Woodstock Cafe in Portland, Oregon has become a cherished gathering place and lifeline for the Deaf community by making American Sign Language the primary language for all customer interactions, with hearing customers using a microphone that transcribes their spoken orders onto a screen. The unique cafe is owned by CymaSpace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making art accessible to the Deaf community, and has become such an important employment hub that people have moved from across the country to work there because finding jobs can be extremely difficult for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Andre Gray, who helped open the cafe, explained in sign language that the establishment has become a stable place and rock for Deaf employees who often struggle to find consistent work in a hearing dominated world. The cafe hosts weekly ASL meetups and game nights including the popular Sign Squad on Tuesdays, which draws an incredibly diverse crowd ranging from completely deaf people who communicate entirely through sign language to students taking introductory ASL classes to hard of hearing individuals who read lips and use various communication methods.
Amy Wachspress, who started learning sign language nine years ago as she lost her hearing and now classifies herself as hard of hearing, loves telling the story about a deaf toddler born to hearing parents who wanted him immersed in Deaf culture and brought him to the cafe for the first time. The little boy became beside himself with excitement when he realized that he could communicate with other people using sign language, a touching moment that moved everyone present and perfectly captures the kind of meaningful experiences that happen regularly at this special establishment. Gray revealed there were plans to acquire adjacent vacant buildings for a Deaf Equity Center to expand their mission, but much of the funding was unfortunately cut following a change in presidential administration, though CymaSpace hopes to secure funding from private organizations and future crowdsourcing campaigns. The cafe continues to serve as a powerful example of how creating spaces where Deaf culture is centered rather than accommodated can build community pride and eliminate the fear of signing that many Deaf people experience in hearing dominated environments.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/deaf-sign-language-cafe-asl-ab71931b9329abc5b1c82fa53bdfd6df
