Civically Leadership Conference

The Civic Leadership Conference held last Saturday was a great introduction to engagement within the community. Although none of the workshops particularly focused on Deaf culture and interacting within the community, most of what was discussed can be applied. My favorite section of the conference was the very first part; the keynote speech. From the moment the professor began talking, I was all in. The discussion he lead about being the change we need to see in the world, but by doing so in a way that is mutually beneficial and lacking in ego was fantastic. I love how he showed humility through the discussion of his own errors in trying to serve a community he was not apart of. I also loved how he wasn't afraid to discuss the politics of being someone who is civically engaged. The Deaf community was not touched on within his speech, however what he said applies. We cannot, as hearing people/interpreters, show up into a community, give them what we want, and expect praise. That gets the Deaf community nowhere. There is a level of pity and judgement that comes from this savior complex that we are all guilty of engaging in. I had never equated that to colonization in the past, but it absolutely is. Trying to mold the Deaf community to be more like our own hearing culture is a form of colonization, because it is actively eliminating culture and putting one on a pedestal while trying to erase the other. I think the fact that the Deaf community was not mentioned in any of the workshops I attended, shows how desperately allyship is needed in these spaces where the Deaf are being left out of the conversation.  

Hosted by the University of Utah's Bennion Center and Salt Lake Community College's Thayne Center, the annual Civic Leadership Conference explores community leaders' diverse pathways towards social change.