MORE ENDURING IMAGE

“This is our moment!” Troy Kotsur declared in exuberant American Sign Language after winning the award for best supporting actor for his performance as a deaf fisherman in “CODA,” which would go on to win best picture. In the best acceptance speech of the night, Kotsur praised the deaf theaters where he got his start as an actor, recalled the beauty of his late father’s signing and promised co-star Marlee Matlin he wouldn’t teach the audience — just as he hadn’t with the Bidens — to cuss in ASL.

The wins for Kotsur and “CODA” put the deaf community at the center of Hollywood’s biggest night. Which is to say: right where they should be. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people aren’t on the fringes of society. They’re everywhere, and our policy and pop culture should reflect that reality.

According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 15 percent of American adults report some trouble with hearing. According to a 2011 report from the Census Bureau, about 3.6 percent of the U.S. population is deaf or experiencing severe hearing loss. Some people, such as the family in “CODA,” are born deaf. Others, such as the drummer played by Riz Ahmed in the 2021 best picture nominee “Sound of Metal,” lose their hearing over time.

“CODA” is notable not just for its lead performances but for its sensitive exploration of how deafness affects a working-class American family facing the challenges familiar to their hearing fellow citizens. The parents in that film, played by Kotsur and Matlin, rely on their hearing daughter, Ruby (Emilia Jones), to interpret for them. Ruby and her father and brother operate a fishing boat. The head of that big company that buys their catch regularly tries to cheat Ruby’s father and brother because he knows they can’t hear the prices he offers to other fishermen. Ruby’s mother resists her interest in music, believing that her daughter will choose the hearing world over the deaf community.

Movies and television shows like this have helped personalize the experiences of deaf Americans for millions of others. But Hollywood visibility is just a start — and if the moment Kotsur identified is to last beyond the Oscars, we need to do more to make sure all deaf Americans can reach their potential and participate in public life.

As some Oscars watchers pointed out, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences provided an onstage ASL interpreter only during the speeches by people affiliated with “CODA,” as if that was the only movie deaf and hardof-hearing people in the audience might have been interested in. “CODA” itself has scenes that demonstrate how alienating it can be to move through the world without proper interpretation, whether in a doctor’s office, concert hall or courtroom. This isn’t just an issue of convenience but one of democracy: public policy and democratic processes, congressional proceedings and public addresses should be accessible to the deaf and hardof-hearing community.

These issues of access and participation start early. We need to make sure that deaf and hard-of-hearing students and their families have the resources necessary for children to thrive in school, whether they attend mainstream institutions or schools designed for deaf children, such as the Phoenix Day

Wins for Tony Kotsur and ‘CODA’ put the deaf community at the center of Hollywood’s biggest night.

School for the Deaf that Kotsur attended as a child.

Many schools established to focus on deaf education are under-resourced and struggle to keep their doors open. We must ensure that they are adequately funded and have the tools they need to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

And deaf students in schools designed with the needs of able-bodied children in mind deserve an excellent education as well. Students with disabilities are significantly undercounted, which means that they might not have access to professionals who can properly assess them and provide the supports they need. As a result, teachers might assess deaf and hardof-hearing students’ abilities incorrectly and set embarrassingly low expectations for them. It’s awful to think about what talents the world might miss out on as a result.

The day after the Oscars might have been dominated by the altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock. But it is our hope that in the long term, the sights of a theater full of stars applauding in ASL for “CODA” and Kotsur are the more enduring image. If that is to happen, those of us in Washington have work to do.

Takano, a Democrat, represents California’s 41st Congressional District. Rutherford, a Republican, represents Florida’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House. They are co-chairs of the Congressional Deaf Caucus. This initially ran in The Washington Post.