21 October 2021
NRCPD is celebrating Black History Month.
On the NRCPD registers, we are proud to have at least 40 professionals across the different regulated professions with Black heritage.
As further shown by ASLI's 2021 SLTI census results, we know there is work to be done in improving the diversity of professionals on the NRCPD registers and we are fully committed to doing so.
The first ever professional of colour on the NRCPD registers (which was CACDP back then) was Sherrie Eugene-Hart who first registered as a Sign Language Interpreter in 1988. Sherrie worked as an interpreter at HTV Bristol's News channel and went on to become the News Anchor woman and continued to champion Deaf news stories, Deaf inclusion and Deaf presenters. Sherrie says: "I'm proud to have been the first Black woman to qualify and register as a Sign Language Interpreter in the UK. Even a Black Deaf Group in London set up an organisation in my name. That's humbling."
This then inspired Nikki Harris to become a registered sign language interpreter. Nikki was inspired seeing Sherrie interpreting on TV as she had never seen an interpreter of colour before and says that 'representation is so important' to her. Nikki first joined the registers in 1998, after training to become a fully qualified interpreter at the University of Bristol, before founding the Interpreters of Colour Network (IoCN) in 2020 with Jacquie Beckford, Audrey Simmons, Arusa Ghani and Akbar Sikder. Loquessa Smart is currently NRCPD's longest-serving professional of colour on the registers.
Sherrie has been in and out of retirement, but was moved to tears upon hearing about the IoCN and is now considering returning to practice as a NRCPD registered interpreter. Sherrie says: "Over 30 years later, it's now me who is inspired by the growing number of people of colour who are emerging through to qualification, offering Deaf people a greater choice and cultural appropriation at the same time. It's fantastic and emotional. Like the hearing demographic, Deaf people are just as culturally diverse and deserve Interpreters who can culturally represent and understand the nuances in culture, religion and language. In the early 80's, I co-worked with just one Black Interpreter. It was wonderful. 35 years later, I co-worked with two interpreters of colour in the same month. I also remember being mistaken for Jacqui Beckford who is a registered sign language interpreter: "You're the Black girl on TV with the Deaf sister."
Sherrie says: "Yes I was the Black girl on TV, I have a deaf sister, but I wasn't Jacqui. It was an easy mistake to make, but seriously knowing Jackie was in London doing the same job as me in Bristol made me feel like I was not alone."
She also further adds: "I believe that IoCN is a space of safety and belonging. Whilst some people may feel it's not necessary, I would argue it's vital. When people of colour stop feeling oppressed or discriminated against, IoCN won't need to exist. But while society is dictating our fate, IoCN will be our safety net."
"Nikki is an inspiration and a motivator. She caught me just at the right time. I had just lost my Dad and was not in a good place. She reminded me that IoCN is an uplifting network and that it can only go from strength to strength. She was right and I'm so pleased to be a part of it."
