Discussion about conscious bias and unconscious bias in the deaf community and calling out Nyle DiMarco, Roselee Gallimore, CSD, DPAN, Melissa Yingst (MelMira), and Convo, regarding my intellectual properties, #DeafTalent® and Deaf Talent®, and a slew of others.
RESPECT #BIPOCDeafPlatform #SocialJusticeActivist #BlackDeafCreatives #BlackDeafWomen #DeafTalentMedia #DTMEC #DeafTalentCasting #DeafTalentCampaign #BlackDeafEcosystem #CEASEANDDESIST
https://www.jadefilm.com/deaftalent-trademark
Deaf Talent Media & Entertainment Consulting (FACEBOOK)
https://www.deaftalent-entertainment.com
https://www.deaftalent-entertainment.com/faqs
www.micarunway.com
https://vimeo.com/30700161
See DPAN is notorious for stealing our intellectual properties.
Video Description:
A Black woman with slightly past shoulder length golden brown hair is wearing a yellow headband and a lime green hoodie that reads #DeafTalent®, with a hanging necklace. She has black-framed glasses, a watch, multiple green/black bracelets, and silver rings. She is signing to the camera about her topic. "Conscious or unconscious bias & Respecting Black Deaf Creators"
#ACCOUNTABILITY.
Transcription:
Hi, my name is Jade. (signs Jade: rockstar handshape on the side of the chest). Okay, I want to discuss a few things...
First, of course about my hashtag #DeafTalent® and a few intellectual properties... meaning ideas.. *signing ideas with an "I"* that. "IP" is the acronym.
I'm calling out some people. Really, it is more of a calling-in. To fix your errors, fix your damages, fix your attitude, your actions … things like that, for a few people.
Most of you know I'm a storyteller. I’m an activist and I am very vocal and outspoken about many issues, many concerns, such as oppressions— BIPOC being overlooked, left on the wayside, and I advocate for marginalized BIPOC artists and creators. Especially people like myself.
Many of you know that I do a lot of campaigning. My purpose is to spread awareness about what we are doing in technology, the entertainment industry, the movie industry, in educational settings, etc. That is my soul. My passion, my drive behind campaigning. I continue to be vocal, frequent social media postings, hold up signs, take them to the streets, making statements, attend film festivals, celebrate and talk about them, get our voices heard, etc. Being vocal about things, " that needs to be changed, that needs to be improved, that is being overlooked, and address them by asking, what are you doing about it?" When asked "how?" The answer? By collaborating. Teaming up, to collectively find a solution to the problems. Noticing the problems, and the absence of action. By constantly being vocal, and being listened to, the problems will become evident, Folx will take notice.
Next, I started MICA Runway in 2000, 2006, 2008, and 2010. 2010 was the last event. I will be bringing it back in the near future. MICA stands for Multicultural International Consortium of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Artists... AND Advocates. It’s all about Collaborating and Uniting. That was a big idea of mine. Extreme... whew.
The purpose of that idea? To elevate, band together, celebrate art, celebrate our talent. Celebrate our...EXISTENCE. Our existence as humans, as artists, as creators. Collaborating. That's my big idea. We celebrate fashion for both hearing and deaf designers and models. We celebrate filmmakers, both deaf and hearing. We celebrate... TALENT, talent showcases. We celebrate artists who do paintings and sculptures. We do all of that. and we get a lot of sponsors.
So... VIP. (Correction - VMP) Visual Music Project. That is related to ACCESSIBILITY. Deaf people want to enjoy, appreciate and understand the music, and they need access to the music. They want to feel the music, feel the beats. Out of that desire and need for access, I invented a music vest to feel the beats, to feel the boom, boom coming from the speakers. It’s not a harness, but a vest. It’s a wearable vest with speakers attached inside the front and the back of the vest. It was a piece of prop for a movie I produced back in 2001. Fast forward. I kept on developing it. And then, I pitched the concept idea on ABC’s American Invention Show. I pitched it to Shark Tank, but did not make it to the 3rd round. These are all examples of Intellectual Property ( IP). All of these ideas!
Now, going back to the discussion of Unconscious and Conscious Bias… these are two separate things.
You know, my background is in DI (Diversity and Inclusion). That means I recognize the problems. I recognize racism in the deaf community. I recognize racism in the industries at large. I recognize racism and oppression in the film industry. I recognize racism in music industry. All of these problems and issues need to be addressed and talked about. I recognize them! Why? It’s because I’m a person of color. I am a Black woman. I deal with them EVERY DAY.
So... conscious bias. What's that? That defines behavior. Clear, evident, and OVERT negative behavior, and causes harm. Harm to BIPOC people, to BIPOC creators, BIPOC artists. It can be done through physical acts, verbally and/or via mental impacts. By stealing a person's art, their intellectual property, which is considered conscious bias, knowingly stealing and oppressing that person. That is perpetuating white supremacist and white privilege behavior, looking down on, consciously oppressing these individuals, without a care in the world. Racism towards a person of color. Black, a woman, LGBTQ@SIA+. These are the things I identify with. Sometimes, that behavior can be vague but is still a very clear act of conscious bias.
Next, unconscious bias. This behavior is not evident. It is vague.. it can cause prejudice.. unsupported judgement , or in favor of, or against one thing or person, or group. Preferring one specific group or individual in comparison, by placing a higher value of one over the other. As a result of unconscious bias, certain people will benefit from it while others will be penalized.
Okay, now I will give you examples of unconscious bias.
For example, I teach acting. Really, I could use many different examples, but I will use acting or film.
Yes, Film is a good example. I'll go with that.
Suppose I'm doing a film project, right? I'm searching for deaf actors. Often deaf actors or also black people, or BIPOC people will not support this and prefer to support an opposing party. When I'm teaching acting, these same people would prefer to support a white entity in a position of power, "they're better" preferring that avenue and oppress that of their own kind. When I have a staged reading of a play, they have no desire to support this, and instead AGAIN support the other entity. Sometimes they are unconscious, sometimes they are very well conscious of their behavior or actions.
Many of y'all do that. DEAF. BIPOC. Mostly white individuals do that... both consciously and unconsciously. However, oftentimes white folx do that, knowingly, deliberately oppressing BIPOC Deaf people. That's what happened. When they do that, eradicating. It is extremely important for you to know and understand these two terms( conscious and unconscious bias) and their difference in definitions. I could explain these two terms in-depth, I could give a workshop or about this topic, I could use endless examples via PowerPoint, showing you these behaviors, these HARMFUL behaviors, towards BIPOC people, towards ME as a Black. Deaf. Woman.
Now, I'd like to move on. Okay... Let me talk about companies.
First up: DPAN.
Sean Forbes, Hello! When I appeared on ABC's American Invention Show, to pitch my invention of the *feeling the beats or vibrations* vest in 2007, millions of people tuned in. My lawyer did warn me about the risks since I was in the patent-pending process. However, I decided to go ahead and do it, knowing the risks, I did it anyway. Knowing that when it comes to business, businesses are always a risk. Millions of people saw me pitch on national television.
One year later, Sean Forbes stole that idea. He partnered with the University of Michigan, and I contacted him and said " Hi, I started that... let's collaborate?" I've been trying to find Universities or schools that would back the development of my idea of this music vest, but it didn't happen. Sean Forbes of DPAN stole it. I called him out. "Nahh... What are you doing, hmm?!" He didn't want to work with me. The reason? Who I am. Conscious bias. He KNEW. Yet, he shoved me to the wayside. "Me, Myself, I" That White supremacist, white privileged behavior. THAT behavior is HARMFUL. I've sent him a Cease & Desist Letter (C&D), for something else, but we'll talk about that later.
Next up: CSD/RL
Rosa Lee Gallimore (RL) and the hashtag #DeafTalent®. Recently you (RL) used it in a mass release. Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) used it in their email communications. Busted...but mmm'kay. I contacted them and said "Hi, don't do that. That is an intellectual property, trademarked and owned by my production company."
Y'know... many of us retain the title of CEO or Marketing Director, Founder, COO, CFO.. those types of higher-level positions. Being in those positions, our job is to OVERSEE assignments. To approve and veto, to say " Don't use another's intellectual property. No, don't use that." Right?! That’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s our job. But you threw somebody under the bus. Your copywriter. Why not take accountability for your action? Where’s your apology? That’s the conscious bias. You knew that the hashtag, #DeafTalent® belongs to me and it belongs to Jade’s Film and Entertainment. You knew. CSD, you also knew. You said you wouldn’t touch it but went ahead and use it again. You need to look within and analyze to acknowledge your behavior.
Convo. Wow. I noticed these three companies were set up by three deaf white men. There’s something wrong with that. Something wrong. Convo, in the past I sent you sponsorship letters seeking support for many different projects; for MICA, my films, Visual Music Project (VMP), and many other projects. I tried to offer a collaborative partnership. However, I haven’t gotten any response. Nothing. Yet they took and have been misusing my trademark, #DeafTalent®, hmm? I want you to acknowledge that. You also participated in your action, your behavior, conscious bias behavior, deliberately. Over and over and over. When will you look within and analyze as you fix your mistake and fix your action causing harm? When?
Melissa Yingst of Melmira recently used the phrase, “Deaf Talent®”, in her recent vlog for her show. That was inappropriate. A while ago, you did a vlog making a statement acknowledging my work, acknowledging that I started the hashtag #DeafTalent® movement. You did that. So, I couldn’t understand why you went ahead and use it again?
Ahh, *claps hand* Nyle! Nyle DiMarco, everybody including the Black Deaf people and the interpreting community know Nyle is famous for taking, colonizing, taking up BIPOIC space, and oppressing BIPOC’s platform, BIPOC’s voices, and BIPOC things. BASL. Our language. Our culture. We informed him many times, to stop. Stop, stop, stop. But he continues to do it. I don’t know what’s up. Stop. It’s time to stop. You owe me and the community an apology. You also used Deaf Talent® in your recent vlog or video on Instagram talking about Deaf Talent®. You knew and you also participated in that conscious bias behavior. You knew it deliberately as you took advantage of it without care. I had already sent out a press release letter to your manager. I had already tagged you in a tweet when #DeafTalent® became registered and you still went ahead and use it.
Ok, now many individuals and many of you Convo, Nyle, Rosa Lee, CSD, interpreting community, creative artists have been using the hashtag #DeafTalent® still. Ok, sometimes I call them out, telling them not to use it. They kept ignoring my requests. Sometimes I have reported it as trademark infringement.
Just because I took the ownership of the trademark of Deaf Talent® and you say, “Hey I’m Deaf.”, so? So! “But I’m talented” And? You can simply use hashtag #Deaf or you can simply use hashtag #Talent. One of the other but not together, #DeafTalent®. Don’t use it! Create your own!
For CSD, what’s wrong with #CSDTalent ? What’s wrong with #DPANTalent? I mean, use your brain! Y’all are business people. You have the potential to create something that hasn’t been used. The Deaf-Talent or Deaf_Talent, no, don’t use it and even add ’s’ or ‘ss.’ Deaf Talentss, don’t use it. Hashtag #DeafTalent® and Deaf Talent® is a business. The #DeafTalent® is used to identify as the searching source and it means the Deaf Talent® is a company set up as Deaf Talent® Media & Entertainment Consulting. It is a service. Deaf Talent® casting, and it is a business, so don’t use it.
Why I don’t want you to use it? For many years, the hashtag #DeafTalent® focus was shifted on White Deaf people, Deaf actors. The people in Hollywood were trying to search for BIPOC Deaf Talent®, BIPOC creators but they scroll to see White actors and amateurs, meaning they are not professional and untrained. So often, we notice y’all complain that Hollywood repeatedly gives roles to hearing actors, didn’t you notice that? That’s one of the reasons why we’re doing that. And if you google hashtag #DeafTalent® or Deaf actors you will see many of White Deaf Actors and that’s why we, me, myself, I happened to be the face, in the front, trying to fight to elevate our voice, our arts, our stories, our works, but when you co-opt our platform, marginalize us, and oppress us by pushing us aside and put the focus on you and it’s a problem. That’s what I mean conscious bias. Your behavior deliberately oppresses us using your white privilege.
You can’t use #DeafTalent® in your email communication and say #DeafTalentPlatform or #DeafTalentWhatever #DeafTalentShow because that’s OURS. Because when I secured the trademark, we will use it, I mean, we are actually using it for education, for culture, for sports, and entertainment. Y’all don’t know our plans. Deaf Talent® Media and Entertainment Consulting services have been collaborating with Hollywood. We have collaborated with other people and other independent productions to try to find a way to reach solutions to many problems. People like you, as I mentioned, are the problem and you are blocking our progress when you could have asked for our permission, “Can we use it? Can we get the license? Can we work together? Can we come together and find a common ground to dismantle many issues and problems. But no, you don’t want to do that. That’s selfish and y’all called me selfish. No. How because I don’t have that kind of power. Do you understand?
Recognize your behavior. Recognize your patterns, the behavior that you caused harm to BIPOC people, BIPOC creators especially me. Recognize that. Many of you used the trademark #DeafTalent® or the Deaf Talent® name in your videos, you can’t do that. You can’t do that. Because I own it. They’re intellectual property. Ans it’s legally owned by my production company. You can’t do that thinking, “it’s no big deal. I won’t use the hashtag but put it in my videos, email communications, or proposal letters. It does not belong to you anymore. You have to use your own, use #Deaf or #Talent or something else! Let it go. Learn to let it go. Stop hanging on #DeafTalent® or the name Deaf Talent®. Let it go. I know you’re Deaf and I know you have talent. Me too. But the name is owned and is an intellectual property, which is now trademarked. Leave it alone. Ask permission. Check our frequently asked questions, FAQ on our website. Check it.
It’s 23 minutes mark, whew, I’ve had a lot to say. All I’m asking from you is respect. Can you? Do you have self-respect for yourself? Because if you recognize that then we’re good. I’ve noticed you support those your people, favorite white people supporting and lifting each other up, and but y’all push BIPOC people aside or selecting a few Black people, select certain BIPOC folks. Stop. Stop that behavior. Stop. You’re causing harm. That’s all I wanted to say. Y’all have a great day. I hope this video serves as a vessel to unpack your ways. Thank you. *Double thumbs up*
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