Biden administration increases deaf accessibility
A White House news briefing Jan. 25 by Press Secretary Jen Psaki featured a sign language interpreter — the first of many accessibility pushes to come under President Joe Biden’s administration. The White House
In the United States, there are more than 10 million deaf and hard of hearing citizens — many of whom may lack information accessibility to televised emergency situations or general broadcast news. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began, news organizations and government briefings have often failed to provide accurate American Sign Language (ASL) captions for the deaf community.
In light of this inaccessibility, President Joe Biden’s administration will be the first to include ASL interpreters at all White House press briefings. This historical step has Taylor Hein, a senior English major at Chapman and president of The Spoonies, applauding an inclusive motion that she feels is long overdue. She created The Spoonies after she developed lupus and fibromyalgia, dedicating it to raising awareness for the disability community and empowering those with chronic illnesses.
“I can say as someone who is actively learning ASL and trying to learn more about the deaf community that it is excellent to see an interpreter at the briefings, but it is frankly the bare minimum they can do in my perspective,” Hein said. “The least the government can do to ensure the equity of every one of its citizens to make sure everyone receives and understands the information in its entirety.”
However, the background of the first interpreter herself, Heather Mewshaw, is raising controversy due to her ties to far-right platforms and content.
According to ABC News, Mewshaw is an organizer of Hands of Liberty, a group that provides ASL interpretation for right-leaning news content and other audience-submitted videos. Hands of Liberty, previously called Right Side ASL, has been removed from Facebook for violating community standards. On this platform, Mewshaw has interpreted Trump administration events and other right-wing videos, including videos containing anti-Biden messages. Mewshaw also has appeared interpreting videos originally made by Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani and other videos claiming the election was fraudulent.
Despite concern, interpreter code of ethics strictly explains that interpreters cannot add or remove any information or emotion from the original source, a rule that Mewshaw has not been found breaking. Additionally, Hands of Liberty states under each video that they “provide, upon request, ASL interpreting accommodations to the Deaf community for inaccessible online video content.” Based on the factors described, Mewshaw presently avoids any culpability.
Looking retrospectively, former President Donald Trump’s administration received backlash after refusing to incorporate interpreters in televised briefings. The White House even continued to refuse after the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) made several requests for an ASL interpreter to be present during COVID-19-related press briefings, and the organization sued the Trump administration.
“The deaf community has always been overlooked,” said Rita Tamer, a Chapman University ASL professor. “Having interpreters in the White House and in politics is a big sigh of relief because the deaf population is large … It’s every deaf person’s right to consume media through their language. Captions in English aren't their language. It’s much more clear in ASL.”
The federal court presiding over the lawsuit between NAD and Trump ordered that the White House must begin providing ASL interpreters at all White House briefings, which began Nov. 13. Biden’s administration, however, will be the first to provide an ASL interpreter at every news briefing.
"As a part of this administration's accessibility and inclusion efforts, starting today we will have an ASL interpreter for our daily press briefings," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Jan. 25, when announcing the change. "The president is committed to building an America that is more inclusive, more just and more accessible for every American, including Americans with disabilities and their families."
While the introduction of ASL interpreters to White House press briefings is a positive step for the deaf community, Hein and Tamer both emphasize that more needs to be done to bridge the gap and push for accessibility rights. Tamer specifies that broadcast news should include interpreters on the screen.
“A really small percentage of deaf people can read lips, and it’s not 100% accurate either,” Tamer said. “The deaf community needs more access to everything, but the most important is the news … People need to know what’s going on in the world in their own language.”