Shirley Childress Saxton
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Shirley Childress Johnson Saxton (June 28, 1947 - March 6, 2017)<ref>Washington City Paper week beginning Thursday March 24, 2017(WCP published every Thursday) article: "Her Sign From Above" by Alona Wartofsky</ref> was an African-American sign language instructor and interpreter, born in Washington, D.C. She became the 18th member of Sweet Honey in the Rock as a sign language interpreter, from 1980 up until her death in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Biography
Early life and education
Saxton was born and raised in Washington, D.C. to deaf parents, Herbert Johnson, and Thomasina Childress, making American Sign Language her first language. She had two sisters, Maxine Childress Brown and Dr. Khaula Murtadha Watts.<ref name="souls">Template:Cite book</ref> Saxton earned a bachelor's degree in Deaf Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and did graduate work at the University of the District of Columbia.
Career
She began her practice of interpreting for the deaf at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.. She was a certified interpreter and was a member of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. She taught introductory ASL classes and master workshops on interpreting music across the country. She was invited by Ysaye Maria Barnwell to join the acapella group Sweet Honey in the Rock as a sign language interpreter in 1980.[1]
Marriage and children
Shirley Childress Johnson was married to Pablo Saxton, and add her husband's last name into her name. She had two sons, Reginald and Deon.<ref name="souls"/>
Death
Shirley Childress Johnson Saxton died on March 6, 2017 at the age of 69. Of complications from West Nile virus.
References
Notes
- 1947 births
- 2017 deaths
- 21st-century African-American educators
- 21st-century American educators
- Educators of the deaf
- Musicians from Washington, D.C.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni
- University of the District of Columbia alumni
- Sweet Honey in the Rock members
- American Sign Language interpreters
- 20th-century American translators
- 20th-century African-American women
- 21st-century African-American women
- 20th-century African-American educators
- 20th-century American educators
- 21st-century American women educators
- 20th-century American women educators