Shirley Childress Saxton
Encyclopedia
Shirley Childress Saxton is an African American
American Sign Language instructor and interpreter. Since 1980, she has performed with Sweet Honey in the Rock
.
to deaf parents, Herbert and Thomasina Childress, making American Sign Language
her first language. She has two sisters, Maxine Childress Brown and Dr. Khaula Murtadha Watts. Saxton holds a bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
and has done graduate work at the University of the District of Columbia
.
. She has taught introductory ASL classes and master workshops on interpreting music across the country.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
American Sign Language instructor and interpreter. Since 1980, she has performed with Sweet Honey in the Rock
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American Grammy Award-winning troupe who express their history as women of color through song, while entertaining their audience. They have together worked from four women to the difficult five-part harmony...
.
Early life and education
Shirley Childress was born and reared in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to deaf parents, Herbert and Thomasina Childress, making American Sign Language
ASL
ASL is a common initialism for American Sign Language, and may also refer to:*Above sea level, altitude measurement*Adobe Source Libraries, a set of open source software libraries by Adobe...
her first language. She has two sisters, Maxine Childress Brown and Dr. Khaula Murtadha Watts. Saxton holds a bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
and has done graduate work at the University of the District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. UDC is one of only a few urban land-grant universities in the country and a member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
.
Career
She began her practice of interpreting for the deaf at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.. Saxton is a certified interpreter and is a member of Registry of Interpreters for the DeafRegistry of Interpreters for the Deaf
The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc is a non-profit organization, founded in 1964 and incorporated in 1972, that seeks to uphold standards, ethics, and professionalism for American Sign Language interpreters. As an important part of this mission, they maintain a certification program...
. She has taught introductory ASL classes and master workshops on interpreting music across the country.