Why Desegregation Wasn't Necessarily a Good Thing If You Were Deaf

Vlog | Destiny Yarbro | May 13, 2026 | 5 min watch

Video Transcript

0:00 Intro: History of Desegregation in Deaf Schools (1960s - 1970s)

Before the year 1964, Deaf schools here in the United States were separate. There were Black Deaf schools and white Deaf schools. Then desegregation happened and most people think "that was a good thing, right?" But for Black Deaf Americans, this story is a bit more complicated.

0:22 Segregated Deaf schools in the U.S.

Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in that period before, they had Deaf schools of course but they were all segregated meaning there were Black Deaf schools and white Deaf schools that were kept very separate with no interaction between pupils at all. And typically the government funding to the white Deaf schools was significantly more than what the government gave Black Deaf schools which meant less resources, less funding, less teachers, etc. for these students.

0:50 Black ASL and Deaf culture

But many Black students look back on their time at these schools with fondness because it was there they had their culture and their language, Black ASL, and they had Deaf teachers who were Black.

1:07 Examples of Black ASL signs

[Clip from Sorenson's 2019 Southern School for the Deaf video where they show "school" "copy" none of your business" and more Black ASL signs]

1:37 Black Deaf teachers after integration

When the schools were integrated, it usually meant that these students had to now go to the white Deaf school which meant having a white principal and white teachers. What also typically happened was the Black Deaf teachers were fired or demoted and reassigned to lesser positions at the white school. Black ASL flourished in Black Deaf schools, but completely halted in the integrated schools. There weren't anymore Black Deaf teachers which meant no one was teaching in Black ASL. Not anymore.

2:06 Decline of Black ASL

Imagine a Black Deaf student showing up at the integrated school and while signing with a teacher he uses this sign, a sign that means "pain" in Black ASL. "It hurts!" he says. Well, the white teacher might say, "Oh, wait, I don't quite understand what you're signing. Oh! You mean it hurts?" Then she proceeds to teach the student the "correct" sign. She teaches her sign for "hurt" and the student thinks his sign is wrong so he discards it for the teacher's sign. That's what happened. And Black ASL usage shrunk as a result.

2:39 Unique to Deaf school desegregation

Now, understand that integration for these schools meant, yes, classrooms were integrated with white and Black students, but what was unique is that Deaf dorms, sleeping areas, were also integrated.

2:58 Was desegregation a good thing?

So yes, integration was a good thing, but for Black Deaf students it also meant access to their language, culture, heritage, history disappeared.

3:11 Comparing today’s mainstreaming to historical integration

It's funny because this scenario, wondering was integration good or bad for these students, reminds me of mainstream schooling today where instead of Deaf students going to Deaf schools, they go to hearing schools and are integrated with their hearing peers.

3:35 Is Mainstreaming a Good Thing ?

So yet again, you have a situation where most people say "Yes, this is a good thing!" it's something to celebrate. "Finally, they're integrated!" without understanding that for many Deaf students, it's not good. They struggle, a lot. Why?

Well, mainstreaming means they don't socialize with other Deaf, it means they lack access to language, it means they learn solely through an interpreter with all information getting passed like a game of "Telephone" so they get a hazy partial version of what's being taught. It means they can't chat and socialize with other Deaf and learn from a variety of teachers and teaching styles. They cant, they only get an interpreter's version. It means they lack access to world understanding, to world knowledge, limiting what's called "incidental learning."

Also, mainstream today means undue focus on the ear, on your "disability" not, in contrast, like Deaf schools where culture, language, heritage and history are the focus, where deafness isn't considered a disability but is an integral part of who you are, your identity. It is seen as a gift, what you have, rather than focusing on what you lack, if that makes sense.

4:42 Outro

So it's interesting to compare the two, desegregation in history and mainstreaming today. Looking at the two, seeing what's good or bad about it, the pros and the cons.

Today we covered just one short chapter in history, so if you want to dive into more Deaf history and totally nerd out on it, check out this video "3,000 years of Deaf history" where I take you through an overview. Thank you for subscribing, liking, sharing, and just supporting my channel!

And just as a bonus tid bit, another Black ASL sign, my favorite, is this: ___. It means "curious."

My Videos

Sources:

Sorenson Video (Southern School for the Deaf): https://www.facebook.com/SorensonComm/videos/black-deaf-history-southern-school-for-the-deaf/426598808112793/
Gallaudet Exhibit: https://gallaudet.edu/museum/exhibits/history-through-deaf-eyes/awareness-access-and-change/desegregated-schools-deaf-students-of-color-make-the-best-of-their-new-surroundings/
Plessy v. Ferguson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson
PRRAC Article: https://www.prrac.org/how-brown-v-board-of-education-affected-black-teachers-a-new-perspective-january-april-2024-p-r-article/
EdWeek Article: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/brown-v-board-decimated-the-black-educator-pipeline-a-scholar-explains-how/2022/05

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