Thurs, Dec 11, 2025: #DeafWoke Returns With Guest Gregory Watkins!

#DeafWoke returns with rhythm, movement, and Deaf artistry!

Join Mx. Hunter PurpleFireCrow and Gregory Watkins—Director of the Deaf Music Ensemble, proud Lexington alum, Deaflympics bronze medalist, and NY State Senate Achievers’ Award honoree—for a grounded conversation on translating music through ASL, building community, and leading with joy.

Guest Bio: Gregory Watkins is the Director of Deaf Music Ensemble (DME), a New York–based group that translates rhythm into American Sign Language, dance, and movement. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, he moved to Queens at age five after meningitis led to hearing loss. Beginning in 1968 at Lexington School for the Deaf, he immersed himself in Boy Scouts, team sports, and the arts. Wrestling and dance became his focus: he became a New York wrestling champion, remained undefeated for three years, and earned a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1981 Deaflympics in Cologne, West Germany. Onstage he performed in Lexington productions, including the 1980 show Stepping Up, and continued creating performance work beyond graduation.

In recognition of his achievements and service, the New York State Senate honored him with the Senate Achievers’ Award on May 6, 2008, during Senate Disabilities Awareness Day at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

As DME’s director, Gregory crafts visually rich, vibration-driven performances that make music visible and felt—appearing in New York City venues and at Abilities Expos nationwide. A proud Lexington alum, and brother of ΑΦΑ, Alpha Phi fraternity, Gregory mentors emerging artists, builds community across Deaf and hearing audiences, and champions the truth that music can be seen and experienced by everyone.

Date: Thursday, December 11
Time: 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET

Streaming LIVE:

Watch Live: https://www.facebook.com/events/714586021299781/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UrbanJazzDanceCompany
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanJazzDance

ASL/Voice interpretation and Captioning provided

#DeafWoke is a virtual consciousness-raising engaging online talk show, led by Black and Indigenous Deaf host Mx. Antoine Hunter PurpleFireCrow.

Founded as a response to isolation and misinformation experienced during COVID-19, #DeafWoke provides access to Deaf BIPOC life stories, critical coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement, education, arts, social justice, and analysis of COVID-19-related news for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened, and Black Hearing communities.
Our mission is to uplift BIPOC Deaf and disabled artists’ voices, contribute to the arts and larger society, and increase awareness at the intersections of audism, ableism, and racism. This includes DeafDisabled stories as a force for cultural change and collective liberation. There is also space to talk about economics, parenthood, and education.

All episodes are produced with ASL interpreters and captioning, welcoming everyone to the conversation. It’s inspiring, it’s funny, it’s beautiful with the ugly, it’s things people don’t really talk about, it’s unheard of—it’s Deaf Woke.

[Content Description:

Digital flyer for #DeafWoke using Pan-African unity colors: red behind Gregory Watkins and green behind Mx. Hunter.

A black header with bold yellow text reads:

Antoine Hunter Presents #DeafWoke.
Centered yellow text states:
Thursday, December 11, 2025 • 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET.

Body text in yellow reads: Join Mx. Antoine Hunter and Gregory Watkins for a conversation on Deaf music, embodiment, and access. Director of the Deaf Music Ensemble and a proud Lexington School for the Deaf graduate, Gregory shares rhythm through ASL, movement, and vibration. From festival stages to community rooms, Gregory’s work invites people to see and feel music together.
A small yellow line says Accessible in English & ASL with auto-captions.

Left panel label: Gregory Watkins. Portrait on a red background: Gregory Watkins, a tall Black man with caramel-brown skin, neatly groomed mustache, long locs pulled back, and diamond stud earrings in both ears. He smiles warmly with one hand at his chin, dressed in black, in front of a red background.

Right panel label: Mx. Antoine Hunter Purple Fire Crow. On the right: Mx. Antoine Hunter, an Indigenous African-American person with dark milk chocolate skin from his mother. He has almond-shaped eyes, long lashes, high cheekbones, a full beard, and long locs tied in a low braid. He is smiling and dressed in black in front of a green background.

A yellow footer shows icons for CC, ASL access, Urban Jazz Dance Company, YouTube, and Facebook Live.

End Content Description]