Hervey Files for Job Back

Not long after the Unity For Gallaudet protests concluded, students at the Mississippi School for the Deaf led a protest/walk-out against Pamela Hervey and Delores Mack. Ultimately, Principal Hervey and Superintendent Mack were fired.

Hervey has filed a complaint through the EEOC and wants her job back. She's playing the race card. She said she was fired because she is Black.

Below is the article that appears in the Clarion-Ledger:

Former deaf school principal files complaint

The Clarion-Ledger


Pamela Hervey, who lost her job as high school principal of the Mississippi School for the Deaf in Jackson earlier this month, has filed a complaint through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to a faxed statement from her attorney, Reeves Jones.

The complaint is “seeking redress for wrongful termination of employment based on race.” Hervey is black.

The statement says that Hervey wants her job back.

“We’ve received an EEOC complaint against the department,” said Hank Bounds, state superintendent of education. “Unfortunately, it’s a personnel matter that I can’t speak to publically.”

Both Hervey and former superintendent Delores Mack lost their jobs.

At the time, Bounds would not say if their dismissals were related to a walkout of about 20 high school students.

The students protested that four of their 26 teachers are not proficient in sign language.

The Mississippi School for the Deaf enrolls 118 students and the School for the Blind enrolls 70.

Silent Night

I wasn't able to watch CSI:NY on Wednesday night because I was teaching a class. So, I had it TiVO'd. Last night, came home, warmed up some tamales and watched the 'Silent Night' episode.

Overall, it was a pretty good show.

Of course, yesterday, I had read blogs where there were many criticism on the episode. And of course, as a Deaf person, I was analyzing everything and making comments to my partner, who was watching as well.

I was more critical on Marlee Matlin than any of the other Deaf actors. I dunno. I just seemed that Marlee just could not act in that episode. I've seen better acting of hers in other shows, such as Reasonable Doubts, Picket Fences and Law & Order:SVU. I do have to agree with some bloggers that her lines were cheesy, especially at the end. "I wish I could help you." "I speak with my hands. You speak with your eyes." *gag*

I found it interesting that many Deaf bloggers and commenters have complained about her using her voice in the CSI episode. I was like, "hello! Isn't that like her trademark?" Correct me if I'm wrong when I say the next sentence. I do not think there is a movie or a television episode where she has not used her voice.

I thought Russell Harvard did a great job. Of course, I might be biased because he's my fraternity brother. Nonetheless, he did a great job. Of course, I wished he had a bit more exposure on the show. I had to laugh because I thought "Russell, a bad guy? Toting a shotgun?"

Like I said, I thought it was a good episode. Could it have been done better? Sure. However, I am cautious and observant about how critical we, Deafies, are of the episode. Bloggers and commenters have shown concerns, disappointment and other reactions. Many were concerned about the Deaf actors voicing on the show. Many were concerned about the cop (Jerry Ferris) have a dual role as an interpreter. Many were concerned about the portrayal of a Deaf person's ability to read lips. Some were concerned about the vibrations identifying the exact murder weapon. Some were concerned about the portrayal of the Deaf family involved in a crime or their stance in assistive devices/real world.

First of all, Hollywood glamorizes everything. Do all Deafies use their voice? No. Are there cops that can interpret? I'm sure there very few. Should an interpreter from an agency be called in? Definitely. Can Deaf people read lips? Only some with varying skills. (Remember that lip reading isn't an exact science.) Can Deaf people read lips expertly at a distance, especially at night? That's like 99.9% impossible. Can Deaf people help the police and forensic crime specialists/investigators identify weapons merely by vibrations? Oh please.

But you know what? That's Hollywood. Let's look at the real life of CSI. CSI's aren't all gorgeous and model-like. CSI's don't work in offices and labs encased in glass. These lab testings and results do not occur within seconds or minutes. They take days and weeks before results are produced.

I remember reading an article about real-life CSI's. When CSI (the one based in Las Vegas) started to be come popular, many people enrolled at local colleges and universities to be a CSI. The instructors said that the work of a CSI is actually very boring and tedious. Hollywood was just glamorizing everything.

So, while we wished that 'Silent Night' could have been done differently, let's be thankful for the exposure and the use of our Deaf actors. Of course, I'm not saying let's just sit back and do nothing. Continue to write letters to Hollywood but at the same time, let's be thankful for the exposure.

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Tonight is the monthly Deaf GLBT coffee social.

Starbucks in Capitol Hill
237 Pennsylvania Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20003

Upstairs (go all the way to the back for the stairs)
7pm to 10pm

Closest Metro:
Capitol South
Eastern Market

See you there!