United Against Racism and Violence Town Hall

To view the town hall: https://www.facebook.com/gallaudetu/videos/177878283640430/

The National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA), with support from Gallaudet University and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) hosted a Facebook Live town hall – United Against Racism and Violence – on Tuesday, June 2.

This panel featured Isidore Niyongabo, President, National Black Deaf Advocates, who served as moderator; Connell Crooms, Black Deaf activist; Dr. Laurene Simms, Chief Bilingual Officer, Gallaudet University; Howard Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of the Deaf; and Roberta J. Cordano, President, Gallaudet University.

Over 1,500 people attended the live town hall, and more than 64,000 have watched it since then.

The death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, while in police custody in Minneapolis has led to protests throughout the United States. These protests are in response to a long history of police brutality, injustice, and killing of members of the Black community. These events demonstrate the need to continue to deepen our dialogue about racism in the United States.

The NBDA has called upon the Deaf community to engage in a dialogue with a commitment to action against racism, police brutality, and injustice. Gallaudet is supporting the NBDA by hosting a town hall meeting via our Facebook Live streaming service today at 6 p.m. ET.

The NAD has been invited to participate in this panel along with other advocates, leaders, and allies from our community.

Join us for the special town hall this evening on our @GallaudetU Facebook page.

You can also read a letter sent to the community last Friday by Dr. Elavie Ndura, Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, with our response to police violence against African-Americans.

Thank you.