Torn Between Identities and Roles as a Deaf Faculty of Color: A Case Study

What are the chances of a Deaf and Person of Color becoming a university or college professor? Extremely slim. This case study focuses on a multiply‐oppressed group of Deaf and People of Color who work in higher education. They will be referred to as Deaf Faculty of Color (DFOC). The focus will be on their experiences in the settings of “predominantly white, hearing‐serving institutions” (PWHI), covering both 4‐year universities and 2‐year community colleges only. Drawing from a previously collected (counter)narratives from 15 DFOC across the nation, their testimonies illuminate various forms of oppressions, including through audism, linguicism, and racism. Theoretically, the framework of this paper focuses on multiple oppressive experiences of intersectional Deaf people, upholding the values of critical studies about Deaf People of Color. In turn, those frameworks from Critical Deaf Studies will be reinforced by several principles of Disability Justice, merging Critical Disability scholarship with Deaf academia. Summary Practitioners will learn how to incorporate Disability Justice principles in their work and recognize the wholeness of each Deaf/Disabled faculty or staff member in their institutions. Foster a system of cross‐movement solidarity and collective access within each institution or department between Deaf/Disabled peers and any other identified person when working on any project, including Deaf/Disabled participants. Reach out and rely on any Deaf/Disabled colleague for the needed consultation since they are an expert in their identified group, either culturally or physically/sensorially. Any Deaf or Disabled faculty member(s) can be a stakeholder to offer their expertise and should be granted to get some “tax refund” for their added tasks.