Shirley Childress Saxton

Shirley Childress Saxton
Birth name	Shirley Childress
Born	c.1947
Origin	Washington, D.C.
Died	6 March 2017
Years active	1980–2017
Associated acts	Sweet Honey in the Rock

Shirley Childress Saxton (c.1947–2017) was an African-American sign language instructor and interpreter. She performed with Sweet Honey in the Rock from 1980–2017.

Shirley Childress was born and reared in Washington, D.C. to deaf parents, Herbert and Thomasina Childress, making American Sign Language her first language. She has two sisters, Maxine Childress Brown and Dr. Khaula Murtadha Watts. Saxton holds a bachelor's degree in Deaf Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has done graduate work at the University of the District of Columbia.

She began her practice of interpreting for the deaf at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.. Saxton is a certified interpreter and is a member of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. She has taught introductory ASL classes and master workshops on interpreting music across the country. Shirley is know World wide as "The Mother of Music in ASL". She was the first ASL Interpreter to tour with a Nationally Touring Musical group. Shirley was a full time member of Sweet Honey in the Rock for nearly 40 years. She is credited by hundreds of Deaf people as being the one who finally showed them what music was all about.

Shirley Childress was married to Pablo Saxton. She had two sons, Reginald and Deon.

Shirley Childress died on 6 March 2017 at the age of 69 of complications from West Nile virus.

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