Joanne Greenberg
HELPING HANDS
Joanne Greenberg, a well-known author of short stories and novels, has been involved in the Deaf community for many years.
About Joanne
Born in Brooklyn in 1932, Joanne lived in New York most of her young adult life with her sister and parents. She entered American University in Washington, DC in 1955, where she obtained her degree in Cultural Anthropology/ Ethnic Linguistics. Through a mutual friend, Joanne met her future husband, Albert at a casual dinner. The two married and relocated to Denver, Colorado where they had their two sons, David and Allen. David, an electrical specialist, now lives in Boston Massachusetts and Allen, a lawyer, resides in Denver.
Involvement With Deaf Community
It all began when her husband, Albert, was working as a Rehabilitation counselor for the State Rehabilitation Department in Colorado handling welfare cases and mentally ill clients. At that time, the number of Deaf people coming for assistance totaled two. No one in the department had a sign language background, so Albert was sent to an in-service training program for one week to become a counselor for the Deaf. He began to learn sign language and when word spread the caseload grew from two to two hundred. The Deaf community realized that someone was actually interested in their language and communication barriers and the flood gates were opened.
Visitors would arrive at their home and that was when Joanne became interested in teaming a new language and culture. She began taking sign language classes with her husband at local schools and had tutors in their home. Joanne became a “museum of signs”…her reputation became known to be slow, clumsy, but understood! She obtained a variety of signs both common and some no longer in use.
Deaf Related Publications
Joanne continued her studies and made it a part of her daily life. In the early 1970’s, Joanne realized that deafness was changing. She submitted a pro-sign article to “Good Housekeeping”. Letters began to pour in as it was a controversial subject (sign vs. oral). People at the time felt it was a stigma placed on them for signing in public. Joanne was not afraid to stand up for her beliefs that sign language is in fact a language.
Novel
Over the years, the inspiration for Joanne grew from her daily experiences. Surrounded by the love and affection from her Deaf friends, Joanne wrote a novel, “In this Sign”, the story of two Deaf parents raising a hearing daughter, related various kinds of struggles and touched the hearts of many. Joanne’s next novel, “Of Such Small Differences” was written after finding out that one of her close friend was involved in a horrible snowmobile accident, causing her to become deaf and blind. The daily interactions are constant and the growth process is continual.
In 1992, Joanne was asked to be the keynote speaker for the National Congress of Jewish Deaf’s Convention. Joanne recalls a funny moment, when at the start of her speech, she stated to the crowd that she was not an Orthodox Jew, rather a “Paradox Jew”. The interpreters present translated the actual sign for Paradox as opposed to fingerspelling it. She giggled when she realized the joke was lost. Joanne found the convention to be absolutely fascinating. At the time, there were no signs for the Jewish holidays and the convention was trying to change that. (The sign for Bible should not be Jesus’ Book. A Rabbi is not a Jewish priest Shabbat is not the same as Sunday.)
Current Jewish Deaf Population
Joanne touched upon the fact that the early work with the Deaf was usually mainstreamed by the churches and Jewish Deaf people felt extremely isolated. The current Deaf presence is strongly felt in Colorado with the old Jewish population, as well as a huge boom of the younger population in the suburbs. “The last twenty five years of the past century have been more of a revolution than the French or American …the Jewish Deaf Revolution!” The consciousness and awareness is felt as current technology is being used to the advantage. Jewish signs have been developed, congregations are now opening with Rabbi assignment, and the feeling is that of liberation. “To be a Jew is extra …and here we are…”
What Is She Up To Now?
Joanne Greenberg currently teaches Anthropology, Writing and Ethics in Literature at the Colorado School of Mines Engineering School.
