Deaf school faces allegations from former students & staff

More than a dozen former students and staff spanning decades say students "were verbally berated by leaders and shamed publicly" at Georgia's Harvest Baptist Church of the Deaf.  Read the full story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press here.

Deaf Ref Sues Athletic Assoc

Donald Jacobs is suing the Georgia High School Association for discrimination. The deaf basketball referee says that while the association requires refs to attend the Georgia High School Association referee camps for training and evaluation, it refuses to provide an interpreter, insisting he come up with his own. Read more about Jacobs plight in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution here.

Deaf inmates denied equal access: Lawsuit

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against Georgia. The complaint accuses the state failing to provide deaf and hard-of-hearing inmates access to interpreters and other tools to communicate effectively in violation of ADA law. As a result, “deaf and hard of hearing people are incarcerated more frequently, suffer harsher prison conditions, remain in prison longer, and return to prison faster." Read the full story from the Associated Press here.

News in ASL from CNN-backed online TV network

An online TV network for American Sign Language users called Sign1News has been in operation now for about a year. While not financied by CNN, the effort is supported by the cable news newtwork. As part of CNN Newsource, the half-dozen employees at Sign1News are able to utilize CNN video for their brief newscasts. Former Atlanta anchor Karen Graham is behind the effort. There are two regular newscasts at 10am and 7pm, Easter time.

Georgia to Maintain aid for Deaf Universities

The state of Georgia is backtracking on it's plan to withdraw financial support for students who attend Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Read more here.

Funding Cuts Proposed for Deaf Students in GA

The state of Georgia is considering cutting its college funding to support students who attend both Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Read the full story from the Rome News-Tribune here.

Deaf Girl to Sign the National Anthem Before the College Championship Game

12-year-old Carly Ortega will sign the national anthem at the college football championship game Monday night. The Zac Brown Band play the Star-Spangled Banner before the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama's Crimson Tide face off. Carly told WSB-TV that she is doing it in honor of her mother who recently died of cancer but admits, "I’m going to be nervous and pretty scared."

Deaf NFL Player Honored

image from NFL.com

The first deaf offensive player in the NFL is having a great season. Falcons fullback Derrick Coleman was selected as a first-team alternate for the Pro Bowl, according to the Tennesseean.

Teens attack Deaf Student at School

Atlanta teens have been caught on camera beating a deaf classmate. The group face suspension for attacking Jaqueline Flournoy at Maynard Jackson High School. Flournoy says they made derisive comments about her speech and boyfriend. WSB-TV has a video report.

Father and Son get Implants

A Georgia father and his son got cochlear implants together-despite the fact the father was at first against his son getting an implant. Atlanta's Fox 5 was there when Randy Adams had his implant activated.

Hospital Settles Terp Complaints for $75k

A Georgia hospital has settled a complaint over it's handling of deaf patients. Floyd Medical Center in Rome will pay $75,000 to three Deaf people who didn't get the services required under ADA law. One woman went through a C-section without an interpreter. Floyd has agreed to change its procedures. Read more about the settlement here.

Sentencing in Fatal DUI

A Georgia judge sentenced a man who killed a deaf cyclist to 15 years, with five years in custody, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Damon Thomas Latuch hit Joseph "Deaf Joe" Gathambiri with his truck and killed him. Latuch pleaded guilty to first-degree vehicular homicide. He agreed to pay $9000 to Gathambiri's family. Read more about the story here.

NAD in ATL

The 52nd Biennial National Association of the Deaf Conference is underway in Atlanta. It runs through Saturday at the Atlanta Hilton. For more information, click here.

Valedictorian's Speech

An Atlanta-area deaf high schooler gave a moving speech at his graduation. But Evan Mercer didn't' get to address his fellow students during the ceremony because he is deaf, but because he is the valedictorian of the Harrison High School Class of 2014. WXIA-TV has a video report below. No captions but you can read the story here. The second video is Evan's entire speech (which comes with Googles sometimes helpful automated captions).

Update on Carson

A kindergartner in suburban Atlanta is adjusting well to his cochlear implants--after his family's insurance company first refused to pay for the procedure. But earlier this year, ABC News did a piece on it and the company changed its mind. ABC has a video update on Carson Rubin's story below (captions available).

Lineman, interpreter work as team on the gridiron

An Athens, Georgia high school football player is making his mark. Read how T.J. Ellison and his interpreter are affecting the Clarke Central Gladiators here.

Bike ride fund-raiser reaches Georgia

Jacob Landis arrived in Atlanta to seen the Braves play yesterday. It's part of a swing around the country that is taking Landis coast to coast--to major league baseball stadiums around the country. He's nearing the end of his cycling adventure that is raising money for cochlear implants. WAGA-TV sat down with Landis this morning in Atlanta (captions available). Below is a video of the interview.

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The Deaf State proposal

Before the U.S. civil war, a deaf man named John J. Flournoy tried to get the U.S. Congress to set aside land in the western territories for the establishment of a deaf state. In 1855, the American School for the Deaf graduate made the recommendation because he believed the deaf could flourish without the restrictions of the hearing world. The primary means of communication would be sign language. The state never worked out but another of Flournoy's ideas did--he wanted a school for the deaf in Georgia and his prolific letter writing helped lead to the formation of the Georgia School for the Deaf. Flournoy, known for living an eccentric lifestyle, had a deaf brother and his father was a Georgia slaveholder. You can read more about this chapter in Deaf History in the Disability Studies Quarterly here or in Jack R. Gannon's book Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf Americans or John V. Van Cleve's A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America.

GA Biennial Gathering

An ASL Festival is planned this Saturday afternoon (July 20) to raise money for the Georgia Association of the Deaf. It's part of the group's biennial conference taking place at the University of Georgia in Athens. Admission is five dollars to attend at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education’s Mahler Hall. There will be performances provided by the deaf from other countries who now live in Georgia along with presentations on the history, culture and language of American Sign Language. The conference itself begins Wednesday. For more information, click here.

GA Summer Fest adds Terps

A Georgia festival focused on the plays written by locals is will offer interpreting services during shows and at its Meet the Playwright talkback series.  Organizers of the 15th annual Essential Theatre will use focus groups after the festival ends to find out what else can be done to meet the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing audience members. The Essential Theater runs through August 11 at the Actor's Express Theatre in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta.  There is a list of shows with ASL interpreting and the talkback series here.