Official ASL Translation of Martin Luther King Jr's Speech "I have a Dream"
Posted Monday January 20 2014 at 02:00 am
Portions reprinted from BU Today 8/28/2013. Written by Leslie Friday.
Commissioned by Boston Landmarks Orchestra for their "I Have a Dream" 50th Anniversary Concert of 2013, this official ASL translation of King's speech fills a critical void in the education of deaf children. "There's not a lot of ASL translations of historical speeches, especially as an educational tool," interpreter Richard Bailey says. "I don't remember seeing anything like this growing up. I had access to subtitled or interpreted versions, sure, but you just feel like something's missing or it's uninspired." Thus, incorporated into Bailey's translation are the proper ASL facial expression and body positioning to convey King's sermonic tone and grammar.
The goal was for the video to live forever as a resource to the deaf community. "The people who were hearing the speech at that time, understood the code messages in the speech that told people to mobilize. This is an opportunity for deaf kids to get access to the speech, appreciate it in their language, and generate a conversation about mobilizing as a minority population."
The video of Bailey's ASL translation of the speech is digitally archived at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in Atlanta.
