“Allyship is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.”

Forbes 11/30/18: Allyship-The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Diversity

Strategies that Interpreter Training Programs can adopt to lessen microaggressions in students starts first with their learning and exposure with Deaf BIPOC and/or with Interpreters of Color (ITOC) that they are not considered incompetent, having less intelligence, or the need to be pandered to.  Recognizing that we are working with a whole person and not reducing them to just another assignment would be a good start of demonstrating Allyship. 

If you truly believe in recognizing, acknowledging and deciding that the life experiences of DPOC/ITOC hold as much merit as those of your students towards becoming an effective Interpreter, you might want to encourage your students to become a member of Diversity Academy for Interpreters just like any other Deaf organization/s required or recommended for them as an ITP student. 

Here at Diversity Academy, we have many opportunities for ITP students to become aware of this building block in both Allyship and lessening microaggressions when they go out into the field independently and/or when working with ITOC in the near future.  We believe students need to learn about Allyship early in their interpreting training programs and we hope you do too.

Diversity Academy is an online portal providing webinars, courses, and diversity book studies covering PPO (Power, Privilege, and Oppression) topics related to the field of interpreting profession. At Diversity Academy, we strive to provide a brave or braver space where ITP students can access a diverse number of Deaf and Hard of Hearing professionals and consumers, and learn from them. We bring you the diverse experience that you may not find elsewhere.  We want interpreters to THRIVE on their journey to becoming the best possible interpreter they can be. 

What we offer:

• 12 different webinar BIPOC Deaf and hearing provide culturally rich experience and opportunity
• Resources of ASL social justice videos
• Unique Sankofa spotlight interviews and BEACON Cafe Chats of personal lived experiences
• Access to our “Cracking the Shell of Whiteness” course
• A lesson plan for your students to serve as a roadmap to navigate the resources available to get the most out of their membership with DAI.

We are now able to provide a student membership for Diversity Academy to allow students access to this unique online training for just $20.00 annually. If you have 20 or more students wanting to join, we can offer a discounted membership to your students. Please inquire with [email protected] for discounted memberships.