Kamala Harris, the first American vice president with a name in sign language

Kamala Harris now also has a name in American Sign Language. Five women, Ebony Gooden, Kavita Pipalia, Smita Kothari, Candace Jones and Arlene Ngalle-Paryani, who are part of the Black and Indian deaf women’s community.

They worked on it shortly after the 2020 presidential election, starting from the principle that the choice of the sign language name for the vice president of the United States should be the result of a inclusive and democratic process. Through social media, they invited other black and Indian deaf women to engage with them and created a system for people to submit suggestions. In the end, they put the proposals to a vote.

The idea that was launched by Arlene Ngalle-Paryani won won: a hand gesture that involves turning the wrist outwards while the thumb, index and middle finger open. This sign draws inspiration, among other things, from what is used to indicate the “Lotus flower” – the direct translation of the word “Kamala” into Sanskrit – and incorporates the number 3 to emphasize the three primates of Harris: it is the first woman, the first black woman and the first woman of Indian descent to be elected vice president of the United States of America. Furthermore, Kamala Harris, as Kavita Pipalia pointed out, has publicly advocated the rights of the deaf in the past.

For Ebony Gooden, Kavita Pipalia, Smita Kothari, Candace Jones and Arlene Ngalle-Paryani, it was crucial that deaf black and Indian women were part of the decision making process. “The names given to political leaders are usually created by white men, but to decide Kamala Harris’s we wanted not only women to be represented, but also diversity: black women and Indian women, ”explained Smita Kothari. For her, social media can become a powerful tool to make sure minority perspectives are also taken into account.