She stands proud with a smile that turns with every intentional twist of her wrists. The character at the center of her visual fairytale presentation, Sleeping Beauty is deceptively dramatic. At any given moment, Nathie Marbury offers unexpected moods and exciting delivery to children who will never forget the experience. They will not only learn about a beautiful woman awakened from a deep sleep by a handsome prince, but their introduction to a fascinating literary realm will also rise and cross social barriers. Primarily guided by five American Sign Language parameters: handshapes, palm orientation, movement, location, and facial expressions, Marbury’s ASL Stories insert vigor into a linguistic culture torn from a diminished and violent past.
Discrimination History in Black Deaf Culture
Black deaf men and women were charted and studied for sociological and audiological defects. Their inability to hear and speak devalued their social status. In a 1906 publication of The Abilene weekly reflector, a Census Report notes:
Of the totally deaf, 52.5 percent were males. Negroes constitute 11.6 percent of the general population and only 5.2 percent of the deaf. That the negroes seem less susceptible to deafness than the whites, the report says, is probably due in part to less complete returns from the negro deaf.1
Variations of this archived discrimination can be found in stories about Black deaf men who simply immersed themselves in innocent human acts: This includes singing. An 1886 article publication in The Newberry herald and news observes the following:
An old lady of an adjoining neighborhood while on her way to the spring, a bucket on each arm, and a budget of clothes on her head, was so frightened by an unearthly howl near her as to lose power of locomotion for awhile, but quickly recovering them, rid herself of encumbrances, and was agreeably surprised that she could run so fast, her speed quickly landing her at her staring point. The noise proceeded from a deaf negro attempting to sing.
Our heroine says, if his heart run over with melody his voice didn’t, but caused her to run over so many impediments in the way that the bruises she received in falling caused a rise in the price of camphor and turpentine; for she thought a while she was mortally wounded.2
Decolonizing Deaf Literary Communities: Career
Nathie Marbury’s literary career abolishes marginalized perceptions. Upon graduating from Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics from Gallaudet University,3 Nathie contributes to the expulsion of negative subtexts traditionally stamped on Black Deaf intellect.
ASL Story: Choir Story
Nathie’s “Choir Story”4 is an offering of truth. We are gently immersed in an atmosphere without sound. What comes next is unveiled through the lens of a young deaf African American girl. Nathie informs us about her family’s gift: Musical voices. She cheerfully signs “voice,” raising two fingers toward her throat. Her eyes glisten as she observes her mother’s vocals, an instrument she claims will melt your heart. Placing her hand over her chest as a declaration of affectionate remembrance, the sentimental punctuation on her face sends a warm sensation through each line. As the lone deaf church/family member, Nathie’s mother assigns her to the choir at a young age. She is required to stand in the front row. Marbury secretly switches places with another child. It is clear that Marbury is amused by this complicated reflection.
Two stern erect index fingers representing a young Nathie are set in front of her body. Her lips acquire a slight smirk. To sign this youthful plot, she shifts one index finger on her left hand behind the second index finger on her right hand. The children in the choir begin to sing. Spiritual sounds consume the room. Nathie Marbury must use her peripheral vision to look at the children around her because she cannot comprehend when she should open and close her mouth. To sign this powerful, yet sensitive moment, Nathie places her right index finger near her right eye and her left index finger near her left eye. Next, she slowly moves both hands in opposite directions to paint the process of searching for visual clues. This cultural observation is revealing.
In this moment, Nathie represents any Black Deaf child who has ever felt isolated and limited based on a language few people know how to convey. This corridor of solitude is long. For a young child, reality can feel like an eternity. She decides to copy their movements. Her mouth extends into an oval shape in unison with two flat horizontal hands stretched outward to sign “singing.” Nathie Marbury knows that their voices are exceptional. She is on holy ground. In order to truly feel any type of emotional release, she needs to be released from her situation.
Marbury builds up the courage to meet with her mother. Hesitancy can be felt when she signs the word “meet” - two closed fists displaying one index finger on each hand merge - slowly but surely. Her mother gives her permission to stop participating in the children’s choir because Nathie admits that her language capacity makes her feel silly. In the back of the church, Nathie uses her vision as a tool to connect with what she feels she will never learn: The hearing community. She becomes disinterested. She uneventfully places her finger on her nose and moves it away to sign the term “bored.” Marbury is eventually entertained by church members dozing off in pews. She must contain her outburst and notes that her laughter is loud. The time period for this enjoyable scenario dissolves and her mother eventually sends her home.
1. “A Census Report,” Abilene weekly reflector. (Abilene, KS), Jul. 12 1906.
2. “Liberty Hall,” The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, SC), Apr. 21 1886.
3. National Association of the Deaf, “In Memoriam: Dr. Nathie Marbury,” National Association of the Deaf, last modified 2022, https://www.nad.org/2013/04/18/in-memoriam-dr-nathie-marbury/.
4. Nathie Marbury, “Choir Story,” Youtube, February 10. 2022, video, 6:00, https://youtu.be/ET_cO7bpM3Y
