During an event last week in Maryland, President Obama was walking down the line shaking hands with his supporters when a deaf man said something to him in sign language. The president paused for a moment, but then signed “thank you.”
The video of the sign language exchange was posted by a 26-year-old Prince George’s Community College student named Stephon.
Stephon, who didn’t think the President would be able to understand him, writes:
“The moment I will never forget was when he looked at me. He gave me a chance to talk to him. It was like he was waiting for me to say something. I took the moment and signed “I am proud of you,” and his response was “Thank u” in sign language back! Oh my gosh! I was like wow! He understood me after I said I was proud of him…. When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me. He was just a humble man.”
Did you know that the president knew sign language? Are you impressed with his sign language exchange? Here’s the video that Stephon uploaded.
President Obama isn’t the only member of the first family who knows sign language. Here’s a video of Michelle Obama having a brief conversation with a deaf person.