Collaborators:
Gallaudet University is a full university offering degrees to deaf and hard of hearing individuals using American Sign Language and English. The mission of Gallaudet includes the promotion of American Sign Language (ASL) as a full and legitimate language. Deaf people may encounter challenging attitudes regarding deafness and the use of sign language. Often, deaf people are seen as handicapped and erroneously assumed incapable of many functions, including cognitive. Facing common concerns and encountering similar attitudes brings deaf individuals together. The deaf community shares a language, a history and common goals, trials and triumphs. Still, the community is diverse and multicultural.

Idea:
We worked with professors in the Art Department at Gallaudet University to involve members of the deaf community in the Actions in Usonia. The Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool were locations chosen for their history and the saturation of meaning already in the spaces: here Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. Connections could be drawn between the history of the space and current concerns facing the deaf community.

Project:
In this action, Gallaudet student Kazeem Babatunde signed portions of the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial while the Floating Lab recorded. In the future, the Potomac River and public buildings will serve as portable podiums for projecting the recorded action. In this way, both the visual impact and the type of audience are expanded.

This project speaks to issues of inheritance, legacy, and appropriation. King’s dream “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, that all men are created equal” came to life through this expressive re-interpretation.