Learn Black American Sign Language: A History and Complete Beginner’s Guide with Over 200 Words and Phrases
Original price was: $24.99.$23.09Current price is: $23.09.
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Discover the fascinating history and current use of Black American Sign Language, then bring it to life with your hands following photo-illustrated instruction.
Deaf history has been told primarily from a white-centered lens, pushing Black Deaf history into the background. However, today, Black signers are telling the hidden stories of Black Deaf people and celebrating their language, exposing their dialect to millions across the world. Learn Black American Sign Language shares the often overlooked details of its history. The book provides:
An introduction to Black ASL and the importance of understanding BASLThe history of BASL, from its origins in school segregation policies to its development among Black students, families, and communitiesBASL today, its continual existence, and the influence of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)Over 200 BASL signs, each accompanied with full-color photographs And more!
Within the phrases and words in this guide, the author includes state and regional variations and Home signs. Home signs consist of signs learned specifically among a family or region that is not a part of the greater BASL dialect. Because much was lost in the years when BASL was not taught in schools, Black Deaf families had to fill in the holes with Home signs. Franklin originates from a region in South Carolina, and that is where the Home signs in the book derive from. Other BASL variations are from states including Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Alabama.
In recent years, Black TikTok creators brought attention to BASL when they advocated for more accessibility on the app, where they face additional discrimination due to their skin color. The hashtag #deaftiktok attracted more than 840 million views. Since then, BASL social media influencers and TikTok stars have begun to educate the public about BASL and its importance within the Deaf community and to Black signers. With more and more people becoming interested in learning Black American Sign Language, now is the perfect time to pick it up.
Learn Black American Sign Language is an accessible and interactive introduction to the dialect and its rich history and culture.
From the Publisher
Publisher : Wellfleet Press
Publication date : January 6, 2026
Language : English
Print length : 192 pages
ISBN-10 : 1577154525
ISBN-13 : 978-1577154525
Item Weight : 2 pounds
Dimensions : 8.2 x 0.9 x 10.1 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #40,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Sign Language #41 in Black & African American History (Books) #43 in Dictionaries (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (40) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
7 reviews for Learn Black American Sign Language: A History and Complete Beginner’s Guide with Over 200 Words and Phrases
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Original price was: $24.99.$23.09Current price is: $23.09.
Kayla Beers –
Amazing First of its Kind Resource!
This was a FANTASTIC book! I’m a high school ASL teacher who has been developing a Black ASL unit the last two or three years for my students. There’s never really been a resource where students could look at the actual signs. Instead, we would watch videos that would show a few, or talk in generalizations. But this book allowed me to actually show students signs that they had learned in ASL class and then look at the signs that Black ASL uses so they could see that they were very different. Students also could explore AAVE signs. I work at a school that has a high percentage of Black students and so this book showed them signs that correspond to words and phrases that they use in their every day lives. Such a cool resource and one of the first of its kind! I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who is interested in this topic but also for teachers of ASL students and Deaf students everywhere.
Marshall Hurst –
Exceptional book!
Franklin is an exceptional author, educator, and individual. In this book, he brings the subject to life with humility and care, thoughtfully weaving in stories from his family’s legacy while highlighting the importance of preserving and raising awareness of Black American Sign Language (BASL). The book is both informative and meaningful, offering valuable insight into an often overlooked area of Deaf history and culture. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Deaf studies, Black ASL, or linguistics.
Kathleen L. Brockway –
A wonderful addition to the Deaf Studies!
Excellent book added to the Deaf Studies shelf! Appreciate this book came out!
Leoniqua –
Love it!
I am very happy with this book! I’m hearing and I’ve been wanting to learn BASL for many years. Having taken up ASL as my minor in college, never once was BASL mentioned. I didn’t know about it until years later when I was trying to become more fluent in ASL and came across some things that mentioned BASL. However, when I first learned about BASL, I couldn’t find any resources or anyone to teach me.This helps to bridge that gap for me. Thank you!
Ajah Phelps –
Good read
I love this book easy to learn and for anybody that loves sign language
J. Lin –
Clear book, good printing, learner’s guide for BSL
This is a history and beginner’s guide to the BSL language, which is different from ASL. The history section is pretty brief and includes pictures, while the rest of the book is showing the different signs and meanings with a photo of someone making the signs. This is a good book if you’ve never been exposed to BSL, but I would have appreciated more of the “why” of the language and an expanded history section.That said, it isn’t marketed as a history book, so it is what it says it is.Printing is clear and images are well reproduced. Good overall.
Catchy –
Gorgeous, full-color book, clear instruction & images. Feels like a peek into a whole new culture!
I got this book because my best friend and I decided to learn ASL. I quickly learned that there are other types of sign languages, and that different countries & cultures have their own languages or “dialects” for lack of a better word. This author’s stated purpose is to preserves as much BASL as possible for future generations.I’ve always known that the African-American community has a long history of signing in church – and lately, I’ve seen a lot of Black music concerts with signing – signing WHILE dancing. I was intrigued and excited to learn BASL with my ASL And, I also learned that BASL is already integrated into ASL, even if ASL-speakers don’t know the origin – as AAVE has influenced Standard American English so much.So, this is a gorgeous hardcover, full-color book. Each page has 1-2 people demonstrating the signs AND also a written explanation of how to do each sign. This book is absolutely beautiful and the cover has raised letters. The author also shows some ASL and BASL variantsI love this book because it is so digestible at only 200+ words. But, it gives full treatment to those words, including how they vary from ASL or from one geographical region to another.The book starts with a really interesting history of the evolution of BASL – just as storied as the history of African-Americans, generally. Then it teaches the basic ASL alphabet using very clear images.I wanted to learn the BASL signs, for sure. But, this book gave me so much more! I feel like I’m meeting a new culture for the first time. I felt like the author was inviting me into his private world. I was sad to read that much of BASL is dying out with the older deaf generations and that some of this language is only spoken to the elders.Fantastic book! I recommend.