Justina Miles (Deaf Sign Language Performer) performs Super Bowl 2023 Pre-Game & Halftime Show (videos, information, and comments)

ASL Suncats, Feb. 12, 2023

...All songs copyright of Rihanna. We do NOT claim ownership of music. This video is to share the ASL performance by Justina Miles with the Deaf community, for accessibility purposes only. Songs sampled and performed in this Half-time show (may not be complete list). Feel free to comment and help me write down the correct timings! I am working on captions as well but I am Deaf so timings help me figure out which lyrics to put where: Bitch Better Have My Money - Rihanna: 0:08 - 1:05 Where Have You Been Only Girl (In The World) We Found Love (Album Version) - Rihanna, Calvin Harris: 2:45 - 4:06 Rude Boy Work Wild Thoughts Pour It Up -Rihanna: 6:32 - 7:33 All of the Lights - Kanye West ft. Rihanna, Kid Cudi: 8:02 - Run This Town -JAY-Z: 9:51 - 10:06 Umbrella Diamonds
-snip- Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna for information about Bajan (Barbadian) singer, business woman Rihanna.

Compare how the 2023 Super Bowl aired Justina Miles' performance with the performance of two Black deaf men in Dr. Dre's 2022's Super Bowl half time show. In 2022's show you needed to download an ap prior to the show to see Sean Forbes and Warren "WaWa" Snipe's sign language interpretation of what Dr. Dre and the other artists were rapping on stage. Also, commenters in the discussion thread for this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxgROPORQts wrote that this ap wasn't publicized and some people who knew that those deaf men were going to sign thought that they would be on stage with the other artists.

**** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of Rihanna's 2023 Super Bowl half time show along with a video of Justina Miles' American Sign Language (ASL) sign language performance that accompanied Rihanna's show. This post also showcases a YouTube video of Sheryl Lee Ralph's pre-game singing of "Lift Every Voice And Sing" which is known as the "Black National Anthem". That video also features Justina Miles' sign language performance of that song.. In addition, this pancocojams post showcases a video of an interview of Justina Miles that focuses on her Super Bowl performance. Information about Justina Miles is included in this post. The Addendum to this post presents excepts from two articles about music and deaf people. The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, aesthetic, and educational purposes. Addendum #2 to this post presents an excerpt from an article about Black American Sign Language (BASL)* All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to Rihanna for her musical legacy. Thanks also to Justina Miles for her sign language interpretation performances. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to ALS Suncats and Entertainment Tonight for published these videos on YouTube.
-snip- * Although I've found no information about whether Justina Miles' sign language interpretation was BASL or not, it seems to me that both of her sign language interpretation performances at the 2023 Super Bowl was influenced by BASL if it wasn't actually BASL. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/asl-american-sign-language-black-asl.html for a pancocojams post entitled "ASL (American Sign Language) & Black ASL- Yes, There Is A Difference: Three Article Excerpts About Black ASL"

**** INFORMATION ABOUT JUSTINA MILES From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justina_Miles "Justina Taylor Miles is an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and performer. She became the first deaf woman to perform American Sign Language at the Super Bowl pre-game and halftime shows.

Career

Interpreter

She has signed for various live music events, such as the Super Bowl LVII halftime show and pre-show.[1] Her performance at the halftime show was the first ever by a deaf woman and went viral with millions of views on social media.[2][3][4] Her performance in ASL of Lil' Kim's "Crush on You" also went viral on TikTok in 2020.[5]

Sport

She is also an Olympic athlete. She was part of Team USA at the Caxias do Sul 2022 Deaflympics in Brazil, where she received a silver medal for 4x100m women's relay. She also competed in the 100m and 200m events.[1][6][7]

Personal life

She is from Philadelphia."... [Pennsylvania]

Born- September 12, 2002 
-snip- Here's a comment exchange from [given as Video #3 in this pancocojams post:

CM, 2023 "Is she [Justina Miles] deaf or not?" ** Reply

MandeeDee, 2023 "She is hard of hearing, her mother is fully deaf. She also

has other family members with different ranges of hearing abilities as well." -snip- I've read online* that Justina Miles is racially mixed (Black/White). She identifies as Black. *I didn't retrieve those YouTube discussion thread sources. **** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: Justina Miles (Deaf performer) performs ASL Super Bowl LVII 2023 Pregame (HD quality)

ASL Suncats, Feb. 12, 2023

Justina Miles (Deaf performer) performs alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph "Lift Every Voice & Sing" in ASL before Superbowl LVII 2023 - Pregame (Best HD quality video).
-snip-

Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheryl_Lee_Ralph for information about Sheryl Lee Ralph. 

**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: Rihanna Slid Into Super Bowl Interpreter's DMs!

Entertainment Tonight, Feb 17, 2023

Rihanna's ASL interpreter, Justina Miles, opens up to 'CBS Mornings' about her experience signing the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. Justina shares how she prepared for the big event, and the sweet DM she received from Rihanna following the performance. **** ADDENDUM #1 - DEAF PEOPLE AND MUSIC These links are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. Article Excerpt #1 From https://www.washington.edu/news/2001/11/27/brains-of-deaf-people-rewire-to-hear-music/#:~:text=CHICAGO%20(Nov.,concerts%20and%20other%20musical%20events. Brains of deaf people rewire to ‘hear’ music, Walter Neary, November 27, 2001 "CHICAGO (Nov. 27) — Deaf people sense vibration in the part of the brain that other people use for hearing — which helps explain how deaf musicians can sense music, and how deaf people can enjoy concerts and other musical events.

"These findings suggest that the experience deaf people have when ‘feeling’ music is similar to the experience other people have when hearing music. The perception of the musical vibrations by the deaf is likely every bit as real as the equivalent sounds, since they are ultimately processed in the same part of the brain,” says Dr. Dean Shibata, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Washington.

"“These findings suggest that the experience deaf people have when ‘feeling’ music is similar to the experience other people have when hearing music. The perception of the musical vibrations by the deaf is likely every bit as real as the equivalent sounds, since they are ultimately processed in the same part of the brain,” says Dr. Dean Shibata, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Washington."...

**** Article Excerpt #2 From https://www.musicalvibrations.com/music-and-d-deaf-people/ Music And d/Deaf People [This article is from the UK. No author or publishing date is given]

…. Many deaf people play musical instruments and take part in music activities on a daily basis. It is a misconception that they cannot, or do not, participate in and enjoy music.

As with hearing young people, participating in music activities can have many benefits for children and young people who are d/Deaf. Music can help children increase their confidence, encourage learning about emotions and help develop fine motor skills.*

How might d/Deaf people appreciate and perform music? Musicians with hearing loss often use thevibration of their instrument, or the surface to which it is connected, to help them feel the sound that they create, so although they may not be able to hear, d/Deaf people can use the vibrations caused by musical sounds to help them ‘listen’ to music.”…

..."How might d/Deaf people appreciate and perform music?

Musicians with hearing loss often use the vibration of their instrument, or the surface to which it is connected, to help them feel the sound that they create, so although they may not be able to hear, d/Deaf people can use the vibrations caused by musical sounds to help them ‘listen’ to music.”…

Deaf singers like Mandy Harvey, stand barefoot on the floor in order to feel these vibrations. Percussionist Evelyn Glennie is also particularly renowned for this and even Beethoven is said to have used the vibrations felt through his piano in his later years, when he was profoundly deaf. Deaf people attending a musical event people may use a balloon or a loudspeaker to feel vibrations caused by the performers.

[…]

Some d/Deaf musicians still have some hearing so some sound may still be perceptible to the musician. However, audible (auditory) cues are not available to profoundly d/Deaf musicians, and visual cues will not always provide sufficient information for interactive rehearsal and performance to be enjoyable and effective, which is why vibration is of such importance to d/Deaf musicians."...

**** ADDENDUM #2 -BLACK AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Celebrating Black History Month: Deaf Culture and Black ASL
by Elisa Lewis, February 18, 2021, Updated: February 22, 2021
"Sign language is a form of communication that is mostly made up of signs with the hands and other body movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body. Depending on where you are in the world, sign language can vary.

For example, in the United States, most Deaf people use American Sign Language to communicate. However, in Nicaragua, Deaf people use Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). Just because both an American and Nicaraguan use sign language, it doesn’t mean that they can understand each other. Each language has its nuances, grammar, and complexities – just like any other spoken language.

ASL is not a universal language, even within the United States. Various groups of Deaf people sign differently depending on their race and where they are in the country. That’s where Black ASL comes in.

During American slavery, there weren’t any established schools for Black children – deaf or hearing. After the Civil War and abolition of slavery, Black people began to open their own schools since they weren’t allowed to attend schools with white students.

Even deaf children, regardless of race, attended different schools than their hearing counterparts. That meant Black deaf children had to attend schools specifically created for their race and disability.

It was during this period of segregation that Black Deaf communities had to use different means of language socialization to communicate.

Because Black and White’s deaf students socialized in different environments, their sign languages were different, too.

[….]

Some of the major differences of Black ASL are that it uses more facial expressions and personality. Many Black ASL signers say that it allows them to showcase more of their “attitude” and “persona” compared to ASL. You’ll also see that Black ASL uses more signing space as well.

 According to Nakia Smith (highlighted in the video above), she says that the biggest difference between Black ASL and ASL is that Black ASL “got seasoning”. It’s very similar to what we, in the hearing world, call Ebonics or African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). It’s a complete language with its own terms and nuances that are more commonly used in the Black community.

However, just like AAVE, Black ASL changes depending on where you live in the U.S. For example, someone in New York will sign completely differently from someone who lives in Texas.

There’s a myth that Black ASL is not as “good” or “formal” as ASL, but that is the furthest thing from the truth.

In many academic settings, Black deaf students feel the need to code-switch, “the practice of shifting the languages you use or the way you express yourself in your conversations”, in order to fit in with their white counterparts. The truth is, Black ASL represents the richness of culture, history, and pride of the Black Deaf community."...

**** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.