[Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, August/September 2016
Brian Buhrow
buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org
Sun Oct 2 14:36:18 PDT 2016
BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 59, No. 8 August/September 2016
Gary Wunder, Editor
Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash
drive, by the
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Mark Riccobono, President
telephone: (410) 659-9314
email address: nfb at nfb.org
website address: http://www.nfb.org
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
NFB-NEWSLINE® information: (866) 504-7300
Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind
Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice
Watch and share our videos: YouTube.com/NationsBlind
Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and
orders for NFB literature should be sent to the national office. Articles
for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national
office or may be emailed to gwunder at nfb.org.
Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year.
Members are invited, and nonmembers are requested, to cover the
subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to National Federation
of the Blind and sent to:
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE
CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE
EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES
BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT;
BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND-IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR
OURSELVES.
ISSN 0006-8829
© 2016 by the National Federation of the Blind
Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick
or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a
National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots-the
familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and
a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This
smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad
covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one
position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again.
(Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive,
the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is
inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital
materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges,
when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.
You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to
your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb
drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in
order to stretch our funding. Please use the return envelope enclosed with
the drive when you return the device.
Vol. 59, No. 8 August/September
2016
Contents
Illustration: Muscling Our Way to Equality
The 2016 Convention Roundup
by Gary Wunder
Presentations Made by the Hosting Affiliates
Presidential Report 2016
by Mark Riccobono
Awards Presented at the 2016 Convention
Meet the 2016 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Class
The Understanding of Fear and the Power of Progress
by Mark Riccobono
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
Equal Opportunity and Discovering Talent: A Journey from Discrimination to
Particle Astrophysics Research
by Jamie Principato
The Law of Disability, Special Treatment, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, and the
Constitution
by Marc Maurer
Advocacy and Policy Report
by John Paré, Parnell Diggs, Derek Manners, and Gabe Cazares
The Blind in the World: Leadership, Philosophy, and Action on a Global
Scale
by Fredric K. Schroeder
Slam That! Living the Life She Wants Begins with the Federation
by Jordyn Castor
The 2016 Resolutions: A Declaration of Independence for the Blind
by Sharon Maneki
National Federation of the Blind Resolutions for 2016
Convention Miniatures
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jim Jackson (OR) and his son Chester find the beat
together.]
[PHOTO CAPTION: Frida Aizenman (NV) shows Jessica Beecham (CO) that rhythm
knows no age.]
[PHOTO CAPTION: Megan Peoples (LA) scales the rock wall with confidence.]
[PHOTO CAPTION: Kayleigh Joiner (TX) and Clare Thomas (TX) face off, head
gear on, ready to fence with boffer swards.]
Muscling Our Way to Equality
We are an organization focusing on greater opportunities, but to take
advantage of most of them we must be physically fit. Recognizing this, we
have been encouraging blind people to look not only at our education and
training, but to be honest about our physical health. Obesity can be a
killer, robbing us of life. First impressions can also be a killer, robbing
us of opportunity. But more important than the negative reasons to
exercise, consider the positives: the joy in physical movement, the
exhilaration in pushing oneself, and the high one feels when we are really
working hard.
For many of us the question hasn't been whether we should exercise
but how to do it. Outside jogging or cycling isn't practical for most of
us, and tennis with a friend is out of the question. But there are
alternatives, and they can be fun. The NFB Sports and Recreation Division
and WE Fit Wellness proved this, and the pictures we show here feature
people of all ages and abilities in fun, body-building activities. As
helpful as they are, no longer are we limited to the exercise bike or the
treadmill. If we find these monotonous, there are alternatives, and they
are ones in which we not only can become more physically fit but can enjoy
ourselves while doing it.
The 2016 Convention Roundup
by Gary Wunder
When I was a young boy, no part of the year was more exciting than
the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the holiday season. The music
changed, and the TV movies were more about families reuniting to help one
another overcome struggles. We were moving toward the celebration of the
birthday of the Holiest of Holies, and, if that weren't enough, we were all
going to give and get gifts. It just didn't get any better.
But the day after Christmas was a different matter in the head and in
the heart of the young boy who, two days before, couldn't wait for the big
event. December 26 was the day when we were furthest from celebrating
another Christmas, and the magic that had been so long in the coming had
disappeared. My father went back to work; the radio played commercials
selling Chevrolets and cigarettes. I might not know the color blue, but the
feeling was one I well understood.
Although I am more mature and now know better how to appreciate the
holiday season, some of the same anticipation, excitement, and letdown
still lives in me. So it is with conventions of the National Federation of
the Blind. With our celebration of the magic seventy-fifth anniversary,
what would seventy-six be like? What would make it stand out, make it
special, make it memorable, make it more than second best to what we
experienced in 2015? But, the world being what it is, the past isn't the
last word on the best, for the future always has a special promise to be
discovered, experienced, enjoyed, and rejoiced in.
The 2016 convention was an amazing mixture of the familiar and the
not-so-familiar. We were returning to a familiar city, Orlando being our
travel destination with one exception since 2011. Our convention would be
familiar in its daily routines, beginning with seminar day, then
registration and resolutions day, then board meeting and division day, and
finally the dropping of the gavel and the beginning of the three days in
which we hold our official convention sessions.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Federationists in the lobby of the Rosen Shingle Creek]
This was the traditional, but what about the new and different? Our
hotel was the Rosen Shingle Creek and not the Rosen Centre, which for three
years was our convention home in early July. Our 2013 and 2014 conventions
were leading up to something-our seventy-fifth anniversary celebration, but
this convention was not about leading to something or looking back to
celebrate; it was about something infinitely more important-taking stock of
our present and deciding how we will shape the future. Celebrating lets us
share an emotional high, but bringing it about, defining the problems,
strategizing about how to solve them, finding the people who care enough to
put their hearts and minds into it, and watching them grow in this process-
this is the real bread and butter of the Federation, and this is what the
2016 convention was all about.
This year the convention was hosted by four states: Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Utah, and New Hampshire. This dynamic team staffed the host
convention suite, welcomed the convention to Orlando, sponsored a well-
attended concert, and provided a tremendous door prize at the convention
banquet.
The Federation's commitment to blind children is second to none, the
logical consequence of realizing that early contact with positive blind
people is essential and that every blind child is indeed our future
reflection. Activities for the parents of blind children began on Thursday,
June 30, and continued until the adjournment of the convention on Tuesday,
July 5. The parent agenda was fifteen pages in length and included
spectacular general sessions and in-depth workshops on topics for parents
and children of all ages and abilities. The first breakout session was
"Essential 411: What You Need to Know to Optimize Your Convention
Experience." A second was "On the Go: Transitioning to and Encouraging
Independent Movement in Young Blind Children." Since many blind people are
not totally blind, a big question many parents and their blind children
must address was answered by the workshop entitled "Where do I fit in?
Transitions for children with low vision."
To live the lives we want, we must be able to travel independently,
and being out in the community means knowing the risks of interacting with
the public and being able to defend oneself when threatened. This is the
reason the Sports and Recreation Division has for several years sponsored
the 1Touch self-defense class, and it continues to win rave reviews among
attendees.
Since employment is closely tied to integration and first-class
citizenship, an offering that figured prominently in preconvention
activities was the job seeker seminar sponsored by the NFB Employment
Committee. In addition to helping people learn about how to participate in
job interviews and construct a resumé, this committee also hosted a job
fair with twenty-four employers in attendance. At least five of those were
Fortune 500 companies: FedEx ground, UPS, Target Corporation, Oracle, and
Wells Fargo. Though not a Fortune 500 company, the job fair was
strengthened by the presence of the American Heart Association, which has
more than three thousand employees. At least three hundred blind jobseekers
were also in attendance to learn about job opportunities, drop off their
resumés, and participate in the all-important process of networking.
The Jernigan Institute continued its tradition of sponsoring
educational seminars, the first being on accessible equation creation,
followed by a session on academic ebooks, followed by a WordPress boot
camp, which featured instruction for using this popular web authoring and
content management system. After training and the job that will follow, one
needs to know how to manage money, so a session was held on software tools
for keeping a checkbook, financial planning, and committing to implementing
at least one financial goal arrived at during the seminar.
Even more important than financial health is one's physical health.
Recognizing this, the Sports and Recreation Division partnered with WE Fit
Wellness to sponsor a hands-on health and exercise experience which
included sword fighting, cardio drumming, and goalball. One could check out
accessible activity trackers and other health devices, learn about one's
health, and even give blood to help meet the extreme need posed by the
recent shootings in the Orlando area.
Preconvention sessions are also a wonderful opportunity for vendors
of assistive technology to spend time with consumers and would-be buyers of
their equipment. The VFO Group, formerly Freedom Scientific, conducted a
three-hour seminar at which representatives discussed updates to be found
in the soon-to-be-released Job Access with Speech version 18, convention
specials for purchasing software and maintenance agreements, and a
prototype of a Braille notetaker that will run on and give access to many
of the programs available on Windows 10.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Mike Tindall, a Federationist who works for HumanWare,
demonstrates the BrailleNote Touch in the exhibit hall.]
HumanWare displayed its newest notetaker, the BrailleNote Touch,
which relies on the KeySoft system familiar to BrailleNote users. The
notetaker has moved from the unsupported Windows CE operating system to the
Android platform created and supported by Google. The machine will not only
be a notetaker but will allow access to any accessible program found in
Google's online store since the machine is a tablet with a Braille display.
For mainstream developers of technology with a commitment to making
their products accessible, none was more visible than Microsoft. Starting
on June 30 and continuing throughout the convention, Microsoft sought input
from blind users on their experience with Office 365, including Word,
Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, OneNote, and other products used with the
Windows operating system.
On Thursday evening the Promotion, Evaluation, and Advancement of
Technology Committee gave all interested exhibitors a few minutes to talk
about what they were selling in the exhibit hall, any convention specials
they were running, and products that were on the horizon.
Since the convention has so much happening, we again conducted our
rookie roundup for first-time convention attendees, and these first-timers
were met by President Riccobono and others who were anxious to answer their
questions and ensure that their convention experience would be all it could
be.
As we would expect, the students were busy on seminar evening with a
meet-and-greet social. BLIND Inc. sponsored the ever-popular karaoke night,
and in a separate event those wanting to meet the fingers behind the tweets
had a chance to visit face-to-face.
Those who contributed to the 2016 convention as convention sponsors
were:
ELITE: Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.
PLATINUM: Cardtronics Inc.; Delta Air Lines; Google Inc.; Oracle; Target;
UPS; VFO (Freedom Scientific/Optelec)
GOLD: Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Market
Development Group, Inc.; Microsoft; Sprint; Uber Technologies, Inc.
SILVER: Amazon.com, Inc.; AT&T; Dropbox Inc.; HumanWare; Pearson
BRONZE: Facebook; IBM; National Industries for the Blind; VitalSource
Technologies
WHITE CANE: Ai Squared; BAUM (USA) Inc.; HIMS Inc.; Learning Ally; OrCam
Friday was registration and resolutions day, and the lines for those
who preregistered and those wanting to register were models of efficiency.
No longer is registration a thirty-minute meet-and-greet to get an agenda
and a name badge. Thirty minutes has been reduced to thirty seconds, just
one of the many benefits when most convention-goers preregister. On Friday
morning a special exhibitor opportunity was held for exhibit sponsors of
our convention. The Independence Market did a brisk business, and the
exhibit hall was filled with audible advertisements for everything from
suntan lotion to umbrellas, snack foods to trail mix, foldable scissors to
the most complicated hardware and software found anywhere. In addition to
exhibitors whose names we have come to know and whose presence we have come
to expect, a few new names were added. One exhibitor was Aira, a company
planning to offer a subscription-based service providing both visual
assistance and the power of artificial intelligence to solve problems blind
people confront daily. Using special electronic glasses and a smart phone,
Aira intends to combine augmented reality and artificial intelligence with
trained agents to provide assistance ranging from telling a blind person
the color of a garment to helping him travel through an airport, look for
signs, screens, and food locations. This company is especially interested
in the Federation's input so that it meets real needs and advertises itself
in a way that promotes dignity and independence.
Vanda Pharmaceuticals offered a session about Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake
Disorder, its symptoms, impact, and prevalence in the blindness community,
and the way one can treat it using Hetlioz, the medication manufactured by
Vanda.
The KNFB Reader, the cool tool for work and school, conducted a
number of sessions throughout the convention, introducing those who wish to
read print to the most powerful, portable reading machine on the market and
showing current users new features that have recently been or will soon be
introduced in the product.
On Saturday, July 2, the gavel fell at 9:00 AM calling together the
meeting of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors.
President Mark Riccobono began the meeting by asking for a moment of
silence to honor those lost in the last year. Members recognized were
Burnell Brown, Shirley Morris, Matt Lyles, Eliza Brown, Cynthia Cross,
Heidi Van Gorp, Jack Hemphill, Geraldine Croom, Jim Daley, Rick Reed, Tom
Ferry, Kristina Wadia, Margaret Williams, Karen Walston, Jim Valliant, and
William Owens.
President Riccobono announced that again this year we would be
providing Spanish translation of the board meeting and general sessions of
the convention. In addition those who have difficulty hearing can check out
a receiver and will get information directly from the podium.
Board members standing for reelection at the 2016 convention were
Mark Riccobono, president; Pam Allen, first vice president; Ron Brown,
second vice president; James Gashel, secretary; Jeannie Massay, treasurer;
and board members James Brown, Amy Buresh, Patti Chang, John Fritz, Carl
Jacobsen, and Alpidio Rolón. Those positions not up for reelection are
currently held by Everette Bacon, Norma Crosby, Sam Gleese, Ever Lee
Hairston, Cathy Jackson, and Joe Ruffalo.
Carl Jacobsen asked for the floor and said it had been his honor to
serve as a member of this body since 2004. He believes that after twelve
years of service it is his duty, in the name of continuing to grow the
organization and see it evolve, no longer to run for a board position. "I
think it is time for me to help the transition; that doesn't mean I'm
leaving; that doesn't mean I'm going anywhere; that doesn't mean I will
ever shut up. However, it does mean that somebody new should be taking my
chair while I can still stand behind them and whisper in their ear about
what they should be doing."
In response, President Riccobono said: "Thank you very much, Carl,
for your tremendous service to the National Federation of the Blind. You
are a leader who has raised many people in the organization, and we know
that you're going to continue to make our New York affiliate stand up and
be one of the loudest and most boisterous ones in the nation. So we
appreciate it, and we love you. Thank you very much."
Alpidio Rolón next asked for the floor. Alpidio said that he would
not stand for reelection but that he would continue to be a militant rank-
and-file member of the Federation. "When I came to the Federation in 1992,
I said that I had found my way home. I plan to stay here."
President Riccobono thanked Alpidio for his service, said that he
knew there would be many battles ahead in which Alpidio would be needed,
and thanked him for his leadership and love of the organization.
Patti Chang next asked for the floor. She said that she has enjoyed
her service as a member of the board of directors but also believes that
this opportunity must be given to others. "With immense gratitude and
sincerity, I ask the convention not to put my name in nomination."
President Riccobono thanked Patti for her service, including her
shepherding of the scholarship program, one of the most important we run in
the organization. He again offered thanks to all of those who have chosen
to relinquish their positions, expressing his gratitude and confidence that
they will continue to serve with distinction in the Federation.
Our former president announced that this was his forty-eighth
convention, a record to be proud of but one that he points out falls short
of some, such as Mrs. Jernigan celebrating her fifty-first convention. He
notes that at his first convention the agenda was several pages in length,
and now it extends to 117. He said that frequently he is asked why he is a
member of the National Federation of the Blind, and at least part of the
answer is that he is annoyed with conditions in the world as he finds them
and needs help to change them. One such condition is the payment of what is
called a special subminimum wage, though he notes there is nothing special
about it. It is simply a subminimum wage paid to people who are mistakenly
believed to be incapable of productive work. Of course, as our former
president notes, there is more to being a Federationist than being annoyed
and finding colleagues to help; part of being in this organization means
having fun, and this we certainly did at the convention.
Former President Maurer concluded by observing that the United States
of America is the host for the 2016 meeting of the World Blind Union, and
the National Federation of the Blind is making arrangements for it, with
him in charge. This is a wonderful way to help the blind of the world see
what can be achieved through self-organization, discipline, and commitment,
and our former president hopes to see many of us at the meeting in August.
John Berggren now serves as the chairman of convention organization
and activities. He spoke briefly at the board meeting, discussing banquet
details and other logistical matters of interest. Though he never gets much
time on the microphone, his kindness, sincerity, and dry wit always leave
the audience glad that he is one of us and remind us that we are blessed to
have him on our staff.
The President announced that registration at the beginning of the
board meeting stood at 2,220, with representatives from all fifty-two of
our affiliates as well as representatives from fourteen countries.
Although the NFB does not support individual candidates or parties,
the organization is extremely interested in our members being politically
active. To this end the President announced that we would hold a voter
registration drive, which would run from noon until 5:00 PM. Charlie Brown
was in charge of the activity, and many people were registered to vote in
the November elections.
Everette Bacon addressed the gathering in his capacity as the chair
of the Imagination Fund. This fund is used to support the innovative
programs conducted by the Jernigan Institute to support people in the
fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In the coming
year we will be looking at new ways to raise funds for this program, and
Everette welcomes people with good ideas and the energy and enthusiasm to
implement them.
Carla McQuillan was introduced to present the Distinguished Educator
of Blind Students Award, previously named the Distinguished Educator of
Blind Children Award. The presentation made by Chairman McQuillan and the
remarks of the winner will be found elsewhere in this issue.
The President reminded those assembled that much of the work of the
Federation is done through its committees. All committees are appointed by
the President, and he wants to hear from anyone interested in serving.
Write to him at <officeofthepresident at nfb.org> or contact him by writing to
the national office at the address listed on the front page of this
magazine.
It is a hallmark of wisdom to save for the future both individually
and organizationally. For this reason the National Federation of the Blind
has established the Shares Unlimited in the National Federation of the
Blind (SUN) Fund. The chair of the SUN Fund committee is Sandy Halverson,
and she reported that at the beginning of the convention twelve states were
not participants in the program. The District of Columbia decided it did
not want to be one of the twelve and enlisted in the program with the
contribution of $300. The bottom line is that contributions to the SUN Fund
were up by almost $2,000 this year, a far cry from where we wish to be, but
certainly an indication that we are moving in the right direction.
Unquestionably the most successful membership-funded program of the
National Federation of the Blind is our Preauthorized Contribution Program,
and its chairperson is Scott LaBarre. Scott told the audience that the
National Federation of the Blind has a tremendous philosophy, a tremendous
corps of volunteers, and more than our share of expertise on many issues,
but, in order to take advantage of these assets, we must have one essential
tool in our toolbox-money. We started this convention with annual giving on
the PAC Plan of $480,000, and the goal during convention was to raise our
contributions so that we are able to sustain a giving level that meets or
exceeds half a million dollars annually.
Before Scott left the stage, the President announced that both our
PAC chairman and Everette Bacon, a member of the national board of
directors from Utah, were celebrating birthdays. Naturally the convention
serenaded both on this special occasion.
The Kenneth Jernigan Fund was created in 1998, its purpose being to
help first-timers attend the national convention. Allen Harris chairs this
effort, and he came to the dais to report on awards made this year. The
Jernigan Fund awarded grants to fifty-five people from around the country
to attend. This is in keeping with the average number of awards the
committee has made since 1999. Asking for a shout-out of those present who
have been recipients of cash from this fund revealed the significant role
it has played in building our movement. Chairman Harris explained that the
Jernigan Fund gets its money in two ways: an annual raffle is held in which
1,000 tickets are printed and sold for five dollars each. The winner of
that raffle splits the proceeds from the sale with the Jernigan Fund. A ten-
dollar ticket is also sold to anyone who wishes a chance to receive an all-
expense-paid trip to the convention. The winner receives round-trip airfare
for two, payment of hotel, banquet, and registration, and $1,000 in cash.
This is a fantastic program for helping Federationists get to and observe
for themselves the magic that is the national convention. "The way we get
people here fifty times is by getting them here for the first time," Allen
reminded us, and with that he ended his report.
As a former President of the National Federation of the Blind,
Kenneth Jernigan is widely regarded as the most consequential figure in the
fields of rehabilitation and civil rights in the twentieth century. The
impact of his life and work has been discussed in much of our literature,
but only recently has there been a book about his impact on the lives of
others, it being edited by Ramona Walhof. She came to address the board
about The Power of Love: How Kenneth Jernigan Changed the World for the
Blind. She said that the goal in writing this book was to offer to those
who did not have the opportunity to learn from Dr. Jernigan that part of
the experience which those who did could pass along. The book has been
published by <http://iUniverse.com> and is available at
<http://www.barnes&noble.com>, <books.google.com>, and in the Apple Store
as an iBook. Ramona reviewed the table of contents, encouraged the purchase
of the book, and asked that those who read it provide feedback on the site
where they made the purchase since this will encourage others to read and
learn about the work of this outstanding man.
Following Ramona's presentation the board of directors adopted a
motion retiring the Newel Perry Award and putting in its place the Kenneth
Jernigan Award. This motion takes effect at the end of the 2016 convention.
Dr. Edward Bell was invited to address those assembled to present the
Blind Educator of the Year Award. His presentation, the name of the award
recipient, and the remarks the recipient made are found elsewhere in this
issue.
Patti Chang came to the podium to introduce the 2016 scholarship
finalists chosen by the Federation. The remarks which each of the thirty
winners made to the board appear later in this issue. Following the
presentations from the scholarship finalists, the board of directors voted
to continue the scholarship program in 2017. Given the caliber of the class
and their diverse fields of study, it is not surprising that the vote was
both unanimous and enthusiastic.
Dr. Fred Schroeder is currently the first vice president of the World
Blind Union, and at its meeting in August he will be a candidate for
president. He talked about the importance of our hosting this meeting and
the role we can play in showing the world how much can be accomplished
through self-determination and collective action. He emphasized that, by
working together with the World Blind Union, we can make great strides in
improving the lives of blind people not only in this country but throughout
the world.
President Riccobono called on Bob Kresmer in recognition of donations
that have been received through bequests made to the National Federation of
the Blind of Arizona. President Kresmer said that one of the projects in
his state was to distribute Federation literature and donor cards to every
funeral home in Arizona and that this project was spearheaded by Sharon
Omvig before she and Jim returned to Iowa. Although Arizona has not been
the recipient of bequests in the recent past, in this year they received
checks for $88,000 and $187,000, and soon they expect to receive a check
for $145,000. By long-standing policy and with the goodwill and concurrence
of members of the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona, 50 percent
of all bequests were and will continue to be shared with the national
treasury.
Parnell Diggs addressed the crowd to talk about the need for
regulations clarifying the role of the Americans with Disabilities Act as
it pertains to the internet. It is important that we participate in the
regulatory process, and announcements about how this may be done will be
widely distributed.
In order to stimulate greater activity and coordinate our efforts on
behalf of blind parents, the Federation has created the Blind Parent's
Initiative, and Melissa Riccobono was called to the stage to discuss it.
One of the goals of this initiative is to demonstrate how blind parents
perform childcare tasks that are normally assumed to require vision. Short
videos describing and demonstrating these techniques are being solicited,
and those wishing to learn more about the videos or contribute to them
should go to the website <www.blindparents.org> for more information.
Following the adjournment of the board meeting, Federationists had
more than thirty opportunities to participate in meetings of divisions,
committees, and groups. The diverse interests of those who met on Saturday
afternoon and Saturday evening took six printed pages and seventeen Braille
pages to capture in the agenda, and in most of these gatherings one could
find a multipage document listing the issues that needed to be discussed
and addressed. One could attend a meeting of the Sports and Recreation
Division; the National Organization of Blind Educators; the Deaf-Blind
division workshop; and a meeting sponsored by the NFB Seniors Division
entitled "Knowledge is Power: Be a Powerful Senior." There were meetings
for lawyers, diabetics, computer scientists, people in the performing arts,
merchants, writers, rehabilitation professionals, human service workers,
workers in the sheltered workshop system, and many others. For a complete
list of activities that took place on Saturday, July 2, refer to the
convention agenda found at <https://nfb.org/convention#main-conte>.
[PHOTO CAPTION: President Riccobono brings the first official session to
order.]
When the gavel fell on Sunday morning bringing the first official
session of the 2016 convention to order, it was very clear that the blind
people in Orlando were alive, well, and ready to get about the business of
making policy. President Riccobono's "Good morning, Federationists," was
greeted with enthusiastic applause, but the reaction was decidedly
different when he announced there would be no door prizes for the morning.
But those groans quickly turned to joy when it was revealed that the door
prize to open the convention would be $201.16.
Conchita Hernandez came to the microphone to talk about services
offered to people who have special needs in order to enjoy the convention
session fully. The convention provides audio devices for those who are hard
of hearing, and Spanish interpretation is also provided using a headset
that operates on a different frequency.
The host committee was introduced for the opening ceremony and began
by conveying the way Federationists go about living the lives we want.
Jeannie Massay says that the state motto in Oklahoma is "Labor conquers all
things." Pam Allen says that in Louisiana living the life you want means
"Laissez les bons temps rouler-let the good times roll." Cassie McKinney
said that in New Hampshire the state motto is "Live free or die." Everette
Bacon said that in Utah "The worker bees love our industry." The full
comments each affiliate made about its Federation history appear later in
this issue. To enjoy the songs interspersed in the opening ceremony and the
audio of these affiliate histories visit
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/2016_convention_highlights/sunday_july_3/0
1_opening_ceremonies.mp3>.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Impact Drum and Bugle Corps of Orlando marches through the
convention hall.]
President Dwight Sayer of the National Association of Blind Veterans
asked that all of those who had served in the Armed Forces of the United
States come to the stage. Each passed a microphone and introduced him or
herself, and First Lady Melissa Riccobono presented thirty-eight ribbons of
appreciation to the brave men and women who risked their lives for the
freedoms we enjoy. The ceremony continued with a marching band, the Impact
Drum and Bugle Corps of Orlando, coming through the convention hall and
serenading us with a medley of military songs. After reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance and dismissing the color guard, Miss Devon Sauer led us in the
singing of the National Anthem.
Beginning the roll call of states, Joy Harris, the president of our
Alabama affiliate, announced that Alabama now has a new training program
which emphasizes structured discovery. It is called the Alabama Freedom
Center for the Blind. From the state of Idaho, president Dana Ard announced
that Jan Gawith was attending her fifty-fifth consecutive convention, an
enviable record to say the least. The Nebraska affiliate was able to boast
forty rookies in its delegation, and a commendable number of staff from the
Nebraska Commission for the Blind, and its governing board were also
present. Of course the roll call of states is used as an opportunity for
each affiliate to brag about its state, and sometimes in addition to the
traditional comments about the Show-Me State, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and
the Empire State, we get something that is truly clever and original. South
Dakota wins the prize this year as Ken Rollman commented, "Good morning,
Mr. President and fellow Federationists. I'm Ken Rollman from the great
state of South Dakota, the sunshine state of the north, the home of Mount
Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Wall Drug, of course, where you can get free ice
water and a nickel cup of coffee."
When the morning session was recessed, people could visit the
Independence Market and the exhibit hall; attend the Louisiana Center for
the Blind alumni reception; or, for those arriving late, register for the
convention.
One of the high points of the convention occurred on Sunday afternoon
when, after gaveling the convention to order, the President began with the
Presidential Report. In his remarks President Riccobono reviewed cases won,
new challenges undertaken, and ongoing programs of the National Federation
of the Blind that create opportunity where none has existed before.
President Riccobono's remarks appear in full elsewhere in this issue.
After his report the President introduced the next agenda item in
this way: "We met with the CEO of Microsoft in the early part of last year,
and we have been engaging with Microsoft in trying to move accessibility in
the work they have been doing. We have engaged with Microsoft at many
levels. As you heard in the Report, we were invited to speak on
accessibility at Microsoft's Envision conference in New Orleans. Here to
speak to us from Microsoft is the director of program management for
Microsoft. He has responsibility for many of the Microsoft projects, and he
has been a true champion for accessibility, grabbing hold of the spark that
we have been able to light with both the CEO of the company Satya Nadella
and the president of the company Brad Smith, who signed a letter with us
about the ADA regulations. Here to talk with us about product progress at
Microsoft is John Jendrezak."
Mr. Jendrezak began his presentation by saying, "I believe our
company mission and the direction set for our employees is truly in line
with that of the Federation. That hasn't always been apparent, though; we
know that firsthand ... Our services, our apps, and our operating system
over time degraded, and that impacted you. We understand that and are
taking this as our responsibility ... The work that we've done and are
planning to do represents a small step in our journey to make our products
better for you. This is work we have to do for the rest of our lives. In my
experience at Microsoft I've heard countless personal stories that have
provided indelible and incredible motivation to me as an employee and as an
advocate. I learned that personal experience, passion, and understanding
are crucial for our journey and to ensure that this is an enduring
attribute of our culture. I want to thank the leadership of the Federation
and the membership of the Federation for helping build this awareness in
me. Thank you."
[PHOTO CAPTION: During the fit break everyone attempted to stand on one
foot.]
One new addition this year was the insertion of fit breaks in our
convention sessions. The first of these took about three minutes and
involved standing on one foot, the claim being that doing this was
equivalent to about forty minutes of exercise. The stretch was welcome, the
enthusiasm was extraordinary, and the message that the National Federation
of the Blind is committed to enhancing body, mind, and soul was made
evident.
The next item on the agenda was entitled "The Law of Disability,
Special Treatment, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, and the Constitution." It was
presented by Immediate Past President Maurer, and he spoke directly to the
way the word "special" is used to denote the blind and the otherwise
disabled as a class really does not mean special but inferior, different, a
reason to separate the class of the special from those rights that are
supposed to be afforded to every citizen of the United States. Dr. Maurer's
remarks will appear in full elsewhere in this issue.
Kathy Martinez came to the dais to speak on the topic "Undefined by
Blindness: Seeking Employment and Financial Literacy Opportunities for the
Blind." Ms. Martinez works for Wells Fargo in an executive position,
blazing trails in American corporations where blind people have held few
executive positions. A goal of Ms. Martinez and of Wells Fargo is to make
that institution the bank of choice for blind customers and the bank of
choice for blind employees. Her remarks will appear in the Braille Monitor
later in the fall.
The last presentation of the afternoon was entitled "National
Industries for the Blind: Continuing to Raise Expectations and Create
Opportunities." It was presented by Kevin Lynch, the president and chief
executive officer of National Industries for the Blind. Mr. Lynch said that
of the sixty-five agencies that are affiliated with National Industries for
the Blind, only two currently pay less than the minimum wage, and no agency
that pays less than the minimum wage can have a member sit on the board of
directors of NIB. Mr. Lynch's remarks will appear later in the fall.
With the last presentation of the first day's session concluded, the
Nominating Committee met to propose a slate; a seminar was held on self-
advocacy in higher education; Target discussed its accessibility efforts,
demonstrated the results of its work, invited user testing, and gave away
what they called "some Target swag."
The Colorado Center for the Blind conducted an open house, members of
our Help America Vote Act staff conducted a seminar on how to hold a voter
registration drive in six easy steps, and the Careers in Automotive-Related
Specialties group discussed how blind people can excel in the automotive
repair industry. The exhibit hall was once again open for business, and a
KNFB Reader liaison marketing meeting was held to discuss the most
effective ways to get out information about and to sell the KNFB Reader.
The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children held concurrent
sessions on adaptive games, an IEP workshop, and one on basic IEP advocacy.
These were for parents, but the youth track activities included "Deal Me
In: Learning Poker and Other Card Games," as well as a children's craft
show.
But even with all of these educational opportunities placed before
us, a number of my colleagues chose to attend the concert sponsored by the
Federation's four host affiliates, and I confess to being one of those in
attendance. The concert started shortly after 7:00 PM with Marion Gwizdala
conducting the warm-up for JP Williams of Nashville, Tennessee. I don't
think any of us who sat in that air-conditioned room spent much time
mourning about not being able to enjoy the Orlando rain and humidity that
were very much in evidence Sunday evening, which had necessitated moving
the outdoor concert into an indoor venue. Those attending were also
grateful to Aira for donating $4,000 to help with concert expenses.
When the President dropped the gavel on the morning of the fourth of
July, the first order of business to come before the convention was the
presentation of the consolidated financial report. Although fundraising
through the mail continues to pose a significant challenge, requiring
greater investments and less return on them, the National Federation of the
Blind did finish the year in the black. It is important that we continue to
work hard to provide funds for the general treasury. The grants we secure
from time to time are very helpful, but they are specific to a project or a
program and do not give us the flexibility we need in meeting the day-to-
day challenges that face the blind.
After the reading of the 2015 financial report, Dr. Maurer rose to
indicate that he thought it was a fine report and moved that it be adopted.
There was a second by many in the convention hall, and the motion passed
unanimously.
President Riccobono then turned his attention to income and expenses
for the first five months of 2016. In keeping with the general fluctuation
of the stock market, the losses that we showed in 2015 show signs of
recovery in the first five months of 2016, and again we currently find
ourselves in the position of having slightly more assets than liabilities,
with no debt whatsoever on our books. Organizationally this is an enviable
place to be but one that we will continue to occupy only if we remain as
dedicated to funding our organization as we do to making the promise that
it will be there for blind people when they need it.
With the report being read for the first five months of 2016, the
same motion was made, seconded, and passed unanimously, the President and
all of those who helped in our fundraising activities receiving a
tremendous vote of thanks from the convention through the applause that was
given.
The honor roll call of states was our next order of business, and in
this portion of the program affiliates, divisions, committees, and groups
are encouraged to make pledges or donations to the national treasury,
Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund, Kenneth Jernigan Fund, Imagination Fund,
and SUN Fund.
Following the roll call of states, Pam Allen, the chairman of the
Nominating Committee, rose to deliver the slate the committee has proposed.
The committee recommended for the office of president, Mark Riccobono,
Maryland; first vice president, Pam Allen, Louisiana; second vice
president, Ron Brown, Indiana; secretary, James Gashel, Colorado;
treasurer, Jeannie Massay, Oklahoma; board position one, James Brown,
Tennessee; board position two, Amy Buresh, Nebraska; board position three,
John Fritz, Wisconsin; board position four, Adelmo Vigil, New Mexico; board
position five, Shawn Callaway, District of Columbia; and board position
six, Carla McQuillan, Oregon. A motion was made and seconded to approve the
report of the Nominating Committee, and it was accepted without dissent.
Pam Allen conducted the election for president, and Mark Riccobono
was elected by acclamation. He said: "Thank you very much, my Federation
family. When I first came to this family twenty years ago, I was inspired
by the qualities that were reflected in my brothers and sisters in this
movement. I was also humbled by the love and faith that were offered to me
in the space that we create with each other. Today I feel the same way-
inspired and humbled. The commitment and energy that you give to this
organization continue to shape and inspire me on a daily basis. The trust
and confidence that you place in me are truly very humbling.
"This morning I was reflecting on why I ever started to think that I,
a kid from the Midwest who spent almost all of his time before coming to
know this family faking it-I wondered what it was that made me think I
could help out in this movement, and in reflecting I decided that it was
the fact that this organization opened its collective heart to me and
taught me that blindness would not be the characteristic that would prevent
me from being successful and more importantly that blindness should not be
the characteristic that should prevent me from loving myself. I want you to
know that you have blessed me with the opportunity to share myself and
whatever I have to offer with this organization, and for that I'm truly
grateful.
"With the completeness of my heart I thank you for the honor of being
able to serve as your president and will continue to give all that I can
offer from the inspiration and the humility that you give me in this
organization. In this moment I have to also acknowledge the woman who keeps
me grounded, kicks me in the back now and then to keep me moving-my wife
Melissa Riccobono, who, in the way she lives her life, reflects everything
that this organization is about. Let's go build the National Federation of
the Blind."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Pam Allen]
The nomination of Pam Allen to be the first vice president of the
Federation was made by the committee, was seconded, and she was elected by
acclamation. In accepting the office, Pam said: "Good morning and thank
you. Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise,
risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is
practical, and expecting more than others think is possible. Each day in
the National Federation of the Blind we strive for excellence, we push the
boundaries, we encourage and love each other, and we raise the expectations
and shatter misconceptions about blindness so our dreams are transformed
into reality. It is so fitting too that we gather today on the Fourth of
July to remember and celebrate those who fought for our nation's
independence as we work together for freedom for our blind children,
adults, and seniors. Freedom from complacency, from fear, from low
expectations: imagine how different our lives would be today if those
original Federationists who came together in 1940 had not organized,
risked, and dared to dream and believe that blindness would not hold them
back. Every day the National Federation of the Blind demonstrates the power
of collective action. When people come together for a common purpose, the
world is forever changed. We have been nurtured and taught by our leaders
like Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and Dr. Maurer, and now by President
Riccobono, who shows us each day-along with his wife and their beautiful
children-through their example and words, his love for each of us and his
unwavering dedication to this organization. As we come together this week,
I am inspired and motivated, and I also take away a challenge, a call to
action that I ask of each of you: to give more, to dig deeper, to dream
bigger, to fight harder, to love each other, to build our Federation family
by sharing our message that we can live the lives we want as blind people.
"Thank you to each of you and to our thousands of members listening
in around the world who share and live our message each day. Thank you for
your love, your trust, your support, your sacrifice and enthusiasm, your
imagination, and your commitment. Thank you also to my incredible husband
Roland, a leader in his own right, for his love and support. I am truly
honored and humbled to serve as your first vice president. Each day I learn
from you, my Federation family. Together we stand, united we cannot be
defeated. Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Ron Brown]
The name of Ron Brown was presented to the convention to serve as
second vice president. A motion was made and seconded to elect him, and it
passed by acclamation. He thanked the convention for reelecting him, said
what an honor it was to serve as its second vice president, and noted that
our conventions are so much fun that his granddaughter asked that she be
allowed to attend.
[PHOTO CAPTION: James Gashel]
For the office of secretary the Nominating Committee recommended
James Gashel, and the convention made, seconded, and approved a motion to
elect him by acclamation. He was unanimously elected. He said: "Thank you,
Mr. President, and thank you, fellow Federationists. I first joined the
National Federation of the Blind fifty-one years ago right about this time
of the year. Now a lot of you weren't even born yet; in fact a whole bunch
of you weren't even born yet. This is the fiftieth convention of the
National Federation of the Blind that I have had the honor to attend. There
have been a lot of honors and privileges that I have been able to
participate in during all of those years. I attended our twenty-fifth
anniversary convention of the National Federation of the Blind in
Washington, DC in 1965, where 100 members of Congress, the House and
Senate, participated in the banquet, and we let them all speak for a
minute. That was quite an experience for a kid right out of high school to
sit in an audience like that. I attended our fiftieth anniversary
convention in Dallas in 1990. I attended our seventy-fifth anniversary last
year here in Florida. I worked in the Federation under our President
Jacobus tenBroek when we formed the national students division, and I was
the first president. I worked under Dr. Marc Maurer when I served as
director of governmental affairs and other names of that position-strategic
affairs-and our national office for thirty-three years and six months. I
was first elected to the board of directors in 2008 and have subsequently
been reelected to the board and as secretary several times since, and I've
had the opportunity to help out in advancing our efforts in reading
technology for the last several years, including the KNFB Reader-which is
my commercial.
"Now in all of those experiences, none of them attaches a greater
sense of honor and responsibility than standing before you to accept
election to the board of directors and to an officer position in this
organization. As has been said by others, this is a position of sacred
trust, of great responsibility, because we are changing the future for
blind people in the United States and really all over the world. We set the
standard. So I am humbled to be here-I am-and I hope you will keep electing
me for a while, but you don't need to: I will be here because forever I
will help to build the Federation. Let me just say that, while we are
recognizing spouses, I'm joined here today by my wife Susan Gashel who, in
the great tradition of the Federation as she works on blind vendor cases
under the Randolph-Sheppard Act, hasn't lost a case yet. Thank you very
much."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jeannie Massay]
The committee recommended Jeannie Massay to serve as treasurer, and
she was elected unanimously. In response she said: "Thank you, President
Riccobono and my Federation family. One thing that has been common among
each of the acceptance speeches of my fellow officers has been that we want
to thank you for the trust and confidence you have placed in us, and I
definitely want to thank you for that as well. I said it last year, and I
will say it again this year, sir-that my most important role as a
Federationist is as a member, because without our members we are nothing.
"When I first lost vision, I thought that I was alone. In finding the
Federation, I unequivocally know that I am not. In a recent podcast I heard
a really great description for what a family of choice is, and that is the
discovery that you are not alone. So to you, my Federation family, thank
you. I hope we can help other people find that they are not alone and that
they never will be again, and that they can contribute and participate in
helping us to change the world as we know it. Thank you, my family. I love
you."
[PHOTO CAPTION: James Brown]
The nomination of James Brown of Tennessee was next considered for
board position one, and he was elected by acclamation. "If there is one
word that expresses why I am here today, it is love. I love so many of you
all. I was in Knoxville, Tennessee, a year or two ago doing a presentation,
and at the end of the presentation I had an opportunity to do a mobility
lesson with the young girl who wasn't being taught the way she should have
been taught in school. She asked me, 'Why are you here? Why are you here
helping little ol' me?' The answer was pretty easy; I told her that I
wanted her to grow up and be able to live the life she wants-that's right.
And so, I'm going to tell you the same thing here today." With that James
broke into song and ended his remarks by telling his wife that he loved her
and appreciated all she did to make his work possible.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Amy Buresh]
The committee placed in nomination the name of Amy Buresh for board
position two. After three calls for nominations, a motion was made and
seconded to elect Amy to the board of directors by acclamation, and it
passed unanimously. Amy accepted the board position to which she had just
been elected by suggesting that it is no coincidence that the blind of the
nation meet annually to express our independence on the same day that our
nation's forefathers did the very same. She said that declaring
independence took courage, fighting for independence took courage, and
retaining that independence has taken vigilance, courage, and a lot of
work. She said that the same is true for the independence we seek in the
National Federation of the Blind: the necessary ingredients being courage,
hope, vigilance, and the willingness to exert the energy that transforms
our ideals into action.
[PHOTO CAPTION: John Fritz]
The name of John Fritz was next placed before the convention, and a
gentleman from Ohio nominated himself from the floor for the position.
After three calls for nominations, nominations were closed, and each
candidate was invited to make a brief presentation. Both men shared with
the convention a brief biography and his desire to serve the Federation. A
voice vote was held to determine the winner, and John Fritz was reelected
to the board to fill board position three.
In remarks made after his election, John thanked all of those who had
voted for him, his wife, his children, and the scholarship program that
brought him to the National Federation of the Blind. He promised to
continue to blaze new trails for blind people and asked that all of us join
him in this noble work.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Adelmo Vigil]
The name of Adelmo Vigil was recommended by the committee to fill
board position four. There being no nominations from the floor, a motion
was made and seconded that Adelmo be elected by acclamation, and he was. In
his remarks Adelmo said that he has been a Federationist since 1983, has
been privileged to work hard in his home state, and has enjoyed working
with Dr. Jernigan, Dr. Maurer, and now President Riccobono. He thanked the
convention for the confidence demonstrated in him, thanked his wife for her
continuing support, and pledged to do his best as a leader in this
organization.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Shawn Callaway]
Shawn Callaway was nominated by the committee to fill the fifth board
position, and he was elected by acclamation. Shawn lost his sight in 1991,
and, although he felt he possessed tremendous confidence in himself,
confidence that extended to competing in education and employment, he
lacked real confidence in his ability to be a parent. He says it is through
the National Federation of the Blind that he gained his confidence, and
that, through the magic of the Federation and his mentors, his reservations
were transformed from "How can I?" into "How can I wait?" "When I hold my
daughter, I feel the confidence in her that she knows Daddy is going to
take care of her. So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much, and God
bless the Federation."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Carla McQuillan]
For the final board position to be elected in 2016, the name of Carla
McQuillan was placed before the convention. Carla was elected by
acclamation. In addressing the convention, Carla said, "Thank you, sir, and
thank you, my Federation family. I was first elected to the national board
of directors in 1998, and I was so excited to serve under the only
President in the Federation that I had ever known, Marc Maurer. It was in
1998 that a Federationist from Oregon called to ask me for advice on a
political matter. It seems that he had moved to the state of Wisconsin, and
a good friend of his was seeking to run against a well-founded, longtime
leader in the Federation. He wanted to know how they should go about it. It
turns out that that twenty-two-year-old upstart was Mr. Mark Riccobono.
Apparently some good advice was given, because he won that election, and I
don't need to tell you where he is today. So I am honored that you have had
the confidence in me to serve under President Riccobono, and it seems we
have come full circle as the teacher becomes the student. I am truly
looking forward to serving with you, Mr. President, and I hope that I will
meet the expectations that all of you have of me and will try to the best
of my ability. This is truly an honor."
After sitting through the financial report, the roll call of states,
and the election, it was time for a fit break. This fit break began with
some neck rolls, then exercising the shoulders, and eventually moving the
right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, and to conclude the session we
did some body stretching. Although I suspect that I would have regarded the
fit breaks as silly were I simply to read about them, as a participant it
is clear to me that they are quite helpful in providing a little exercise,
muscle stretching, and increased concentration thereafter.
The next order of business to appear on the agenda was entitled "A
Community of Practice: The Federation in Science, Technology, Engineering,
Art, and Math," and it was ably presented by Natalie Shaheen, project
director, National Federation of the Blind. Using a grant provided by the
National Science Foundation, the Federation has conducted a number of STEM
programs throughout the country, and in this session Natalie describes how
a grade of C in a chemistry class, which she considered a humiliation,
actually opened a new career for her and new career possibilities for all
of the students she touches. Natalie was joined by students from across the
country relating how their experience with STEM2U has opened new career
possibilities. This panel's presentation will be covered in full later in
the fall.
Following the morning recess, conventioneers were offered their last
opportunity to visit the exhibit hall and the Independence Market. Those
wishing to learn how to get more mileage from their conventions both in
terms of publicity and fundraising were invited to visit the Cash and
Caring Network, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
invited participants to be a part of a brainstorming activity to plan for
the future, and registration was once again open for those running late.
The afternoon session began with President Riccobono asking that a
moment of silence be observed in memory of recent tragedies befalling
Orlando. After a reverent pause, the convention next received a
presentation by Fredric Schroeder, first vice president of the World Blind
Union, entitled "The Blind in the World: Leadership, Philosophy, and Action
on a Global Scale." Dr. Schroeder's message was simple yet profound: an
individual action may not seem to have an impact, but, when followed and
compounded by other actions, the result is significant change, the kind of
change we have seen in America because of the National Federation of the
Blind. We must share this change with a shrinking and ever more
interdependent world. Dr. Schroeder's comments appear elsewhere in this
issue.
"The Roots of the Federation in the World: The Isabel Grant Story in
Her Own Words" was next presented by Deborah Kent Stein, the editor of
Future Reflections, first vice president of the National Federation of the
Blind of Illinois, and a gifted and thoughtful author. Dr. Grant was a
world traveler at a time when women did not travel alone, and especially
not if they were blind. Isabel Grant rejected the limited view of who she
should be and where she should go, and Debbie Stein has chronicled these
adventures in a book. Debbie's remarks and the list of places where the
book can be purchased will appear later in the fall.
John Paré and his capable team came to the dais to deliver the annual
Advocacy and Policy Report. He and his team discussed the legislative
proposals and regulations which are now receiving much of the Federation's
attention. Many of the remarks made during this session will appear in
significant part later in this issue.
The convention next turned its attention to what is unquestionably
the most important business it does each year: deciding on the policies of
the organization by the passing of resolutions. An article by Chairman
Maneki and the complete text of all of the resolutions passed by the
convention appear elsewhere in this issue.
When the general session on Monday afternoon recessed, there was
still much daylight to burn for those of us interested in getting more done
before we visited, partied, and went back to our rooms for a little badly
needed sleep. Amazon Devices and Education Accessibility was a topic
discussed for three hours by those interested in learning about VoiceView,
Amazon's new screen reader for its Fire OS and Kindle E-readers. Some chose
to attend a ninety-minute session on advocacy skills for blind parents,
which covered family law proceedings, interactions with the department of
social services, and participation in the K-12 public school system. One
could attend a session on Braille proofreading or a simultaneous session
focusing on "Social Security and SSI: What You Should Know in Order to Be
an Advocate." Of course there were the "Sixteenth Annual Showcase of
Talent" for those wanting to witness a night of great performances and
salsa night, which ran from 8:00 PM until midnight.
On the third and final day of the convention were a breakfast
sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind, devotions, and the last
chance to register for the convention. When the President gaveled the
Tuesday morning session to order, the first agenda item was "Putting News
First: Breaking Down Stereotypes as a Blind Journalist." Its presenter was
Gary O'Donoghue, a reporter for the BBC who serves as its Washington
correspondent. His presentation focused on the importance of journalism in
a free and open society and stressed the competitive nature of the business
and the way blind people wishing to work in the field must bring skills, a
can-do attitude, and a mindset accustomed to solving problems and
delivering the news in a timely and professional manner. Mr. O'Donoghue's
remarks will appear in an upcoming issue of this magazine.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis]
"Engaging Blind People in the Real Problems of Blindness: A Report on
the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute" was presented by
Anil Lewis, who serves as the institute's executive director. He was joined
in his presentation by Lou Ann Blake and Clara Van Gerven. Anil expressed
his appreciation to Lou Ann for her superb skills in time management,
setting goals, and tracking their progress, and he said this is especially
valuable to him given that these are not the assets he brings to the
important job of leading the institute. Lou Ann is best known for her work
in overseeing the Help America Vote Act and in seeing that its lofty
provisions to guarantee blind people the right to cast a secret ballot
independently are actually implemented on Election Day. The Jernigan
Institute has developed accessibility and usability guidelines for voting
systems, and the guide we have created has been included in a best
practices document distributed by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. The institute has also developed "Voting Guide for Young People
who are Blind or Visually Impaired" so that they know what to expect when
they go to the polls for the first time, and in addition we have developed
"The Blind Voter Experience" video which is available on YouTube.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Lou Ann Blake]
Lou Ann said that, while the percentage of blind voters who are going
to the polls and using accessible technology has increased, the number of
blind voters who are able to vote privately and independently has
decreased. "This we cannot stand for; this cannot continue." She says that
the Department of Justice has failed to enforce the Help America Vote Act,
and election officials have become complacent. When we go to the polls and
are told that the accessible voting systems we need have not been set up,
we must insist on being able to use them, and, failing that, we must vote
the best way we can and then register strong complaints with the DOJ.
For the ninth year in a row the National Federation of the Blind
hosted the Jacobus tenBroek Law symposium. The theme this year was
"Diversity in the Disability Rights Movement: Working Together to Achieve
the Right to Live in the World." What better organization than the
Federation to show the value of disabled people organizing to improve their
lives, what can happen when hearts and minds are united in a goal, and the
value of diversity from an organization that features a rainbow of people
working together to achieve the right to live in the world.
The last item Lou Ann focused on was our scholarly journal, The
Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research. This is the first scholarly
journal created and managed by the blind to address the real problems of
blindness. "We publish research manuscripts, professional practice
articles, and opinion pieces that talk about how to increase the self-
respect, the self-determination, and the independence of blind people." She
urges that we share the expertise we have so that professionals in work
with the blind are clear about what blind people need and the ways to
provide services that make a difference in our lives.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Clara Van Gerven]
Lou Ann ended her presentation by introducing Clara Van Gerven to
talk with the audience about access technology. Clara observed that web
accessibility affects almost everything we do, and, although there is a
significant body of expertise in the Jernigan Institute, we need more help
from members. Businesses and other entities that generate content on the
web need our help not only in learning how to make their content accessible
but also in testing the results of their coding. To meet this need, the
institute is reaching out to our membership with the request that they
become more involved in web testing and reporting.
One of the access technology team's greatest strengths is being a
connector: bringing together those who have products and services with
those who have the interest and expertise to help create an accessible
product. Our work with Target and Pearson shows what can happen when the
blind and leaders in education and retail marketing collaborate to create
products and services we can use.
In addition to helping the developers of technology in creating
accessible products, it is vital that we help in sharing with the community
of blind people what these technology innovators have developed and how we
can make use of it. In October the institute will hold a three-day workshop
to highlight the work Google has done in making its products accessible,
and our goal is to train the trainers so that this technology is more
widely understood and used by the blind.
Anil wrapped up this presentation by asking "What is the purpose of
the Jernigan Institute?" He answered by observing that through our projects
and programs we are bringing together the brightest minds and engaging in
potential partnerships that help us expand our footprint in this world. As
an example he says we are developing what we call the accessibility
switchboard to help those who are creating websites to become WCAG [Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines] compliant. Many who develop web content
currently lack a component which we know to be essential to success in
accessibility, and that is consumer involvement. He went on to say that we
are changing the strategy used to bring about web accessibility from a
process where we check the results of an organization's work to one in
which we encourage that web accessibility be a part of the culture. The
retailer Target is our first strategic nonvisual access partner. It has
demonstrated to us that its websites are WCAG [Web Content Accessibility
Guidance] compliant, but beyond that the company has adopted a culture in
which a product isn't developed and handed to an accessibility team but
instead is developed with accessibility built-in.
Perhaps the most intriguing title on our convention agenda was "Slam
That! Living the Life She Wants Begins with the Federation," and the
presenter was Jordyn Castor, a software engineer for Apple Inc. This was a
remarkable presentation that began by chronicling the birth of a child
weighing less than two pounds, described the role of wonderful parents and
teachers, discussed the significant difficulties in finding friends and
being accepted in middle school, described the experience of contact with
the National Federation of the Blind through the Youth Slam program, and
discussed the exhilaration felt when graduating with a degree in computer
science and landing a job at Apple. Even the word "spectacular" does not
convey how moving this presentation was to those of us in the audience, and
I trust that readers will feel much of this same emotion when they read it
in this issue. After a tremendous response from the convention, President
Riccobono asked Diane McGeorge if she had a door prize, and she said that
she didn't know if she had one big enough to do credit to the speech just
given.
The President introduced the next topic in this way: "On reflection
the topic of taxes might not have been the best agenda item after Jordyn's
presentation, but of course we want to be employed, and Jordyn is going to
learn the joys of taxes very soon. 'Participating in the American Dream
Means Paying Taxes: the Innovation of Accessible Financial Tools at H&R
Block' is our next topic. This actually is a very important agenda item
because getting access to the tools that are needed to file our taxes and
independently manage our finances is an important topic, and over the last
few years, through our work and cooperation, H&R Block has come to be a
model of moving accessibility within an organization. Here to talk with us
about the work of H&R Block, where over the last year 23 million people
have filed their taxes online, is the technology manager who leads a team
of accessibility experts in changing the paradigm of accessibility and
improving the tools at H&R Block. Here to present to us is Bret Reimer."
Bret's presentation focused on the tremendous task faced by H&R Block
in changing the thousands of webpages and forms that previously made up its
offerings, putting in place development and testing procedures to ensure
that H&R Block's products are accessible, and allying the company with the
National Federation of the Blind to ensure that what appeared to be
accessible was also usable. Mr. Reimer's remarks will appear in a future
issue of the Monitor.
Jon Twing came to the dais to discuss the topic "Educational
Assessments, Math Innovations, and Real Accessibility: Progress at
Pearson." Mr. Twing is a psychometrician. He explained how the subject of
assessments can easily be thought of as boring, stressful, and punitive,
but when they are used as a guide for teaching, when they are constructed
properly so that they measure what a person knows, and when they are
developed and validated by and for the people who will use them, they can
be a very constructive part of the learning process. These remarks will be
reprinted in these pages later this year.
When the presentation was concluded, President Riccobono said: "Thank
you, Jon. We appreciate Pearson's commitment to mammoth innovations in this
area. We definitely appreciate the continued work on the Pearson team,
especially through Jon's leadership, to make accessibility the rule rather
than the exception."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Gilles Pepin]
After a fit break, the convention turned its attention to "Bringing
the Braille Commitment to New Heights: The Transformation of the
BrailleNote." This presentation by HumanWare was begun by Gilles Pepin, its
chief executive officer. He started by saying, "I am really happy to be
here again this year. I believe this is my tenth time to have the honor to
talk with all of you from this podium, and I want to tell you that you are
a very important group of people for HumanWare. Every time we come here we
get your feedback, your comments on our products, and suggestions for new
products to come. We really appreciate this relationship and this
partnership we have with the NFB and its members, so thank you for
supporting us and being there with us."
Mr. Pepin said that a change is coming about in the assistive
technology industry, that change being to merge with larger companies. He
described his meeting with the chief executive of Essilor, a company that
makes eyeglasses, and he convinced that executive that the company's
mission statement, "To improve life by improving sight" was not complete.
He told the CEO that it would not be complete unless they could address the
2 to 3 percent of the population whose vision could not be restored and
that they needed to offer products for people who are blind and visually
impaired. The head of Essilor agreed, and Mr. Pepin believes the result has
been that HumanWare now has more capital and can make an even greater
commitment to products and services to benefit this population.
Gilles invited Greg Stilson, the manager of low vision and blindness
technology, to discuss the BrailleNote Touch, but Greg noted that the
mission of HumanWare goes far beyond discussing products: it goes to the
very heart of discussing literacy, Braille, and the freedom that comes with
being able to read and write efficiently. He said that for far too long one
had to choose between the efficiency of assistive technology and the power
and universal design of mainstream technology. He said that at HumanWare
they believe they can blend the best of both worlds and make the most
powerful productivity devices ever built. To fully appreciate the
presentation made by the HumanWare team, listen to their live presentation.
It can be found at
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/2016_convention_highlights/tuesday_july_5/
06_bringing_the_braille_commitment_to_new_heights.mp3>.
Jim Gashel came to the platform with more good news to announce about
Braille. The many doors that refreshable Braille displays offer are closed
to those who simply can't afford them, the cost of most Braille cells being
as much as eighty dollars apiece. At this price the cost of the forty-cell
Braille display already starts out at at least $3,200, not including the
computer, software, buttons, switches, and labor which must go into
constructing a unit. Mr. Gashel's message was that the Transforming Braille
Project was begun in 2012 with the goal of lowering the cost of Braille
cells, and this it has done. The result is the Orbit Reader 20, a new, low-
cost and feature-modest Braille display. Not only has this project resulted
in a product that should be available in October, but we and the ten other
organizations that came together to fund it have reduced the cost of a
Braille cell from eighty dollars to twelve dollars, opening the door for
other products that heretofore would have been economically impossible.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Karen Keninger]
Karen Keninger, director of the National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), followed Jim Gashel to the stage
and talked about the future she sees for library services and particularly
those offered by the NLS. She believes in libraries-the repository of
knowledge made available to young and old, rich and poor, and she believes
in the provision of library services to those who cannot read standard
print. The National Library Service has a wonderful program for the
distribution of audio books that are easily navigable by part, chapter, and
section. Although WebBraille represents a significant effort on the part of
the NLS and a tremendous resource for Braille readers, the ability to
navigate using the service is far too limited. Books are not formatted for
Braille displays but are produced for reading in hard copy Braille. Ms.
Keninger hopes to supplement this hardcopy reading experience through
legislation aimed at allowing the NLS to distribute affordable Braille
displays and to create material in such a way that one can easily jump by
sentence, paragraph, page, section, chapter, and part. There is no doubt
that the National Federation of the Blind will support this legislation and
that it will pass once Congress understands the transformative power of
electronic Braille.
At the conclusion of the morning session, chapters, affiliates, and
divisions that had sold raffle tickets conducted their drawings, the NLS
conducted a question-and-answer session, and the restaurants were crowded
with those determined to get some lunch before the gavel dropped on the
final working session of the convention.
When the convention was gaveled to order at 2:00 PM, the first order
of business was the presentation of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards. James
Gashel is the chairman of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award committee, and his
presentation along with the remarks made by the winners can be found later
in this issue.
"Living the Life She Wants: Rehabilitation Professional, Community
Leader, and Mother" was the next topic on the agenda, and it was movingly
presented by Amy Buresh, president of the National Federation of the Blind
of Nebraska and a member of the national board of directors. What is it
like to grow up as a blind child, pass through the education system, get
what is offered through rehabilitation, get a job, get married, have
children, participate in one's community, and be an advocate helping one's
fellow blind? In one speech Amy Buresh captured it all, and hers is a
presentation you will not want to miss when it appears in an upcoming
issue.
"How Exponential Technologies Will Impact Disabilities" was the next
item to come before the convention, and the presentation began with a
demonstration of the KNFB Reader-not on the iPhone, not on an Android
device, but on a Surface Pro 4 running on the Windows 10 Operating System.
Although the software is not yet ready for release, in its beta version it
demonstrates the extraordinary speed and accuracy we have come to associate
with the KNFB Reader product.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Ray Kurzweil]
Following Mr. Gashel's demonstration, Ray Kurzweil, the director of
engineering at Google, came to the podium and announced that this was his
forty-second consecutive convention and that it continues to be the
highlight of his year. Without becoming embroiled in the political
controversies of the day, Dr. Kurzweil says that the common perception that
the world is a more dangerous place than it used to be simply is not
supported by available data, but a remnant of our evolutionary survival
causes us to believe that the more we hear about a thing, the more
dangerous it must be. He notes that, despite all of the inequality in the
world, there is also a greater emphasis on justice and civil rights and the
sharing of information and knowledge on a scale unparalleled in human
history. He talked about some of the changes for the better that have come
about in his own life, describing the efforts of his family to work for the
equal treatment of women through the establishment of a school in 1868, his
own acquaintance with a civil rights movement nearly 100 years later as he
was present to watch and listen to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the
pleasure he has derived from knowing the great civil rights leaders for the
blind he has met through his association with the Federation. He said that
he was warned not to get involved with the NFB because it was something of
a radical organization, but those warning him did not understand that he
considered this an asset rather than a liability. He wryly observed that,
while others were polite to him, wished him well, and characterized us in
terms they viewed as unflattering, we were the people who came up with the
money and the scientists when he needed help developing and distributing
prototypes of the first Kurzweil Reading Machine.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Rohit Agarwal]
President Riccobono introduced the next agenda item in this way:
"We've already talked quite a bit at this convention about the Amazon
Corporation and our relationship with them. There's a lot I can say about
our next speaker, but I want to tell you this: when we met to talk about
what Amazon needed to do in New York, I said to this gentleman that the
problem is we only have two choices. We can either figure out a way to work
together on accessibility, or we have to slay the dragon-that's it, we've
only got two choices. He agreed that we only had two choices, and we agreed
on all sides that one route was preferable to the other. In our speaker
this afternoon we have found someone who I believe shares our vision for
the future, does believe that making equality in education is a priority,
and has been authentic in negotiating for what Amazon can do now and going
forward in a meaningful way that will drive success rather than keeping us
chasing the dragon. So here to talk about educational leadership at Amazon
is the general manager for Amazon K-12 education, Rohit Agarwal.
Mr. Agarwal said that we are in the midst of a great revolution in
education, one in which information presented digitally is transforming the
way students learn and helping them learn concepts rather than memorizing
phrases and sentences. As important as this digital transition is for
everyone in raising educational outcomes, it is of tremendous importance to
people who are blind. Mr. Agarwal says that the goal of Amazon is not just
to create hardware and software that will allow the blind to read but to
deploy systems that allow students to highlight a word, ask for a meaning,
understand and interact with graphics and tables, and even share notes
among their peers and teachers. He said that any product that is built for
the K-12 educational sector will have accessibility built-in from day one.
"It will not be an afterthought, it is not a remediation where you have to
talk to us about slaying the dragon-we are not the dragon-we are a friendly
face trying to do the right thing, and proof of that was that, since our
agreement with the NFB, our first product that my team released was last
week at the technology conference in Denver. It is called Amazon Inspire,
and, though it is still in beta, from the time we made it available for
anybody to use, it has had accessibility built-in in many different ways."
Eve Hill has been on our convention agenda for many years, and the
quality of her presentations leaves no question why. This year her topic
was "Eliminating Artificial Barriers: Civil Rights and Disability at the
United States Department of Justice," where she serves as deputy assistant
attorney general in the civil rights division. In her presentation Eve Hill
made it clear that she understands the broad array of legal challenges that
face blind people and expressed how the Department of Justice is doing what
it can to help address them. Ms. Hill's remarks will be reprinted in full
in an upcoming issue.
Jamie Principato followed Ms. Hill to the stage, and her presentation
was entitled "Equal Opportunity and Discovering Talent: A Journey from
Discrimination to Particle Astrophysics Research." "Educational,"
"motivational," and "inspirational" are all fine words, but they only
scratch the surface when used to describe this presentation. It will appear
elsewhere in this issue.
The final presentation of the afternoon was "Leading the Nation in
Systemic Accessibility: The Tennessee Commitment to Equal Access." Its
presenter was Tristan Denley, vice chancellor for academic affairs,
Tennessee Board of Regents. Dr. Denley's presentation was cut short due to
the need to clear the meeting room at 5:00 PM, but the full text of his
remarks will be reprinted later in the fall.
When the banquet commenced at 7:00 PM, the master of ceremonies, Dr.
Maurer, delighted in giving away a number of door prizes, introducing
divisions to do likewise, and inviting to the stage sponsor-level
exhibitors who had collected names at their booths and who gave significant
prizes at the banquet.
Scott LaBarre was introduced to talk about our progress in raising
contributions to the PAC Plan, and the monthly amount pledged has risen by
more than $25,000, meaning that we are leaving the convention with the new
pledged amount of $507,504 annually. With our final registration being
2,368, this has certainly been a most impressive gathering.
The highlight of the banquet finally having arrived, Dr. Maurer
introduced President Riccobono for the annual banquet speech, which
centered on discussion of what is perhaps the greatest impediment to the
progress of the blind, that being fear. Most would assume that our greatest
stumbling block is fear of the dark, but fear manifests in many less
visible ways, and the banquet speech masterfully demonstrates how fear can
be acknowledged, embraced, and owned. These remarks appear in full later in
this issue.
After rousing applause and ongoing chants, the banquet was next
addressed by President Riccobono to present our first-ever award in the
name of Ray Kurzweil. The official name of the award is the Ray Kurzweil
Innovation Award. The presentation of this award and Dr. Paul Albrecht's
remarks are found elsewhere in this issue.
The award ceremony was followed by yet another which has great
significance in the Federation, that being the presentation of scholarships
to the thirty most deserving blind students in the country. A list of the
scholarship finalists appears in a separate article along with the remarks
made by the winner of the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship.
Allen Harris was the chairman of the Newel Perry Award Committee. As
it happens this was the last presentation made in the name of Dr. Perry,
the board of directors having voted earlier in the week to rename the award
in honor of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. Allen asked that James Gashel handle the
ceremony. His presentation of this award and the remarks of the recipient
can be found elsewhere in this issue.
The master of ceremonies next introduced Mary Ellen Jernigan to
present the Kenneth Jernigan Award. The presentation made by Mrs. Jernigan
and the award recipient's remarks appear later in this issue.
When the master of ceremonies again took the microphone, he did so
with the purpose of presenting the Dr. Jacobus tenBroek Award. As with
other awards presented at the 2016 banquet, his remarks and those of the
winner are found elsewhere in this issue.
The last item of business to come before the banquet was the drawing
of a door prize in the amount of $2,016. With one happy door prize winner
and 2,000 people cheering his good fortune, President Riccobono took the
silver gavel given to Dr. Maurer on his twenty-fifth anniversary as
President and used that gavel to signal the end of the 2016 convention.
After a week that was jam-packed with education, fellowship, and fun,
members left the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel physically exhausted but
mentally recharged, tired in their bones but inspired in their hearts,
depleted in the soles of their feet and delighted in their eternal souls.
Indeed enthusiasm, creativity, and celebration did not stop at seventy-five
or seventy-six, but are evidenced in even greater measure as we meet the
challenges faced in the seventy-seventh year of our commitment to one
another. What we have done is worthy of celebration for the lives it has
changed, but what we will do is even more important, for it is the promise
we have made to those who have not yet had the kind of future they can look
upon years from now and say they were able to live their lives to the
fullest, dared to dream their dreams, and found a way to realize them. With
our work well defined and our commitment to it as solid as the most
precious diamond, we left Orlando to continue the work of delivering
brighter tomorrows for our brothers and sisters who are blind.
----------
Presentations Made by the Hosting Affiliates
From the Editor: Each affiliate on the hosting committee told the
convention about its state and affiliate history. Here is what they said:
New Hampshire
Of the thirteen original colonies, New Hampshire was the first to
declare its independence from Mother England-a full six months before the
Declaration of Independence was signed. When these Colonials are ready to
make a stand, people better take notice! In 1956 blind members of the
Granite State joined a movement that was sweeping across America, the
National Federation of the Blind. Franklin Van Vliet became the first state
president, and in 1961 was elected to the position of treasurer of our
national board of directors. Twenty years later another New Hampshire
delegate, Theresa Herron, was also elected to the NFB board of directors.
Theresa also received a prestigious honor from the New Hampshire State
Senate for her work as president of the NFB of New Hampshire. New Hampshire
is also home to many firsts! They are the first state in all of America to
grow the potato! They are the first state to open a public library, and the
first ever alarm clock was invented in New Hampshire. Ten Hampshirites have
attended a leadership seminar, and the most famous NFBNH member also
happens to be an undertaker! Don't worry, President Cassie McKinney
promises never to embalm anyone unless they really need it!
Last year Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire sponsored the TIME
Act, and New Hampshire is proud to state that there are absolutely no
discriminatory 14(c) waiver certificate exceptions in the Granite State!
The state bird of New Hampshire is the purple finch, and the blind members
of the NFBNH are singing a proud song and living the life they want!
Utah
Utah is known for its pioneer spirit. This was never more evident
when in 1919 a statewide consumer advocacy organization, the Utah
Association of the Blind was formed twenty-one years before the NFB. In
1949 a dynamic young blind man, Jesse Anderson, moved to Utah from Idaho
and immediately became active in the Association. He soon became its
president and spearheaded our becoming the forty-fourth affiliate of the
NFB in 1957.
Jesse, a natural leader, was elected to the Idaho state legislature
in 1938 while still a university student and to the Utah legislature in
1956. In his freshman legislative year Jesse facilitated the passage of
three bills directly affecting the blind of Utah including adding services
to the commission for the blind, improving access to property tax
exemptions for blind home owners, and funding for purchasing materials for
the workshop in Ogden. He also helped block a budget cut planned for the
Utah School for the Blind. He went on to serve three terms on the Utah
Board of Education and as a member of the NFB board of directors.
Utah became more locally focused after the NFB civil war and much
less active nationally in the 1960s. Things began to change in the 70s, and
at the 1975 national convention then President Milton Taylor accepted our
new charter renaming our affiliate the National Federation of the Blind of
Utah.
In the 1980s and early 90s Utah operated a free Braille transcription
service, producing more than 150,000 pages including manuals, schedules,
the BAR exam, and more. Membership increased, and more members attended
conventions and Washington seminars and worked with Utah's legislature
resulting in 1994 with the passage of the Braille Literacy Rights and
Education Act guaranteeing Braille instruction to blind K through 12
students. In 2010 Utah sponsored our first BELL program and has continued
to do so through this year. We also operate project STRIVE, providing job
and skills training for high school and college-bound students.
Fifty-four Utahns have attended leadership seminars, and
approximately twenty Utah students have won scholarships, including three
top winners and several tenBroek Fellows. This year is no exception with
Utahn Kassidy Wilde in the class of 2016.
Utah Federationists also demonstrate their leadership outside the
NFB. Former president Ron Gardner and Sachin Pavithran were appointed by
two different US presidents to the United States Access Board, and Sachin
served as chairman. Kristen Cox now serves as the head of the Governor's
Office of Management and Budget.
Arriving in Utah in 2005, Everette Bacon became active in the NFB of
Utah, becoming Salt Lake chapter president after the untimely death of Nick
Schmittroth. Everette was elected president of the NFB of Utah in 2012 and
through his dynamic leadership continues the long tradition of positive
action in Utah and the nation. He was elected to the NFB board of directors
in 2015. Together with all of you Utah is helping the blind live the lives
we want.
Louisiana
In 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte sold the Orleans territory to the United
States, and in 1812 the great state of Louisiana was formed. Blind people
in Louisiana were active early on, and in 1952 the Louisiana Association
joined the National Federation of the Blind. A convention was held in the
parish of New Orleans in 1957, and this would be the first of four national
conventions held in the Pelican State.
A category five hurricane swept away those crawdads from our national
organization in 1958, and for many years Louisiana was separated by Old Man
River. But in 1972 blind people could be heard singing the state song: "You
are my sunshine, my only sunshine;" and the NFB membership were so happy to
accept the NFB of Louisiana back into our family.
There were many great leaders that helped develop the Louisiana
territory into a powerful state affiliate. Members like Don Banning were
helpful in recruiting new members. Then came along Joanne Fernandez Wilson,
who blew into the state like an Iowa tornado! She brought with her the
energy of an entire hurricane season and was able to bring about the
Louisiana Center for the Blind [LCB] in 1985. This great training center
has produced over 1,200 graduates, and LCB has become the gold standard of
blindness training programs recognized around the world. Joanne Wilson went
on to represent Louisiana on the national board of directors, and in 2001
she was appointed by President Bush to be the RSA Commissioner. That same
year another hurricane hit, but it was not Katrina! It was Hurricane Pam
Allen who became the new director of the LCB and is still to-date the
president of the Mardi Gras State. In 1997 the largest convention of the
National Federation of the Blind took place in New Orleans, where over
3,300 blind saints were marching down Bourbon Street and the French
Quarter.
Louisiana Tech University's Institute on Blindness now produces some
of the most well-respected cane travel teachers and blindness professionals
our country has ever known. There are longtime members like Jerry Whittle
and Eric Guillory who are now helping to build on the affiliate's awesome
growth which includes sixty-two Louisiana Seminarians! Pam and her husband
Roland are leading the way to taking LCB and the NFB of Louisiana to even
greater heights than ever before, and Pam is now the first vice president
of our National Organization. So when you hear the phrase "who dat?" Well
you know it is the NFB of Louisiana!
Oklahoma
OHHHHHHHHH Klahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!
Where the waving wheat can sure smell sweet when the wind comes right
behind the rain! We know we belong to the land and the land we belong to is
grand!
In 1945, just five years after the National Federation of the Blind
was formed, the great state of Oklahoma joined the Federation family. In
1951 the eleventh national convention was held in Oklahoma City. At that
time equal pay at sheltered workshops was on the collective mind of the NFB
of Oklahoma. In 1958 they passed a resolution calling for fair pay from
their state sheltered shop. Sooners are known to have a stubborn streak,
and during the civil war in 1960, Oklahoma left the NFB, and for many years
the NFB missed those fiery Boomers! In 1974 there was a whirlwind of
activity beginning to swirl, and a new affiliate was formed. Since that
time the members of the National Federation of the Blind of Oklahoma have
been actively living the lives they want and fighting for others to do the
same.
Over the years seventeen members of the Oklahoma affiliate have
attended a Leadership Seminar. In the past decade or so, Oklahoma has
really experienced a tornado of growth and leadership in President Jeannie
Massay. In 2013 Jeannie was elected to the national board and last year was
elected to serve as our national treasurer. The Boomer Sooner gang now
consists of some of the most experienced and enthusiastic members in any
affiliate! There are grizzled veterans like Steve Shelton and Cordelia
Sanders, while Audrey and Glenda Farnum know how to bring the thunder. Then
there are the newbies and those who have come home, from home-grown Okie's
like Rex Schuttler and Cammie Loehr to returning Okie's, Mike and Fatos
Floyd along with Oklahoma transplants like Jedi Moerke and Mike Harvey.
Oklahoma is on the move!
A couple of interesting little-known facts about the state of
Oklahoma: the world's largest concrete totem pole is in Foyil. It is sixty-
feet tall and thirty feet around at its widest point. Edward Roberts, a
1968 Oklahoma State University graduate in electrical engineering, is
credited with inventing the personal computer-and he gave software giant
Bill Gates his first job in the industry. And finally, "Oklahoma!" became
the state song in 1953.
All Federationists know how to live the lives they want, so when you
hear Oklahoma Federationists say Yippee Ki-yay, you know that the NFB of
Oklahoma is OK!
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: President Mark Riccobono]
Presidential Report 2016
An Address Delivered by
Mark Riccobono
National Federation of the Blind
Orlando, Florida
July 3, 2016
During the past year, our movement has made progress at an ever-
increasing pace and has forged connections with growing strength. On July
8, 2015, 2,480 individual members of the National Federation of the Blind
from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico,
with diverse backgrounds and varied talents, joined together to share a
mosaic with the world. This mosaic, formed by thousands of umbrellas raised
in unison, represented our collective intention to live the lives we want
and to transform our dreams into reality. On that morning we not only set a
new Guinness Book World Record and demonstrated that we are "officially
amazing," we once again confirmed in our hearts our commitment to secure
first-class status and our unwavering determination to achieve equality in
society. From the individual stories of many, we create a hopeful mosaic
that expresses action, imagination, power, influence, diversity, and
determination-we are the National Federation of the Blind.
One story of determination is that of Yasmin Reyazuddin, a member of
the Federation from Maryland. Yasmin is a talented and articulate woman who
uses screen access software to manage information on the computer. In May
2008, she was working as an information and referral specialist in a call
center for Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services.
When she learned that her work would be consolidated into a new Montgomery
County 3-1-1 call center, she inquired about the accessibility of the
software for the new location and offered to assist in testing for
accessibility barriers. She was told repeatedly and confidently that county
officials would work it out. Yasmin continued to perform her job and
carefully escalated her concern to more people, but the answer was always
the same, "we will work it out." Yasmin steadily received less work and was
increasingly isolated from other employees-including a ten-day period in
December when she was required to report to an office with no other
employees and no heat. The new call center software was not accessible, and
Yasmin was left with nothing to do despite continuing to be paid by the
county. Yasmin wanted to work, she wanted to earn her pay, she wanted to
add value to the county's services, but all she was permitted to do was
wait. The county never did work it out. Eventually they told her that
providing accessibility would be an undue hardship to the county's $3.73
billion budget, but Yasmin knew where to turn to work it out-the National
Federation of the Blind.
We first filed suit in 2011 for Montgomery County's violation of
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Over the past five years
there have been many ups and downs, and Yasmin could have walked away,
found a different job, or settled for a second-class solution, but Yasmin
is a Federationist. Last year I reported that the court of appeals reversed
an earlier decision and ordered a new trial that was scheduled for February
of this year. The resulting jury trial was a hard-fought, three-week battle
that was followed by four days of jury deliberation. I am pleased to report
that on February 26, 2016, the unequivocal decision of the jury was that
Ms. Reyazuddin's employer had failed to provide her with a reasonable
accommodation, as required by law, and discriminated against her by not
transferring her to the new telephone call center because it failed to make
workplace technology accessible. This ruling is a significant victory for
Yasmin and for all blind employees who experience discrimination from
employers who believe their workplace technologies need not be accessible
to blind people. We are now supporting Yasmin in seeking an order that
Montgomery County update its call center software for accessibility and
transfer her to that location. Although the road may be long and filled
with setbacks, the National Federation of the Blind will not stop until the
artificial barriers are eliminated and every blind person has equality of
opportunity in the workplace.
A number of years ago the general rehabilitation agency for the state
of New Jersey implemented an inaccessible case management system and used a
statewide time and attendance system that was similarly unusable by the
blind. It did not matter how effective blind counselors were or how often
they were at work-they could not log their notes or account for their time
in the established systems. The very agency responsible for managing plans
to get people with disabilities into successful employment was preventing
people with disabilities from being successfully employed. The National
Federation of the Blind believes in the full capacity of blind people, and
we do not take lightly the unequal treatment of the blind, especially by
agencies claiming expertise in employing the disabled. We entered into
negotiations with the agency, and we can now report that this matter has
been settled. The State of New Jersey has made its time and attendance
system accessible and will maintain accessibility going forward. Similarly,
the agency has replaced its inaccessible case management system with one
that all employees can effectively use. For this lesson in equal treatment,
the State of New Jersey has paid $285,000 in damages to the individual
clients and in fees to the National Federation of the Blind.
Often the barriers arise before we even get to the workplace. Eric
Patterson began applying for customer service positions through an
employment agency. One of the requirements he encountered was a series of
computer-based job assessment tests. The assessments were developed by
Kenexa, a subsidiary of IBM, and they were inaccessible to a blind person.
With the support of the National Federation of the Blind, Eric successfully
engaged the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which got
Kenexa to successfully make all of their tests accessible. While the EEOC
is continuing to work to resolve issues with the employment agency, this
case represents an important step forward in protecting the blind from
being shut out at the application phase.
Each of us, regardless of our work, needs access to quality
healthcare and deserves the protections of privacy for our health
information. The increasing negative impact of inaccessible electronic
health records and health-related kiosks is a growing concern for blind
employees and blind patients. Manny Morse is a dispatcher for the Brigham
and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts. When his employer purchased and
installed inaccessible software, he found himself unable to perform his
job. The National Federation of the Blind has come to his aid, and we have
filed suit against the employer. Recognizing that the broader problem is
the lack of care taken by technology companies that sell these systems, we
have also sued the creator of the software, Epic Systems, for aiding and
abetting the employer's violations by developing and marketing an
inaccessible product. Similarly, last summer we learned that the Department
of Defense (DOD) Healthcare Management Systems had issued a contract for
the design and implementation of an electronic health records program for
both the DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that will be used
by employees and patients and that should, according to the law, be
accessible. The contract was awarded to Cerner-the primary competitor to
Epic Systems and a company that has already installed dozens of
inaccessible systems that have adversely impacted blind people across the
country. We have proactively reached out to both Cerner and the Department
of Defense to raise our concerns and offer our expertise. To date, the
response-when we have received one-has been cordial but without commitment.
Despite their deepest hope, we are not going away. More broadly, we are
investigating and testing healthcare kiosks placed in hospitals and urgent
care facilities. We are currently negotiating with one of the kiosk
manufacturers, and our plan is to visit others very soon. It is not
permissible to shut out blind employees in the healthcare industry, nor is
it permissible to shut out the patients. If the government and other health
providers continue to ignore their responsibility, and if our prescription
for equality continues to be unfilled, we have no choice but to offer a
visit from the doctors of jurisprudence to cure the disease of
inaccessibility.
Our nationwide network of advocates has been hard at work moving our
policy agenda. The commitment and determination of the National Federation
of the Blind was never as strongly in evidence as it was during the 2016
Washington Seminar when even a record-setting snowstorm would not stop
Federationists from taking extraordinary steps to meet the call to action.
The snow was a suitable symbol for the difficult and long-fought battle we
have been engaged in to secure equal protections for the blind under the
Fair Labor Standards Act. Through our commitment, the barriers to equality
are melting faster than any time in our seventy-six year history. Since the
1930s, federal law has permitted employers to pay workers with disabilities
less than the minimum wage guaranteed to others, but only if the lower wage
is necessary to ensure employment opportunities. The law contains a little-
known provision allowing workers with disabilities to petition the United
States Department of Labor for an administrative review of their wages in
an expedited process. After working for an average of $2.50 an hour for
more than three years, three employees with disabilities-Joe Magers, who is
blind; Pam Steward; and Mark Felton-sought fair pay from Seneca Re-Ads, a
sheltered workshop run by the County Board of Developmental Disabilities in
Seneca County, Ohio. It took tremendous courage for these individuals to be
the pioneers who stepped forward to use the petition process to challenge
their unequal wages, and the National Federation of the Blind stood with
them in the fight. The lead representative for the complainants was the
director of legal policy and Immediate Past President of the National
Federation of the Blind, Marc Maurer. In January of this year, after a week-
long trial, an administrative law judge issued a precedent-setting decision
awarding the workers minimum wage going forward and back pay from their
prior work. This decision is one more signal to employers that the unequal
pay system for the disabled is out of date. Although the matter has been
appealed we are confident we will win this fight and we will teach others
how to leverage the petition process. Let there be no doubt that we will
put an end to discriminatory wages paid to workers with disabilities.
Our progress in wage equality can also be observed in legislative
bodies at the federal and state level. We have doubled the number of
cosponsors in the United States House of Representatives who are supporting
H.R. 188-the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME)
Act-which sets a timetable for ending the wage exemption under the law. In
August 2015, Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire-whose state was the
first in the nation to completely outlaw the wage exemption at the state
level-introduced a version of the TIME Act in the United States Senate (S.
2001). And on May 19, after successful work and partnership building by
Federation members, Maryland's governor Larry Hogan signed a bill that
starts the clock on phasing out the unfair wage exemption in Maryland by
the year 2020.
Another focus for raising expectations in employment has been the
federal procurement contract program branded as AbilityOne. Under the
program two central nonprofit agencies are responsible for coordinating
contracts: National Industries for the Blind (NIB) for agencies that employ
blind people and SourceAmerica for agencies serving those with other
disabilities. In October, with growing concern about the abuse of
AbilityOne contracts by SourceAmerica, the National Federation of the Blind
led the disability community in developing a platform of seven principles
for reform of the AbilityOne program. Implementation of the reform
principles would strengthen accountability, raise the expectations for
people with disabilities, and further promote integrated and competitive
employment opportunities. As a result of our collaborative reform agenda,
SourceAmerica finally agreed to engage in dialogue with us after more than
a year of avoidance. Although a number of honest conversations took place,
we could not secure agreement from SourceAmerica on any of our seven
principles, including elimination of the special wage system for people
with disabilities. In contrast, National Industries for the Blind
demonstrates increasing sincerity in addressing our concerns and seeking
collaborative opportunities. NIB has eagerly endorsed introduction of the
TIME Act in the United States Senate, and their organizational commitments
over the past few years leave them with only two small NIB-associated
agencies that still utilize the special wage exemption under the law. NIB
is here at this convention, we will hear from them later in the program,
and we will continue to work closely with them to raise expectations and
find new employment opportunities for the blind.
Anil Lewis, executive director of the National Federation of the
Blind Jernigan Institute, serves as a presidential appointee to the
AbilityOne Commission representing the general public. With his leadership
and the foundation first laid by Jim Omvig, the AbilityOne commission
issued, for the first time ever, a statement declaring the goal of the
program to be that all people with disabilities receive the prevailing wage
for the work they perform. Members of the National Federation of the Blind
continue to seek policy opportunities, at all levels, to bring the disabled
into the protected class of workers who are guaranteed fair wages, and we
will not stop until we have equality in employment.
A central component of participation in our society is the right to
vote, and we continue to provide leadership in all aspects of the voting
process. Through our advocacy work we provide information to the blind
regarding voter registration and expectations for casting a ballot
privately and independently. We also work closely with election officials,
researchers, and developers of voting systems. When we must, we engage
directly in combating discrimination against blind voters. Last year I
reported that we had secured a ruling from the federal court in Baltimore
requiring the State of Maryland to provide an accessible ballot-marking
tool for absentee voting. The state appealed that ruling, but the appellate
court soundly rebuffed their claim in favor of equal access. Our victory in
Maryland stands, the Federation will receive nearly a quarter of a million
dollars in compensation for attorneys' fees, and we now proceed to other
states. We are currently fighting for justice in Ohio where some of the
state's voting services are not accessible, in violation of Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. And just last month we sued the New York
State Board of Elections, whose website has many inaccessible forms, with
the hope that we can resolve the barriers prior to the November election.
We will have equal access to voting, and we will be recognized as an
important constituency by the elected leaders of our nation.
In 2010 the president of the United States called the release of web
access regulations under Titles II and III of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, "the most important updates to the ADA since its original
enactment." Nearly six years later-a couple of generations in terms of
technology development-the most important update is left undone and has
been deferred for reconsideration to sometime approximately, possibly in
2018 or thereabouts. While the government bureaucrats sit on their
keyboards, the blind of America continue to find a path forward. We have
held a number of information briefings to demystify accessibility among key
officials in the administration, distributed our views in publications such
as the Huffington Post, hosted training for web developers, and gathered
support from a broad range of allies. Businesses, even more than the blind,
need the regulations in order to clarify how they satisfactorily meet their
accessibility obligations under the law. We have asked many of the major
technology companies to join with us in urging the government to release
the needed regulations. To date, all but one has turned us down-although
the one is significant. Earlier this year, a letter co-authored by the
President of the National Federation of the Blind and the president of
Microsoft Corporation was sent to the White House urging the president of
the United States to act swiftly on internet regulations for the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Subsequent to that letter, Microsoft invited me to give a presentation on
accessibility at Microsoft's Envision Conference-the premier gathering for
chief information officers and other business executives responsible for
large-scale implementation of technology. As we continue to build our team
of supporters for the regulations, Microsoft should be recognized for its
leadership in firmly standing with the blind of this nation on this issue.
While the marketplace awaits clarity on accessibility from the
government, we continue to forge the legal framework in the courts. After a
preliminary court victory, we resolved our precedent-setting litigation
against Scribd, Inc.-an online subscription reading service. The settlement
agreement requires the company to make its subscription content available
and its website accessible to blind users by the end of 2017. We look
forward to Scribd's more than sixty million works being available for all
readers; and, without the regulations, we have no choice but to continue to
pursue those who bar us from access to the benefits and services available
on the internet.
Equal access for the blind also extends to transportation. A frequent
barrier is the refusal of drivers to take passengers who use dog guides. I
most recently experienced this myself when my wife Melissa (who uses a dog
guide), our three children, and I were denied a ride by an Uber driver just
outside the gates of the White House. In April, the National Federation of
the Blind, our California affiliate, and a number of individual dog guide
users offered the court a first-of-its-kind class action agreement with
Uber that requires Uber to take affirmative steps to prevent discrimination
against blind riders in its transportation network across the United
States. Under the agreement, pending approval from the court later this
fall, Uber will require drivers to confirm their legal obligation to
transport riders with dog guides or other service animals, will implement
stricter enforcement policies and terminate drivers for discriminatory
actions, will enhance its response system for complaints, and will track
detailed data on all allegations of discrimination against the blind. Over
the next few years, the National Federation of the Blind will deploy
testers to evaluate Uber's compliance with the settlement. We will continue
to work toward equal access with other transportation services and their
technologies, including Lyft, Greyhound, and the major airlines, and we
will hold all transportation services accountable for discriminatory
actions against the blind in any aspect of their services.
Our action to protect the bonds of love between blind parents and
their children is one of our most important initiatives. Our work in the
state of New York, where a trial has recently begun, is a good example. For
over two years, a blind father of very young children has been unfairly
restricted by a court order that requires him to have a sighted person
present whenever he is with his children. Although the court has now lifted
the order for nighttime hours, we are fighting for this father to have fair
custody and visitation rights without the discriminatory requirement of
sighted supervision. In this case, we are providing legal expertise,
skilled blind parents as witnesses, and members of our organization who
attend court hearings in order to support the parent and to acknowledge
that discrimination on the basis of blindness impacts all blind parents.
Other efforts this year in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New
York, and Washington have been instrumental in protecting the rights of
blind parents who have faced hostile and discriminatory presumptions about
their ability to parent due to their blindness. We have drafted model
legislation for desperately needed changes in state laws to prevent
systemic discrimination in both public welfare proceedings and family law
custody disputes. In Maryland we recently secured many of these legal
protections, and a number of other states have had legislation introduced.
After learning about our efforts on behalf of blind parents, a group of
parental rights advocates came to meet with leaders of the Federation and,
as a result, they have changed their proposed amendment to the United
States Constitution intended to strengthen the rights of all parents to
unambiguously state, "The parental rights guaranteed by this article shall
not be denied or abridged on account of disability."
We recognize that the most powerful change comes from within us as
blind people. This is why we have significantly increased our investment in
building our resource network to empower blind people planning to become
parents and to connect them with our Federation family before they face
discrimination. We have launched blindparents.org as our central home for
resources; we have laid the plans for new educational programs; we have
begun building a network of blind parent mentors; and, as a result, we have
been found by an increasing number of blind people seeking parenting
resources. We will continue to fight until we eliminate the discriminatory
assumptions that others make about our capacity to serve as caretakers for
our loved ones, and we will continue to build resources with the hope that
through our litigation, legislative, and educational efforts we can find
blind people and empower them with the understanding and support that
protects us as members of the National Federation of the Blind.
Custody is not the only issue faced by blind parents. Noel
Nightingale is an attorney, the mother of three children, and a member of
the National Federation of the Blind. She became increasingly frustrated
with the number of inaccessible online resources that she was expected to
interact with to track the progress of her children in the school district,
including helping them with their homework online. We filed suit on her
behalf against the Seattle Public School District, and last fall we secured
a wide-ranging consent decree that should serve as a national model for
equal access for blind parents and students in districts across the
country.
For more than a decade, we have had a strained relationship with
Amazon regarding the accessibility of its products and services. When the
New York City Board of Education announced plans to have Amazon create a
virtual bookstore for its schools, we knew we had to act. The lack of alt
tags in Kindle books, adequate navigation, Braille support, access to
footnotes and tables, and other barriers would leave the one thousand blind
students and any blind educators in the district at a disadvantage. After
successfully and indefinitely delaying the vote to ratify the contract, we
met with Amazon and agreed that together we could accomplish something
truly innovative. We have been clear and firm that we will not settle for
second-best for blind children or blind educators anywhere in this country.
Amazon has been clear and firm that they share our point of view, and
although they will not get there tomorrow they intend to exceed our
expectations. We told Amazon that we intend to hold them accountable, and
they responded that they would expect nothing less from the National
Federation of the Blind. We now have an agreement with Amazon that provides
the roadmap for accessibility improvements in Amazon's educational products
and services and sets an expectation for equality in the future. We will
hear from Amazon later in this convention, and we have great hope for the
accessible educational tools we will engineer together through this new
partnership.
Raising the expectations for blind students in this nation's
education system is one of the more frustrating and complex problems we
face. Whether the barrier is systemic or one faced by a single blind
student, the remedies are extremely limited, and every day that a child
waits for her education is a real loss. Take, for example, our work in the
state of Virginia where we are in negotiations with the Chesterfield County
Public Schools regarding the inaccessibility of its online delivery system,
where students access most if not all of their daily curriculum. The
barriers are so bad that at least one of the district's blind students is
now being homeschooled. Dozens of other complex individual cases of young
blind students receiving unfair treatment, inaccessible materials, and
artificial limits on their opportunities require thousands of hours of
advocacy from Federation members across the country. Despite the challenges
and the resources required, we will continue to find ways to make
educational equality for the blind the rule rather than the exception.
We also continue to seek systemic change in institutions of higher
education. Whether the technology that the university is using and
continues to purchase is inaccessible or the procedures for securing
accessible materials are completely inadequate, the result is the same-a
frustrating and unequal education. We have recently met with university
officials at Harvard, Southern Oregon University, and Wichita State where
we believe progress will be made. In other cases, we continue to fight for
equality through the courts. In order to build our own capacity, in January
we launched version 1.0 of our online Self-Advocacy in Higher Ed Toolkit
available at nfb.org. This resource, developed with the help of our
national students division, provides blind students with an overview of
their legal rights and tips on how to self-advocate for accessibility. In
order to accelerate institutional change, we have just launched an online
higher education resource guide to help university leaders understand the
steps institutions should take to ensure accessibility for blind students
and faculty, and to demystify accessibility.
The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute-the national
headquarters for our organization-occupies one square city block in
Baltimore, Maryland. During the past year we have hosted 3,805 individuals
at our building for individual tours, strategy meetings, affiliate-building
gatherings, training seminars, and conferences. In addition to
participation from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico, we hosted visitors from at least seventeen foreign nations.
Among the significant gatherings we have hosted this year are meetings of
disability advocates, technology business leaders, international digital
publishing experts, regional employment and transportation specialists, web
accessibility consultants, and the International Council on English
Braille. We continue to make improvements to the physical facilities and
the technology assets that support our organizational objectives. We have
installed a new three-ton chiller on the roof of our building to replace
outdated equipment and gain greater energy efficiency. We have installed
nine emergency evacuation chairs to improve safety for our visitors that
might have difficulty using stairs in an emergency. We have improved
aesthetics and energy efficiency by upgrading to LED lighting in key parts
of the building. We selected and implemented use of the web-based Paycom
platform for fully accessible management of employee data and payroll
processing. And we launched the new Connections database for clearer
tracking of the impact of our work on the blind and for more effective
facilitation of communications among Federationists.
Through our national education, technology, and research programs we
are changing lives faster than any time before. We give blind children a
jump-start on literacy through our Braille Reading Pals Club which reaches
nearly five hundred families annually. Through our investment in projects
like the Transforming Braille Group, we are making it practical for
refreshable Braille devices to be more widely available at an affordable
price. With the National Federation of the Blind Braille Enrichment for
Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy, we are completely changing the
expectations for the education of blind children. With support from the
Wells Fargo Foundation, we have expanded the NFB BELL Academy lesson plans
offered to teachers, including more math- and science-related content; we
are aligning the curriculum to nationally recognized standards; and our
reach will grow to forty-seven locations this summer. We have developed a
curriculum that is worthy of the high-quality instruction blind students
deserve to receive, and we make it available to them in the summer. We will
now seek new ways to give them this quality of instruction every day of the
year.
Our National Center for Blind Youth in Science initiative continues
to open doors to science, technology, engineering, art, and math in ways
that are unparalleled. During the past year we have initiated a new hands-
on, inquiry-based, engineering design program known as NFB EQ. This program
challenges blind students to design a water craft and successfully float it
on a river while performing a series of tasks. We know that vision is not a
requirement for success, but the blind students who come to our programs
have rarely been taught the techniques that blind people need to use to
perform math, draw designs using tactile drawing tools, or independently
measure and cut materials. We have hosted two engineering programs with a
third planned for later this summer. In addition, we have now completed
work with six museums around the country through our grant from the
National Science Foundation. We will take what we have learned from
combining our expertise in blindness together with the expertise in science
education from Baltimore, Columbus, Boston, Phoenix, San Francisco, and
Minneapolis, and we will now engineer new programs to further expand the
opportunities for the blind to excel in science- and math-related subjects
and careers.
We have focused our technology expertise in our Center for Excellence
in Nonvisual Access to Education, Public Information, and Commerce. With
partial support from the State of Maryland through the Maryland Department
of Disabilities, our Web Accessibility Training Day, accessibility
evaluation training for blind testers, and a series of intense
accessibility training seminars, have contributed significantly to the
growing community of individuals seeking to make accessibility a built-in
feature in all digital products and services. We have begun development of
an Accessibility Switchboard-an interactive online accessibility
information resource for consumers and a compliance information portal for
organizations. Through our switchboard we will increase the communication
channels between blind consumers and web developers, increase the sharing
of best practices, and develop new tools to further our mission of built-in
accessibility.
We put blind people at the center of innovating new tools to access
information and to solve the real problems of blindness. We held the first
meetings for the National Federation of the Blind Indoor Navigation
Challenge-a research initiative to foster the development of systems that
the blind can use to obtain access to information about indoor
environments. We continue to expand our NFB NEWSLINE system, which is
available at no charge in forty-seven of our state affiliates and serves
more than one hundred thousand subscribers with 343 domestic newspapers, 20
breaking news sources, 16 international newspapers, 51 magazines, shopping
ads, television listings, and hundreds of thousands of job listings through
USA JOBS and CareerBuilder.com. More significantly, later this year we will
exponentially increase the amount of content available to the blind when we
launch our new book portal that will provide blind people with free web-
based access to the more than fourteen and a half million digital works
available in the HathiTrust Digital Library.
We cannot discuss access to information without mentioning our work
on the KNFB Reader-the fastest, most accurate, capture-and-read application
on the market. Developed by blind people for blind people, the KNFB Reader
continues to improve. In October the KNFB Reader for Android was released,
and we began working on development of a Windows version of the app that
will be available on devices running Windows 10, including tablets, phones,
and desktops. The user community for KNFB Reader continues to grow, and we
continue to rely on blind users as the designers for future enhancements of
the technology. KNFB Reader is ours, it belongs to the National Federation
of the Blind, and we need to dream of what more we want it to do and
develop the partnerships and resources to make those dreams come true. As
you know, we have been urging Google to make accessibility a priority.
Google has been making steady progress in improving accessibility on the
Android platform and they want to distinguish Android from other mobile
platforms used by blind people. It is fitting that Independence Day is
tomorrow, as Google and the National Federation of the Blind will be
boosting independence through increased distribution of the KNFB Reader
beginning tomorrow. I am proud to announce that through a development
agreement between Google and the National Federation of the Blind, we will
be offering a limited number of fully licensed downloads of KNFB Reader for
Android in the Google Play Store at the unheard-of cost to users of $19.99.
In all that we do, we seek to connect with blind individuals and to
bring their unique stories to the family that is the National Federation of
the Blind. Through training for affiliate and local leaders, development of
new membership outreach tools, and new communication channels like our
Nation's Blind podcast, we are strengthening the connections between us and
growing our ability to help more individuals fit into the network of the
Federation. Our growing outreach is a sign of the health and strength of
our movement. One example is our work to develop a Spanish version of our
monthly message shared at every chapter meeting in the nation-our
Presidential Release. Although the message comes from me as your President,
we could not make it available without the support of many dedicated
Federationists who work to help make sure the message is accurate when
provided in Spanish. Thank you to the Federationists who help expand our
reach every day, and to those who are new and have not yet found their
place in our movement, we say, "¡Bienvenidos! Estamos contentos que están
aquí, esta también es su familia, y juntos podemos vivir la vida que
deseamos." "Welcome, we are glad you are here. This is your family, and
together we can live the life we want."
There are more stories to tell about the struggles we have faced, the
barriers we have knocked down, and the achievements we have made during the
past year. The lives that have been changed from our work together are
represented in this report and in this room today by each of us. Although
from day to day it might be difficult to recognize the progress we are
making, an examination of the scope, depth, and complexity of the
activities of our movement reveals that we are better today than we were a
year ago, and that has been our pattern since 1940.
Although we face discrimination that gives us real pain, it is not
the misconceptions of others that define who we are. Although we must
confront obstacles between blind people and our dreams, those artificial
barriers do not define the limits of our future. We bond together in the
National Federation of the Blind to define for ourselves the height of our
dreams and to strengthen our hope for the future.
I first came to this convention twenty years ago, and the experience
changed my life. I have come back every year because the experience
continues to improve my life. My story, like yours, is to be counted in the
mosaic that is our Federation. From a distance the stories cannot be
differentiated from the overall impression that the mosaic reflects. Our
mosaic reflects love, hope, and determination.
It has been my deepest honor to serve as your President. It has
challenged me in ways I had not expected, and I have given fully to meet
those challenges. It has blessed me in ways that I had not expected, and I
have tried to pay those blessings forward to others. It has energized me in
ways that I had not expected, and I will continue to use that strength to
make our mosaic shine brighter every day of my life. Your commitment has
challenged me to live up to the powerful message and high expectations of
our mosaic. Just as you have challenged me, I reflect that challenge to
you. Our mosaic cannot be the symbol of one; it must be the reflection of
the strength of many that we share in this grand movement. To live up to
the reflection of our mosaic, I will never expect from you what I do not
demand of myself. Your heart, imagination, and energy must also be
reflected in our work. The stakes are too high and the future too promising
to let it be any other way. That is the love you have shared with me, and
that is the equal commitment I pledge to you. As I come to the close of my
report for 2016, I acknowledge our bond of faith and call us to action-
together with love, hope, and determination, let us transform our dreams
into reality.
---------
Awards Presented at the 2016 Convention
From the Editor: Recognizing the work that is accomplished on behalf
of blind people is a critical part of the mission of the National
Federation of the Blind. For this reason we present a number of awards;
some are presented annually; others are presented only as often as the
Federation determines that a deserving candidate merits their presentation.
This year awards were presented to recognize the Distinguished
Educator of Blind Students, the Blind Educator of the Year, the Ray
Kurzweil Innovation Award, the Newel Perry Award, the Kenneth Jernigan
Award, and the Jacobus tenBroek Award. Here are the presentations as
witnessed at the 2016 Convention:
[PHOTO CAPTION: Janet Bernhardt addresses the crowd.]
Distinguished Educator of Blind Students
Presented by Carla McQuillan
In our efforts to ensure the success of our blind children through
their lives with Braille literacy and the skills of independence, the
National Federation of the Blind recognizes teachers who are leaders in the
field of education of blind students. This award recognizes and honors the
best of the best.
I'd like first to thank the members of the committee. We had Laura
Bostick, Michelle Chacon, Dan Wenzel, and Mary Willows. It was a very
difficult decision, we had many highly qualified applicants, but one stood
out above the rest. This year's Distinguished Educator of Blind Students
has spent thirty-nine years in the field of education of the blind. She
received her certificate of teachers of blind students from Florida State
University, her bachelor of science from Louisiana State University, and a
degree in low vision therapy from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
She began her career in 1977 working with preschool students who are blind.
Throughout her thirty-nine years she has worked with children from birth
through high school in many different settings: in home settings as an
itinerate, in the classroom, and now she serves as an educational
consultant for the Louisiana Center for the Blind.
Pam Allen says that she is passionate about Braille literacy; Eric
Guillory, who as a child was a student of this distinguished educator,
remembers that she said that her students needed skills, not sympathy. He
also says that she is a full-blown parrothead Jimmy Buffet fan. And, while
this was not one of the criterion for our decision, it doesn't get much
better than a cheeseburger in paradise.
To put it in her own words, [in a Southern accent] "I can stand my
ground with those professionals who say that this student doesn't need
Braille because he is keepin' up just beautifully with his sighted peers.
Well, as you might guess, of course he is in kindergarten. I've had to
battle with administrators, teachers, and even parents, but I always
advocate for the children."
I have with me a check, and it reads $1,000. I also have with me a
plaque that reads:
NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND HONORS
JANET BERNHARDT
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR OF BLIND STUDENTS
FOR YOUR SKILLS IN TEACHING
BRAILLE AND
OTHER ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUES OF BLINDNESS,
FOR GRACIOUSLY DEVOTING EXTRA
TIME TO MEET
THE NEEDS OF YOUR STUDENTS,
AND FOR EMPOWERING
YOUR STUDENTS TO PERFORM
BEYOND THEIR EXPECTATIONS.
YOU CHAMPION OUR MOVEMENT.
YOU STRENGTHEN OUR HOPES.
YOU SHARE OUR DREAMS.
JULY 2, 2016
Janet Bernhardt: Thank you so much, board of directors, President
Riccobono, the awards committee, and especially the people who nominated
me: Pam Allen, the director of the greatest center for the blind in the
world, the Louisiana Center for the Blind; and Eric Guillory, my dear
friend, colleague, and yes, former student-sorry if I embarrass you. I
thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is the most prestigious award
in the world that any teacher of blind students could receive, and I want
you to know that it means the world to me. It means that after working most
of my life now and helping children, it has made a difference. I believe
that's what all of us want is to make a difference.
When I started teaching, I never intended to work this long. I was
waiting to get married, have babies, and be a stay-at-home mom. And yes I
knew about Gloria and her bra-burning friends, and I liked her very much,
but I wanted to be a mom, and I wanted to stay at home and raise children.
But God always knows exactly what I need and when I need it. I became a
teacher before I became a mom, and something wonderful happened. I went in
that classroom, and I fell in love with my students. I fell in love with
your children. I considered them my kids, and I was an old mama hen back in
my twenties, and you better not ruffle my feathers too much, because I was
willing to fight for them. So if a teacher told me, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I've
never taught blind children. He can't come into my class; I teach science."
I would just, in my very nice way, would say, "That's okay. You don't have
to know about teaching blind children; that's my job. Your job is to teach
science." [applause]
Now I was very fortunate because I worked for directors of special ed
who believed I knew what I was doing. They thought I was the expert-dear
God I was a brand-new teacher; I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Now I
knew the Braille code; I knew it backwards and forwards. I passed the
Braille transcribers course-that was my final exam at Florida State. But
not once did anyone tell me how to teach a child how to read Braille. So
what I did my first day in teaching first grade-I went to the lady next
door who happened to teach first grade, and I said, "What are you teaching
your kids this week?" And she shared her lesson plans with me. She and I
became great friends. All through that year all I wanted for my students-I
just thought it was real simple-he's in first grade, he needs to learn what
the first grade kids are learning. I kept my kids until they knew how to
read, and they knew how to compete academically before I threw them in the
classroom. Yes-I mainstreamed back in those days; we call it inclusion now.
But I sent them in for things they could succeed in. I would send them in
for spelling first, and then in second grade I sent them in to reading
because they were reading on second-grade level, and then I sent them in to
math in third grade because they could complete all of the math assignments
given Braille textbooks. That's kind of how I did it; I loved it, and it
worked.
I was also allowed to do things that I thought were important: today
we teach to the test, and I'm so sick of teaching kids what they are
supposed to pass on the test [applause]. I guess if I would have had a
better vocabulary or if I'd have been better at explaining things to
children, they probably wouldn't have had as many good experiences as they
had. Because I couldn't explain what skis were and or how you went downhill
on a snow-covered mountain in skis. The more I tried to explain, the more
they got confused, and I said, "Okay, field trip." We went to Lafayette,
Louisiana, where they had a simulated mountain, and they learned how to
snow ski. And one day the instructor said, "Oh my God, they're naturals.
I'm so sorry that they'll never get to go skiing." I said, "Well, they
probably won't." And then I thought, well why not? Why don't we raise the
money and go snow skiing? [applause] I did not want my children growing up
thinking that "I'm blind and I don't have to work; I'm going to get a
check." That is not my philosophy, and it's not your philosophy, NFB. So we
sold Braille jewelry, we had garage sales, we sold pickles-you'd be amazed
at how much an elementary school kid will pay for a pickle! We raised the
money, and we went snow skiing.
I also did things like hatched chicks in an incubator so they could
feel that egg and feel that little chick peck out of the shell, and they
could hold it in their hand. One day I did the entire life cycle of a
chicken in one day: we hatched it, we raised it, we loved it, we killed it
[laughter]. We didn't mean to kill it, but one of my little kindergarten
students who loved them so much wrapped them very tightly before we went to
lunch in a towel, so when we got in the room and we did not hear those
little cheeps after we got back in, we were like, "Uh-Oh." I try to teach
that all life is valuable, so you can't really flush a chick like you can a
goldfish, so what do you do? I went and found a janitor and borrowed a
shovel, and we buried the chick.
Those are things that teachers don't have time to do today because
they're too busy trying to save their jobs by making sure that their
students can pass the test. I tested all the time. I tested because I
wanted to know what I needed to teach. Is there something they don't know
that they should know? Let me find out.
This has been a long five minutes, I'm sure, for me if not for you.
This award not only belongs to me; this award belongs to each and every one
of you, my NFB family. Because if I'm an outstanding educator, it is
because you taught me. You taught me how to teach.
When I started teaching I didn't have a clue. I called Joanne Wilson,
I called Don Banning, I called Warren Figaro, and today I call Pam Allen
and Eric Guillory. You know, you never stop learning, or at least I hope I
never stop learning. They teach me today, but you have taught me how to be
a teacher, and I humbly share this award with you. Thank you, thank you.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Kathy Nimmer poses next to Edward Bell holding her plaque.]
Blind Educator of the Year
Presented by Edward Bell
Thank you, Mr. President and members of the board. It is an honor and
a privilege to be here. The Blind Educator Award was designed to recognize
individuals who have made strides in the teaching profession. I want to
thank the committee for helping us to select this individual this year. As
noted, last year we did not select someone for the award. We only select
someone for this award when there is a person who is deserving of the
award, and I believe that there definitely is this year.
The profession of teaching goes back decades, and it is a very noble
profession. But, like so many professions, it is one that the blind have
often been shut out of. Because of low expectations and discrimination, the
doors of opportunity have often been closed. And yet a number of
individuals have been able to fight through the system and to become
teachers across this country and have taught in the public classroom-
sighted children-safely, effectively, and efficiently.
Among those individuals some have excelled and achieved beyond just
teaching the class. Like our recipient this year, they've gone on to work
with other teachers to help train them, to help and educate not only the
children but others in the community. This individual works to train
teachers around the state, doing workshops and in-services. She has a blog,
makes other presentations, and has even written a book. Perhaps, most
notably, however, she is the 2015 Teacher of the Year in the great state of
Indiana [cheers]. Now I didn't say the blind teacher of the year; I said
the Teacher of the Year, because her work has put her head and shoulders
above all of the teachers in the entire state of Indiana, all of the
sighted teachers included. Which goes to show not only what we as blind
people have achieved and can achieve, but what we are doing given the hope
and opportunity that have been given to us.
So please help and give a warm congratulations to Ms. Kathy Nimmer
from Indiana. Along with the award comes a plaque, and I'm going to ask my
lovely assistant, Ms. Beth Braun, to read the text of that plaque for me:
BLIND EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND
PRESENTED TO
KATHY NIMMER
IN RECOGNITION OF
OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION.
YOU ENHANCE THE PRESENT
YOU INSPIRE YOUR COLLEAGUES
YOU BUILD THE FUTURE
JULY 2, 2016
In addition to the plaque that you will receive, you will also be
getting a check in the amount of $1,000. Perhaps more importantly than
that, by receiving this award you also receive the esteem and respect of
the members of the National Federation of the Blind, for the work that you
do helps children and others to live the lives they want, and that is our
goal and our mission. Thank you for all you do, and thank you for being the
2016 Blind Educator of the National Federation of the Blind.
Kathy Nimmer: It is such a privilege to be here with you and to
receive this award. I remember when I first decided I wanted to be a
teacher; it was when I first received the diagnosis that my vision would be
deteriorating. Before that point I had no idea that visual impairment would
be part of my world. But the minute that came into my life, teachers came
into my life in a very intense and personal way.
As I grew up and lost vision, I worked one-on-one with such amazing
teachers in public school and then at the Indiana School for the Blind who
gave me my desire to be a teacher, who would have that kind of impact.
By the time I was hired as an English teacher at a public high school
in West Lafayette, Indiana, I was totally blind. I had an idea of what kind
of teacher I wanted to be, and yet, not a clear path of how to be that
teacher. I was so conscious at the beginning that my blindness would be
such a big factor in the classroom that I tried to minimize it by lecturing
instead of talking to the kids because I didn't want to mistakenly call
somebody by the wrong name. I didn't want to move around the room and bump
into something, so I stayed behind the podium. I did all of these things to
try to minimize my disability, and instead I was magnifying it. My
classroom was chaotic and out of control, culminating in a student throwing
a bookbag that shattered the classroom window.
When that happened, I wanted to quit, and I knew that my private
humiliation and failure was now public. But I knew, too, that I could be
the kind of teacher that had touched my life, and I wanted to do that for
all of these sighted students. So I threw away all of the fears about my
blindness being an issue in the room, and I just became myself and laughed
and joked and desensitized the students to being conscious of my blindness
because I was just being a teacher, not being somebody who was afraid of
having a disability in front of them, and success happened.
When I was named Indiana Teacher of the Year, I was away from my
classroom for a year, traveling the state and nation and speaking to groups
all around, of all sorts. Every time I spoke at a public school, I met the
blind and visually impaired students who attended those schools. In
reconnecting with little children just beginning their lives with blindness
and visual impairment, I was brought right back to my initial diagnosis and
the teachers who touched my life.
It is such a privilege to be a teacher. It is such a privilege to
succeed at the thing that I love. And it is such a privilege to help young
people find that thing that they love, whether they are sighted or whether
they are blind, and pour themselves into that passion so that they can find
success. Thank you so much for promoting that constantly in your
organization and for this award. Thank you.
Ray Kurzweil Innovation Award
Presented by Mark Riccobono
From the Editor: This is a new award, and Marc Maurer introduced it
in this way: Forty-one years ago, back in 1975, we welcomed to our
convention an inventor named Ray Kurzweil. Last year we inquired if we
could establish an award in his name as the premier inventor of blindness-
related technology, and he agreed. This year we offer the first of those
awards, and here to make the presentation is our president, Mark Riccobono.
Mark Riccobono: Thank you, Dr. Maurer, and I'm going to invite Ray
Kurzweil up here also to make some remarks about our recipient this
evening. Dr. Maurer has given you the history of the award already, and
since we established it at our diamond anniversary banquet last year, we
haven't had the opportunity yet to give the National Federation of the
Blind Ray Kurzweil Innovation Award. The Ray Kurzweil Innovation Award is
intended to honor an individual or organization whose innovative
development of technology, outstanding integration of accessible design, or
ingenious method of leveraging existing technology to solve access to
information barriers has or will have a significant impact on the blind.
The recipient should also exhibit the spirit of partnership with the blind
that has characterized Ray Kurzweil's work with the National Federation of
the Blind.
Both the names on the award and the selection criteria make this a
pretty high bar to jump over. The person we are recognizing tonight meets
this standard. In fact, when someone was needed to lead the development and
engineering effort for the world's first handheld reading machine for the
blind, Ray Kurzweil personally found this year's awardee and put him in
charge of the project. That was thirteen years ago, but Dr. Paul Albrecht,
the first recipient of the Ray Kurzweil Innovation Award, is still on the
job. As director of engineering for our KNFB Reader project, Paul Albrecht
has been-and still is-the principal individual responsible for making our
mobile reading technology the gold standard that it is, better than
anything else on the market.
I have quite a lengthy resumé here about Dr. Albrecht, and I could
read it, except we have a lot of other things to get to tonight. Let me
just give you a few highlights, and then I think it most fitting to turn
the presentation over to Ray for some personal comments before we give the
award.
Paul has served as the technical lead and founder of Cambridge Heart,
managing development and the FDA approval process of a medical device used
to predict the potential of sudden cardiac death. He has served as
technical lead in three medical company acquisitions, including a 2 billion
dollar deal with WebMD. In 2009 he won the Nokia Technology Showcase first
prize for mobile applications. And most importantly he has been the lead
engineer for all three generations of our KNFB Reader mobile products.
Paul has received degrees from MIT and Harvard, and he has a thirty-
year track record of technology innovations. But simply having
accomplishments in technology is not enough to win the Ray Kurzweil
Innovation Award. You must exhibit the enduring commitment that Ray
Kurzweil has had to users, an enduring commitment to blind users of
technology. While Paul's work and his technologies that he's developed
represent achievements, the qualities of those technologies reflect his
enduring commitment to the users-to blind users-of the technology. Before
we invite Paul up to receive the award, I'd like to offer Ray an
opportunity to offer his thoughts about the first recipient of the Ray
Kurzweil Innovation Award. [applause]
Ray Kurzweil: Thank you, President Riccobono. It's a great honor to
have this award named after me, and it will only reinforce my lifelong
commitment to the ideals of this organization. Before I comment on Paul,
who I've known for fifteen years, I just want to share a couple of thoughts
I had about President Riccobono's inspiring address. I've had the
opportunity to hear more than forty inspiring addresses by three great
presidents, and it really forms the high point of my year. President
Riccobono talked about fear. I found particularly moving his reference to
fear from love. Mourning for a loved one who is passed is the price of love-
that's always been my feeling. He talked about the fear of blindness, and
the only inability to see that we should fear is the failure to see
opportunity, to see hope, to see the potential of every individual, and
these are qualities the NFB sees very well. [applause] I thought of this
quote (and if you saw me writing during the address, it's not because I
wasn't paying attention), it comes from someone who's always sure to have a
poignant quote for any situation, but I think it describes our President of
this great organization and the organization itself. It's from Winston
Churchill, in my view the greatest European leader of the twentieth
century. He said, "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never-
in nothing great or small, large or petty-never give in except to
convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force, never yield to
the apparently overwhelming might of the forces arrayed against you."
[applause]
I think that quality also describes my colleague Paul Albrecht. I met
him fifteen years ago. I was looking for someone who could help with our
artificial intelligence efforts, and unlike many of the resumés that I
looked at, his view was that the essence of intelligence was being able to
see the pattern of information-I actually wrote a paper fifty years ago
that said that, and that paper got me the chance to meet President Johnson,
and I've pursued this view for half a century, that the essence of
intelligence is seeing the patterns around us. Dr. Albrecht, unlike a lot
of other artificial intelligence researchers who were trying to define
intelligence in terms of logical rules, was devoted to pattern recognition.
As you heard, he was able to see the very subtle patterns that might lead
to sudden death from a heart attack. That was his first contribution.
Being of like mind, we formed a union. I found him to be a brilliant
researcher in artificial intelligence, and most importantly, when I brought
up this opportunity to advance the state of the art in reading for the
blind which involves understanding patterns of printed letters and also
patterns of sound in terms of synthetic speech, he jumped at the
opportunity and was very excited about it and has remained completely
devoted to this mission for the last fifteen years. As President Riccobono
mentioned, he worked tirelessly to develop the first handheld reading
machine for the blind and has continued to work on that. The only reason
that this technology is the best in the world is because of the devotion of
Paul Albrecht and the other scientists and engineers that he has held
together. It is my honor to see this award go to my colleague Paul
Albrecht.
Mark Riccobono: We'll have Dr. Kurzweil stay close to help-this is a heavy
award. You might need a cart to get it out of here. I'm going to read the
inscription. This is a piece of glass, and it is inscribed this way:
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
RAY KURZWEIL INNOVATION AWARD
HONORS
PAUL ALBRECHT
FOR YOUR DEEP COMMITMENT TO
MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT
OF BLIND PEOPLE IN TECHNOLOGY DESIGN
AND FOR APPLYING YOUR INNOVATIVE GENIUS
TO RAISING EXPECTATIONS FOR THE BLIND.
YOUR EXAMPLE INSPIRES OTHERS,
YOUR INVENTIVENESS IMPROVES
THE WORLD, AND YOUR IMPACT
CONTINUES TO GROW THROUGH
THE LIVES OF THOSE TOUCHED
BY THE SKILL OF YOUR CRAFT.
JULY 5, 2016
Now this is an award, but the Ray Kurzweil Innovation Award also
comes with a check for $10,000 [applause]. I now turn it over to Paul
Albrecht.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Paul Albrecht]
Paul Albrecht: Thank you very much. So much has been said; I've got
to look at my notes and see what's left. Thank you. It's not often that one
gets the chance to work with an inventor and visionary as renowned as Ray
Kurzweil or an organization as passionate, an organization as bold as the
NFB. For the last fourteen years it's been my privilege to work with these
two partners to create technology that some users have told us is life-
changing. Feedback like that has been so motivating in causing us to
reinvest and make it better for all of you. Along the way there have been a
number of memorable events; I just want to share a couple of them. I
remember following Mr. Gashel around the halls of Congress when we sought
funding for the first generation of KNFB Reader. If you want to see
something, you should see Mr. Gashel speeding through the halls of
Congress, tapping furiously, forcing me to have to keep running to keep up
with him. It was an interesting thing and also showed me the other side of
NFB-the organized, focused advocate.
Then there were times when it looked like we had reached the
technology end, and there was no suitable technical option for the reader,
only then to have Ray's exponential technology prediction come true and
come to our rescue. In all it's been a terrific and rewarding experience,
and I want to thank you for letting me be part of it and for letting me be
part of the NFB family and team. Thank you.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jim Gashel hands Tristan Denley the final Newel Perry
Award, flanked by Marc Maurer and Mark Riccobono.]
The Newel Perry Award
Presented by James Gashel
Thank you, Dr. Maurer, and thank you, Federationists. Tonight I have
the honor to present the Federation's Newel Perry Award. This is an award
that we present to an individual, blind or sighted, who has demonstrated
courageous leadership and outstanding service on behalf of blind people,
especially in partnership with the National Federation of the Blind. By
policy and practice we've not been obliged to give the Newel Perry Award
every year, but only when we find some particular person who has met the
standard to earn the award. That standard was set by Newel Perry himself,
and it's a very high standard because he set high expectations for blind
people in an era when the lowest expectations prevailed.
On Saturday the board of directors decided that we would retire the
Newel Perry Award since we want to focus on the Kenneth Jernigan Award in
the future. So tonight this will be the last time the Newel Perry Award is
presented, therefore I would just like to spend a few minutes to remind
everybody about who Newel Perry really was to our movement and how his life
helped to form the National Federation of the Blind.
Newel Perry was born in 1873 and died in 1961. As a boy in high
school at the California School for the Blind, Perry told officials at the
school that he intended to graduate from the public high school in
Berkeley, and he also intended to proceed on to attend the state university
when aspirations to do anything like that were considered to be absolutely
unrealistic for a blind person. But in the face of initial opposition from
the superintendent and the teachers at the school, Newel Perry persevered.
He met every educational expectation and goal that he set for himself. In
fact the superintendent of the school, Warring Wilkinson, eventually became
a convert to Perry's tenacity and provided him with a princely sum of $500
a year as a scholarship (I guess it was pretty good back at that time). [A
bit of research shows that Dr. Maurer is correct: the contribution was
equivalent to a $13,000 contribution today.] This was to enroll at the
University of California at Berkeley, where Perry graduated with a degree
in mathematics in 1896.
During his time at Berkeley, Perry also founded the Alumni
Association for the Self-Supporting Blind. It focused on employment and the
self-sufficiency of blind people. Membership in this association was
opposed by people at the school, but in the late 1890s twenty-five to
thirty independent-minded blind people were attending the association's
regular monthly meetings in Oakland, California. Now does this sound
familiar-attending regular monthly meetings? Go to your local chapters,
now. Following this pattern, wherever Newel Perry went throughout the rest
of his life, you would find him at the forefront of working to organize the
blind. Although our history shows that the National Federation of the Blind
was founded in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in November 1940, you can also
say that it first took root in Berkeley, California, with Newel Perry at
the helm.
After he earned his PhD in mathematics in Germany at the University
of Munich in 1901, and then lived in New York City near Columbia
University, Perry returned to Berkeley in 1912 and took a teaching position
at the California School for the Blind, where he remained for thirty-five
years. There he met and mentored Jacobus tenBroek. And now you know the
rest of the story.
In 1955 the NFB convention adopted a resolution directing the
Federation officers to establish an award for distinguished service and
work with the blind called the Newel Perry Award to be conferred by the
Federation's executive committee. Although the award was established sixty-
one years ago, we've only given the Newel Perry Award twenty-seven times.
Tonight will be number twenty-eight and the last time, as I've said.
In the early years the Newel Perry Award was made to individuals
either inside or outside the Federation. But in the years since we
established the Jacobus tenBroek Award, only people-let's say our friends
and fellow travelers outside the Federation-have been considered. Past
winners include: Edwin C. Johnson, governor of Colorado; West Virginia
Senator Jennings Randolph, author and backer of the Randolph-Sheppard Act
for blind vendors; Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, our past president and principal
leader of the blind from the 1950s through most of the 1990s; Hubert H.
Humphrey, vice president of the United States, from Minnesota, and a great,
great friend of the National Federation of the Blind; US Representative
James A. Burke from Massachusetts for sponsoring Federation legislation in
Congress to improve Social Security programs affecting the blind; Dr.
Andrew S. Adams, commissioner of the US Rehabilitation Services
Administration in Washington, DC; Representative Barry M. Goldwater Jr.
from California for sponsoring Federation legislation to correct
exploitation in sheltered workshops; Frank Kurt Cylke, director of the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at the
Library of Congress for many years; and, of course, our dear friend Ray
Kurzweil, inventor of reading technology for the blind and an exalted and
most awesome friend of the National Federation of the Blind.
Now compared to these past winners and others that I haven't been
able to mention here tonight, the person we recognize this year is actually
a relative newcomer to our Federation extended family. But he is no less
deserving and no less devoted to our cause. You heard from him this
afternoon-that narrows the target, doesn't it? Here you go: Tristan Denley
is vice chancellor for academic affairs at the Tennessee Board of Regents
in Nashville. He has served in that capacity since August 2013, but before
Dr. Denley got to Nashville, he was the provost and vice president for
academic affairs at Austin Peay State University. He originally comes from
Penzance, England. Dr. Denley also got his PhD in mathematics; I guess he
was following Newel Perry's example. Aside from his education in England,
Dr. Denley has held positions in Sweden, in Canada, and at the University
of Mississippi-it's a long way from Sweden to Mississippi-and then he moved
to Tennessee.
Testifying to his leadership, Dr. Denley received recognition from
EDUCAUSE®, from Complete College America, from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, and from President Obama, all for his work to establish Degree
Compass. Now some of you may know what that is. I'm a long way from knowing
what Degree Compass is, but it's a course recommendation system that
successfully pairs current students with courses that best fit their
talents and program study for upcoming semesters. I know all of that is
pretty cool, but the thing you really need to know about Dr. Denley is his
leadership on behalf of digital accessibility in higher education affecting
blind people.
Not only is Dr. Denley an outspoken advocate for digital
accessibility, but he is in a position to enforce binding requirements, and
he's in a position to enforce binding requirements at every single one of
Tennessee's forty-seven post-secondary institutions under the Tennessee
Board of Regents, and it's the sixth-largest system in the nation. Every
other system take notice: according to James Brown, president of our
Tennessee affiliate, Chancellor Denley told his staff that if a document
found its way into his office that was in any way inaccessible, there would
be a very strong price to pay. According to Dan Goldstein, who sues a lot
of these institutions on our behalf, the Tennessee system is a model for
the nation. He refers people to their website and to them to confer about
doing the right thing.
Now more than all of this-and all of that's really, really good-Dr.
Denley and his team get especially high marks for working constructively
with the NFB of Tennessee to support the Teach Tennessee Act, modeled after
legislation that we have pending in Congress. Through the work he is doing
to advance equal opportunities for blind higher education students and to
have a constructive partnership with the National Federation of the Blind
of Tennessee, please join me in recognizing Dr. Tristan Denley with the
Federation's highest honor, our Newel Perry Award [applause].
He's got his plaque, and he's holding it high for the pictures. The
plaque he's receiving says:
NEWEL PERRY AWARD
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
IN RECOGNITION OF COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP
AND OUTSTANDING SERVICE.
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
BESTOWS THE NEWEL PERRY AWARD
UPON
DR. TRISTAN DENLEY
OUR COLLEAGE,
OUR FRIEND,
OUR BROTHER ON THE BARRICADES;
YOU CHAMPION OUR PROGRESS;
YOU STRENGTHEN OUR HOPES;
YOU SHARE OUR DREAMS.
JULY 5, 2016.
Tristan Denley: I don't know what to say. I'm just absolutely bowled
over. I'm so humbled by this award. I'm so surprised that I could be chosen-
what an amazing list of people to follow in the footsteps-actually, even as
you were telling the story of Newel Perry, as a fellow mathematician I was
just stunned by all that he'd achieved. You know, it's been a tremendous
pleasure to do what we've done in Tennessee, to see the progress that's
been made in a short time. But what I know (and I'm even more inspired
after what I've seen today)--I know that there is much more to be done, and
you have my commitment today that more will be done in Tennessee, that we
can march forward together, because I know that the limits are far from
being satisfied yet. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to
working together on more. [applause].
When Dr. Maurer took back the microphone, he said: Dr. Kenneth
Jernigan was my teacher, my leader, my friend, my unfailing supporter, my
President. We also have an award in his name, and to present it here is
Mary Ellen Jernigan.
[PHOTO CAPTION: As Mrs. Jernigan speaks, Dan Goldstein smiles and holds up
his award, while Marc Maurer and President Riccobono smile and celebrate
with him.]
The Kenneth Jernigan Award
Presented by Mary Ellen Jernigan
In establishing the Kenneth Jernigan Award, the board of directors of
the National Federation of the Blind noted that Kenneth Jernigan's
influence had touched the lives of millions of blind people throughout the
United States and the world. Many of those whose lives he touched are
present in this room tonight. I might add to the board's comments that one
need not be blind to have been touched deeply by his life and work. The
board stipulated that this was not to be an annual award. It was to be
presented at the annual convention, but only so often as a suitable
candidate emerged. There has been only one recipient of the award to date:
Mr. Frank Kurt Cylke, whose work as director of the National Library
Service for the Blind enriched the lives of generations of blind people.
Tonight, a suitable candidate having emerged, the second Kenneth
Jernigan Award is being bestowed. As you would expect, this individual's
work has had a profound effect on the lives of blind people. 1986 was a
pivotal time for this man. It was in this year that his education, his
years of training in the law, his interaction with Dr. Jernigan, his own
passion and dreams came together with a need and an opportunity that
launched him on a new path. Although all these things might be said of a
number of people, they can most definitely be said of the second recipient
of the Kenneth Jernigan Award. They can be said about our friend and
colleague, Daniel Goldstein [applause, cheers]. For it was thirty years ago
that Dr. Jernigan met and hired Dan Goldstein of the Brown, Goldstein &
Levy law firm to represent the National Federation of the Blind. This set
in motion a relentless campaign through the courts to bring reality to Dr.
tenBroek's declaration that the blind have the right to live in the world.
Today both the law and the actual lived lives of blind people reflect that
right more strongly than they did during Dr. tenBroek's lifetime. Dan
bought into our work all the way, bringing with him his superb legal skill,
his keen intellect, and most of all his generous heart. He rapidly became a
trusted advisor, a principal architect, and the courtroom face of our legal
strategy. For thirty years, in actions far too numerous to call out by
name, Dan and his committed colleagues at Brown, Goldstein & Levy have
executed a carefully crafted legal strategy, which agonizingly slowly, bit
by bit, case by case, decision by decision, has chipped away at the
ignorance, discrimination, and blatant disregard of the law enshrined in
the functioning of our corporate, educational, professional, and
governmental institutions of our country. Target; Cardtronics; Apple;
Amazon; Florida State University; New Jersey Ocean Port Board of Education;
the Law School Admissions Council; the Author's Guild; the United States
Department of Education; the United States Department of State; the Seattle
Public Schools; Montgomery County, Maryland. These entities and dozens upon
dozens more have all been brought to a new understanding of the meaning of
Dr. tenBroek's declaration fifty years ago in the California Law Review
that the blind have the right to live in the world. It is a tribute to
Dan's commitment to our cause that his work has been about more than
achieving a legal victory. It is not unusual for courtroom opponents to
become staunch allies of our work. Apple's deployment of VoiceOver as an
out-of-the-box accessibility feature of each new iPhone and the
establishment by Cardtronics of its accessibility center of excellence are
lasting results of Dan's effort to use the law to create understanding and
build relationships, rather than merely to vanquish a foe.
One final thing connects Dan to our movement and to Dr. Jernigan
himself in a very personal way. All of this has never been about Dan or his
personal legal triumphs. Dan has been a teacher and a mentor to others in
the growing community of disability law professionals. His firm offers
quality internships to young blind lawyers. He was a moving force in the
establishment of the Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium. He has been a
principal factor in making that symposium and the Disability Rights Bar
Association which meets in conjunction with it, the preeminent event for
the advancement of disability law. So, it is with pleasure and enormous
gratitude on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind that I present
the Kenneth Jernigan Award to our friend and colleague, Daniel Goldstein
[applause, cheers].
The inscription on this massive slab of glass-I said I wasn't going
to say that, but I did-the inscription on this beautiful, massive slab of
glass reads:
KENNETH JERNIGAN AWARD
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO THE HIGHEST IDEALS
FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE
FOR YOUR IMAGINATIVE LEADERSHIP IN EXPANDING EQUALITY
FOR THE BLIND UNDER THE LAW
WE, THE ORGANIZED BLIND MOVEMENT, CONFER UPON
DANIEL GOLDSTEIN
THE KENNETH JERNIGAN AWARD
YOUR HAND ASSISTED IN EVERY CHALLENGE
YOUR HEART RESPONDED TO EVERY NEED
YOU ARE A TRUSTED COLLEAGUE AND A VALUED FRIEND.
JULY 5, 2016
Dan Goldstein: Well, if I have some reputation for being articulate,
I'm about to blow it completely. I am absolutely stunned and overwhelmed by
this award. By getting it from Mrs. Jernigan, it's very special. I had no
idea in 1986 that the life I wanted to live was as counsel for the National
Federation of the Blind [applause]. I assure you, you have given me more in
friendship and support, and you've taught me so very much, lessons that I'm
very glad to know and that have made my life so much richer. There are so
many of you who are as dear to me as my family, and it has just been such a
privilege to do this work. Thank you, not just for the award, but thank you
for this opportunity. It has been an honor [applause].
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jerry and Merilynn Whittle]
The Jacobus tenBroek Award
Presented by Marc Maurer
Our founder was Dr. Jacobus tenBroek. He was born in Canada. He was
blinded as a child. He, along with his family, moved to California because
they'd heard there might be some place to get an education, and they didn't
think there would be any good place to get an education in Canada on the
western prairies. It was never my good fortune to meet Dr. tenBroek, but
I've met his writing, and I've heard his irrepressible voice. And that
voice said to me, "It's your life to live, you can do it, don't give it
up." And it said to me, "The law is with you; the society is with you; all
you have to do is find a way to make it real." I met Dr. Matson, who was a
student of Dr. tenBroek, and I heard hundreds of stories, and I met Hazel
tenBroek and I heard dozens of other stories. But I missed the man, and I'm
sorry that I never got a chance to meet him, but I've met his ideas, and
I've met his spirit, and it is my honor tonight to give another award which
is named after our founding President. Dr. tenBroek served from 1940 to
1961 and again from 1966 until his death in 1968. Until I had the temerity
to serve longer than he did, he was our longest-serving President. He
crafted the nature of the organization that we inherit, and he found the
followers, the students, the people who would come after him who would
carry the imagination, the effort, and the energy into the generations
after him-principally, of course, Dr. Jernigan, who as I've said, was my
teacher, my leader, and my President. That spirit and that energy are
embodied in the award that we give tonight. It also is not given annually,
but only as often as we find a suitable recipient. We have such a recipient
tonight.
We give this award to a worker within the movement, a person who has
been a soldier carrying the day-to-day tasks, standing on the barricades,
lifting the necessary weights that must be moved, inspiring individuals who
have need of a voice that will tell them, "You have the ability; the
capacity is yours." Two people will get this award tonight. They have been
leaders of ours for more than thirty years, and they come from Louisiana
[cheers]. You will know them from the work that they have done to stretch
the potential of blind people and also from the writing that has come from
Louisiana. Jerry and Merilynn Whittle [loud cheers, whistles, applause].
You might make your way up here [crowd chants "LCB"].
Now I'm going on memory, which is not always accurate, but I'll do
the best I can. I think I met Jerry in South Carolina, and I believe that
was before the establishment of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and he
was a leader in South Carolina even then. When he got to Louisiana, he
became a teacher, and he taught many things, but largely he's known for
teaching Braille [applause]. Of course he wrote about blind people (many
plays), and he's written some published books now.
Then, of course, there's Merilynn. Merilynn was a teacher too
[applause]. She taught in the kitchen in the home economics department, and
she helped even some of our most difficult students-people like Anil Lewis
[laughter]-find out how to make banana bread. He learned that if you make
it properly it rises up right there, and you can slice it up, and eat it
personally.
So Jerry and Merilynn did their teaching and helped people to know
that the future could be brighter for them than they knew. But the teaching
of the skills was only one small part of it. They also taught that there
was joy in life and friends and love and a family to support one another,
and that in time of need we could carry one another's burdens, and in time
of joy we could share the delight of knowing one another.
So tonight we have our prestigious honor named for our founding
President: the Jacobus tenBroek Award. We have a plaque-now Jerry I'm going
to give this to you, but I want you to share it-which says:
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
JACOBUS TENBROEK AWARD
PRESENTED TO
JERRY AND MERILYNN WHITTLE
FOR YOUR DEDICATION, SACRIFICE, AND COMMITMENT
ON BEHALF OF THE BLIND OF THIS NATION.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS MEASURED NOT IN STEPS, BUT IN MILES
NOT BY INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES BUT BY YOUR IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF THE BLIND
OF THE NATION.
WHENEVER WE HAVE ASKED, YOU HAVE ANSWERED. WE CALL YOU OUR COLLEAGUES WITH
RESPECT. WE CALL YOU OUR FRIENDS WITH LOVE.
JULY 5, 2016
Here are Jerry and Merilynn [applause, cheers].
Jerry Whittle: I don't think I've ever been so surprised in my life.
Now I was trained that when you start getting emotional, you're supposed to
think of unpleasant things, [laughter] so right now I'm thinking about
snakes and lizards just to try to get me from getting too emotional. A long
time ago-I'm getting old enough everything's a long time ago now-unless Mr.
Kurzweil can come through for me with that longevity and everything. I'm in
my last quarter, I know that. Jesse Stewart, Kentucky writer, a country
boy, said about teaching that one of the secrets is to make work like play.
So I've had fun. I've had the joy of teaching over one thousand students
[applause]. Merilynn and I, in the spirit of Mr. Capps, are like a team,
like Mrs. Capps and Mr. Capps, who is my Federation father. I wish he could
be here tonight; my prayers are with him.
One more thing I want to say: I owe my life to the NFB. Someday I'll
have the courage to tell the whole story, but Mr. Capps sent two really
cute girls up to my part of the country in South Carolina to organize a
chapter, and I said, "This is the organization for me." But I didn't
realize at that time how very wonderful it would be. Anything I've done,
I've done it because I love everybody, and I love Jesus, and he would want
me to do it that way. So I want to thank everybody. Thank you, Dr. Maurer,
my good friend. My goal with Dr. Maurer is always to try to make him laugh,
and a couple of times I got him to laugh right out loud. I was kind of
proud of that.
Speaking of partners, my precious wife, my treasure, Merilynn
Whittle, has driven us and hauled us all over this country by herself.
Eighteen students and staff in a sixteen- or fourteen-passenger van, so
canes were sticking out the windows, and we were going everywhere, and
Merilynn Whittle took us everywhere. She's given more-she didn't have to
give. She wasn't blind, and she joined up with me, and I probably aged her
twenty years from this experience, but Merilynn gave because she wanted to,
not because she had to. That's the kind of person she is-the sweetest
person I know [applause].
Merilynn Whittle: Well it all started when I went back to school, and
I found this guy holding a door for me, and he said something about "I'll
hold the door for you." I was going to see my advisor, and from then on I
got into trouble [laughs]. I've had the most wonderful, adventurous life
being in with the NFB, and it has provided me all kinds of experiences, but
most of all meeting the students and having fun in the kitchen. I've done
different things at the school: one of the things, of course, is driving,
another thing is typing, then beginning computers, and then finally I did
some travel also. I can remember crossing streets and stuff like that under
sleepshades, and I remember if I had a tail I would have pulled it between
my legs. I've certainly enjoyed working with the center, and I still-as
long as I can-I'll try to do some things indirectly and always be a part of
it and a part of the NFB. Thank you so much. I appreciate it [applause,
cheers].
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: The Scholarship Class of 2016: from left to right, back
row: Corgan Waters, Kathryn Webster, Matthew Miller, Katy Olsen, Syed
Rizvi, Samrawit Biyazin, Brennan Carman, Laura Etori, Johna Wright,
Conchita Hernandez. Middle row: Kassidy Wilde, Garret Mooney, Deniz Aydemir-
Doke, Deanna Greco, Nathan Clark, Megan Borella, Donna Posont, Sharon Jose,
Precious Perez, Merry-Noel Chamberlain. Front row: Danielle Burton, Kennedy
Stomberg, Chelsea Page, JJ Aragon, Tara Abella, Nazanin Heydarian,
Jameyanne Fuller, Kartik Sawhney, Elif Emir Öksüz.]
Meet the 2016 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Class
From the Editor: With every passing year we recognize the increasing
value of the National Federation of the Blind's scholarship program to our
national organization. Members of previous scholarship classes stream back
to take part in convention activities and assume responsibility, doing
anything that they can see needs to be done, including serving as mentors
during the following year for the members of the current scholarship class.
Each July everyone looks forward to meeting the new scholarship class and
to hearing what its members are doing now and planning to do in the future.
This year's class had three tenBroek winners, meaning that they have been
previous recipients of a National Federation of the Blind scholarship.
In keeping with tradition, the first appearance of the class at a
convention session occurred during the meeting of the board of directors.
Members were introduced by Chair Patti Chang, who gave their names, their
home states, and their school states. Here is what Chairman Chang said just
before she introduced them, followed by their remarks:
I won a scholarship way back in 1985 in Louisville, and in fact some
of the mentors who mentored me are still on the committee. I intended to
take the money and run as fast as I could, so I hope that this year's class
is just as successful at doing that as I was.
With that preamble, Patti Chang introduced the scholarship class of
2016:
Tara Abella, Indiana, Indiana: Thank you, Patti Chang and board of
directors. I am so honored and humbled to be here today. I will be a senior
at Ball State University, double majoring in elementary education and
special education. One of the reasons I wanted to go into education is that
I believe that there needs to be reform in education. I want to work with
students from low income families in an inclusive setting. Through the
convention I've realized that reform needs to take place here, too, in the
policies, in the attitudes that affect people who are blind in order to
reach equality. I want to give my leadership and my mentorship and my heart
to all of my students and to the National Federation of the Blind so that
we can attain the dignity and respect that we deserve, as well as live the
lives we want. Thank you very much.
Justine "JJ" Aragon, Colorado, Colorado: Good morning, everybody.
Thank you, Patti Chang, thank you, board of directors. I am a senior at the
University of Northern Colorado. I'm studying human services with an
emphasis on rehabilitation. I also hold minors in English and special
education. I serendipitously joined the NFB in 2013 after not winning an
NFB national scholarship, and the last three years have taught me so much.
I have learned what amazing opportunities I have had in my life that not
all blind people had, number one being that I learned Braille when I was
four. I have also learned how many opportunities that there still are to
come in my life that I intend to take full advantage of. I am so excited to
continue to work in the NFB, and my passions within the NFB are membership
and outreach. I want to bring more people in and bring those opportunities
to our nation's blind, so thank you.
Deniz Aydemir-Doke, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania: Hello, and thank you,
Ms. Chang and board of directors. It is an honor to be here. This is my
third time at the National Convention, and it is my third year in the USA.
I am originally from Turkey. I am studying counseling education and
supervision at Penn State. This is going to be my third year in my program
as well. I am interested in my research, and I am interested in post-
secondary transition of blind youth so we can lead the lives we want. I am
also interested in microeducation in daily living and counseling settings.
I am an advocate for a long time both here in the USA and back in my
country, back in Turkey. I continue to be an advocate with my Federation
family through my research and daily living as well. I am grateful to be
here; I love being part of this family, and I hope you have a great
convention.
Samrawit "Sam" Biyazin, Oregon, Oregon: Hi, all. My name is Sam from
Oregon. I am originally from Ethiopia. This is such a privilege to be here,
standing in front of you guys, and thank you so much to the committee for
choosing me. Back home I was a lawyer, and now my goal is to become a CPA
and treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind. This will happen
only if you guys will remember to vote for me when the time comes. Until
then, I'll keep learning. Thank you.
Megan Borella, California, California: Good morning, everyone. First
I would like to thank the scholarship committee and the National Federation
of the Blind for giving me such an amazing opportunity. It is such an honor
and a privilege to be here with you today. I am from California, and I am
going to be a freshman at UCLA. I am currently majoring in business
economics, and I hope to take classes in computer science and learn more
about programming. In the future I hope to go into business, potentially
with an emphasis on programming and coding and computer science. Thank you
all.
Riki Danielle Burton, Kentucky, Kentucky (tenBroek Fellow): Good
morning, fellow Federationists. It's a pleasure to be here this morning. I
want to say thank you to the scholarship committee for having me here
today. I am currently a senior at Morehead State University. I'm majoring
in elementary and special education with an emphasis in moderate to severe
disabilities. Then I will continue on to get my certification as a teacher
of the blind and visually impaired. I love teaching blind children how to
be independent and that nothing can stop them and not to let anyone hold
them back. Thank you again to the scholarship committee for having me here.
Thank you.
Brennan Carman, New York, Connecticut: Hello, everyone, I'm Brennan.
I'm going into my freshman year at Yale University, and I'm studying
biochemistry. Hopefully one day I will do translational research to help
address upcoming medical issues like antimicrobial-resistant diseases. This
is my first experience with the Federation, and it's been really amazing so
far getting to meet all of my fellow scholarship finalists and all of my
mentors so far and all of you, and it's been really amazing and one of the
most inspirational experiences I've ever had, actually. So I wanted to
thank the Federation and the scholarship committee in particular for giving
me that opportunity.
Merry-Noel Chamberlain, Nebraska, Oregon: Hello, everyone. I am so
happy to be here with my NFB family. My daytime love during the week is
being a teacher for students with visual impairments and an orientation and
mobility instructor outside Omaha, Nebraska. My evening and weekend love is
working on my doctorate degree through Concordia University in the area of
educational leadership, and my dissertation is focusing on orientation and
mobility. My all-time love is being a parent of a blind teenager, who I
just found out is helping out in the Independence Market. I thank everybody
for being here today; I'm so excited to be with my NFB family, and I'm
happy and honored that I am here today as a scholarship winner. Thank you.
Nathan Clark, Maryland, Maryland: Good morning. My name is Nathan
Clark; I am from Maryland. I am attending Towson University in Towson,
Maryland, majoring in criminal justice, sociology, and anthropology with a
goal to be a juvenile probation officer working with at-risk youth in the
juvenile justice system. I am currently the vice president of the Maryland
Association of Blind Students and the legislative chairman for that
committee for the division. I am also a proud graduate of the Louisiana
Center for the Blind, and this is my eleventh National Convention. I want
to thank the scholarship committee, my mentors, and my fellow scholarship
winners for an awesome experience so far this week. God bless the National
Federation of the Blind.
Elif Emir Öksüz, Ohio, Ohio: Good morning, everybody. I'm so glad and
honored to be here as a scholarship finalist. Thank you to all of the
scholarship committee and NFB. I am a mental health counselor, and I am a
counselor, education, and supervision PhD student at the University of
Cincinnati. I am coming from Ohio, but I am from Turkey originally. I would
like to be a faculty member and educate counselors-mental health and school
counselors-to work with people with disabilities when they need counseling
from a multicultural counseling perspective. Hopefully I will be able to do
that, and I will be able to practice as a mental health counselor. My
journey with the NFB started four years ago. As soon as I arrived in the
United States, I reached out to the Cincinnati chapter of Ohio, and I would
like to thank Ohio and Cincinnati for making my adjustment very smooth and
easy. NFB as a family has motivated me to learn Braille. I'm still in the
process, but the more I become involved the more I strongly feel that I
need to do it as soon as possible. Thanks for the motivation and support to
everybody, and have a great convention.
Laura Etori, New Jersey, New Jersey: Hello, everybody. My name is
Laura Etori, and I'm from Kenya, but I live and study in New Jersey. I go
to Rutgers University Newark, and I'm majoring in finance and actuarial
science. I want to be an actuary. My vocational goals are to be in
consultancy and eventually teach actuarial science to blind and visually
impaired students because we need more blind actuaries. I would love to
give a big thank you to the scholarship committee for giving us this
chance. I would like to give a big thank you to the NFB and also my
scholarship finalists; I would love to congratulate all of them. I know I
might have a bit of an accent, but I'd love you to listen to what I have to
say next very carefully: for those of us who are here I would love to
challenge you: think of the people who have come ahead of you. Because, if
it were not for them, we wouldn't be here. And we all have to learn how to
give, because that's the message I'm getting from this board meeting today.
We all learn how to give; that's the only way we can grow and become better
people. So thank you once again, and I hope you all enjoy yourselves. Have
a good day.
Jameyanne Fuller, New Hampshire, Massachusetts: Hi, everyone, my name
is Jameyanne Fuller. I am from New Hampshire. I graduated from Kenyon
College in 2014. I spent a year teaching English in Assisi, Italy, on a
Fulbright scholarship, and then I spent another year volunteering for the
New Hampshire Disability Rights Center. This fall I will be a 1L [first
year law student] at Harvard Law School. I am very interested in studying
and hopefully practicing in the area of disability law and policy. This is
my very first NFB convention experience. I want to say thank you so much to
everyone who has welcomed me so warmly and enthusiastically and a huge
thanks to the scholarship committee for giving me the opportunity to meet
the NFB and explore the NFB. I've personally faced discrimination in
academics, in my daily life here in America, abroad in Italy, and others
have advocated for me, and they have taught me to advocate for myself. Now
I am aiming to advocate for others and pay it forward so that everyone can
achieve their dreams. Thank you.
Deanna Greco, New Jersey, District of Columbia: Hello, everyone. I'm
very excited to be here. This is my first convention, and I swear that by
the end of the week I will be saying "live the life that I want" in my
sleep. But honestly that sleep doesn't sound like too bad a thing because I
am exhausted. I recently graduated from Camden Catholic High School in my
home town of Cherry Hill. I was in every academic honor society, I was
president of the French Honor Society, and I graduated fourth in my class,
which I see as a big accomplishment-I'm proud of myself. This fall I will
be starting at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. I will
be studying biology on the premed track. My ultimate goal is to go to
medical school and become a neurologist. I want to practice neurology as
well as conduct research on diseases such as Alzheimer's. I find it very
important that diseases that have memory loss get treated, because the one
thing nobody can take from you is your memories, and I want to help prevent
those diseases. Lastly, I would like to thank the scholarship committee for
giving me this wonderful opportunity. Thank you.
Maria "Conchita" Hernandez, District of Columbia, District of
Columbia (tenBroek Fellow): First I want to thank the members of the
scholarship committee, members of the board, and President Riccobono for
believing in me and selecting me as a scholarship finalist. I'm a teacher
of blind students in Washington, DC, and I'm tired of professionals telling
us that our blind students will not get Braille because they have too much
vision. In the Federation we know that Braille is vital and leads to
success. They say there is no research that proves we need it. We know what
we need, and as Dr. Maurer said today, we will not wait for it. We will
conduct our own research that will lead to the independence of our blind
students. That is why I am pursuing a doctorate degree at George Washington
University to do research on learning media assessments for blind and low
vision students. I could not do any of this without my Federation family,
who taught me Braille when no one else would, and now I hope to pass this
on to others. Thank you.
Nazanin Mina Heydarian, Texas, Texas: Good morning, everyone. My name
is Nazanin Heydarian, and I'm a PhD student at the University of Texas at
El Paso. I have a master's degree in clinical psychology, and I'm working
toward a PhD of health psychology. I am interested in conducting research
to improve the communication between health care providers and people with
disabilities from the perspective of people with disabilities. My career
goal is to become a research scientist at a medical school, where I will
pursue my research interests in the applied setting. This is the second day
of my first NFB convention, and I have already learned so much from
mentors, other finalists, and convention sessions. I will bring back these
learnings to my community back in El Paso, Texas, and my work as a
researcher. I'd like to congratulate the other finalists, and I'd also like
to thank the scholarship board and the funding mechanisms that make this
opportunity to support blind scholars in a significant way possible. I am
humbled to be here, thank you very much, and enjoy your convention.
Sharon Jose, Virginia, Virginia: Thank you, Ms. Patti Chang and the
board of directors for allowing me to speak here. I just graduated from
high school and will be a freshman at George Mason University this fall
majoring in computer science. I have had the opportunity to work in the
neural engineering lab at GMU for the past two years. I would like to
continue interdisciplinary research in neuroscience and artificial
intelligence, and I hope to pursue a career in the computer science and
engineering fields. I heard about the NFB through this scholarship program,
and this is my first convention. I am truly grateful to the scholarship
committee and the Federation for selecting me as a finalist and welcoming
me into the Federation family. Thank you so much.
Matthew Miller, Illinois, Michigan: Hello, my name is Matthew Miller,
I have just graduated high school, and I'll be beginning my first year at
Michigan State University this coming fall, studying actuarial science. I
would also like to thank the NFB. While this is my first convention, I
attended several programs when I was younger that encouraged me, such as
the STEM EQ program, which really encouraged me to pursue a STEM field,
even when people-even my own parents, in a loving way-were discouraging me,
because they worried about whether it was possible. The program showed me
it was possible, and part of the reason I plan to join the ever-growing
population of blind students and blind employees in STEM fields.
James Garret Mooney, Arizona, Arizona: Good morning, everyone. First
I would like to thank the committee and the Federation for awarding me this
scholarship. I am a senior at Arizona State University, where I will attend
law school in a year and hopefully practice family law. Being a scholarship
winner has been one of the most rewarding opportunities I have ever had.
Being mentored by this committee has shown me that the Federation does
exactly what it says, and it changes what it means to be blind. And we show
everyone here that we can live the lives we want. Thank you.
Kathryn "Katy" Olsen, Iowa, Iowa: Hi, everyone, my name is Katy
Olsen, and I'm from Granger, Iowa. I'll be entering my junior year of my
undergrad this fall at Central College. I'm a double major, majoring in
kinesiology and psychology. After my undergrad I hope to attend physical
therapy school to get my doctorate in physical therapy and hopefully work
with children. I also do a lot of mission work, and I'm really passionate
about that. I'd really love to do something involving that, maybe going
over to Haiti-it's one of the locations I do most of my mission work in. I
would love to go over and empower blind people overseas. I really want to
thank my scholarship mentors and the scholarship committee for this great
opportunity. I'm looking forward to a great week. Thanks.
Chelsea Page, Louisiana, Louisiana: Good morning, Federation family.
I would like to first thank the members of the scholarship committee, as
well as the NFB board and the NFB as a whole for allowing me to have this
wonderful opportunity. I am attending Louisiana Tech University, at which I
am attaining my masters of arts in teaching blind students, where I want to
work in particularly with blind infants and toddlers and their families to
ensure that they get the services they deserve so that the blind students
can live the lives they want and compete on terms of equality with their
sighted peers.
Precious Perez, Massachusetts, Massachusetts: Hi, everyone. I am
thrilled to be here today. I will be starting my freshman year at Berklee
College of Music in the fall, and I plan to pursue a double major in music
education and vocal performance in the hopes of changing what it means to
be blind by living the life I want and teaching others to do the same. I am
immensely grateful for this opportunity. Thank you, Patti Chang, thank you
to the scholarship committee, thank you board of directors, and to my
Federation family; I love you all so much. Thank you.
Donna Lynn Posont, Michigan, Michigan: Hello, Federation family; I'm
really glad to be here. Yesterday I realized that this is not my first NFB
scholarship. I remembered that, in 1974 when I graduated from high school,
I was given a scholarship by the National Federation of the Blind of West
Virginia to attend college in the fall. The reason I have that to be quite
so memorable is because I was going for a degree in biology. But one week
into school my dreams got rerouted because no one knew how to teach a blind
girl about biology or chemistry, and I sure didn't know how to learn,
because I had no skills of blindness. I graduated with a degree in social
work and headed off to Philadelphia to have a job there, but thankfully the
greatest thing that happened was that I met the National Federation of the
Blind and attended my first national convention in 1979 in Miami Beach.
Fast forward thirty-four years later, after rubbing shoulders with many
blind people, especially blind parents and blind vendors. I still wanted to
learn about the science stuff, so I went back to the University of
Michigan, where last year I graduated with a degree in environmental
studies. I started a Birding by Ear and Beyond program in the environmental
center. After I graduated I was hired to continue that work there with the
university, and I am so thankful to have gotten this scholarship so I
continue and will be able to continue to be a graduate student while I'm
working at the university. Thank you so much.
Syed Rizvi, Massachusetts, Texas: Brought to the United States by my
parents, in part to escape genocide but also in the hopes of seeking a
bright future, to our dismay the streets were not paved with gold.
Blindness began to consume my life, but luckily I was found by the
Federation, and they guided me to put on hold my undergraduate education,
quit my job, and move two thousand miles away to LCB. There I not only
gained the tools I needed to live the life I wanted, but also learned from
mentors like Pam and Roland that blindness didn't have to dictate my
happiness. With newfound vigor I threw myself into work for the Federation.
I currently stand as the MASSABS [Massachusetts Association of Blind
Students] president and now the NABS [National Association of Blind
Students] second VP. I'm working this summer for the Massachusetts State
House in Boston to enforce ADA compliance. In the fall I continue my
college education at the University of Texas at Austin. One day I will be
the best civil rights lawyer in the world, fighting for all
underrepresented minorities. Thank you.
Joe "Dexter" Rowell, Massachusetts, Massachusetts: Hey, everybody.
First off I'd like to thank the NFB Scholarship Committee for giving me
this opportunity. I'm a rookie at convention, and the time I've spent has
been really, really inspiring. I graduated in 2014 from Northeastern
University, and in the fall I'll be a 1L law student at Northeastern School
of Law. One of the things that my blindness has taught me is something
about social alchemy. What that means to me is taking resources and things
that have been underused and overlooked and turning them into gold. I hope
to use my skills that I learn as a lawyer to bring economic development and
food justice to those areas most in need of social alchemy. One of the
things I'd like to close with is that one of the other things my blindness
has taught me is about patience. Through that, I've learned that life is
about who makes it, not about who makes it the fastest.
Kartik Sawhney, California, California: Good morning, everyone. My
name is Kartik, and it's a pleasure and an honor to be here. Thank you,
scholarship committee and the NFB, for not only the scholarship but for my
first-but definitely not my last-convention. I will be a senior at Stanford
University majoring in computer science with a focus on artificial
intelligence and human/computer interaction. I grew up and spent most of my
life in India, where I personally faced several challenges, especially
studying sciences. I also saw many of my friends facing the same
challenges, and that was when I decided that things had to change. So I
developed technology that can empower blind students across the world to
truly live the lives that they want, and with the Federation I think we
definitely will be able to achieve a day when all blind people around the
world can live the lives that they want. I am looking forward to getting to
know you, learning from you, and working with all of you. Thank you.
Kennedy Stomberg, Minnesota, Iowa: Good morning, everybody. I am
going to be a junior at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am studying
neuroscience, and after my undergraduate I would like to pursue some sort
of research, because I am really, really fascinated and interested in
learning how biology and chemistry affect the way that we think and behave.
I really love being here at convention, and I am super grateful to the
committee and happy for my fellow scholarship finalists. Thank you.
Corgan Waters, Tennessee, Tennessee: Hi, my name is Corgan Waters. I
am from Dayton, Tennessee. This fall I will be attending the University of
Tennessee as a biology major on the premed track. I will be working toward
becoming a pathologist, and I would like to eventually work in regenerative
medicine with stem cells. I think that medicine has come very far, but it
has a very long way to go, and I would like to be a part of that. Ghandi
did say, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and that's exactly
what I want to do. I would like to thank the scholarship committee and the
entire Federation for giving me the opportunity to be here. This is my
first time at convention, but it definitely won't be my last. Thank you.
Kathryn Webster, Connecticut, North Carolina (tenBroek Fellow): Good
morning, my Federation family. Thank you, President Riccobono; Chairwoman
Patti Chang; the scholarship committee; and the entire National Federation
of the Blind for providing me with this incredible opportunity. I am a
rising senior at Wake Forest University studying statistical business and
computer science. I would not be and could not be succeeding in these
courses if it was not for the National Federation of the Blind. This
organization has taught me and continues to teach me the necessary tools to
advocate, educate, and compete on an equal playing field with our sighted
counterparts. Let us continue to change and to challenge our limits as
proud members of the National Federation of the Blind. Thank you.
Kassidy Wilde, Utah, Utah: Hello, Federation. I will be attending the
University of Utah for the fall semester, majoring in psychology. I have a
passion for helping people, and I want to become a life coach so that I can
help others to live the lives that they want to live. I'd like to thank the
scholarship committee, the National Federation of the Blind, and President
Riccobono for this opportunity and for letting me be a scholarship
finalist. I'd like to say that you will not regret this, and I will be
paying it forward and helping others in my career. Thank you.
Johna Wright, Georgia, Georgia: Hey, everybody. First I just want to
say thank you to Chairman Patti Chang, the scholarship committee, and the
entire Federation for giving me this opportunity. I never thought growing
up as a kid in small-town Georgia that I would be at the National
Federation of the Blind convention, but it is amazing. I will be attending
Mercer University this fall as a double major in psychology and holistic
education to achieve my ultimate goal of becoming a teacher of the visually
impaired. I believe that all children should have access to equal education
and not feel excluded or alienated in any way. I love to advocate, so
that's why I plan to be a TVI [teacher of the visually impaired], and I
also plan to maybe hold a leadership role in the NFB one day. Again, thank
you so much for having me here today.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Conchita Hernandez]
At the banquet Conchita Hernandez won the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan
Scholarship. Here is what she said:
Thank you, Federation family. Thank you, Patti Chang, members of the
committee, President Riccobono, every single one of you that believed in
me. Before I joined the Federation I didn't have a horrible life, but I
settled. I settled for having a less independent life. I settled for not
doing everything for myself. I settled for not achieving the best that I
could achieve. You all believed in me; the National Federation of the Blind
does not settle. We tell parents, "Do not settle for less than the
ultimate, excellent education for your children." We tell students, "Do not
settle when your materials are not accessible, and you cannot get your
textbooks." We tell parents, "Do not settle when you are being denied the
right to parent as a blind individual." We tell our children, "Do not
settle when you are not allowed to participate in activities." And so I
just want to say thank you for teaching me not to settle.
I'm a teacher of blind students in Washington, DC, and every day I
see how students are settling and parents are settling. I plan to do
research on learning reading media assessments so that we can prove that
our children do need Braille. Because we will not settle until we get it.
Thank you so much, and we can all live the lives we want.
Following is a complete list of 2016 scholarship finalists and the
awards they received. In addition to the awards listed below, each finalist
also received: $1,000 and additional prizes personally donated by Dr. Ray
Kurzweil; $1,000 from Google and the newest Chromebook; and a $1,000
certificate to the purchase of Independence Science technologies,
specifically the new Sci-Voice Talking LabQuest.
$3,000 NFB Scholarships (15): Tara Abella, JJ Aragon, Deniz Aydemir-Doke,
Danielle Burton, Nathan Clark, Deanna Greco, Nazanin Heydarian, Matthew
Miller, Katy Olsen, Chelsea Page, Donna Posont, Dexter Rowell, Kennedy
Stomberg, Corgan Waters, and Johna Wright.
$3,000 Charles and Betty Allen Scholarship: Samrawit Biyazin
$3,000 Expedia Scholarships (2): Megan Borella and Kartik Sawhney
$3,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Merry-Noel
Chamberlain
$3,000 NFB Science and Engineering Division Scholarship: Kassidy Wilde
$3,000 Adrienne Asch Memorial Scholarship: Sharon Jose
$3,000 E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship: Garret Mooney
$5,000 NFB Scholarship: Brennan Carman
$5,000 Pearson Scholarship: Elif Emir Öksüz
$5,000 Mimi and Marvin Sandler Scholarship: Jameyanne Fuller
$5,000 Larry Streeter Memorial Scholarship: Precious Perez
$8,000 Oracle Scholarship for Excellence in a STEM Field: Laura Etori
$8,000 Oracle Scholarship for Excellence in Computer Science: Syed Rizvi
$10,000 Charles and Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Kathryn Webster
$12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship: Conchita Hernandez
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono at the convention banquet]
The Understanding of Fear and the Power of Progress
An Address Delivered by
Mark A. Riccobono, President
At the Banquet of the Annual Convention
Of the National Federation of the Blind
Orlando, Florida
July 5, 2016
I am seven years old. I sit at the window of my bedroom in the early
evening. The Midwest air is a beautiful balance of refreshing and warm.
Listening to the sounds of summer, I contemplate my own hopes and dreams.
The uncertainty of life comes to mind, and it sends shivers through my
entire body. All I feel is fear. Do I run, or do I stay? Do I engage the
fear, or do I let it shut me down? Does fear own me, or do I own it?
American author H. P. Lovecraft said, "The oldest and strongest
emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is
fear of the unknown." President Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked that "The
only thing we have to fear is fear itself," while First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt gave us the more actionable advice, "You gain strength, courage,
and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in
the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
What is fear? Is it positive or negative? Why does fear matter and
what, if anything, does it have to do with blind people? At its basic
level, fear is a physical and emotional response to some external stimulus.
Sometimes the stimulus is known-like a loud, unexpected crash in the middle
of the night-but often the trigger for fear is subconscious and is not
easily traced. Science tells us that some aspects of fear are evolutionary,
a hardwired set of autonomic responses that have been critical to our
survival. There is debate about the number of evolutionary fears but two
are commonly referenced-the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds.
Evolutionary fears may also be the root of other fears-consider, for
example, the fear of heights-but there are many fears that do not show
evidence of being hardwired into our brains.
Scientists categorize fears that are not evolutionary as conditional.
Conditional fears are developed through a complex set of interactions with
the world and often through observing the behaviors of others. One of the
best-known psychological projects producing empirical evidence of the
conditioning of fear is the "Little Albert" experiment that was performed
by John B. Watson and his graduate student, Rosalie Rayner, at Johns
Hopkins University. These researchers presented an infant child named
Albert with fuzzy things that would not have otherwise been scary and, at
the same time, they produced a loud sound triggering the evolutionary fear.
The result was that poor little Albert was conditioned to fear the fuzzy
things every time he saw them, even without the noise. While most of the
conditional fears we develop are not as explicitly established as were
little Albert's, you can probably think of a number of circumstances in
your own life that created conditional fears. I am certain that you can
also recall instances where fear was used to alter your behavior. The
biological fear response is most often triggered by very stressful
circumstances that create a negative association with the feeling of fear.
Not all aspects of fear are negative. Nelson Mandela said, "The brave
man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
Examining the definitions of fear in the American Heritage College
Dictionary, Fourth Edition, we find another aspect of fear: "To be in awe
of; (or) revere." Baltimore-born author and poet C. JoyBell C. advises,
"Don't be afraid of your fears. They're not there to scare you. They're
there to let you know that something is worth it." The other side of fear-
the positive power to stimulate action and unlock potential-is generally
underestimated. If we resolve ourselves to face our fears, respect the
power within those fears, and turn that power into action, we can take
control of our own destiny, diminish the negative fears of others, and
raise our expectations.
Blindness persists as being one of the most feared situations in the
world. It is a fear as old as mankind. It has been passed down through
centuries of tragic stories and by self-appointed caretakers who have
utilized the fear of blindness to generate funding for their sheltering
programs. Despite the conditioned fear associated with blindness, blind
people have come to face the fear and have proved it to be unfounded. Not
just one, or two, or ten extraordinary blind people but thousands of blind
people from diverse backgrounds and with varied talents have made the case
for seventy-six years that it is not blindness that is to be feared but
rather the low expectations and misconceptions about blindness. We have
walked alone and marched together; we have tested the possibilities, and we
have not found the limits; we have faced the fear, and we have transformed
it to hope-we are the National Federation of the Blind.
One of the significant ways that people have been conditioned to fear
blindness is through literature that perpetuates misconceptions about the
blind. In his 1974 banquet address to the National Federation of the Blind,
President Kenneth Jernigan examines the nine blindness-related themes in
literature, which he describes as "blindness as compensatory or miraculous
power, blindness as total tragedy, blindness as foolishness and
helplessness, blindness as unrelieved wickedness and evil, blindness as
perfect virtue, blindness as punishment for sin, blindness as abnormality
or dehumanization, blindness as purification, and blindness as symbol or
parable." These themes can be further collapsed into the two sides of fear-
creating a sense of anxiety or a sense of awe. It does not matter which
side of fear is triggered, as the biological reaction cannot be
differentiated by most individuals. Most sighted people do not have
experience with the blind, and this feeds the fear of the unknown. For
these individuals the conditioned fear of blindness is based on the
perceived difference between the sighted and the blind. The themes of
blindness in literature gain their power through the biological triggers
that take place when the fear instinct is evoked. In our current society we
have many forms of media that can be used to exploit these themes and
trigger fear. Consider the pending release of a new thriller by Sony
Pictures, Don't Breathe, in which a blind man-who is assumed to be an easy
target, always locked away in his house-terrorizes some would-be burglars
who seek to take advantage of his perceived limitations. While playing on
the conditioned fear of blindness might be a good plot for a horror film,
it only works because of the low expectations that exist. The filmmakers
are betting that the audience will understand that a blind person will not
be able to perceive the threat coming, will certainly not be able to put up
a fight, will not have much need for his fortune, and will not be expected
to be evil. When things get really tense, we can predict that the plot
twist will turn to total darkness-that mysterious land where the blind,
through their super sensitivity (don't even breathe or we will hear you),
are perceived to have a slight advantage. The impact of this film on
society will be to perpetuate the perceived differences between the sighted
and the blind and deepen the conditioned fear-even if it does make this
Halloween really interesting for us.
It is easy to imagine how blindness has come to be such a powerful
trigger for fear. Any sighted person at any time can create the mental
illusion that they know the experience of being blind. I would assert that
blindness above any other characteristic is so easily simulated in those
who do not live with it daily-a sighted person need only close their eyes-
that many sighted people establish a subconscious view of blindness without
much intentional effort. In fact the temptation is so subconscious that I
suspect a number of sighted people in the room tonight just closed their
eyes for a brief moment. How many times have you been told by someone that
they tried to spend an hour with their eyes closed or they were temporarily
blinded by something, and how it resulted in fear? Although those of us who
understand the truth about blindness and live with it every day recognize
that those brief experiences do not reflect our lives, we can appreciate
how easy it is to establish the link between fear and blindness. The
perceived knowledge of what it is like to be blind and the link to the fear
trigger is what makes the conditioned image of blindness a powerful
literary and marketing tool, and it is the formula that perpetuates the
myths generation after generation.
Although we in the National Federation of the Blind have made
tremendous progress in breaking down the misconceptions about blindness,
much of the society around us continues to fall for the trap of conditioned
fear. Unfortunately, some of the most harmful contributions to the fear
come from individuals and organizations closely associated with the blind-
often packaged as an attempt to validate the need for greater funding and
research. The combination of the perceived expertise of individuals working
with the blind and the use of triggers for the conditioned fear of
blindness is one of our greatest barriers to full integration into society.
Consider a recent study commissioned by the Association for Research
and Vision in Ophthalmology (ARVO), which says it is the largest eye and
vision research organization in the world. In September 2014 they held a
press conference detailing the findings of a poll that was conducted to
examine the attitudes of people about blindness and the perceived value of
research funding. Among their findings they show that blindness ranks among
the top four "worst things that could happen to you" for all of their
respondents. Although this research illuminates how powerful the fear
factor of blindness continues to be today, it also exploits that
misunderstanding to promote the need for more funding for prevent-blindness
research. The public message is that blindness is most feared but the
actual data collected tell a slightly different story. The poll
administrators asked the question, "Which of the following diseases or
ailments is the worst that could happen to you?" Respondents were given
five choices and the order of the choices is notable: blindness, cancer,
HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and not sure. While the public spin is that
blindness was most often selected, the researchers do not emphasize that
"not sure" ranked higher than blindness for every subgroup of individuals
sampled. Since the selection of blindness fits the desired result, there
was no attempt to explore whether the selection of "not sure" told us
anything different about the understanding of blindness. To further
emphasize the fear factor, the respondents were asked-presumably regardless
of how they answered the previous question-"Which of the following would
concern you as a consequence of losing your vision?" The choices of
response were limited to independence, productivity, quality of life,
other, and not sure. Not surprisingly, independence and quality of life
were top responses in the face of an existing fear about blindness and no
information about the tools and techniques that blind people use to live
the lives we want. The researchers then predictably turned their questions
to the importance of funding for research to prevent blindness. Responses
were collected to the statement: "The federal government spends an average
of $2.10 per person each year on eye and vision research, would you say
that is..." and the respondents could choose, "not enough, enough, too
much, or not sure." The reported finding-that illuminates further the fear
of blindness-is that the majority of people feel that there is not enough
money spent on research. The insightful finding that is not emphasized is
that among the subgroup that was least likely to choose blindness as their
top concern, only 35 percent said that the funding amount was not enough.
It seems like common sense that those who fear blindness will want more
research to be a priority, but why do the researchers fail to highlight the
priority of those less likely to fear blindness? The entire poll is
designed to amplify the conditioned fear of blindness for a political
purpose. No discussion of rehabilitation training is included in this
survey. No examination of misconceptions about the capacity of the blind is
explored. No data is collected about experience with successful blind
people. The entire promotional package of the survey findings serves to
further deepen the conditioned fear of blindness. Fear has the power to
generate action, and the researchers want to mobilize support for more
funding.
The conditioned fear of blindness goes well beyond surveys. Many
people have internalized the fear and project it onto blind people in ways
that significantly limit our lives. This most often surfaces in the form of
safety concerns. How many times have you been walking down the street using
a long white cane, when suddenly a kind and mysterious stranger takes it
upon themselves to be the guardian angel that makes sure your cane touches
nothing in the environment, because that would simply put you too close to
danger? "There is a pole ahead." "You are coming up to a street." Or my
personal favorite: "You are getting ready to run into a wall." Although
most of these incidents are annoying, they can be shrugged off or used as
opportunities to educate our fellow citizens and demystify blindness. The
problem comes when the conditioned fear of blindness results in actions
that have far more painful consequences. What impact is there on the blind
mother who is denied custody of her child because there will not be a
person with vision to protect the child in the home? What options are there
for the blind young man who is let go from a job installing technology in
an environment where his presence is perceived as a safety issue? What
message is sent to the military veteran who goes blind later in life and is
advised to retreat to a care facility rather than live in his own home? How
painful is it when every career dream a blind person has is extinguished by
an unimaginative rehabilitation counselor? Where are the opportunities for
the blind student who is barred from physical education, math, or dozens of
other academic activities? And, how does a blind child build independence
when she is told she cannot use a cane without supervision because she has
not yet perfected the technique and might get hurt?
Often the limits placed on us are expressed through products and
services. Dozens of products in the marketplace, solutions under research,
and best practice guidelines for making the world safe for the blind
attempt to emphasize the differences and play on conditioned fear. A simple
Google search reveals many pages with guidelines for making a home or
business safe for the blind, especially the newly blind older adult.
Although many of the safety tips are useful reminders for all people, the
guidelines gain power when amplified by the conditioned fear of blindness,
and they strengthen the perceived difference between the blind and the
sighted. The fear trigger is initiated by common statements such as,
"Often, it is our homes that can pose the greatest risks to our safety
especially if you are blind or visually impaired."
Apparently, blindness also limits our ability to use our arms.
Consider the PUSHUP GRID. The manufacturer tells us, "Some of the common
fitness activities in which individuals who are Blind/Visually Impaired
participate include yoga, stationary bike riding, aerobics, basketball,
jumping rope, and weight training. With the introduction of the PUSHUP GRID
Pushup Training and Assessment Mat, the pushup exercise can now be added to
this list with very little modification." The video demonstrating this
tactile mat tells us that "after a few instructional sessions some
individuals may be able to execute pushups independently." Upon further
investigation, we find that this mat simply happens to have tactile
features and that the real innovation is making it easy for everyone to
perform proper pushups with each hand at the same distance from the center
of the body. Products that include a broad set of features for a diverse
range of individuals should be celebrated for being well designed. Why must
the marketers give the appearance that blind people have special difficulty
performing pushups? Whether it is because they truly believe that we
require special treatment to perform pushups or they recognize that a
convenient marketing angle to drive sales is to play on the misconceptions,
the underlying root of the problem is the conditioned fear of blindness and
the action that the fear inspires.
Another popular method for triggering the conditioned fear of
blindness is through the topic of food. The horrors faced by blind people
in dealing with eating are discussed in podcasts, perpetuated through
specialized products, and celebrated in "Dining in the Dark" activities.
The Blind Abilities podcast recently shared the suggestion that one
solution to eating out is to develop the courage to ask your waiter to cut
your meat for you. Is that really the way we want to engage with the world?
Fear feeds fear. The harmful messages sometimes reach broader than we
think. Two months ago I was at a restaurant in Chicago with some leaders of
the Federation, enjoying a nice meal when-without our asking-our steaks
were presented already cut for our convenience. Needless to say, that
steakhouse is one cut below the rest. Despite the myths, I suspect that the
assembled crowd here tonight prepared for our banquet with joyful
anticipation rather than fearful anxiety.
When the product inventors are blind, we face an additional
challenge. Take, for example, the Stress Less Drink Holder for the blind.
The drink holder-which consists of a plastic tray with a safety cup holder
and raised edges to contain spills-was created by a retired engineer who
went blind. Here is a talented man who has had a successful career and who
has absorbed all of the conditioned messages of fear about blindness. He
faces a real problem of embarrassment as he adjusts to his own vision loss,
and he has created a product that he believes will give blind people
greater independence and hope. If the product were built out of meanness or
to make fun of blind people, we should be outraged. However, this product
was built to solve what one person has been conditioned to perceive as a
significant problem. It was built by a blind person who has not yet faced
the fear with the understanding that tens of thousands of us have come to
know through our active participation in the National Federation of the
Blind. It was built by a man who needs us. The challenge for us is how we
help this blind person channel his innate talent and potential, and
similarly to help the thousands of others out there who have not yet come
to understand the true impact of the conditioned fear of blindness in our
lives.
We reject the persistent feeding of this fear and the real harmful
impact it has on the lives of blind people every day. While there is value
in medical research and the development of meaningful accessible products
and best practices, they fail to provide value to society when they are
built upon fear. The real value to our society comes from giving blind
people access to quality training and the confidence to meet the
conditioned fear of blindness and disarm its false limits. Some want the
fear to own us, but we know the truth, and we own our own lives. We have
walked alone and marched together; we have tested the possibilities, and we
have not found the limits; we have faced the fear, and we have transformed
it to hope-we are the National Federation of the Blind.
The greatest opportunity for changing the conditioned fear of
blindness rests within each of us as blind people. We must challenge
ourselves to recognize that we all, blind and sighted, have fears, can face
those fears, and must turn those fears into a source of power. This
requires each of us to have the courage and humility to go beyond the
limits of the conditioned fear of blindness. It also requires us to face
the fear that comes from pursuing the untapped power within us to test our
own assumptions, reach for new heights, and do the things we believe we
cannot do.
No blind person is immune from the conditioned fear of blindness. In
the National Federation of the Blind we know that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines us or our future. We also know that in order to
make this statement true, we, as blind individuals, need to develop the
understanding and utilize the nonvisual techniques that will allow us to
take control of our lives. More importantly, we recognize that we need to
face the conditioned fears and challenge them on a daily basis. For those
blind people who may still be immobilized by their conditioned fears, now
is the time to act. It likely means standing at a street corner for a long
time until you decide to take that first step. It might mean building a hot
fire and learning to grill your favorite summer meal and, like all new
chefs, potentially burning it. And it almost always means talking with
blind people who have fought through the frustration and anger that comes
with breaking down those conditioned fears about blindness. Regardless of
where you are in that process, there are thousands of others who have been
there before you who are ready to support you in that journey. And once you
have begun to face those conditioned fears, we need you to help teach
others to do the same.
Regardless of how much training, experience, and confidence any blind
person has accumulated, each of us encounters the negative impact of
conditioned fears on a daily basis. By working together, we continue to
remind each other that this space-the space that we create together-where
we raise expectations, challenge our fears, and encourage each other to go
further is the normal experience in a world where we minimize the unfounded
fears about blindness. The challenge for us is neither the training nor our
own internal confidence; it is the continued struggle against the impact of
the conditioned fears of others. When we go out in the world, there is no
way to avoid encountering the impact of the misconceptions about blindness.
We must recognize the fear exists, prevent others from using it to control
our lives, and find new ways to overturn those fears. This demands us to be
firm but also loving with those who act with sincerity. It also demands
that we face outright cases of discrimination with action. We must have the
courage and the maturity to be honest about the difference. We must also
guard against accepting second-class treatment out of convenience to
ourselves. For example, each of us knows that the airport is one of the
places where the conditioned fear of blindness is going to be in evidence.
It is sometimes tempting, especially after a long and intense convention,
to simply go along and not challenge the low expectations that others wish
to force upon us-constantly asking us where we are going, trying to get us
to ride the electric cart or not to ride the escalator, pushing and pulling
us, insisting that we pre-board, offering to walk us down the jetway so we
do not get lost, attempting to take our canes away, inviting us to stay
seated in an emergency until someone comes to help, serving us drinks with
a lid and a straw, and the list goes on. The decision for us is whether we
choose to contribute to the conditioned fear of blindness by giving up
control, or to work actively to eliminate the fears by using our full
capacity. Each of us has the opportunity, and I would argue the
responsibility, to take the unrestricted view of blindness and to spread it
broadly through our actions. If we do not take control of it, over time it
will slowly gain more and more power over us. This requires us to
constantly review our own actions, challenge our own assumptions, carry our
portion of the responsibility, and never settle for second best.
We cannot stop there. If we truly desire to live the lives we want,
there is one more powerful step we must take. We need to learn to
positively harness the power of fear in our lives. Those who claim that
they have no fear in their life are failing to utilize their potential to
live their life fully. Consider love for example, which I believe to be
more powerful than any other influence. It is impossible to love without
feeling some degree of fear. That is the fear my wife and I faced when we
held our first child, our second child, and our third child, and the fear
that we continue to face when considering their future. Positive situations
also create uncertainty and trigger the fear emotion. If we act in awe of
fear rather than acting in fear of fear, we can unlock the power that fear
gives us. Fear gives us the awareness that we are getting outside of our
comfort zone and challenging ourselves to go beyond the previous limits.
When we choose to face fear and recognize that fear represents our own
power to act, we take greater control over our own lives. As individuals we
can choose to own the power and command our destiny; as a movement we must
dare to focus the power and use it to create hope and opportunity.
Imagine how the world will be different because the blind resolve to
conquer fear. Imagine what we can do for society in a world where the
conditioned fear of blindness does not exist. Imagine a world where the
conditioned fear of blindness is so diminished that it no longer ranks in
the surveys, generates the sales, or captivates the filmmakers. Imagine not
just the impact on you and me; imagine the enormous benefit to every
individual on this planet in the future. The conditioned fear of blindness
and so many other conditioned fears significantly and artificially limit
the human race. When we succeed in lifting one more fear from the
consciousness of humanity, there will be more space for the power of
potential that exists among us. Imagine the hope that grows when fear no
longer flows.
Recently I had the opportunity to visit Blindness: Learning in New
Dimensions (BLIND Inc.)-a training center affiliated with the National
Federation of the Blind. At BLIND Incorporated blind individuals are
challenged daily to break down their conditioned fears about blindness and
to face the fears they will have from pursuing their dreams. During a
seminar that I was honored to lead with the students and staff, I was asked
to describe my top fear for the National Federation of the Blind. I
answered by saying that my greatest fear is that we as blind people will
get too comfortable with the progress we have made. Today is the best time
in history to be a blind person. We have made tremendous progress. We have
more opportunities than at any time before. Some might be tempted to get
comfortable with the illusion that we have equality in society. Some might
fear that we cannot reach any higher for blind people. Some might have
bought into enough of the conditioned fear of blindness to believe that we
no longer need the National Federation of the Blind. However, our
experience over seventy-six years gives us the perspective to know that we
have not reached the top of our climb, and an honest assessment of our
lives reveals that we are not yet fully accepted in society without the
artificial conditions that others place upon us. The society around us is
advancing, and our failure to continue our march for independence would
result in our steadily losing some of the ground we have gained. My fear
for our organization is that our success will condition us to believe that
the benchmark is based on how far we have come rather than on where we can
go. My fear is that we will get comfortable, we will fail to face the fear
that comes from testing the limits, and we will settle for second best.
When I was seven and sat at the window contemplating my future, I was
afraid of the life questions that did not have answers. The fear was not
related to blindness but to the uncertainties and struggles that come with
the human experience. I am now thirty-nine and even though I better
understand how to conquer fear, certain things remain true. The emotion is
uncomfortable, the uncertainty pushes me toward feeling powerless, and my
hardwired instinct is to run. But I have found there is value in that fear,
and the opportunity comes in the chance to stay to face the fear and reveal
its other side. The other side of fear is power, and the truth of our power
generates hope. When I face the fear of what we might be in the future, I
think about a gathering of Federationists like we share here tonight. The
thought fills me with hope, energy, and love, and I am in awe of what we
will do together. For seventy-six years we have continued to raise
expectations for the blind. We have diminished the false limits that the
conditioned fear of blindness has artificially placed upon us. Despite my
fear that we might get comfortable and the many opportunities for our power
to be displaced by complacence, we demonstrate only forward progress at an
increasing pace. We have not settled for second best, and we will never be
conditioned to do so. We have faced our own fears, and we will never give
control of our lives to others. Although we have fears, they do not come
from blindness but from the power of our desire to complete our march to
first-class status. Although we have challenges, they do not come from
within us, and they are no match for the love, hope, and determination that
keep us together in the National Federation of the Blind. We will not be
defined by the prevent-blindness researchers and their agenda to expand the
conditioned fear of blindness. We will not be defined by the unfounded
safety concerns of others who do not know the real, lived experience of
blind people. We will not be defined by the marketing experts who seek to
trigger the fear response in order to sell products that create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams.
My brothers and my sisters, we are the masters of our own future. The
power to make change and to cultivate hope is within each of us. We bond
together in the National Federation of the Blind to face the uncertainty of
the future, to challenge ourselves to expand the horizons, and to take
ownership of living the lives we want. Society's fears of blindness will
not stop us. Facing our own fears will make us stronger. And the power of
our unwavering love, hope, and determination will lead us through
uncertainty to new heights. Let us break down the conditioned fears of
others. Let us challenge ourselves to conquer the fears that stand in our
way. Let us overwhelm fear with our unstoppable engine of hope. Let us
build the National Federation of the Blind.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award]
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards
Presented by James Gashel
Thank you, Mr. President and fellow Federationists. You know, I've
noticed in addition to the shifting numbers by the decades that this
convention seems to be-if you could believe it-more spirited and lively
than many. In fact, I noticed this particularly during the presentation of
the financial yesterday, where there was a lot of applause at different
parts of the financial. Back in the day of the 1960s, we used to go to
sleep during the financial. It's a different crowd-maybe they're more
business-minded.
You know, the presentation of the Jacob Bolotin Awards is a high
honor that I have on behalf of this organization, the Santa Barbara
Foundation, and the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust. A biography entitled
The Blind Doctor: the Jacob Bolotin Story by Rosalind Perlman is a must-
read for all of you. It really should go down among our Federation
literature. It is available in the Independence Market. Get it, and read it
by next year, okay?
Jacob Bolotin's story defines what it means to live the life you
want. He was born in 1888, and he lived to be age thirty-six. But during
that short life, he fulfilled his dream of becoming the first blind doctor-
blind since birth. And he wasn't just a psychology doctor; he was a heart
and lung doctor. Nothing wrong with psychology doctors, now, but this guy
got right into it.
After graduating from the Illinois School for the Blind, Bolotin
supported himself and his family as a door-to-door salesman in Chicago. He
sold kitchen matches, brushes, and typewriters. The hours were long and the
work was hard, but Bolotin persevered, and he even saved up enough money to
put himself through medical school. There wasn't any vocational
rehabilitation back then; there wasn't any section 504 or ADA back then. In
the spirit of Jacobus tenBroek, Kenneth Jernigan, Marc Maurer, and Mark
Riccobono, Jacob Bolotin was, in fact if not in name, a Federationist.
Supported in part with a bequest left to the Santa Barbara Foundation
and the National Federation of the Blind, the awards we give include money
which each recipient will get. They also include an engraved plaque and a
medallion. Here's the text on the plaque:
Presented to
[name of the recipient]
by the National Federation of the Blind
and the Santa Barbara Foundation
July 2016
The text on the obverse side of the medallion suspended above the
plaque says this: "The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award" with our logo under that,
and it says immediately below the logo "Celebrating Achievement, Creating
Opportunity." Now the reverse side of the medallion says "Dr. Jacob
Bolotin," and then there's a depiction of his bust below that text. Below
the bust are the years of his birth and death, with this text below:
"Celebrating his Life/The Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust."
And now for the 2016 Bolotin Awards.
Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement (ABLE), $5,000. Located in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ABLE started more than fifty years ago, mostly as a
Braille transcription service, but audio services were added soon
thereafter. In 2013 the service was further expanded to fill requests from
teachers for more than just textbooks, including accessible Braille
versions of daily math and science materials; Spanish and German materials
for foreign language classes; assessments, quizzes, and exams were
included; books and short stories for literature classes are now included;
and raised line drawing of charts, graphs, and pictures are done by ABLE.
With a sound studio that is now equipped for the NLS program, ABLE now
produces audio books by Wisconsin authors that are not included in the
national NLS program. If you want to visit a museum exhibit that's
accessible, visit Crossroads of Civilization at the Milwaukee Public
Museum. It was made fully accessible by ABLE.
Meeting the standard set by Dr. Jacob Bolotin, ABLE is providing
services of the highest quality. Excellence is only the floor, not the
ceiling at ABLE. Here to receive the award is Sheryl Orgas, executive
director of ABLE.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Cheryl Orgas]
Cheryl Orgas: Good afternoon. As executive director of a creative and
innovative volunteer staff team at ABLE, I am deeply honored to receive
this Jacob Bolotin Award. From creating quick-turnaround materials such as
hundreds of math and science tactiles for a rising junior in his
international baccalaureate program, to those books that you can download
on BARD [Braille and Audio Reading Download] not only all of you in this
room-not right now, though, but after sessions-to those 550,000 individuals
and organizations that are a part of the program, to our signature
relationship with the Milwaukee Public Museum. Yes, Crossroads is
accessible, but we're moving on to the butterfly exhibit and to the
dinosaurs, but even bigger than that, what ABLE has done in partnership
with the Milwaukee Public Museum is we've changed their paradigm from "just
look, don't touch" to "how can we make exhibits accessible from the ground
up?" And I can tell you we are not stopping there. We've moved on to the
Urban Ecology Center. And because of our work at ABLE, and because of our
passion and commitment, blind people are going to be able to live the lives
they want. My deepest gratitude to James Gashel, Ron Brown, and Mary Ellen
Jernigan for this wonderful gift of money, and may I also say the greater
gift of having ABLE associated with such a great man, such an exemplary
leader as Dr. Bolotin. And my family, Bill Meeker, Christopher our son in
Utah fighting fires right now, because as blind parents we taught him to
live the life he wants, and our great friends and leader President
Riccobono, Dr. Maurer, and all of you, my family, thank you.
Jim Gashel: Oskar and Klaus Publishing, $10,000. Now you say, "What
is Oskar and Klaus Publishing?" Well, I'm going to tell you. Mick
Szydlowski and his wife Bethany adopted a six-week-old blind kitten named
Oskar. This was five years ago, and Oskar was adopted to join their other
adopted cat named Klaus. They didn't know what to do except just to stay
out of the way while Oskar basically found his way around his new home, and
he was fearless running around the place, navigating through. And Klaus
didn't know what to do either, so he just stayed out of the way. Compared
to Klaus, Oskar was the first one to show up at mealtime. He was climbing
Bethany's leg as the cans of cat food were being opened, while Klaus just
sat back and watched. Oh, Klaus accepted his new companion. Through their
play and wrestling about, it was clear that Oskar was in charge and Klaus
was just following along-that's the way it ought to be. Mr. President, the
blind should be in charge. Yeah, let's hear a Federation cheer for the
blind being in charge!
Fascinated by the antics of their blind cat and their much more timid
sighted cat, Mick and Bethany started posting pictures and videos on the
internet, and the thing just went viral. That's when they called on their
friend Travis Bossard to help out, so Travis is now part of this business
to manage the growing social media. This includes not just appearances at
the local pet shelter, which they've had, but on national television like
Good Morning, America, Ellen, Fox and Friends, and others.
Now the adventures of Oskar and Klaus are being recounted in books.
Two books are out, and a third one is in process. You can get these books
at <https://www.oskarandklaus.com/>, just follow the link for books, or you
can order them on Amazon.com. An audiobook of the first book, which is
Oskar & Klaus: the Search for Bigfoot is available, and a Braille version
of the second book, The Mission to Cataria is at the same price as it is in
print, and that is supported by the American Action Fund. Barbara Loos,
president of the Action Fund, is consulting on the text.
Now meeting the standard set by Dr. Jacob Bolotin, Oskar & Klaus
Publishing is reaching a worldwide audience of adults and children with a
positive image of blindness. Just imagine that: the fun and frolic of their
fearless blind cat Oskar and his timid sighted companion Klaus, the world
is learning that we can live the lives we want. So here to accept the award
on behalf of Oskar and Klaus is Mick Szydlowski, father of Oskar and Klaus.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Mick Szydlowski]
Mick Szydlowski: Thank you for this incredible honor. I stand before
you today as one man, but I'm also accepting this award on behalf of my
longtime friend and partner in Oskar & Klaus Publishing, Travis Bossard,
who is unable to be here today. We are grateful to have been recognized by
the awards committee and thankful for the opportunity to attend the
National Convention. Our time in Orlando has only strengthened our
commitment to creating a book series that aligns with the goals of the
Federation by challenging readers to live lives full of limitless
adventure, free from the burdens of society's prejudices,
misunderstandings, and low expectations. Although we would love to think of
the Bolotin Award as the prize at the end of a long journey of self-
publishing, we know that it serves as the milestone marker to celebrate our
first steps. It's both a signpost that shows that we are traveling in the
right direction and a gust of wind at our backs pushing us forward. Travis
and I both read the biography of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, and we understand that
it is the power of will that propels one to achieve great things in life.
We shall thus carry on writing and take comfort in knowing that the NFB is
by our side. Thank you again for this honor; we are moved, we are
encouraged, and we are very proud to be part of your family.
Jim Gashel: Winston Chen, $15,000. Winston Chen may not be a
household name, but perhaps you'll know our next awardee if I just say
"Voice Dream Reader." Winston Chen is the father of Voice Dream Reader. If
you're blind and have an iDevice-like an iPhone-you probably already have
Voice Dream Reader-I do. If you don't have it, you're definitely missing
out.
Here's just a few details about Voice Dream Reader. In text-to-speech
it has one premium a cappella voice, your choice of several other free a
cappella voices, and thirty-six iOS voices in twenty-seven languages; in-
app purchase of 200+ premium voices in thirty languages; a corrections
dictionary so you can correct pronunciations (like I'm having trouble
with); all voices play in the background, and even when the screen is
locked-do you like that? I like that. And, by the way, it's optimized for
VoiceOver. Supported file formats include: PDF, plain text, MS Word,
PowerPoint, RTF, GoogleDocs, web articles, DRMfree ebooks, Bookshare books,
Daisy text and audiobooks, and other MP3 and MP4 formats. Other features
like text navigation and text annotation are available. In short, if you're
looking for a high-quality reader, this reader does just about everything.
Now the one thing it doesn't do is it doesn't take pictures and read-maybe
that's coming. [laughs] We have another one that takes pictures and reads-
KNFB Reader-let's have a shout-out to KNFB Reader-not to steal Winston's
thunder.
You know Winston is truly an interesting guy. In 2011 he was firmly
established in a software company as an executive in Massachusetts, but
Winston and his family decided to take a year off from this great career in
the United States, and the entire family moved for a year to a remote
Norwegian island north of the Arctic Circle. There in the dead and dark of
winter, Winston had to have something to do, so he created Voice Dream
Reader. Really an interesting guy-you've got to meet this guy. Meeting the
standard set by Dr. Jacob Bolotin, Winston Chen has raised the bar in
accessible reading for blind people. Through his single-handed efforts in
creating the Voice Dream Reader app, Winston Chen is making lives better
for all blind people so we can definitely live the lives we want. Here to
receive the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award is Winston Chen.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Winston Chen]
Winston Chen: Thank you, Jim, and thank you NFB. You know I feel
really lucky. I get to wake up every morning and work on products that
really make a difference in people's lives. When customers email me, "My
life has changed because of your products." When I think about it, it's not
luck. Thirty-two years ago I immigrated to the United States from China.
America welcomed me with open arms, gave me a terrific education in a
public high school and a public university, and that's how I learned how to
write software. Then you have the Apple ecosystem, where one guy can make
products, and everybody in the world can enjoy and benefit from his work.
And because of that, I can make sure that the products are affordable, and
also I can support my family.
Voice Dream exists because of America's generosity towards immigrants
and exists because of this global economy. Now these things are
increasingly becoming contentious around family barbeques and in ballot
boxes around the world. I would just like to add that hopefully my personal
story will add a perspective to it, that there are a lot of benefits that
come from these things. Thank you, thanks everyone. I feel like I haven't
earned this honor, and I promise to work hard and make the products better
and earn this honor. Thanks.
[From the applause it was clear that the audience believed Winston Chen
most certainly deserved the honor and recognition bestowed by this award.]
Jim Gashel: For our fourth and final (this is a group) award: we call
them the Semitic Scholars, $20,000. Now, Jacob Bolotin knew that blind
people can compete on equal terms, given the right tools and given
opportunities. If you've ever considered becoming a biblical scholar, then
you would have already found that understanding the Semitic languages like
biblical Hebrew, classical Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic, Akkadian, and
Ugaritic-I can't even pronounce these languages-it's a real challenge. And
it's especially a challenge if you use Braille. So the group we call the
Semitic Scholars includes three very bright, very creative, and very
devoted blind people: Sarah LaRose, Dr. Raymond McAllister, and Matthew
Yeater. Through their combined efforts, and with help from David Holliday
and Caryn Navy at Duxbury Systems, the Semitic Scholars have built the
tools needed to convert ancient languages and ancient content into Braille.
Sarah LaRose graduated from Anderson University with a master's
degree in divinity and developed the Braille tables for using JAWS with
biblical Hebrew, Syriac, and polytonic Greek. Dr. Raymond McAllister earned
his PhD in Hebrew from Andrews University, and he discovered how to make
ancient texts accessible by opening the text in Microsoft Word and then
converting the ancient characters into modern characters, and then opening
this hybrid file in a BrailleNote. So consequently he could read hundreds
of ancient documents in ancient languages on the BrailleNote-never been
done before. Matthew Yeater built on these accomplishments by creating the
code to access primary source materials for both the Old Testament and the
New Testament. He worked with McAllister further to develop the code for
three strands of ancient Syriac. Through contacts with a publisher, he then
made it possible for downloadable files of these Braille materials to be
available so blind students anywhere can study along with their sighted
colleagues [applause]. This is ground-breaking stuff these guys have done.
Meeting the standards set by Jacob Bolotin, all three of our Semitic
Scholars have demonstrated pioneering success in breaking down barriers and
opening new fields of study for blind people, both today and tomorrow.
Through their combined contributions, these three scholars are walking in
the footsteps of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, and they are helping to make it
possible for all blind people to live the lives we want. So I have the
first of the Semitic Scholars, Sarah LaRose.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Sarah LaRose]
Sarah LaRose: Hi, guys. I want you all to imagine receiving emails
that say, "Is it possible for a blind person to succeed in biblical
studies?" And another email that says, "My college exempted me from this
subject and suggested that I change my program to a master of arts in
ministry because I cannot take biblical languages." That's the type of
emails that I used to receive from people who wanted to study biblical
languages. That is why I do this. I want to say thank you to the NFB for
this tremendous honor. And we will not stop this work, because there should
be no more exemptions for anybody who wants to study these languages.
James Gashel: Next is Dr. Raymond McAllister.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Raymond McAllister]
Dr. Raymond McAllister: When I wished to work on my PhD, I had to use
technical documents with a lot of symbols in them that aren't in your usual
Braille Hebrew Bibles. So I used these computer code texts that are really
a pain. That's what I had to do to read my Bible the way I wanted to. Well
now we've got better texts, we got them in Braille, and I helped code the
Hebrew accents so they can be readable, and they're being distributed to
the blind who get ahold of these organizations. And what we want to do with
this award is make more ancient Semitic documents and more ancient
languages digitized so that they can be converted into Braille. I want to
thank the NFB for helping us to be able to push this vision further, I want
to thank my wife Sally for supporting me, and I want to thank God for
making all this possible. I'm going to leave you with a hardy thank you
very much in Hebrew. Thank you very much in Hebrew is "todam ode."
Jim Gashel: The last of the three Semitic Scholars is Matthew Yeater.
Matthew, here is your plaque, and you're going to say thank you very fast
please.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Matthew Yeater]
Matthew Yeater: Thank you. The beauty of the biblical language
profile found on Duxbury (it's available there) is access to the critical
apparatus and biblical scholarship. The critical apparatus has a bunch of
weird symbols that stand for abbreviations, and it has a multitude of
languages on the same page. What's really cool is that through this project
we can have a multitude of ancient languages on the same page and convert
them all into Braille at the same time. And it's available in 147 different
languages. Thank you, National Federation of the Blind for pouring into me
your philosophy; thank you Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary; Paul
Kine; Lauren Johns for helping us write the code; Duxbury, David and Caryn-
you guys are the greatest; Brent Graber-you guys are awesome; thank you,
Bolotin committee. God bless you.
---------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jamie Principato]
Equal Opportunity and Discovering Talent:
A Journey from Discrimination to Particle Astrophysics Research
by Jamie Principato
From the Editor: In January of 2015, this magazine ran an article
about Jamie Principato and her struggle to fight for accommodations from
Florida State University. Jamie has moved on from her legal battles, and
she brought to the 2016 national convention one of the finest speeches
about the need for access and the transformative part it can play in one's
life that I've ever heard. Here is what she said on Tuesday, July 5:
Hello. I'm in the business of sharing ideas, and I have a big idea
for you today. But before I get to that, there's a story that I need to
share that I've been learning this week is very important. It started not
at Florida State University, but when I was in the eighth grade. It was the
end of our semester, and my teacher asked me to stay after class. She asked
me to stay because I am failing eighth grade algebra. Up to this point I
had never used a math book, and I'd never been able to write math my
teacher could read. I also could not read or write in Braille, and any work
I did in math had to be done verbally.
As many of you I'm sure understand, if you've been to school and you
are blind, it's very difficult to simplify an equation if what you're
hearing is: "Two squared plus six over x divided by three squared plus two
x squared plus the square root of five, all divided by three." I'm a
mathematician now, and I don't know where to begin with that.
But my teacher had good news for me. She told me, "I'm not going to
give you an 'F' and prevent you from going on to ninth grade with your
classmates, because I understand what you're going through."
"Really," I said.
She said, "Yes, I do. You see, my daughter has intellectual
disabilities, and she can't solve for 'x' either." [groans] I was crushed.
And I realized that I had two options: I could correct my teacher, and I
could tell her that I am intelligent, I can learn math, but I can't learn
math if I can't read a math book or access your notes when you're giving
lecture. Or-I'm fourteen years old, remember-I could walk away and never
have to come back to that classroom again. I walked away.
Fast forward now to entering college. Somehow-I don't really know how
this could have happened-when I entered Florida State University, I managed
to pass my placement test and be placed into college algebra. Meanwhile, up
to this point I still can't solve for 'x', and I can barely multiply
numbers greater than seven. But I'm placed into college algebra, and there
happens to be another student in the class with me who is blind. We decide
to go to class together that morning. And when we walk in we are
immediately stopped by the professor at the door. And she tells us, "You
guys shouldn't be here." What do you mean? She tells us that, "None of the
materials in this department can be provided to you in Braille or in large
print." I remember telling her that shouldn't be a problem; Florida State
University has a disability resource center, and if you send them your
materials, they can help you prepare them for us. She told us, "Oh, no, no,
no, we don't do that here."
"What? You don't do that?" She told us that it was somehow against
department policy to release any of their materials to disability
resources, and it had always been so. We proceeded to attempt to take the
class. They weren't going to make us leave because other departments were
putting pressure on us to complete our college algebra requirement. It was
either complete the requirement or be unenrolled in the institution, so we
had to find a way to do it.
Meanwhile, at every turn there is something new stopping us: there
are tests that we cannot take, homework assignments that we cannot
complete, study materials we have no access to, and even when we go to our
instructor's office to ask questions or to seek assistance, she insists on
tutoring us using pen and ink, barely describing anything she's doing
verbally. Needless to say it was impossible to pass college algebra, and
soon after this first semester my fellow student and I, with the assistance
of the National Federation of the Blind, entered litigation against Florida
State University on the grounds that their programs were inaccessible to us
and that they were engaging in discrimination on the basis of disability
[applause].
Something that a lot of students don't realize when they enter into
something like this is that litigation is a messy process. It's time-
consuming; it's stressful. I ended up spending more time working with
Brown, Goldstein & Levy during discovery, helping them get information
about my school, trying to understand the law myself so that I knew how to
communicate to people at my school when questioned-I spent more time
working on these tasks than I spent on my studies. It was like a full-time
job, and it lasted for more than three years. And when it ended, I burnt a
bridge at my university and could not go back.
I moved to Colorado shortly after, and it was time for me to start
over. It took a long time before I was ready to go back to school because
at this point I wasn't really sure if my teacher in eighth grade was right
or not. Maybe I am stupid; maybe I can't do math. Almost every career I
could possibly go into is going to require mathematics; math is everywhere.
So maybe I'm just not cut out for college. They told me at Florida State
that their programs simply were not for everybody, that there were some
people they could not serve, and maybe I would be better off trying to find
a school that served "my kind."
But eventually I worked up the courage to return to school. I started
at a community college-Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado. I
decided that I would start slow and that I would only take math courses in
the beginning. Math was going to be the hardest thing for me to conquer, so
it seemed like a good place to start. I didn't want my instructors having
any assumptions about what I could do as a blind person, so when I entered
my college classroom on the first day of school and my professor asked the
students to share with the class how they felt about math and what kind of
experience they had had in the past, I lied through my teeth, and I told my
instructor with a straight face-a smile, in fact-that I was excellent in
math and that it had always been my best subject. "I'm only taking this
class because I'm twenty-three-I've been out of school for a while, I need
a little refresher in algebra, but I am confident I can get a perfect A in
this class." I spent the rest of the semester trying my hardest not to get
caught in the lie. I have to say that it was not my own ability that made
that possible. My school was incredible in terms of accessibility. Anytime
I needed help, anytime I found materials that I could not access or
information I could not read, there was somebody at my school, either in
the math department or in the disability services office, who was willing
to help me. They didn't doubt that with the right access I could be
successful in math, and sure enough they were right, and I was right, and I
pulled off an A in that class [applause].
I continued in mathematics at Arapahoe Community College (ACC). I
wanted to try trigonometry, and when I finished that, I wanted to go into
calculus. I ended up being the first blind student at ACC to progress
through all of the math courses that that school offered, and I succeeded
[applause].
I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do. When I was at Florida State
I majored in psychology, not because I was particularly thrilled with
psychology-it's a great field-but I was doing it because it seemed like the
only likely science a blind person could be successful in. But now I was
being successful in things I thought I could never do, so I started
rethinking my career choices. I remember one night a friend of mine who was
a sighted mathematician was sitting with me, going over a problem I found
particularly interesting from class that day. I started telling him about
my dilemma, about how I wanted to do science; it was all I really ever
wanted to do. "I just want to understand how the universe works."
He looked at me, and he said: "Well then, why don't you major in
physics?"
"I'm blind; physics has a lot of math, a lot of labs, and all kinds
of equipment and technology that I'm not used to."
I started panicking, and he looked at me and said, "I'm not joking;
you can do math, so you can do physics."
So I thought about it, and it occurred to me that there's really
nothing to lose in trying, just like I tried algebra. So I went to school a
few months later when the new semester was starting, and I changed my major
to physics. From that point on, doors were opening for me. I met with the
chair of the physics department, and I told him that I was a little
concerned about the laboratory component of his classes. He said to me, "I
don't understand why."
I said, "Well, sir, I'm blind."
He said, "Sure, but sighted people can't see radiation or electricity
or momentum. You can do math, so you can do physics."
He was right. With the tools that my school already provided to their
sighted students, the LabQuest system in particular for collecting data in
laboratories, I was able to compete with my sighted peers in the
laboratory, and pretty soon I had the opportunity to start doing my own
research. I joined a team of researchers who were sponsored by NASA through
the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. We began building instruments that
would fly through the stratosphere and even into space, and my focus became
instruments that would allow sighted people to see things they can't even
see, things like radiation, things like cosmic rays and subatomic
particles, things like the molecular composition of the atmosphere that you
can't see even with a working eye, and I as a blind student, just an
undergrad, was building the tools that scientists could use to visualize
these things and that I could use to visualize these things [applause].
Only two weeks ago I was at Wallops, Virginia, at the Wallops Flight
Facility at NASA, integrating a device that I built that allows us to see
when the sensor collides with subatomic particles from a cosmic ray from
the radiation produced when stars and distant galaxies explode. We launched
this device on a rocket. From 1,000 feet away my teammates and I recorded
the launch, and I'd like to share that with you now. Can we cut to the
video?
[The tape commences with a countdown starting at ten, nine, eight,
and when the countdown reaches zero and the word mark is spoken, one can
hear and see the rocket lifting off. On the recording one can hear the
cheers of excited participants, and in the background one can also hear the
excited cheers of those of us in the audience.]
This is what can happen when blind people have access to math and
science. Since then I've also found a talent for teaching, and I'm a tutor
now to many sighted students in college-level math. However, I am most
proud of my students in the college prep program at the Colorado Center for
the Blind (CCB).
Now I want to come to the idea that I promised I would share.
Teaching math to students who want to pursue college, I started noticing
some very interesting patterns. With the permission of my students I
started collecting data and keeping track of things that we talked about,
things that we worked on, and the patterns that I perceived. A very common
pattern: virtually 90 percent of my students would come to me and tell me
in the beginning of our sessions, "I can't learn math; I had a teacher in
middle school who told me that I was intellectually disabled there, and I
just can't do it." And my students really believed this, that somehow
because they were blind, there was something else wrong with them that made
it impossible for them to learn about math.
In the short time I've been teaching-the longest duration has been
four months, and the shortest has been one month-my students go from
believing that they are incapable of learning math-from exactly where I
was, feeling that they can't even multiply numbers together if the numbers
are greater than seven-to performing at a perfectly acceptable precollege
level, some even testing not just into but beyond college algebra. This is
simply because they have been given access to mathematical information at
CCB [applause]. Once a student has access to the information, a mentor who
can show them how to use it and who believes that they are capable of using
it, they can do tremendous things. They not only can reach their grade
level but exceed it.
So this is my idea: we are a large organization with a lot of
resources. There are people here with many talents ranging from music to
science and mathematics. We also have many children in the organization who
are blind, who are entering school, or who are already in school and
finding that when they reach a certain grade level they no longer have
access to the information their peers can use. I propose that as a
Federation we start paring talented adults and professionals-college
students and professionals-who have succeeded in science and mathematics
with the families of children who are struggling, with the families of
children whose teachers believe that they are cognitively delayed and
cannot possibly learn math because they are blind. I want the students to
have access to a network of people who not only know the skills of
blindness but also know the skills of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics [applause].
I'm in the process of collecting the data I compiled at the Colorado
Center for the Blind, and I'm trying to find ways to make a program like
this a reality. I would not be where I am right now if not for the
mentorship and encouragement I received from my friends in the field and my
friends in the Federation. I want every blind child who needs to learn math
for their career to have the same opportunity to find their talent. In
addition, I would not be where I am if it were not for somebody who showed
me how to build tools that could go into space. The Colorado Space Grant
Consortium has a program called RockSat-C. This program allows students to
purchase space through their institutions on a suborbital sounding rocket
and do exactly what I did: launch an experiment. I was recently given the
opportunity to participate in this program again and asked what kind of
payload I would want to design. My response was that I want to design a
workshop payload. I want to dedicate my half canister of space to blind
children between the grades of six and twelve so that I can help teach them
the skills that they need to put an instrument at the edge of space and
beyond. Soldering, programming, building circuits, reading schematics,
interpreting their data, designing an experiment, thinking like a
scientist: none of these are things a blind person cannot do, and I know
because I've done them. I want to make sure that my peers can do them too,
because it's a much more interesting field when I have competition.
We can do amazing things when we have access to information. When we
don't have access to information, we can start thinking some pretty
terrible things about ourselves. I thought I was stupid; I thought I would
never learn to do math and should avoid it like the plague. I thought there
was something wrong with me, that somehow when people told me that "No, you
should not be in our classroom; you do not belong here," it was my fault. I
had done something wrong. I've learned since then that that is not true. I
can do anything I set my mind to, and so can the rest of us. I really hope
the Federation can help me in these endeavors so that I can bring access to
mathematics to everybody in this room and beyond.
----------
Leave a Legacy
For more than seventy-five years the National Federation of the Blind
has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people
into reality, and with your support we will continue to do so for decades
to come. We sincerely hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring
movement by adding the National Federation of the Blind as a partial
beneficiary in your will. A gift to the National Federation of the Blind in
your will is more than just a charitable, tax deductible donation. It is a
way to join in the work to help blind people live the lives they want that
leaves a lasting imprint on the lives of thousands of blind children and
adults.
With your help, the NFB will continue to:
. Give blind children the gift of literacy through Braille;
. Promote the independent travel of the blind by providing free, long
white canes to blind people in need;
. Develop dynamic educational projects and programs that show blind
youth that science and math are within their reach;
. Deliver hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide
blind people the essential information necessary to be actively
involved in their communities;
. Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain
their independence; and
. Fund scholarship programs so that blind people can achieve their
dreams.
Plan to Leave a Legacy
Creating a will gives you the final say in what happens to your
possessions and is the only way to be sure that your remaining assets are
distributed according to your passions and beliefs. Many people fear
creating a will or believe it's not necessary until they are much older.
Others think that it's expensive and confusing. However, it is one of the
most important things you will do, and with new online legal programs it is
easier and cheaper than ever before. If you do decide to create or revise
your will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial
beneficiary. Visit <www.nfb.org/planned-giving> or call (410) 659-9314,
extension 2371 for more information. Together with love, hope,
determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into
reality.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Marc Maurer]
The Law of Disability, Special Treatment,
Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, and the Constitution
by Marc Maurer
From the Editor: Former President Maurer needs little introduction to
readers of the Braille Monitor. His long and distinguished service as the
President of the National Federation of the Blind means that anyone in the
blindness field knows his name, but what may be less well-known about him
is that he is a lawyer whose thoughts often turn to the rights of blind
people as granted in the United States Constitution and interpreted by the
courts of our land. It is not surprising that from time to time he takes
issue with the way a court has interpreted our place in society, and when
he takes issue with a thing, often people come to know about it. Through
his writings and speeches, Former President Maurer reveals hypocrisy for
what it is, lays bare the fallacies he finds in legal assumptions about our
inferiority, and makes clear the imperative of changing these laws which
separate us from first-class citizenship. Here is what he said to the 2016
convention:
Are you the right kind? Do you possess the characteristics that make
you a part of the society in which you live? Can you expect the same
rights, privileges, protections, liberties, dignity, and legal guarantees
that others in this society may expect? As I once overheard one of my
children ask a child from a neighboring family, "Are you allowed?"
One important function of the government is to create categories of
human beings. The category to which you are assigned determines the rights
you have. One of the categories created by the government is currently
named "disability."
What is disability? The Americans with Disabilities Act contains a
definition which says in part "the term disability means with respect to an
individual . . . a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits
one or more of the major life activities." One of the major life activities
is seeing, which indicates that the blind are part of the definition. Does
this mean that you have rights? If you do, how extensive are they, how
closely do they resemble the rights that others may take for granted, and
how broad is the category that specifies what you get? What is the source
of these rights?
The design in the United States is that laws adopted in our country
protect people. The most important of these laws is the United States
Constitution. Congress may adopt any law that it thinks is necessary for
the country if the Constitution authorizes Congress to exercise this power.
State legislatures may adopt any law they please unless the law violates
the state or the federal constitutions or a federal statute Congress
adopted under the authority of the federal constitution.
Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the founder and first President of the National
Federation of the Blind, was a constitutional scholar. In 1956 in a speech
delivered to the National Federation of the Blind banquet, he made the
following observation:
The Constitution of the United States declares that all persons
born in the United States or naturalized are citizens. There is
nothing in the Constitution or in the gloss upon it which says that
this section shall not apply to persons who are blind. If born in the
United States or naturalized, whether before or after blindness, blind
persons are citizens of the United States now and are now, not merely
in some future generation, possessed of the right to be citizens and
share the privileges, immunities, and responsibilities of that status.
Moreover, the bounty of the Constitution extends to all persons,
whether citizens or not, rights to freedom, equality, and
individuality.
As citizens, then, or as persons, who happen to be deprived of
one of their physical senses, we claim, under the broad protection of
the Constitution, the right to life, personal freedom, personal
security; the right to marry, have and rear children, and to maintain
a home; and the right, so far as government can assure it, to that
fair opportunity to earn a livelihood which will make these other
rights possible and significant. We have the right freely to choose
our fields of endeavor, unhindered by arbitrary, artificial or man-
made impediments. All limitations on our opportunity, all restrictions
on us based on irrelevant considerations of physical disability, are
in conflict with our Constitutional right of equality and must be
removed. Our access to the mainstreams of community life, the
aspirations and achievements of each of us, are to be limited only by
the skills, energy, talents, and abilities we individually bring to
the opportunities equally open to all Americans.
Finally, we claim as our birthright, as our Constitutional
guarantee and as an indivestible aspect of our nature the fundamental
human right of self-expression, the right to speak for ourselves
individually and collectively. Inseparably connected with this right
is the right of common association. The principle of self-organization
means self-guidance and self-control.
These words spoken by Dr. tenBroek sixty years ago are for me a
ringing declaration of the independence of the blind. They mean that we
have a right to expect from our government the full protection of the law.
Congress must respect our abilities; agencies of the government must treat
us with equality; and the courts must accord us the dignity granted to all
others. Does this happen? Are we categorized with the honor that is due to
all citizens?
Dr. tenBroek, in addition to being a constitutional scholar, was a
teacher. He asked his students to read a number of decisions adopted by the
Supreme Court of the United States. One of these, Buck v. Bell, which was
adopted in 1927, declares that people with certain disabilities do not have
the same kind of legal protection available to all others. A woman aged
eighteen, Carrie Buck, was determined by an agency of government in
Virginia to be mentally disabled, in the words of the Supreme Court,
feebleminded. She was placed in the "State Colony for Epileptics and
Feebleminded." Prior to her placement in the institution, Carrie Buck had
been raped, and she had given birth to a daughter. Prior to these events,
officials at the institution had declared that Carrie Buck's mother was
feebleminded. Subsequent to Carrie Buck's institutionalization these same
officials declared her daughter to be feebleminded, although at the time of
the determination her daughter was but seven months old. According to one
account the baby's feeblemindedness was determined by looking at her.
Because these officials worried that Carrie Buck might have other children
who they thought might be feebleminded, they decided to perform a
sterilization operation on her without her consent. A statute authorizing
this procedure had been enacted in Virginia in 1924, less than a year
before the decision to perform the operation. The government officials who
ran the institution for the feebleminded wanted to test the
constitutionality of the law, and they decided to use Carrie Buck for their
experiment.
In 1859 Charles Darwin had written his book on the origin of the
species, which asserted that the evolutionary process has been a part of
the development of plants and animals and probably human beings. Heredity
came to be known in the latter part of the 1800s, and it was widely
accepted in the early part of the 1900s. One line of argument which came
from this is the eugenics movement, which asked that hereditary
characteristics of human beings be taken into account to improve the race.
This concept was carried to its extreme in the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.
However, the concept that some people are fit and others not, some people
are the right sort for breeding while others not, that positive traits may
be promoted and negative ones stamped out, became for a time a part of
science and a concept reflected in law. Today some doctors are reasserting
the concept with the idea that examination of a fetus for potential
disabilities before it is born can be used to decide whether it shall live
or die.
However, the Constitution guarantees to persons in the United States
rights of life, liberty, and property that they may exercise freely. In the
case of Carrie Buck, who brought her suit to challenge the Virginia law,
these rights were denied. Rights of life, liberty, and property appear to
mean that she has a right to her own body-it belongs to her. She may
reasonably expect to have the right to establish a home and a family.
However the brief opinion of the Supreme Court (only five paragraphs) held
that her constitutional rights were not violated by the decision of the
state to take from her the ability to bear children. Her disability-one
which later examination casts in doubt-was sufficient, said the court, to
authorize the state to penalize her severely. The only basis of the
decision is that according to the court she possessed a disability.
The opinion declares that Virginia "is supporting in various
institutions many defective persons who if now discharged would become a
menace but if incapable of procreating might be discharged with safety."
The court found that the plaintiff "is the probable potential parent of
socially inadequate offspring" and that the purpose of the statute is "to
prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the
world, [said the court] if instead of waiting to execute degenerate
offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society
can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. . .
. Three generations of imbeciles are enough." In the last sentence of the
text, the court refers to the inmates as people "who otherwise must be kept
confined." Is this confinement protective custody or penal servitude? When
the judge speaks of continuing their kind, does this indicate that the
court believes there are two types of individuals-one known as persons who
have constitutionally guaranteed rights of liberty and property and another
known as individuals who somehow by the possession of disability alone have
lost the status of personhood? The Buck v. Bell case would seem to make
this assertion. It has never been explicitly reversed although the Supreme
Court has twice considered similar cases, once in 1942 and once in 1978.
The court has declared the right to establish one's own family to be
fundamental and consequently entitled to substantial protection under the
Constitution. However, the statute authorizing involuntary sterilization
continued in Virginia into the 1970s.
When I was wondering about this case, I could not imagine what
circumstances came together to bring the facts before the Supreme Court
within three years after the statute became law. A person who is placed in
an institution alleged to possess mental disability does not ordinarily
have financial resources or political connections that would make the
appeals process readily available. How could this have happened? A review
of the record shows that the lawyer representing Carrie Buck, the plaintiff
in this case, had been one of the directors of the institution where she
had been confined. The record shows that he never called Carrie Buck to
testify on her own behalf, and he never called any other witnesses to
testify for her. Another interesting fact is that the superintendent of the
institution where she was confined paid the lawyer's bill. This young woman
never had independent counsel, and she never got her day in court. She was
betrayed, and the system of American justice did nothing to prevent it.
Certain disabled individuals in the United States have been classified in a
category which says that they do not have constitutional rights ever since
that egregious decision was made.
In 1938 Congress adopted the Fair Labor Standards Act, which offered
American workers a right to receive a federally-established minimum wage.
However, the handicapped did not enjoy the same benefits. They were
classified in 1938 as not worthy of the same protections available to the
able-bodied, a classification which persists today. However, in 1986 a
provision was written into the law granting disabled workers a mechanism to
challenge the subminimum wage. Because the payments to be received from
such a challenge are severely restricted, this form of challenge has almost
never been used. However, in 2016 three workers from a sheltered workshop
in Ohio, Joe Magers, Pam Steward, and Mark Felton, brought such a challenge
with the support of the National Federation of the Blind and others.
The administrative law judge who heard the case decided in favor of
the workers, saying that their disabilities had not prevented them from
performing the tasks they had been assigned in the workshop. The judge said
that the classification which had been imposed on these workers of
incompetence was not justified. Although the decision does not state the
matter with the simplicity that it might, the judge appears to have come to
the conclusion that the workers in this case do not appear to be
substantially different from other workers in similar jobs. Because these
workers appear to be regular workers doing regular work, they get the
regular protections that all other workers get. If the workers are to be
treated as an inferior class with inferior protections, the law requires
the employer to demonstrate this inferiority and to show that disability is
the reason for it. Because the employer did not make this demonstration,
the so-called special minimum wage (read "subminimum" for that word
"special") does not apply.
The Buck v. Bell decision was made by the Supreme Court. The Ohio
minimum wage case was decided by an administrative law judge. The first
classifies persons with disabilities as incompetent. The second classifies
workers who incidentally have disabilities as regular productive people.
The contrast is striking.
What the judges think disability means makes all the difference. The
tyranny of low expectations diminishes productive capacity. Those who are
told that they do not have ability modify their behavior accordingly. When
disabled workers are classified as incompetent, training programs to teach
competence become unavailable. Both the training in the skills to do the
work and the attitude of managers and employees come together to assure
that nonproductive behavior is the norm. But the exact opposite is also
true. Those who are challenged to produce superior work very often do
exactly that. The expectations determine the outcome.
An article that appeared on the Forbes website on May 19, 2016, tells
us that disabled people receiving subminimum wages cannot possibly deserve
better because they are incompetent-incapable of earning the $7.25 an hour
currently guaranteed by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The author of the
article, Tim Worstall, a fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London,
declares that disabled employees receiving subminimum wages have their jobs
as a matter of charity. The incompetent disabled workers get to remain at
their work because of the benevolent generosity of the bosses that hired
them. Of course, the bosses do not receive subminimum wages, not even
close. Some years ago the head of Goodwill Industries International, which
pays many of its disabled workers less than the minimum wage, was being
paid more than half a million dollars a year, and some Goodwill executives
were getting more than a million dollars a year.
The subminimum wage jobs being performed by disabled workers do offer
benefits, says Worstall, something to keep the disabled busy during the
day, a feeling of self-worth, and a little pocket money. What would the
disabled do all day without this charity? Among the many bombastic
pronouncements of Mr. Worstall is the assertion that the National
Federation of the Blind is "remarkably silly" for promoting minimum wage
protection for disabled people. However, as we have said for more than half
a century, we will speak for ourselves, and we will not permit any self-
important uninformed bigot to represent our interests. He tells us that
nature has been unkind to us-we have disabilities after all. It would be
even more unkind to give us the protection of the law. Protect us from the
so-called kindness of strangers.
What does all of this mean for us, for the members of the National
Federation of the Blind? How do we respond to the prejudice expressed by
the Supreme Court or by major news outlets? At the outset we must assess
the damage inflicted by these institutions. The story that appeared on the
Forbes website got there because we are making significant headway in
bringing the exploitation of the subminimum wage law to the attention of
the public. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the principal democratic
candidates for president in 2016, have both indicated that the subminimum
wage authorization must be eliminated. When in the past have two declared
candidates for president taken such a strong position to protect the rights
of the disabled?
On the other hand, the Supreme Court has the power to insist upon a
classification of disabled people that denies us the same rights that other
people are granted routinely, but it also has the power to recognize our
value and our fundamental rights. Almost nobody has ever heard of the Buck
v. Bell case, and the Supreme Court itself rarely remembers the decision.
Although not as well-known as constitutional rights, disability rights have
earned a place in the lexicon of the legal profession. Many law schools
teach the principles and disciplines involved. Seminars on the topic occur,
and we ourselves conduct one of the most well-known. Beyond all of this,
disabled people have heard of disability rights, and we are more active
than we have ever been.
Judges who sit on the Supreme Court are an elite group. They have not
generally faced the challenge that disability demands, and they have not
found the strength to make this challenge an asset. However, we have done
both, and we must teach them what they need to know to recognize that all
of us have the right to participate in the promises of equality and freedom
that make our nation what it is.
What we say to the Supreme Court is this. No more Buck v. Bell. No
more will we be known as a menace to society. No longer will we be known as
socially inadequate. No longer will we tolerate the accusation that we sap
the strength of the state or that our presence will cause it to be swamped
with incompetence. We will not tolerate the accusation that we are
degenerates, more likely to commit crime than others, or "manifestly unfit"
for a place in the society of which we are a part. Those who can say
without doubt or hesitation that three generations of imbeciles are enough
may justly be subjected to scrutiny regarding their own knowledge or moral
rectitude. The problem with the decision in Buck v. Bell is that those who
made it possessed a colossal ego and an equally colossal ignorance. They
did not know what they were talking about. Furthermore, they were careless
about the nature of the law they were expected to enforce. The strength of
our nation, the strength of our system of government comes in substantial
part from the guarantee that such classification cannot be made.
To ensure that such classifications do not happen again, we have set
about a plan to assist disabled individuals in becoming part of the elite.
We have decided to help them become judges. We have decided to help them
find their way to participation in the decision-making process. We will not
be shut out of the protection of the law. Instead, we will become a part of
it. As this program comes to fruition, we will be an important element of
creating the legal structure that defines our rights. This is the
determination of the National Federation of the Blind.
Are we allowed? What an impertinent question! Who on earth could have
the immortal gall to suggest that such a question is proper? Decisions
about our lives must not be made by others; they belong to us! With time
and work we will bring about the understanding we need. The government and
the public will support us, but we must make the choices and take the
risks. In the long run the government reports, the history books, and the
legal treatises will reflect the reality of what we are, and our freedom
will be won!
--------
Advocacy and Policy Report
by John Paré, Parnell Diggs, Derek Manners, and Gabe Cazares
From the Editor: One of my favorite parts of the convention has
always been the report from the policy and advocacy team, for in one
presentation I am able to feel pride in all of the things we do and at the
same time figure out what I am to do to further our work in the halls of
Congress and the offices of the administration. What follows is a report on
the legislation we support and how those of us can, from our homes, reach
out to public officials and make a difference in policies regarding blind
people.
[PHOTO CAPTION: John Paré]
John Paré: Why is the National Federation of the Blind so successful
with advocacy? Why do some members of Congress call us "the most effective
advocacy group in Washington"? Why are we able to get so much done when
other, larger groups are doing so little? I believe that the answer to this
question is that what we do is personally important to each one of us. We
fight to raise expectations for blind people because every day every one of
us experiences the consequences of low expectations. Whether it is
inaccessible technology, barriers to education, discrimination in the
workplace, denial of the custody of one's own child, or even something as
simple as crossing the street, we have all been personally affected by
society's low expectations and misunderstandings of what it is like to be
blind.
Here is a recent experience of my own: on May 6 I traveled to south
Florida to visit my mom for Mother's Day. My sister and brother-in-law
picked me up at the airport. On the way to my mom's, we stopped at a
restaurant for dinner. I had not seen either of them for quite a while, and
we were immediately immersed in conversation. Suddenly a man approached the
table and asked if I was blind. Before I could answer he announced to the
restaurant that he wanted to touch my eyes and pray for the return of my
eyesight. I have no objection to prayer, even publicly. But I was irritated
that this man felt the need to interrupt my family dinner because he
perceived me as less fortunate than himself. I cannot help thinking that he
saw me as someone who was defined by my blindness, someone who could not
possibly be happy unless I could see, someone who was broken and sick,
someone who needed to be fixed and returned to good health.
Unfortunately incidents like this one are not rare. We have all
experienced low expectations, not only from random strangers, but from our
teachers, our coworkers, and even our own family members. These low
expectations are pernicious-not only because they upset or embarrass us.
They affect our education, our employment, our wages, and much more. We
know from everyday experience that these low expectations are not figments
of our imagination and that they are deeply hurtful and harmful. When we
don't get fair wages, that's personal. When we can't access our coursework
because of inaccessible technology, that's personal. When a website is
inaccessible and our government tells us to wait-now six years and counting-
before it will even issue regulations, that's personal. I know how personal
it is because I have felt the hurt and humiliation of low expectations in
my own life. When I speak to members of Congress, I draw on your energy,
your passion, your determination, and your experiences. I tell them that we
will not accept low expectations and second-class citizenship anymore
[applause]. I tell them that we will not accept the second-class
citizenship, and that we will work to eliminate the barriers of pity
erected by low expectations. And they believe me because they have met all
of you, and they know that we share a common determination and a common
effort. Because for all of us, it's personal.
Speaking of personal, let's talk a little about NFB-NEWSLINE®. NFB-
NEWSLINE is what first introduced me to the National Federation of the
Blind. NFB-NEWSLINE is the largest, most effective accessible newspaper
service for the blind anywhere in the world. It was conceived, designed,
and implemented by the blind, for the blind. NFB-NEWSLINE is available in
forty-six states plus the District of Columbia. It has over 112,000
subscribers, 343 domestic newspapers, sixteen international newspapers,
twenty breaking-news sources, and fifty-one magazines. Over the last year
NFB-NEWSLINE subscribers have enjoyed over thirty-seven million minutes of
news, made over two million phone calls, received over two million emailed
messages, logged on to our web portal over three million times, and
accessed our mobile app over 332,000 times [applause]. NFB-NEWSLINE now has
all of the jobs in the USA Jobs database. This database includes thousands
of job opportunities across hundreds of federal agencies and organizations.
We've added a new NFB National channel. Offerings on the NFB National
channel include: the Braille Monitor, Future Reflections, and the
Presidential Release. We have improved our Target advertisements, which now
include all of the information in Target's print advertisements. We have
also improved our NFB-NEWSLINE app. Enhancements include a new global
search feature, improved weather alerts, and streamlined TV listings.
The Department of Advocacy and Policy is also responsible for our
public relations efforts. I am proud that public relations and media
strategy are effective tools for us; here's one example: on August 20,
2015, we put out a press release saying that we would protest a meeting of
the New York City Department of Education because it planned to enter into
a contract with Amazon for the purchase of inaccessible educational
content. On August 25, the day before the planned protest, New York City
school officials announced that they planned to postpone the vote on the
contract [applause]. Coincidence? I don't think so, and neither did the
media. Chris Danielsen, our director of public relations, got a call from
the New York Daily News wanting to know what happened. The next day the
paper reported that the contract had been delayed due to accessibility
issues. Not only did we get the attention of the New York City Public
School System; we also got the attention of Amazon. Now Amazon is
collaborating with us to make all of its educational content accessible
[applause].
People sometimes ask me, "When will the National Federation of the
Blind say that its work is done?" I tell them: as soon as every blind child
is taught Braille. As soon as every website is accessible. As soon as every
blind person is being paid at least the prevailing wage. As soon as every
blind college student has full access to their course material. As soon as
every blind person has access to a fully accessible voting process. In
short, as soon as every blind person has the opportunity to live the lives
we want on terms of equality [cheers, applause]. I tell them that each one
of us is prepared to work every hour of every day of every year for the
rest of our lives. I tell them that we do not approach these objectives as
a job, but as a mission, and that this mission is personal [applause]. I
tell them that we intend to live the lives we want and that we will never
stop advocating, never stop working, never stop protesting until we have
achieved these goals for every blind person in America! Let's build the
Federation!
Now we have a really great legislative team who's now going to go
through and give you more detail about some of the great legislative work
that is occurring and a lot of the work that we're doing directly with
every single one of you in this room. I want to begin with our director of
governmental affairs, here is Parnell Diggs:
[PHOTO CAPTION: Parnell Diggs]
Parnell Diggs: Thank you so much for that warm welcome. Mr.
President, fellow Federationists, let me begin by thanking you, my
Federation family, for the work that you do each day to move our
legislative priorities forward. Your advocacy sounds a tone that resonates
in the halls of Congress throughout the year. Of course it begins with the
Washington Seminar, but it is your vigilance week after week and month
after month, long after we depart from the Washington Seminar which drives
our work on Capitol Hill. Before I ask Derek and Gabe to discuss our
legislative priorities, I want to give you a glimpse of Federation advocacy
across the spectrum of federal and state government.
As we gather here in Orlando, for example, the Department of
Transportation is considering regulations related to the operation of
autonomous vehicles. The Department of Transportation has announced that it
wants to reduce the number of traffic fatalities, 94 percent of which-
according to recent statistics-are attributable to human error. If the
government intends to reduce driving to the mere act of typing in
coordinates, shouldn't blind people be able to drive as well? In April
President Riccobono asked me to represent us at a hearing conducted at the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Their proponents argued
that the proliferation of autonomous vehicles will be wonderful for people
with disabilities. If benefiting people with disabilities is going to be a
talking point for manufacturers of autonomous vehicle technology, shouldn't
the technology be accessible to blind people as well? We have done more in
this space than anyone else in the world, and we intend to remain out front
in this dialogue.
Yesterday President Riccobono reported on the development of a new
model parental rights bill. Under our new model legislation there are three
layers of protection, three procedural safeguards which apply if a court is
inclined to deny custody to a blind parent or a prospective blind parent:
first a party suggesting that blindness is a factor in the ability to
provide appropriate parental care-that party must show by clear and
convincing evidence that somehow the blind parent is not fit. But even if
that standard for some reason is met, we move to the second layer of
protection: the blind parent has the opportunity to seek supportive
parenting services such as training at an NFB center [applause] to address
any concerns that the court or others may have. And finally, if the court
still thinks that the blind parent is unfit, then the judge-and this is the
third procedural safeguard-must set forth in writing why the provision of
supportive parenting services is not a reasonable accommodation. I want you
to learn about those procedural safeguards, I want you to get a copy of
that bill off of NFB.org, I want you to get it introduced in your state
legislatures across the country, and I want to protect the rights of blind
parents all across America on this very day [applause]! And by the way, a
shout-out to the state of Maryland and President Sharon Maneki for passing
a version of our model legislation. Congratulations guys, I know others
will be following soon as well.
I have one final item that I want to talk to you about. We've been
talking during the course of this convention about our efforts, our
organized response, to the recent announcement by the Department of Justice
that intends to delay further the release of technical standards about
internet access regarding state and local government websites. If you have
attempted to acquire a state ID, register to vote, or if you've tried to
sign up for classes or check grades at a public college or university
website, I need you to visit NFB.org. Under the "What's New" follow the
links there right to our easy-to-complete, very accessible web form. I need
you to tell us your story, good or bad. It might be a good experience, it
might be a bad experience, but we need to show the Department of Justice
that we the blind do care! We the blind do care about internet access and
engagement in public activities and taking an opportunity to participate in
the programs, services, and activities available on those websites.
President Obama called it, "the most important updates since the enactment
of the ADA itself." Yet, we've waited six years, and the Department of
Justice has told us that we need to wait even longer. It is time for us to
respond-now. Upload the regs now, upload the regs now, upload the regs now!
[applause]
I'm going to introduce my good friend now, who has been working for
us as our advocacy and policy analyst at the National Federation of the
Blind Jernigan Institute. He's going to talk to you about a few legislative
issues, and then he in turn will introduce another very good friend of
mine, Mr. Gabe Cazares. But for now, ladies and gentlemen, would you give a
warm Federation welcome to Mr. Derek Manners.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Derek Manners]
Derek Manners: Howdy, fellow Federationists. Many of you may not know
me, but I want to briefly share with you a little of my life story. When I
was in high school, I was placed in a subminimum wage job by my guidance
counselor because she thought that I, as a blind person, would not be able
to compete with my sighted peers for competitive employment. I was paid
$2.25 an hour while my sighted peers were paid $8 an hour. After three
months my employer made me the manager and gave me the ability to hire and
fire these same people who were making almost four times more than me
[applause]. I subsequently graduated high school and recently graduated law
school. I will be joining a DC law firm in September, earning a competitive
wage with other first-year lawyers. I'm sure this story doesn't surprise
anybody in this room. The National Federation of the Blind has always known
that we can compete with our sighted peers and that Section 14(c) of the
Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, is based on the same antiquated
notion that allowed my first job to directly discriminate against me and
has allowed discrimination against many others in this room here today.
This is why we've been fighting this practice for decades. While we
continue to urge Congress to pass the TIME Act [Transitioning to Integrated
and Meaningful Employment], action is happening across the country.
Massachusetts just finished their phase-out of the subminimum wage last
month. Maryland signed into law a statewide phase-out similar to that one
passed in New Hampshire last year. I believe that we have the momentum on
our side, and with your continued engagement we will see this unethical and
discriminatory treatment of the nation's blind end all across the United
States [applause].
Speaking of momentum, we've got a ton of that in our effort to ensure
that all disabled veterans have access to the Space Available Program. For
those of you who don't know, only veterans injured on or after September
23, 1996, can participate in the Space Available Program, which allows
qualifying veterans to travel on unused seats on military operated or
chartered flights. Our blind veterans who have fought against Hitler, the
spread of Communism, and Saddam Hussein's aggression in the first Gulf War
are currently excluded because of a technical error. Because of your
tremendous support for our heroes, the House passed section 1046 in this
year's National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA], which would allow all
veterans medically discharged due to a disability the ability to have the
same honor that only some of those brave men and women have today. The only
thing standing in our way for passing this law is Senator John McCain. For
some reason he and his staff so far have been unwilling to allow all
disabled veterans the benefit they have earned through their tremendous
sacrifice. That's why I'm asking each and every one of you to call Senator
John McCain's office tomorrow when they open up for business from the July
4 holiday. The phone number is (202) 224-2235. Don't worry, I know most of
you aren't taking notes; that's okay. We will send out an email tomorrow
with this included, but please make this call. We are asking him to include
section 1046 of the House NDAA in the final NDAA passed by both chambers so
that all disabled veterans can be honored for their sacrifice to keep us
free [applause]. Our veterans have our back every day; it's time for us to
return the favor. We, the National Federation of the Blind, will not rest
until there is not a single worker with a disability working in a
subminimum wage job, and every veteran discharged due to a disability is
treated with the same dignity and respect as their fellow veterans. I have
more faith than ever that with love, hope, and determination we will
transform these dreams into reality. Thank you, Federation family.
Now I would like to introduce my buddy Gabe Cazares.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Gabe Cazares]
Gabe Cazares: Howdy, fellow Federationists [cheers]. Now everyone
knows where the Texas delegation is. Today being Independence Day, I am
reflecting on some of the words the framers of our more perfect union
penned in the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created equal." As members of the National
Federation of the Blind, we understand first-hand the fight for equality,
whether that be fighting for an equal educational opportunity or fighting
for equal access to the printed word. Last year the national convention
passed resolution 2015-02, calling upon the Obama administration and the
interagency working group to wrap up its work and transmit the Marrakesh
Treaty, along with its ratification and implementing legislation packages,
to the Senate with minimal or no changes to existing law. Thanks to
hundreds of tweets, emails, and phone calls from you to officials in the
administration, the administration did just that in February of 2016
[applause]. Now, as we usually do, the National Federation of the Blind is
leading the way to ensure that the United States Senate promptly provides
its advice and consent for ratification. By ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty,
we will be expanding the availability of accessible published works, both
here in the United States as well as around the world. However, our work is
not done. I know that no one moves a policy agenda like members of the
National Federation of the Blind, so I am confident that we will get the
job done.
Equal access to educational opportunities level the playing field for
our blind students. Ensuring that institutions of higher education deploy
only technology that is inclusive and accessible to all students, including
those who are blind, has been a top priority for our organization for a
number of years now. And let me tell you, Federation family, having been on
the front lines of these discussions for a year now, no one is doing more
to protect the rights of blind students than the National Federation of the
Blind. We are leaders in this space, and don't ever allow anyone to tell
you otherwise. At last year's national convention, I told you that the
higher education lobby was at the table but they were not hearing us. Now I
can tell you that not only are they still at the table, they are hearing us
loud and clear [applause]. Approximately two weeks ago we reached an
agreement with the higher education lobby as well as other industry groups
representing developers and manufacturers of post-secondary electronic
instructional materials on legislative language. Congressman Phil Roe from
Tennessee's First Congressional District has agreed to sponsor our
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act [applause].
This victory would not be possible without President Riccobono's
steadfast commitment to digital accessibility, his guidance, his
leadership, and his willingness to apply pressure on the higher education
group when it was necessary. But he can't do it all alone, and that is the
beauty of our movement: he doesn't have to. The National Federation of the
Blind of Tennessee and its president, James Brown, is also playing an
integral role in this process by building and maintaining a relationship
with Dr. Roe and his staff and by steadily encouraging the congressman to
take the lead on this legislative initiative. The higher education lobby
and the representatives of developers and manufacturers are engaged, the
bill language is done, the sponsor is lined up, and our bill will be
introduced very soon, but there is still more work to be done.
Other groups who have been on the fringes during this process have
criticized our work, saying that we gave too much, that we aren't getting
anything in return, and that we should sit quietly and wait for future
regulations. And I suppose that's an easy view to have when you have no
skin in the game, when you are not leading in this space, when ensuring
blind students' digital accessibility is not your top priority. But that is
not the Federation way. The National Federation of the Blind knows that
blindness is not the characteristic that defines us or our future, and we
refuse to sit on the sidelines and wait for someone else to do the hard
work [applause]. Armed with the stories of the National Association of
Blind Students, our experience as blind people, and the power of collective
action through our Federation, we are changing the paradigm of digital
accessibility for blind students in the United States, and we're doing it
now. Will it be easy? No. Will there be obstacles along the way?
Absolutely. But with love, hope, and determination we will transform
digital accessibility into reality. Thank you for giving me the privilege
of working for our movement. Let's go build the National Federation of the
Blind. Thank you very much [applause].
---------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Fredric K. Schroeder]
The Blind in the World: Leadership, Philosophy, and Action on a Global
Scale
by Fredric K. Schroeder, PhD
July 4, 2016
From the Editor: Fredric Schroeder is one of the most dynamic and
thought-provoking people I have the pleasure to know, and it is a delight
when he comes to deliver an address to the convention of the National
Federation of the Blind. He made an address in 2016, and here is what he
said:
We often find wisdom in the most unlikely places. Recently, I came
across the following: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment,
until it becomes a memory." These words, spoken by the famed children's
author Dr. Seuss, capture a simple yet profound truth. The actions we take
today may not seem earthshaking or even important, but it is the collective
impact of action upon action, moment upon moment that shapes history,
forces social change, and moves mountains.
No class of people has faced greater, seemingly insurmountable
mountains of marginalization, mountains of exclusion, mountains of lost
opportunity than have we, the blind. The mountains we face are formidable,
but we know with certainty and in our hearts that our cause is just and our
goals achievable, if only we take action; or, as Dr. Seuss puts it: "You're
off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so... get
on your way!"
For most of our history, our efforts have been directed toward making
change within our own country, but the world is getting smaller-more
interdependent-a process known as globalization; and nothing has
contributed more to economic and cultural globalization than the
exponential development of technology; and that is true for the blind as
well as the sighted.
While technology has made access to print greater than at any time in
history, still it is estimated that fewer than five percent of published
works are available to the blind-fewer than one percent in developing
countries. For many years we in the National Federation of the Blind and
blind people around the world have worked to modify national copyright laws
to permit production of books into Braille and other accessible formats.
Still, with globalization we recognized that, while an important start,
country-by-country solutions were not enough to end what has come to be
known as the book famine facing the blind.
This is why the National Federation of the Blind worked actively with
the World Blind Union and its Right to Read Campaign. The Right to Read
Campaign called on the United Nations to adopt an international treaty to
allow accessible books and other materials to be shared across national
borders, and our efforts have been dramatically and profoundly successful.
As you will remember, on June 27, 2013, the United Nations World
Intellectual Property Organization adopted the "Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually
Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled."
Before countries could begin sharing accessible books, the Marrakesh
Treaty had to be ratified by twenty countries, and just four days ago, on
June 30, 2016, we reached that magic number when Canada deposited its
Marrakesh Treaty ratification documents. Now that twenty countries have
ratified the treaty, it will go into force in three months, September 30,
2016. Sadly, the United States is not among the twenty countries that have
ratified the treaty. That means that, even when the treaty goes into force,
we in the United States will be left out-unable to import or export
accessible works until or unless the United States Senate ratifies the
Marrakesh Treaty. That is why we must work together to convince the Senate
to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty and to ratify it now. Will we succeed? Well,
as Dr. Seuss reassures us: "Yes you will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent
guaranteed.)"
Another example of globalization is the steady increase in the number
of hybrid and electric cars. As we well know, hybrid and electric cars are
essentially silent when traveling at slow speeds, thereby posing a
significant danger to blind and other pedestrians. As a result of our
advocacy in the United States, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act was
signed into law on January 4, 2011. The Act requires hybrid and electric
vehicles sold in the United States to emit an alert sound. Still, with
globalization we knew that the danger posed by hybrid and electric vehicles
was not limited to blind people living in the United States. If a quiet car
is deadly here, it is just as deadly somewhere else.
This is why, on February 20, 2008, then Federation President Dr. Marc
Maurer traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to call on the United Nations to
establish an international standard requiring hybrid and electric vehicles
to be fitted with an audible alert warning. As a result of Dr. Maurer's
presentation, titled "The Dangers Posed by Silent Vehicles," the United
Nations World Forum on Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)
established a technical working group to develop a minimum sound standard
for hybrid and electric cars.
Over the ensuing years, John Paré has represented the National
Federation of the Blind, and I have represented the World Blind Union. We
have fought hard for what we believe are essential, commonsense
requirements for a pedestrian alert device, but the negotiations have not
always been easy. Since the majority of the members on the working group
are sound engineers, they have been concerned that the alert sound not add
unnecessary "noise" into the environment. In other words, they want the
sound to be just loud enough and no louder. By contrast, we believe the
sound must be sufficient to enable a blind pedestrian to identify the
approach of a hybrid or electric vehicle in approximately the same time as
the blind pedestrian can identify the approach of a vehicle that has an
ordinary internal combustion engine. This has been a much more contentious
issue than you may imagine.
At one point in the discussions, a member of the working group said
that in his country the law requires drivers to be alert to the presence of
pedestrians. He said that the alert sound does not need to be loud enough
to enable the blind pedestrian to make a safe crossing decision, only loud
enough to prevent a blind pedestrian from stepping out into the road
without giving the driver enough time to stop. Not wanting to put my life
in the hands of a driver who may or may not be paying attention, who may or
may not be texting, who may or may not be daydreaming, I finally said I do
not want my tombstone to read: "He had the right of way."
Believe it or not, another major issue has been whether to allow the
installation of a switch that would enable the driver to turn off the alert
sound whenever he or she wishes-yes, you heard correctly: a switch that
would allow the driver to turn off the alert sound. The logic is that the
sound may be annoying to the driver. In another fit of pique, I once said,
"I would find being run over by a quiet car quite annoying, and I suspect
other blind people would as well."
Still, we have made progress, dramatic progress, progress worth
celebrating. As a result of our efforts, in March 2016, a limited
international regulation was formally adopted requiring hybrid and electric
vehicles to be equipped with an alert sound device. While a very good
start, it is only a start. The regulation is only binding on fifty
countries around the world. Now we are focusing on developing a treaty that
will cover many more countries through what is called a Global Technical
Regulation.
As we work toward developing a Global Technical Regulation, the
regulations implementing the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act here at home
take on even greater importance. With globalization, countries look to the
work of other countries when developing their own standards. This is why it
is vital that we redouble our efforts to get the US Department of
Transportation to publish the long overdue regulations implementing the
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act. It is up to us, and will we take action?
As Dr. Seuss advises: "Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will
be remembered." The regulations are vital to the blind of the United
States, and they are vital to the blind of the world. And there is more.
Access to the web is rapidly becoming a daily necessity-perhaps it
already is. Six years ago, at a ceremony commemorating the 20th Anniversary
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), President Obama announced
that he had directed the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to update the ADA
regulations to reflect changes in technology, especially as they relate to
web accessibility.
Incredibly and inexplicably, on April 28, 2016, after a nearly six
year delay in publishing the ADA web accessibility regulations, the DOJ
announced that it was starting the process over, stating that it intended
to "refresh" the regulatory process. The DOJ explained that it needed to
collect more information on the "costs and benefits" associated with making
websites accessible. "Costs and benefits?" Really? What a sad and
disappointing commentary. Today web accessibility is essential in virtually
every aspect of life, but the DOJ wants to make sure that requiring
websites to be accessible to the blind does not cost too much; protecting
our civil rights does not cost too much; giving the blind access to public
services available to others does not cost too much. DOJ's announcement
that it is "refreshing" the regulatory process by considering the "costs
and benefits" of web accessibility can only be seen as a retreat-no, more
than a retreat-a betrayal of the ADA's promise of equal access; and not
just for the blind of America.
While the ADA Title II web accessibility regulations will only apply
to public entities in the United States, given globalization, our ADA web
accessibility regulations will have implications for other countries as
they develop their own web accessibility standards. Web accessibility is
vital to us, the blind of the United States, and it is vital to the blind
of the world.
In spite of the progress we have already made-perhaps because of the
progress we have already made-we must not weaken in our determination to
continue chipping away at the mountain of exclusion that separates us from
society, separates us from full participation and equal opportunity. The
responsibility is ours. As Dr. Seuss tells us: "You have brains in your
head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you
choose." And he says, "With your head full of brains and your shoes full of
feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street."
We must call on the United States Senate to ratify the Marrakesh
treaty; we must call on the United States Department of Transportation to
release the regulations implementing the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act;
and we must press the US Department of Justice to publish the ADA web
accessibility regulations and to publish them now.
We face many challenges, many problems, some would say many troubles,
but as Dr. Seuss says: "Now my troubles are going to have troubles with
me!" We will not give up-we will not give in. It will take hard work; it
will take commitment and energy; and most of all it will take imagination,
and that is something we have plenty of. Dr. Seuss says: "Think left and
think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up
if only you try!"
We know the truth about blindness, and it is an immutable truth, yes,
distorted by misconception, clouded in prejudice and tradition, but the
truth, nonetheless. We will surmount the mountain of exclusion that stands
between us and our dreams, between us and full participation, and we will
live the lives we want. We will surmount the mountain of exclusion the same
way we have defeated countless barriers throughout our history: by standing
together; by working together; by uniting our ability and energy; by caring
deeply and sincerely about one another; and by recognizing that the future
is up to us-up to us collectively, and up to us individually, up to me and
up to you. So, let me end as I began, with Dr. Seuss's words of quiet
wisdom: "Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive
who is you-er than you!" And "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful
lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." So: "You're off to great
places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so... get on your
way!" Because: "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until
it becomes a memory."
--------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jordyn Castor]
Slam That! Living the Life She Wants Begins with the Federation
by Jordyn Castor
From the Editor: One of the most moving presentations at the National
Convention came from a person who was a student in our Youth Slam programs.
In this presentation she manages to discuss the triumphs and heartbreaks
found in traveling through the education system, the encouragement that can
come from meeting blind people who believe she had talent, and the joy one
feels when graduating from college and landing a job in a company as
prestigious as Apple. Here is what Jordan said:
Good morning, Federation family! It is such an honor and a privilege
to be speaking with you today. I've been dreaming of this day ever since I
attended my first NFB convention in 2009 in Detroit. The first time I heard
Dr. Maurer speak at the March for Independence I became so empowered and
excited about joining the Federation that I was in tears. I knew from that
moment forward that I would be a Federationist for life [applause].
Being a member of the Federation has shaped and molded me into the
person I am today, and I'd like to share a bit of my journey with you. I
was born in the lovely state of Michigan, fifteen weeks early, weighing
only one pound, nine ounces. The doctors told my mother that I had a slim
chance of survival. They said if I survived I would have many disabilities
and my quality of life would be poor. I was so small my grandfather could
hold me in the palm of his hands; his wedding ring could fit around my arm
and slide all the way up to my shoulder. But my family believed in me from
the start. They knew I would overcome any challenges I faced. When they
asked my mother what she wanted to do, her answer came without any
hesitation: save this child [applause]. And with that statement, my mother
gave me my first opportunity: the opportunity of life.
Now I was the first child, and my mom was determined to treat me as
she would any other child without a disability. My parents were always
pushing me to learn new skills and had really high expectations for me. I
had a lovely and fun childhood, participating in many activities such as
goalball, bike riding, and rollerblading. I was always very curious,
wanting to touch and play with anything I could get my hands on. I loved
reading, and before I learned Braille or had any experience with
technology, I would memorize my books page by page. When I entered
elementary school, I loved it. I had amazing teachers and many friends.
From the beginning my teacher for the blind emphasized the importance
of learning Braille [applause]. She helped me to understand that Braille is
the key to literacy and employment for the blind and would not allow me to
use any technology in the classroom until I was proficient in grade 2 and
Nemeth Braille [applause].
Although I didn't use technology heavily in the classroom until about
the fifth or sixth grade, my love of technology started in the second grade
when my family purchased our first desktop computer. I was fascinated with
what the computer could do for me and others like me and had dreams of
inventing a computer that could produce Braille someday. My teachers would
hand me a piece of technology and they'd say, "Here, play with this. Figure
it out, and then show us how to use it." I would spend hours playing with
applications on the computer, looking at my email, and IMing [instant
messaging] my friends. Little did I know the enormous role technology would
play for me in the coming years.
One of my most treasured experiences in elementary school was
participating in the Buddy Program. My friend and I would play with
children on the autism spectrum at recess, and I realized then that these
children wanted what every other little kid wanted-a friend; someone to
share cookies and chips with at lunch; someone to slide down the twisty
slide with while it was covered in snow, because, well, that made you slide
down faster. Through those three amazing years, I watched my friends' lives
change and transform. And with that my teachers gave me the opportunity to
learn that giving back and helping others with disabilities was what I
wanted to do as a career for the rest of my life.
But my childhood wasn't always a plethora of treasured memories and
experiences. Around the age of thirteen I began to experience a feeling of
isolation and loneliness I'm sure many of us know very well. When I
attended middle school, I started to realize something was different about
me. My elementary school friends no longer thought it was the cool and
popular thing to do to hang out with the blind kid. Teachers and others
treated me differently. I found myself alone at the lunch table, excluded
from groups at school, and with no one to talk to in class. I was the only
blind student mainstreamed into my particular elementary and middle
schools, so most students and teachers had never seen or worked with a
blind person before. My knowledge of other blind students and adults in the
area was extremely limited, and I felt as though I was the only blind
person in the entire world-it was so tough.
However, my life, my views, and my attitudes towards blindness began
to change in the summer of 2006 when I attended a games and technology camp
at Camp Tuhsmeheta, affectionately known as "Camp T." This is a camp
specifically for blind students run by blind staff. Camp T was where I
first encountered the NFB philosophy and where I was influenced by
successful blind adults like J. J. Meddaugh and George Wurtzel, who showed
me that everything would be just fine and that blindness did not have to
hold me back from pursuing my dreams [applause]. Having blind friends and
mentors is crucial to success. The individuals that I met at camp that
summer are still great friends and mentors to this day, and I'm so grateful
for everyone that I met that summer because they helped pull me out of the
darkest place I've ever been. When I went back to school that year my
confidence was completely restored, and I knew that everything would be all
right, no matter what battles lay ahead.
In the summer of 2007 my perceptions and expectations of what a blind
person could achieve as a career were absolutely shattered as I attended a
STEM academy known as the NFB Youth Slam! [applause] I participated in the
computer science track, where I wrote my very first computer program. I
wrote a chatbot that could look up weather, news, dictionary definitions,
and even play fun games such as Simon Says. Having instructors such as Jeff
Bingham, and successful blind independent mentors such as Lindsay Yazzolino
who believed in us and our ability to program was so empowering because it
showed me that computer science was a possible career for me. I absolutely
loved programming and was hooked. I was very emotional when I had to leave
because I felt that the opportunity to program a piece of software was a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I might never have again.
One of the key phrases at Youth Slam was "Slam that!" Every time
people said that blind people couldn't participate in STEM-related
activities we'd say, "Slam that!" Throughout the week, whether it was
dissecting sharks, programming chatbots, or launching rockets, we realized
that no dream was too big for us to achieve. Blindness did not define us
[applause]. With the right tools, technology, resources, and support from
our friends and family in the NFB, we could go anywhere and do anything we
set our minds to.
Throughout the remainder of high school, I participated in other NFB
programs, including a second Youth Slam and multiple leadership academies.
At the 2009 Youth Slam, I participated in the astronomy track, where we
touched space equipment in Shuttle Discovery in 2011 and felt tactile
graphics of images taken from space telescopes-I still actually have my
tactile graphic of Jupiter. At the NFB leadership academies, we learned
about NFB philosophy and were empowered by blind mentors. At one particular
leadership academy we had the choice of doing a variety of evening
activities such as: learning to play goalball, taking apart a computer, and
applying makeup. Now the class that I chose was not the class for applying
makeup, but the one for learning how to operate a chainsaw. My instructor
was Mark Riccobono [applause], and we all wore sleepshades as we sawed logs
and broke down the barriers of blindness. Participating in NFB activities
has shattered even my own perceptions of what a blind person can achieve,
and my NFB family continues to challenge, push, and inspire me beyond what
I even thought was possible.
After graduating from high school, I attended Michigan State
University [cheers] where I chose to receive my degree in computer science,
but I faced many challenges along the way. Professors would say things
like, "Are you sure you want to do this?" And I'd think to myself, "Slam
that!" They'd say, "Isn't there a field that's more suited to you?" And
again the only thing running through my mind was, "Slam that!" I had to
develop strategies with my professors to make seemingly-visual projects
accessible to me. For example, we had to create an aquarium and software to
animate cartoon characters, and the tools that we used to write our
software were not always the most accessible. So I found myself memorizing
my code files and the locations of my various functions and classes, just
like I would memorize every page of my books when I was younger. Even
though there were some individuals who did not believe that I could achieve
my dream of becoming a software engineer, many people did. The Resource
Center for Persons with Disabilities at Michigan State was instrumental to
my success in college as they helped by providing Braille math and science
textbooks as well as 3-D printed models for calculus and physics. I leaned
on my NFB family and friends when the challenges seemed to be greater than
I could handle. Being a part of the NFB has allowed me to connect with
members all over the world, to share tips, tricks, and advice for
navigating the world of college-and not only that, but life as a
professional as well. And this, coupled with my desire to help others with
disabilities, got me to keep going, even though sometimes I wanted to give
up.
I had internships helping to make software accessible at USAA in San
Antonio, Goldman Sachs in New York City, and Apple in Cupertino [applause].
Last December I became the first totally blind undergraduate student to
receive my degree in computer science from Michigan State [applause]. After
graduation I moved to San Francisco to start my career as a software
engineer. I now work at Apple full-time on the Accessibility Team
[applause, cheers]. My job is incredible. I work with a passionate team of
individuals dedicated to ensuring the accessibility of all of our products
and features for everyone. Through my work enhancing the quality of
features such as VoiceOver, I am able to give back to the blindness
community that has given so much to me, as well as to make technology more
accessible than ever for the future generations of blind people. I am so
blessed and grateful for this opportunity.
The author Tasha Hoggatt says, "You must never doubt your ability to
achieve anything, become anything, overcome anything, and inspire
everything." I would not be where I am today without the encouragement and
support of my family, friends, and NFB family pushing me to strive for
greatness and never to give up. Thank you to my mom for believing that I
had a fighting chance and that I would overcome any obstacles placed before
me even though the doctors felt otherwise; to my instructor Mrs. Curtis for
her steadfast commitment to teaching me Braille as I now use a Braille
display every time I write a piece of code [applause]; to my teachers,
friends, and playground buddies for showing me that giving back and helping
others is one of the greatest feelings in the world and that it's okay to
get a little snow in your snow pants every once in a while; to Jeff and
Lindsey for empowering me and showing me that I could achieve my dreams of
becoming a software engineer; to this guy right here, Mark Riccobono, for
helping me to step outside my comfort zone and try dangerous things I never
knew were possible [applause]; and to everyone else who has inspired me to
never give up, strive for greatness, and let nothing stand in the way of
where I want to go in life. The future of the NFB is so bright, and I look
forward to all we will accomplish together as we continue to shatter the
misconceptions and perceptions of blindness, while providing the
opportunities, resources, and support to show the future generations of
blind people that they, too, can turn their dreams into reality. Blindness
does not define us and will never hold us back [applause, cheers]. When
times get tough, when people say you can't do something because you're
blind, and when it seems like everything is falling apart, remember the
phrase, "Slam that!" And rise up, rise up unafraid. You can live the life
you want. Thank you so much.
----------
The 2016 Resolutions: A Declaration of Independence for the Blind
by Sharon Maneki
From the Editor: The supreme authority of the National Federation of
the Blind is its annual convention, and the way it most directly decides
the policies of the National Federation of the Blind is through resolutions
it passes. Sharon Maneki was the chairman of the 2016 resolutions
committee, and here is her report of the committee's activity.
It is appropriate to reflect on the sixteen resolutions passed by the
2016 Convention as a declaration of independence for the blind, because
these resolutions were considered on July 4, Independence Day. The most
familiar part of the United States Declaration of Independence is: "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Prior to 1940 and the founding of the National Federation of the
Blind, most blind people did not believe that these rights applied to them.
Thanks to the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind, the world
for blind people is very different today. We know that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future and that blindness is not
what holds you back. We also understand that we must raise expectations
because low expectations keep us from achieving our dreams of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In 2016 how do the blind intend to
achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?
In order for a resolution to be considered by the Convention, it must
be passed by the resolutions committee. The thirty-member committee,
comprised of people throughout the nation, met on July 1. Many thanks to
the committee members and to Marsha Dyer, and Anne-Marie Laney, who served
as secretaries to the committee, and to our national staff who did research
and put the resolutions on the web for making my job as chairman easier.
Like our colonial forefathers, members of the National Federation of
the Blind do not sit and wait for something to happen. We take control of
our own destiny. The common theme of the resolutions this year was access.
The underlying principle in our demand for access is equality. To achieve
independence, blind people must have access to education, employment, and
information. The resolutions committee considered and passed sixteen
resolutions, and the Convention did the same. Let us examine these
resolutions which are our Declaration of Independence.
The quest for equality has always been a fundamental principle of the
Federation's philosophy. Three resolutions express this demand in terms of
the twenty-first century. These resolutions concern equal treatment for
disabled veterans, the right to parent children, and eliminating health
inequities for blind and low vision people with diabetes. "The budget-
neutral Space Available program, operated by the Air Mobility Command,
allows members of the active military, retirees, and others to fly on
military aircraft if space is available." In Resolution 2016-02, "The
National Federation of the Blind demand that the conference committee end
the unequal treatment of our nation's blind or otherwise disabled veterans
in the Space Available program by adopting the language in Section 1046 of
the National Defense Authorization Act passed in the House." Dwight Sayer,
president of the National Association of Blind Veterans, sponsored this
resolution.
One of the most formidable challenges that blind people face in our
quest for equality is the right to parent our children. Melissa Riccobono,
the First Lady of the Federation, introduced Resolution 2016-08. In this
resolution we "call upon state legislatures across the nation to enact laws
that establish procedural safeguards to protect the right of blind people
to be parents and prohibit discriminatory presumptions of manifest
unfitness solely because a parent (or prospective parent) happens to be
blind."
Tom Ley, president of the Louisiana Center for the Blind Board of
Directors and a longtime leader in the NFB Diabetes Action Network and the
Maryland affiliate, sponsored Resolution 2016-16. In this resolution we
adopted the Technology Bill of Rights for Individuals with Diabetes and
Vision Loss. These rights include true independence, meaningful access, and
identical devices. True independence means the right "to manage our
diabetes independently, with dignity, and without requiring assistance from
sighted individuals." Meaningful access is the right "to access the same
life-changing diabetes information, diagnostic tools, and treatments as are
available to others." Identical devices means the right "to benefit from
the same (not inferior, antiquated, or less effective) diabetes devices at
the same time and price as our sighted peers."
The Convention passed three resolutions regarding access to
education. "The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM
HE) Act will authorize a purpose-based commission comprised of
representatives from all relevant stakeholder communities to develop
voluntary accessibility guidelines that will be beneficial to both
developers and manufacturers of postsecondary electronic instructional
materials and related technologies." In Resolution 2016-01, we "commend
Congressman Phil Roe of Tennessee's First Congressional District for
recognizing the importance of digital accessibility by championing the
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act in the United
States House of Representatives." We also "call upon the United States
Congress to act swiftly to provide consideration and a floor vote to the
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act, thereby
ensuring that blind, and otherwise print-disabled, students are afforded
the same educational benefits provided to nondisabled students so that they
can live the lives they want." Danielle Burton, a senior at Morehead State
University in Kentucky and who serves as secretary in our National Deaf-
Blind Division, sponsored this resolution. Danielle is also a tenBroek
Fellow who won national scholarships in 2013 and 2016.
Penny Duffy, a member of the board of directors of the National
Organization of Parents of Blind Children and president of the New
Hampshire Organization of Parents of Blind Children introduced Resolution
2016-11. According to the implementing regulations of IDEA [Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act], visual impairment, including blindness,
means "an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely
affects a child's educational performance." Many visually impaired students
in grades K-12 are being denied special education services because their
state uses a more restrictive definition than that found in the IDEA
regulations. In Resolution 2016-11, we "call upon the United States
Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to audit each
state's definition of the disability of 'visual impairment, including
blindness' to ensure that a child's eligibility for special education is
not dependent upon that child's state of residence."
Some students are having difficulty reading their math and science
textbooks. Unnecessary confusion abounds because some states are using the
Nemeth code for mathematics and science notation while other states are
deciding to adopt the UEB [Unified English Braille] code for technical
materials in place of Nemeth. In Resolution 2016-14, "...this organization
call upon the Braille Authority of North America to state unequivocally
that the Nemeth code, with the guidance for Nemeth in UEB context, is the
only standard for mathematics Braille in the United States." Conchita
Hernandez, chairman of the National Spanish Translation Committee and a
member of the board of directors in the DC affiliate, sponsored this
resolution. Conchita is also a tenBroek Fellow who won national
scholarships in 2010 and 2016.
Cammie Loehr, president of the Oklahoma Association of Blind Students
and a member of the board of directors of the Oklahoma affiliate, was the
proponent for Resolution 2016-05. More and more college and university
programs are requiring students to complete internships. These internships
are not only an education requirement but also can assist a student with
future employment. In this resolution "we demand that colleges and
universities implement procedures, train employees, and otherwise take
active measures to ensure that educational internships are fully, equally,
and independently accessible to blind students."
Many blind people have been successfully employed in the Randolph-
Sheppard program for decades. On June 7, 2016, the United States Department
of Defense issued proposed regulations that will seriously limit
opportunities for blind vendors. In Resolution 2016-10 "...this
organization demand withdrawal of the Department of Defense proposed
regulations pertaining to military dining services, recognizing that the
currently effective regulations of the Department of Education pertaining
to the award of cafeteria contracts supersede those of any other federal
department." Susan Gashel, a longtime defender of the rights of blind
vendors, proposed this resolution.
Access to information remains one of the greatest challenges faced by
blind people. The Convention passed three resolutions concerning access to
specific types of information. The Convention also passed five resolutions
about technology platforms and tools that provide access to information.
Michael Ausbun, first vice president of the NFB of Nevada, and a summer
intern at the Jernigan Institute, sponsored Resolution 2016-03. The
Marrakesh Treaty, which will facilitate access to published works across
the globe for over three hundred million blind, low vision, and print-
disabled people has been ratified by twenty countries. Sadly, the United
States is not one of these countries. In Resolution 2016-03, "...this
organization call upon all relevant stakeholders to make a good faith
effort to encourage the US Senate to consider the Marrakesh Treaty."
Deepa Goraya, a member of the board of directors of the Potomac
Chapter in the Virginia affiliate and a scholarship winner in 2010,
introduced Resolution 2016-06. In 2010, the US Department of Justice
promised to issue guidance on how to comply with web access requirements
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Obama Administration
continues to delay the issuance of these regulations. Consequently, blind
Americans are denied access to information, goods, and services that are
available on the web. In this resolution we "condemn and deplore the Obama
administration's repeated delay tactics in issuing the much-needed guidance
for public entities and public accommodations with respect to the
information, goods, and services that they provide via the Internet."
All too often, blind people are denied access to mathematical
information on the web because there are no standards for how the MathML
programs should present the material. Screen-access technologies are
inconsistent in the way they interpret MathML, and some access technologies
fail to even implement MathML. Students who are studying math and employed
mathematicians and engineers are faced with problems that could easily be
corrected. In Resolution 2016-07, "we call on manufacturers to standardize
the features of MathML." We also "encourage all access-technology
manufacturers to implement MathML support." Julie McGinnity, who recently
received her master's degree, sponsored this resolution. Julie is the
president of the Performing Arts Division and second vice president of the
NFB of Missouri. She is also a tenBroek Fellow who won national
scholarships in 2011 and 2013.
The remaining four resolutions deal with access to software and
hardware. This access will make more information available to the blind.
These resolutions are necessary, not because access is not achievable, but
because technology developers and leaders do not make access enough of a
priority. Although we call many companies to task, we also recognize and
appreciate businesses that do the right thing.
Jerad Nylin is a summer intern at the Jernigan Institute. He also
serves as a member of the board of directors of the Iowa affiliate and is
the president of the Cedar Rapids Chapter. Jerad introduced Resolution 2016-
13 in which we commend "Target on the excellent quality of its website's
accessibility and on its continued efforts to make its site and services
fully usable and accessible for all users, both now and in the future."
Resolution 2016-04, which concerns software releases by Apple Inc.,
was sponsored by Francisco Salvador Crespo, Curtis Chong, and Fredric
Schroeder. Francisco Salvador Crespo lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He
graduated from the Colorado Center for the Blind in March of 2015 and comes
to National Conventions frequently. Curtis Chong is an access-technology
expert who also serves as treasurer for the NFB of New Mexico. Fred
Schroeder is a longtime leader in the Federation and currently serves as
the first vice president of the World Blind Union. When a significant
software update for one of Apple's products is released "there are often
accessibility bugs that impact the usability of the product by blind users,
causing them to lose their productivity or their ability to perform certain
job duties when the use of Apple devices is required." As an example,
recent software updates have been released in which blind people have been
unable to answer or hang up the phone using VoiceOver. In this resolution,
"...this organization call upon Apple to make nonvisual access a major
priority in its new and updated software by improving its testing of new
releases to ensure that nonvisual access is not limited or compromised."
In Resolution 2016-09, we "strongly urge developers of integrated
development environments and other development tools to build and expand
their products with blind developers in mind." Kathryn Webster, the newly
elected president of the National Association of Blind Students, sponsored
this resolution. Kathryn is another tenBroek Fellow who won national
scholarships in 2013 and 2016.
Sachin Pavithran, a member of the board of directors of the NFB of
Utah who won a national scholarship in 2007 introduced Resolution 2016-12.
Self-driving cars have been of interest to the blind for many years. Our
organization has been a leader in promoting nonvisual access to these
vehicles. In this resolution we urge all stakeholders to work toward the
enactment of national nonvisual access standards for these autonomous
vehicles.
In Resolution 2016-15, "...this organization strongly encourage
health clubs, hotels, universities, workplace fitness facilities, and other
fitness facilities open to the public to provide full and meaningful access
on a nonvisual basis to fitness and exercise equipment, thereby complying
with the Americans with Disabilities Act's general prohibition on
discrimination." Jessica Beecham, president of the National Sports and
Recreation Division and secretary of the NFB of Colorado, proposed this
resolution. Jessica won a national scholarship in 2011.
This article is merely an introductory discussion of the resolutions
considered by the Convention. By long-standing tradition, the complete text
of each resolution that was passed is reprinted below. Readers should
analyze the text of each resolution to understand fully our policy on these
subjects. When the US declared its independence in 1776, it took time to
actually achieve it. The US did not achieve its independence until 1783.
The Declaration of Independence for the blind, stated in these resolutions,
will also take time to achieve. With love, hope, and determination we will
achieve our dreams of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
----------
National Federation of the Blind Resolutions for 2016
Resolution 2016-01
Regarding the Introduction of the Accessible Instructional Materials in
Higher Education (AIM HE) Act
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest
organization of blind people in the United States, has made access to all
aspects of the educational experience for blind students a priority and
since 2013 has actively sought congressional support for digital
accessibility legislation that will expand the circle of participation to
fully include students who are blind or print disabled at institutions of
higher education nationwide; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has led efforts to bring
about consensus among all relevant stakeholders to support such legislation
by engaging in negotiations with the Association of American Publishers,
the American Council on Education, EDUCAUSE®, and the Software and
Information Industry Association, while also seeking input from other
disability organizations; and
WHEREAS, these negotiations have culminated in the successful drafting of
the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HE) Act,
which will authorize a purpose-based commission comprised of
representatives from all relevant stakeholder communities to develop
voluntary accessibility guidelines that will be beneficial to both
developers and manufacturers of postsecondary electronic instructional
materials and related technologies, as well as to the institutions that
procure such materials and related technologies; and
WHEREAS, the purpose-based commission will also develop an annotated list
of existing national and international IT standards as an additional
resource for institutions of higher education and companies that service
the higher education market to provide information about the applicability
of such standards in higher education settings; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Phil Roe from Tennessee's First Congressional District
has recognized the importance of digital accessibility and has demonstrated
a commitment to equal access by agreeing promptly to introduce the AIM HE
Act to the United States House of Representatives: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization commend Congressman Phil Roe of Tennessee's First
Congressional District for recognizing the importance of digital
accessibility by championing the Accessible Instructional Materials in
Higher Education Act in the United States House of Representatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the United States
Congress to act swiftly to provide consideration and a floor vote to the
Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act, thereby
ensuring that blind, and otherwise print-disabled, students are afforded
the same educational benefits provided to nondisabled students so that they
can live the lives they want.
----------
Resolution 2016-02
Regarding Space Available Travel for Veterans Discharged from the Military
for a Disability Prior to September 23, 1996
WHEREAS, the budget-neutral Space Available program, operated by the Air
Mobility Command, allows members of the active military, retirees, and
others to fly on military aircraft if space is available; and
WHEREAS, Congress recognized that servicemen and women who became disabled
fighting to protect the homeland deserve the same benefits as retired
members of the Armed Forces and therefore classified anyone discharged from
the service due to disability from a combat-related injury occurring after
September 23, 1996, as medically retired; and
WHEREAS, Congress failed to make this re-categorization automatically
retroactive to include disabled veterans discharged due to an injury
occurring prior to September 23, 1996, thus preventing these heroes from
participating in the Space Available program; and
WHEREAS, the National Association of Blind Veterans, a division of the
National Federation of the Blind, believes that all disabled veterans
discharged from the military due to disability should be allowed to
participate in the Space Available program; and
WHEREAS, the House Committee on Armed Services staff met with the National
Federation of the Blind in person and maintained an open line of
communication while they crafted the National Defense Authorization Act;
and
WHEREAS, Chairman Mac Thornberry of Texas included H.R. 2264 in the base
House National Defense Authorization Act; and
WHEREAS, on May 18, 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed
the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act; and
WHEREAS, Senators Ayotte and Hirono fought for the inclusion of the Equal
Access to Air Travel bill, S. 2596, into the Senate National Defense
Authorization Act; and
WHEREAS, Senator Bob Dole wrote Senator McCain on multiple occasions urging
him to allow all medically discharged veterans the right to participate in
Space Available; and
WHEREAS, Senators Heller and Tester offered a floor amendment, Senate
Amendment 4235, to the National Defense Authorization Act, which would have
included the same language from the House National Defense Authorization
Act in the Senate version to end the unequal treatment of disabled veterans
based on when they were injured; and
WHEREAS, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senator
McCain, and Ranking Member Reed refused to include S. 2596 into the base
bill and refused to allow a vote on the amendment or allow its inclusion in
a manager's amendment; and
WHEREAS, the House and Senate will appoint conferees later this year to
conference and combine their respective bills into one: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization commend the Chairman of the House Committee on Armed
Services, Congressman Mac Thornberry, the House Committee on Armed Services
staff, and Congressmen Bilirakis, Nugent, and Moulton for their efforts to
end the unequal treatment of medically discharged disabled veterans in the
Space Available program based on the date they were injured; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind commend
Senators Heller, Ayotte, Hirono, and Tester, as well as former Senator Bob
Dole, for their efforts to include S. 2596 in the National Defense
Authorization Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind demand
that the conference committee end the unequal treatment of our nation's
blind or otherwise disabled veterans in the Space Available program by
adopting the language in Section 1046 of the National Defense Authorization
Act passed in the House.
----------
Resolution 2016-03
Regarding the Swift Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate
Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or
Otherwise Print Disabled (or "Marrakesh Treaty")
WHEREAS, in June 2013 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
convened a diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in order to
deliberate on a treaty to address the book famine plaguing over three
hundred million blind, low-vision, and print-disabled people across the
globe, who are denied access to more than 95 percent of published works;
and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind was one of the key
negotiators in Marrakesh, expressing strong support for the treaty, which
was signed by the United States on October 2, 2013; and
WHEREAS, after more than two and a half years of subsequent deliberation
and negotiation among the members of the United States intergovernmental
working group tasked with developing the Marrakesh Treaty's implementing
legislation, President Barack Obama submitted the Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually
Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled ratification and implementing
legislation packages to the United States Senate for its advice and consent
on February 10, 2016; and
WHEREAS, since its transmission to the US Senate, six additional countries
have succeeded in ratifying the treaty within their borders, bringing the
total number of countries ratifying the Marrakesh Treaty to twenty, and
twenty are required to bring the treaty into force: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call upon the United States Senate to fulfill its
constitutional duty to provide its advice and consent for the Marrakesh
Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind,
Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled without delay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon all relevant
stakeholders to make a good faith effort to encourage the US Senate to
consider the Marrakesh Treaty before the conclusion of the second session
of the 114th Congress.
----------
Resolution 2016-04
Regarding Apple's Inadequate Testing of Software Releases
WHEREAS, Apple Inc. has made VoiceOver, a free and powerful screen-access
program, an integral part of many of its products, including the Apple
Macintosh, iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple TV, and iPad; and
WHEREAS, when a significant software update for one of these products is
released, there are often accessibility bugs that impact the usability of
the product by blind users, causing them to lose their productivity or
their ability to perform certain job duties when the use of Apple devices
is required; and
WHEREAS, recent updates have included a large number of serious, moderate,
and minor bugs that have made it difficult or impossible for blind people
to perform various tasks such as answering calls, browsing the internet,
entering text into forms, or adding individuals to the Contacts Favorites
list; and
WHEREAS, for example, after iOS 9.0 was released, some iPhones running
VoiceOver occasionally became unresponsive when getting a phone call, and
there was no way to choose any option on screen; and
WHEREAS, although this issue was fixed in a new release of iOS, it would
not have occurred if Apple had conducted more thorough testing with
VoiceOver; and
WHEREAS, another example of inadequate testing by Apple involves VoiceOver
failing to render the contents of the screen when a user attempts to add a
contact to the Favorites list in the phone app and has multiple contact
groups from which to select; and
WHEREAS, because Apple products and its accessibility tools are built by
the same company, there is no need to share confidential information with
partners that may affect the normal development of the software; and
WHEREAS, we recognize the efforts made by Apple to inform developers about
the accessibility features built into Apple products and encourage the
company to keep working in that direction; however several accessibility
issues still appear with new software releases even when they have been
reported during beta testing; and
WHEREAS, it is vital that Apple give priority to addressing bugs that have
an impact on accessibility before releasing software updates: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call upon Apple to make nonvisual access a major
priority in its new and updated software by improving its testing of new
releases to ensure that nonvisual access is not limited or compromised; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon Apple to work
actively to incorporate feedback from testers who use VoiceOver during the
beta testing phase of software development to ensure that accessibility for
blind individuals is properly and fully addressed.
----------
Resolution 2016-05
Regarding Equal Access for Educational Internships
WHEREAS, educational internships are often a curricular requirement for
graduation from a college or university; and
WHEREAS, educational internships can provide graduates with invaluable
experiences and training that enhance graduates' likelihood of being hired
in their chosen career fields; and
WHEREAS, Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit
colleges and universities from discrimination against and disparate
treatment of individuals with disabilities, and ultimately mandate the
provision of equal access to opportunities for such persons; and
WHEREAS, Americans with Disabilities Act protections include off-campus
educational internships offered as a part of a school's programs, services,
and benefits; and
WHEREAS, blind students regularly face discrimination by college internship
coordinators who fail to coordinate auxiliary aids for off-campus
internships and mistakenly believe that blindness will limit a student's
ability to perform an internship: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization hereby condemn and deplore the actions of colleges
and universities that have restricted blind students' participation in
educational internships, required blind students to complete internships
only with assistance from sighted peers, or denied accommodations within
these internships; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we demand that colleges and universities
implement procedures, train employees, and otherwise take active measures
to ensure that educational internships are fully, equally, and
independently accessible to blind students.
----------
Resolution 2016-06
Regarding Releasing Web Access Regulations under ADA Titles II and III
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama called the release of web access
regulations under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) "the most important updates to the ADA since its original enactment";
and
WHEREAS, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on July 26, 2010, putting the public on notice
that DOJ intended to issue guidance to state and local governments as well
as places of public accommodation on how to comply with web-access
requirements under the ADA; and
WHEREAS, a proposed rule with respect to public entities covered by Title
II of the ADA was submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) on July 9, 2014, leading state and local governments and
consumers to believe that much-needed guidance in the area of web
accessibility was imminent; and
WHEREAS, subsequent to the release of the proposed Title II rule, and
despite the need for guidance from DOJ and the rising number of lawsuits
from around the nation resulting from the absence of such guidance on how
to comply with Titles II and III of the ADA, DOJ announced that it had
decided to delay the release of regulations under Title III of the ADA
(which governs places of public accommodation) until an unspecified date;
and
WHEREAS, on April 29, 2016, DOJ announced that it was also withdrawing the
proposed Title II rule, thereby further delaying regulatory guidance on how
to comply with web accessibility requirements for state and local
governments; and
WHEREAS, while blind Americans remain unable to access many of the websites
offering information, goods, and services that are available to the general
public, DOJ has issued a Supplemental Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking and requested further comments with respect to Title II
regulations, propounding questions that have already been asked and
answered since the ANPRM was first announced six years ago: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization condemn and deplore the Obama administration's
repeated delay tactics in issuing the much-needed guidance for public
entities and public accommodations with respect to the information, goods,
and services that they provide via the internet; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon the administration to release the
regulations that will provide guidance on web accessibility as authorized
under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act without
further delay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge all political and civic leaders to join
with us in calling on this administration to fulfill the promise made and
bring clarity to the accessibility of public information, commerce, and
education in the twenty-first century.
----------
Resolution 2016-07
Regarding MathML
WHEREAS, MathML is increasingly used for coding and presentation of math
web content; and
WHEREAS, MathML can be interpreted by screen-access technology; and
WHEREAS, different access technology packages choose to implement and rely
on different methods of interpreting MathML, and not all technologies even
implement MathML; and
WHEREAS, this inconsistency causes problems for web developers when
developing accessible web content: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization encourage all access-technology manufacturers to
implement MathML support; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call on manufacturers to standardize the
features of MathML that will be relied upon and the methods in which the
content will be accessed, so as to provide a consistent experience for
users and web developers alike.
----------
Resolution 2016-08
Regarding Protecting the Civil Rights of Blind Parents
WHEREAS, protecting the rights of parents with disabilities is a notion
that, incredibly, was rejected by the United States Supreme Court in the
case of Buck v. Bell 274 U.S. 200 (1927), in which Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes wrote, "It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to
execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their
imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from
continuing their kind"; and
WHEREAS, this insulting and unjustified view that people with disabilities,
including blind people, are somehow "manifestly unfit" to be parents (or
otherwise to live the lives they want and to participate as members of
society with all rights and privileges associated therewith) has too often
continued to prevail in the courts even as we move further into the twenty-
first century; and
WHEREAS, this bias is reflected in matters involving adoption and
guardianship and in contested child custody proceedings, because blind
parents have been perceived by the courts, child protection agencies,
guardians ad litem, hospital staff, and others as incapable of caring
adequately for their children's needs, which has resulted in blind parents
routinely being denied the right to be parents without unfair bias or
unnecessary overreach by government entities; and
WHEREAS, for most people a fundamental aspect of living life to the fullest
includes the joy of being a parent and sharing in the nurturing, growth,
and development of a child; and
WHEREAS, being a parent and raising children is a fundamental right which
is protected under the Constitution of the United States of America by the
First and Ninth Amendments thereto and under the Fourteenth Amendment as
applied to the states; and
WHEREAS, in the case of blind parents, there is a need to protect this
fundamental constitutional right; yet nearly forty states have no laws at
all to protect the right of blind citizens to be parents and raise their
children without being fearful of discriminatory treatment or unnecessary
inquiries of fitness solely based on blindness: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call upon state legislatures across the nation to
enact laws that establish procedural safeguards to protect the right of
blind people to be parents and prohibit discriminatory presumptions of
manifest unfitness solely because a parent (or prospective parent) happens
to be blind; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge state attorneys general, in protecting
the best interest of the child(ren) in each proceeding, to use their good
offices affirmatively to protect blind parents in every state against
discrimination and bias based solely upon blindness and to urge the courts,
guardians ad litem, and officials of child protection agencies to base
decisions about what is in the best interest of the child on issues
regarding fitness to parent, not on blindness.
----------
Resolution 2016-09
Regarding the Accessibility of Integrated Development Environments for
Blind Developers
WHEREAS, development environments in principle offer an equal footing to
sighted and blind developers; and
WHEREAS, many integrated development environments (IDEs) are largely
accessible to blind developers, as is the case with Microsoft's Visual
Studio; and
WHEREAS, many prominent IDEs and tools such as Sublime Text and the Arduino
IDE remain closed to blind developers: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization strongly urge developers of integrated development
environments and other development tools to build and expand their products
with blind developers in mind.
----------
Resolution 2016-10
Regarding the Application of the Randolph-Sheppard Act to Military Dining
Facilities
WHEREAS, in 1974 Congress expanded the priority for blind persons to
operate vending facilities on federal property under the Randolph-Sheppard
Act by specifying that the priority applies to contracts for cafeterias,
subsequently interpreted to include military dining halls; and
WHEREAS, as stated in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress
defined food service contracts to include "full food services, mess
attendant services, or services supporting the operation of all or any part
of a military dining facility"; and
WHEREAS, on June 7, 2016, the Department of Defense issued proposed
regulations which, if implemented, would disregard the law defining food
service contracts, and limit opportunities for the blind to contracts for
dining hall management rather than giving priority to the blind under food
service contracts as defined in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act
and to all contracts pertaining to operation of cafeterias, as specified in
existing regulations of the Department of Education issued to implement the
Randolph-Sheppard Act; and
WHEREAS, the Randolph-Sheppard Act charges the United States Department of
Education, not the Department of Defense, with prescribing regulations to
assure that licensed blind persons are given priority in the operation of
vending facilities and cafeterias on all federal property, stating
unambiguously in the Randolph-Sheppard Act that any limitation on the
placement or operation of a vending facility must be fully justified in
writing to the Secretary of Education, who shall determine if such
limitation is justified; and
WHEREAS, the professed authority relied upon by the Department of Defense
to promulgate regulations is merely a statement signed by the Chairmen of
the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of
Representatives respectively and was never voted upon by Congress or any
committee within Congress; and
WHEREAS, by restricting the priority for the blind to contracts for food
service management only, the proposed regulations would eventually replace
approximately forty-five blind vendors who now have military dining service
contracts with contracts awarded to the Source America/AbilityOne Program,
a program that is being investigated by a federal grand jury for
corruption, fraud, and failing to hire and maintain the number/percentage
of disabled workers required by law: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization demand withdrawal of the Department of Defense
proposed regulations pertaining to military dining services, recognizing
that the currently effective regulations of the Department of Education
pertaining to the award of cafeteria contracts supersede those of any other
federal department; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization insist that the Department of
Education clearly instruct the Department of Defense that the Department of
Education's regulations mean that a current non-blind-operated contract for
military dining services cannot be entered into or renewed unless a
contract opportunity has been offered to the blind as provided by the
Randolph-Sheppard Act.
----------
Resolution 2016-11
Regarding the Need for Interstate Uniformity in the Determination of
Eligibility for Special Education Services under the Disability Category of
"Visual Impairment, Including Blindness"
WHEREAS, in 1966 the United States Congress recognized the importance of
educating children with disabilities in the regular education classroom by
amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include
Title VI-Aid to Handicapped Children, which provided grant funding for
schools serving disabled students; and
WHEREAS, in 1974 the US Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act, later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), which expanded the initial grant funding and required public
schools to allow students with disabilities to attend their institutions;
and
WHEREAS, nineteen years ago, in 1997, the IDEA was amended and the
implementing regulations issued pursuant to this amendment defined "visual
impairment including blindness" to mean an impairment in vision that, even
with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance and
the term includes both partial sight and blindness and subsequent
amendments to the IDEA and its implementing regulations have retained this
definition in its entirety; and
WHEREAS, states are required by IDEA implementing regulations to determine
whether the child is a child with a disability, as defined by the statute;
and
WHEREAS, twenty-three states have created eligibility criteria in addition
to those set forth in the federal definition of "visual impairment,
including blindness," and these additional eligibility criteria exclude
some children who otherwise meet the federal definition from receiving
special education services to which they are entitled under federal law and
violate the state's duty to use the definitions issued pursuant to the IDEA
to make eligibility determinations: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call upon each state department of education to
ensure that its special education regulations define the disability of
"visual impairment, including blindness" using the definition issued by the
implementing regulations pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, and eliminate any additional eligibility criteria; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the United States
Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to audit each
state's definition of the disability of "visual impairment, including
blindness" to ensure that a child's eligibility for special education is
not dependent upon that child's state of residence.
----------
Resolution 2016-12
Regarding Making Autonomous Vehicle Technologies Accessible to Consumers
Who Are Blind
WHEREAS, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
seven jurisdictions-California, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota,
Tennessee, and Washington, DC-have enacted legislation related to the
operation of autonomous vehicles since 2011; and
WHEREAS, while most states to date have not enacted autonomous vehicle
legislation, NCSL statistics reveal that such legislation was introduced in
six states in 2012, nine states in 2013, twelve states in 2014, and sixteen
states in 2015; and
WHEREAS, recent congressional hearings and proceedings before the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) clearly indicate that the
United States government also intends to consider potential legislation and
regulations related to the design and operation of fully self-driving
automobiles; and
WHEREAS, the Honorable Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the United States
Department of Transportation (DOT), in an announcement made at the North
American International Auto Show in January of 2016 in Detroit, Michigan,
committed nearly $4 billion over the next ten years to the development and
adoption of safe vehicle automation and updated NHTSA's policy on
autonomous vehicles to include plans during 2016 to propose guidance to
industry on the safe operation of fully autonomous vehicles; and
WHEREAS, proponents of autonomous vehicle technologies have testified at
congressional hearings and administrative committee meetings, offered
comments at public forums, and explained in the press how the advent of
fully self-driving cars will be most beneficial to people with disabilities
who are not now permitted to drive on our nation's roads and highways; and
WHEREAS, despite this advocacy by manufacturers and organizations that
support the proliferation of autonomous vehicles, most autonomous vehicle
technology being deployed today, ironically, is in fact not accessible to
people with disabilities or to blind people; and
WHEREAS, early intervention is absolutely necessary in the development and
deployment of autonomous vehicle technology because the seven jurisdictions
that have adopted autonomous vehicle legislation so far require that a
licensed driver be present while the autonomous vehicle is in operation,
which defeats the purpose of having a truly self-driving car in the first
place; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has done more to promote
nonvisual access to all types of technology (including the operation of
motor vehicles) than any government entity, manufacturer, or advocacy
organization promoting the proliferation of autonomous vehicles or the
rights of people with disabilities: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization reaffirm its position as a stakeholder in the
proliferation of fully self-driving cars, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge the private sector, as
well as government entities at all levels, to work with the National
Federation of the Blind to create nonvisual accessibility standards for all
technologies related to autonomous vehicles; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon national
associations that support the proliferation of autonomous vehicles, as well
as organizations promoting the rights of people with disabilities, to join
with the National Federation of the Blind to advocate for nonvisual
accessibility in all autonomous vehicle technologies so that all people,
including those who are blind, may benefit from these technologies.
----------
Resolution 2016-13
Regarding the Target Corporation's Commitment to Web Accessibility
WHEREAS, accessible websites allow blind and other disabled users a greater
measure of independence and convenience than inaccessible websites and
offer the same convenience accorded to sighted users who do not wish to
travel to brick-and-mortar locations; and
WHEREAS, Target has formed a longstanding partnership with the National
Federation of the Blind to ensure that its products and services are
accessible to disabled customers, particularly those who are blind; and
WHEREAS, Target has proven its commitment to creating websites and
applications that conform to the leading industry standard for web
accessibility, WCAG 2.0 Level AA; and
WHEREAS, Target is the first organization to partner with the National
Federation of the Blind in its Strategic Nonvisual Access Partnership
Program; and
WHEREAS, Target shows every indication of continuing its commitment to the
accessibility of its services in the future: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization commend Target on the excellent quality of its
website's accessibility and on its continued efforts to make its site and
services fully usable and accessible for all users, both now and in the
future.
----------
Resolution 2016-14
Regarding the Preservation of Access to Nemeth Code for Mathematics and
Science Notation for Blind Students in the United States
WHEREAS, the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) passed a motion on
November 12, 2012, adopting Unified English Braille to replace the current
English Braille, American Edition, in the United States, while maintaining
the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science Notation, 1972 Revision and
published updates; the Music Braille Code 1997; and the IPA Braille Code,
2008; and
WHEREAS, BANA has issued "Provisional Guidance for Transcription Using the
Nemeth Code within UEB Contexts," which sets forth the minor changes needed
to incorporate UEB as the literary component of mathematics and technical
materials to replace the function formerly performed by the English
Braille, American Edition (EBAE) code; and
WHEREAS, each state was tasked with creating a customized plan for
implementation of UEB, and while all states have adopted UEB to replace
EBAE as the literary Braille code for students in elementary and secondary
schools, there is a split with regard to Braille code for technical
materials (mathematics and science); and
WHEREAS, this split has emerged because BANA has failed to confirm
unequivocally its 2012 motion to retain Nemeth Code for use in technical
materials and now opines that it cannot "reach consensus regarding the
establishment of a single standard code for technical materials for
[B]raille in the United States," leaving the decision to use UEB or the
Nemeth Code within UEB context for technical materials up to each
individual state; and
WHEREAS, while the majority of states, including textbook leaders
California and Texas, are implementing the 2012 BANA resolution and
retaining Nemeth Code, a few states are deciding to reject portions of the
2012 BANA resolution and are adopting UEB for technical materials; and
WHEREAS, there is no certification for the transcription of technical
material into UEB technical materials, yet despite the lack of qualified,
certified transcribers, states choosing to utilize UEB for technical
materials and the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) are producing
curricular material in UEB for technical materials; and
WHEREAS, the fundamental differences between Nemeth Code and UEB for
technical materials create time-consuming reinstruction for both students
and teachers when switching between Nemeth Code and UEB for technical
materials, and producing the same curricular material in two different
codes is an inefficient use of limited educational resources; and
WHEREAS, the concurrent use of two different Braille codes for technical
materials creates unnecessary barriers for students and teachers moving
from one state to another and also produces inefficiencies in the
preparation of teachers of blind students by requiring the teaching of both
codes in order to prepare all teachers properly to serve all blind
students; and
WHEREAS, the concurrent use of two different Braille codes for technical
materials generates additional need for professional development of
teachers of blind students, which unnecessarily reduces time available to
keep up with technology and other emerging trends in the education of blind
students; and
WHEREAS, since 1952, the use of the Nemeth Code in the United States has
been beneficial to and supportive of blind students in the STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and math) fields; the Nemeth Code is more
efficient than UEB for technical materials in terms of writing math at all
instructional levels; and the Nemeth Code is more efficient than UEB for
technical materials in terms of using technology for writing math: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization call upon the Braille Authority of North America to
state unequivocally that the Nemeth Code, with the guidance for Nemeth in
UEB contexts, is the only standard for mathematics Braille in the United
States; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon each state
legislature, should BANA continue to neglect its duty to establish a single
standard code for Braille technical materials in the United States, to
require its state department of education to eliminate needless confusion
and unnecessary cost by unequivocally adopting the Nemeth Code for
Mathematics and Science Notation, with BANA's guidance for Nemeth in UEB
contexts as the standard for math Braille; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon each university
preparation program to eliminate needless confusion and unnecessary cost by
unequivocally adopting the Nemeth Code for Mathematics and Science
Notation, with BANA's guidance for Nemeth in UEB contexts, as the standard
for math Braille.
----------
Resolution 2016-15
The Right of the Blind to Access Exercise Equipment in Fitness Facilities
WHEREAS, the fitness industry is on the rise with over thirty-four thousand
health clubs across the United States and with countless more hotels,
universities, and workplaces offering consumers and employees access to
fitness facilities; and
WHEREAS, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the
Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, and the United
States Access Board guidelines specific to sports facilities seek to
provide guidance so that places of public accommodation, including stand-
alone fitness facilities or fitness facilities in hotels, universities, or
places of work, are approachable, functional, and usable by persons with
disabilities in a safe, independent, and dignified manner, which includes
their facility access, membership, and access to exercise equipment;
WHEREAS, the current Access Board standards are primarily focused on
rendering the built environment accessible and say very little about
accessibility of fitness equipment for people who are blind;
WHEREAS, the 2015 "Standard Specification for Universal Design of Fitness
Equipment for Inclusive Use by Persons with Functional Limitations and
Impairments" created by ASTM International, Subcommittee F08.30, an
international standard-setting body, is designed to provide manufacturers
the tools they need to produce accessible equipment but does not provide
purchasing guidance for fitness facilities; and
WHEREAS, many fitness facilities contain equipment that must be operated
with a flat screen, touch screen, or other technology that has not been
made accessible to the blind; and
WHEREAS, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services
publication Healthy People 2020 and numerous other scholarly publications,
individuals who are blind are twice as likely to be obese as individuals in
the general population, leading to increased instances of heart disease,
stroke, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, sleep apnea, certain site-
specific cancers, and osteoarthritis; and
WHEREAS, significantly limited access to fitness facilities due to
inaccessible exercise equipment makes it increasingly difficult for
individuals who are blind to meet the surgeon general's recommendation of
one-hundred fifty minutes of moderate physical activity weekly to help
reduce obesity and offset other negative health consequences: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization strongly encourage health clubs, hotels,
universities, workplace fitness facilities, and other fitness facilities
open to the public to provide full and meaningful access on a nonvisual
basis to fitness and exercise equipment, thereby complying with the
Americans with Disabilities Act's general prohibition on discrimination;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon fitness facilities to work
directly with the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute and
the National Federation of the Blind Sports and Recreation Division to
ensure that exercise and fitness equipment is accessible to the blind; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization, in an effort to provide
clarity to those who operate fitness facilities regarding what their
obligations are under the ADA, urge Congress to give the United States
Access Board the authority to write standards to make all fitness equipment
fully accessible so that the blind can use such equipment on an equal basis
with the sighted.
----------
Resolution 2016-16
Regarding the Technology Bill of Rights for Individuals with Diabetes and
Vision Loss
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind and the NFB Diabetes Action
Network advocate for the rights of an ever-increasing population of blind
and low-vision people with diabetes; and
WHEREAS, the NFB Diabetes Action Network has created and adopted the
following Technology Bill of Rights for Individuals with Diabetes and
Vision Loss, which proclaims that all people with diabetes have a right to
technology that is thoughtfully, collaboratively, and inclusively designed,
and that we who have diabetes and are blind assert the following rights:
(1) true independence-to manage our diabetes independently, with dignity,
and without requiring assistance from sighted individuals; (2) meaningful
access-to access the same life-changing diabetes information, diagnostic
tools, and treatments as are available to others; (3) identical devices--to
benefit from the same (not inferior, antiquated, or less effective)
diabetes devices at the same time and price as are available to our sighted
peers; (4) direct control-to operate these devices directly, through
flexible and inclusive nonvisual and low-vision features, rather than
relying upon smartphones or apps for access; (5) full participation-to
participate fully in planning, pre-market testing, clinical trials, and
evaluation of these technologies, their user interfaces, and related apps;
and
WHEREAS, low vision and blindness complicate diabetes self-care; and
WHEREAS, for the past thirty years diabetes technologies have failed to
include essential usability features (audio, high contrast, large print)
that make independent diabetes self-care possible; and
WHEREAS, increasingly powerful and life-changing diabetes devices are
emerging, many with high tech user interfaces such as onscreen menus and
touch screens that create unintentional digital barriers that make the
devices difficult to use without good vision; and
WHEREAS, this lack of access disadvantages users with visual disabilities
and causes serious health inequities; and
WHEREAS, all diabetes devices can be designed to be fully accessible out of
the box for little or no extra cost using existing technology; and
WHEREAS, audio features are already enhancing functionality and user
experience for all consumers in other technologies such as GPS systems,
elevators, ATMs, and Google Maps, not just for blind or low-vision
consumers; and
WHEREAS, in some products simple tactile buttons and audible tones or
vibrations may make devices fully accessible, while in others text-to-
speech and zoom features can make user interfaces more inclusive: Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention
assembled this fourth day of July, 2016, in the City of Orlando, Florida,
that this organization adopt and affirm the Diabetes Action Network's
Technology Bill of Rights for Individuals with Diabetes and Vision Loss;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization pledge to work toward
establishing and securing these important rights until all diabetes devices
are fully accessible out of the box; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge other diabetes
advocates, technology developers, and federal policy makers to affirm these
rights and join with us to work to end these unjust health inequities.
----------
Convention Miniatures
NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT:
ATTENTION: ALL BLIND OR VISUALLY DISABLED INDIVIDUALS WHO USE SERVICE
ANIMALS WHEN TRAVELING AND WHO HAVE USED, ATTEMPTED TO USE, OR HAVE BEEN
DETERRED FROM USING TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ARRANGED THROUGH THE UBER RIDER
APP.
THE SETTLEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS.
READ THIS NOTICE AND INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.
This notice is to inform you about the proposed settlement that would
resolve the class action lawsuit National Federation of the Blind of
California, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-4086 (N.D.
Cal.). The lawsuit alleges that Uber Technologies, Inc., and its subsidiary
and affiliate entities (collectively, "Uber"), violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq., by failing to take the
necessary steps to ensure that transportation providers using the Uber
mobile software application ("Drivers") do not discriminate against blind
or visually disabled riders who travel with service animals ("Riders").
Uber denies all liability in the case and asserts that its current
practices do not violate applicable federal, state, and local law. The
settlement, which must be approved by the Court, would resolve the lawsuit.
Summary of the Proposed Settlement
Under the settlement, Uber agrees to take additional steps to inform
Drivers of their obligations to transport all Riders. Uber will require
that new and existing Drivers expressly confirm that they understand and
agree to these obligations, through a pop-up interactive questionnaire in
the Driver mobile software application and changes to the technology
services agreement. In addition, Uber will send quarterly email reminders
to Drivers.
Uber will also adopt a new enforcement practice. If, following a
complaint from a Rider, Uber determines that a Driver knowingly refused to
transport a Rider because the Rider was traveling with a service animal,
Uber will terminate that Driver's contract and permanently remove the
Driver from the Driver platform. In addition, if Uber receives plausible
complaints on more than one occasion that a Driver denied service to a
Rider because the Rider was traveling with a service animal, Uber will
terminate the Driver's contract and the Driver will be permanently removed
from the Driver platform. This second basis for contract termination will
apply where Uber was unable to determine whether the first denial was a
knowing violation.
Under the settlement, Uber will also enhance its response system for
complaints that a Driver denied service to a Rider because the Rider was
traveling with a service animal, and will provide greater transparency to
Riders regarding what action has been taken in response to a complaint
about a Driver. Uber will also limit the circumstances in which a Rider can
be charged for cleaning issues related to his or her service animal.
Additionally, Uber will record each allegation that a Driver is
alleged to have denied service to a Rider, or otherwise discriminated
against a Rider, because the Rider was traveling with a service animal, and
will report aggregated data to Class Counsel. The National Federation of
the Blind and its California affiliate will administer a testing program,
through which blind individuals request and take trips to evaluate the
effectiveness of the settlement. A third-party individual will monitor
Uber's compliance with the settlement as well.
The settlement also provides that the three named individual
plaintiffs who served as class representatives will receive payments of
$15,000 each in return for their release of their individual damage claims.
In addition, the National Federation of the Blind will receive three annual
payments of $75,000 during the term of the settlement, and a fourth payment
of $75,000 if the term of the settlement is extended. These payments are
intended to support the Federation's testing program.
Finally, Disability Rights Advocates, Rosen, Bien, Galvan & Grunfeld
LLP, and TRE Legal Practice (collectively, "Class Counsel"), the attorneys
who represent the class, will have the right to seek attorneys' fees and
costs for their work on the case. Class Counsel will file a motion asking
the Court to award reasonable fees and costs for work on the merits phase
of this case. The Court must approve the amount awarded even if the parties
reach an agreement on the amount. This motion for fees and costs will be
available on <www.nfb-serviceanimal-settlement.com> on September 21, 2016.
Class Counsel will also be entitled to seek reasonable fees and costs for
their future work monitoring compliance with the settlement and enforcing
the agreement. Uber retains the right to contest the amount of any
attorneys' fees requested by Class Counsel.
Who is in the Class?
All blind or visually disabled individuals nationwide who travel with
the assistance of service animals and who have used, attempted to use, or
been deterred from attempting to use transportation arranged through the
Uber rider app.
The Effect of the Settlement on the Rights of Class Members
All class members will be bound by the terms of the settlement
relating to access to transportation services arranged using the Uber app
for blind or visually disabled persons who use service animals, if the
settlement agreement is approved by the Court. If the settlement is
approved, all class members will release and forever discharge all claims
for injunctive relief under all federal, state, and local laws related to
alleged discrimination by Uber against blind or visually disabled persons
who use service animals that arose before the Settlement Agreement becomes
effective. Class members, other than the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit,
are not releasing any claims for monetary damages.
Objecting to the Settlement
You can ask the Court to deny approval of this settlement by filing
an objection with the Court. You cannot ask the Court to order a different
settlement; the Court can only approve or deny this proposed settlement. If
the Court denies approval, any settlement changes necessary for approval
may not be made, and the lawsuit may continue. If this is what you want to
happen, you must object.
If you wish to object to the proposed settlement you must object to
the proposed settlement in writing. You may also appear at the fairness
hearing for final approval of the settlement, either in person or through
your own attorney. But if you wish to appear and present your objection
orally at the fairness hearing, you must first submit a written objection
and in your written objection you must indicate your intention to appear
and be heard at the fairness hearing. If you appear through your own
attorney, you are responsible for paying that attorney. All written
objections and supporting papers must (a) clearly identify the case name
and number, National Federation of the Blind of California, et al. v. Uber
Technologies, Inc., et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-4086 (N.D. Cal.), (b) be
submitted to the Court either by mailing them to the Clerk of the Court for
the United States District Court for the Northern District of California,
280 South 1st Street, Room 2112, San Jose, CA 95113, or by filing them in
person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California, and (c) be received on or before October 13, 2016.
FURTHER INFORMATION
This notice summarizes the proposed settlement. For the precise terms
and conditions of the settlement, please see the settlement agreement
available at <www.nfb-serviceanimal-settlement.com>, contact Class Counsel
using the information below, access the Court docket in this case through
the Court's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at
<https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov>, or visit the office of the Clerk of the
Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California, 280 South 1st Street, Room 2112, San Jose, CA 95113, between
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.
To obtain a copy of this notice in alternate accessible formats,
contact Class Counsel using the information below.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Please do not contact the Court, the Court clerk's office, or Defense
Counsel with questions about this settlement. Any questions must be
directed to Class Counsel at the numbers and addresses below.
Class Counsel:
Laurence Paradis
Disability Rights Advocates
2001 Center Street, Fourth Floor
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 665-8644
Timothy Elder, Esq.
TRE Legal Practice
4226 Castanos Street
Fremont, California 94536
(410) 415-3493
Michael Bien
Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP
50 Fremont Street, 19th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105-2235
(415) 433-6830
2016 Division Election Results:
The following divisions have notified us of the results of elections
conducted during the 2016 national convention:
Human Services Division:
The Human Services division's secretary resigned this year, and
Jonathon Franks (TX) was elected to fill out the remaining year until
regular elections in 2017.
National Association of Blind Merchants:
The following were elected to serve a two-year term: president,
Nicholas Gacos (NJ); first vice president, Harold Wilson (VA); second vice
president, Edward Birmingham (IL); secretary, Sharon Treadway (TN);
treasurer, Pamela Schnurr (IN); board members, Debra Smith (AZ), Lewanda
Miranda (OR), Melissa Smith (TN), and John Fritz (WI).
National Association of Blind Office Professionals:
The following were elected to the National Association of Blind
Office Professionals: president: Lisa Hall (OH); vice president, Nancy
Coffman, (NE); secretary, Christy Lynch, NJ; treasurer, Debbie Brown, MD.
Anyone needing more information about the division can contact Lisa
Hall at the following address: Lisa Hall, President, National Association
of Blind Office Professionals, 7001 Hamilton Avenue, Unit 2, Cincinnati, OH
45231. My home phone is (513) 931-7070, and my cell phone is (513) 550-
5155. You may reach me by email by writing to <lhall007 at cinci.rr.com>.
National Association of Guide Dog Users:
The following were elected to the National Association of Guide Dog
Users Board of Directors: president, Marion Gwizdala (FL); secretary,
Sherrill O'Brien (FL); and board members Aleeha Dudley (LA) and Jessica
Snyder (OH). All seats were filled by incumbents.
National Association of Blind Rehabilitation Professionals:
The following were elected for a two-year term at the meeting at the
national convention in Orlando: president, Melody Roan (VA); first vice
president, Pam Allen (LA); second vice president, Dan Wenzel (MN);
secretary, Amy Porterfield (AZ); treasurer, Amy Buresh (NE); and board
members Shirley Robinson (GA); Julie Deden (CO), Jennifer Kennedy (UT), and
Nikki Jackson (MD).
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children:
The following were elected: president, Kim Cunningham (TX); first
vice president, Laura Bostick (LA); second vice president, Holly Miller
(NJ); secretary, Pamela Gebert (AK); treasurer, Sandra Oliver (TX); and
board members Carol Castellano, (NJ), Penny Duffy (NH), Jean Bening (WI),
Joy Orton (AL), Corbb O'Connor (KY), Melissa Riccobono (MD), Dorian
Tuminello (LA), Kimberly Banks (FL), Frances Hammond (NM), and Tabby
Mitchell (VA). Executive board member terms are two years; board member
terms are one year.
National Association of Blind Students:
The results of the student elections are as follows: president,
Kathryn Webster; first vice president, Bre Brown; second vice president,
Syed Rizvi; secretary, Michael Ausbun; treasurer, Luke Schwink; and board
members Vee Gaspe, Tarik Williams, and Bryan Duarte.
Community Service Division:
The results from the election of the board of directors of the
Community Service Division which took place at our annual meeting on the
evening of July 2, 2016, are as follows: president, Darian Smith (CA); vice
president, Dacia Cole (MO); secretary, Chris Parsons (CO); treasurer,
Johnathan Franks (TX); and board members Tara Abella (IN), Ronnie Bellomy
(TX), and Kyra Sweeney (CA).
NFB in Computer Science:
At its 2016 meeting, held on Saturday, July 2, the division made a
change in the composition of its board of directors. Curtis Chong, its
longstanding president, was elected treasurer, and Brian Buhrow, formerly a
board member, was elected president. Our officers and board members are as
follows: president, Brian Buhrow; vice president, Steve Jacobson;
secretary, Louis Maher; treasurer, Curtis Chong; and board members Jim
Barbour, Jeanine Lineback, and Lloyd Rasmussen.
Science and Engineering Division:
The following were elected to the board of the Science and
Engineering Division: president, John Miller; vice president, Kassidy
Wilde; secretary, Louis Maher; treasurer, Al Maneki; and board members
Donna Posont and Kristen Johnson.
Diabetes Action Network:
The following were elected at the 2016 meeting of DAN: president,
Mike Freeman; first vice president, Bernadette Jacobs; second vice
president, Debbie Wunder; secretary, Mindy Jacobsen; treasurer, Joy
Stigile; and board members Juan Figuerroa, Jean Brown, Margo Downey, and
Julie Philips.
National Organization of Professionals in Blindness Education (PIBE):
The following members were elected to the board of directors:
president, Eric Guillory; first vice president, Denise Mackenstadt; second
vice president, Jackie Anderson; secretary, Emily Gibbs; treasurer, Krystal
Guillory; and board members Michael Harvey, Robert Hobson, Casey Robertson,
and Carlton Walker.
----------
NFB Pledge
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for
the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to
abide by its constitution.
More information about the Brl-monitor
mailing list