Deaf Empowerment: Emergence, Struggle, and Rhetoric

6 Seeking a Diversified America

6 Seeking a Diversified America The Gallaudet protest phase of the Deaf social movement typified what Stewart, Smith, and Denton characterize as the "enthusiastic mobilization" stage (1989, 25). During this stage, optimism among movement participants climaxes. Social movements, however, cannot remain in the enthusiastic mobilization stage for long periods of time because of the high level of energy required to maintain this stage. Society, the media, and even the participants become exhausted and turn their attention elsewhere. Most movements enter the "maintenance" stage at this point (28). The maintenance stage represents a crucial time, the point when a movement determines its future direction. The Deaf social movement has likewise entered the maintenance stage in the period following the Gallaudet protest, as it determines its contemporary strategies. Although the contemporary Deaf social movement has not solidified to the point where it can be studied as a fully accomplished rhetorical phenomenon, the strategies that mark this stage thus far indicate an emerging rhetorical form. The Deaf social movement in the United States after the Gallaudet protest has capitalized on the move by Mrican Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and others to create community through the promotion of cultural diversity. The rhetorical trends of these cultural diversity movements exemplify three necessary attributes for community building within a multicultural ideology: creating a sense of self-worth, establishing an internal foundation for community building, and 137 138 Seeking a Diversified America participation in the public sphere. This newer ideology stipulates that these attributes promote the preservation of each culture, not only to enable marginalized peoples to take pride in their cultural identity, but also to foster greater multicultural tolerance and acceptance within the dominant society. Therefore, striving for a greater amount of ownership within a marginalized community corresponds to a greater demand for participation in public life and ultimately contributes to a more pluralistic society. Balancing Integration and Separatism The post-1960 multicultural movements balance separatism and assimilation. As Lisa Jones, daughter of Mrican American poet Amiri Baral(a, puts it, diversity movements seek "to fuse self-help and the fight against racism together into one" (Harrington 1991, 25). These movements have made inroads in creating Women's Studies and Mrican American Studies at many universities and curricula that reflect the diversity of cultures in America. The cultural diversity movements have also been embraced by more members of the dominant society than was the case with, for instance , the Blacl( Power movement. The cultural diversity strategy has, however, adopted many of the goals ofthe earlier separatist movements, including such goals as creating a sense of pride in cultural groups and establishing the power to make decisions that affect the lives of members. For example, Black Power presented the 1960s with a growing militancy that threatened many members of the dominant society. Many integrationists, such as Roy Wilkins, the executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1966, fearing a backlash of civil rights efforts, painted the dominant sentiment of Blacl( Power as symbolic of "antiwhite power"-a hatred for white people and for America (cited in Handler 1966, 14). Since many people also believed Blacl( Power proponents preached violence, it was feared that this "hatred" would become violence. Seeking a Diversified America 139 However, critics have noted the prevalent societal misinterpretations of the phrase. Scott and Brockriede explain that to people like Stokely Carmichael, Blacl( Power symbolized "personal pride in being blacl(, responsibility to other blacks, and power as a group to deal with outsiders" (Scott and Brockriede 1969, 5). Inherent in Blacl( Power rhetoric was the struggle for the right of marginalized peoples to define and identify themselves (Scott and Brockriede 1969; Campbell 1971). Scott and Brocl(riede also point out that contrary to rejecting involvement in the public sphere, Blacl( Power was a statement in support of institutionalized integration rather than individualized integration; in other words, integration as promoted in civil rights legislation benefited only the most "qualified" Mrican Americans rather than the entire group. Further, Campbell argues that the violence threatened in Blacl( power was symbolic "because it threatens, because it is frightening, [it] assures him of his equality, dignity, and manhood. When so assured, it becomes possible for the Black man to confront the White man as an equal, with pride, self-respect, and dignity" (Campbell 1971, 159). The cultural diversity strategy is an expanded descendant of the Black Power movement. However, rather...