Taki Harris reflects on their journey to artistry and advocacy

By Liv Dunleavy Asst. Arts & Features Editor The Center for Inclusive Excellence, Department of American Sign Language (ASL), and ASL Club came together on March 4 to host Takiyah (Taki) Harris for “‘The Road to Where I Am Today’ A Deaf Artist Shares Their Story.” The event took place in the McCarthy Alumni Room and interpreters made sure the event was accessible in both English and ASL. Jacob Heal, a junior ASL interpreting major, started the discussion, explaining why Harris was elected as the event’s speaker. “Taki is a wonderful person, an awesome artist, a director of American Sign Language, of Artistic Sign Language, and the two of us have worked together in the past in Broadway on Boston - so I have learned a lot from Taki. “So I would like to introduce Taki as an amazing Deaf artist, and a person that really advocates for the Black Deaf community. Thank you for coming,” Heal signed. Harris introduced themself with their sign name and stated their pronouns as they/them. They went on to talk about their childhood - they grew up in Kankakee, Illinois, and moved around because their father was in the military. They mentioned that growing up in Kankakee, a predominantly white town, and going to a mainstream white school caused them to be unhappy. “I didn’t know who I was, I didn't know my identity. … At that white school, they didn’t foster identifying who you are,” they said. After graduating high school, they went on to attend National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) located in New York, and Rochester Technical Institute (RTI). They added, “I also started being involved in vocational rehab (VR), working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, in terms of having disabilities and getting them VR funding. All of these different areas of my life have allowed me to get where I am now, where I am currently going for my second master’s. “For you that are seated in this room … think about what you want to do, think about the opportunities you have, what passions lie within you? “I know some students feel a sense of anxiety where they feel as though they want to give up or drop out, but I want to encourage you to follow where your heart is leading you,” they signed. “Some of you may want to eventually give up on sign, but that’s important not to do. Look at yourself, look at the skills you have and use them. I am here to support you and stand with you,” Harris stated. Harris then opened up the floor for Q&A from participants in the room. One student asked if anyone in Harris’ family knew any sign when they were growing up. Harris responded, “At first [my mom] realized when I wasn't able to speak clearly, she started to use specifically visuals, for instance ‘cookie,’ but then she would use phonics as well. “And so she would mouth ‘cookie’ and show me the pictures. And she often started to come up with her own signs, called ‘home signs.’ She would have a picture of a cookie and pretend to put it in her mouth. With visuals and phonetics, I started to understand,” they added. Another student asked how Harris has been participating in activism recently. “I like to advocate for Deafblind immigrants. I used to work at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and I realized there were a lot of Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Deafblind students who were from out of this country,” Harris signed. “Unfortunately at the Horace Mann School there were not a lot of Black, Indigenous, and people of color … who were instructors at that school so it was definitely a lost opportunity,” they explained. They said that in the classrooms you might see one Black instructor, “one Asian instructor, or one Latinx instructor,” but oftentimes those instructors would leave. They said this would leave an impact on the students because they are not able to find a role model within their teachers. Harris added, “I am an advocate for children and families, just thinking about ICE, and what's going on right now and the lack of communication that may happen if ICE were to come,” they signed. “That's where I became a staunch advocate to make sure these students are protected. To provide resources to specifically these immigrant families.” Taki Harris’ work and resources are available at @TakiHapicArt on Facebook or their Instagram @Takiphoto.