Hispanic deaf advocate highlights needs for Latino deaf community

From the Ventura County Star in Calif.:

Joel A. Garcia (pictured), who was raised in Oxnard as a deaf child of hearing parents and later earned his bachelor’s degree in social work from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., plans to become an advocate in the U.S. and Latin America for the deaf and hard of hearing.

In an e-mail, Garcia, 27, wrote that Latino deaf children are “challenged because their families, schools and barrios are not able to understand” their needs.

Garcia wants to help these children’s parents, he wrote, because “communication is very important. I want to help Latino deaf children to become good political and cultural leaders for the future of America.”

In celebration of Deaf Awareness Month, Garcia will discuss his struggles — and how he overcame many challenges — Sept. 22 as part of the Oxnard College Literature Arts & Lecture Series.

Born in Ventura and raised in Oxnard, Garcia received two reasons for why he was deaf.

“My audiological doctor and my mom have two different stories,” he said. His doctor told him he was born deaf. His mother said he became deaf at age 2 when he fell two stories and hit his head on a stone square.

“I am very happy and proud to be deaf,” he emphasized. “I am not ashamed about my identity. I accept who I am.”

Growing up in Ventura County with a Latino hearing family was “difficult” he said. At home, “we made up our own homemade signs like gestures and mime.”

He attended Loma Vista School, Elmhurst Elementary School, Cabrillo Middle School and Rio Mesa High.

At school, Garcia did not learn Spanish or about the “identity” of Latino deaf culture, he said, because schools were unable to support this kind of education.

He later learned a method of communication called Sign Exact English, described as a system of manual communication that strives to be an exact representation of English vocabulary and grammar. “I was not comfortable with this language,” said Garcia, who is now fluent in American Sign Language. While he doesn’t lip-read very much, “I want to learn Mexican Sign Language and Spanish,” he said.

A turning point in his life occurred when he met two mentors at Gallaudet University — Lindsay Dunn, a South African deaf man, and Thuan Nguyen, a Vietnamese deaf woman. “They taught and trained me how to be a good political and cultural leader in the deaf culture,” he said. “I finally found my proud identity as a Latino deaf young man.”

He also credits his godmother, Judy Norcross, for helping him build his inner strength. A white hearing woman, “she encouraged me to improve my life.”

Because his family speaks only Spanish and doesn’t know ASL, “we are still struggling to communicate without an ASL/Spanish-speaking interpreter,” he said.

Currently a student at Oxnard College, Garcia plans to return to Gallaudet University for a graduate program next year.

Looking back on his life, Garcia remembers when one of his godsons expressed that “a Mexican deaf person can’t be successful because of his race and deaf status. He thought only white hearing people can be successful,” Garcia recalled. “He was shocked (that) I was successful at Gallaudet University to receive a bachelor of social work degree.”

On Sept. 22, Garcia hopes that attendees will gain an understanding of Latino deaf people’s values. “Please do not judge and discriminate our hopes, dreams and goals.”