Black American Sign Language Interpreters are often requested to interpret in spaces where Black history and culture is taught. Instead of retaining the information as a participant, we are only able to take in the information long enough to interpret it. We leave these spaces feeling conflicted; thrilled to see participants learn and yet, very unsatisfied with our inability to engage.

It is vital for Black interpreters to have a safe space to retain, reflect and engage in dialogue about our history and present day issues impacting our community. The mission behind The Black ‘Terp Book Club For Serious Reads is to learn from books both old and new, dive deeper into learning through independent reflection, and engage in dialogue (in both ASL and English) with our peers.

It is our vision that this book club will lead to a stronger personal knowledge of Black history and terminology and will further develop our professional interpreting work.

About

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Check out the books we’ve read so far!

Our Bookshelf

Can Allies Join the Book club?

Anyone is welcome to read the books, do the personal independent reflection and attend the interpreter workshops (in-betweens). However, the in-person and online discussions are intended for Black folks to gather and reflect. It is likely these discussions will involve “in-group” discussions that deserve to be discussed freely. We encourage allies to read the materials and gather with other allies to discuss.

How are books Selected?

A major component of the book club is to learn as we read. Books are selected based on what resources accompany them. Only books that have study guides, videos, educational events, upcoming book tour or other educational resources are selected. We also prioritize books written by Black authors.

FAQ

Who is The Black ‘terp Book Club For?

This book club is for the benefit and development of the Black ASL/English Interpreting community. This includes all Black folks who also identify as hearing, Deaf, DeafBlind, Deaf Plus, Hard of Hearing, CODA, Interpreters (novice, intermediate, experienced, students, interns, mentors, probono, instructors) LGBTQIA+, Black/biracial and/or Black/multiracial and all Black diasporic and intersectional identities.