EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an open letter submitted to the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees from the California Association of the Deaf stating that they are joining the NBDA in their call to address systemic racism at Gallaudet University. For a plain text version, please continue reading below.

June 26, 2020

To Gallaudet University Board of Trustees:

California Association of the Deaf (CAD) is joining the National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA) in their call to address the systemic racism at Gallaudet University. CAD supports the NBDA’s open letter to the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. Their letter asks Gallaudet University to acknowledge the need to fight the systemic racism that is prevalent in employment, education, and leadership throughout the United States.

Gallaudet University plays a huge and vital role in the state of California. Not only are many leaders and educators products of Gallaudet University, but many of our Black Indigenous People of Color are potential students. As an organization and as a Deaf
community, we need to take responsibility to dismantle systemic racism and injustice at Gallaudet University and elsewhere.

The California Association of the Deaf (CAD) is a membership-based non-profit organization, whose mission is to preserve, protect and promote language, humans, and civil rights for Deaf Californians including DeafBlind, DeafPlus, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened people throughout the state of California.

CAD has been working on various initiatives to promote intentional focus to bring about additional understanding, transparency, and support to our members and our deaf communities throughout California. Unfortunately, it is not enough. This is the reason
CAD stands with NBDA toward dismantling systemic racism at Gallaudet University.

Martin Luther King said, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Let us all not be silent.

In solidarity with NBDA,

Kavita Pipalia (President)
Jermaine Cornish (Vice President)
Deanne Bray (Secretary)
Dodi Ellis (Treasurer)
Abigail Longo (Membership Director)
Charity Acosta (Director at Large – North)
Darci Lassard (Director at Large – Central Valley)
Mingchen Yang (Director at Large – South)
Julie Rems-Smario (Past President)

https://www.nbda.org/news/nbda-open-letter-to-gallaudet-university-board-of-trustees-june-2020

CC: Insidore Niyongabo, NBDA President