Empowering Youth with Deaf Performer & Artist Justina Miles

What if the boldest form of representation wasn’t just about being seen, but about showing up loudly in spaces that never expected you — like America's biggest stage?
 
Noticing a lack of Deaf representation put Justina on a path toward empowerment at a young age. She started interpreting music in American Sign Language at age 8. Now, it's her job — she even interpreted Rihanna's Super Bowl Halftime Show performance in 2023. Justina uses her talent to empower the next generation of youth to embrace their differences.
 
With the support of ASL interpretation, Justina brings her full voice to the conversation, showing us what’s possible when barriers are broken with purpose and pride.
 
And like all episodes, a full transcript is available to ensure every voice and every story is accessible.
 
This episode is for anyone who believes that when every voice has a place, we can change the narrative for the next generation.

Transcript

0:00  
You. Welcome to a new type of conversation with each episode. We'll meet with inspiring people sharing best practices at the forefront of creating change for our young people. We'll talk motivations that make a difference, and how their lived experience can help empower us to take action and make a difference in the lives of young people where we live. My name is CJ Sturmer, and this is the champions for you podcast.

0:35  
What does it mean to be seen and to know your presence challenges a system that never expected you to lead and this episode, we're joined by Justina miles, a Deaf performer, artist and activist who went viral for her powerful ASL performance during Rihanna Super Bowl halftime show. But her story is bigger than a moment. It's about representation identity and breaking expectations in spaces where Deaf talent has been overlooked and underestimated for too long. We talk about what it means to be unapologetically visible, the importance of role models in the deaf community, and how Justina uses music, dance and language to create connection far beyond words. Even though this is an audio only podcast, you'll hear the energy in every beat of this conversation, and like all of our episodes, a full transcript is available to ensure every voice and every story is accessible. This episode is a reminder that real representation doesn't just inspire. It changes what's possible for everyone watching when you were younger, how did it feel to see a lack of representation in the deaf community, the lack

1:33  
of representation in the deaf community, it felt like to my younger self, it felt like the standard was so low. It was just set low. Anybody that I saw doing the amazing things on TV, I didn't picture myself in their shoes. It was just like, well, there's different expectations for me so and I've always seen like my peers, my family, other people's deaf family, they would set that standard for themselves and be like, you know, well, yeah, I'll just live off government assistance, and I'll just, you know, because we are made for jobs, but society, we were not, we would not allow us to max out at those jobs. So to see the lack of representation, it's like, oh, okay, we're just we're here. We I see that we're here, and I didn't like that feeling.

2:32  
You found one of the coolest ways, I think, to show up for the community and to represent your passion for art and music and dance when you showed up, and I'm going to call it performed for the Super Bowl Halftime Show, when you had the opportunity to sign for Rihanna's performance. What did that feel like?

2:54  
Honestly, it felt indescribable, because it was just so much bigger than me, and I know he was bigger than the Super Bowl. It was just like, this is going to impact so many lives all over the globe. Because not just, you know, in America, we are spreading our Deaf Awareness, yes, but other countries needed to see that too. So that global impact has changed families in other countries to sign in their languages, that was just like, wow. So at the Super Bowl, it was just like, I was just like, serious, because I was like, on a job, I was on a mission. I'm like, but if it really inside, it felt good. And I felt like I was at home, even though my stage was small, it felt like I was at home. I love to perform. When

3:43  
you see other people performing and showing up in that extra way for the deaf community, what does that feel like to you, going above, beyond just interpretation,

3:58  
when I see other people performing and signing as well. It's inspiring, honestly, because I'm still like a baby in this game, like there's OGS out there that they go on stage and they sign. We have deaf organizations that host ASL like poetry for them to showcase their talent, and honestly, like there are people I can't match, there are untouchable, unmatched, and they're hidden gems. We in the deaf community, we know so it's to still see them. Going on today is everything, because it's like, Okay, we're on the right track. And like you, you the reason I'm here. So I hope somebody looks at us is like, okay, we're the reason you're here. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. We just get on this higher path.

4:56  
What was it for you that inspires you to take this grant? Age for you to take that passion for music and then actually start implementing this representation for yourself.

5:05  
What really kick started this whole thing for me was really the CEO of definitely dope, Matt Maxey. This was the first deaf, black person that I saw signing music. So seeing him sign with his swag, the culture, everything, his translation, I was amazed. And the video was not like basic he was in the garage, and he had cameras like moving. And I was just amazed. I was like, shocked, because I grew up, I've seen my mom signing songs. I myself at eight years old, I signed songs, but to see that like that posted for everyone, it changed the game for me. I was eight, so that's when I was like, Oh, that that's cool. Like, I would have, yeah, yeah, eight, yes. At eight, wow, yep. And to see where he's at now, like, we still work together, he's still up and running, and it's, it's more than enough, because I've always been an academic person. I love school, I love knowledge. So I've always thought about, you know, I'm gonna go that route. I might want to be a lawyer or a nurse or whatever it is, just, I know I'm gonna go that route, but he, he made it possible for me to be here. Because after that, I started posting, yeah. I started posting unapologetically, like people from both sides of the world are, like, what are you doing? Like, I love music. I'm going to show you how I love music. So from there, yeah, I'm doing what I love. I love that. I think it's

6:53  
important. Music is something that binds us, like language. Language is for everyone. Music is for everyone. So I love that you're taking that avenue of understanding representation in music is a thing. I think that's important and kind of to that point. And when we think about representation in music, in art, and the different ways that you've been able to show that when you provide that representation, what is some of the feedback like? How does that make people feel? What have you heard and seen from your community?

7:24  
Yes, when society allows for this representation to happen, I know that it's impacting more than just the deaf people. The Deaf people feel inspired. Yes. They feel like, Oh yes, I can do whatever. That's true. But also for the hearing people to understand, oh, you know, if they have a deaf child or a friend or a sibling or whatever it is to understand, Oh, like this, I see them now. I really do see them, you know, through hopefully, whatever I'm doing at the time they under. They see their potential. They see their everything that makes them loom, because deafness can be very overlooked. People are like, socializing. It's like, whole afterthought, like, oh, but just follow along. But when you really bring them in and they're like, Okay, I have this idea, I have that idea, I can do this, I can do that. It's like, Oh, okay. Well, now you're like, truly a part of it, like you just mentioned, music and language, but also food too. Yeah, yeah. Foodie love to eat, music, language and food, they all bring everybody together. People enjoy these things, and it doesn't matter who you are, what you can do. So when people think music, they're like, Oh, my God, deaf people are immediately cut out from that. It's like, No, we can enjoy music

8:54  
that's beautiful. We talk a lot here about the importance of empowering people within public health, and there's a lot of folks that just they don't have a lot of resources. We don't have a lot of access to things, maybe money. It may be other things. How can we empower our local community to really show up in different ways? How can we empower people to do more? Sometimes with very little,

9:24  
you know, to empower these communities to take those steps to ensure they are showing up for the deaf community is really by starting small. You know, anywhere you go, like, if I had a deaf person with me, deaf people don't walk around with interpreters automatically. 24/7, they'll use interpreters when they need to. So it doesn't mean that they can't function in this society. They can't communicate. No they can. So if you just be mindful of the spaces, the spaces. That exist. You can go to like your local deaf school, Deaf Institute. There's one in almost every state, and people don't realize that, people don't realize that we have deaf institutes. So that's really what you can do. You show up in your local deaf communities. They have Deaf events. You just have to look for it. But really a good start would be a Deaf Institute, and you can see and meet people and socialize with them. Really understand their story and where they are, because they're all around us. But there are specific spaces that we're really comfortable in. If we change just one person, how they move in this world, how they think about deaf people, how they include them in their mind. It changes everything. It really does one like one mindset changes another's life, like,

10:51  
just meet them where they are, take the time to stop, pay attention, learn, have a conversation,

10:58  
and recognize and recognize empathy like feel because we can feel the same exact way. You know, we just need that connection. Thank

11:08  
you so much for being such a huge advocate for the community, and thank you for showing us that we can think differently and for expressing representation through art and music. It's such a unique Avenue, I think that all binds us. It's so inspiring to know that every time someone sees themselves truly represented, it can change their entire world. And it's like Justina said, it can start in the smallest and simplest of ways. We just have to think differently about the things we're already doing. Thank you to the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and prevention connections for giving us this platform to inspire and empower others to think differently, and now it's your turn. You can empower others by sharing this and other episodes with people. You know, the only way we can make real change is if we're doing it together. Now go out there and go do good. Thanks everybody, and we'll see you next time you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai