If you were as excited as I was when you saw Christine announced as the American Sign Language (ASL) performer during the Super Bowl, then no doubt you were just as frustrated as I was when there was only a fleeting glimpse of her during the actual performance.
As Christine mentioned herself “…it was a huge disappointment — a missed opportunity in the struggle for media inclusiveness on a large scale….I was angry and exasperated.” For those of us who embrace the ASL community, we felt the same. She goes on to mention the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, authored by Tom Harkin, which has given Christine a better chance at equality. Despite enjoying a better life as a Deaf immigrant, she was tempted to refuse the offer to sign the National Anthem as a sign of protest against the continuing injustices against the deaf.
In the end, she accepted thinking that it was better to give them a voice and raise awareness during such a prominent event. While Fox failed miserably to make the National Anthem accessible to viewers, she still has hope that her performance will help gain respect for American Sign Language, and its users, as a language and people just as worthy as anyone else of being in the land of the free.
ASL Performance by Christine Sun Kim Picture by Scott McIntyre for The New York Times
