Black Deaf CSUN Alumni

California State University, Northridge has a rich history of supporting, educating, and providing resources for Deaf students and communities. In 1962, the U.S. Department of Education- Rehabilitation Services Administration funded the establishment of the National Leadership Training Program (NLTP) on campus. This program gave individuals who rehabilitated and educated Deaf people the opportunity to earn a master’s degree and develop their administrative and supervisory skills. Initially designed as a five-year program that would be offered to 50 people, it went on to operate for several years educating hundreds. The first Deaf students to attend this program, Tom Dillon and Hennings Irgens, entered in 1964 with the interpreting support of Beth Gesner (Deaf CSUNians, 1981-1982). Among the graduates of NLTP were Drs. Nathie Marbury and Ernest E. Hairston, two Black Deaf individuals who would later become highly recognized mentors, leaders, and change agents in the Deaf community broadly and beloved within the Black Deaf community. The NLTP led to the first Deaf students entering CSUN in 1964 and graduating using various support services including interpreters and notetakers. CSUN was the first university in the country to provide paid sign language interpreters, which paved the way for hundreds of Deaf students to obtain higher education. As the number of Deaf students increased each year, there was a need for a centralized office to house Deaf student support services, so the Center on Deafness (NCOD) was created in 1972 with a name change to the National Center on Deafness in 1978. The expansion of other Deaf related academic programs would follow with the creation of the Deaf and hard of hearing teacher credential program in 1969 and Deaf Studies in 1980.

CSUN has maintained a history of Deaf students, but less is known about Black Deaf students and their experiences. In California, about 11% of Black Deaf students graduate from college, and another 4% earn more advanced degrees. CSUN has been a part of the educational journey for many Black Deaf undergraduate and graduate students. The number of Black Deaf students has fluctuated over the years, but many have made CSUN their academic home. These students have majored in Journalism, Early Childhood Development, Deaf Studies, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Higher Education, Special Education-Deaf and hard of hearing credential, Art, Biochemistry, Anthropology, and more. During their time at CSUN, they have been involved in various student organizations and held leadership roles in the CSUN Miss Deaf Pageant, Deaf Studies Association (DSA), Deaf CSUNians, Black Signers Club, Alpha Theta Sigma Sorority, and others. Black Deaf alums have made noteworthy contributions to domestic and international Deaf communities, the arts, education, and access advocacy.

There have been other Black Deaf-focused initiatives hosted and co-hosted by the Deaf Studies Department, NCOD, and Student Affairs, including study abroad trips to Jamaica (2007, 2008, and 2009) and South Africa (2019), annual Black Deaf History Month programs, Black Deaf high school students’s visitation days, and the establishment of the Black Signers Club. Since 2018, a group of Black hearing and Deaf students and alumni have performed the Black National Anthem in American Sign Language (ASL) at the Black Graduation. Black Deaf students have come to CSUN from various educational and cultural backgrounds - some come from Deaf families, but most do not; some attended Deaf residential schools and many attended mainstream schools; some use ASL as their first language, while others learn ASL once they arrive at CSUN. We are honored and proud to call them all Matadors! Our community members give us a glimpse into life as a Black Deaf student at CSUN.

Deaf CSUNians (1981-1982). Visual reflections: 1981-1982 Deaf CSUNians Yearbook