces and make sure that we're giving interpreters
the opportunities that come up. And so sometimes for me,
if I'm not available, I'll reach out to my network.
He is anyone available to do this, because I think
representation is important, but also being there, also being a
qualified interpreter that knows what they're doing, because now not
(06:49):
only are we seeing black interpreters in these spaces, now
it's the kind of oh they're fake.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Oh do you remember the person a Nelson Mandela funeral?
Oh do you remember?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
It's like, y'all, it's real interpreters out here doing real work,
doing real things, you know, shifting the landscape of interpreting.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
And yeah, so I think that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Is there ever a time where you're like, just because
I am a black interpreter, I don't only want to
do the black things, or do you look at it
like you would own you would prefer to do things
that are more culturally connected to like who you are
and what you grew up on.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
So it's yes, And I feel like these questions are
so good. Yeah, don't hit me up at Juneteenth and
Black History Month if you don't work with me year round.
But also I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for
the black deaf community. So when they call, I answered,
I don't care what I'm doing. I can have, you know,
(07:42):
a big gig, but if you know one of the
black deaf people that raised me up in this field
and needed me, oh, that's coming before anything, because I
am not here without.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Community and the people that invested in me.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Dean Perry, he was one of the He's a black
deaf man from North Carolina, and I remember one day
I was like, I'm not doing this, it's not for me.
He was like, I don't care how you finished, but
you're gonna finish.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And you know, he.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Really poured into me, and he really like helped me in.
Alita Hill and Janie Portsi, all of these people who
are very integral part of my interpreting journey to get
to where I'm at, and it were also white interpreters.
My professor Kelly Stewart, she was like, you're gonna do it. Mark,
Like all of these people that poured into me, even
when I was like I don't want to do this,
Like it's not for me. I don't know, like I
(08:24):
started having an existential crisis. So yeah, I don't only
want to do that stuff. If your only relationship with
me is when you're desperate in February and in June,
we don't need to talk. And it also shows me
that you don't have a rosta that is full of
diverse interpreters if you're now in these two months looking
and desperate for black interpreters. But also I love being
(08:45):
in black spaces. Like if that could be the bulk
of my work, I work with black people all day
every day, I would be happy.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
How tough is it being as though, Like I mean
you talked about the numbers, right, how tough is it
trying to get a corporate and you talk about the
diverse roster these businesses, these events to realize like once
you say that your roster isn't as versus it should be,
that that should change, right, Because I.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Don't like when if you think about like.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Anything that has ever been like not inclusive, people push
back and they revolt on it. Right, Like we talk
about how like it's messed up that like DEI is
getting removed from things. There's a big conversation about Target
and not in all the boycott and all these places
that are that we think are adding to that problem. Right,
But I've never heard somebody be like, yo, we need
(09:35):
to revolt or push back in the black interpreter space
because we just don't know that this is happening.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
So how hard is it that you have to face.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
That and you don't really have the people with you
because we don't talk a lot about y'all. We don't
know what this is even happening. It hasn't been tough
for you trying to change from the inside.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
You know, as you can always got in troublecause I'm
gonna say the thing, I'm gonna do the thing.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I really don't care who's with me.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You know, I'm a one woman army, and you know,
sometimes I've taken a hit because I've been too vocal.
But also I've seen how I've planted those seeds and
how they've sprouted later. So maybe they don't like me
in the moment, but I then see the change that
starts to happen, and it sucks. It's now happening because
black interpreters are going viral. Now there's a need for it.
(10:21):
But there's always been a need for black interpreters in
their space. There's always been a need for cultural competent interpreters.
There's always been a.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Need for that.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So oftentimes when I breach these conversations with people, I
realized that a lot of people just don't know right.
A lot of people don't know how to get an interpreter.
A lot of people don't know what accessibility looks like.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
A lot of.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
People don't know how to Okay, I got an interpreter,
but how do I get a black interpreter for this event?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Is it racist if I ask for a black interpreter?
Is it? Like? Some of it is just starting a conversation.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
And I think a lot of people once I engage them,
once I you know, cause I don't come at it
from like I don't know how you don't know, But
I come from a hey, let's talk, Let's have a conversation.
Let's sit down, you wanna go get coffee, we could
talk about this. I really try to open the door
because it's really a conversation that needs to be had.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
You know. Then there's sometimes like I turn up when
people try to play you.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Know, it's really it's really it's really a balance and
at but what I realize as I've gone through this
career and this journey, a lot of people just don't know,
and it's really informing people, telling people how they could
get an interpreter. I love to give out my information
and even if I'm not the interpreter, Oh you need
a Palestinian interpreter, you need a Mexican interpreter, you need
(11:36):
my My network is vast, and so I pride myself
on being able to put the right people in all
spaces and just making sure that it is a fit.
It works out, because at the end of the day,
I just want the deaf clients and consumers to be happy.
I want them to leave Essence fast and be like, dang,
that was the best experience. It was accessible from start
to finish. And you know that same feeling not hearing
(11:57):
people leave after a show and they're like, that was
such a good show. That is really my goal is
to make sure that everyone is included. It is accessible
for everyone.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
So talk about Essence Festival, because even before y'all started
going viral, to the people that weren't there like being there.
I remember that was playing like in between the sets
they were playing Meat Meals, Dreams and Nightmares, and I
wanted a girl like y'all were signing, but it was
like the beat, like to the beat, and I'm like,
(12:27):
how are they signed? Like okay, so when you're signing
the songs, right, I know that you're signing the words,
but it's like y'all are also carrying the beat in
the melody as well too as you're doing it. And
I'm not really I don't really know too much about
you know, how people who are hearing impaired are able
to pick up like tones and feelings and vibrations and things.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
But I know that there's like a science and an
artistry to.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
This because I started thinking about that, I'm like, wait,
if I'm a deaf person and I'm here, how much
of this can I hear and feel? Especially on the
song like meet Mills, Dreams and Nightmares? Like, so what's
the what was I? What was I watching?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
So shout out to Tierra, my girl held it down
Dreams and Nightmare. Come on, I'll be like, girl, they
saw you. You know, I know it, but I feel
like she conveys it on a level that is just
out of this world. So I can't really speak to
death experience, but I'll speak to what I know. So
I went to gallad At University, which is the only
deaf university in the world, and despiral what people may
(13:25):
think dead people like the party, you know, just like
your normal college experience. Deaf people are blasting music. It's
funny because to hearing people, you're like, why is this
so loud? But it needs to be so loud so.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
They could hear.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
They could feel the vibrations, and so while they may
not be able to hear the words, I noticed a
lot of my difference. They read the lyrics right, so
they'll feel the vibration, they'll read the lyrics and they
kind of go back and forth. And so there's this
misconception that deaf people don't.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Listen to music.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Also, deafness is a spectrum, right, Like everyone is not
completely dead, deafness is it can be. You know, you
can only your fire trucks and ambulances to be completely deaf.
To oh, I have some hearing where I can hear
some things. So when we're working a place like Essence Fest,
we don't know who's an audience, right, so you just
kind of gotta find your happy medium and find where
(14:16):
you just have to shoot in the dark and hope
that you know it hits someone. I feel like, specifically
for black interpreters, it's not in us, is on us
right like we we it's a certain essence to being black.
And and also we listen to this music. We know
this music. There's this essence fest that's my auntie, that's
the cookout, that's the I grew up with this music.
(14:38):
And so when it came to now interpreting it, I
already got the beat because I'm already dancing to it.
But now I just got to put my hands to it.
And so, yeah, dreams of Nightmas is one little song.
When you go to a festival, you're gonna hear Dreams
of Nightmares. Like my good friend Rodney, he has an
Apple playlist. He's like black songs.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You know we're gonna be playing at festivals and all,
and it's.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Knuck if you buck two steps swack serve all these
songs that you know we're gonna come up.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
So we're very.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Intentional about practicing songs that we know we're gonna come up.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
I was gonna say, but what do you do when
like cause you can't.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
You can practice for the artists potentially, guys probably get
setless and stuff like that, but for the music in between,
when they just buying time with the crowd, you don't
know what's gonna be played. So how do you prepare
for that? Because if it's a song you don't know,
do you just not sign it? Like, oh no, I know.
For me, I'm an abby music listener. I don't even
(15:31):
own a TV. I haven't owned a TV in year,
So literally all I do is listen to music.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
All day, every day, day and night. That is just
who I am.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
So a lot of interpreters like you have to listen
to music, like you have to be in the know
what new albums are coming out, who's going on tours.
So really there's certain things where I'm like, I listen
to this music. And one thing I realized early on
in my career doing festival interpreting, sometimes I know the beat,
but I don't know the.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Words right and know it like they can work until
you guys work right.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
So when you're in a festival space like that, usually
there's a team interpreter. There's an interpreter who is on screen,
there's an interpreter who's off screen, and typically the interpreter
who's off screen is feeding you the lyrics. So I
may have something, but I don't know what I'm in
my interpreter, uh, the team interpreter is feeding me the lyrics.
So then I just take what I'm seeing and include
it in my interpretation. So yeah, if I don't know
(16:26):
the words all the time, I really depend on my
team and shout out to them because essence Fest, it's
sometimes not even knowing the words, but when you have
your n ears on, sometimes the music is higher than
the vocals, and so I'm like, where am I? But yeah,
it's really a team process. Everyone's kind of working together.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Make it happen.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Is there ever, like, like I know, there's like a
lot of dudes, like you said, y'all practice, you might
throw a song too, like another interpreter.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
You don't know it, but what are it? Don'ts? Cause
like y'all was turned up, y'all was having a good time,
y'all was turking, y'all. We we was y'all or with
us in the party?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Is there ever times where you're like, Okay, we can
do this and go this far, but like we can't
do this like, are there don't to interpreting as well?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yeah, so don't you never want your back towards the crowd? Right, Like,
so even if we're dancing and we're turned up, we're
kind of still like cheating the audience because my hands
need to be visible. So I'm never gonna be full
fledged wrking off camera I will, but on camera I won't.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
But like, I.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Always make sure that I'm still being seen, that it's
still accessible.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Another don't is.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
You never put your hands down, even when you don't know,
you never put your hands down.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
So what do you do then?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Because sometimes people will be like, like when you see
interpreters at different places, they'd be like they're not even
saying right, Like you've seen that probably where they're like,
she up there just doing.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Stuff, right, So like your hands are up, what are
you doing? Are y'all really just doing things? At some point?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
So again you're really depending on your team and in
that moment. Sometimes Okay, I don't know the words to
the song. This is me personally, I can't speak for
anyone else, but I know the vibe. I know what
they're going for. So if I am, Let's take James
and nightments for a reason if I miss a lyric,
sometimes I'll just pick up with when I know what's
(18:19):
coming next, and then I'll just have to feel so
when all I know is mutter, when it come to me,
I don't know there's a but I've been the kod
so I have to make that connection from where I
missed and where it picks up.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And sometimes it's just.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Like, what is the artist talking about in this moment?
How can I still even I don't have the words?
How can I still convey the money in the essence
of what until I can pick it up again. But again,
depending on your team and having them like feed you
the lyrics, which is if you're working a festival like Essence,
there's always multiple interpreters. There was four interpreters, and so
(18:54):
this should this should never be a reason you put
your hands down. And I know, for me personally, when
I'm on screen and I don't know something, I like
when multiple interpreters feed me the lyrics because it's like
I get to pick what I want because everyone doesn't
sign the same thing every way, right, So oh, I
like how you sign this, but I like how you
sign it, and so I'm constantly looking at both people
signing me the song, and then I decide how and
(19:16):
what I want to incorporate.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Got you okay? Okay?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And I mean I don't know how deep you can
go into this and want to go into this question,
but how lucrative is being a interpreter? And is there
a pay gap between like, you know, interpreters of color,
black interpreters and the majority in the space, which you
said are white interpreters.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh, there's definitely a pay gap.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I you know, people say don't talk about money. I
firmly am against that because if you don't talk about it,
then you don't know how much you're being cheated, right,
And so oftentimes I'm like, this doesn't sound right, And
so I'll go be like, hey, I work for company A.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
You work for them.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
How much are you getting paid? We have similar qualifications,
we have it, we have this, but they're not paying
me the same. And so well, I often you have
to advocate for yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
You have to.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
You have to advocate for yourself. You have to advocate
for what you want. You have to know the value
that you bring. You know, you can't be a new
interpreter going to people asking them for one hundred fifty
dollars an hour, and you don't have got a certification
to your name, right, Like, you got to put in
work to get to a certain place where you can
be like, no, this is what I want, this is
what I demand, this is what I like, And some
(20:27):
interpreting is what you make it, right, Like, there are
some people who work full time and there are some
people who don't.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I tell people, I work full full time, so.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I'm always working, I'm always at an event, I'm always moving.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
So it's lucrative, but it is tiring.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
And I think a lot of people don't realize interpreting
is a process. And when I go on line and
I you know, I read comments, I'm a human and
they're like, oh, she's not signing this, Oh she doesn't
know this, Oh you know whatever, and it's like, you
don't know what's happening in that moment. My sound could
have went out in my ears, the battery path, I
could have died, you know, someone could have fell off screen,
(21:04):
Like there's so much happening, and I think oftentimes we
take things out of context. So we see ten seconds
of an interpreter interpreting, and they may be a little off,
but we have to get people grace because we don't
know what's happening on the other side of that screen.
Does it help or hurt you when those type of
things go viral or just when y'all go viral in general,
(21:25):
like how does it help or hurt?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I guess so, like an Essence.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Festival moment, I'm sure that was really positive for y'all.
Have like a ray J at BT, like doing heat
whatever heck ray J was doing with the interpreter, or
like going people going viral saying like the interpretter ain't
really saying that Nav's out there doing anything, Like how
does that help or hurt you?
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Guys in the space that you're working.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's really helpful when it's positive, right, and you can
talk about your work and something that I'm so passionate about.
When it's negative, I'm be honest with you, I don't
care because those people don't do what I do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Those people don't and will never do what I do.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
And it's easier to be a keyboard warrior, right and
you have no And usually I find out it's from
people who aren't even deaf, They are not connected to
the community, they.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Don't really know anything, and they're just like saying stuff.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
You know, it hurts sometimes because you're human and you're
like dang. But also it's just like these people don't
know me. These people don't know my process. And if
I had a bad day, so be it. We all
have bad days. Mind just happen to be recorded, and
so I really take the good with the bad because
it was always way more.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Good than that this bad. Yeah, So I just kind
of like, I'm like, Okay, you don't know me. I
think that's my disposition. I'm like, you don't know me,
you don't know what I do.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So yeah, I got you. And as we rap, thank
you for the conversation. I think really insightful conversation. I
don't think I've ever really understood you guys job as
a career if I'm being honest with you, and I
think a lot of people possibly don't. So I think
that there's a lot of light being shined here on
like this as a career option for it. You know,
a young black person, I know that you have an
(23:04):
organization and you're you know, all about mentoring the next
generation coming up in your work as well too. Let's
talk a little bit about that and let's talk about,
you know, how you can sult in the different things
that you do.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
So I am the president of NAO BIDC, which stands
for the National Lines of Black Interpreters. This organization has
been around for decades with the purpose of providing a
safe space foot interpreters, a place where interpreters can do
information sharing, sharing resources, provide mentoring. It's really a community
of interpreters who come together to really further advance the
(23:40):
field and also get an increasing number of black interpreters.
And if I'm being honest, we've been at the same
five hundred, six hundred interpreters for.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
A while now.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
It's pretty like it's been it's been pretty steady, and
so there's also a lot of people who are leaving
the field. You know, there's also the side of interpreting
where people are burnt out, people are tired, people want
to get paid more, people don't feel deserved, and so
there's a lot of While there's people coming up, there's
also a lot of people leaving. And so one of
(24:08):
the most important things to me, and I'm passionate about,
is bridging that gap. I love to talk to children,
so oftentimes when I'm in spaces and there's children there
and they come up after I'm done with something. It
takes nothing but five minutes for me to connect with
them because a lot of them don't know how you
do it, how you become an interpreter. Most people don't
know that there's interpreting training programs all over the US
(24:30):
that you can go to that can teach you and
provide you the skills, but specifically for NAOBI DC, we
welcome all interpreters, whether you be seasoned interpreter and interpreted
for thirty forty years or you're just getting started.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
We provide mentoring.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Last night, we actually hosted Huno's speed networking. There's a
NAOBI Atlanta chapter, so we brought both of our chapters
together to get.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
To know each other.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Because I don't know what they're doing in Atlanta, they
don't know what we're doing in DC. So it was
just a nice place for everyone to come together to
get to know each other, ask questions.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We also provide scholarships as well.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
For interpreters who are interested in taking their certification exams.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
It's called the Cofield Scholarship.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
And we're here for any interpreters, upcoming interpreters and You
don't have to be an interpreter to be a part
of Naobi.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You can be curious.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
You can just come join the meeting, join us, and
we're welcoming to any and everyone who wants to learn
more about the field. Become an interpreter, be an ally,
be a supporter. It's really for any and all to
really come learn about what we do and be a
part of it.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
So how do people get more information? Is their website?
Is their instagram? Where can people find you? Follow you,
get in contact.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
All the things, so you can follow Naobi DC on
all social media or at naobi DC. The website is
NAOBIDC dot org and just take a look around and
follow us. You can email us. All our contact information
is there and we will get back to you as
soon as we can.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yes, and thank in. Naobi is for the audio listeners.
Naobi is Inaobi dash DC. Correct, Yes, yes, yes, thank you.
I really really appreciate the conversation, Appreciate you being here,
Appreciate the work y'all doing out there. And literally Okay,
so make sure you guys tap in with Shy in
(26:13):
everything that she has happening. This has been another episode
of the Latest with Laura and Rosa. Go find her,
let her know, Low Riders. Let you guys listen to
this episode. You appreciate her work. I don't think y'all
understand we are of service to people. It is an
art and we appreciate all of the opinions and the
viral moments. But it is a job, okay, and the
girls are working. The Brown girls are out here grinding,
(26:36):
So go show her some love we can. We always
appreciate that. It keeps us going.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
I'm Lauren the Rosa again.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I tell you guys, every episode, y'all could be anywhere
with any old body talking about all of the things,
which you guys choose to be right here with me,
my Low Riders.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I appreciate y'all. I'll catch you in the next episode.
Jewists.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm a homegrowl that knows a little bit about everything
and everybody, you know, if you don't lie about that.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Right, Hey, y'all's up.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It's Lauren Rosa and this is another episode of the
Latest with Lauren Rosa. This is your DELI Dig on
all things pop culture, entertainment, news and all of the
conversations that shake the room.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
So today we are about to get into a conversation
that I know is going to shake the room for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Moved to broncog grinding.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Pillow a little bit more in the screen because this
is about to be a real brown girl grinding conversation
here in Fis. Then this is about to be a
real browngog grinding conversation here because joining me, I have
a a SL interpreter. Her name is Shyanne Atkins, and
you guys may have seen her in some of her
work and work like hers because recently during the Essence
(00:52):
Festival we talked about here on the podcast as well too,
there were a group of black women ASL interpreters who
went so viral during the Essence Festival for interpreting the
concert space of the festival and just how they were
doing it going off having a good time and doing
what you know black people do, just bringing Joey to
everything that we do and everything that we touch. So
we're going to get into that conversation and the conversation
(01:14):
overall about being an ASL interpreter, those vibra moments we
see online when they go viral for various things tied
to celebrity, interaction and interpretation and just the grind and
the hustle of it all.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So Shyanne, welcome, welcome to the podcast. Thank you, Thanks Rob.
Me so frazy to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
So first talk to me a bit about your background.
Your nationally certified ASL interpreter, accessibility advocate, and a founder
of a CIA interpreting and consulting with more than eight
years of a professional experience in a space. So how
did you get into becoming an interpreter?
Speaker 3 (01:52):
So it's really it's like this long journey, but it's
also really like a short journey. So when I was
in elementary school and from Roosevelt, New York, and after
school they set up an ASL program where you could take classes,
and I was fascinated, Like sometimes I would just go
to school just so I can get to the after
school program and take the ASL courses and.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I just fell in love with the language.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And so around two thousand and six, my family relocated
to Florida, and at that time I had no interaction
with the deaf community, but I kind of use YouTube
to just keep up, keep learning things and.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
So cause I was just really fascinated by it.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
And then when I moved to North Carolina, there was
a community college right around from where I was staying,
shout out to Central Piedmont, and I got the catalog
with the majors and minors in it, and I was
looking through and I was like interpret education, and very naively,
I was like, I know my ABC's, I can become
an interpreter. Had no idea what I was getting myself
(02:49):
into four years of that program. I often tell people
that interpreting and knowing how to sign or two different skills.
So I had to take ASL courses to build my
language foundation and then tak interpering courses to learn how
to interpret ASL. After that was finished, I graduated from
there in twenty eighteen, I took a gap year and
I did an internship at RIT called the Randoming program,
(03:12):
which was helping to increase the number of black and
brown interpreters in the field.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
After that, I transferred to.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Galadat in the fall of twenty nineteen, graduated in twenty
twenty one, and then I got my certification in April
of twenty twenty two. And so my journey has had
its fair shares of ups and downs. But you know,
with my community, with my village along the way, I
was able to get to where I had to go
and get certified and do all the things. And I'm
(03:39):
so grateful and blessed to be here and in the
position that I am in.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
So you said that it was a program at after
school program. How common is that because I've never heard.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Of that as an after school program.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Oh so it growing up, I you know, I was
a kid, I didn't know. But now it's I'm seeing
more people interested in ASL. I live in Baltimore, and
there was a lady that was saying that she was
starting an ASL after school program here, and I think
it's amazing because I'm noticing that a lot of people
don't even know about ASL. They don't know that being
an interpreter is a career until they see an interpreter
(04:15):
go viral until they're.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Like, oh, like, how do you do that?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
So now I'm seeing like the influx of people being
interested in taking ASL courses, people asking me, They're like,
how do you become an interpreter and curious about that
journey because I realized that a lot of people don't
know that's a career choice in the life path that
you can take.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I think a lot of people are like, I mean,
we see you guys all the time at like concerts
and in different spaces, but I think it always amazes
people when it's in like a black space, like hip
hop or like whatever.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I don't know why though, because interpret.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I feel like for as long as I can remember,
at most concerts or like really public gatherings, I would
see interpret like, I don't know what it is, Like,
what is it about being a black women in this
space or black person in the space that you think
makes people so like Wold.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
It's a very twofolded question.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think that the interpreting profession is eighty eight percent
of white gotrue, So most people when they see an interpreter,
more than likely they're seeing a white interpreter. And if
I'm being honest, I think that black interpreters hearing and
death are just now getting their credit due because we've
always been around. Black interpreters have always been doing the things.
(05:29):
They've always been providing the access, but I don't think
it was just as highlighted on the same level as
white interpreters.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
And so being that the field is eighty eight percent white.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
And you know, so there's certified interpreters and there's unsortified interpreters,
so total, I just check the statistics, maybe we're hovering
around six hundred black certified interpreters in general.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So in the field that.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Is eighty eight percent white, you have like around five
six hundred black certified interpreters, And so it's not a
lot of us, given the context of the field.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
And how long we've been around. And I think now
we're seeing.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
This shift towards like having cultural inclusion and having you know,
deaf people often want interpreters that look like them, that
understand them, that come from us the same background as them,
And I feel like oftentimes there's a cultural mismatch. Right,
So if I'm a white interpreter and I show up
at a place like Essence Fest, it's kind of.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Like, oh, you may know but you may not, right.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Yeah, So it's like, we need to have these interpreters
in these spaces and make sure that we're giving interpreters
the opportunities that come up. And so sometimes for me,
if I'm not available, I'll reach out to my network.
He is anyone available to do this, because I think
representation is important, but also being there, also being a
qualified interpreter that knows what they're doing, because now not
(06:49):
only are we seeing black interpreters in these spaces, now
it's the kind of oh they're fake.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Oh do you remember the person a Nelson Mandela funeral?
Oh do you remember?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
It's like, y'all, it's real interpreters out here doing real work,
doing real things, you know, shifting the landscape of interpreting.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
And yeah, so I think that's where we are.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Is there ever a time where you're like, just because
I am a black interpreter, I don't only want to
do the black things, or do you look at it
like you would own you would prefer to do things
that are more culturally connected to like who you are
and what you grew up on.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
So it's yes, And I feel like these questions are
so good. Yeah, don't hit me up at Juneteenth and
Black History Month if you don't work with me year round.
But also I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for
the black deaf community. So when they call, I answered,
I don't care what I'm doing. I can have, you know,
(07:42):
a big gig, but if you know one of the
black deaf people that raised me up in this field
and needed me, oh, that's coming before anything, because I
am not here without.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Community and the people that invested in me.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Dean Perry, he was one of the He's a black
deaf man from North Carolina, and I remember one day
I was like, I'm not doing this, it's not for me.
He was like, I don't care how you finished, but
you're gonna finish.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And you know, he.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Really poured into me, and he really like helped me in.
Alita Hill and Janie Portsi, all of these people who
are very integral part of my interpreting journey to get
to where I'm at, and it were also white interpreters.
My professor Kelly Stewart, she was like, you're gonna do it. Mark,
Like all of these people that poured into me, even
when I was like I don't want to do this,
Like it's not for me. I don't know, like I
(08:24):
started having an existential crisis. So yeah, I don't only
want to do that stuff. If your only relationship with
me is when you're desperate in February and in June,
we don't need to talk. And it also shows me
that you don't have a rosta that is full of
diverse interpreters if you're now in these two months looking
and desperate for black interpreters. But also I love being
(08:45):
in black spaces. Like if that could be the bulk
of my work, I work with black people all day
every day, I would be happy.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
How tough is it being as though, Like I mean
you talked about the numbers, right, how tough is it
trying to get a corporate and you talk about the
diverse roster these businesses, these events to realize like once
you say that your roster isn't as versus it should be,
that that should change, right, Because I.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Don't like when if you think about like.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Anything that has ever been like not inclusive, people push
back and they revolt on it. Right, Like we talk
about how like it's messed up that like DEI is
getting removed from things. There's a big conversation about Target
and not in all the boycott and all these places
that are that we think are adding to that problem. Right,
But I've never heard somebody be like, yo, we need
(09:35):
to revolt or push back in the black interpreter space
because we just don't know that this is happening.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
So how hard is it that you have to face.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
That and you don't really have the people with you
because we don't talk a lot about y'all. We don't
know what this is even happening. It hasn't been tough
for you trying to change from the inside.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
You know, as you can always got in troublecause I'm
gonna say the thing, I'm gonna do the thing.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
I really don't care who's with me.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You know, I'm a one woman army, and you know,
sometimes I've taken a hit because I've been too vocal.
But also I've seen how I've planted those seeds and
how they've sprouted later. So maybe they don't like me
in the moment, but I then see the change that
starts to happen, and it sucks. It's now happening because
black interpreters are going viral. Now there's a need for it.
(10:21):
But there's always been a need for black interpreters in
their space. There's always been a need for cultural competent interpreters.
There's always been a.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Need for that.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So oftentimes when I breach these conversations with people, I
realized that a lot of people just don't know right.
A lot of people don't know how to get an interpreter.
A lot of people don't know what accessibility looks like.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
A lot of.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
People don't know how to Okay, I got an interpreter,
but how do I get a black interpreter for this event?
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Is it racist if I ask for a black interpreter?
Is it? Like? Some of it is just starting a conversation.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
And I think a lot of people once I engage them,
once I you know, cause I don't come at it
from like I don't know how you don't know, But
I come from a hey, let's talk, Let's have a conversation.
Let's sit down, you wanna go get coffee, we could
talk about this. I really try to open the door
because it's really a conversation that needs to be had.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
You know. Then there's sometimes like I turn up when
people try to play you.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Know, it's really it's really it's really a balance and
at but what I realize as I've gone through this
career and this journey, a lot of people just don't know,
and it's really informing people, telling people how they could
get an interpreter. I love to give out my information
and even if I'm not the interpreter, Oh you need
a Palestinian interpreter, you need a Mexican interpreter, you need
(11:36):
my My network is vast, and so I pride myself
on being able to put the right people in all
spaces and just making sure that it is a fit.
It works out, because at the end of the day,
I just want the deaf clients and consumers to be happy.
I want them to leave Essence fast and be like, dang,
that was the best experience. It was accessible from start
to finish. And you know that same feeling not hearing
(11:57):
people leave after a show and they're like, that was
such a good show. That is really my goal is
to make sure that everyone is included. It is accessible
for everyone.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
So talk about Essence Festival, because even before y'all started
going viral, to the people that weren't there like being there.
I remember that was playing like in between the sets
they were playing Meat Meals, Dreams and Nightmares, and I
wanted a girl like y'all were signing, but it was
like the beat, like to the beat, and I'm like,
(12:27):
how are they signed? Like okay, so when you're signing
the songs, right, I know that you're signing the words,
but it's like y'all are also carrying the beat in
the melody as well too as you're doing it. And
I'm not really I don't really know too much about
you know, how people who are hearing impaired are able
to pick up like tones and feelings and vibrations and things.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
But I know that there's like a science and an
artistry to.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
This because I started thinking about that, I'm like, wait,
if I'm a deaf person and I'm here, how much
of this can I hear and feel? Especially on the
song like meet Mills, Dreams and Nightmares? Like, so what's
the what was I? What was I watching?
Speaker 3 (13:05):
So shout out to Tierra, my girl held it down
Dreams and Nightmare. Come on, I'll be like, girl, they
saw you. You know, I know it, but I feel
like she conveys it on a level that is just
out of this world. So I can't really speak to
death experience, but I'll speak to what I know. So
I went to gallad At University, which is the only
deaf university in the world, and despiral what people may
(13:25):
think dead people like the party, you know, just like
your normal college experience. Deaf people are blasting music. It's
funny because to hearing people, you're like, why is this
so loud? But it needs to be so loud so.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
They could hear.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
They could feel the vibrations, and so while they may
not be able to hear the words, I noticed a
lot of my difference. They read the lyrics right, so
they'll feel the vibration, they'll read the lyrics and they
kind of go back and forth. And so there's this
misconception that deaf people don't.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Listen to music.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Also, deafness is a spectrum, right, Like everyone is not
completely dead, deafness is it can be. You know, you
can only your fire trucks and ambulances to be completely deaf.
To oh, I have some hearing where I can hear
some things. So when we're working a place like Essence Fest,
we don't know who's an audience, right, so you just
kind of gotta find your happy medium and find where
(14:16):
you just have to shoot in the dark and hope
that you know it hits someone. I feel like, specifically
for black interpreters, it's not in us, is on us
right like we we it's a certain essence to being black.
And and also we listen to this music. We know
this music. There's this essence fest that's my auntie, that's
the cookout, that's the I grew up with this music.
(14:38):
And so when it came to now interpreting it, I
already got the beat because I'm already dancing to it.
But now I just got to put my hands to it.
And so, yeah, dreams of Nightmas is one little song.
When you go to a festival, you're gonna hear Dreams
of Nightmares. Like my good friend Rodney, he has an
Apple playlist. He's like black songs.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
You know we're gonna be playing at festivals and all,
and it's.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Knuck if you buck two steps swack serve all these
songs that you know we're gonna come up.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
So we're very.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Intentional about practicing songs that we know we're gonna come up.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
I was gonna say, but what do you do when
like cause you can't.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
You can practice for the artists potentially, guys probably get
setless and stuff like that, but for the music in between,
when they just buying time with the crowd, you don't
know what's gonna be played. So how do you prepare
for that? Because if it's a song you don't know,
do you just not sign it? Like, oh no, I know.
For me, I'm an abby music listener. I don't even
(15:31):
own a TV. I haven't owned a TV in year,
So literally all I do is listen to music.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
All day, every day, day and night. That is just
who I am.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
So a lot of interpreters like you have to listen
to music, like you have to be in the know
what new albums are coming out, who's going on tours.
So really there's certain things where I'm like, I listen
to this music. And one thing I realized early on
in my career doing festival interpreting, sometimes I know the beat,
but I don't know the.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Words right and know it like they can work until
you guys work right.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
So when you're in a festival space like that, usually
there's a team interpreter. There's an interpreter who is on screen,
there's an interpreter who's off screen, and typically the interpreter
who's off screen is feeding you the lyrics. So I
may have something, but I don't know what I'm in
my interpreter, uh, the team interpreter is feeding me the lyrics.
So then I just take what I'm seeing and include
it in my interpretation. So yeah, if I don't know
(16:26):
the words all the time, I really depend on my
team and shout out to them because essence Fest, it's
sometimes not even knowing the words, but when you have
your n ears on, sometimes the music is higher than
the vocals, and so I'm like, where am I? But yeah,
it's really a team process. Everyone's kind of working together.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Make it happen.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Is there ever, like, like I know, there's like a
lot of dudes, like you said, y'all practice, you might
throw a song too, like another interpreter.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
You don't know it, but what are it? Don'ts? Cause
like y'all was turned up, y'all was having a good time,
y'all was turking, y'all. We we was y'all or with
us in the party?
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Is there ever times where you're like, Okay, we can
do this and go this far, but like we can't
do this like, are there don't to interpreting as well?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Yeah, so don't you never want your back towards the crowd? Right, Like,
so even if we're dancing and we're turned up, we're
kind of still like cheating the audience because my hands
need to be visible. So I'm never gonna be full
fledged wrking off camera I will, but on camera I won't.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
But like, I.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Always make sure that I'm still being seen, that it's
still accessible.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Another don't is.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
You never put your hands down, even when you don't know,
you never put your hands down.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
So what do you do then?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Because sometimes people will be like, like when you see
interpreters at different places, they'd be like they're not even
saying right, Like you've seen that probably where they're like,
she up there just doing.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Stuff, right, So like your hands are up, what are
you doing? Are y'all really just doing things? At some point?
Speaker 3 (17:59):
So again you're really depending on your team and in
that moment. Sometimes Okay, I don't know the words to
the song. This is me personally, I can't speak for
anyone else, but I know the vibe. I know what
they're going for. So if I am, Let's take James
and nightments for a reason if I miss a lyric,
sometimes I'll just pick up with when I know what's
(18:19):
coming next, and then I'll just have to feel so
when all I know is mutter, when it come to me,
I don't know there's a but I've been the kod
so I have to make that connection from where I
missed and where it picks up.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
And sometimes it's just.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Like, what is the artist talking about in this moment?
How can I still even I don't have the words?
How can I still convey the money in the essence
of what until I can pick it up again. But again,
depending on your team and having them like feed you
the lyrics, which is if you're working a festival like Essence,
there's always multiple interpreters. There was four interpreters, and so
(18:54):
this should this should never be a reason you put
your hands down. And I know, for me personally, when
I'm on screen and I don't know something, I like
when multiple interpreters feed me the lyrics because it's like
I get to pick what I want because everyone doesn't
sign the same thing every way, right, So oh, I
like how you sign this, but I like how you
sign it, and so I'm constantly looking at both people
signing me the song, and then I decide how and
(19:16):
what I want to incorporate.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Got you okay? Okay?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
And I mean I don't know how deep you can
go into this and want to go into this question,
but how lucrative is being a interpreter? And is there
a pay gap between like, you know, interpreters of color,
black interpreters and the majority in the space, which you
said are white interpreters.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Oh, there's definitely a pay gap.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
I you know, people say don't talk about money. I
firmly am against that because if you don't talk about it,
then you don't know how much you're being cheated, right,
And so oftentimes I'm like, this doesn't sound right, And
so I'll go be like, hey, I work for company A.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
You work for them.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
How much are you getting paid? We have similar qualifications,
we have it, we have this, but they're not paying
me the same. And so well, I often you have
to advocate for yourself.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
You have to.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
You have to advocate for yourself. You have to advocate
for what you want. You have to know the value
that you bring. You know, you can't be a new
interpreter going to people asking them for one hundred fifty
dollars an hour, and you don't have got a certification
to your name, right, Like, you got to put in
work to get to a certain place where you can
be like, no, this is what I want, this is
what I demand, this is what I like, And some
(20:27):
interpreting is what you make it, right, Like, there are
some people who work full time and there are some
people who don't.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
I tell people, I work full full time, so.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I'm always working, I'm always at an event, I'm always moving.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
So it's lucrative, but it is tiring.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
And I think a lot of people don't realize interpreting
is a process. And when I go on line and
I you know, I read comments, I'm a human and
they're like, oh, she's not signing this, Oh she doesn't
know this, Oh you know whatever, and it's like, you
don't know what's happening in that moment. My sound could
have went out in my ears, the battery path, I
could have died, you know, someone could have fell off screen,
(21:04):
Like there's so much happening, and I think oftentimes we
take things out of context. So we see ten seconds
of an interpreter interpreting, and they may be a little off,
but we have to get people grace because we don't
know what's happening on the other side of that screen.
Does it help or hurt you when those type of
things go viral or just when y'all go viral in general,
(21:25):
like how does it help or hurt?
Speaker 1 (21:27):
I guess so, like an Essence.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Festival moment, I'm sure that was really positive for y'all.
Have like a ray J at BT, like doing heat
whatever heck ray J was doing with the interpreter, or
like going people going viral saying like the interpretter ain't
really saying that Nav's out there doing anything, Like how
does that help or hurt you?
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Guys in the space that you're working.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's really helpful when it's positive, right, and you can
talk about your work and something that I'm so passionate about.
When it's negative, I'm be honest with you, I don't
care because those people don't do what I do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Those people don't and will never do what I do.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
And it's easier to be a keyboard warrior, right and
you have no And usually I find out it's from
people who aren't even deaf, They are not connected to
the community, they.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Don't really know anything, and they're just like saying stuff.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
You know, it hurts sometimes because you're human and you're
like dang. But also it's just like these people don't
know me. These people don't know my process. And if
I had a bad day, so be it. We all
have bad days. Mind just happen to be recorded, and
so I really take the good with the bad because
it was always way more.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Good than that this bad. Yeah, So I just kind
of like, I'm like, Okay, you don't know me. I
think that's my disposition. I'm like, you don't know me,
you don't know what I do.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So yeah, I got you. And as we rap, thank
you for the conversation. I think really insightful conversation. I
don't think I've ever really understood you guys job as
a career if I'm being honest with you, and I
think a lot of people possibly don't. So I think
that there's a lot of light being shined here on
like this as a career option for it. You know,
a young black person, I know that you have an
(23:04):
organization and you're you know, all about mentoring the next
generation coming up in your work as well too. Let's
talk a little bit about that and let's talk about,
you know, how you can sult in the different things
that you do.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
So I am the president of NAO BIDC, which stands
for the National Lines of Black Interpreters. This organization has
been around for decades with the purpose of providing a
safe space foot interpreters, a place where interpreters can do
information sharing, sharing resources, provide mentoring. It's really a community
of interpreters who come together to really further advance the
(23:40):
field and also get an increasing number of black interpreters.
And if I'm being honest, we've been at the same
five hundred, six hundred interpreters for.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
A while now.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
It's pretty like it's been it's been pretty steady, and
so there's also a lot of people who are leaving
the field. You know, there's also the side of interpreting
where people are burnt out, people are tired, people want
to get paid more, people don't feel deserved, and so
there's a lot of While there's people coming up, there's
also a lot of people leaving. And so one of
(24:08):
the most important things to me, and I'm passionate about,
is bridging that gap. I love to talk to children,
so oftentimes when I'm in spaces and there's children there
and they come up after I'm done with something. It
takes nothing but five minutes for me to connect with
them because a lot of them don't know how you
do it, how you become an interpreter. Most people don't
know that there's interpreting training programs all over the US
(24:30):
that you can go to that can teach you and
provide you the skills, but specifically for NAOBI DC, we
welcome all interpreters, whether you be seasoned interpreter and interpreted
for thirty forty years or you're just getting started.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
We provide mentoring.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Last night, we actually hosted Huno's speed networking. There's a
NAOBI Atlanta chapter, so we brought both of our chapters
together to get.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
To know each other.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
Because I don't know what they're doing in Atlanta, they
don't know what we're doing in DC. So it was
just a nice place for everyone to come together to
get to know each other, ask questions.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
We also provide scholarships as well.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
For interpreters who are interested in taking their certification exams.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
It's called the Cofield Scholarship.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
And we're here for any interpreters, upcoming interpreters and You
don't have to be an interpreter to be a part
of Naobi.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You can be curious.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
You can just come join the meeting, join us, and
we're welcoming to any and everyone who wants to learn
more about the field. Become an interpreter, be an ally,
be a supporter. It's really for any and all to
really come learn about what we do and be a
part of it.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
So how do people get more information? Is their website?
Is their instagram? Where can people find you? Follow you,
get in contact.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
All the things, so you can follow Naobi DC on
all social media or at naobi DC. The website is
NAOBIDC dot org and just take a look around and
follow us. You can email us. All our contact information
is there and we will get back to you as
soon as we can.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Yes, and thank in. Naobi is for the audio listeners.
Naobi is Inaobi dash DC. Correct, Yes, yes, yes, thank you.
I really really appreciate the conversation, Appreciate you being here,
Appreciate the work y'all doing out there. And literally Okay,
so make sure you guys tap in with Shy in
(26:13):
everything that she has happening. This has been another episode
of the Latest with Laura and Rosa. Go find her,
let her know, Low Riders. Let you guys listen to
this episode. You appreciate her work. I don't think y'all
understand we are of service to people. It is an
art and we appreciate all of the opinions and the
viral moments. But it is a job, okay, and the
girls are working. The Brown girls are out here grinding,
(26:36):
So go show her some love we can. We always
appreciate that. It keeps us going.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
I'm Lauren the Rosa again.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I tell you guys, every episode, y'all could be anywhere
with any old body talking about all of the things,
which you guys choose to be right here with me,
my Low Riders.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I appreciate y'all. I'll catch you in the next episode.
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DJ Envy
Jess Hilarious
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