Exploring the Intersectionality of Deaf and Latinx Cultures Through Service-Learning

In professional fields that support the deaf community, there is a significant shortage of professionals of color. Training programs need to employ more culturally sensitive practices. The purpose of the present study was to apply an intersectionality framework during a university service-learning experience in which a group of Spanish-speaking Latinx students were training to become professionals in the deaf community. The results of the study centered on two axes of the students' experiences, linguisticism and culturalism. The findings suggest that the service-learning experiences provided students with an opportunity to process their abilities in Spanish, American Sign Language, and English. It exposed them to the biases toward different languages in a variety of social contexts. The findings also suggest that there are inherent cultural biases due to cultural beliefs and communication barriers and that the Latinx students had a role in mitigating these biases.