From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Tue Jan 1 01:07:02 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2019 01:07:02 -0800 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, January 2019 Message-ID: <201901010907.x01972KC012535@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 1 January 2019 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 ? 2018 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. [PHOTO CAPTION: Mandalay Bay Resort] Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-9001. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2019, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 1 January 2019 Contents Illustration: A Choir Serenades the National Federation of the Blind American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities are Denied Economic Prosperity by Mark A. Riccobono Shaping Automotive Innovation for the Future: An Alliance with the Blind of America by Mitch Bainwol Inaccessible Medical Devices Have Life or Death Consequences by Anil Lewis Busting Myths about Disability and Personal Finance by Kane Brolin Las Vegas Calls to the Members of the National Federation of the Blind by Terry Rupp I Voted Twice by Dan Burke Leading with Conviction: Making Equality for People with Disabilities a Priority for the United States of America by Neil Romano New JAWS and ZoomText Annual Home Licenses Now Available through the Freedom Scientific eStore by Curtis Chong This is Not a Stick by Nancy Burns Are We Handicapped, Disabled, or Something Else? by C. Edwin Vaughan Building the Federation Brand Part 4: A Second Look at Our Brand Values by Chris Danielsen The Future Is Ours by Ronza Othman Why We Question the Wisdom that Leads to Low Expectations for the Blind by Gary Wunder Of Elvis and Structured Discovery by Karl Smith Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Voices of Light Choir pose with President Riccobono, Gabe Cazares, and Conchita Hernandez at the Jernigan Institute] A Choir Serenades the National Federation of the Blind Each year we open our doors for tours. Some of them are for sighted people who need to learn more about us and why we exist. Some are for our members who already know what we do but deserve to see our headquarters that they are a part of building and maintaining. Some of our tours are for people from other countries, and they provide the opportunity for us to learn, teach, and extend a helping hand to our fellow blind men and women throughout the world. We were recently visited by a delegation from the Guatemala School for the Blind. Our visitors were members of a ten-person choir, the students being composed of boys and girls ranging in age from eight to fourteen. They were accompanied by three adults, one being a blind teacher who was in charge of the choir. Of the three adults, one could speak English, so she acted as the interpreter. Those of you who have heard the most recent presidential release received part of the gift the choir left with us. They asked to do another song which turned into a twenty-two-minute concert. It was delightful and can be found at: https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/misc_2018/guatemalan- choir-1.mp3 or https://nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/misc_2018/guatemalan-choir- medley.mp3. The delegation was interested in many things they saw during the tour. One was the rocket made by the blind in 2004 at our Rocket On! event; they were also intrigued by the books depicting the stars. But the object that drew the most attention was Dr. tenBroek's old cane. It is a relatively short, thin, and fragile device, and it was clear that at the time it was being used, the purpose was more for alerting the sighted to the presence of a blind traveler then to giving that blind traveler information to navigate the world independently. That cane, of course, was just the beginning of a revolution in travel that would change the cane's primary purpose from a signpost to a badge of independence allowing for safe and efficient travel. The children were absolutely astounded at the length of some of the canes they saw and were particularly interested in the length of Anil Lewis's cane. They couldn't believe that anyone would use a cane that long, so the obvious question they wanted answered was, "How tall is he?" To his initial distress, they proceeded to find out, each of them trying to reach the head of this tall, cane-using blind man. Anna Kresmer, our librarian at the Jernigan Institute, said, "I work here because of the good things we do, but some days make it absolutely clear why this is where I belong. When they left the library, I felt very happy because it confirmed once again why this is where I work and the difference I can make." [PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono] American Nightmare: How Workers with Disabilities are Denied Economic Prosperity by Mark A. Riccobono From the Editor: This article first appeared in The Hill on November 30, 2018, and can be found online at https://thehill.com/blogs/congress- blog/civil-rights/419107-american-nightmare-how-workers-with-disabilities- are-denied. "Workers paid only a few dollars per hour." "Disabled workers exploited for profit." "Employers pay next to nothing for manual labor." If you read these headlines at the top of your newspaper, would you think you were reading about sweatshops in some distant, developing country? If someone were to tell you that every day hundreds of thousands of workers with disabilities are paid less, typically far less, than the minimum wage in cities like Boston, Los Angeles, Cleveland, or Salt Lake City, would you believe them? Would the thought ever cross your mind that this could happen right here in the United States? The stark reality is that everything you just read is true. People with disabilities are paid subminimum wages, and it's completely legal for companies to do so. The Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, was a landmark law enacted with the specific intention of protecting the rights of American workers. It established such modern norms as a forty-hour workweek, overtime pay, restrictions against child labor, and the federal minimum wage. However, it also introduced an exception to that minimum wage with the inclusion of Section 14(c), which allows employers to obtain a special wage certificate granting the permission to pay people with disabilities at a rate "lower than the minimum wage." There it is in black and white, discrimination codified into United States law. According to the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, 321,131 Americans with disabilities are currently employed under 14(c) certificates. That is more than 300,000 people who are legally able to be paid less than the minimum wage by employers like major restaurant and hotel chains, consignment stores, and school districts. Even more disturbing is that the vast majority of these organizations are nonprofits, which receive set-aside government contracts for hiring workers with disabilities while paying those same workers subminimum wages. This is perhaps the most insidious and cruel form of "double-dipping." Many argue that giving disabled Americans something to do, even if it means paying us next to nothing, is better than us doing nothing. They will argue that earning a paycheck, even if a week's check amounts to just a few dollars, provides a sense of dignity for disabled Americans. They argue that providing some place for disabled Americans to go, even if it is a workshop where we perform repetitive and mind-numbing labor, is better than sitting at home. They argue that all of these things foster feelings of pride and independence in disabled Americans. This misguided notion of charity is actually pity and is insulting to disabled workers because it presumes we do not know and can't understand the value of money. I'm not convinced that anyone can feel proud and independent when their paycheck for a week of work is not enough to afford a value meal at a fast food restaurant. Are you? To put it bluntly, Americans with disabilities do not want your pity. We want your respect. We want you to respect us enough to extend the opportunity to work in a meaningful job, to work side-by-side with you toward a common goal, and most importantly to earn a living wage so that we can be independent. The American Dream is generally understood as the opportunity for anyone, regardless of background, to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. Section 14(c) creates a second class of citizens, based solely on disability, who are unable to experience the benefits of that dream. Americans with disabilities are determined, we are willing, and we are most definitely able to work hard, but regardless of how hard we work, success and prosperity will always be well out of reach as long as Section 14(c) is on the books. Our nation's commitment to end discrimination against people with disabilities must include ending the payment of subminimum wages, otherwise it is nothing more than a hollow platitude. ----------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Mitch Bainwol] Shaping Automotive Innovation for the Future: An Alliance with the Blind of America by Mitch Bainwol From the Editor: At the 2018 National Convention on the afternoon of July 8, 2018, Mark Riccobono said, "I have pages and pages of introduction for our speaker. The most important thing for you to know is that Mitch Bainwol has the responsibility of leading the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an organization that has come to be a true friend of the blind of America and has helped us provide leadership in both pedestrian safety and in the emerging area of autonomous vehicles. As you heard in the presidential report, we were honored to be part of a number of events in the autonomous vehicle space with the alliance over the past year that demonstrate that they recognize that when it comes to making sure that the automotive industry of autonomous vehicles thinks about equal access for blind people, there's one organization to call, and that's the National Federation of the Blind. Here is our friend, our colleague, Mitch Bainwol." Good afternoon, everybody. It's great to be here in Orlando. I've been in the room for about an hour, and I can tell you I am blown away by the joy, the energy, the passion-congratulations to Hans [a cofounder of Be My Eyes, who received a Bolotin Award] and all the other award winners. So I'm going to take a few minutes and talk about our partnership and talk about technology. I'm really proud to represent the auto industry in Washington and in all fifty states, especially at this remarkable time for mobility, and I bring greetings from the most dysfunctional city in America- so thanks for the excuse to escape. Before I jump in, let me thank President Mark Riccobono, Vice President and Board Chair Pam Allen, the NFB's amazing staff, and all of you for this warm welcome. I really appreciate it. I hardly ever travel on Sundays, and I'm going on from here later today to California. I'm going to be with Secretary [of Transportation Elaine] Chao in San Francisco, but I really wanted to take this opportunity to be here to say thank you and to share some thoughts about the amazing technology that is revolutionizing transportation today and what these developments mean for society and for you. While I'm honored to be here as a speaker, I'm even more humbled and delighted by the productive and uniquely strong relationship we've forged in recent years. Our partnership between the nation's foremost advocacy group for the blind and its foremost alliance of automobile manufacturers is sure to make a difference. The faster the pace of change, the better. Working together we can and we will accelerate the enormous benefits innovation offers for everyone. Topping the list in our collaboration has been the Coalition for Future Mobility, a pioneering network that joins dozens of advocacy groups, associations, and companies together in the fight to speed up the deployment of self-driving vehicles. This is an active coalition, and everyone in the game has stepped up. But no organization has been more committed or more effective than the NFB. [applause] NFB's push for a regulatory framework in Washington and the states that will foster the rapid development of these AVs, [autonomous vehicles] the partnership has already yielded success: we passed the bill in the House of Representatives unanimously. When passed by the Senate, this act will create national rules facilitating the development and testing of self-driving cars, cut through the chaos of different state laws, and provide a mechanism for large-scale testing once key safety standards have been met. That large-scale testing is essential to get these cars on the road so that you can be in them. Importantly, this testing will also offer special provisions to protect access by the disabled, including people with visual impairments. The NFB has been invaluable in this mission. Self-driving technologies promise to yield a huge dividend for the mobility of persons who are blind across the states. You know that, but politicians didn't know that, but they're learning fast. Together, we're going to push for Senate passage, and I'm optimistic that this common-sense, bipartisan bill will soon become law. I was also honored last September to join Mark at an event in Michigan with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao when the secretary unveiled a paradigm-shifting revision in the government's policy for autonomous vehicles. That Mark was featured at the event shows the respect and importance the NFB plays in the policy process at the very highest levels of government. At that event Mark said it very well, he said it perfectly: "The development of self-driving vehicles will remove the artificial barriers of the past that have hindered mobility and accessibility for the blind and push toward a future in which sightedness does not determine mobility." Secretary Chao's vision of the future focuses on three highlights: vehicle safety for all, flexibility for auto makers to experiment with new technologies, and clarity in the legal framework. In recognition of our ongoing partnership and the NFB's pioneering push toward the self-driving future, the Auto Alliance this past January recognized Mark with the inaugural Autos2050 Innovation Award. He was up there in a room with about seven or eight major innovators from across the globe who are working with the technology. Mark is obviously driving not the technology but the policy, and everybody has got a huge piece of this puzzle. [applause] All of these initiatives, as Mark mentioned, built on our earlier collaboration on the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, which mandated that a sound be added to electric vehicles so that people who are blind or visually impaired can hear the vehicles approaching. I'm eager to see how our partnership moves forward into the future. So where are we? Let me tell you where we are: the answer is we're in the midst of an historic transportation revolution. It began a long time ago in 1956 when then-President Eisenhower signed the law establishing our nation's highway system linking every major city in the country into a seamless network of high-speed roads. It enabled the growth of suburbs and allowed the movement of people and goods with remarkable speed and convenience. This is still the paradigm we operate with today, but the system is under strain. Congestion is everywhere. Americans spend billions of hours every year in traffic. Roads are far safer than they were in 1950 by a factor of probably seven to one, but an unacceptable number of injuries and fatalities still plague our streets and highways. And for many the freedom of mobility remains unnecessarily and unacceptably elusive. Dramatic change is coming, though; it's happening as we meet. Looking ahead, by 2056, one hundred years after Eisenhower's visionary leadership on automotive transportation, autonomous vehicles will be virtually ubiquitous. Every car on the road in 2055 or so will be self- driving, revolutionizing the way we conceive of mobility yet again. Self- driving vehicles, enabled by cutting-edge sensors, can travel faster and closer together, cutting commute times, easing congestion, saving fuel costs, and lessening harmful emissions. They can free occupants to work on other tasks in the car, enhancing freedom and productivity. And most importantly, self-driving cars will all but eliminate the more than 90 percent of traffic accidents and fatalities that occur from human error. For you, however, the impact of self-driving cars will be far more personal, be more transformative, and more powerful. Mobility in most of the US today depends on driving. Those who are unable to drive see their opportunities for employment and education diminished. Many people who are blind are forced to rely on costly ride-sharing services or taxies-you know this better than I-or depend on inefficient public transportation and paratransit providers. In rural areas in particular, options are even more limited. This reduced mobility is a major factor contributing to the higher rate of unemployment among the blind. Auto makers want to help solve this problem. We're approaching a future in which every blind or visually impaired person can own and operate a car, offering seamless point-to-point service through voice-operated self- driving technology. I'm going to say that one more time: we are approaching a future in which every blind or visually impaired person can own and operate a car offering seamless point-to-point service through voice- operated self-driving technology. [applause] The simple ability to commute by car to work, school, doctor's appointments, restaurants, cultural opportunities, church, and more-taken for granted by most-will finally, finally be made available to all. This transformation is already begun. Nearly all major auto companies are hard at work creating the autonomous vehicles of the future, and self- driving technologies like parking assist, lane correction, and automatic braking are already standard features in many new vehicles. Change is coming, of that we are sure. The only real question is the timetable, the speed of change. In my experience there are two types of politicians: those who are cautious to a fault, hesitant to allow new innovations for fear of the consequences. They're more concerned with how things have been done in the past than how they'll be done in the future. They prefer protection to innovation. Perfection is the standard they demand, even if that standard ultimately equals paralysis and stagnation. The second type of politicians are those who embrace the future, who foster the next generation of solutions, and welcome transformative change. These to me-and I suspect to you-are the real heroes. The questions around autonomous vehicles are more political than they are technological. Some states like Nebraska just weeks ago have chosen to lead in the new frontier, allowing manufacturers to test new technologies and eliminating fees on self-driving vehicles. Right here in Florida, State Senator Jeff Brandes and Governor Rick Scott also have been leaders in getting self- driving vehicles on the road by eliminating legal and regulatory obstacles. They've ensured that autonomous vehicle technology will be considered in future planning by Florida cities. Other states have opted to go the opposite way: taxing these vehicles, restricting their operation, and putting road blocks in the way of deployment. Developments in Washington and in state capitols over the coming months will determine which approach prevails: the leaning forward approach or the leaning backward approach. The alliance will always push for innovation and progress, but we cannot do it without your voice. The NFB has been an invaluable partner in the push for standardized, forward-looking, national framework for self- driving vehicles. Those who are blind and visually impaired have too much at stake to allow trepidation and fear to impede progress toward a future that prioritizes mobility for all. We can't slam the brakes on progress, and we won't. This is a battle we will fight, and we will win. Your passion- which I've seen evidence of in the room today-can make the difference. I want to close with this call to action for each of you. Make your voices heard where ever you live from Augusta to Honolulu, from Tallahassee to Olympia, and especially in Washington, DC. Remember that line from the movie Network, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." That should be our theme, it should be our message, and that is our joint calling. Make it known that self-driving vehicles will revolutionize the way you live your life, and dare any politician to deny that simple human urge of free movement. No more excuses: let's pass the law and liberate mobility. [applause] The future is in our hands; we only need to reach out and take it. I'm proud to say that the nation's auto makers will fight this fight with you every step of the way. Thank you, and congratulations on a great conference. [applause] ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis] Inaccessible Medical Devices Have Life or Death Consequences by Anil Lewis From the Editor: In successfully dealing with blindness we talk a lot about alternative techniques. If I can't see when the bacon is crisp, is there another way to tell? Yes, there is. If I'm pouring a cup of coffee, can I tell when the cup is getting full, short of it overflowing? Of course. When using equipment made for the sighted, we can often figure out alternative ways to memorize the buttons, learn the calibration of the knobs, or count clicks. Sometimes we can set the temperature of an oven if we know that each time it is started, it begins at a specific temperature and that each beep raises or lowers the temperature by five degrees. All of these techniques let us use equipment out of the box, but when we talk about medical equipment, the consequences of error are significant. If my oven begins with a temperature of 325, I try to set it at 450, and because I miss a beep I am at 425, this is usually not a disaster. A few more minutes in the oven means I come out with a clean knife. But if I am measuring an injectable drug, one missed beep may completely change the effect of the dose. Even this assumes that the medical equipment being used accurately beeps for each incremental change or that it beeps at all. Not all equipment does. Pressing a button to elevate the dose may cause an increase of one unit; accidentally holding that button a little longer often means that the unit scrolls more rapidly, so all bets are off in terms of the number that I have when I remove my finger. Again, the result is far worse than burned bacon or biscuits. Blind people should not have to guess when it comes to settings on a piece of equipment that is digital. What can be displayed can easily be spoken. Whether equipment uses buttons or touch screens, we have examples of programs that allow blind people to use both. The quality of life for blind people is too important to leave to chance or even to the development of alternative techniques if we can devise them. When it comes to equipment that can determine life or death, a blind person should not have to be at the top of his or her game to figure out some innovative way to make a device for a sighted person work for one who is blind. Here is what the National Federation of the Blind is doing about this most insidious issue: Diabetic retinopathy is one of the largest causes of blindness, yet the technology that allows individuals to monitor and cope with this disease remains fundamentally inaccessible to blind people. Blind people, as a subset of society, are also affected by other diseases like cancer but have no independent access to the technologies that help manage these diseases. Medical technology that allows individuals to independently administer dialysis and chemotherapy treatments in the home is inaccessible and creates an unnecessary dependence on others. The National Federation of the Blind is working to increase the accessibility of medical technologies so that blind people can live the lives we want. At our 2016 National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, our members passed Resolution 2016-16. This resolution highlighted the "Technology Bill of Rights for Individuals with Diabetes and Vision Loss" that asserts meaningful access to the same life-changing diabetes information, diagnostic tools, and treatments as are available to others. These rights should be universal to blind people regardless of their medical condition. Blind people struggle to use the limited, makeshift tools and strategies available to us to care for ourselves, while the rest of the world is on insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors that they can fully access safely and independently. Using workaround strategies in order to access medical equipment puts blind people unnecessarily at risk. We seek to remove this risk by making the technology nonvisually accessible to the blind through tactile markers, speech, large print, and/or Braille access. When done correctly, this is simpler than most people think and enhances innovation with little to no additional cost. In January of 2018, we launched the NFB Accessible Medical Technology Working Group, a forum through which we can identify priorities and share ideas for increasing the accessibility of medical devices and apps, because unlike most other technologies, medical devices have life-or-death consequences. Medical technology that can be used in the home, accessed using a smartphone app, and sometimes worn on the body empowers individuals with confidence, convenience, flexibility, and improved quality of life. These devices can collect and transmit information directly to medical professionals, eliminating the need for in-person doctor visits and reducing overall medical expenses. It is imperative that blind people be involved in the process of making these devices accessible. Blind people interested in working on this taskforce should join our NFB Accessible Medical Equipment Discussion Group by visiting: http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/accessible-medical- equipment-discussion-group_nfbnet.org. As a member of this discussion group, you will be informed about our current efforts, be able to provide input and suggestions, and volunteer to assist with the evaluation and development of accessible medical technology. Through our NFB Accessible Medical Technology Working Group, we are seeking to establish relationships with manufacturers that will allow us to leverage their desire to develop innovative, life-sustaining medical technologies with our expertise in accessibility. Through this initiative, we are working to get ahead of the curve by encouraging the developers of these technologies to take accessibility into consideration during the design and development phase. Manufacturers of medical technology interested in partnering with the National Federation of the Blind should email accessiblemedical at nfb.org with the contact information for your representative and information on your product. We will follow up to determine how we can work together to make your product accessible. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2017 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than 350 blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over five hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over 350 Braille-writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kane Brolin] Busting Myths about Disability and Personal Finance by Kane Brolin From the Editor: Kane Brolin and his wife Danika have been self- employed for nearly twenty years. Most recently, Kane has been working as the owner/operator of a financial planning and brokerage business based in Mishawaka, Indiana. Having been totally blind since infancy, Kane serves as president of the Michiana Chapter in the National Federation of the Blind of Indiana, and when this article was posted, he was serving as president of a small private school board as well. But Kane has vivid memories of a seven-year stretch of time when he was unable to land full-time employment, even after attaining a bachelor's degree and even though he had worked continuously part-time for years. That struggle to land work-or even a second interview for a job-is something he can call to mind as clearly now as if it had happened yesterday. It gives him a heart for the 70 percent of blind, working-age Americans who are unemployed, even now in 2019. Experience has taught him that the condition of unemployment is not always caused by a lack of jobs. Sometimes blind Social Security or Medicaid recipients choose to remain unemployed because they are frightened they will lose benefits-especially health benefits-that have been critical to their financial survival. Now that the most recent recession is over and given that jobs and accessible technology solutions are more plentiful than ever, Kane feels we are living in a window of opportunity like never before. While that window remains open, it's time for us to step up and raise our own expectations of ourselves and to realize that getting a job does not have to threaten our survival, nor does it have to lead to our being deemed ineligible for the government-sponsored benefits that have served us as a lifeline. Here is what he says: It seems the internet has become a great leveler. Just a click or two can make any of us sound like an expert. And let's face it: The only thing more stimulating than taking part in a heated debate is feeling like we've won that debate. But would you trust your child's financial future-or your own, for that matter-to an internet search engine or an online discussion forum? Recently while perusing an email list for parents of children who live with visual impairment, I ran across some well-intentioned advice meant to help one of the listers figure out how to save for her daughter's college education. There was only one problem: the advice presented was wrong. As a Certified Financial Planner Professional, I have learned over more than a decade that often the best thing I can do is prevent a client from making irreversible, costly mistakes. While qualifying to hold the Chartered Special Needs Consultant designation, I learned that if you're investing for the future needs of a son or daughter with a disability, some mistakes are so costly that they may disqualify your family member from receiving critical, government-sponsored benefits such as Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid. At the very least, not understanding the characteristics of the investment product you could be buying could dramatically lower the amount of money your son or daughter will have access to when it comes time to spend some of it. So let's bust two myths that I find to be annoyingly persistent in today's marketplace. If I am the recipient of SSI, SSDI, Medicare, or Medicaid, going to work will cut off my benefits. It's not worth it. Not only is this statement false, believing it prevents many people with a disability from attempting to earn higher education, because they think that working full- time at any job eventually will deprive them of health benefits or much- needed home- and community-based services from Medicaid. Why try for a college degree if there is no way to use that degree later without risking financial ruin? What a lot of people don't realize is that the Social Security Administration has an incentive program called Ticket to Work whose purpose is to help recipients of SSI, SSDI, Medicare, and Medicaid transition into the workplace without sacrificing their benefits. By drawing from expert advice, keeping good records, and wisely using impairment-related work expenses to offset earnings from employment on your income tax returns, working gainfully might be more lucrative and less painful than you think. To find a Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program that serves your area or an employment network with a benefits counselor, call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 866-968-7842 or for TTY users 866-833-2967 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time. If I'm disabled, even if I have prosperous people in my family who could contribute to my standard of living, I must remain destitute, or else I lose eligibility for SSI, SSDI, Medicare, or Medicaid. Not necessarily true. You would do well to remember a couple of facts that many miss. First, if it is Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) that you receive, "there is no limit to the amount of assets, cash, or resources you own." SSI and Medicaid do impose strict limits on the value of cash or investment assets that may be held in your name directly. But, thanks to the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, signed into law in 2014, disabled Americans now have access to the ABLE account. This account, which can receive contributions from many different sources, is a place where money can grow through tax-favored capital gains, dividends, and interest income. Then, it may be used for your benefit without jeopardizing your eligibility for government programs. How may this money be used? For "qualified disability expenses" related to the individual's disability or blindness and made for his/her benefit in maintaining or improving health, independence, or quality of life, including: . Education . Housing . Transportation . Employment training and support . Assistive technology and related services . Personal support services . Health, prevention, and wellness . Financial management and administrative services . Legal fees . Expenses for oversight and monitoring . Funeral and burial expenses . Basic living expenses . Other expenses approved by the Secretary of the Treasury under regulations consistent with the purpose of the program and/or published in future guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. So take heart. Living with a disability can be challenging on many levels. But don't let the fear of enforced impoverishment stop you from taking risks, gaining skills, and working toward a productive and affluent future. Do your homework, seek the advice of legal and financial professionals, and-above all-don't let the fearful things some people say stop you before you start. References: Taken from SSI Spotlight on Impairment-Related Work Expenses, published by the Social Security Administration. See Money Mondays: Wage Reporting - Myths, Tips and Ticket to Work, published on May 15, 2017, by the Social Security Administration. Quoted from Is There a Social Security Disability Asset Limit? | DisabilitySecrets. Taken from Promoting Access and Inclusion in ABLE Programs: New Opportunities for Saving, Financial Inclusion, and Economic Security for Individuals with Disabilities and Their Families, published by the ABLE National Resource Center. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Terry Rupp running in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Las Vegas] Las Vegas Calls to the Members of the National Federation of the Blind by Terri Rupp From the Editor: Terri Rupp is the energetic president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada. The Nevada and Idaho affiliates are our hosts for the 2019 National Convention, and here is how Terri tempts those of us who will join her in Las Vegas: We all waited anxiously for the big announcement last July revealing where the 2019 NFB National Convention would be held. I had my suspicions, but I would not confirm them to anyone. At the end of the national board meeting, when the final reveal was made, the crowd erupted with whoops of excitement. During the week of July 7 through 12, 2019, our Federation family will gather at the Mandalay Bay Resort in fabulous Las Vegas. The first recognizable thoughts to make it out of my head from the news that the national convention was coming to my hometown were, "This is going to be great! Vegas isn't going to be the same after #NFB19. Talk about an amazing opportunity: I get to welcome my Federation family to my hometown." It wasn't until the excitement fizzled just a bit that the words of the worried ones reached my ears. As blind people, we are all too familiar with the common myths and misconceptions that surround blindness. The same goes for Las Vegas. When I asked my friends and family in Facebook-land what their first thoughts were when they thought of Las Vegas, I heard the typical things like: the Strip, casinos, shows, crowds, etc. Then there were these other responses: endless desert beauty, great healthy food choices everywhere, family, community, home. We all have our expectations of what something might be like based on things we may have heard from others or watched in movies. Before my first trip to Las Vegas, I had those same thoughts. I had no idea that the city was more like a large, spread-out suburb. I naively thought the famous Las Vegas Strip sat in the middle of a sandy desert. I paid no attention to who those people might be that worked in those big fancy casinos. Those people who clean the rooms, prepare and serve the food, perform in the shows: those people are people just like you and me. They go home to families, take their kids to school, spend time outdoors in the gorgeous hills that our valley is nestled in, and go on vacations to national parks, Disney World, and other typical tourist attractions. These people are part of what make up my community. The community where my children were born, the community that came together and healed together after tragedy struck our loved ones on October 1, 2017. This is the city I am proud to call home. If you are wondering what an NFB National Convention will be like in Las Vegas, you are not alone. We have grown quite accustomed to planning our convention week in Orlando. It's about time for some change. For instance, travel to Las Vegas is extremely inexpensive by air and can easily be made by road from our neighboring states of Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon. We will no longer be limited to the same food choices we've been eating. Get your taste buds ready to experience an explosion of flavors from simple quick-service food to extravagant fine dining prepared by famous chefs. Are you wondering if convention in Vegas will be family-friendly? I'd like to point out that I have two young children myself. This convention, like every other convention, is an event for the entire family, from the young to the old. Just like the Federation has something to offer for everyone of all ages, so does Las Vegas. When you're not busy soaking up what you can in our seminars and workshops, when you're not in general session with a few thousand fellow Federationists, soak up the sun in the lazy river or wave pool at the Mandalay Bay. Just be sure to remember the sunscreen and stay hydrated. Not a fan of the heat? No problem. I actually highly recommend keeping a sweater with you at all times because the hotels are kept quite cold. You can spend your down time with the kids touching sting rays and sitting inside a sunken ship with sharks swimming around you at the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium. Want to venture off the resort property? Your choices are endless. Take Uber or Lyft to get up Las Vegas Boulevard to downtown where you'll find famous Fremont Street, and hop on one of the double decker busses known as the Deuce. Many hotels are connected by sky bridges and a monorail as well. Whatever your pleasure, just be mindful that you're not the only tourist. Most people you encounter on the Strip will most likely be visitors just like you and won't know where they are going either. As you make your plans for the 2019 NFB National Convention, I suggest planning an extra day for your stay for play. Lastly: don't forget the sunscreen. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dan Burke] I Voted Twice by Dan Burke From the Editor: Dan Burke served as the president of the NFB of Montana for nine years and on the NFB board of directors for five years. Currently he is the public relations specialist at the Colorado Center for the Blind and teaches a college prep class there for students headed for higher education. Dan describes how despite electronic voting machines being physically available for Colorado voters, their actual functionality for blind voters was less than we have the right to expect. Here is what he says: I wore a sticker on Election Day that said "I Voted," but it should have said "I Voted Twice!" I know a handful of other blind Coloradans who also voted two, sometimes three times. Maybe a sticker saying, "I voted-again and again ..."? This isn't about voter fraud. This is about the failure of equal access to our right to vote privately and independently. This is about blind voters standing firm in the face of this failure. You see, our first times through the ballot were not recorded. The problem, and the reason we all voted again, was that the electronic voting system deployed across Colorado that the law requires to ensure our right to vote privately and independently failed us. Once, twice, and in at least one case three times it failed individual blind voters in Arapahoe County. And it happened in at least four different polling locations. One blind voter tried two times, and the system crashed each time. Finally, frustrated and worn out, he made the unhappy choice to revert to the dark age of voting for the blind-he told a poll judge what his votes were and trusted that they would be recorded accurately. Those days should be behind us. As of 2006, all polling places were required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to have electronic voting machines. That was in response to dimpled, pregnant, and hanging chads in Florida 2000. But the law also required that those machines-or at least some of them in every polling place-would be accessible to voters with disabilities, including blind voters. We in the National Federation of the Blind made sure that last was true, that a blind person could vote privately and independently with nonvisual access. That is the America we envisioned. And it's almost come true. Frustratingly, it's only almost. It's only sometimes. For years Colorado left the choice of accessible voting systems up to each county. In 2015 it decided to pick one vendor and have all the counties use that same system. That's how we got the present Dominion voting system. The trouble with the selection process was that blind people weren't at the table. We didn't even get a call until the field testing of the four finalists. On a day or two's notice, the NFB of Colorado was asked to send testers to three of the four locations testing individual systems. Another blind person had been found to test the system tested in Denver County. As it happens, that was the machine that was chosen. But blind people were just an afterthought. Not actually at the table, we were tossed table scraps. And then Colorado's Secretary of State made an eight-year agreement with Dominion. Some counties just rolled out their Dominion systems this election, but Arapahoe deployed it in 2016. So far, I only know of Arapahoe County problems in 2018, which seems counter-intuitive. But the fact is that Julie and I voted in the primary in June without incident. The Wednesday before election day we went to a nearby polling place, and the judges couldn't get the system to the first contest, even with two phone calls to the elections help desk. We left after forty-five minutes without voting. Monday, the day before election day, we went to another polling place. We sat side-by-side at different machines. Julie's machine worked fine. Mine crashed after I completed all forty-five contests. By crashed I mean it reset itself. The poll supervisor was like an ER doctor trying to resuscitate an accident victim--valiant, but no hope. In Colorado our ballots are not recorded electronically. There is nothing to count until the ballot has printed, and you can drop it in the slot. For me, and all of my friends who voted more than once, the system crashed before we ever got to the point of printing the ballot. They too had to vote again. And maybe again. In the twelve years since HAVA put accessible voting machines into polling places, I think I have experienced problems in voting as many as half the times I've been to the polls. And I go to the polls for every election. So this means the past five years since I moved to Colorado, and the preceding seven years in Missoula County, Montana. This just isn't good enough, and I hope by now you, dear reader, have the feeling that I'm mad as hell. It only took a few swipes through my Facebook feed on election day to see that things are much the same with blind voters across the country. Many experienced flawless access, voting privately and independently. Many others experienced barriers. Nationwide, it seems, the promise of private, independent access for the blind is not yet fully realized. I know we can work with our county clerk and recorder to figure out where the problems are and take steps to fix things that are within the county's control. But this is a statewide system, so we also need to contact Secretary-elect Jena Griswold. Dominion, the company who has our Colorado contract for six more years needs to step up. We want and deserve a system that does more than go "clunk" half the time. And one of the ways to ensure that is to have blind people testing and evaluating the system and modifications long before they hit our polling places. We need to fix this, because we're not going away. All of us blind Colorado voters whose franchise was jacked around this week kept coming back, kept voting until it counted. That's because we count, and we will be counted. And I'll be damned if I report my vote to someone else to mark down ever again. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Neil Romano] Leading with Conviction: Making Equality for People with Disabilities a Priority for the United States of America by Neil Romano From the Editor: Saturday afternoon President Riccobono opened the session, and our first presenter was the honorable Neil Romano. Here is how the President introduced him: "Our first speaker this afternoon is chair of the National Council on Disability, an independent, non-partisan federal agency that advises the president, Congress, and other federal agencies on disability policy. He was appointed to NCD [National Council on Disability] by Congress in 2015, and he's now in his second term. He has dedicated his career to the marketing of ideas and messages to help save lives and promote public policy, and he's been successful in a variety of endeavors. You may know him from his previous work. In 2007 he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the assistant secretary of labor for disability policy and was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. In that position he led disability employment policy initiatives across the federal agencies. And on February 26, 2018, the president of the United States appointed him the chair of NCD. He didn't waste any time on making it clear what his priorities would be. He has many priorities, but there's one that he's pursuing more doggedly than any of the others, and it is the complete elimination of 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [applause] Here to address us in his hometown of Orlando is Neil Romano:" Thank you very much, President Riccobono. I have to tell you it's rare that I'm in a room that is so alive, holy smokes. [cheers] I was saying to Congressman Soto before I got up here: I just keep waiting for someone to say, "The great state of Tennessee gives fifteen votes to president . . ." This is an amazing convention! Congratulations to the planning committee and all the folks who do this. What this means when a person comes to something like this, is that there's great leadership and great cause and great purpose that we are looking for here. Obviously I'm delighted to be here to address the National Federation of the Blind for a lot of reasons, but I'd also like to take an opportunity to say thank you. Over the last so many years, every time it seems that I'm up for some appointment or other in the federal government-you know, no one ever knows how you get these things, it's some kind of magic, all of a sudden your name appears on a list. And then all of a sudden on that list you either rise or fall. You get really embarrassed. It shows up in the newspaper, and no one's ever heard of you. No one understands the alchemy or the magic of how it all happens, but I have to tell you, over the last number of years the NFB has consistently supported me in my efforts. I want to thank you for that, [applause] and I have to say that I am going to do everything that I can to make you happy and proud that you supported me. [applause, cheers] Oddly, it's not just because I want to make you guys happy. It's because I know that with the NFB, if I'm doing something that makes you happy, I am doing something that is good for people with disabilities and Americans. [applause] So thank you. President Riccobono's responsibility is to give you an introduction of me; he has to say something about me. I don't come with the cache of a congressman. You know who that is. You know what he does. You know how hard he worked to get there. But who is this guy? He has to give you some background on me because the planning committee doesn't want you to think they just picked me up in the hallway to fill fifteen minutes. So you get this image of a person, and they tell you things like I was the director of communications for President Reagan, I served as assistant secretary of labor and on and on, and you heard all of that. But I have to tell you, hearing what I did doesn't necessarily communicate who I am, and more importantly, why I believe what I believe, and why you can understand that I will be consistent and hard-working for you as the chairman of NCD. So I'm now going to tell you a little about me, as briefly as I can. You are hearing from a person who has suffered-I wouldn't say suffered-but who has serious dyslexia and spent much of his life ashamed of his limited ability to read and write and truly understands the crushing weight of low expectations. I'm going to stop and tell you something funny- oh my God, he just killed his dramatic line. Well I've got a couple more; don't worry about it. I've got a couple of real nasty barbs too-I come from a working-class Italian-American family back in Brooklyn. [cheers] Let's hear it Brooklyn, let's hear it New York, New Jersey-thank you guys. When I was selected to be the assistant secretary of labor for the United states, it was shocking to me. I was in a store buying CDs, and I got a call on my cell phone. The person on the other side of the call said the president would like to talk to you, and I said, "Yes, of course I'll speak to the president of the United States." I think the woman behind me thought it was just the most amazing pickup line I was making up. He said, "Neil, you know you've been complaining and moaning and going around the country talking about this 14(c) thing that you hate and all these other things. How'd you like to put your money where your mouth is and be my assistant secretary?" I said, "Well, Mr. President, when you put it that way, what can I say? Of course." So what did I do? I hung up, and what would any good Italian kid from Brooklyn do? I picked up the phone and called my mom. I said, "Mom, I just got off the phone with the president, and he's asked me to be the assistant secretary of labor." My God, we're printers, my family. My mother was extraordinarily quiet, quiet to the point where I thought she'd fainted. I thought, oh my mother in Brooklyn is laying on the floor; this is awful. I finally said, "Mom, are you okay?" She said, "Yeah, I'm fine. But does the president know you can't spell?" [laughter] Sometimes low expectations are just inherent, and they're not always mean. It's just what people believe. You also don't know that I was raised with a cousin with Down syndrome my entire life. She taught me that her hopes, her dreams, her desires were not the slightest bit different from mine. [cheers, applause] And she had within herself the most pronounced idea of freedom I have ever known. Which makes it interesting when I hear people say to me, "Well, they don't really know what they want. They don't really want to make money." That's not their expectations. I guess you need to know that my father's best friend his entire life until the day he died was a blind evangelist who some of you may have heard of. He was from here in Florida, and his name was Ralph Montanus. We never marveled at the fact of what he could do as a blind man. We marveled at the fact that a man who's dedicated to other people could really affect the lives of millions of people worldwide. My understanding of blind people is based on an executive who worked very, very hard and achieved. I have a brother who recently passed who was a Vietnam veteran who was a quadriplegic from the war. And I got to see what love means in a family that makes people in bad situations do better. But I also saw the obstacles caused by bureaucracy that often make the care of loved ones a full-time and lonely job. Finally, my resum? doesn't give you any indication at all that standing before you is an older man who grapples with the daily effects of leukemia and now faces the unexpected physical and often emotional changes of knowing the name of what will take him. I tell you all of this because you need to know that as your chairman- your chairman-of NCD, I'm not someone who's learned my lessons from things I've read. I'm not someone who's taken the time to learn things from books, and I have no constituency besides you. I have no constituency besides us! [applause] Let me talk a little bit about-you know, I'm running out of time already, which is shocking. They're probably saying, "When the heck is he getting to the NCD stuff?" Well, eventually. But John [Par?] already took away my 14(c) piece; what's next? Anyway, at NCD we have a series of priorities, and I'm going to run through them. We have many of them, but I'm just going to highlight four that mean a great deal to us. One of them is-it's funny, I have an intro what 14(c) is, but I don't think I need it in this room, do I? Can you imagine, for one moment, a law which allows Americans with disabilities to be paid less than minimum wage? Can anyone imagine any other group in America that would allow that and that there would not be civil war? Can you imagine if one day there was a law that said that women under the height of 5' 1" could not work in America, or if they hadn't achieved a certain weight couldn't do something? It would be a war, and rightfully so, because it's unfair. But we have a codification, a law, that indeed says it is so, there are people who cannot do productive work. I do not accept that, and neither do you. [applause] NCD will be redoubling our efforts to eliminate this practice by answering the often-deceptive claims and scare tactics of the lobbyists who slither their way through our halls of Congress offering their dogma of gloom. This year NCD will visit the six states and numerous programs that have voluntarily eliminated their 14(c) certificates and have not experienced the dire consequences predicted by those merchants of hopelessness. NCD will also continue its much, much, much appreciated partnership with this organization as we continue to do things like congressional briefings and strategy meetings, which are more often than not led by some of the people in this room, including my good friend over here, John Par?. [applause] Another priority that NCD is going to be looking at has to do with what we call cradle-to-grave bioethic issues. These are issues that generally don't get talked about. These are issues that people are sometimes quite afraid of. These are issues that as we talk about healthcare in America for people with disabilities don't often get raised, but they have the most significant impact emotionally and ethically on some of those decisions. We're going to ask the question is it acceptable to use genetic testing as a tool to eliminate entire categories of people with genetic differences and have the audacity to call that a cure? [applause] Do we agree with the medical model that sometimes considers some lives less worthy of life because of the potential of a disability? Is it possible that this very mindset is one of the reasons why people still have negative attitudes about people with disabilities in America? You know, I have to say something, and I'm just going to say it. I have literally heard people say, "Can you believe that that person had that child, even though they knew he would be born blind?" I'm sure some of you have heard it. And is there anything more terrifying than someone making a statement like that? Should we be having a debate in 2018 about whether people with disabilities should be allowed organ transplants? And is it acceptable under any condition for the words "guardianship" and "assisted suicide" to be spoken in the sentence-ever? We move to transportation-and I'm moving along quickly-but frankly this is a real simple one. NCD has been one of the leaders in the field of autonomous vehicles because we understand a simple thing: if you can't get to work, you can't work. [applause] I mean, there isn't a lot more that you can say about that. If you can't get around, it makes your experience and your ability to find happiness and financial support and security almost impossible. So we're working with the United States Department of Transportation on almost a daily basis to make sure that your views and the views of people with disabilities across this country are represented in the private meetings and in the conference rooms where things like autonomous vehicles are being discussed. And finally, I'm just going to touch very briefly on parental rights. NCD recently issued a report on the abuse of parental rights for people with disabilities. I asked my team to put together a brief summary that tells me what the problems are, even though I worked on the survey, and what some of our solutions were. You know what: after they sent me this nice forty-page paper, I decided to sum it up this way: no parent should ever have a child taken away from them simply because they have a disability. Period. [applause, cheers] Disability is not a crime. Period. [applause] And I'll be darned if I am going to accept some judge somewhere who makes a decision that they have a better idea what to do with our children than the love of a parent. [applause] In closing, I just want to say that these are fundamentals to us as Americans. You know that we have the Constitution, but the Declaration of Independence says that we are "endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Everything we talked about today has to do with that statement, and it's our responsibility-everyone in this audience, everyone at NCD, my friends in Congress, all of us-to remember daily that it's our responsibility as citizens to pay forward the promise of liberty and to make America more inclusive and more equal for every human being. Thank you. [applause] ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Curtis Chong] New JAWS and ZoomText Annual Home Licenses Now Available through the Freedom Scientific eStore by Curtis Chong From the Editor: Curtis Chong has a long history of advocacy for blind people, holding many offices in the Federation, working as our director of technology at the Jernigan Institute, and working for several state agencies in roles involving the purchase of or training in technology. He has now retired and has moved to Colorado. "For all the free time I'm supposed to have, I still find myself incredibly busy," he says. One of the major problems for blind people wanting to use computers has been the initial and ongoing cost of screen-reading software. Just as the software industry is changing to become subscription-based rather than purchasing and upgrading, so too is the assistive technology industry. Here is Curtis's announcement about Vispero and the way it is now marketing its assistive software products: I am pleased to pass along some exciting information about new annual licenses for JAWS and ZoomText that are now available from Freedom Scientific. With these new annual licenses, blind or low-vision computer users in the United States can now purchase ZoomText Magnifier/Reader or JAWS for as little as $80 or $90 (respectively) per year without paying hundreds of dollars up front. Instead of spending $400 for ZoomText, $600 for ZoomText Reader/Magnifier, or $900 for JAWS, you can now shop online and pay as little as $80 a year for ZoomText Magnifier with Speech or $90 a year for JAWS. You have the option of purchasing options for one, three, or five years, and as long as your license is current, you will always receive the most up-to-date version. You will not have to pay any more to obtain new versions of ZoomText Reader/Magnifier or JAWS as they are released. Moreover, you will be able to run these programs on up to three of the computers you use, and if needed, you can remove the license from one computer and activate it on the computer of a friend or family member whom you may happen to be visiting. The ZoomText or JAWS annual home licenses are currently available only through the Freedom Scientific eStore at https://store.freedomscientific.com/. Here, you can search either for "ZoomText Magnifier/Reader Home Annual License" or "JAWS Home Annual License." Admittedly, this may not be a big deal for those of us who have already spent the money to purchase ZoomText or JAWS licenses; it is certainly not of any interest to people who need the ZoomText or JAWS professional licenses because they use these programs in an employment situation. However, for blind people who have not purchased JAWS or ZoomText because of the hundreds of dollars that they cannot afford to spend, or for people who have avoided paying maintenance charges to keep their JAWS or ZoomText licenses current, this is a really big deal. I have had some conversations with the folks at Freedom Scientific, and it is clear to me that the long-term plan is to have this subscription model available for both the home and professional user licenses. For now, I think that Freedom Scientific should be commended for taking this first cost-saving step to reduce the cost for JAWS and ZoomText. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Nancy Burns] This is Not a Stick by Nancy Burns From the Editor: Often in these pages we talk about the history of blind people. Very often it is concrete and can be documented. Sometimes it is speculative, and what we relate is more parable than literal. Thus is the case with this piece by Nancy Burns. Nancy is a longtime leader in the National Federation of the Blind, and she quarrels with the idea that some will call the long white cane a stick. I appreciate her position while at the same time supporting a fundraiser done by the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri in which we sell shirts that say, "I drive a stick." They have been popular at the national convention, and many people who see them when we travel appreciate the humor and the fact that we are functioning quite independently on our own. For all of the magic that the long white cane has performed in my life, I could easily advertise it as a wand, but let me not confuse the message of our author. Here's what she says: Long, long ago, in a land far away lived a young cave dweller. One morning as he cautiously slipped out of the safety of his cave for his morning walk, he unfortunately met up with a baby T-Rex and was knocked to the ground. This adventurous cave dweller escaped with his life, but he lost the sight in both eyes. He managed to return to the security of his cave and sat down and gave up all of his previous activities. One day while seated, his foot bumped against a stick which he picked up and used to explore the cave. He found that his stick could be used to keep him from bumping into the cave walls and from tripping over rocks. His stick gave him security. He regained independence and could once again explore his surroundings with confidence. As the centuries rolled around to more modern times, the "stick" became longer and a little more sophisticated. It became recognized as a useful tool for foot travel for blind people during the 1800s. In 1944 long- cane mobility techniques were taught at the Valley Forge Army hospital. During the 1900s several training centers sprang up throughout the United States. Unfortunately, the belief was that only sighted people could teach these mobility techniques. However, through advocacy and the demonstrated competency of the blind, it became more common for blind people to teach others who were blind. The long white cane became the preferred tool for use by active and mobile blind people. Once they learned the basics of cane travel, blind travelers took these basic skills and began exploring unfamiliar neighborhoods. The sense of hearing was recognized as extremely important so that the blind person could listen for traffic and other sounds. Using additional clues, such as the location of the sun or the direction of the wind, blind travelers became more confident and competent and were actually using what is now known as the Structured Discovery method. Although the method had been used for decades, it was not officially recognized until 1995. In the United States three NFB training centers for the blind have been created. The administrators and the majority of staff members are highly qualified blind people. As is often the case with the sighted public, some attitudes about blindness remain back in the dark ages. The long white cane has far surpassed the efficiency of the primitive stick, but some continue to call our cane a "stick." The National Federation of the Blind advances the philosophy that the long white cane is a tool of independence. It allows us to live the life we want. It is challenging to bring the attitudes of the public forward and to encourage them to think of the cane in this manner. As Federationists we have come a long way but have a long way to go in the education of the sighted public and in the eradication of misconceptions that linger. In speaking with other friends who happen to be blind, it is apparent that well educated individuals in such fields as education, health care, law, and religion may not be educated in the fact that our white cane is no longer called a stick. The New Mexico Legislature passed the White Cane Law in 1967. This law protects the rights of blind citizens who use the long white cane or guide dog. The passage of this legislation is a continuation of the efforts of the Federation to protect the rights of blind pedestrians. The long white cane has truly become a symbol of our independence and allows us to move about and to live the life we want. Editor's Note: In support of Nancy's conclusion, and in defense of those who appreciate and have benefited from our educational system, unless the public has direct contact with someone who uses the long white cane and refers to it with this language, they might be hard-pressed to arrive at our terminology without thinking it offensive or inaccurate. Just for fun we looked at several dictionary definitions. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary online, the definition of cane is as follows: "The long, hollow stems of particular plants such as bamboo: A cane is also a walking stick with a curved handle, used to help someone walk." The Meriam Webster Dictionary says: "2: a stick typically of wood or metal with a usually curved handle at one end that is grasped to provide stability in walking or standing." From the foregoing definitions one can easily see that the cane is primarily thought of as a tool that allows someone who cannot move to be ambulatory. Therefore a sighted person might think it rude to refer to the tool clearly used by the blind as a sensory supplement with the same term and imply a greater physical impairment. After our back and forth on all of this, Nancy concludes: This article was originally intended to just point out the lack of information certain professionals, especially in the medical field, thought about the cane. I sort of wondered off into a different direction. I really did not want to preach, but I think it did come out a little preachy. Anyway, it was fun to write. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: C. Edwin Vaughan] Are We Handicapped, Disabled, or Something Else? by C. Edwin Vaughan From the Editor: What is in a word? We have long debated whether words create our reality or reality creates our words. If the former is true, the word we use can be limiting and even devaluing. We know that we are blind. Some of us can't see at all; others of us see so little that we primarily use the techniques of blindness to be productive. But beyond blind, what are we? Are we handicapped, disabled, differently abled, or are we "people with sight loss" or "people with visual limitations"? Though we have had thoughtful essays on the subject, we still lack clarity. Dr. C. Edwin Vaughan is a former professor of sociology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is good at making us look at these hard questions, often pointing the way to what is wrong, but leaving to us the task of figuring out what is right. Here is what he says about the history of the words we use to describe us and their not-so-subtle implications: For more than two decades the NFB has stressed that we are changing what it means to be blind. All blind people internalize notions about blindness acquired from parents, teachers, rehab workers, and the general public. The most significant barriers to our being integrated into the wider community come from the way blindness and vision loss are framed or portrayed in the wider community. Blindness is viewed as a characteristic that creates a large gulf between the sighted and people with lesser degrees of vision. Since examples of the framing of blindness come from the widespread use of the words "handicapped" and "disabled" as general descriptions of blindness, it is helpful to understand the origin of these two words. John Simpson is one of the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. He is also the author of a delightful new book, The Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary (Basic Books, New York 2001). He has researched the history of a great many commonly used words and phrases. The words "handicap" and "disability" specifically caught his attention because his second daughter Ellie has Angelman Syndrome, "A rare genetic disorder causing severe mental disability and characterized by ataxia, creating a person who is affectionate and cheerful but blissfully unaware of many things, most especially the need for speech." (P. 191) Simpson then applied his lexicographic skills to analyze some of the words used to describe people such as his daughter. Here is what he says: Ability is another of those words that entered English in the Middle Ages from France. But the French didn't give us disability. We had to work that one out for ourselves. Our first record of the term dates from 1545, in the general sense "lack of ability (to do something)." But the specific application of the word to a person's mental or physical incapacity also comes from around the same period: it was first noted in 1561, and contrasts strongly with many of the other words used at the time (such as imbecility, dumbness, etc.) for personal-disability terms which are now no longer regarded as acceptable. We might be surprised that a "neutral" word was so prevalent in the sixteenth century... Why did disability become the more acceptable term? The word handicap dates from the seventeenth century, over a century after disability. It comes from a time when the English enjoyed experimenting with new vocabulary. But at first the term had nothing to do with disability. In the beginning, handicap was a game. As the OED [Oxford English Dictionary] says, it was "a game in which one person claims an article belonging to another and offers something in exchange, an umpire being chosen to decide the difference of value between the two articles, to be made up in money by the owner of the less valuable one." The handicap, then, is the difference between the value of two items, or the value you have to add to one to make it equivalent to the other... By the eighteenth century, the word handicap attached itself to horse-racing, on the same logic. An official decided the extra weight to be carried by a horse to equalize its chances of winning. Originally the agreement was conducted between two principals with a cap, as in the game, but later bureaucracy took over. The meaning seeped into various sports in the eighteen and nineteenth centuries. It wasn't until around 1888 that the handicap was first applied to physical or mental disability. The earliest records for this come from the United States. At first it was regarded as a perfectly normal expression-an acknowledgement of the difference in ability between two people. But, by the later twentieth century, handicap had come to be considered generally unacceptable: an unfamiliar-looking word implying too marked and dismissive a distinction between the able and the disabled. Maybe the expression also seemed to imply going "cap in hand" to beg for public assistance (Simpson, 188-190). Although the label "handicap" is out of favor we have institutionalized the concept of disability throughout the general culture. One of the most visible examples is the Americans with Disabilities Act. In his 2018 banquet address at the NFB National Convention President Mark Riccobono observed that blindness has always been observed as a characteristic that distinguishes someone who lacks ability (speech as published in the August-September 2018 Braille Monitor). Are we making a mistake by accepting without questioning the concept of disability as it is generally applied to blind people? "Dis" is a negative prefix. No one likes to be dissed; why should we like to be disabled? What does it mean to be able? Is every person with average vision able to do everything? Obviously not-sighted people are as variable as people with limited sight. Sighted people demonstrate an enormous range of what individuals can accomplish. Yet we apply this concept in a most general way to all individuals who are blind or have limited vision. For the general public ability is individualized: everyone is different. However, as a group all blind people are disabled. How can we as a social movement change the way our individuality is portrayed? Clearly words like differently abled buy into the same general problem. What concept can focus on our potential as individuals? If these ideas have merit, perhaps they can be developed and better analyzed in the many philosophic discussions that occur in chapter meetings and at our three national centers. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Chris Danielsen] Building the Federation Brand Part 4: A Second Look at Our Brand Values by Chris Danielsen From the Editor: Chris Danielsen is our director of public relations and was one of the people who served a critical function in helping us arrive at and articulate our branding messages. Who better than Chris to help explain these further. Here is what he says: In the May 2018 Braille Monitor, we discussed how one of the critical pieces of our brand architecture is a set of brand values. As we said, just as with personal values, brand values make up the code by which the organization lives. Our brand values define the principles upon which our staff, leadership, and members act and make decisions. They are the heart and soul of the organization and do not change very much over time. The National Federation of the Blind lives by six carefully considered brand values: courage, respect, love, full participation, democracy, and collective action. Back in May we talked about the values of courage, respect, and love and gave examples of how they work in our movement. In this article we'll consider the values of full participation, democracy, and collective action. Full Participation We assert that blind people have a right to live fully and equally in the world, and from this flows our expectation that society will not artificially prevent blind people from full participation. The world is better off when all its people can contribute all that they have to offer. In his 1957 banquet speech "Cross of Blindness," our founder, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, laid out the rationale for organizing and growing the National Federation of the Blind. He listed sixteen incidents in which blind people encountered discrimination or barriers to full participation in society. Some of these examples are much rarer today than they were when he made the speech, if they exist at all. It's unusual today for a bank to flatly deny a blind person a safety deposit box or for an airline to deny us a plane ticket. Most of these barriers have all but disappeared because of the National Federation of the Blind. But other barriers still exist, and there are new ones. The inaccessibility of websites, apps, and other technologies comes to mind. So does the proliferation of household appliances that we can no longer easily label and use. As at our founding and in 1957, our goal is the full participation of blind people in society, and that means the removal of all the artificial barriers that stand in the way of that goal. Democracy The National Federation of the Blind is the original and largest organization of the blind. By virtue of being a democratic organization open to all blind people, we represent the issues that are important to the blind openly and fairly. National, state, and local officers are elected by the membership of the NFB to ensure a representative form of government and democratic decision-making practices. Our membership-driven structure ensures that blind people can determine our own future rather than relying on others to advocate for us. Understanding our commitment to democracy involves understanding how our leaders are chosen and how we arrive at decisions. The Constitution of the National Federation of the Blind was last amended at the 2014 National Convention. The national convention is the Federation's supreme authority, so our constitution can only be amended there. The amended constitution was published in the January 2015 issue of the Braille Monitor and is available online at https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm15/bm1501/bm150111.htm. Because the constitution lays out all our democratic processes, it's useful for members to read and review it. Understanding how our organization is structured, how we elect our leaders, and how we make decisions helps all of us to more fully participate in our movement. Collective Action The primary purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is "to serve as a vehicle for collective action by the blind," as stated in our above-referenced constitution. A core belief is that the blind can and will speak for ourselves. Embodied in this self-determination is the understanding that progress comes from blind people working together, sharing individual dreams, and speaking with a more powerful, unified voice than any one person could on his/her own. Our democratic processes allow us to arrive at organizational decisions, either through the actions of our elected leaders or through direct votes by the convention (for example, on resolutions). Collective action encompasses the things we do in order to put those decisions into effect. For example, if we decide to support proposed legislation, then we tell Congress about our support for it-in person during Washington Seminar and through letters, emails, phone calls, and social media posts throughout the rest of the year. Sometimes we organize informational protests to inform policymakers, businesses, or government agencies that we believe that their practices or policies are unhelpful to blind people. Social media campaigns can do the same thing. We successfully put a stop to the Foundation Fighting Blindness's misguided #HowEyeSeeIt campaign almost entirely through social media action. The key to collective action, whether direct or virtual, is that we all convey and amplify the same message. That is what gives our movement its power and influence. What other examples come to mind when you think about these values, or any other aspects of the brand that we have discussed? Share them with us by sending an email to communicationsteam at nfb.org. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ronza Othman hugs a stuffed minion from the movie Despicable Me.] The Future Is Ours by Ronza Othman From the Editor: Ronza Othman was just elected as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. She is a motivated person who has a very distinguished career within the Federation. Where Ronza is, activity lives and flourishes. Here is a speech that she gave at the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland's 2018 convention: "I am blind." Those words are three of the most liberating words in the English language. But for many of us, they are some of the scariest words in the English language. Some of us need to hear them hundreds of times before we realize those words apply to us. Some of us need to literally fall in a hole, and we still won't realize they apply to us. But thanks to the National Federation of the Blind, those words are liberating- an anthem of freedom that pierces the anxiety and frustration of trying to do things the sighted way when you have little or no sight. I'd like to tell you a little about me, if I may. I was one of those who was slow to accept my blindness and slower to use the words. I always thought I was unique-my family immigrated to the United States from Palestine just days before I was born. I spoke almost no English when I started school, and I was the sixth of seven kids. My family is loud, funny, and each and every one of them is a Type-A personality-except me. #Sarcasm. My mom figured out when I was a toddler that I had "vision issues," and like most parents she took me from doctor to doctor seeking a diagnosis, a reason, and a fix. In the Middle East and many other parts of the world, cultural and political norms cause families of the blind to hide their disabilities and sometimes to hide the family members who have disabilities. The word "blind" has very negative connotations, and resources don't exist, or if they do they are inadequate. Fortunately much has changed in the last quarter-century in much of the world. But for most refugees and immigrants, who are already trying so hard to "blend" and be unnoticed in American society, having a child with a disability such as blindness is an additional challenge. Having said that, though the Middle Eastern culture used to hide its blind, my mother rebelled against that notion from day one. So my unwillingness to use the word "blind" though perhaps had some societal cause, was in no way perpetuated by my mother or immediate family. Yet English was my second language, and I was notoriously bad at it-I kept trying to add English endings to Arabic words, which as a little kid just sounds bizarre. You'll still hear my accent come out when I'm tired, sad, or angry. Anyway, I went to kindergarten at my local public school, where I have fond memories of playing with blocks. That is all I remember about mainstream kindergarten. I remember a test-I was five so I also remember really wanting the juice box they promised me if I finished the test-and they showed me three pictures: an umbrella, an apple, and a house. I knew the words in Arabic, but I didn't know them in English. I told the juice box people what items were in the pictures, but I did it in the wrong language-no one but me spoke Arabic. And off to a resource school for the blind I went-oh and I got to repeat kindergarten too. And to add insult to injury, the juice box wasn't even that good. The resource school taught me to read, write, and speak English first. But they wouldn't teach me more than rudimentary Braille or cane travel because I "had enough vision to get by without them." They gave me large print books, and I believe that is when my need for a chiropractor originally began; a six-year-old shouldn't be carrying such heavy books. I was mainstreamed into the "regular" classrooms within a few months of getting there, which made me wonder even at age six why I had to commute ninety minutes each way each day to just do what I would have done at my neighborhood school. I did ask that question-in English, I was precocious- but I never got a satisfactory answer. I remember a particular time when I got behind my regular class in reading, and I worked out that my classmates were using context clues from the pictures in the book to learn words. Large print books in my day looked like over-sized coloring books, and for a blind kid, all I saw were a bunch of wavy lines-rather disorienting. I asked my "vision" teacher if someone could color in my book like the other kids so I could have usable pictures too, and I'm sure that was the most fun task one vision aide probably ever had, coloring my first-grade reader. I have fond memories of See Frog Jump as a result. I went back to my neighborhood school after second grade and attended a religious parochial school for junior high and high school. I got the occasional visit from my vision itinerant, but mostly those were excuses to skip a math quiz or visit Taco Bell. It took me longer than most to finish my homework, and I slept very little in high school in order to keep up with the required reading. Oh, and I was a total nerd, complete with the public aid glasses-you know them, the ones that are huge plastic frames with bifocals-and my mother insisted I wear them on a string so I didn't lose them. I didn't go out alone at night, and I only went if I absolutely trusted the person whom I was with. I realize now that the people I was with were giving me nonvisual cues, but it was clear to everyone but me that I was blind. All this time, when people asked me-and mind you they absolutely had to ask, I never volunteered or self-identified-I would say I was "visually impaired." When I went to college, I began figuring out something was different about me. I realized I was the only one working so hard to complete assignments. I got a job on campus I really liked but wasn't brought back after freshmen year because I was "too slow in reading documents." I realized Scantron Test Sheets were everywhere (they are the devil), and my absolute loathing for them was disproportionate from my fellow classmates. I fell in a hole-literally. Walking one night I jumped out of the way of a speeding car and ended up in a construction ditch. I hadn't even known it was there, and had I used blindness techniques or mobility skills, I'd have known of its existence before I fell in it. I broke my ankle and two ribs. But I insisted to anyone who would listen that I fell because of a speeding car, not because I "couldn't see well." My vernacular was changing. I applied for scholarships with the National Federation of the Blind, and I wish so fervently that someone had contacted me for more than the annual interview. My college experience would have been so different, and I may have avoided that hole. I finally did receive a state scholarship in Illinois when I was a first-year law student, and that state convention was my first exposure to adults who were blind and who were fine with their blindness. In fact, they were thriving. I showed up at the convention fully planning to take the scholarship money and run-law school is expensive and really intense. But when I got to the hotel, I saw about 100 blind people who were laughing, talking, walking, navigating the hotel and parking lot on their own, and doing what many of us think of as basic things. But for me, this was all new. I thought I was doing great as a "low vision" person, but surrounded by people who had much less usable vision than I did, I felt like I was missing something fundamental. At that convention, I met people like Patti Chang, Debbie Stein, Fred Schroeder, and Ryan Strunk. Fred Schroeder kept calling me "Runza," and it took me three days to figure out he was teasing me by calling me the name of his favorite Nebraska sandwich. Then he talked to me about my own as well as cultural misconceptions about blindness-this was the beginning of a life-long conversation the two of us have been having about blindness and NFB philosophy. Ryan Strunk kept asking me annoying questions like "But how do you read?" and "How do you travel?" I got defensive because my answers didn't satisfy him . . . or, I realized, me. I later thought long and hard about his questions and viewed them as a challenge to learn how to work smarter, not harder, and that meant learning blindness skills. Patti Chang showed me that lawyering could be done as a blind person quite competently-which was something I was very anxious about-and she took me under her wing (whether I liked it or not) and brought me into her family. Patti gave me one of my first jobs as a law clerk, and she worked me as hard as every sighted employee she had-I think she worked me harder. She taught me through words and actions what blind people could do in their lives, what blind lawyers could do, what I could do. Debbie Stein gave me the gift of literacy; she too grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. I tried to take the money and run, but Patti and Debbie wouldn't allow it, and Debbie taught me to read Braille. I've been fortunate to meet thousands of Federationists since that state convention, and I've learned a great deal from so many of them. A Federationist, Nathanael Wales, put a long white cane in my hand for the first time and taught me how to use it. I had to lose a bet to do it, but some of us are slow learners. Federationists taught me cooking techniques. Federationists showed me that independent air travel is not only possible but easy. Federationists helped give me the confidence to move, alone, across the country to Maryland. They showed me what technology is out there. A Federationist, Joanne Wilson, helped me get my first federal job. Melissa Riccobono was the first friend I made when I moved to Maryland a decade ago. I learned from Melissa to be myself, that it is OK to make mistakes, and to never stop learning. The incomparable Sharon Maneki has influenced my life in so many ways. I've learned that I am capable of so much more than I thought I was. I learned that no one's brain can store as much information as Sharon's, but I like the challenge of trying to mine that brain. Sharon is also one of the funniest people I've ever known, but her humor is so unexpected that it takes you a minute to realize she made a joke. I'm so grateful for her faith in me as a leader, and I'm more grateful than I can ever express for her friendship and for her love. These incredible Federationists and others helped shape me into the person I am. They taught me self-confidence and that the word "blind" is not negative but freeing. I hope to share the gift they've given to me with those who come after me. They showed me that with the proper skills and attitude, the future is ours. Because of them, because of you, my fellow Federationists, I can say with pride and confidence: My name is Ronza Othman, and I am blind. ---------- Why We Question the Wisdom that Leads to Low Expectations for the Blind by Gary Wunder At the 2018 National Convention, President Riccobono flatteringly introduced Suman Kanuganti, the cofounder and chief executive officer of Aira, as a disruptive force in the field of blindness technology. There is no question that Aira is pushing the bounds of technology by asking a lot from the cellular networks in delivering real-time audio and video to give blind people another way to get visual information. In the Federation we are also disruptive, doing anything we can to raise expectations of blind people so that blindness is not the characteristic that defines them or their future. It is our observation that the traditions supporting low expectations have not been based on the real experience of blind people but on the perceptions that our society has unknowingly perpetuated. These low expectations have not been conscious or deliberate, but they are real. History is worth knowing and traditions are beneficial, but sometimes we need to look beyond them as we do our best to think outside the box and create the kind of future we want. Some of my service on the National Federation of the Blind's Board of Directors took place while Dr. Jernigan was an active and inspirational leader. I treasure having had that experience. One day he began after a brief coffee break with this poem. I hope it sparks in you both the amusement and the reflection it sparks in me: The Calf-Path by Samuel Walter Foss One day through the primeval wood A calf walked home as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail as all calves do. Since then three hundred years have fled, And I infer the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale. The trail was taken up next day, By a lone dog that passed that way; And then a wise bellwether sheep Pursued the trail o'er vale and steep, And drew the flock behind him, too, As good bellwethers always do. And from that day, o'er hill and glade Through those old woods a path was made. And many men wound in and out, And dodged, and turned, and bent about, And uttered words of righteous wrath, Because 'twas such a crooked path; But still they followed-do not laugh- The first migrations of that calf, And through this winding wood-way stalked Because he wobbled when he walked. This forest path became a lane, that bent and turned and turned again; This crooked lane became a road, Where many a poor horse with his load Toiled on beneath the burning sun, And traveled some three miles in one. And thus a century and a half They trod the footsteps of that calf. The years passed on in swiftness fleet, The road became a village street; And this, before men were aware, A city's crowded thoroughfare. And soon the central street was this Of a renowned metropolis; And men two centuries and a half, Trod in the footsteps of that calf. Each day a hundred thousand rout Followed the zigzag calf about And o'er his crooked journey went The traffic of a continent. A hundred thousand men were led, By one calf near three centuries dead. They followed still his crooked way, And lost one hundred years a day; For thus such reverence is lent, To well-established precedent. A moral lesson this might teach Were I ordained and called to preach; For men are prone to go it blind Along the calf-paths of the mind, And work away from sun to sun, To do what other men have done. They follow in the beaten track, And out and in, and forth and back, And still their devious course pursue, To keep the path that others do. They keep the path a sacred groove, Along which all their lives they move. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Karl Smith] Of Elvis and Structured Discovery by Karl Smith From the Editor: Karl Smith is a longtime member of the National Federation of the Blind, is a major pillar in our Utah Affiliate, and runs a successful business selling assistive technology. Karl loves to discuss history and philosophy, and this month he treats Monitor readers to reflections that combine those and some rather interesting personal experiences while on a trip. Here is what he says: In recent years Federationists have become quite familiar with the term Structured Discovery. It is the method used by each of our three training centers in Louisiana, Colorado, and Minnesota. At these centers blind students are taught skills that help them familiarize themselves with their environment and through careful inspection learn to navigate and function fully in normal activities of daily life such as cane travel, shopping, holding a job, and more. The roots of Structured Discovery run deep throughout the history of our movement back to Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and many other early leaders. Today highly qualified blind instructors routinely teach cane travel, cooking, and woodshop, along with other skills using the Structured Discovery method. It hasn't always been so. In the early 1980s a young student named Fred Schroeder was refused certification as a travel instructor by the AER (Association for the Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind) even though he had completed his university studies and was in every way qualified. Why? Because he was blind, and of course the professionals knew that it was dangerous for a blind person to teach another blind person cane travel. As foreign as this attitude is to those of us who received training from highly skilled blind instructors, it is still very prevalent among the so-called professionals in the field including both teachers and administrators. They seem unable or unwilling to be convinced despite the evidence to the contrary that Structured Discovery taught by a teacher, blind or sighted, results in the most consistent long-term positive outcomes. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I witnessed a real-world example of Structured Discovery used by someone who had likely never heard the term. It was during an extended international trip through New Zealand and Australia with my family along with Harold and Joanne Wilson. It happened on Christmas day of 2009 in of all places Christchurch, New Zealand, at the International Antarctic Center, a scientific complex and museum funded by a number of nations including the US. It is from here that most Antarctic expeditions leave for the South Pole and its environs. The museum features a lot of interesting and fun activities. These included a ride in a H?gglund, a large, tracked vehicle used to drive over the Antarctic ice. It can climb up and down hills at up to a forty-five-degree angle and tip from left to right up to thirty-five degrees. It can also float if necessary, as it did during part of the ride. The water actually came up above the windows at one point before we drove up the opposite side of the river. There is also a very large deep freeze with 50,000 tons of snow and ice inside where you can go and be blasted by an Antarctic storm. This room also features an igloo, a big slide made of ice, and a wind chill machine capable of producing temperatures of 50 below zero. Joanne and I did go down the slide, and fortunately I believe the incriminating pictures no longer exist. My two daughters hid inside the igloo during the storm. The exhibit which made the greatest impression on me was the penguins. These are known as second chance penguins because they have been rescued after sustaining injuries from predators, being hit by cars, or being cut up by boat propellers. These are the lucky ones who would not have lived long in the wild in their condition. One of these penguins, Elvis, was blinded by a predator. His handler told us that he uses his beak as a cane, checking out his location and using his sense of smell to find things. She also said that as soon as he hears the rattle of the fish bucket he knows it's feeding time and will come out of his burrow for dinner. On this day Elvis decided not to come out when he heard the bucket. Someone asked if the handler would take the food to him. Her answer was very interesting: she said that she wouldn't take the food to him because it is best for penguins to eat in the water. If she took the food to him rather than requiring him to find his way out to it, he wouldn't learn to be independent. How about that-naturally teaching the Structured Discovery method of orientation and mobility to a penguin. She thought it was just common sense. Wouldn't it be nice if this sort of sensible thinking was the norm throughout the blindness system? Wouldn't it be refreshing to know that the professionals knew that blind people are at least as smart as penguins? I say, go Elvis! ---------- Recipes Every summer, many NFB chapters hold a picnic. Since this would be difficult for those of us in the NFB of Minnesota At-Large Chapter, we decided to hold a "virtual picnic" at our August meeting. Below are some of the recipes presented - along with a couple more from other affiliate members. It is nineteen degrees as I am writing this ... so a picnic sounds good! [PHOTO CAPTION: Rocky Hart] Puppy Chow by Rocky Hart Rocky Hart, who is fifteen years old and in the tenth grade, attends the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind and is the secretary of the At- Large Chapter. We suspect he may be the youngest chapter officer in the NFB. We are benefiting from his enthusiasm, energy, and new ideas. Ingredients: 9 cups Chex cereal, any type 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar Method: Put the cereal into a large bowl, set aside. One twelve-ounce box yields just over 9 cups. In a one-quart microwavable bowl heat chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter uncovered on high for one minute and stir. Microwave about thirty seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Add vanilla and stir. Pour mixture over cereal, gently mixing until evenly coated. Pour into a two-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. A paper grocery bag can be used instead of a large plastic bag. If you only have one-gallon plastic bags, put 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/3 of the cereal in each bag, seal and shake. Spread onto waxed paper to cool. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Jan Bailey] Cauliflower Salad by Jan Bailey Jan Bailey is a long-time Federationist and president of our Rochester Chapter. Ingredients: 1 medium head cauliflower, cut up and steamed for about two minutes and then cooled 4 to 5 green onions 1 small can sliced olives 5 or 6 sliced fresh mushrooms 1/3 to 1/2 cup each sour cream and mayonnaise, mixed together salt and pepper to taste Method: Mix all ingredients. Marinate a while before serving. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Joyce Scanlan] Baked Beans and Pineapple by Joyce Scanlan Joyce Scanlan is a long-time Federationist who served as president of the NFB of Minnesota for many years, as well as founding and serving as executive director of BLIND, Inc. Ingredients: 1/4 pound bacon, diced 1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup) 1/2 green pepper, chopped (1/2 cup) 1/2 to 1 cup pineapple chunks, drained 1 20-ounce can pork and beans 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1 cup catsup 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Method: Fry bacon until crisp. Stir in onion, pepper, and pineapple. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into bean pot or large casserole. Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for two hours. Makes six to eight servings. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ryan Strunk] Nut Goodies by Ryan Strunk Ryan is the president of the NFB of Minnesota. He says: "While not strictly a picnic recipe, this one is very Minnesotan." Ingredients: 1 12-ounce package chocolate chips 1 12-ounce package butterscotch chips 1 package miniature marshmallows 1 pound salted peanuts 1 cup peanut butter Method: Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips in microwave. Add peanut butter and keep heating until you can stir the mixture smooth. Add peanuts and marshmallows. After it is mixed well, pour into greased twelve- by-thirteen-inch pan. Let sit until hardened. Cut into bars. ---------- Jan's Crockpot Calico Beans by Jan Bailey Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped 1 package fully cooked bacon, chopped 1 large can Bush's original baked beans, drained 1 small can Bush's original baked beans, drained 1 can baby lima beans, drained 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained 2/3 cup ketchup 1/4 cup mustard 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses, optional Method: Brown the hamburger and chopped onions together, and drain if needed. Place in six-quart crockpot, add all other ingredients, and stir thoroughly. Cook on high for four hours or on low for six hours. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: David Andrews] Summer Vegetable Pesto Ribbon Salad by David Andrews David Andrews is the president of the NFB of Minnesota At-Large Chapter. He has lived and worked in many states, including serving as the first director of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind at the national headquarters in Baltimore. Ingredients: Salad: 2 zucchinis 2 yellow squashes 2 carrots, peeled 2 cups grape tomatoes olive oil, for drizzling salt, to taste pepper, to taste Pesto Dressing: 2 cups fresh basil 1 cup fresh parsley 2/3 cup cashews 1 clove garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup olive oil Methods: For the salad: Cut the ends off the zucchini, squash, and carrots. With a vegetable peeler, shave off as many thin slices as possible from vegetables, making a pile of thin ribbons. Transfer ribbons to a large bowl. Use a sharp knife to slice the tomatoes in half and add to the bowl with the shaved vegetables. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. For the pesto dressing: Add the basil, parsley, cashews, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil to a food processor and process until smooth. Spoon the pesto onto the shaved vegetables and mix well with tongs until fully coated and serve. This is a good picnic recipe because it contains no mayonnaise. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Small Braille Books: We have available for sale little Whittle Braille Books. These 3 by 5 inch books include UEB literary Braille. This is a great way to help new Braille learners of all ages to quiz themselves on the Braille code or for teachers and parents to quickly review Braille contractions. These come in either Braille or print. They are also great gifts for regular classroom teachers, grandparents, siblings, friends, or classroom peers! Several BELL Academy programs have furnished these to help reinforce the code to their participants. Each book is $10, and orders can be placed online at http://www.nbpcb.org/pages/whittle-pocket-reference-book.php. Please help us get the word out by letting everyone on your social media contact lists know about them. All profits go towards children's literacy programs! For questions you can contact us at braille at nbpcb.org. ---------- Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. For Sale: . One VarioUltra Braille display, only used twice. It is in excellent condition. I am asking $1,500. . iRead Now OCR software with document camera in excellent condition. I am asking $500. . One Shipper talking postal scale in excellent condition. I am asking $75. Please email connie at conniedavid.com or call 612-695-6991 for information about the above three items. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Fri Feb 1 13:23:04 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2019 13:23:04 -0800 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, February 2019 Message-ID: <201902012123.x11LN4Yf015563@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 2 February 2019 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 ? 2019 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. Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Orlando, Florida, July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-9001. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2018, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 2 February 2019 Contents Illustration: NFBEQ Making a Difference for Young People A Message from Our President by Mark Riccobono Fifty Years After tenBroek: The Right to Live in the World Today and Tomorrow by Stacy Dubnow Three Out-Castes of American Society by Professor Jacobus tenBroek On Expectations: Average vs. Amazing by Lisa Ferris Dear Teachers, Please Assume Competence When You Work with My Child by Crystal Kostick Speaking Over Me Won't Stop Me by Aaron Rupp Betty Capps Dies by Gary Wunder The Secret to Winning a National Federation of the Blind Scholarship................................. by Cayte Mendez Bengsten Offers Insight into Living without Sight by Jake Doetkott Spaghetti with Chopsticks by Justin Salisbury The Eltrinex V12Pro Talking Digital Recorder by Curtis Chong Improvising Independence: Finding My Own Solutions for a Career in Music Therapy by Kaiti Shelton Braille Letters from Santa are a Little Christmas Magic How the Louisiana Center for the Blind Helped Prepare Me for College by Vejas Vasiliauskas Recipes Monitor Miniatures NFB EQ Making a Difference for Young People [PHOTO CAPTION: Ahbee records the mass of Cheetos on her Braille display as her partner Ethan puts them on the talking scale] [PHOTO CAPTION: Brandon, Jaden, and Mili complete their structure made of wooden dowels and rubber bands] [PHOTO CAPTION: Chasity works on drawing her house's design] [PHOTO CAPTION: EQ students in a barn at Jerusalem Mill] It is important to observe that some of the best jobs in the twenty- first century are in science, technology, engineering, and math. It is enlightening to realize how few blind people are in these fields. It is easy to explain how often the blind are pushed away from entering these because they are considered impractical. But once that discouragement has been noticed, it is critical that someone take action to bridge that gap between blind people and the most lucrative jobs in their generation. The National Federation of the Blind has been that someone for years, addressing how to get blind people into these professions and beginning to provide the experiences that sighted people take for granted and too many people who work with the blind don't believe possible. Few blind people get to build things or observe in the objects around them the way they are built. What is the difference between houses built today with studs and those built in earlier times using columns and beams? Other than the use of skins, cloth, or canvas, how does the construction of a teepee differ from construction using columns and beams? If you can't touch these structures in some detail, you likely won't understand the way any of them are built and the strengths and weaknesses that are a part of their design. How do engineers design things? Usually they develop design specifications. So what is reverse engineering? Students found out by examining Cheetos and determining the length and weight that constitutes one of these delicious snacks. To learn about various construction techniques, students in the NFB Engineering Quotent class visited Jerusalem Mill Village, a museum in Baltimore featuring structures that represented many techniques throughout history for creating houses, barns, and other buildings. Then it was time to see what the students could do. Using the creativity of a team, can blind people create a structure out of wooden dowels and rubber bands that all of them can stand under? Indeed they can, and this was quite an accomplishment for some who came to the program having never played with LEGOS or other building blocks. All too often blind people are taught to avoid things that are sharp, things that might hurt the hands. Imagine the surprise when students realized they would be using small saws and had to suffer the occasional burn when using a hot glue gun and coming in contact with hot glue. But they built, and they were empowered. Of course, in most construction one draws before building, so this too was a challenge addressed at the 2018 event. Being able to interpret and make drawings will increase the likelihood of success for any blind person in STEM, so we start by figuring out how to teach the skill and then helping students to master it. Drawings had to include a floor plan as well as the front and side elevation for the building. Some drew houses, some drew castles, and some drew high-rises. All drew inspiration from the learning, from the adventure, and from the knowledge that their blind brothers and sisters believe in them. [PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono] A Message from Our President by Mark Riccobono December 28, 2018 Dear Colleagues: Since our revolutionary start on November 16, 1940, the National Federation of the Blind has carefully crafted strategies built upon the priorities of the membership and executed by the leaders of the organization resulting in tremendous growth. Over the years, the growth of the organization has brought great opportunities and increased complexity to the movement. Consequently, we must continuously review, revise, and communicate the evolved plans of the organization. The enclosed strategic plan is built on that tradition and reflects the organization's priorities for our next phase of growth. The plan is significant for what is not included in it as much as what is included. This strategic plan is rooted in our national convention. To quote our constitution, the convention is the "supreme authority of the Federation." Our convention is where dreams are developed, policies are established, priorities are adjusted, and leaders are elected. This plan, like everything we do, is subject to review and adjustment by the national convention. During our 2018 convention in Orlando, Florida, focus groups with a diverse range of members identified a number of important themes for strengthening and expanding the reach of our movement. There are no references to the national convention in the plan itself, because the convention is what everything is built upon. There may be other specific programs not directly mentioned; you can be assured that we continue to review and execute all aspects of the Federation that are now well- established programs and activities. This means that the plan does not represent the entire scope of our work but rather key areas of focus for the next few years. Our current strategic plan has four pillars to organize our next phase of growth: Education, Rehabilitation, and Employment; Membership and Community Building; Advocacy; and Development. Each pillar contains objectives to drive our focus in that particular area. The board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind identified strategies and goals to assist in measuring progress toward those objectives and will regularly review and update them as progress is made and new opportunities are realized. All of the pillars are a natural extension of our progress as a movement and advances we have made during the past decade. As the elected President of this organization, I have the humbling responsibility of leading the implementation of this plan. I have been deeply involved in the development of the plan including spending time reviewing the extensive notes from our focus groups with members. I am filled with hope, energy, and determination when I imagine what the prospects for blind Americans will be once we have met the objectives in this plan. It will take the collective efforts of our thousands of members across the country to achieve all that we imagine. I look forward to your participation in reaching our goals for this strategic plan. Once these objectives are achieved, we will generate new objectives in order to continue raising expectations and advancing our march for independence. In closing, this plan represents the details of the promise we make to each other in this organization on a daily basis: a promise that is fulfilled in the large-scale strategic work we are doing to build our movement and the small acts of friendship that are shared among members on a daily basis. That promise is that together with love, hope, and determination, we will transform dreams into reality. Let's go build the National Federation of the Blind. Sincerely, Mark A. Riccobono, President National Federation of the Blind National Federation of the Blind 2019-2021 Strategic Plan Introduction Welcome to the blind movement! Together with love, hope, and determination, let's transform dreams into reality. The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Through the efforts of the blind pioneers before us, we are the largest and oldest organization of blind people continuously working toward securing independence and respect for all blind and low-vision people including adults, seniors, veterans, students, and children. To carry out our vital mission, we develop and implement strategic plans based on the priorities of our members. Our Strategic Plan for 2019-2021 consists of four major pillars. Each pillar outlines objectives and strategies to drive engagement and growth to its particular focus. As a result, numerous goals and action plans will emerge to pursue. This plan invites active participation of all of our stakeholders as we continue raising expectations and advancing our march for independence. Strategic Pillars Pillar I - Education, Rehabilitation, and Employment Pillar II - Membership and Community Building Pillar III - Advocacy Pillar IV - Development Vision, Objectives, and Strategies PILLAR I - EDUCATION, REHABILITATION, AND EMPLOYMENT Vision: The National Federation of the Blind develops, leads, and supports high-impact programs and initiatives that offer best practices to rehabilitation professionals, educators, and employers, while also ensuring blind people build skills and confidence to thrive in twenty-first-century classrooms, careers, and everyday life. Objective #1: To increase employment readiness of blind people . Strategy 1: Hard Skills: Develop programs that prepare blind individuals to work in twenty-first-century careers (e.g., college programs in STEM and access tech). . Strategy 2: Blindness Skills: Maximize training centers in terms of manageability and resources. . Strategy 3: Soft Skills: Develop internship and career-mentoring opportunities for members. Objective #2: To ensure that blindness professionals understand what blind people need to succeed and what skills are required to help blind people turn their dreams into reality . Strategy 1: Regularly attend and present at conferences and programs where blindness professionals receive training. . Strategy 2: Develop paid internships for blindness professionals at our centers. . Strategy 3: Create opportunities for blindness professionals to earn continuing education units (CEU) during programming offered at national and state conventions. . Strategy 4: Engage chapters to grow membership of teachers and blindness professionals. Objective #3: To set high expectations for and by blind individuals, their families, and the community in education, rehabilitation, and independent living . Strategy 1: Maximize use of the BELL Academy to teach Braille and expose young blind people to alternative skills of blindness and successful blind mentors. . Strategy 2: Maximize use of STEM programs. Objective #4: To ensure that employers make employment decisions based on skills and capacities of potential employees, not misconceptions based on blindness . Strategy 1: Develop publicity pieces and presentations that can be sent to and shared with HR professionals, etc. . Strategy 2: Identify opportunities to demystify blindness among professionals. . Strategy 3: Develop an employment leadership network as a part of the Center for Employment Opportunities. PILLAR II - MEMBERSHIP AND COMMUNITY BUILDING Vision: The National Federation of the Blind has an active, diverse, coordinated, and ever-growing network of affiliates, chapters, and divisions across the country. Engagement in our innovative and empowering initiatives attracts lifelong members who build a community unified in our purpose. Objective #1: To develop and implement a more formal and standardized new membership process for the National Federation of the Blind . Strategy 1: Develop a guiding document outlining pre-membership conversations. . Strategy 2: Establish a standardized welcoming ceremony. . Strategy 3: Develop and implement a standardized new member orientation that includes mentoring. Objective #2: To ensure that chapters and affiliates are executing common brand and program priorities and organizational practices . Strategy 1: Identify and document common practices. . Strategy 2: Develop infrastructure for implementing the common practices. . Strategy 3: Establish a process for reviewing the need for development in affiliates. Objective #3: To strengthen tools and strategies for leadership development at all levels of the organization . Strategy 1: Train a core of leaders at the national level to conduct leadership training in the field. . Strategy 2: Develop a collection of best practices for identifying potential leaders. . Strategy 3: Create a training specific to affiliate board development. . Strategy 4: Maximize the success of the scholarship program by increasing both the number of applicants and the retention of members who were previously scholarship applicants and winners. Objective #4: To further develop methods and practices for recruitment of new diverse members from a diverse pool . Strategy 1: Form a network of blind parents across the country to share information and strengthen community. . Strategy 2: Create a multimedia campaign to invite people to join the organization. . Strategy 3: Establish an open national member recruitment teleconference once a month. . Strategy 4: Develop a collection of best practices for recruiting new members at the local level. PILLAR III - ADVOCACY Vision: The National Federation of the Blind is the leading advocate for all blind Americans in areas such as education, employment, transportation, voting, and civil rights. Blind people, their families, agencies for the blind, corporations, and the government turn to our organization for expert advice on programs, skills building, encouragement, nonvisual access, and technology that level the playing field for blind people. Objective #1: To strengthen the advocacy capacity of National Federation of the Blind members . Strategy 1: Develop an "advocacy leadership core" within the National Federation of the Blind. . Strategy 2: Train more of our members on the fundamentals of advocacy. . Strategy 3: Train more of our members in specific content areas, such as education, employment, civil rights, social security, and rehabilitation. Objective #2: To establish and strengthen our relationships with industry and federal, state, and local government officials . Strategy 1: Educate our membership on the importance, value, and techniques for building relationships with elected representatives, agencies, and staff. . Strategy 2: Develop relevant national-level, industry relationships. . Strategy 3: Develop relationships with state and local businesses. Objective #3: To increase public support to achieve acceptance, full integration, and equal opportunity of blind people . Strategy 1: Develop and carry out public awareness campaigns at all levels. PILLAR IV - DEVELOPMENT Vision: The National Federation of the Blind builds synergistic community and corporate relationships that are mutually enriching. The stories of our impact and of members' achievements are widely known and celebrated. Our brand is so well recognized and respected that it empowers our members and enables us to expand our reach to our community, new members, and the world. Objective #1: To ensure that we have the financial resources needed to continue and expand the transformational work we do . Strategy 1: Plan and conduct a human capital campaign that focuses on blindness initiatives around education and employment. . Strategy 2: Cultivate new contributors and steward existing supporters. . Strategy 3: Support affiliates and chapters in their fundraising efforts. Objective #2: To create new relationships and develop existing partnerships into true synergistic collaborations . Strategy 1: Identify new event sponsors and exhibitors. . Strategy 2: Nurture existing sponsor and exhibitor relationships so that they work with us on a broader range of programs and projects. . Strategy 3: Identify and develop new relationships with not-for- profit and grant-maker organizations. Objective #3: To ensure that the general public and the blindness community understand that the National Federation of the Blind makes a difference, creates opportunities, and is the voice of the nation's blind . Strategy 1: Consistently communicate our philosophy and brand. . Strategy 2: Educate the medical community and organizations that serve senior citizens. . Strategy 3: Create a campaign including social, broadcast, and print media that positions the National Federation of the Blind as the go-to source. . Strategy 4: Leverage the Bolotin Awards to increase awareness and engagement in the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Stacie Dubnow] Fifty Years After tenBroek: The Right to Live in the World Today and Tomorrow by Stacie Dubnow From the Editor: Stacie Dubnow's writings are a welcomed addition to the pages of the Braille Monitor. She is a project manager at the Jernigan Institute, is a lawyer with thirty years of experience, has two published books on Amazon, and is a keen observer and chronicler of meetings in which she participates. I have more to say about her, but this is just the first of many articles she will write for us, so I'll save some of it. Here is what Stacie has to say about the Jacobus tenBroek Symposium: On March 22 and 23, 2018, the National Federation of the Blind hosted its eleventh Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, "Fifty Years After tenBroek: The Right to Live in the World Today and Tomorrow." The symposium examined Dr. Jacobus tenBroek's impressive legacy through a present-day lens, focusing on many of the timeless themes addressed in his publications and speeches during his lifetime. More than two hundred disability rights attorneys, scholars, educators, advocates, and others examined topics such as the integration of students with disabilities in the public education system, disparities in healthcare, law enforcement and disability, and discrimination in employment, housing, and transportation. Dr. tenBroek, after whom the symposium is named, founded the National Federation of the Blind in 1940 and served as its president (with the exception of a brief interval) until his death in 1968. Blinded in a bow and arrow accident during early childhood, his family enrolled him in the California School for the Blind at Berkeley, where he came to be mentored by a great innovator in education of the blind, Dr. Newel Perry.[1] Dr. tenBroek graduated with honors from the University of California and the University Law School; not only did he earn five college degrees, but doctorates from both Harvard University and the University of California.[2] He became renowned as a brilliant constitutional law scholar, an influential civil rights activist, and an inspirational teacher, writer, and orator. At the forefront of Dr. tenBroek's advocacy and scholarship was the goal of achieving for the blind "equal treatment under the law, equal opportunity..., and equal rights within society." Dr. tenBroek persuasively advocated that there was no one better qualified to improve the lives of the blind than the blind themselves, since "[o]nly the blind themselves can be fully aware of their own problems..." and "...feel an unremitting motivation to secure their rights and further their welfare."[3] Under the leadership of Dr. tenBroek, the National Federation of the Blind became a symbol of independence. During the National Federation of the Blind's annual national conventions, Dr. tenBroek eloquently spoke on this issue: It is fundamental to the uniqueness of our group that we are the only nation-wide organization for the blind which is also of the blind. The composition of the NFB, indeed, is living testimony to the fact- unfortunately not yet accepted by society as a whole-that the blind are capable of self-organization: which is to say, of leading themselves, of directing their own destiny.[4] Federationism is the synonym of independence-the antonym of custodialism and dependency. It is the blind leading themselves, standing on their own feet, walking in their own paths at their own pace by their own command.[5] Dr. tenBroek became a champion for the rights of the disabled to participate on a full and equal basis in the life of their community. His writings on self-determination, the treatment of minority groups as "separate and unequal," and the state's use of police powers to deal with the poor and disabled are as pertinent today as they were sixty years ago. During the 2018 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, keynote speaker Mark Riccobono, the current President of the National Federation of the Blind, reiterated this key principle when he explained: "The Federation's legal work is central to our mission of full integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality, and this forum is part of our key work to advance the rights of blind people and all people with disabilities very much in the spirit and direction that Dr. tenBroek set for us many years ago." President Riccobono posed the question to the participants of the 2018 symposium: "How can we enhance the right of the disabled to live in the world, with all of the liberty, equality, opportunity, and security of our democracy?" He proposed five essentials to doing so. First, ownership- the necessity for people with disabilities to control the direction of the disability rights movement. Second, community-a forum in which members share a common purpose, connect with each other to combat isolation, learn to protect their legal rights, and build leadership skills. Third, power- the need for people with disabilities and disability rights experts to develop positions of leadership, influence, and authority to raise the profile of blind people and the organized blind movement. Fourth, awareness- the importance of advancing public awareness about the capacity of people with disabilities. And fifth-improved tools for self-advocacy and self- expression, which President Riccobono described as key to empowering people with disabilities to protect their rights, oppose inaccessibility and other barriers, and effect change. The idea of achieving the "full integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality" is embodied in the Declaration of Independence and incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment.[6] Michael Tigar-Professor Emeritus of Law at Duke Law School and Dr. tenBroek's student, mentee, colleague, and friend-eloquently addressed at the 2018 symposium the right of the blind to live in the world and how "...the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to impose on states the duty to enable them to do just that." The symposium's speakers and workshop facilitators explored ways in which the rights of the disabled have been advanced in recent years, as well as the work that remains to achieve equality and integration. One arena in which speakers reported some recent success was healthcare. Jessica Roberts, the George Butler Research Professor of Law and director of the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, as well as others addressed historical issues people with disabilities have faced accessing healthcare, such as architectural barriers, lack of accessible medical equipment, inaccessible documents, and lack of effective communication. Although individuals with disabilities still encounter myriad obstacles accessing healthcare, Professor Roberts described important strides forward with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). She described the Act as "[o]ne of the most substantial civil rights victories for people with disabilities in history," praising the ACA's prohibition by insurers from using health status when making eligibility determinations. By eliminating consideration by insurers of preexisting conditions and prohibiting rate-setting discrimination, the ACA provides people with disabilities enhanced access to healthcare coverage. The right of the disabled to live in the world not only includes a right of equal access to healthcare, but also an equal right to education. During the 2018 disability law symposium, plenary session speakers and workshop facilitators addressed the impacts of integration of students with disabilities into the public education system, the US Supreme Court's 2017 decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, separate and unequal education for students with disabilities, and the legal rights of students with disabilities in correctional facilities. As symposium presenters explained, the law provides that individuals with disabilities do not just have a legal right to an education, but they have the right to a free public education appropriate to the student's individual educational needs in the least restrictive environment.[7] That means that children with disabilities to the greatest extent appropriate are required to be educated with children who are not disabled in the same school and classes that the disabled child would attend if not disabled.[8] During the symposium, Dr. Wanda Blanchett, dean of Rutgers Graduate School of Education, reviewed the historical treatment of students of color and students with disabilities in the public education system. She explained the history of racial segregation in the United States, including the import of the US Supreme Court's decisions in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In overruling the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education ruled that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional.[9] Dr. Blanchett explained that this landmark decision inspired the disability rights movement to mobilize in pursuit of the desegregation of schools for children with disabilities. If black children were entitled to an integrated education with white children, then children with disabilities were entitled to an integrated education with children without disabilities. In 1975 the disability rights community celebrated the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act,[10] establishing equal protection under the law for students with disabilities regardless of disability. This was a beginning, but it did not go far enough. To this day, parents and disability rights advocates continue the battle to raise the low bar that still governs the educational benefits students with disabilities are entitled by law to receive in public school. Ruth Colker-Distinguished University Professor and Heck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University-addressed this topic during the symposium in the context of the recent US Supreme Court decision Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The case, which involved an autistic child moved from public to private school when the parents determined the public school was not meeting their child's educational needs, addressed the standard for determining whether a child with disabilities is receiving a "free and appropriate education." The issue was whether, if the public school failed to provide a free and appropriate education, the parents could receive tuition reimbursement for private school. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that to meet its substantive obligation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a public school is required to offer an "individualized education program reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in the light of the child's circumstances."[11] The court further held that children should be in the regular classroom whenever possible and that every student has a right to meet high standards and "challenging objectives."[12] Although many considered this decision a victory, Professor Colker expressed ambivalence on two grounds. First, the end result of the case was a placement of a child with disabilities in a private educational environment likely more segregated than the public school environment from which the child had been removed. And second, Professor Colker expressed concern about judicial interpretations of the Endrew decision to justify segregation of children with disabilities rather than to raise the standards for their education. In addition to addressing the policy of integrationism in the context of the integrated education of disabled children, Dr. tenBroek persuasively advocated for integrated employment for disabled individuals.[13] In "The Cross of Blindness," an address delivered at the 1957 Annual Convention banquet, Dr. tenBroek summarized current day pronouncements by educators, social workers, historians, public officials, and others about the vocational potential for the blind. These purported experts concluded "that employment possibilities for the blind are confined, with only negligible exceptions, to the purview of sheltered workshops..."[14] Dr. tenBroek quoted a well-known historian of blindness saying: '[T]here exists in the community a body of men who, by reason of a physical defect, namely, the loss of sight, are disqualified from engaging in the regular pursuits of men and who are thus largely rendered incapable of providing for themselves independently. ... Rather than let them drift into absolute dependence and become a distinct burden, society is to lend an appropriate helping hand through the creation of sheltered, publicly subsidized employment. This cynical view was publicly confirmed by Civil Service Commission brochures that concluded that the blind are proficient in manual occupations "requiring a delicate sense of touch" and well-suited to jobs involving repetitive work.[15] More than fifty years later, significant discrimination against the blind persists in the area of employment, and disabled people continue to battle paternalistic public attitudes. During the 2018 disability law symposium, Regina Kline, a partner of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, reported that approximately half a million workers with disabilities continue to be paid subminimum wages. Addressing the continuing struggle for equality in employment by the blind community, Ms. Kline focused on the rights of workers with disabilities in sheltered workshops under Title I of the ADA. Given that sheltered workshops are "employers," the blind and other disabled individuals employed in these workshops have a legal right under Title I to individualized assessments for reasonable accommodations and, following assessment, to be provided reasonable accommodations. She posed the questions: "If folks were given the accommodations they're entitled to, would we continue to have subminimum wages?" "Would they have access to greater promotion advancement opportunities within this shop if they were evaluated with the accommodations they needed to be successful?" Despite the lawsuits that continue to challenge ongoing discrimination against blind employees, courts often ignore the mandate to broadly construe the ADA to further its remedial purpose of eliminating discrimination on the basis of disability. Brian East, a senior attorney at Disability Rights Texas, provided the example during the 2018 symposium of a recent restrictive interpretation of what constitutes a reasonable accommodation. In the 2017 case of Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit concluded that, despite the fact that employers must consider leave to an employee as a reasonable accommodation absent undue hardship, a multi-month leave of absence falls outside the scope of a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.[16] In addition to the challenges faced by blind and disabled individuals in obtaining equal and integrated employment, they also face barriers in the exercise of their right to equal and integrated transportation. During the 1960 National Convention, Dr. tenBroek aptly noted that "in the routines of daily living ... the keynote of our way of life is mobility: the capacity to get around, to move at a normal pace in step with the passing parade."[17] In 1966 he further addressed the right of the blind to move about the world independently, with the same ease of access as everyone else, when he posed the following questions: Once they [the blind] emerge, must they remain on the front porch, or do they have the right to be in public places, to go about in the streets, sidewalks, roads and highways, to ride upon trains, buses, airplanes, and taxi cabs ...? If so, under what conditions? What are the standards of care and conduct, of risk and liability, to which they are held and to which others are held with respect to them? Are the standards the same for them as for the able-bodied?"[18] These questions are as relevant today as they were in 1966. During the 2018 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, participants addressed how changing technology is creating new challenges for disabled individuals. Tim Elder of TRE Legal Practice described how the move to a "sharing economy" has affected equal access and integration into society for people with disabilities in the arenas of housing and transportation. As technology platforms like Airbnb, Uber, and Lyft have gained popularity, the blind have had to fight discrimination to refute a contention by these companies that their independent contractors providing services through these platforms are not required to comply with the ADA. During the symposium, Mr. Elder reported that, as a result of legal efforts and advocacy by the National Federation of the Blind, its affiliates, and counsel, important steps have been taken to end discrimination against the blind. In particular, he described the widely publicized, nationwide class-action settlement with Uber, which requires Uber to transport blind individuals traveling with guide dogs on an equal basis with other passengers. This was the first case of import to apply the ADA to the sharing economy.[19] And finally, this year's disability law symposium addressed the right of the disabled to live with safety and security in the world. The overarching question-framed by speaker Leigh Ann Davis, program manager for the Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability-was, "How can we actually create an inclusive society for people with disabilities when we're ignoring the reality that they face such a higher risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system?" Topics on this subject included law enforcement and disability, ending police violence against people with disabilities, and the right of all people under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from unreasonable seizures and the use of unreasonable force. Fifty-six years ago Dr. tenBroek spoke urgently about the threats to the welfare of the blind posed by police power.[20] He understood that an attack against the poor and needy was akin to an attack against the blind and other disabled. Out of this invasion of welfare by the spirit of crime and punishment comes another vital challenge to our whole system of personal and social security-a threat to the rights of the individual. To call the police is to invoke, not the general welfare powers of the Constitution, but its police powers. ...The constitutional powers of the police have in fact been generally relied upon to .... safeguard the health, safety, morals, and wellbeing of the comfortable and the fortunate rather than to relieve the distress and improve the opportunities of the unfortunate. .... Problems of poverty and immorality, of social crisis and economic depression, all are perceived by the law of crimes in the same narrow focus of personal responsibility, to be solved by arrest and investigation, by penal sanctions and retributions.[21] Speakers and workshop facilitators during the 2018 disability law symposium addressed the grave threats that people with disabilities face from the criminal justice system. The largest psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States are jails, and each year, of the thousand shootings resulting in death, a quarter of them involve a person with a disability. Symposium participants discussed the rights of the disabled under the Constitution and the ADA upon arrest, interrogation, detention, and incarceration, including but not limited to the right to be free from unreasonable seizure and cruel and unusual punishment, the right to accommodations, effective communication, and adequate medical care. Although speaker Melissa Reuland, a senior program manager at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a research fellow at the Police Foundation, described a number of programs underway to better educate and train law enforcement to identify individuals with disabilities and afford them their legal rights, police interactions with the autistic, the deaf and hard-of- hearing, and individuals with mental and other intellectual disabilities remain at high risk for wrongful arrest, injury, and indignity. The 2018 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium provided a forum for disability rights advocates from across the country to address current and future issues concerning the rights of the disabled to live lives of dignity, equality, and full participation in society. While much has been accomplished since Dr. tenBroek wrote, spoke, and advocated for the rights of the disabled more than fifty years ago, much remains to be done before disabled individuals will truly live in the world with equal liberty, opportunity, and security. In 2019 we once again will bring together the best minds to consider the future of disability law. We hope you will join us when we host the twelfth Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium on March 28 through 29, 2019, at the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore. The 2019 symposium will address the rights of disabled individuals through an examination of the impact of public attitudes and stigma on their right to live in the world, exploring the intersection of law and public attitudes about disability. We will focus on how public attitudes about disability induce negative stereotypes of the disabled homeless, immigrants, and people with mental health diagnoses, as well as how these attitudes influence treatment under the law of people with disabilities in education, healthcare, employment, housing, and the criminal justice system. Finally, we will explore strategies for combating the stigma and systemic discrimination against individuals with disabilities by, among other methods, exploring how we frame the image of disability in advocacy. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Jacobus tenBroek] Three Out-Castes of American Society by Professor Jacobus tenBroek From the Editor: The previous article discussed the 2018 Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium, and it is clear that Jacobus tenBroek was an advocate not only for blind people but for others he considered disadvantaged in American society. I believe that the message he sent reinforces the need for integration of blind people into the broader society and reinforces the notion that we must be concerned about more than just people who are blind. We are careful as the elected representatives of blind people to speak only for the blind, but our caring goes far beyond our own selfish interests, and we are keenly aware of situations in which we share similar problems with other minorities. In running this article without editing I realize there are some who may be offended by its language. I have not tried to apply any standard of modern political correctness to it, feeling that to make such changes would detract from the historical import of the article. Here is how it was originally introduced in November 1961 in the Blind American: The following address by the President of the American Brotherhood for the Blind was delivered earlier this year before the congregation of the University Christian Church of Des Moines, Iowa. All of us know the Ten Commandments-the Decalogue of Divine law recorded in the Book of Exodus. But how many of us remember the numerous other commandments, no less sacred and no less binding, set forth elsewhere in the Holy Bible? How many recall, for example, the commandment contained in Leviticus: "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind." How different would have been the social progress of the blind, and how improved their present status, if that Divine directive had been taken to heart by all who have professed their faith in the Good Book! The ancient term "stumbling-block"-whose original reference was literally and specifically addressed to the blind-has since come into our common language chiefly in the figurative sense in which a modern dictionary defines it: namely, "an obstacle or hindrance to progress or belief." This is as it should be. Ever since the days of Moses, it has been the figurative stumbling-blocks-the intangible obstacles or hindrances to progress and belief-which have lain most perilously athwart the path of the blind. The meaning of the commandment, for us today, is as specific as it ever was; its message is not only literal but symbolic as well. It says to us: "Thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before the blind whether of wood or stone, whether in law or in vocation, whether of substance or of spirit, whether of discrimination or prejudice neither shalt thou suffer any to remain in their path." But it is not the blind alone before whom are placed stumbling- blocks. I should like to speak this morning about a sinister stumbling- block in the path of our democracy-which takes the form of a social caste system. More exactly, what I want to talk about is a system of "out- castes." You all know the meaning of "caste," as social scientists use the term. A caste is a social class which has become rigid and immobilized which neither moves itself nor permits movement out of it. In such countries as India, where caste is hereditary, one's very life and livelihood may be permanently fixed by the caste one belongs to. The status of high caste is displayed like a badge; that of low caste is worn like a brand. The lowest castes of all-the pariahs or Untouchables-are less a part of their community than apart from it. Every society, primitive or modern, may be said to have its own Untouchables-or reasonable facsimile thereof. They are the out-castes, dwelling on the margins of society: among them are the disadvantaged and disfranchised, the deviant and deprived, the "beat" and the offbeat. Nor is America an exception to the rule, for all its vaunted classlessness and social mobility. There are more such groups among us than I have time or competence to describe. Three conspicuous out-castes of American society are the blind, the Negroes, and former convicts. Few social groups, on the face of it, appear more radically different from one another than these three. And indeed each of them is unique in its origins and its distinctive needs. Among the three only the blind present a problem which has its source, if not its main expression, in physical disability. The special dilemma of racial minorities, and in particular of the Negro, arises from an accidental variation in skin pigmentation which has taken on as well a kind of "cultural coloration." Finally, the peculiar problem of the ex-convict springs originally from his own individual action- in contrast to the others, whose "guilt," if it may be called that, is by association. There are other differences, scarcely less definitive, among these social out-castes. The histories of each are widely divergent. The heritage from which the blind still seek to be liberated is one of custodialism and charity; for the former felon it is a tradition of lifelong condemnation and social exile; for the Negro it is the inextinguishable memory of slavery. As the three groups differ in their backgrounds, so do they differ in many of their needs. The blind alone require such services as physical retraining, adjustment, and vocational rehabilitation. Only the Negro finds himself barred on sight from the ordinary restaurants, churches, schools, and residences of the community. In his turn, the former convict faces problems no less distinct: branded by a requirement of public registration, his privacy invaded, his right of anonymity destroyed, his credit nullified and his freedom of contract impaired, his citizen's rights to vote, to hold office, to sit on juries, to enter public service, all cast in jeopardy. The differences among these groups are numerous and profound. Yet I wish to speak here not of differences but of similarities-for the likenesses among these three out-castes are no less striking and scarcely less profound. In fact, they are so compelling that for certain practical purposes of life and livelihood the three groups may almost be treated as one. Most important of all is the fact of their common stigma as social out-castes. All three groups labor under a social handicap-a stereotype fixed upon them by the community which sets them apart from its main body and keeps them out of its main stream. In short, they are all victims of public prejudice and of the active discriminations it engenders-however much that prejudice may differ among them in both its roots and its fruits. What these out-groups share most in common, in other words, is not some physical trait or innate characteristic, but a social and psychological image. It is not something in themselves, but something outside and around them, which provides the parallel. That parallel, of course, is closest and most obvious with respect to the blind and the Negro. Thus, for example, one recent study of the blind has called attention to what its authors term "the minority parallel." In both instances, they maintain, "the phenomenon is one of a group of people whom the majority insists on endowing with special characteristics, for whom a stereotype has been evolved which each member of the minority is supposed to exemplify, and the essence of which is the imputation of inferiority." We may wish to qualify this diagnosis with respect to some minorities; but I think we would all agree that in the cases of the blind man and the black man society does indeed clothe its venerable practices of exclusion and discrimination with a sweeping assumption of inferiority-if not also of abnormality and incompetence. This is the crux of the matter. Both of these out-castes-the blind and the Negro-aim above all at integration and away from the segregation which has been their lot. The official motto of the National Federation of the Blind is "Security, Equality, Opportunity." That motto might equally stand, without change, as the slogan of the NAACP. Each of these objectives, moreover, depends upon the others: there can be no genuine security without access to opportunity; there can be no effective opportunity without an acceptance of equality. The attack upon that American dilemma which we know as the "Negro problem"-as upon the less publicized but no less profound dilemma which confronts the blind-is therefore a three-pronged attack. It is an attack on the economic front, for the expansion of job opportunity; it is an attack on the political front, for the enactment and enforcement of fair employment practices and an end to segregation; and it is an attack on the educational front, for the diffusion of knowledge and understanding and the consequent erosion of the stereotypes of inferiority and incompetence. I said earlier that the blind person and the Negro may be distinguished from the former convict by the fact that their guilt in the eyes of society is strictly guilt by association. The American who is blind or colored finds himself judged not on his individual record or performance but by his involuntary membership in a socially defined (if very imperfectly defined) class: that of the "blind" or of the "colored." But there is an important sense in which this stereotype-casting is equally the fate of the ex-convict. For he also is a member of a defined if spurious class: the class of "criminals." It is a class from which he cannot easily graduate, however full his penance or firm his resolve. Despite the remarkable advances of the last century in criminology and social science, popular attitudes remain largely in the horse and buggy era of Lombroso-as expressed in the dreary homilies that criminals are born and not made, that the purpose of prisons is retribution not rehabilitation, and that he who has walked a crooked path cannot ever go straight. The very term "ex- convict" carries its own irony; for that "ex," which should be a sign of emancipation, symbolizes instead the mark of the jailhouse which can never be quite erased. The case of the former convict is in many ways a special one; but with respect to the paramount problems of life and livelihood the minority parallel is scarcely less compelling here. Our democratic American faith enjoins discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, or "previous condition of servitude." Although this latter phrase was intended originally to apply to former slaves, it has a literal application to the former convict. His social condition is in fact very much like that of the Negro freedman after the Civil War; although officially released from penal servitude, he too is the victim of a prejudice which has not yet been liberated. Although in theory he has atoned for his crime and paid his price, he is not welcomed as an equal but shunned as a pariah. Not only is equality denied him; his opportunity is critically circumscribed. Often the only references he can offer to employers are those supplied by his former jailers; typically he is relegated to the menial and undesirable jobs which others turn down, at lower wages than those who work with him. If by dint of exceptional effort he struggles upward to a position of responsibility, his record will return to haunt him. And not only equality and opportunity are refused him but dignity itself. Just three years ago the Supreme Court of the United States upheld a Los Angeles city ordinance requiring all ex- felons to register with the authorities upon entering the community. By its action the court in effect under-wrote the doctrine that a prison record is so crucial a fact about a man that he may be compelled to subject himself to police harassment for the remainder of his life wherever he goes in the land. For numbers of our cities have enacted such ordinances in order to be able to round up all ex-cons when a crime is committed. The effect upon the individual is obvious. "This registration" as one expert has concluded, "is a vicious practice for it exposes the conscientious ex-prisoner to intimidation and perhaps even blackmail by insecure police officers or those who are badgered by their superiors to arrest someone." The Supreme Court, by the way, took note of the fact that such enactments were on the books of numerous communities across the country. But the justices were not prepared to face the question whether this discriminatory requirement rests upon the assumption "once a criminal, always a criminal"-the dictum that a wrongdoer's debt to society is never paid but rather goes on accumulating interest which can be met only by periodic drafts upon his dignity, privacy, and freedom of action. The loss of civil rights by the former prisoner within our states is thoroughly shocking in its depth and extent. Here are only a few of the rights of which he may be deprived, in many or all of our states: the right to vote; the right to hold public office; the right to make a contract; the right to serve as a juror or testify as a witness; the right to employment in the Federal or State Civil Service; the right to marry at will; the right to enter numerous businesses, professions, or occupations-such as those pursued by doctors, lawyers, cab-drivers, and pawnbrokers-in which "good moral character" is a formal requirement. In these circumstances, what is remarkable is not that many former criminals return to the scene (and environment) of their crime-but that any of them do not. "The world's thy jailer," wrote the poet John Donne; four centuries later, his words convey an awful truth for the man released from an American prison. The peculiar "marginality" of the ex-felon stems, in short, from the fact that he is poised precariously between two worlds: that of conventional society and that of organized crime. To the extent that the world rejects him, the underworld is waiting to embrace him. The community, looking out from its glass houses of prejudice, righteously demands of the former convict that he change his ways. But the demand is hypocritical unless the community is also prepared to change its own ways-by extending to this rejected minority, as well as to others, the genuine prospects of security, equality, and opportunity. Let me now try to draw the minority parallel among these groups a little tighter. It has long been recognized by social scientists that the field of employment is at once the area of the worst discrimination against minorities and the one in which practical reforms have the best chance of success. It is surely the economics of prejudice which work the greatest hardship upon the blind, the Negro, and the ex-convict. Moreover, it is also in this field that the minority parallel is closest, especially between the first two groups; for the blind are subjected to much the same kinds of treatment as Negroes in the job market. Both minorities find themselves denied access to certain "higher" vocations and industries, on grounds of their supposed inability to handle the work; both find themselves segregated within special establishments (called "Jim Crow" houses in the one case, and sheltered workshops in the other). Both are typically confined to the most menial and rudimentary of occupations, as well as to those which are in any way unattractive to "normal" or "white" employees. Most similar of all in their effects are the widespread suppositions of the inferiority and incompetence of Negroes and the blind. I have never seen this attitude better expressed, with reference to the blind, than in a brief communication I received a few years ago from a public administrator, in reply to my question whether blindness by itself was a factor in deciding on an applicant's fitness for employment. "Your letter," he wrote, "raises the old question of whether we, as civil service administrators, are to adhere to the principle for which we were brought into existence of securing the most highly competent employees obtainable for the public service, or whether we should take into account other considerations than competency. Helping the blind has its strong appeal to the sensibilities of everyone. On the other hand, we should avoid making the public service an eleemosynary institution." I can't resist one more anecdote on similar lines-this one told by an eminent figure in the rehabilitation field, Dr. Henry Kessler. It illustrates as well as any I know the stereotype of incompetence by which the employment of blind persons in opposition to all the facts, continues to be regarded as an essentially charitable if not rather foolhardy proposition: "While I was out on the west coast during the war period, when it was difficult to secure labor and manpower, there was an employer who required some help in his office. He had filled his quota of employees from the War Manpower Commission. It was suggested to him by the WMC that he secure the services of a blind Dictaphone operator, and he replied, 'Do you think she can do the work?' 'Why, of course,' was the answer. 'I will underwrite her.' Reluctantly, he accepted the proposal and he hired this blind Dictaphone operator, and she almost revolutionized the work of his office. She did the work of five girls. He prospered, and he needed more help. Again he applied to the WMC. They suggested to him, 'Why don't you get another blind Dictaphone operator?' Whereupon he arose in all his dignity and said, 'I have done my bit.'" Until fairly recently, to be sure, there was some point to the reaction of this patriotic employer. For while the attitude of all who came into contact with the blind-teachers, social workers, psychologists, employers, and the community in general-was one of pity and protection, it was hard indeed for the blind person not to share the common view of his low estate. Set off from the moment of affliction in a special caste, his vocational preparation was limited almost exclusively to the so-called "blind trades"-i.e. mop-making, chair-caning, basket-weaving, and perhaps (for the superlatively gifted) piano-tuning. When this was all that blind people were allowed to learn, it was easy to believe that it was all they were capable of doing. The monotonous routine of the blind trades is still commonly the fate of those who become blind. But in recent years there has appeared a discernible crack in the stereotype, and a widening rift in the gloom. Today there are blind lawyers by the scores across the country-at least as many blind schoolteachers, and growing numbers of college professors like myself. I number among my own acquaintances a blind nuclear physicist, a blind chemist, a blind judge, a blind ex-congressman, and (perhaps most unexpected of all) a blind electrician. In fact, whenever I think that at last I have discovered a job or profession which the blind cannot perform, I soon discover some sightless man or woman making a flourishing career of it. The wartime record of the blind in competitive industry, like that of the physically handicapped in general, was-or should have been-a revelation to employers. Not only were blind workers in the defense industries equally as efficient and productive as their sighted colleagues, they were considerably more stable and reliable in their employment. When, during a manpower shortage, the blind were given a fair chance at normal competitive jobs, together with adequate training and selective placement, they quickly surpassed the expectations of everyone-including, no doubt, themselves. Unhappily, in this particular marketplace, truth was not quite strong enough to vanquish error in open combat. When the war ended, the exiled stereotype of the helpless blind man was speedily restored to its former prominence; those who were the last to be hired were the first to be fired. Society, as it seemed, had only been economically willing to take them on as extra hands; it was not yet psychologically prepared to take them in as equals. Full membership in society is today withheld from America's blind population-much as it is from her major minority groups-through unreasoning and largely unacknowledged public attitudes, which interpret physical disability as total inability and tend to smother efforts at improvement beneath a blanket of shelter and protection. The integration of the blind and minority groups into society hangs largely upon their assimilation into the economy; for lacking economic security men cannot develop their capacities or contribute to the community, and lacking economic opportunity their citizenship is in a real sense "second-class." Fortunately, it is in the field of employment that prejudice and discrimination are most susceptible of reform-and where the significant steps are presently being taken. Indeed, it is not too much to say that the nation's blind stand today on the threshold of a new era of full and equal participation in their society. But for this prospect to become a reality, a sweeping new approach is needed in all areas of welfare and employment. This new approach is admirably exemplified by the work of your own Iowa Commission for the Blind in its new orientation and training center, in its vending stand program, in its vocational rehabilitation program, and in the philosophy and atmosphere which pervades all of its activities. The "charity" approach, the "custodial" approach, the "sheltered" approach, even the "humanitarian" approach-all must give way to a new spirit of equalitarianism which centers uncompromisingly around the root concept of the normality of those who are blind. It must be recognized that the overriding problem of blindness is one not of physical disability but of social handicap. Eliminate the handicap and the disability will take care of itself-or, more precisely, the disabled will take care of themselves. In the New Testament the words appear: "We walk by faith, not by sight." The lesson is plain. For the blind to walk the thoroughfares of society, to enter its mainstream in fraternity and freedom, requires a double faith: a faith in themselves and their own abilities, and a faith in society and its ability to remove the stumbling-blocks of prejudice from their path. It is much the same with the former convict. The way of the transgressor is no less beset by stumbling-blocks which society alone has the power to remove. Here too the age-old approaches to crime and punishment need to be thoroughly swept away. The primitive approach of vengeance and retaliation; the punitive approach of deliberate cruelty and deprivation; the fearful approach of the criminal stereotype-all must be given up in favor of the rehabilitative and democratic approach centering around the concept of equality and the presumption of normality. The motto of a just society was coined long ago: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Finally, the massive stumbling-blocks in the path of the Negro must be clearly recognized, and the bulldozers set to work to root them out. The greatest block of all is the racial legacy of slavery itself, which first created the out-caste of color and carried with it a separate cultural pattern and style of life to match the transiency and degradation of existence as a human chattel. The stereotypes of Negro character which are still brutally purveyed in film and folklore-those of shiftiness and shiftlessness, of promiscuity and vice, of irresponsibility and ignorance- all are related to the background of bondage and the subsequent reluctance of white society to create opportunities for adjustment and integration on democratic terms. No social scientist worth his salt speaks any longer of racial differences in IQ or aptitude, ability or ambition; when the stubborn specter of Jim Crow has at last been given decent burial, we may be confident that the myth of Negro inferiority and incompetence will perish with it. All the traditional approaches which lend aid and comfort to these legends-the approach of "white supremacy," the approach of "separate but equal," the approach of Uncle Tom and Aunt Jemima (those models of servility imposed upon a race)-all must be discarded in favor, once again, of the simple democratic precept of equality. "There is neither Greek nor Jew, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. ..." Thus spoke St. Paul two millennia ago. And so it must be with us today in this broad land. There is neither Jew, nor Greek, nor African, nor blind man, nor former convict-but only the free man and citizen in the society of equals to which we aspire. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Lisa Ferris with her guide dog.] On Expectations: Average vs. Amazing by Lisa Ferris From the Editor: Lisa Ferris lives with her husband, three boys, two guide dogs, and three guinea pigs in Portland, Oregon. She is co-owner of an adaptive technology company. This article was first posted on her business site blindmast.com, and it is with pleasure that we print these insightful remarks: My husband and partner, Nik, and I teach blindness skills to blind clients. He is blind, and I am deafblind. Nik has a saying that I think gets misunderstood a lot. It's something along the lines of "We are working towards average" in our work with our clients who have vision impairments. This has more to do with overall expectations of what blind people can do. It is not a judgment on any individual blind person. People are unique and have individual needs and strengths, preferences, likes and dislikes, goals, and ambitions. All of our clients are amazing in their own ways, and we hope that, in their own way, they use the skills they learned while working with us to go on and do whatever amazing things they want to do with their lives. We just help to develop the skills to meet their goals. Our philosophy is this: it is an average thing for a blind person to be able to get around independently. It is an average thing for a blind person to be able to use a computer or mobile device to manage his/her life and vocation. It is average for a blind person to be able to cook, clean, and manage his/her personal hygiene, wardrobe, and other tasks around the house. It is average for a blind person to have a job in competitive employment in the community. It is an average thing for a blind person to participate in hobbies, sports, community groups, and religious groups. It is average for blind people to marry, parent children, or participate fully as aunts, uncles, and grandparents and other family relationships as full contributing members of the family. And on and on from there. These things are not special, amazing, or worthy of any kind of major CNN news story or viral Facebook post of astonishing feats. This is just normal, everyday stuff. Or it should be. Statistically, many blind people are not doing these things. There are a lot of factors as to why. Some of it has to do with lack of training opportunities. Some has to do with lack of funding and access to equipment. Some has to do with lack of access and discrimination. These are very real problems that keep blind people from being and doing average things. However, these issues are not inherent to blindness or vision loss itself. The problem lies in low expectations and standards. The problem lies in people's idea that doing these average things are not average, but superhuman feats that only a few "elite" blind people can do. Herein lies the problem. When Nik moved to a new city and went to a vocational rehabilitation office for the first time, he looked up the directions, asked questions, found out which buses to take, and got there with no issues, just like he gets to any place he wants to go. But when he got there, the VR counselor exclaimed how amazing it was that he got there himself. Now, she knew that Nik was not a person who just recently lost his sight. In that case it would be understandable if someone couldn't get around without help if they had not learned travel skills yet. She knew that he had been blind for decades, employed, a parent, etc. And she still found it amazing that he got to the office himself. This is an example of low expectations. This is an example of someone thinking that what should be average and expected is unusual and amazing. And it doesn't bode well for services and overall expectations of blind people. Again, this is not a judgment of anyone who cannot get around independently. Here is the thing about average: it's a tip of a bell curve. There is room for variations in skills and strengths. But here is where we set average. We know that some people have extenuating circumstances. Some blind people have other disabilities that factor in to what they can do. Nik can hear way better than I can. This affects our abilities in travel. I can read UEB contracted Braille a bit better than him because he grew up reading Swedish Braille. He can use VoiceOver better than I can because of his hearing, and I tend to use my tactile and olfactory senses in ways he hasn't thought of. Some people are going to love cooking so much they will become five- star chefs. Others really like their food delivery service apps like Uber Eats. Both are feeding themselves, right? It's all ok. None of us, whether we are disabled or not, are truly 100 percent independent. We all sort ourselves out by where we want help and where we are great doing it on our own. Nik is much more tech savvy than me. When the router is offline, I just let him fix it. However, I know that I can fix it myself. But it would take me longer, I would have to look up stuff online, I might have to call tech support. Whereas its easier for him just to fix it in five minutes. So, it's not about being 100 percent independent all the time. It is about knowing that you could manage if you had to. You have a toolbox of ways (even asking for help somewhere else or using additional resources.) It's about that knowledge being average. We have great clients, and I love to hear about the clients learning new skills and meeting their own personal goals. We have clients who are deafblind, we have clients with dementia, with neuropathy, with mobility impairments, with complex health issues, and with other extenuating circumstances. We work with them to find out where they are and where they want to go. We know some of them are not going to want to or be able to do all of the "average" things we consider pretty normal on the bell curve for blind people. That's perfectly ok. But one thing we will never do is to say, "No, you can't do that." "No that is not a realistic goal for you." "No, you are expecting too much." The sky is the limit for what our clients can do. Our expectations will never be a barrier for them. We think that is one of our greatest strengths. Our expectations are just that the average blind person can do average things that average sighted people do. Of course there is room for variance and individual strengths and weaknesses, preferences and desires. But in the end, blindness skills are just average ways of doing everyday things. They may be different ways than sighted people use, but they are not amazing, they are average. About being "amazing"... It's pretty common for sighted people to see us doing everyday tasks and call it "amazing." They mean well and this amazing feeling probably mostly comes from their minds being opened a little and seeing a way to do something that they didn't know existed before. That mind opening feeling can feel amazing. However, this doesn't really mean what the blind person is doing is all that amazing. I'm not suggesting we chastise well-meaning people who don't know better for calling us amazing. However, I do think we need to be careful to not believe that hype about ourselves. I think it can be a little dangerous. Maybe the first time you read something in Braille, made your way down to the bus stop by yourself, or cooked your own meal by yourself without vision, you did feel absolutely amazing! I have had those feelings, too. It's a great feeling to figure out how you can do something that you didn't think you could do (or were told you couldn't do.) That's perfectly understandable. Give your friend a high five! Have a celebratory drink! Tell yourself, "Good job! You did amazing today!" However, if you are still doing that after you've read 400 novels in Braille or cooked for twenty years, some of your fellow blind people might start to give you a little side-eye. When my sons took their first steps, I thought it was amazing! I was so excited. When my eight-year-old spent an afternoon riding up and down the alley teaching himself to ride a bike, I jumped up and down and cheered. However, this is because it was a big step for them where they were at. Not because kids learning to walk or ride bikes is amazing, especially. I did not call the local news to come see my child's amazing bike riding prowess. His bike video did not go viral on Facebook, and he was not called "inspirational and amazing" in his bike riding ability. Now that my sons have been riding bikes and walking for years, I no longer jump and cheer for them. They would be really annoyed if I did that. Bike riding and walking is average for most kids. To act otherwise would be infantile and condescending to them. Now, sometimes blind people do really amazing things that are amazing by anyone's standard. Erik Weihenmayer climbing the Seven Summits is amazing because it is a rare accomplishment for anyone to do that. Haben Girma meeting several world leaders in her work is amazing because that is a rare thing that most people do not accomplish. Brad Snyder winning multiple gold medals in the Paralympics swimming events is amazing because being an Olympic gold medalist is amazing for anyone to be. So, it certainly isn't that blind people can never do amazing things. However, it's not beneficial for us to think of regular blindness skills-everyday things any average blind person can do-as amazing. These things should be standard and average. When I see average blind people doing average things and acting as though they are amazing, I cringe a bit. I want to tell them not to believe the misconceptions of the nondisabled world. The reason it is a problem is because when blind people act like the everyday things they do are amazing, it reinforces the concept for sighted people. They are led to believe that the average thing is not normal or usual-that it is exceptional, special, and very difficult and rare among the blind. This can affect their view of us as potential employees and also lead them to believe that including us by making things accessible is a rare and difficult thing to do that doesn't happen very often. It's a fine line between educating the public and misleading them by being just a little too amazed with ourselves. Here is an example I remember from a few years ago. Once I saw a story about a blind man who was a carpenter and was making wooden toys to sell. The story talked about how amazing he was and how inspirational he was. It talked about how specialized his training was. It made him sound like he himself thought he was pretty rare and amazing. (I don't know if he meant to give that impression. It could have been editing by the news organization.) Now, it's just fine that he is a carpenter. He is one of several blind carpenters I am aware of. In fact, several blindness training centers have woodshop training taught by blind carpenters. I took a woodshop class myself and learned how to use a table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, etc. It's really, really common for blind people to have taken carpentry class and have some of these skills. Some, like myself, don't go on to become great carpenters, but some take it to the next levels and become talented woodworkers. Blind people knowing how to do carpentry is common and average. A few weeks after this story aired, I was with my son in a woodshop that also provided classes. An employee came up to me and asked me if I had seen the story of a blind carpenter and how amazing it was. I said I had seen it. I asked if he would consider having blind students in his classes now that he had seen the story. He said no, he couldn't. He did not have the special equipment and have special training to teach the blind. I said there really was hardly any special equipment needed, and I could set him up with a knowledgeable blind carpenter who could help him learn techniques to teach blind students. (At this point, if he took me up on it, I knew I was going to have to take the class!) But he declined because he said the carpenter from the story was amazing, he must have special skills or senses that allowed him to do that. If blind people could really be carpenters, it wouldn't be a story on CNN, would it? What do you think he would do if a blind woodworker came to him for a job? It's a tough thing to educate the public and expose them to the ways we do average things while not getting thrown into this type of being "too amazing to include" trap. Sometimes, despite our best efforts to educate, it happens anyway, and there isn't too much we can do about it. But I think it is very important that we make sure that our expectations for ourselves aren't perpetuating it. If we are going along with our lives, managing things, going places, living the lives we want (as the National Federation of the Blind motto says) that's being pretty average, and for us to be thought of as average is a good thing. Being "amazing" can be more of a burden than a compliment, and it certainly doesn't lead to being thought of as equals. That is why we say we are training people to be average. After that, it's up to you to do something truly amazing! We'd love to watch where you go from here! ---------- Dear Teachers, Please Presume Competence When You Work with My Child by Crystal Kostick From the Editor: This article first appeared on October 28, 2018, on the web community The Mighty. The Mighty is a digital health community created to empower and connect people facing health challenges and disabilities. Though the little girl in this article is not blind, she still faces low expectations from her teachers, and just like Federation parents, her mother doesn't plan to let those low expectations pass unchallenged. She addresses it with humor, but is serious about making sure her daughter gets the education she deserves. Here is what Crystal has to say to her daughter's teachers: "Oh, she is just so sweet!" "What a precious little angel you have!" "Is she always this easy-going?" Umm... nope. Nuh-uh. No way. It's laughable, really. If you spend some time in our home and get to know my lovely little girl, these statements are so far from our experience. And yet, these are the type of comments I hear most often from teachers, aides, principals, etc. Well guess what? They are all being played. Now before I continue, because the internet likes to mom-shame and some people take things way too seriously, I feel like I need to interject here the fact that I love my kid. She's probably the coolest one alive, and I am basically obsessed with her sheer awesomeness. However, that being said, she is no angel (but is any child, really?) This girl is so many things: smart, sassy, goofy, mischievous... but sweet, angelic, and precious are not the first things that come to mind. And I honestly love that about her. My daughter sustained a severe brain injury during her birth and as a result has been diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy, and epilepsy. She has significant delays and obviously needs some extra support at school. But she is extremely bright, and her levels of manipulation and impishness are right on track for her age. She is only five years old, but she has already caught on to the idea that she is cute. Like, really cute. She is cute, and she has a disability, and people feel sorry for her (insert eye-roll). Please, make her work! She is not at school to be cute for you. She is not there to learn new and creative ways to get out of working. And she is definitely not there to watch other people doing everything for her. It's not OK. Yes, she is cute. Yes, she has a disability and will need extra help in some areas. But as her mother I need to know that you are seeing her potential and helping her to reach it. She is very capable of many things, and I need to know that you know that. Sending your child off to kindergarten is hard... for any mom. But for a mom with a child who has disabilities, it is downright terrifying. This is my biggest fear: that she will be coddled and bombarded with help. I want my daughter to have as close to a typical experience as possible, and I want her to learn. School is not glorified daycare. She can do hard things. Repeat after me: she can do hard things! It may not look hard to some, but all the while, she is learning about resilience, toughness, and persistence. So please, be tough on my kid. Don't let her get away with not trying. She doesn't have to be able to do everything correctly, but make sure to give her the push and the time to make the effort. Presume the utmost intelligence and competence, and give her a sturdy platform to stand on-just like you would with any other child. I want her to be educated and be the best possible version of herself. I may not know just what that looks like, but I sure know what it doesn't look like. Sincerely, A "mean" mom who cares deeply and expects the same of the world. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Aaron and Terri Rupp with their children.] Speaking Over Me Won't Stop Me by Aaron Rupp From the Editor: Aaron Rupp is the husband of Terri Rupp, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada. Their daughter Marley is in school, and when you have a blind student in a public school, you have the challenge of working on an individualized education plan (IEP). It can be difficult to be a parent negotiating for one's child when you feel your comments are disregarded by people who think your lack of professional certification means that your comments weren't worth the time taken to listen to them. Here is Aaron's reaction to a recent IEP for his daughter Marley: Sitting in this chair, my heart is pounding. Seriously pounding, to the point that I have to consciously focus on breathing to stay calm to be able to conduct myself appropriately and stay focused at this critical moment. But the pounding is almost all I hear and feel. At the table with me is my wife Terri, mother of our daughter Marley, and Marley's educational "team." And sitting across the table from me is the school district's cane travel instructor, discounting me and my wife every time we speak. The discussion surrounds the selection of which cane Marley is to use. We want the longer, lighter white cane, while she feels that the shorter, three-times-heavier cane with a big ball tip is the best choice. Every time we speak about what the white cane means or mention the philosophy of advocacy and higher expectations/standards we live by and expect for ourselves, including Marley, a look of sheer disgust smears across this teacher's face, followed by a heavy roll of the eyes and pulling of her brows as high as she can, finishing off with a sarcastic smile to the others (Marley's principal, kindergarten teacher, low vision teacher, and special services coordinator) clearly saying, without using words, who the blank do you think you are to make decisions for your daughter, and I can't believe we're wasting our time listening to his rantings, folks. This is the look, but the words she uses are, "What training and credentials do you have in orientation and mobility (O&M)?" The implied question is, why do you think you should have a say in the course of your daughter's independence development? What she says is, "I have a masters in O&M and years of experience. Marley's white cane with the metal tip is a danger to others." I look at these divine and almighty credentials of hers as a hindrance. She has had six years of formal training on how a sighted person tells a blind person what's best for them, and she has been teaching subprime methods that do not encourage confidence or allow our children to navigate through life at an equal pace with their peers. What does the short cane mean to me? Because it is shorter, instead of picking up on obstacles and landscape variations several feet in front of the traveler, they discover steps and walls when the obstacles are literally inches in front of their toes. Short canes set the expectation that safe travel means far slower, less confident walking, and that is a fact. Short canes equal tenseness because the reaction time must be immediate. The standard cane being pushed by the school is heavier, two to three times heavier than her long white cane, with a weighted stub at the end that is meant to be pushed/dragged, grinding against forward motion with every step. It catches on every crack, rock, and twig the user encounters. This does not allow the cane traveler-including my daughter-to move freely or on par with her peers. Again, it reinforces the foundation of lower expectations and standards. That is a fact. Most importantly, the difference symbolically from the short, red- ended heavy cane versus the long white cane is immense. The standard cane originates in the UK circa 1921, created by James Biggs, who found himself newly blind and painted his walking stick to become more visible (White cane, Wikipedia.org). The long cane was developed in 1958 by the Iowa chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, designed to "enable us to walk faster without diminishing either safety or grace" ("The Nature of Independence" by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, NFB.org) One was created from a "discomfort from the amount of traffic around his home," and designed for the purpose of "being more visible." From the inception of its development in England in the 1920s to France in the 30s and the Lions Club in America in the 50s, the main theme to its development and adoption into law has been the concept of visibility, alerting others to the presence of a blind person. In contrast, the long white cane was created as a result of dissatisfaction with the, as Dr. Jernigan put it, "the short heavy wooden type, and we youngsters associated carrying a cane with begging, shuffling along, and being helpless." This new cane was designed for the purpose of helping blind people advance on the road to freedom and independence. This shift was mentioned many times by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, and these are facts. In short, one symbolizes "Look out, I am a handicapped person, and I can't get around that good," while the other symbolizes "Look out, I'm a handi-capable person, and I'm coming through!" This lady's perspective and decisions regarding the training and foundation for Marley and countless other children are based on conventional education and only values input that supports her lower expectation standards. Our perspective and decisions are framed from lifetime experience, Terri being blind since childhood, and me having been partnered with her for the past eleven years. As a child Terri went through a system that enforced the negative promotion model of blindness. She learned using a short cane, and Braille was not encouraged. When we got together, she was in college. Staying up all night trying to keep up with the required reading, with her face pressed down into the book on the table, was common. Reading at fifteen to twenty words a minute was why it took so long and caused the physical problems that come with trying to read what one cannot see and therefore cannot read efficiently. Walking into light poles and fire hydrants were a part of her days, all because someone had a different idea-a professional idea-of what a blind person should be and what devices she should use. It wasn't until she adopted a positive promotion model that she dared to have the audacity to live the life she wanted. She got the proper training. Now she runs 5k's, navigates airports solo, is an amazing mom, and reads faster than George W. speaks! Do you think a formal education experience ever landed this teacher in a room of several thousand successful blind people cheering at the top of their lungs in celebration of their independence, or meeting blind doctors, Harvard graduates, Everest climbers, and elite triathletes? Probably not, which is why her expectations and view of the blind are unwittingly discriminatory and are exemplified by her insistence on subprime and archaic teaching methods. Cane travel skills are like handwriting skills. Am I to expect my five-year-old to be writing in cursive? Of course not; it is a development of fine motor skills that she is working through. I would be equally unreasonable to expect her to execute impeccable discipline and precision in her cane usage. But forcing her to use a tool that will not serve her in the future will slow her down in the present and set a life trajectory of lowered expectations on a deficiency model. This is like forcing her to learn only large bubble letters before she is allowed to learn Braille. No! We have high standards for our life, and we expect the same for Marley. I was expecting to be met with a different philosophy and lower expectations for a standard of independence, but I wasn't expecting to be met with condescension and disgust. This is not the first time some stranger in his/her ignorance has attacked Marley's progression. Past actions from the school include refusing Braille, physically taking her cane away, and holding her hand instead of letting her run with her classmates. At what point does life experience have any validity in the face of a formal education? Are my words worthless because I don't have a degree in O&M? What am I supposed to do, get a masters in every aspect of my life to be able to advocate for my daughter? If there is any term I can think of that depicts what my daughter is up against, it is institutionalized discrimination. ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Betty Capps, May 5, 1931 - December 17, 2018] Betty Capps Dies by Gary Wunder Helen Betty Capps started making the world a better place on May 5, 1931, and she continued to do so until December 17, 2018. Many of us knew Betty in the way she wanted to be known-as part of the team known as Don and Betty Capps. If there was light to be shined as a result of her work, she preferred that it be shined on Don, and this was very much in keeping with women of her generation. Few virtues are more important than loyalty, and the name Betty Capps is synonymous with this most admirable of qualities. Betty married Donald in 1949. Together they had two children, Craig and Beth. Beth preceded Betty in death, and knowing that once again they are together is a source of comfort for the family in these difficult times. For sixty-five years Betty Capps was everything her husband could have desired in a soulmate, a helpmate, and a trusted soldier in the movement they both shared in growing and nurturing, the National Federation of the Blind. Where you saw Don, there you also saw Betty. Where Don traveled, there you would find Betty. He did not like to fly, so she drove them across the country to do the work that helped blind people have the Federation we enjoy today. "The only place Mom didn't drive Dad was Hawaii. She liked to fly, but he didn't, so that was that," said son Craig. "She was just as much an advocate, but she helped in different ways," he said. "She had three priorities: being a mother to her children, helping my dad, and being an advocate for the blind." While she certainly helped with traditional tasks such as driving and reading, she was much more central to the team of Don and Betty. She could help him read a group, devise a strategy, be a part of his institutional memory, and give her sage advice reflective of her education, good manners, southern traditions, dignity, and her ample supply of common sense. It may go without saying, but the success and dedication of a couple requires two committed people, and no one was ever more committed to another than Don to Betty. In talking about his considerable work and success, Don did not say I; he said Betty and I-the manifestation of profound love, and gratitude to the creator who saw to it that they found and embraced one another. Betty was kind to everyone but was reserved by nature. Her close friends were few in number, but they knew they had no better friend than she. As Lois Tucker said, "When you had Betty as a friend, you had the best friend possible, and you had a friend for life. There were so many things I could tell you that Betty has done for others, but part of Betty's being a friend was doing things quietly and without notice. She was always so nice to our children, and even with all the traveling she did, it was clear that her own children would continue to receive the best of care and love." Marshall Tucker remembers being required to move to Columbia, South Carolina, to change jobs. For three months he lived with the Capps family. "When Don heard that I was staying at the YMCA, he immediately invited me to stay with his family. Of course, Betty was the one who did the work of making a space for me and seeing that I had something to eat. For three months she made their home my home. I will never forget this kindness." Craig treasures his mother for being many things, but the thing he values most is the role she played in her family. "Mom always insisted on our being together for Christmas. When for many years I lived in New York, Mom would start calling around September to make sure I was coming and to find out when I'd arrive. Those calls continued until she had a firm yes and a firm time when I'd be there." Gracious, a lady in the finest tradition, a mother second to none-all of these descriptions and more only begin to hint at the person Betty was and to the character that has shaped the lives of her children and has made better so many lives for people who are blind. We thank Betty for the person she was and for the opportunity to know her. Those who knew her knew love, for she exemplified it. Whether we knew her personally or by reputation, we have all been blessed by her life and her life's work. ---------- The Secret to Winning a National Federation of the Blind Scholarship by Cayte Mendez >From the Editor: Cayte Mendez is the chairperson of one of the most important committees of the National Federation of the Blind. She and her committee are charged with advertising our scholarship program and choosing thirty students who demonstrate academic success, leadership, and commitment to helping others. Here is Cayte's announcement about the 2019 scholarship program: Each July at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind, our organization awards a broad array of scholarships to recognize achievement by blind scholars. Our thirty scholarships, of which the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship is the largest, are all substantial and prestigious enough to inspire any student to complete a competitive application. The NFB Scholarship Program is our investment in the future of blind people who demonstrate scholastic aptitude, leadership, and service. I encourage every blind college student to apply. What exactly is the secret to winning an NFB scholarship? Over the years I have heard quite a bit of speculation regarding the answer to this question. To be sure, there are some non-negotiable eligibility requirements. All applicants for these scholarships must: . be legally blind in both eyes . reside in one of our fifty states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico . be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time postsecondary course of study in a degree program at an accredited United States institution in the fall of the 2019-2020 academic year . participate in the entire NFB national convention and in all scheduled scholarship activities if chosen as a finalist While these are the concrete requirements, what exactly is the secret to becoming an NFB scholarship winner? Many think the single key to becoming a scholarship winner is a high grade point average. While an applicant's GPA certainly has value, because it demonstrates his/her ability to learn and be successful academically, this is by no means the only attribute that influences the decisions of the scholarship committee. Likewise, others believe that the secret to winning is abundant participation in extracurricular activities. Recognizing an applicant's willingness to take on commitments outside of school and/or work can help the committee develop a portrait of a well-rounded individual; however, this is also not sufficient in itself to justify a scholarship award. Still others think the magic scholarship winning ingredient is an applicant's level of commitment to the NFB. It is certainly true that the scholarship program provides our organization with a tremendous opportunity to develop future leaders of the National Federation of the Blind, but scholarship awards are by no means restricted to members of the organization. The National Federation of the Blind is dedicated to creating opportunities for all blind people. Recipients of NFB scholarships need not be members of the National Federation of the Blind. Many of our past winners were not even aware of the NFB before they applied for our scholarships. Finally, there are those who speculate that the committee looks for winners among applicants from specific fields of study or specific demographics. However, over the years, students of all ages and in widely differing fields have become finalists. The class of 2018 included students entering their freshman year, as well as older students who were nearly ready to write their PhD dissertations. Past scholarship winners are working toward credentials for employment in many diverse fields. So what exactly is the secret to becoming an NFB scholarship finalist? It is just this-you must apply! Each November the new, updated scholarship application forms are posted on the Web at www.nfb.org/scholarships, along with important information about the contest, links to information on past winners, and a page of frequently asked questions. The application form for 2019 is already online. It will remain up until March 31. The process can be initiated with an online application, which we prefer, or students can ask for a print application by contacting our scholarship office at scholarships at nfb.org or by calling (410) 659-9314, ext. 2415. A complete application consists of the official application form and a student essay, plus these supporting documents: student transcripts, one letter of recommendation, and proof of legal blindness. Each applicant must also complete an interview with the NFB affiliate president of his/her state of residence or the state where he or she will be attending school. High school seniors may also include a copy of the results of their ACT, SAT, or other college entrance exams. Unfortunately, some applications are incomplete, so the committee is unable to consider them fairly. Applicants must ensure that all of the required information and supporting documentation has been received by our scholarship office either online by midnight EST, March 31, or by mail postmarked by March 31. Students should carefully consider who can do the best job of writing their letter of reference. A letter should support the application by being full of facts and observations that will help the members of the committee see the applicant as a smart, active student and citizen. Students can write their essays using word processing software. They should remember to use the spell checker (or a human proofreader) before uploading, printing, or copying and pasting their work into the online application form. In an effective essay the applicant will talk about his or her life in a way that gives the committee insight into him or her. The essay should cover the ways in which he or she lives successfully as a blind person and describe the applicant's personal goals for the future. Information about positions of leadership is especially helpful. Committee members give the essay a great deal of attention. The NFB scholarship committee is comprised of dedicated, successful blind people who will review all applications and select the top thirty applicants who will become the scholarship class of 2019. Note that students submit just one application to the program; the scholarship committee will choose the thirty finalists from all applications received. These thirty scholarship finalists will be notified of their selection by telephone no later than June 1. During the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind, to be held July 7 through July 12, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the scholarship committee will decide which award will be presented to each winner. Attending and participating in the entire national convention is one of the requirements to become an NFB scholarship winner. Of course, attending the convention is also a significant part of the prize. The National Federation of the Blind's national convention is the largest gathering of blind people to occur anywhere in the world each year, with 2,500 or more people registered. Those chosen as scholarship finalists will have the opportunity to network with other blind students, to exchange information and ideas, and to meet and talk with hundreds of blind people who are successfully functioning in many occupations and professions. Our past winners often comment that the money was quickly spent, but the contacts they made and the information they gathered at convention have continued to make their lives richer than they ever imagined. Often students apply more than one year before winning a scholarship, so applicants are encouraged to reapply. The NFB may award three or more scholarships to men and women who have already received one Federation scholarship in the past if their scholarship and leadership merit another award. Individuals receiving a second NFB national scholarship are recognized as tenBroek Fellows. So now you know the secret. The key to success for the NFB scholarship program is as straightforward as carefully reading the application on our website, and then providing all of the required information and supporting documentation before the deadline of March 31. I look forward to receiving your applications! ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2017 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Gayle Bengsten] Bengsten Offers Insights into Living without Sight by Jake Doetkott From the Editor: This article was first published in the Sauk Rapids Herald weekly newspaper on October 27, 2018. They have graciously given us their permission to reprint. This article is a fine example the way all of us should be working to make Meet the Blind Month stand out in our annual calendars. Here is the article: Gayle Bengsten was thought to have been born completely blind, but to her family's shock she could track motion and see color. Doctors had assumed her optic nerves were dead. "I consider it a miracle," Bengsten said. "However, my partial eyesight did get in the way early on. I'd always be staring down at my feet instead of learning to use a cane." Bengsten is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota and has been spreading awareness of the disability for seventeen years even when certain aspects of blindness are tough to convey. Bengsten delivered her most recent presentation in Sauk Rapids on October 17 as part of National Meet the Blind Month. She shared her experiences, courtesy rules, and accessibility concerns with a group that gathered at Russell Arms Apartments. "I love answering questions, but sometimes I wish I could throw sleepshades on people and have them go about their day like I would," said Bengsten, who joined the Central Minnesota Chapter of the Federation in the 1970s. "In terms of how I see, all I can say is there's a place for everything, and everything has its place. It's about remembering where things are." Along with her long white cane, Bengsten carries a humorous attitude and a plethora of idioms. "A sense of humor goes a long way," Bengsten said. "I've had moments where people have jumped over my cane, thinking I'd hit them. I say, 'Beware the long white cane,' in a spooky tone to diffuse those situations." During her talk, Bengsten explained courtesy rules of the blind. "Never touch blind people without consent, and don't pet a harnessed guide dog; it means they're on the job," Bengsten said. "We [people who are blind] can be independent and prefer to be, so don't take us by the hand unless we ask." A growing concern for those who are blind is the noise reduction of vehicles. Bengsten urged electric and hybrid vehicle drivers to be alert to those trying to cross the street, especially those with a white cane in hand. "Many of us were taught to listen for traffic, but newer cars, and especially hybrids, aren't as loud as past models," said Bengsten, who uses a cane rather than a seeing eye dog to assist her mobility. Although concerns remain, Bengsten appreciates how accessibility has improved since her youth. In the ninth grade, Bengsten learned Braille, a letter system of raised bumps that offer the blind a way to read by sense of touch. "I'd use audio books or have people read to me before," Bengsten said. Braille opened new opportunities for Bengsten. "First I was just happy to write my blind friends, but the Braille signs in public buildings were a benefit that greatly increased my independence," Bengsten said. "Public Braille sign locations aren't uniform though. The garbage room was a well-hidden secret to me for some time living at Russell Arms Apartments." Another monumental accessibility improvement was computer screen- reading software. Bengsten uses NonVisual Desktop Access to relay what is on her computer's monitor via text-to-speech. Bengsten uses a combination of Braille and computer notes for personal organization. "Screen-reading software was a godsend for my independence," she said. "I wish it existed sooner." Another improvement was cane resizing. Canes were formerly measured from the breastbone to the ground. Now, they typically extend to the bridge of the nose. "You'd hit things before your cane would," Bengsten said. "Over time we've discovered the longer the cane the better." During her talk, Bengsten recommended the film Love Leads the Way: A True Story for its educational power. The movie shows a blind man's struggle with legal constraints that limited the use of his guide dog in public spaces. "Although we've resolved some of the film's dilemmas, issues of guide dogs in public remain," Bengsten said. Through involvement with the Federation and by spreading awareness in her community, Bengsten continues to help people meet the blind on more than a monthly basis. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Salisbury] Spaghetti with Chopsticks by Justin Salisbury From the Editor: Justin is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii, and he also works at the Ho'onopono Center for the Blind teaching cane travel. He is young enough to remember what it was like before he embraced the philosophy of the Federation, and he is articulate enough to explain how he felt before, the way he felt during the transition, and how much he wants others to share in what he has found. Indeed much separates real freedom from route travel and the knowledge that one can learn from other blind people or even learn on his or her own. The difference has something to do with skill training, but attitude often determines whether or not one is willing to try. Here is Justin's latest perspective on coming to know the liberation training has provided to him: Back in 2011, when I was a student division president in North Carolina for the first time, one of my contributions to the student division was the idea that our student seminar could include an exhibit hall filled with vendors from across the country. I did not understand the philosophy of our movement as well as I could have, but I understood the importance of connecting students with resources that could help them. At the last minute, somebody had the idea that we ought to invite the three training centers run by the National Federation of the Blind. I was only barely aware of the existence of these, and I had previously fixated on inviting guide dog schools to come represent. We had plenty of guide dog schools, but why not float out a last-minute email to Pam Allen, Julie Deden, and Shawn Mayo? I remember my own embarrassment when talking to Pam Allen about it on the phone; I could not understand why she was so interested in sending someone last-minute to a seminar hosted by a little student division in North Carolina that nobody outside the state would know. BLIND Inc. sent George Wurtzel, an industrial arts instructor, who had previously lived in North Carolina. He told me that he had worked in a mattress factory in Winston-Salem, which sounded to me like an interesting deal. I did not really understand the sheltered workshop concept, but I understood that this was a blind guy who had worked a variety of jobs. I understood that he was there to represent a training center, and I assumed that what he was offering was largely irrelevant to me because I had already been to training. During my high school years, I attended some summer programs at a privately-run training center operating under what I now know as the "vision-centered approach." I love how specific and accurate this term is, and we owe President Riccobono for introducing this term to the world in his 2017 banquet address. In that training center, I was taught how lucky I was that I could still see somewhat, and I was taught how to maximize the use of my vision. I was taught that it was not important for me to learn nonvisual techniques if I could use visual ones. If I ever lost more vision, I could always come back to the training center for more training. They told me that some people who were still hanging on to their vision for as long as they could would come back to the training center every few years when they could no longer see well enough to manage with the visual techniques they had been given in their prior stay. It sounded like a fun thing while I was still young and without a family, especially since they made us so comfortable there, and they always told us that we were good enough just the way we were. For those with more adult commitments, I figured it must have been hard to keep a job if they had to keep leaving. Then again, these guys were the professionals, so I figured they must have known what was best for blind people. Plus, it's hard to disagree with people who keep you well-fed, comfortable, and entertained with all the group leisure activities. At the student seminar our vice president Preston Johnson had taken care of the catering. He had done some great work getting food donated for breakfast and lunch. He and his team of student volunteers had set up a nice buffet area where students could indulge in whatever they needed. When it came time for the lunch line, I continued taking care of simple event details and finally joined the end of the line, as I have always been taught that it would be proper for me to eat last in such a setting. In front of me was George Wurtzel. As we waited, he commented on how, if I ever came to visit BLIND Inc. I should do it when a student was serving a meal for forty people. Students cooked and served everybody else, not the other way around. Suddenly, in that moment, I understood that the training at BLIND Inc. was an entirely different kind of training than what I had received previously. At my previous training center, we would wait in line to enter the cafeteria, where we would deposit our canes in a docking station by the door, pick up a prepared lunch tray from the window, and walk carefully to find a seat. We had to walk in a counterclockwise direction to help avoid collisions with other students, and there would be a sighted person or blind person with some residual vision available to monitor our movement. That monitor would call out to us if we ever got too close to one another, subsequently telling us how to get out of a jam, or if we violated the counterclockwise walking rule. Instead, this guy was telling me that students at BLIND Inc. cooked a meal for everybody, and students handled their own affairs as they went through the entire dining process. The differences in the expectations of blind people were stunning, and I have never forgotten that moment that got my attention so clearly. When I was first meeting Arlene Hill, my cane travel instructor at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, we talked about my previous experience with using a cane. I told her about what I called "orientation and mobility." She gently told me that she was going to teach me cane travel. She figured she could assume that I was already mobile but just needed to learn how to use a cane and to do it without my vision. I voiced my frustrations about how limited I felt still trying to use my vision and how my vision-centered instructors had spent all this time getting me to optimize using something that still was not good enough. Ms. Arlene said that she did not need to teach me how to use my vision because I came to her already knowing how to use it as well as possible, just like every other student does. Society teaches people how to use their vision, but LCB was going to teach me how to do things the nonvisual way. That was part of what society had not taught me. In some adjustment to blindness training programs, students learn how to perform one task or another using a preordained set of scripted and sequential techniques. Whether the techniques are visual or nonvisual is often varied based on how much a person can see. This idea is discussed quite often. What is less often discussed, but in my opinion is at least equally important, is the notion that teachers are basically attempting to teach students how to follow a rigid script for every little thing they want to do. It is almost like they believe teaching a blind person is like programming a computer: setting forth every instruction and allowing for no variation in its execution. If the blind person wants to learn how to do something else, they can just call up the vocational rehabilitation agency and ask for an instructor to be sent to teach them whatever new thing they need to know. That's where I was at the beginning of college. By the end of college, I was calling upon local Federationists to come show me how to do things, and I did not care whether they could see. I still needed to be shown because I lacked the confidence and problem-solving skills to go out and try new things on my own. At the Louisiana Center for the Blind, I learned how to take risks- not dangerous ones-but the right kinds of risks. I learned to experiment, and I stopped doubting myself every time I had to do something involving a new skill set. This is a major part of the emotional adjustment to blindness that a blind person must have in order to function at full capacity. Before training, I could have made all the clear and convincing arguments of how capable I was, but I did not feel it in my heart. I knew theoretically that vision was not a requirement, that low expectations (including those which I had internalized) were the real problem, but theoretical knowledge and emotional adjustment are two different things. Fast forward a few years; I ended up graduating from LCB, attending a PhD program in agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and leaving that to earn a master's degree through the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University. I hung around Ruston contract teaching at LCB until I had accepted a full-time job. Since I had attended a high school on the campus of a large university, I had learned a little bit about chopsticks by this time. When I arrived in Hawaii, I really had no idea how Asian it was going to be. I did not look up any data on race and ethnicity, and I doubt that this would have been meaningful to me. In Hawaii it is common for people to try to argue that there is no racial or ethnic majority because the different Asian and Pacific Islander groups are separated: i.e., Japanese from Chinese from Korean, etc., which creates artificially smaller percentages. Someone who belongs to multiple Asian groups, Filipino and Chinese for example, is classified as multi-ethnic, which makes another category. Then, these numbers are compared to entire races, and no group appears to dominate the data set. The Asian and Pacific Islander cultures dominate the culture of Hawaii, meaning that the prevailing customs and trends of the local culture are derived from their ways. If someone "looks local," that frequently means that they appear to be substantially Asian or Pacific Islander by descent. Local cuisine is dominated by these cultures, as well, so chopsticks are everywhere. Since I moved to Hawaii, I have gotten into the habit of using chopsticks so frequently that I don't even think about the fact that I'm doing it most of the time. This was not the case when I lived on the mainland. One of our students recently served her large meal, and I did my duty to eat this feast. It is not only a free lunch; it is an opportunity to participate in the community celebration of a student's progress in training. Everyone has the experience of going through the buffet line, finding a seat, and eating the meal under sleepshades. Newer students can go through the process with a more advanced student who can role model the skills and confidence, too. After her dining experience, one of my colleagues re-entered our auditorium, where I was still eating, and she asked me in a loud and surprised voice, commanding attention, "Justin, you're using chopsticks to eat your spaghetti?" I told her that it was now more natural for me to eat pasta with chopsticks than with a fork. Another staff member said, "You're officially kama'aina now." That word basically means local. When we get local discounts, for example, they are called "kama'aina discounts." It is used the way that the word local is used in many places on the mainland. For a long time, before training, people had told me that Braille was slow and that I did not benefit much from using a cane. In a way, they were right, but it was only because I had not polished those skills enough to reap the benefits of what they could offer. I had also never really used a screen reader, unless you count the AppReader functions on ZoomText. Society was telling me that I was more successful using magnification instead of Braille, and I kept hearing how amazing I was as a traveler. I could not fathom using a computer without looking at the screen, but LCB's Josh Boudreaux and Jack Mendez made me figure it out. The problem before training was not that those techniques were ineffective, but I had not been immersed in a setting where I was pushed to develop those techniques and skills myself. Now that I have developed those skills, I have new preferences. If I need to use a sighted person's computer to show them a website or something, I can do it without a screen reader, but it feels so slow compared to what I can do with JAWS. With the chopsticks, I'd never really developed proficiency before moving to Hawaii, and I'm sure I have plenty of skill development left ahead of me. For example, the same coworker who called me kama'aina can hold a piece of fried chicken in her chopsticks while she eats it so that she never gets any grease on her fingers. I don't have to get to that level for chopsticks to be useful, just like not every blind person needs to be as good a traveler as Roland Allen in order to benefit from using a cane and be confident while doing it. I had to develop my skills for using a screen reader in order to have a meaningful comparison to my skills with using a computer visually. I could not imagine writing this article without a screen reader; I bet it would take forever and half a bottle of painkillers. Whether I am going to eat pasta, read an email, or testify in a public hearing, I am going to use the skills and techniques which work best for me. The only way that I can truly compare the nonvisual techniques to the visual techniques is if I invest my time and energy into developing those nonvisual skills because society has already taught me how to maximize the visual ones. For any blind person who has not yet had it, I want to encourage them to consider training at one of our centers so that they exercise truly informed choices to make the most of their potential. ---------- The Eltrinex V12Pro Talking Digital Recorder by Curtis Chong From the Editor: Curtis Chong is a balanced man, but even he has eccentricities. One of them is an extraordinary appreciation for the pocket digital recorder. To put it mildly, he is a collector. Don't bother asking his favorite: he can tell you why he has one of each, citing strengths that make them unique. I think this particular recorder stands quite high in his estimation, so here is what he says: I have been using hand-held digital recorders of one form or another for more than two decades. For the most part, I use these convenient little devices to dictate short notes to myself when I want to capture information such as a phone number, an email address, or the proper spelling of a person's name. Whenever I leave the house, I carry a digital recorder in my pocket. It is so convenient that it is hard to justify not carrying one with me wherever I go. Recently, I had occasion to buy the Eltrinex V12Pro Talking Digital Recorder. While the price of $169.95 seemed a bit steep, the voice guidance capability of the V12Pro strongly appealed to me. Before the Eltrinex V12Pro, two things always troubled me about the commercial digital recorders on the market. First, most of the digital recorders I bought did not speak to me at all. If I wanted to change a setting that was buried deep within a menu (for example, the quality of recording or the microphone sensitivity), I had to memorize a sequence of commands. More often than not, if I did not use the sequence very often, I found myself scrambling to remember what to do, usually at the least opportune time. I was happy when Olympus released its series of talking digital recorders. Most of the menu items would talk, and it was nice, when I turned the recorder on, to hear the level of the battery charge: high, medium, or low. But I was disappointed that I could not set the date and time without sighted help. Nor could I move or copy a recording from one folder to another. Secondly, for most of the digital recorders I used, once a person finished a recording, the audio file could be played or deleted but never changed. Only certain Sony digital recorders (which did not speak at all) had the ability to add to an existing recording after it was finished. Now consider the Eltrinex V12Pro. All menu items and settings are verbalized with its voice guidance system. You can, without sighted help, set the date and time and specify whether the time is expressed with a twelve-hour or a twenty-four-hour clock. In addition, for each recording that is created, you can add information to the beginning of the recording (referred to as a label) or to the end of the recording (appending to the original recording). For each recording that you create, you can hear the file number in the folder where the recording is saved, how much time the recording takes, and how many more hours of recording time you have left. You can protect or unprotect each recording using speech output alone-no visual assistance required. The same is true if you want to know the charge in the battery. Even better, you can independently move or copy individual recordings from one folder to another. There are a couple of less positive items that bear mentioning. The Eltrinex V12Pro takes about eight seconds to power up before you can actually start recording. Other recorders usually power up in less than five seconds. When a recording is stopped or deleted, the V12Pro takes about eight seconds to return to its normal operating mode. The Eltrinex V12Pro is manufactured in Europe, and its documentation (available online) was clearly written by a person for whom English is a second language. While I myself had little trouble with the manual, I can understand how some people might find this to be a problem. As of this writing, the Eltrinex V12Pro Talking Digital Recorder is priced at $169.95, and it is sold in the United States by LS&S Products. Refer to http://www.lssproducts.com/product/Eltrinex-Talking-Digital-Voice- Recorder/voice-recorders-and-personal-organizers to learn more about the Eltrinex and to buy one for yourself. The company's main website is https://www.lssproducts.com, and their phone number is 800-468-4789. To read the online version of the user's manual, point your browser to http://help.talking-recorder.com/en-text-manual.php. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kaiti Shelton smiles as she plays her guitar.] Improvising Independence: Finding My Own Solutions for a Career in Music Therapy by Kaiti Shelton From the Editor: Kaiti Shelton is a remarkable young professional who believes in what she does. She has been the beneficiary of music therapy, has worked with a blind role model, has experienced the roadblocks put in her way by professors who didn't think she could perform in the field, and has demonstrated that, when toughness and creativity and thinking out of the box were required, she had what it took to persevere. She now shares her gift with others who can benefit from music therapy, and we are blessed that she is also sharing who she is and what she does with us. Here is what she has to say: Music therapy is an evidenced-based, allied health profession in which highly trained and certified professionals use musical interventions to accomplish individualized therapeutic goals. Established in the 1940s, it has aided in the promotion, restoration, or maintenance of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health for countless clients from premature babies to nursing home residents and those receiving hospice care. Yet music therapy, like blindness, is still very misunderstood. In my experiences as a blind music student, I have seen misconceptions about my chosen career and misinformation about blindness combine. In a field in which disabled people are just recently starting to become the helpers in numbers rather than solely be the recipients of help, I've needed to find my own solutions to many complicated problems. I received music therapy services as an infant as part of my early intervention program. My music therapist, who was totally blind herself, helped develop my social skills, enhance my communication abilities, and lay the foundation for an understanding of what it means to be independent. Music therapy was also a positive experience for my parents, because it was beneficial for them to see that a blind adult could be independent and successfully employed while I was still young. When I needed service hours to maintain my high school student council membership, I asked my former music therapist if she could use a volunteer on Saturdays. She agreed, and I was put to work doing simple tasks like sanitizing instruments and manipulatives, helping the children to play their instruments, and running simple errands around the building. After a year, I announced to her and another music therapist there that I wanted to become a music therapist myself. Both of them served as my mentors as I finished high school and began my undergraduate studies. My college years were a crash course in learning to quickly identify barriers and create solutions for them. It became apparent very early on in my sophomore year that I would need to work harder than my sighted classmates to access visual information. My college provided Braille music whenever I needed or asked for it, but there were some visual concepts in print music which just seemed so foreign to me as someone who accessed music in an auditory manner or in a linear fashion when reading Braille music. The struggle of interpreting and understanding music using different spatial concepts from anyone else in my classes would play out in various forms time and time again, from music theory classes which used a complex graphing system, to conversations in which I failed to understand what was being said because I didn't know what print music notation looked like, to my conducting classes in which I spent time with my professor in office hours to learn how a conductor moved when I had never seen one before. Similarly, in music therapy I heard a variety of questions from professionals, fellow students from different schools, and occasionally supervisors because I was often the only one who would need to do things differently. I remember sitting in class one day feeling totally at a loss as a supervisor talked about how important it was to see facial expression to document a client's affect (their presented state of mood, usually described as bright or flat). Several people would question me over the years about how I could possibly document someone's affect without being able to see facial expression. In other cases, people would ask in a doubting way how I planned to work with clients who can't use spoken language or expressed concerns over my ability to keep clients safe. Many questions were raised about how I would manage groups and accurately observe all my clients. I was concerned about learning to do all these things independently, which I didn't have much of an opportunity to practice in college when all students worked in groups or as partners for most practicum courses. Of course, this had an effect on how I saw myself as a blind person. I was set on pursuing this career, but I felt I had very little support in finding solutions to problems. I reached out to my mentor a few times, but she was trained in a time when some of the requirements I had to meet were not as specific or stringent. I dove into the research literature and found one article written by a blind music therapist, but when I found it the article was ten years old, and the ideas provided therein didn't address my specific challenges. The author of that article had set up a listserv for blind music therapists, but by the time I found it the listserv had lost traction. Sometimes I would leave meetings with professors feeling frustrated because neither of us knew what to do to solve an access problem. I didn't know of any other students or young professionals I could talk to who would understand my specific challenges. I vacillated between thinking I was in a unique position to spark change and feeling discouraged and doubtful about my abilities. I knew that to effect change I needed to become a professional first, and I wasn't sure if I could find all the solutions I needed by myself. My close friends saw the effects on my mental health as I internalized messages that I was unable to pursue the career I wanted, that I would always be judged as less capable compared to my sighted colleagues, and that there were many elements of a field dedicated to serving disabled people which were so inaccessible to someone like me. During my internship I was tested in ways in which I had never been tested before. My supervisors expected me to learn to function independently and were supportive of my trial-and-error approach to find the strategies which worked best for me. They were happy to brainstorm with me and would hold me to task when they felt it was time for me to lead without their support. I learned to lead groups of preschoolers with energy, care, and a spirit of fun at 9:00 on a Monday morning. I documented affect by using the client's posture and auditory cues such as tone of voice or their vocalizations. I worked with quite a few clients who were nonverbal or minimally verbal, and by being keenly aware of my visual aids, I was able to use pictures to help them communicate their wants and needs. I learned to be vigilant about safety concerns and intervene quickly when I saw a potentially harmful situation. I also found tricks and devices which help me to work more effectively, such as a vibrating pocket watch I hang on my lanyard and an accessible documentation form I created myself. I was thankful for the time I spent in my internship, finding what methods, techniques, and strategies were most effective for me. Because music therapy is not well understood and is not a common career choice, young college students rarely know all the requirements and tasks they will be asked to complete in their curriculum. There was no way for me to prepare in advance for the specific challenges I would encounter in my major. No one on my IEP team ever considered that the advocacy strategies they were teaching me to use in my liberal arts classes would not be effective in my music classes, and as I headed off to college, my teachers, family, and I thought I had been very well prepared to advocate for my needs. Professors would look to me to tell them what I needed to be successful, and while I had answers ready for professors who taught lectures and labs, I had no immediate ideas when it came to the classes for my major. Another problem was that none of the accommodations I qualified for applied to experiential learning situations. On paper it appeared that I had been given everything most students would need to be successful, but extended time on exams and approval to use assistive technology weren't applicable to my practicum sessions and offered no guidance to me or my supervisors when I needed to find alternative techniques. Had my professors not been willing to work with me to find reasonable accommodations for my practicum courses, I may not have completed my degree. I know of a few students who were turned away from music therapy because their professors didn't think it was possible for a blind person to be a competent professional. Blind people and those with other disabilities deserve our care as clients just as much as they deserve support when they want to be the providers, and if they can meet the requirements with reasonable accommodations for their disability, they deserve a seat at the table, too. Today, I have secured employment at a facility which serves adults and children with developmental disabilities in Indiana. This facility has been accepting and supportive of me ever since I applied, and I am looking forward to serving alongside the talented board-certified music therapists and other professionals there. Words can't describe how empowering this feels. However, I know I would never have found myself in this situation had I given in to negative perceptions of my capabilities. My experiences have taught me much about the harm of internalizing negative messages about the capabilities of blind people, but they have also taught me a lot about resiliency, self-care, advocacy, determination, and dedication to personal goals. They have also further invigorated my quest to help others who are being discouraged or turned away from my field due to negative attitudes or false information about blindness. I hope to publish my own articles and present at conferences to demonstrate that blind people are capable of being professionals with a lot to offer to clients, colleagues, and our understandings of disability and music therapy. I am continuing to rebuild my self-confidence and am thankful for being reminded by the National Federation of the Blind that negative attitudes and stereotypes, not my blindness, are the true barriers between me and the life I want to live. ---------- Braille Letters from Santa are a Little Christmas Magic From the Editor: The National Federation of the Blind has a special program taken on at the request of Santa Claus because he and the elves get so busy in November and December, and the NFB has the skills to help out. We assist Santa by Brailling letters to blind children in reply to letters that they have sent to him. This year we asked parents and teachers one question about this program: If you have participated in Santa Letters before, can you share with us what affect this program has had on you or your child/student? We're reprinting a number of the responses we received to this question to share the holiday joy and magic that one Brailled letter can bring to a child's life. Some of these have been edited for clarity. Here are some of the answers we received to that question: "Zora loves receiving her letters from Santa, and we have been taking them with us when she visits Santa in person. It's exciting because many sighted people have not had direct contact with Braille. "Louise absolutely loved getting the letter and trying out her developing Braille reading skills to read as much as she could of the letter. Nothing promotes reading like a letter from Santa! Last year's letter inspired Louise to Braille her own letter to Santa to leave with milk and cookies, since as she put it, "Santa must be able to read Braille if he can write it!" Thank you!" "It has introduced my daughter to Braille. She may not be able to read independently but can feel it as I read it to her." "She looks forward to this every year. She will share the excitement with all her classmates and tell them how great Santa is. We have fun going through everything in the package together." "Salome has received a Braille letter from Santa for each of the past few years through your program and is always so excited to get the letter! She has loved the songs and other fun activities as well! She is now a very proficient Braille reader, but I remember when she was in kindergarten and she got her letter and how hard she worked to try to read it even though it was a challenge. Thank you so much!" "This is our second year of participating, and it is even more exciting because Rosie is very familiar with her Braille books and will understand that she has a special letter. Last year this was a blessing for us as newly adoptive parents. We got to share with Rosie a tradition that our children and grandchildren have always enjoyed, and it encouraged us so much. Thank you for your kindness and hard work; you are greatly appreciated!" "Clara loves getting a letter from Santa. She is at the age where it is getting harder for her to believe, and this is keeping the magic alive just a little longer!" "He received the letter last year as well. He was super happy to receive the letter. And firmly believes in Santa." Students love receiving mail, especially from Santa. "Last year was our first year of requesting a letter, and it was Harper's first year of some kind of recognition of Santa and Christmas. It was a great way to help with the season just for her. Now this year she really knows what is going on and is looking forward to her letter from Santa-I have told her we sent a request, but only the really good kids on the nice list get a letter direct from the Big Man himself!" "My daughter Karlee has participated in the Santa Letter Program for one year, and she loved it. It helped her to build more excitement around the magic of Christmas. I appreciate the program, too, because it helps me to reinforce the importance of reading Braille in a positive way. Thanks." "Santa's letter motivated my daughter to read for recipes when she was a new reader." Both children and parents seem to enjoy the letters from Santa. "My son is so excited every Christmas to get his letter. He shows all of his friends." It gives them great pleasure to receive a letter from Santa that they can read themselves. "Last year was the first time I had signed up for my daughter to receive the letter. Oh she giggled and was excited!" "He loves getting a Santa letter! His brother gets one from another program; this helps keep them both included." "Kiara was so surprised and thrilled to receive a letter from Santa last year! She thought it was incredible that Santa knew Braille, too! She was very proud of it and took it to school to show her class. It was great reading practice for her also. She mentioned recently that she hopes he writes her again this year. Thank you for this wonderful gift!" "It was wonderful and encouraging for both of my blind children. The reaction my daughter had to the idea that Santa knows Braille was amazing." "I am excited to report that Isabelle will be able to read some of the letters this year! She went from thirty minutes per week to up to thirty minutes a day in TVI. A start, she knows all letters and can read some words." "My son looks forward to his letter from Santa every year! This is so amazing that you guys take the time to do this!" Every year the kids look forward to getting their letters from Santa. It makes them feel like all the other kids out there. "We did this last year, and I put it in his baby book to read in the future. He was only one last year!" "She enjoys that Santa knows Braille, and it makes her feel so special." This is such a great opportunity to make the world a little more accommodating. "Marcise has enjoyed receiving Braille letters from Santa so that she can read it by herself!" "My son loved it. He felt special receiving a letter and enjoyed the activity sheet." "It is extra special for our daughter to receive a lovely letter from Santa in Braille that she can read over herself, and it has been a wonderful encouragement to her utilizing Braille." "Paul really enjoys his letter from Santa each year!" "My dad requested a letter for me when I was in high school, and it encouraged me to practice reading Braille when I was quite reluctant to do my Braille homework." "My daughter loves these and looks forward every year still. Thank you for doing this." "Zoe has received a letter before, and her mom tells me that she loves to read it!" It's so much fun to see the anticipation they have when their letter arrives. "Cheston loves getting his letter from Santa. His other siblings also get letters, and now he can read his own. Thanks for doing this program." "Myla loves and looks forward to her letter from Santa every year!" "Luke loves to get letters he can read and loves the thought of hearing from Santa." "The student was surprised and excited to receive the letter from Santa. He's learning Braille, so it gave him additional practice with reading." "My daughter loves getting mail, and the fact that it is from Santa makes it even more special." ---------- How the Louisiana Center for the Blind Helped Prepare Me for College by Vejas Vasiliauskas From the Editor: Vejas Vasiliauskas is currently a student at Loyola Marymount University and is a junior majoring in English. He says he will likely become a paralegal, and he knows that being able to write clearly will put him in a good position to pursue any number of careers. Here is what he has to say about his decision to attend the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB) and the affect training has had on him: I graduated from high school with a strong academic foundation. The VI program for the most part gave me the support I needed to get Braille material, and my O&M instructor taught me the routes I needed to get to my classes on campus. But as I started applying to colleges, visiting university campuses, and as graduation day approached, I increasingly realized that I was lacking the real-life skills to live independently on a college campus and that I wasn't adequately prepared to succeed in a technologically-oriented academic setting. I also had to admit to myself that I just did not have the O&M skills to freely travel around campus and the community. Having attended the buddy programs at LCB and BLIND Inc. in middle school and through my NFB affiliations, I realized that I needed focused blindness-skills training. I was thrilled to receive my acceptance letter from Pam Allen at LCB, and I am so glad I took that gap year between high school and college. LCB is a comprehensive blindness-skill training center. Students attend from all over the country and even all over the world, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. But one thing is for sure: everyone attending the program will be challenged. I would like to take a few minutes to focus on the different areas of training and how I benefited from them. Orientation and travel were quite honestly my biggest challenges, and LCB was the perfect place to work on this. I had the real fortune of being able to work with Roland Allen, whom many of you know, and who is considered by many to be the best blind travel instructor in the country. Like it or not, I got O&M practice every day because my apartment was about a mile from the LCB campus, and after learning the route, I had to walk to and from school every single day. Roland challenged me and was amazingly patient but had high expectations well beyond those of most O&M instructors. He certainly was not quick to jump in and help me by bailing me out of a tough situation but expected me to push beyond myself and really figure things out. Route assignments started kind of on the easy side and quickly became increasingly difficult and more complicated, but soon I felt confident enough to take a taxi to the grocery store on my own and go grocery shopping, meet friends to go out to eat, and go to church on Sundays. I quickly developed enough confidence in my travel skills that I was able to join in many of the activities in Ruston's Louisiana Tech University Catholic group, including singing in the youth choir and practices, and participating in retreats and weekend socials. In fact, my dad was floored when he asked what I was doing next weekend, and I told him I was going tailgating-you see, I had never even been to a football game before. It is important to realize that good travel skills and the ability to socialize freely go strongly hand in hand. Fast forward to my first week on campus. The university had told me that they would provide someone to help me get to my classes the first month, but upon arrival, surprise! They said they could not do that. On top of that, the O&M instructor who was going to orient me to campus had the misfortune of breaking her foot that week and was unable to help me. But because of the training I received, I took a deep breath and took advantage of the first few days to practice my routes a lot. Again, my training paid off. I've been making it to class on my own. I am traveling around campus, participating in my church choir and the campus youth ministry program, and meeting up with friends on and off campus. Now on to Braille. To be honest, I am a very proficient Braille reader, so I chose to work on my weakness, my slate and stylus skills, while at LCB. I also helped other students with their Braille. Now on campus without a VI teacher to organize my materials, I am using my advocacy skills to make sure I get my materials in an accessible format. With respect to technology, throughout my elementary education I relied heavily on my BrailleNote and later incorporated the iPhone, but my computer skills were lacking. During computer class at LCB, I dramatically improved my typing skills. I learned a variety of ways to perform the same tasks and used these skills to complete research projects, all skills that I lacked when I graduated high school and now am actively applying as a freshman. A big part of the LCB program focused on living skills, both during class time and after hours. Since you live in a real apartment with a roommate off-campus, and because there is no cafeteria serving food, all students are expected to make all three of their meals every day. I learned all the aspects of managing an apartment, cleaning, cooking, laundry, and sharing a living space with another human being. I now feel very comfortable living on campus, along with 95-plus percent of the freshmen at LMU. I manage my dorm room. I buy some meals in one of the cafeterias or eating establishments on campus, but it is frequently much more convenient to warm something up in the microwave or eat food that I have purchased at the grocery stores near my school. While at LCB, we also took many trips that were designed to be fun, to facilitate comradery and to challenge us in new environments. We went rock climbing, horseback riding, ziplining, traveled to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, and attended Louisiana state convention. So as you can all appreciate, I grew immensely during my nine months at LCB, and my time there really gave me the skillset that I needed to live independently on campus this year, to take advantage of all the social opportunities that school has to offer, and to succeed academically. It was truly an invaluable experience. But it is important for me to point out that although it prepared me for college, there were also many older students there who benefited from the skills that they learned to more fully take advantage of their family lives, their social lives, and their work lives. As a Californian, you must want the training and be prepared to fight for it. You will need to build your case. I visited the various programs in California, and I wrote a strong justification letter explaining specifically why LCB would best suit my needs. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mary Willows for her assistance in helping me formulate the letter. Thank you so much, Mary. Lastly, I would like to wrap this up with one very important additional consideration: remember, you are only going to get out of the experience what you put into it, so I encourage you to apply yourself 150 percent. It truly is a golden opportunity to get the skills you need to succeed and live the life you want. Thank you. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month have been provided by the National Federation of the Blind of Mississippi. Southern Fried Chicken by Willie Cook Willie Cook is a member of the Jackson Chapter. He became a member of the National Federation of the Blind eighteen years ago. Fried chicken and collard greens are two of his favorite delicacies. Ingredients: 3 cups buttermilk, divided 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, divided 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut up Oil for deep-fat frying 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon paprika Method: In a shallow bowl, whisk two cups buttermilk, one teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken; turn to coat. Refrigerate covered overnight. In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375?. Meanwhile, place remaining buttermilk in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk flour, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and remaining salt and pepper. Place half of flour mixture in another shallow bowl (for a second coat of breading). Drain chicken, discarding marinade; pat chicken dry. Dip in flour mixture to coat both sides; shake off excess. Dip in buttermilk, allowing excess to drain off. For the second coat of breading, dip chicken in remaining flour mixture, patting to help coating adhere. Fry chicken, a few pieces at a time, four to five minutes on each side or until browned and juices run clear. Drain on paper towels. ---------- Collard Greens by Willie Cook Ingredients: 2 tablespoon bacon fat, lard or vegetable oil 1 medium onion, sliced from root to tip 1 ham hock 2 garlic cloves, smashed 1 quart chicken broth 1 to 2 cups water 8 to 10 cups chopped collard greens, about 2 pounds vinegar and hot sauce to taste Method: Heat the bacon fat in a large pot set over medium-high heat. Saut? the onion in the bacon fat, stirring often until the edges begin to brown, about five minutes. Add the ham hock, smashed garlic, chicken stock, and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for one hour. Add the collard greens to the pot and cook until tender, another forty-five minutes to an hour. Chop the meat, add to the greens: To serve, remove the ham hock, pull the meat off the bones and chop. Mix the meat back with the greens and serve with vinegar and hot sauce at the table. ---------- Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas by Ramon Holmes Ramon Holmes is a member of the Tupelo Chapter. He has been a member of the National Federation of the Blind since 1995. He is a country man and loves black-eyed peas and cornbread. Ingredients: 2 cups dried black-eyed peas 8 ounces bacon, chopped into bits (can use more if desired) 1 cup white onions, diced 1 to 2 teaspoons garlic, minced 4 cups chicken broth 1 bay leaf 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes smoked salt & black pepper to taste Method: Rinse peas thoroughly under cool water (discarding any weird- looking peas). Place peas in a bowl and cover with water. Soak for six hours or overnight. Drain and rinse peas. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Drain bacon on paper towels, while leaving about one to two tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan. Add onions to the pan and cook until translucent. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant. In a large pot, add soaked peas, onions, garlic, and chicken broth. Add a bay leaf and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer just until peas are tender, about twenty to thirty minutes. When peas have reached your desired tenderness, add smoked salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and a few dashes of hot sauce. Serve hot. ---------- Cornbread by Ramon Holmes Ingredients: 2 cups cornmeal 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bacon drippings Method: Combine cornmeal, soda, and salt; stir in eggs and buttermilk. Heat bacon drippings in a ten-inch cast-iron skillet in a 400? oven for three minutes or until very hot. Coat skillet well with drippings. Pour any excess melted drippings into batter and mix well. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake at 450? for twenty minutes or until bread is golden brown. ---------- Pound Cake by Verdina Buckner Verdina Buckner is the president of the Greenville Chapter. She has been a member of the National Federation of the Blind for seven years. She enjoys eating pound cake for a dessert. Ingredients: 1 cup butter, room temperature 2 cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk fresh berries for garnish Method: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a twelve-cup Bundt pan. Tap out any excess flour. In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat on medium with a hand mixer until creamed. Add the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time. Beat each egg in before adding the next. Scrape the sides of the bowl. In a separate bowl, add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Measure out the milk. Alternately add the flour and milk always starting and ending with the flour. I added the flour in three parts and the milk in two parts. Scrape down the sides and mix to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Spread it out evenly in the pan using a spatula. Place into the oven and bake for one hour to 1 hour and fifteen minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for five minutes and turn out onto a cake plate. Let it rest for another five minutes. Tap the Bundt pan with a knife to help loosen the cake from the pan. ---------- Sweet Tea by Larensy Rogers Larensy Rogers is a member of the Magnolia Chapter, which is the chapter-at-large. She has been a member for two years. She is a senior in high school who highly favors sweet tea. Ingredients: Some good ol' tap water 1 cup of sugar 3 family size tea bags (I prefer Lipton) Method: Fill a medium-sized pot with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add the tea bags, remove from heat, cover, and let steep for about fifteen minutes. In a two-quart pitcher combine one cup of sugar with three cups of lukewarm water. Strain tea from pot into pitcher and fill the remainder of pitcher with water. Stir and enjoy over ice. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family The NFB EQ for 2019: Summer Opportunity for Teens! Explore and connect this summer, June 16- 22. Join the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) at our NFB Engineering Quotient (EQ) program. NFB EQ is a weeklong adventure into engineering and problem-solving. No specific level of engineering experience required. Engage in activities designed to strengthen knowledge and grow interests. Connect with the twenty-nine other teen participants while also exploring the local community and participating in various recreational activities. Enriched experiences. New friendships. More independence. Apply for NFB EQ Now! www.blindscience.org/nfbeq. Have questions? Email STEM at nfb.org. 2019 AAF Free Braille Books Program Launches with Here's Hank Book Series Produced by National Braille Press of Boston: The American Action Fund (AAF) for Blind Children and Adults has partnered with the National Braille Press (NBP) to produce and ship free Braille copies of the best-selling twelve-book series, Here's Hank, written by Henry Winkler, award-winning actor, director, comedian, and author, and Lin Oliver, writer and film producer. The Here's Hank series, geared toward the younger reader, features the character Hank Zipzer, who may not be the best at spelling, math, or reading but always tries his hardest. "Lin Oliver and I are bursting with pride that Here's Hank was chosen to be in Braille," said Henry Winkler. "Comedy requires only a sense of humor, not sight." This is the first-ever Braille edition of this series, distributed free of charge to approximately 4,000 blind and low-vision children by the AAF through its Free Braille Books Program. Each month, a new book in the twelve-book series will be distributed starting on January 4, 2019, the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille code. The NBP will transcribe and proofread each book in the Here's Hank series followed by pressing each book into Braille and collating them by hand before shipping to children in the AAF Free Braille Books Program. "We are proud to launch the first Braille edition of the Here's Hank series and make it available for free on the two hundred tenth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille," said Mark Riccobono, executive director of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. "For one hundred years, the Action Fund has been dedicated to the advancement of Braille literacy, and we believe that these funny, inspiring books will delight young readers while enhancing their Braille skills and making the code a fundamental part of their lives." "National Braille Press is committed to promoting literacy for blind children," said Brian MacDonald, president of National Braille Press. "We are very proud to work with the American Action Fund to produce the Here's Hank series that will allow blind and low-vision children to experience these popular books just like their sighted peers." In the first book of the Here's Hank series, Hank's class is putting on a play, and he wants to be the lead role, Aqua Fly. After freezing during the audition, Hank is given the role of a silent bookmark. Although this role seems insignificant, when Hank's enemy freezes during the play, it is up to Hank to save the day. For more information on the AAF Free Braille Books Program visit: https://actionfund.org/free-braille-books About American Action Fund The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, a nonprofit organization founded in 1919 and headquartered in Baltimore, helps blind people throughout the United States through programs and initiatives emphasizing Braille and tactile literacy, education, and independence. For more information, visit www.actionfund.org. About National Braille Press A nonprofit Braille publisher and producer of Braille products, National Braille Press promotes literacy for blind children through outreach programs and provides access to information by producing information in Braille for blind children and adults. For more information visit www.nbp.org. Lee Martin Honored: On Thursday, January 10, Lee C. Martin was awarded the twenty-eighth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Indiana Holiday Celebration Freedom Award on behalf of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, Indiana Black Expo, Inc., AFSCME Local 725, and the state of Indiana. The Freedom Award is granted to individuals or projects whose major societal influence includes breaking down barriers that have divided us in the past and/or building ongoing relationships that foster respect, understanding, and harmony in our community. In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. The Secret Garden, Ramona Titles, and More Now in UEB: Seedlings Braille Books for Children just added eight more titles to its Unified English Braille collection for independent readers, bringing the total to 148! They are: The Secret Garden, Ramona the Pest, Ramona the Brave, Aliens for Dinner, Helen Keller from Tragedy to Triumph, If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, Who Was Dr. Seuss? and Who Was Albert Einstein? Order at http://www.seedlings.org/browse.php?cat=12 All 310 of Seedlings' print and Braille books for younger readers are already in UEB! Order at http://www.seedlings.org/order.php Seedlings is regularly adding more UEB titles for older kids. Keep checking our website to see what's new: http://www.seedlings.org. BANA Elects Officers for 2019, Welcomes New Board Member: The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) held its fall 2018 meeting November 1-3 at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Salt Lake City, Utah. The meeting was hosted by the American Council of the Blind. During its three-day meeting, the BANA Board reviewed semiannual reports from its eighteen general and technical committees, each of which works on specific charges from the Board-and acted on recommendations from these committees. Portions of the Thursday and Friday meetings were dedicated to further development of BANA's strategic planning and the steps that will implement this planning. Cynthia Skandera, Horizons for the Blind representative, was welcomed as BANA's newest Board member. The Board established the 2019 budget and elected officers for 2019. The elected officers are: chair, Jennifer Dunnam (National Federation of the Blind); vice-chair, Tamara Rorie (National Library Service); secretary, Dawn Gross (Alternate Text Production Center of the California Community Colleges); treasurer: Jessica Rivera (Associated Services for the Blind). Frances Mary D'Andrea serves as BANA's Immediate Past Chair. BANA's next meeting will be held May 2 through 4, 2019, in Toronto, Canada, and will be hosted by CNIB (the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. Introducing the First-Ever Waterproof and Shockproof Talking Watch: Are you tired of investing in multiple talking watches each year because they always seem to die after being bumped or soaked-no matter how careful you try to be? Or have you given up on wearing a watch altogether, even though you miss the convenience of hearing the time at the touch of a button anywhere you go? Introducing the first truly shockproof and waterproof talking watch we've ever seen. You can wear this wristwatch twenty-four/seven because water will not damage the electronics. Leave it on as you wash your hands, take a shower, or go swimming. And never worry about removing the watch again or trying to remember where you might have left it this time. The simplicity and durability of this watch make it the ideal choice for blind and visually impaired people of all ages. Whether you exercise and sweat a lot or get caught in a giant rainstorm, this timepiece won't give in to the realities of daily life. Our Waterproof Talking Watch is fully accessible to a blind person. Press the button on top to hear the time. Set and configure all functions by listening for spoken prompts or clearly-differentiated beeps. If you have some vision, activate the built-in backlight by pressing a single button (with or without the time-speaking feature). Though both men and women can wear this watch due to its coloring and design, some ladies may find it too bulky for their liking. Packed into a reusable tin box with a large-print quick start guide, the watch makes an attractive, practical gift for anyone ... including yourself. (The instructions are also available on our website in a fully accessible, text- based format.) Our first-of-its-kind Waterproof Talking Watch costs $19.95 with free shipping. To order yours from Blind in Mind, LLC, visit https://BlindInMind.com or call 1-800-213-4567. Optacon for Sale: I have an Optacon in working order with case and charger. I'm asking $600 for the unit. If you are interested please email Ben Vercelone at benvercellone at gmail.com or call me at 417-755-5285. For Sale: HIMS Blaze ET, perfect condition, in original box with Braille manual. Asking $450 or best offer. Contact by email at johnnyrusso140 at gmail.com ---------- 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. ----------------------- [1] National Federation of the Blind (1990). Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement, Introduction, 2. [2] National Federation of the Blind (1990). Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement, Introduction, 2. [3] National Federation of the Blind (1990). Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement, 1952 Banquet Address, 6-7. [4] tenBroek, Jacobus (1957). 1957 Banquet Address, Banquet of the Annual Convention, "Cross of Blindness," 1. [5] tenBroek, Jacobus (1964). 1964 Banquet Address, Banquet of the Annual Convention, "The Parliament of Man ... The Federation of the World," 2. [6] tenBroek, Jacobus, & Tussman, Joseph (1949). "The Equal Protection of the Laws." California Law Review, 37(3), p. 341. [7] 20 U.S.C. ?? 1400(d)(1)(A),(B); 20 U.S.C.A. 1412(a)(5). [8] 20 U.S.C.A. 1412(a)(5). [9]Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). [10] 88 Stat. 773, Public Law 94-142 (94th Congress, 1st Session, 1975). [11] The Supreme Court in Endrew explains: "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) offers States federal funds to assist in educating children with disabilities. The Act conditions that funding on compliance with certain statutory requirements, including the requirement that States provide every eligible child a 'free appropriate public education,' or FAPE, by means of a uniquely tailored 'individualized education program,' or IEP. 20 U.S.C. ??1401(9)(D), 1412(a)(1)." [12] The Supreme Court's decision in Endrew overruled the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which had concluded that "a child's IEP is adequate as long as it is calculated to confer an 'educational benefit [that is] merely . . . more than de minimis,...' 798 F.3d 1338." Endrew F. v. Douglas Country School District, 580 U.S. ___, 137 S.Ct. 988 (2017). [13] tenBroek, Jacobus (1966). "The Right to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts." California Law Review, 54(2), p. 843. [14] tenBroek, Jacobus (1957). 1957 Banquet Address, Banquet of the Annual Convention, "Cross of Blindness," 6. [15] tenBroek, Jacobus (1957). 1957 Banquet Address, Banquet of the Annual Convention, "Cross of Blindness," 6. [16] Severson v. Heartland Woodcraft, Inc., 872 F.3d 476 (7th Cir. 2017). [17] tenBroek, Jacobus (1960). 1960 Banquet Address, Banquet of the Annual Convention, "He Walks by a Faith Justified by Law," 2. [18] tenBroek, Jacobus (1966). "The Right to Live in the World: The Disabled in the Law of Torts." California Law Review, 54(2), p. 842. [19] Mr. Elder and other disability law symposium speakers urged the disability rights community to continue to think creatively and strategically about how to best address ongoing problems encountered by blind individuals attempting to independently access self-service kiosks at train stations and airports, and websites to purchase tickets on buses. [20] tenBroek, Jacobus (1962). 1962 Banquet Address, Annual Convention Banquet of the American Brotherhood for the Blind, "Welfare of the Blind: Perils and Prospects," 1-3. [21] !'(*/6 tenBroek, Jacobus (1962). 1962 Banquet Address, Annual Convention Banquet of the American Brotherhood for the Blind, "Welfare of the Blind: Perils and Prospects," 1-3. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Fri Mar 1 10:05:12 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2019 10:05:12 -0800 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, March 2019 Message-ID: <201903011805.x21I5Co6020097@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 3 March 2019 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 ? 2019 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. PHOTO/CAPTION: Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Orlando, Florida, July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-9001. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2018, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 3 March 2019 Contents Illustration: World Braille Day: The World Acknowledges the Value of Literacy for the Blind The 2019 Washington Seminar by Gary Wunder Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 116th Congress, First Session Access Technology Affordability Act Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Disability Employment Act We Will Not be Shut Down by Mark Riccobono How the Marrakesh Treaty Came to be Policy: The Perspective from a Longtime Legislator by Senator Charles Grassley National Federation of the Blind Celebrates Ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by Chris Danielsen Growing Comfortable with the Uncomfortable by Trisha Kulkarni Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest Results by Deborah Kent Stein Summer Youth Programs A Network of Support by Mary Lou Grunwald Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers by Stacie Dubnow The Fifty-Year Perspective: An Interview with Ramona Walhof TO-ed at the OT by Lauren Merryfield The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund by Allen Harris Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: The Jernigan Institute staff pose with the cake for World Braille Day.] [PHOTO CAPTION: The sheet cake not only has the words "Happy World Braille Day" written in cursive in icing, but small candies spell out the same words in Braille.] World Braille Day: The World Acknowledges the Value of Literacy for the Blind Many desires unite the blind of the world: having a place to live, being able to enjoy that place as a palace and not a prison, getting an education and eventually some kind of job so that one's efforts are appreciated by getting something of worth for them. Not only are we united in our aspirations, but sometimes we also share a common belief in a technique. Braille is the most obvious example, and so it is that the World Blind Union worked to get the United Nations to designate the birthday of Louis Braille as World Braille Day. What an acknowledgement by a world body that Braille is the key to literacy and that literacy is the key to a better life for all who are fortunate enough to possess it. As shown in the photos accompanying this text, we did some celebration of World Braille Day at our NFB Jernigan Institute. The cake in the photo nurtured the body, but what it symbolizes nourishes the heart and soul. Thank you Louie Braille, and thank you to all who continue to work to convince the world that the beauty of literacy should be shared by the blind. The 2019 Washington Seminar by Gary Wunder Second only to the excitement of the National Federation of the Blind national convention is what some people call our mid-winter meeting or the Washington Seminar. It is a time for learning a lot about laws affecting blind people and even more about what we need to do to see that those laws lead to real equality of opportunity. We are the faces behind the legislative proposals Congress will consider, and it is our lives that will be made better or worse by its action or inaction. But before we brief one another and prepare to go to the Hill, we build our organization through other meetings. The first of these was the Parent Leadership Program whose gathering took place at the NFB Jernigan Institute on January 27 and 28. Parents learned about the laws affecting their children's education, got first-hand instruction in being advocates, and learned that the Federation goes far beyond individualized education plans and individual plans for employment. Working with the organization to change the environment for these young people will determine whether they have technology they can afford, appliances they can use, and remunerative employment. The message we try so hard to send is this: today your child is five years old, but you need to know more than what to do until she is twenty-one. You need to be a part of molding the world she will inherit, and we, as a part of your family, are here to help. The noisiest and most enthusiastic meeting certainly comes from our students and their division, the National Association of Blind Students. These young people, who are often known for late nights and late starts in the morning, surprised everyone when they were anxiously waiting at 8:30 a.m. for the 9:15 registration and a 10:00 a.m. start of the meeting. The hubbub was wonderful, but what started as controlled chaos turned into a well-oiled registration system and a meeting that started within seven minutes of when the agenda said it would. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kathryn Webster] President Kathryn Webster gaveled the Learning Through Living 2019 Student Seminar to order, welcomed the students, and asked our social media coordinator Karen Anderson to talk with the group about social media and our Twitter hashtag #NFBINDC. President Mark Riccobono was introduced, and he talked about unity in the National Federation of the Blind. We get things done because we are united, but we can only be united if everyone knows his or her voice matters. United doesn't mean the old guys and gals run everything; united means all of us decide the course we will take, and all of us make what we decide become the reality that we and other blind people come to experience. Gabe Cazares, our manager of government affairs, was introduced. When he says "Howdy," you know that information is soon to come, and it is delivered with the poise, enthusiasm, and clarity that makes it stick. He briefly outlined each proposal, took questions, and left more detailed discussions for later in the seminar. Everette Bacon came to encourage students to apply for scholarships, and the fruits of the program were made perfectly clear by Trisha Kulkarni, a 2018 winner, who delivered a presentation that appears elsewhere in this issue. In the afternoon many of us came to hear about the issues we would take to Congress. Having the fact sheets in hand well before the seminar was helpful, but there is nothing like being able to ask questions of people who know our proposals inside and out and who exude the enthusiasm for what we are doing in coming to Congress. When 5 p.m. arrived, the Capitol Ballroom was filled to overflowing, and the overflow Congressional Room had few unoccupied chairs. Together we had two rooms full of people ready to take the Hill. President Riccobono began by welcoming those in attendance and then delivered moving remarks which appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Diane McGeorge, Mark Riccobono, and Buna Dahal smile together.] As the next order of business, he observed that the Federation has been coming to DC longer than any member of Congress, and in the thirty- seven years we have been using this hotel, Diane McGeorge has been our Washington Seminar coordinator. On this evening she announced her decision to retire and introduced Buna Dahal as her successor. Buna is a fine member who lives in Washington state, but still identifies herself as a Coloradan. Buna said she would do the best she could to fill the big shoes Diane has given her but that we should remember that her real shoe size is a 2.5. The standing joke between Diane and Buna was that Diane wants someone to take her place who is shorter than she, so this posed a tall challenge. Through its applause the Great Gathering-In crowd thanked Diane and welcomed Buna to her new job. Before yielding the floor, Diane announced that once again she was able to get the hotel to make available the peanut butter pie which has been a tradition. The President mentioned our newly remodeled website, NFB.org. The team working on the new site has dedicated the last year to making the beauty people see on the web as elegant as what they see when they visit the NFB Jernigan Institute in person. As with any new site, we will find bugs and missing content, but your observations are wanted and should be sent to web at nfb.org. [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis] Anil Lewis next stepped to the microphone to speak in his capacity as head of blindness initiatives for the Jernigan Institute. Here are some of the points he made: first we dream, then we create programs, then we show people about the possibilities that await them. When we cried out for training in science, technology, engineering, and math, we were the first. Now others have taken up the chant, creating programs of their own. Whereas their idea of teaching the blind chemistry involves putting powder and water into a glass, mixing it, and calling it Kool-Aid, we teach children how to dissect sharks, launch rockets, and build things. And we do more than teach: we teach others how to teach through paid internships at our three training centers. From our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning Academy to our seminars on tactile graphics, we are not only raising the expectations of blind students but providing them a path to walk in getting to places we know they can go. President Riccobono reminded us that it is important to recognize innovation, and one of the ways we do this is through the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award. Any individual or organization demonstrating innovation and hard work on behalf of the blind can be nominated, and those wishing to make nominations should do so before the deadline of April 15. Monitoring the results of negotiation and litigation is a part of what we do, and the President thanked those who have participated in the Greyhound testing and have filed reports for our Uber and Lyft rideshare monitoring. Remember that with Uber and Lyft, we are interested both in good and bad experiences. It is also helpful if we report our challenges and successes in using websites for job seeking. Please report these to Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org or by calling 410-659-9314, extension 2440. The crowd was excited when President Riccobono talked about the national convention, which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 7 to July 12, 2019. Rooms are going fast, so those who wish to attend and have not yet made reservations should refer to the convention information earlier in this issue. Registration for the convention will be open March 1, and every person who pre-registers will save money on both registration and the banquet. Last year many of those attending the Washington Seminar went to the Newseum to celebrate the arrival of the tactile talking exhibit commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Hu? during the Tet Offensive. This exhibit was developed by John Olson of 3DPhotoWorks. This exhibit has been so popular that its time at the Newseum has been extended twice. Officials at the Newseum say that this exhibit has more dwell time (the amount of time that people spend looking at it) than any other object at the facility. The exhibit will remain at the Newseum until at least March 17, 2019. The membership of the National Federation of the Blind is our most valuable asset, and the recruitment and retention of new members is essential to ensure that we continue to be the true representatives of blind people. Jeannie Massay is the chairman of our Membership Committee, and she briefly addressed the group about initiatives to strengthen our efforts in recruitment and retention. She said that each member of the National Federation of the Blind will get a membership coin to signify that they are a member and to provide something we can display with pride to show that we are a part of a unified group invested in improving the lives of the blind. A fuller discussion of our membership activities will be found in the April issue, the majority of which will be devoted to this most vital Federation activity. Immediate Past President Maurer was introduced for the purpose of welcoming to the Great Gathering-In the distinguished senator from the state of Iowa, Charles Grassley. Senator Grassley has been involved in the legislative process as an elected official since the late 1950s. He served in the Iowa legislature and supported the programs of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. He then moved to the United States House of Representatives and later was elected to the United States Senate, where he has served for thirty-eight years. Senator Grassley was the chairman of the judiciary committee when the Marrakesh Treaty was considered and passed. He supported it and put forth tremendous effort to see that it was adopted. For his work in increasing the number of accessible publications this will make available both to the blind of the United States and the blind of the world, he was invited to deliver a keynote presentation to our gathering. What he said will appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Senator Grassley poses with Dr. Marc Maurer while holding the Distinguished Legislator Award] But before he spoke, Dr. Maurer presented Senator Grassley with the Distinguished Legislator Award from the National Federation of the Blind. The award read as follows: National Federation of the Blind Distinguished Legislator Award Presented to Senator Charles E. "Chuck" Grassley For championing the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, and its implementing legislation. Your leadership, hard work, and dedication have unlocked the door to expanded literacy and access to the world's knowledge. Together with love, hope, and determination, we transform dreams into reality. January 28, 2019 Patti Chang was given the difficult task of following Senator Grassley to the microphone. Her request was that we look beyond the needs of today and think about how we will help the National Federation of the Blind for the generations who will come after us. The primary way we can do this is by joining the Dream Maker's Circle, a program that lets us commit on our deaths some amount of money or percentage of our estate that we wish to give to the organization. Making certain that this happens can be as simple as creating a "payable on death" or POD account which instructs the bank to pay an amount that you specify to the Federation on your death. Patti is available to help in this or in more complicated arrangements involving wills, trusts, and other means through which one can make a gift to the Federation. John Par? was invited to the podium to introduce the government affairs team and the issues we would take to Capitol Hill. He reminded us that last year witnessed the passage of the Space Available Act and the passage by the House and the Senate of the Marrakesh Treaty. After John's presentation, President Riccobono interrupted to say that Scott LaBarre was on the phone with an important message. His message was that President Trump had, on this very day, January 28, 2019, signed ratification documents that would henceforth be sent to the State Department and officially transferred to Geneva, Switzerland. We understand that those documents have been deposited in Geneva, and after ninety days the United States will be a full participant in the Marrakesh Treaty. Kimie Eacobacci was introduced to talk about the Accessible Technology Affordability Act, legislation that would provide a refundable tax credit when we who are blind wish to purchase the specialized technology that helps to make us even more competitive. She was followed to the podium by the newest member of the government affairs team, Stephanie Flynt. She briefly explained the Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology or the GAIN Act. In this act we are looking for equal access in using medical devices, exercise equipment, and home appliances. The last presenter to discuss our issues was the manager of government affairs, Gabe Cazares. He briefly explained the Disability Employment Act and its potential to revolutionize employment opportunities for the blind by reforming the ways in which government contracts for sheltered workshops are awarded, inviting the private sector to participate in creating job opportunities for the blind, and by ensuring that all people with disabilities will be paid at least the minimum wage. More about these issues can be found in the fact sheets which appear immediately after this article. The last person to come to the podium was our longtime friend in the National Federation of the Blind and now an employee of Aira, Daniel Frye. He talked about two plans available only to members of the National Federation of the Blind: an introductory plan offering thirty minutes a month for twenty dollars, and a ninety-nine-dollars-a-month plan providing 140 minutes of Aira service. Dan stressed that Aira is not meant to replace the blindness skills we worked so hard to teach and evolve, but its job is to help with those aspects of our lives that require or are made significantly easier with the assistance of vision, be it human vision or artificial intelligence. He concluded by saying that anyone who wanted to try Aira for one week could sign up for service without charge. President Riccobono closed the meeting with two short items. Traffic to the new NFB website was so heavy after his announcement earlier in the evening that the site crashed, but this kind of heavy testing is exactly what we need to provide a world-class example of what a website should look like and the way it should function with assistive technology. He went on to say that by long-standing tradition the District of Columbia affiliate would provide doughnuts in the early morning to those venturing off to Capitol Hill. [PHOTO CAPTION: Senator Chris Van Hollen] On Tuesday we began our visits with individual members of Congress and their staff. On Tuesday evening we hosted a congressional reception, and several members were invited to speak. The first presenter at the reception was Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. He said that he was not surprised that when the blind decided to storm Capitol Hill, we quite literally brought with us an actual snowstorm. He said that he is proud that our national headquarters is based in Baltimore, that we have created the momentum to expand educational services and to make healthcare more inclusive, and that he looks forward to working with us, standing shoulder to shoulder, as we take the next steps in making competitive employment a reality for people who are blind. He is proud to be one of those who signed on to the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act which will phase out section 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act within six years. His goal is to round up one hundred cosponsors for this legislation in order to provide the help and resources needed to level the playing field so that blind people will transition into competitive, integrated employment. He concluded by expressing his continuing support for the Assistive Technology Affordability Act, and he believes that a refundable tax credit is an excellent way to put technology in the hands of those who need it. [PHOTO CAPTION: Congressman John Sarbanes] Congressman John Sarbanes was enthusiastically welcomed to the podium, and he too expressed his pride in the fact that the headquarters of our Federation is located in the third District which he represents. He appreciates not only the work we do on behalf of blind people but the way in which we have worked to become integrated into the community and to be a real resource for it. For him this shows that we are not only interested in issues affecting the blind but have an interest in any work that makes better this country in which we live. [PHOTO CAPTION: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee] The last presenter of the evening came from District 18 representing the great state of Texas. We welcomed to the podium Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. She was quick to acknowledge that thirty-six members of the National Federation of the Blind were present from her state, and her most immediate concern was whether she could get all of them into her office on the following day. Congresswoman Lee admires the Federation's dedication in pressing for the equality of all people, and she believes that our presence and participation in this constitutional form of government is a gigantic statement that we are here, we are equal, and we deserve the fullest of civil rights. She said that she was proud of George H. W. Bush for supporting the Americans With Disabilities Act, and now, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, it is her responsibility to exercise oversight of the Department of Justice and to see to the vibrancy, the strength, and the power of this act. She concluded by saying that the reason that she came to our reception was to commemorate our stand against intolerance: to support our determination to change the minds of those who say we can't; to proclaim that those who say the task is too hard for us are wrong; to refute the belief of those who say a blind person can't do this job; to answer those who say that we who are blind cannot teach by showing them that we can and do; to challenge those who express doubts that we can become research scientists; to confront those who believe we cannot parent, adopt, or become foster parents; and for all of the other reasons we have formed to act in concert as the National Federation of the Blind. After all of these stirring remarks, the congressional reception was adjourned, and those of us who witnessed its enthusiasm prepared for another two days on Capitol Hill. At last it was Thursday, January 31, and the blind had come and made our case to the lawmakers of our land. When it came time for canes on the ground to give way to wheels up as we headed home, all of us knew that we had taken a substantial step in addressing the needs of blind people. Our task is now well defined: to convert intention into action, action into policy, and policy into opportunity. This we will most certainly do, for as President Riccobono reminds us, "We are the National Federation of the Blind, and we cannot be shut down." ---------- LEGISLATIVE AGENDA OF BLIND AMERICANS: PRIORITIES FOR THE 116TH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives we want. . The Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) The cost of critically needed access technology is out of reach for most blind Americans. By providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying purchases, Congress will stimulate individual procurement of this technology and promote affordability of these tools. . The Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act Advanced digital interfaces create barriers that prevent blind individuals from independently operating essential devices that enhance quality of life. Congress must end the digital divide that threatens the independence of blind Americans by developing minimum accessibility requirements for such devices. . The Disability Employment Act (DEA) An outdated approach to employment fails to adequately equip workers with disabilities for the challenges of the twenty-first century. The Disability Employment Act will spur innovation that will increase and enhance modern employment opportunities for people with disabilities. These priorities will remove obstacles to education, employment, and independent living. We urge Congress to support our legislative initiatives. Find us on social media: National Federation of the Blind | @NFB_Voice | @nfb_voice ---------- Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) The cost of critically needed access technology is out of reach for most blind Americans The high cost of access technology creates a difficult economic reality. Most access technology ranges from $1,000 to $6,000. For example, a leading screen reader is $900, a popular Braille notetaker is $5,495, one model of a refreshable Braille display is $2,795, and a moderately priced Braille embosser is $3,695. According to the United States Census Bureau 71 percent of blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed. Consequently, most blind Americans do not have sufficient financial resources needed to purchase these items. These financial barriers can ultimately lead to a loss of employment, insufficient education, or even isolation from community activities. Medical insurance will not cover the cost of access technology. Current definitions of "medical care," "medical necessity," and "durable medical equipment" within common insurance policies do not include access technology. These definitions were adopted in the 1960s "when medical care was viewed primarily as curative and palliative, with little or no consideration given to increasing an individual's functional status." Many states' Medicaid programs and individual health insurance plans have adopted similar definitions and likewise will not cover the cost of access technology. Access technology enables blind Americans to participate in today's workforce. Blindness is well-defined and measurable, but affects each person differently and at different ages. Since individual needs differ, manufacturers have designed various tools that enable each blind American to perform tasks that they were once unable to accomplish themselves due to their blindness. Braille notetakers are frequently used in schools, screen reading software allows workers to check their email at home, and screen magnification software can help seniors losing vision learn about community activities. Access technology equips blind Americans to seek employment and stay employed. For the 71 percent of blind Americans who are either unemployed or underemployed, it is a vehicle that facilitates the job- seeking process. Despite this critical need, however, public and private entities struggle to meet consumer demand. This leads to untimely delays in the delivery of necessary technology and ultimately harms the blind consumer. Access Technology Affordability Act: Makes access technology more affordable so that blind Americans can procure these items for themselves. It establishes a refundable tax credit for blind Americans in the amount of $2,000 to be used over a three-year period to offset the cost of access technology. The credit created by ATAA will sunset after five years, and will be indexed for inflation. Provides flexibility for individuals to obtain access technology based upon their specific needs. Accessibility requires an individualized assessment of one's own skills and needs. Therefore, blind Americans should be given the opportunity to procure access technology on their own to ensure that they are receiving the tools that are most useful for them. Historically, Congress has implemented tax incentives (e.g., Disabled Access Credit) for business owners required to make accommodations, including access technology, for employees and patrons with disabilities. Even though Congress created these tax incentives to increase accessibility in the community, these incentives are underutilized. Meanwhile, blind Americans primarily depend on public and private entities to procure access technology for them. Improve affordability of critically needed access technology necessary for employment and independent living. For more information, contact: Kimie Eacobacci, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2441 Email: keacobacci at nfb.org For more information visit www.nfb.org ---------- Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act Advanced digital interfaces create barriers that prevent blind individuals from independently operating essential devices that enhance quality of life. Home use medical devices, home appliances, and fitness equipment are becoming less and less accessible for blind Americans. The rapid proliferation of advanced technology is undeniable. Most new stoves, glucose monitors, and treadmills now require that consumers interact with a digital display, flat panels, and other user interfaces. This new technology is inaccessible to blind individuals and creates a modern-day barrier. Inaccessibility is not a mere inconvenience; it can threaten the safety, health, and independence of blind Americans. Advancements in technology have the potential to transform how people live in a society but are designed for those with no functional limitations. This flaw in product design limits options for blind Americans who need nonvisual access to important devices that are available to people without disabilities. Nonvisual access is achievable, as demonstrated by a number of mainstream products. Apple has incorporated VoiceOver (a text-to-speech function) into its touch-screen products, making the iPhone, iPod, and iPad fully accessible to blind people right out of the box. Virtually all ATMs manufactured in the United States are accessible, and every polling place provides a nonvisually accessible voting machine. Frequently, a simple audio output or vibrotactile feature can make a product fully accessible at minimal cost. Current disability laws are not able to keep up with advancements in technology. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws require physical accessibility for people with disabilities (e.g., wheelchair ramps, Braille in public buildings), no laws protect blind consumers' right to access technology such as home use medical devices, home appliances, or fitness equipment. The National Council on Disability concluded that accessibility standards lag behind the rapid pace of technology, which can interfere with technology access. This trend of inaccessibility will continue if accessibility solutions are ignored. Only a fraction of manufacturers have incorporated nonvisual access standards into their product design while others continue to resist these solutions. Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act: Calls on the Access Board to conduct a nonvisual access standard review. The Access Board (an independent federal agency and leading source of information on accessible design) will review the current marketplace, consult with stakeholders and manufacturers, and will issue a report with findings and recommendations for a minimum nonvisual access standard for home use medical devices, home appliances, and fitness equipment. Establishes a minimum nonvisual access standard for home use medical devices, home appliances, and fitness equipment. Six months after the Access Board publishes the above-mentioned report, the Board will begin a rulemaking period, not to exceed 36 months, to establish a minimum nonvisual access standard for home use medical devices, home appliances, and fitness equipment. The final standard will go into effect three years after the final rule. Authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce the nonvisual access standards for home use medical devices. Under its authority to ensure the safety, efficacy, and security of medical devices, the FDA will investigate and prosecute violations of manufacturers who fail to comply with the standard. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce the nonvisual accessibility standards for home appliances and fitness equipment. Under its authority to investigate and enforce consumer protection matters, the FTC will investigate and prosecute violations of manufacturers who fail to comply with the standard. END THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR BLIND AMERICANS. Sponsor the Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act. For more information, contact: Stephanie Flynt, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2210 Email: sflynt at nfb.org For more information visit www.nfb.org ---------- Disability Employment Act An outdated approach to employment fails to adequately equip workers with disabilities for the challenges of the twenty-first century. The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (JWOD) is a well-intentioned but obsolete law intended to provide employment for people with disabilities through specialized government contracts. Enacted in 1938, the Wagner-O'Day Act required that government agencies prioritize the procurement of products produced by blind people. In 1971 the program was expanded to become the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, and to include nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities. While the originally intended goals of the program are noble, the current structure administered under the AbilityOne Program falls short of those ideals by failing to equip workers with the necessary skillsets to compete in the twenty-first century workforce. The work experience provided by the AbilityOne Program does not utilize or teach the skills required for today's fast-paced digital work environment. Many workers with disabilities employed under the AbilityOne Program are assigned menial, repetitive tasks, which do nothing to equip them with the skills needed to succeed and advance in a modern workplace. As a result, many of these individuals find themselves trapped in these jobs for years, if not decades, with no real hope to advance or find new employment opportunities elsewhere. The AbilityOne Program thrives on specialized contracts while at the same time paying employees with disabilities subminimum wages. Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, passed in 1938, authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue Special Wage Certificates to certain entities, permitting them to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages. The vast majority of 14(c)-certificate-holding entities are nonprofit "sheltered workshops" (segregated work environments) that pay over 300,000 workers with disabilities, some as little as pennies per hour. Additionally, the failure of the AbilityOne Commission to adequately manage its own financial resources and display an appropriate level of transparency has eroded public confidence in the program. AbilityOne sheltered workshops create a segregated work environment that is antithetical to competitive integrated employment. The current structure requires that the majority of the work performed on AbilityOne contracts is carried out by employees with disabilities at specialized nonprofits. These specialized nonprofits create an artificially inclusive work environment. Additionally, the current structure incentivizes excluding workers with disabilities from advancement to administrative, managerial, or supervisory positions. This results in people with disabilities stagnating in the same job for years or decades without creating opportunities for advancement to employers outside the program. This model also fails by not sharing best practices to employers outside the program in order to broaden its impact. Disability Employment Act: Will expand bidding opportunities within the program. The Disability Employment Act will allow for-profit as well as nonprofit entities to bid on contracts through a newly created commission. Will ensure that workers earn at least the prevailing wage. The bill will prohibit the use of 14(c) certificates and will require employers to pay workers with disabilities at least the minimum wage, or if greater, the prevailing wage. Will equip employers with the necessary tools and supports to integrate workers with disabilities. The bill establishes an Employment Integration Trust Fund to assist employers to meet reasonable accommodation requirements under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Employers will have access to financial assistance to ensure that the technology they use is accessible; to train design, development, and manufacturing teams on best practices; and to provide the necessary supports required by individuals with other severe disabilities. This will improve disability employment practices across all sectors of employment. Will better integrate with the Randolph-Sheppard Program. The bill will honor the Randolph-Sheppard Priority for all military dining contracts, including cafeterias. Will eliminate the conflicts of interest and lack of accountability in the current program. The bill will change the composition of the commission, restructure the way the contracts are awarded, and create a trust fund to support the organic integration of workers with disabilities into the mainstream workforce. Increase and enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Sponsor the Disability Employment Act. For more information, contact: Gabe Cazares, Manager of Government Affairs, National Federation of the Blind Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2206 Email: gcazares at nfb.org For more information visit www.nfb.org ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono addressing the Great Gathering-In] We Will Not be Shut Down by Mark Riccobono From the Editor: President Riccobono opened the Great Gathering-In meeting with these remarks, setting the tone for our annual visit to our nation's capital and emphasizing that who we are as a Federation is found not in one meeting, one program, or one division. We tackle all things blindness, and we do this with unity, optimism, and love. Here is what he said on the evening of January 27, 2019: Martin Luther King Jr. said that progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle-the tireless exertions and passionate concerns of dedicated individuals. Once again dedicated blind advocates have come to Washington DC to make progress and to secure for themselves equality. We are not highly paid lobbyists carrying out an assignment from our clients. We are not an organized crew of partisan enthusiasts sent to support an entrenched political message. We are a diverse organization of everyday Americans with different backgrounds, perspectives, economic positions, political points of view, and characteristics that give us advantages and disadvantages. Most importantly, we are brought together by the characteristic of blindness and unified in our common bond as we march together to secure equality and opportunity. We are the blind, and we have come-not because someone has paid us to do so but rather because of our desire to be the masters of our own future. We seek to live the lives we want and to enjoy full participation in this great nation. We come together to transform dreams into reality. We are the National Federation of the Blind, and we cannot be shut down. [applause] We recognize that our progress is not inevitable. That is why we have made progress and enjoyed success for the last seventy-eight years. There is no injustice too large that we cannot move it; there is no freedom so insignificant that we are willing to ignore it. We say that we seek to live the lives we want. It is not a hopeful aspiration; it is a determined declaration of our intention for the future. We are the National Federation of the Blind, and you can't shut us down. Ten years ago we began seeking a worldwide treaty to secure access to all accessible books around the globe. As blind people we are only granted equal access to a small fraction of the world's knowledge, and artificial barriers prevent sharing accessible works across borders. When we began, the government officials told us that the process of creating an international treaty, securing enough countries for it to be in effect, and then getting the United States of America to ratify and be a party to the treaty would take at least twenty years. They did not know the spirit and dedication of the members of the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] In 2018 one of the only matters that both branches of Congress unanimously agreed to support was the Marrakesh Implementation Act. We are now just months away from the United States being a full party to the Marrakesh Treaty, and in half the time we were told it was possible. When it comes to living the lives we want, we come to get it done! We are the National Federation of the Blind, and we cannot be shut down. Service in the United States military is one of the most significant commitments an American can make to his or her country. Yet, veterans with disabilities are denied equal access to privileges extended to non-disabled veterans such as access to the government's Space Available Program. Again, we first came ten years ago seeking to fix a loophole in the law that prevented blind veterans from equal access to the Space Available program. Year after year Congress made excuses as to why this relatively minor change in the law could not be made. Maybe they thought we did not mean it. Maybe they thought we would get tired and go away. Maybe they thought we did not have enough votes to throw them out of office. Whatever the reason for their lack of action, we kept coming every January and to their local districts in the months in between. In August of last year our space available provision became law and granted equal access to blinded veterans. [applause] So let's just take a moment to salute our veterans, who also cannot be shut down. [applause and chants of USA, USA, USA.] It is important that we show up not just in Washington DC. We are prepared to be in all of the places where equal participation of the blind is in danger. Some believe that the World Wide Web is not a place where the blind have a right to equal access as we do in businesses with physical locations. In California a case was brought on behalf of a blind person seeking access to the website and mobile app for Domino's Pizza. The court ruled that Domino's could not be required to make their digital domains accessible to the blind. While the case was not brought by the National Federation of the Blind, we were not willing to sit on our hands while our rights were taken away. We provided support in the appeal of the court's misguided decision, and earlier this month the appellate court agreed that equality means nonvisual access to the website, to the mobile app, and that providing a telephone number is not providing the same benefits as the company and its technology does for the sighted. [applause] Whether paying our bills, accessing our online bank accounts, or ordering a pizza with the toppings we want, we will continue to show up and to protect our rights to live the lives we want because we are the National Federation of the Blind, and we cannot be shut down. Employers have exploited the sweat equity of workers with disabilities since 1938 when the Fair Labor Standards Act established a legal system for excluding these workers from the wage protections everyone else in America enjoys. We want to work, and we are not willing to accept the low expectations that drive a profitable industry that is based on the principle that our work is worth only a fraction of the minimum guaranteed to all others as a right of citizenship. Even if many of us have broken out of the slavery of the sheltered workshops, we have not forgotten our blind sisters and brothers. [applause] This is why we continue to fight the exploitation used against workers with disabilities in places like the workshops in Ohio, where we are using the courts to expose the systems that have held us back for decades. This is why we will show up year after year and decade after decade until the United States Congress gets the courage to support blind workers and eliminate section 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [applause] Tonight we declare 2019 as the year of permanent phasing out of 14 (c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [applause] And just in case there is any doubt, we are the National Federation of the Blind, and you can't shut us down. Let us not be misunderstood. Our desire to work the jobs we want is not limited to gaining equality in our pay. We also seek to drive progress in the type and quantity of jobs available to the blind in the future. One of the largest employment programs for people with disabilities is the federal procurement contract program that operates under the name of AbilityOne. In July of last year the AbilityOne program, without any input from blind workers, without any opportunity for the blind to share their hopes and dreams for the future, without any public disclosure of any type impacting our future-it announced that the new caretakers for the blind of the twenty-first century providing great promise and hope for our jobs would not be the blind but would be the American Foundation for the Blind. On behalf of the blind people currently employed under this program and to protect the jobs of the future as defined by blind people, we filed suit against the AbilityOne program to block this illegal action. [applause] We want to work the jobs that we have in mind, and we are the National Federation of the Blind, and you can't shut us down! Whether it is educating the universities that equal access is our right not their burden, giving the American Chemical Society the formula to end their discriminatory practices toward test-takers, eliminating the virus that has spread in many healthcare facilities which apparently renders them unable to provide Braille materials or electronic healthcare records that are accessible, or working collaboratively with major companies like Kellogg and Procter & Gamble to innovate accessible packaging, joining together with the largest school district in the nation to make its website a model of accessibility, or demonstrating our full participation in society by having professional sports teams wear jerseys with Braille uniforms, a couple of things are clear: the policymakers have two choices. They can either take advantage of our understanding, perspective, and expertise, or they can ignore us and meet our ballots at the polls where we protect a secret, independent ballot for blind people. Progress is not automatic, but our persistence in the halls of power is inevitable. We are the National Federation of the Blind, and you can't stop us. We recognize that Washington DC has enough problems. That is why we have come with solutions and a readiness to work with the leaders of our nation to be part of implementing the solutions of the future. We bring the diversity and power of a movement that is unparalleled anywhere else in the world, so if there is any doubt about our intentions, we are the National Federation of the Blind, and you can't shut us down. That is the significance of our Washington Seminar, and that is the heartbeat of the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Senator Charles Grassley] How the Marrakesh Treaty Came to Be Policy: The Perspective from a Longtime Legislator by Senator Charles Grassley From the Editor: In a preceding article we noted that Senator Charles Grassley was given the Distinguished Legislator Award by the National Federation of the Blind. After that presentation, he was given the microphone and asked to speak on the topic of how the Marrakesh Treaty became the law of the land from the perspective of one of the senators who made it happen. With some modest editing, here are the remarks he made: Thank you so much for this award and as for those kind remarks, I could've listened to those for a long, long time. [applause] I really appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, and it means a lot to me that you folks have honored me with what you have said is a keynote speech to the Great Gathering-In meeting. I guess it is a great gathering by the large number of people who are here, and I especially want to say hi to the folks who came here from Iowa. A lot of you in this room know about the work of Ken Jernigan, and some of you knew him. It was exactly sixty years ago this month, my first month in the Iowa legislature, that I met Ken Jernigan. [applause] He was very well respected by legislators of both parties, and I don't know how many times I went through his woodshop, where he was training people to run a circular saw with blinders on. My first thought was, "Ye gods, all I'm going to see here is blood." But you know, in all of the years being in the legislature and touring there, I was blessed by seeing people who were so proud to be a part of that program and more importantly to be independent. This is what I learned year after year after year in serving my constituents. So thank you very much for this award, and thank you also for all of the activities we have been involved in all these years. I've been asked to speak to you about something you probably know everything about, so what you will be hearing tonight is how it looked from my point of view. I will be talking with you about the Marrakesh Treaty and the implementing legislation. In the last Congress, when I was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, I worked on this issue. This legislation is something I felt strongly about. We were able to reach an agreement after several years of hard work. The treaty was finally ratified by the Senate, and the implementation legislation passed last year. As many of you know, the treaty was negotiated and concluded under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The treaty was concluded in the place where it gets its name, Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 28 of 2013. It was signed by the United States on October 2, 2013. The intent behind the treaty is to facilitate access to printed works for people with print disabilities. There is a global shortage of print material in accessible formats such as Braille, digital Braille, large print, specialized audio files, and other alternative formats. The treaty helps address this book famine, a problem for blind and visually impaired individuals all over the world. As you know, the United States enjoys a significant production of accessible format copies for America's blind people. However, the ability to share such copies across borders expands opportunities for blind people in America and all around the world. This is particularly valuable for blind and visually impaired Americans who read and learn in languages other than English, as well as those who need specialized works such as scholarly texts for graduate work at universities. The treaty addresses this problem by making clear that copyright protections shouldn't impede the creation and distribution of such accessible format copies. It does this while including safeguards that protect the rights of material creators and distributors, because we want to encourage innovation and, equally important, the treaty fosters the international exchange of accessible copies of printed materials. According to the treaty, every country is required to provide an exception or limitation in their national copyright laws for the creation and distribution of accessible format copies for the exclusive use of blind and other print-disabled persons-subject, of course, to international obligations. The treaty also requires countries to permit the exchange across borders of accessible format copies made under such national law exceptions for the use of the blind in other countries that are parties to the treaty. At the same time the treaty provides assurances to authors and publishers that the system won't expose their published works to misuse or distribution to anyone other than the intended beneficiaries. It's also very much reiterating the requirements that the cross-border sharing of accessible format copies of works will be limited to certain special cases which don't conflict with the normal use of the work and also don't unrealistically prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights holders. Everyone would agree with the Marrakesh Treaty's worthy goals. Consequently, the treaty and its implementation would have a glide path to getting things done quickly. Right? Well, unfortunately not. There was much discussion among the stakeholders, but agreement couldn't be reached on how to implement the treaty. Finally, in February 2016, the previous administration submitted the treaty and its implementation to the United States Senate. But there were still obstacles and no consensus on the legislative package to implement the United States' obligation under the treaty. Concerns were expressed by stakeholders with the approach taken by the previous administration. There were concerns that there wasn't enough accountability and that the rules would be gamed. There were concerns that the rules would change and libraries would be burdened with additional regulatory requirements. There were concerns that the interests of rights holders were not adequately protected. Others saw an opportunity to bring issues beyond what the treaty was trying to accomplish. So the bottom line was that with these concerns, the two sides simply couldn't agree. Senators were concerned with moving the treaty before an agreement had been reached on implementing legislation. You need to have a pretty widespread consensus in order to move a bill in the United States Senate, and I'm sure the last thirty-five days have convinced you of that. [A thirty-five-day government shutdown had been concluded just days before this presentation was given.] It is sometimes hard to get things done, and of course I was concerned. But this is such a worthy endeavor that the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, encouraged by your organization, the National Federation of the Blind, along with the Library Copyright Alliance and the Association of American publishers continued to negotiate and propose language that could be supported by all interested stakeholders, including the copyright community, public interest groups, the United States Patent and Trade Office, and the United States Copyright Office. It may sound like your concerns weren't being taken into consideration, but let me tell you the National Federation of the Blind made sure your concerns were addressed. [applause] So the National Federation then sprang into action at the federal level and also at the state level. To credit a number of individuals: John Par?, Scott LaBarre, Gabe Cazares, as well as a professor at the Loyola Law school, Prof. Justin Hughes. The National Federation of the Blind was instrumental in bringing all this together. Your engagement helped to creatively reach a consensus not just with respect to the legislative text that implements the treaty but also the important legislative history that goes along with the bill's committee report so the courts know exactly what we are trying to accomplish. This effort was supported and ultimately succeeded because of the close relationship between the chairman and ranking members of both committees of jurisdiction in the Senate: foreign relations, with jurisdiction over treaties, and judiciary with jurisdiction over copyright law. We worked hand-in-hand on a bipartisan basis (I know you don't believe that) to move this bill. The staff worked with the House to ensure that there weren't any problems. The State Department, the US Patent and Trade Office, and the US Copyright Office were informed and were available for consultation to avoid any last-minute hiccups. So, on March 15, 2018, we introduced Senate Bill 2559, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, which was the consensus product of these negotiations and the vetting with stakeholders who were the publishers, the libraries, and the print-disabled community who is best represented by the National Federation of the Blind. The bill made modest adjustments to the United States copyright law. The treaty is based on current US copyright law that provides an exception or limitation for the creation and distribution of accessible format copies for the exclusive use of the blind or other print-disabled people. The implementing legislation broadens the scope of accessible works to include previously published music and musical works. It also refines the definition of eligible person and creates a new section in the copyright act to deal with the export and import of accessible format copies. Both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees then moved swiftly and in tandem on the treaty from Foreign Relations and the implementing legislation from the committee on Judiciary. In May of last year, the Judiciary Committee reported the bill out by a vote that I know you won't believe. It was twenty to zero. [applause] The Foreign Relations Committee marked up the treaty shortly thereafter. You know, I can't help but think of something that I tell my town meetings. When I say that you can't believe it was a twenty-to-zero vote, this is because everybody thinks that nobody in Washington gets along ever. The people who get along you never read about in the paper [laughter], but every time there's a disagreement, it is what you read about. If I can brag for a minute, sixty-one bills came out of my committee. Every one of them were bipartisan bills, and thirty-four of them were signed by either a Republican or Democratic president. [applause] Of course, this was one of them, but all you ever heard about that the committee did in the last two or three years was fight about judges. On January 28, 2018, the treaty and the bill passed the Senate, and on September 25, the House of Representatives passed the bill and the president signed it on October 9, 2018. [applause] Now if you hadn't labeled my speech a keynote address, it wouldn't have to be so long. So I have just a few more words to say. We are waiting for some last steps; the treaty still needs to be deposited in Geneva, and I am hopeful this will happen soon. I cannot stress enough that this treaty and this bill wouldn't have become law but for the incredible efforts on the part of all of you of the National Federation of the Blind at both the national and state levels. You worked tirelessly to bring together the Association of American Publishers and the Library Copyright Alliance. Your work raised the profile of this issue and gained the attention of your representatives here in the House and the Senate, and we would not be here today without your efforts. I think that this treaty and this bill are a model of how we can accomplish great things [applause] and get legislation done at a time when partisan logjams have taken over a large part of our government. In conclusion, let me just thank a lot of people. I'm not very good at pronouncing their names, but I assume that they will understand that I was talking about them and that I in no way intended to overlook anyone who participated in this process. Listen now: I get an award, and it's got all this nice stuff on it that I just love to read, but I hope I say this every time I get an award: we get an award for stuff you folks at the grassroots level work so hard to do, so I think you ought to applaud yourselves for what you did to get this bill passed. [applause] Again, I say thank you. ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Chris Danielsen] National Federation of the Blind Celebrates Ratification of Marrakesh Treaty by Chris Danielsen From the Editor: Chris Danielson is the energetic and creative director of public relations for the National Federation of the Blind. He has the unenviable task of chronicling all of the important things that we do in press releases that must be interesting enough to be published and simple enough to be understood by the lay reader. Here is another example of his fine work: Geneva, Switzerland (February 8, 2019): Today, the United States government formalized its ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty by depositing the US instrument of ratification with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This action begins a ninety-day waiting period, after which the treaty will officially be in force as US policy, throwing open the doors to expanded literacy for the blind of America and the world. "The National Federation of the Blind seeks the removal of all artificial or unnecessary barriers to access to knowledge by the blind," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "That is why we championed the Marrakesh Treaty and fought for its signing and ratification by the United States. Today's deposit of the US ratification instrument represents the culmination of that effort, but even more importantly, it represents greater access to the world's literature and knowledge for blind people in America and across the world. We are therefore pleased to celebrate this historic moment with our blind brothers and sisters everywhere." Read more regarding the Marrakesh Treaty in the following articles: Marrakesh Express Rolling Home US House of Representatives Passes Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act United States Senate Greenlights Marrakesh Treaty and Implementing Legislation Senate Committee Votes to Advance Marrakesh Treaty The National Federation of the Blind Applauds the Introduction of Legislation Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Trisha Kulkarni] Growing Comfortable with the Uncomfortable: An address delivered at the meeting of the National Association of Blind Students by Trisha Kulkarni From the Editor: On January 28, 2018, I sat through one of the finest presentations I've ever heard. It was not from an elder in the movement, though we have many who do credit to writing and delivering good speeches. This presentation was made by a student, a 2018 national scholarship winner, and in her remarks we find so many of the reasons why we have a National Federation of the Blind, the fears that can put an end to our dreams, and what happens when we dare to embrace the uncomfortable. Here is what she says: Hi, everyone. [crowd yells "hi" back] I am so excited to have the opportunity to speak to you today and to share some of my story. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Trisha Kulkarni, and although I've been a longtime contributor and leader in my community, I'm a new member of the National Federation of the Blind. As Kathryn mentioned, I had the privilege of being part of the 2018 national scholarship class. It was through my trip to Orlando that I gained exposure to the incredible efforts of this organization. I encourage all of you to apply because that experience really did change my life. To be perfectly honest, it is quite a humbling experience to be standing in front of you today, not only because of the long journey that has brought me to this moment, but because of the novelty of my work with the NFB. Seven years ago I did not know a single blind person, and I was convinced that Braille was simply decorative artwork on signage. Now I've moved across the country with my guide dog Liberty to seize life's opportunities in a new and exciting place independently. Of course I have fallen both literally and figuratively in the pursuit of my dreams, but I have realized that pushing past the boundaries of what is comfortable is the only way to see how far your capabilities stretch. Today I want to share with you a series of experiences that have defined my character and purpose within and beyond the NFB. But more importantly, I want to challenge each of you to embrace the power you have to create meaning in all aspects of your life. In order to fuel the NFB forward into a new generation of leaders and advocates, we need to continue growing as individuals. Only then will we best be able to break down the barriers of expectations that stand between us and our dreams. My first story begins at a time in life that most people like to forget: middle school. [chorus of groans and laughter from audience] At the start of seventh grade, I not only had to deal with pimples and the start of puberty, but I also had to face a new challenge. A few months prior I had faced a retinal detachment that left me completely blind and face-down in bed for months to recover from surgery. When it was finally time to return to school, I had no orientation and mobility training, no knowledge of Braille, and no access to assistive technology. I was still trying to learn how to get around my house, and it seemed impossible that I would ever learn how to match my clothes again. However, I did have my academic ambitions. I worked hard still to reach my goals in the classroom, and with lots of support I finished middle school with good grades and a determination to continue finding success. When I got to high school, however, it was harder to ignore the barriers that stood between me and my sighted peers. People began hinting that continuing on the advanced track in school created too much work for my teachers and loved ones. When I sat in meetings fighting for my right to take honors coursework, I was told that the reason my Braille materials were coming in months late was that I was an anomaly for wanting to pursue a rigorous course of study. What was being suggested was that perhaps there was an easier way to graduation? But I refused to lower my standards. I started taking honors classes and sought involvement in extracurricular activities. Despite the resistance I faced, I sought not only to find success in these endeavors but also my independence. What I came to realize is that there are a lot of preconceived notions about students with disabilities. The expectation is to bring these students up to average, but to excel seems unnecessary. I was often called an overachiever, as if I was striving to accomplish more than I should be. If you have a goal, do not let other people's skepticism deter you from reaching it. Stay grounded in the values and missions that are important to you, and do not limit your scope. Sometimes you will find that your actions change minds better than words. Of course changing expectations came with many hard nights. But in the end the sleepless nights and sacrificed lunch periods were for a greater goal than just getting my high school diploma. The idea of college started entering conversations in tenth grade, and coming from a competitive high school, it didn't ever seem to leave. My sighted peers and I all worried about what university would best fit our personalities and our academic interests. But I also had to think about my blindness. It wasn't going to deter me from reaching my dream schools, but I did devote many hours to orientation and mobility training, and I received my guide dog before my senior year of high school. There was just one problem: I didn't know where I wanted to go to school. On a vacation to the west coast, I finally found Stanford. I fell in love with the people and the talent that occupied every aspect of the campus. But as I walked the paved sidewalks listening to the tour guide describe the beautiful scenery and rich history, I couldn't help the doubt that crept into my mind. It was thousands of miles away from home; eighty- eight hundred acres, and had the lowest admission rate in the country-it felt crazy. I remember going home that night, after my parents fell asleep, and I stayed up for hours. It was easily the hardest night of my life. It was the first time that I felt like my blindness would deter me from reaching what I wanted most. However, after listening to my motivation mix on Spotify and talking to my family, I began to fill out the application anyway. Suddenly all the steps that I had taken forward to reach that moment didn't seem like enough progress. I worried how I'd measure up. But December 8 came sooner than anyone could have expected, and as I sat in my living room with my family, with my finger hovering over the "view status" button, my heart began to pound. I read the word "congratulations" and began to scream. [cheers, applause] That night meant so much more than just getting into college for me. It was the first time I'd realized how much there is to lose by not going after what you want. I was so close to not applying because of my fear that I was not good enough. Do not let your fear of failure be bigger than your dreams. Only you have the power to determine your self-worth. Today I am in my second quarter at Stanford University. Of course my transition to college has not all been comfortable, as a broken tooth, many countless nights of no sleep, and many lost days on that 8800-acre campus can speak for. But I have learned so much about myself and my aspirations since moving to California last September. Being away for school has shown me that I can venture out and find my own way. I discovered a new outlet for my voice by writing for The Stanford Daily and have taken on leadership positions in my dorm government. I survived my first computer science class and have applied to get some of my research published. I have explored the social scene of college life and have spent many late nights talking with my friends and eating way too much junk food. College has shown me that every day is an adventure, and with every step that you take outside of your comfort zone you learn more about yourself and what is important to you. I am a Federationist, but I am also a sister, a daughter, a friend, a writer, a black belt in Taekwondo, a chocolate lover, a Harry Potter enthusiast, a social advocate, and a terrible dancer. [laughter] My purpose in the NFB is not defined by my blindness, but by all the other intersections that I bring to the table. As I leave you today, I want to encourage you to grow comfortable with the idea of the uncomfortable. Life will throw many adversities and opportunities at you that you will not be able to control, but they will define your character and purpose more than you realize. If you do not let your fear of failure stand in the way of what you want and do not limit your potential, the world will be a better place with your contributions. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to you today, and go make your dreams a reality. [cheers, applause] ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ----------- Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest Results by Deborah Kent Stein From the Editor: Deborah Kent Stein is a writer of such renown that she hardly needs introduction here. She is the author of many children's books, and she edits Future Reflections, a publication aimed at parents who want to get the most for their blind children so they will become adults living the lives they want. In addition to her work nationally, Debbie Stein is active in her chapter and affiliate. In this article she writes as the coordinator of the Braille Readers Are Leaders Program. Here is what she says: From December 1 until January 19, K-12 students across the country were busy reading and counting up their pages for the Nationwide Braille Readers Are Leaders contest (Nationwide BRAL), sponsored by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults and the NFB Jernigan Institute in partnership with the NFB of Illinois. Twenty-six states signed up to participate in this year's competition, and seventy-four students from seventeen states submitted reading logs. Students are awarded prizes based on the number of Braille pages they read during the reading period, certified by a parent/guardian or teacher. This year Virginia led in participation, with twenty-six students taking part. The Virginia School for the Blind (VSB) took an active role in encouraging students to get involved. The top reader in this year's competition is Holly Connor, an eighth grader from Clayton, Missouri. Holly read a whopping 4,001 Braille pages! The first-place winners in each grade category will receive a check for $25. Second-place winners receive $15, and third-place winners and honorable mentions receive $10. Each participating student will receive a packet of Braille-related gifts. Below is a list of the 2018-2019 nationwide BRAL winners: Grades K-1 First Place: Victor Turner, Romeoville, IL, 419 pages Second place: Cole Fish, Vancouver, WA, 132 pages Third Place: Rebecca Butler, Boaz, AL, 118 pages Honorable Mention: Christian Lopez, Mesa, AZ, 114 pages Grades 2-3 First Place: Aisha Safi, Chevy Chase, MD, 1,995 pages Second Place: Preston Rose, Eagan, MN, 1,479 pages Third Place: Zanyiah Bell, Bowie, MD, 1,099 pages Honorable Mention: Clara Scelsi, Pell City, AL, 1,020 pages Grades 4-5 First Place: Noa Hottin, Alexandria, VA, 2,503 pages Second Place: Milo Sherman, Brooklyn, NY, 734 pages Third Place: Jonah Rao, Columbia, MD, 721 pages Honorable Mention: Isaiah Rao, Columbia, MD, 690 pages Grades 6-8 First Place: Holly Connor, Clayton, MO, 4,001 pages Second Place: Nicholas Tarver, Many, LA, 1,780 pages Third place: Mercy Rao, Columbia, MD, 850 pages Honorable Mention: Noah Kano, Pingree Grove, IL, 827 pages Grades 9-12 First Place: Samuel Thurston, Chesapeake, VA, 1,657 pages Second Place: Josh Greer, Medical Lake, WA, 949 pages Third Place: Aaliyah McKethan, Galloway, NJ, 757 pages MOST IMPROVED READER This award is given to a student who has shown exceptional improvement in reading since the previous contest. This year's most improved reader is Mercy Rao, grade 6, Columbia, MD. KELLY DOTY AWARDS Kelly Doty Awards are presented in memory of Kelly Doty, a longtime member of the NFB of Illinois who was a dedicated promoter of Braille literacy. These awards are given to students who have coped with extra challenges in order to become proficient Braille readers. Such challenges include, but are not limited to, having disabilities in addition to blindness or being an English language learner. Here is the list of the students who received this year's Kelly Doty Awards: Katra Abdi, grade 3, St. Cloud, MN Sadie Ainsworth, grade 3, Parker, CO Noa Hottin, grade 4, Alexandria, VA Benjamin Shambarger, grade 9, Lisbon Falls, ME Samuel Thurston, grade 9, Chesapeake, VA Victor Turner, grade 1, Romeoville, IL Kollin Uttech, grade 12, Watertown, WI Congratulations to all of these winners, and to the families and teachers who encourage and support them in their reading. Braille readers are leaders! ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Students at last year's NFB EQ program smile as they work together on a project.] Apply for a Summer Program Today! The National Federation of the Blind, together with the country's premier training centers for the blind, offer a variety of summer programs for blind and low-vision children and young adults that build blindness skills and encourage independence. National Programs NFB BELL Academy-NFB BELL Academy is a two-week-long summer program that prepares blind and low-vision children to be confident and independent adults. They learn Braille and nonvisual skills through fun, hands-on activities in a daytime or residential setting. Ages: 4 to 12 Dates: Varies Location: Nationwide More Info: https://nfb.org/bell-academy NFB EQ-NFB EQ is a week-long summer engineering program for blind and low- vision teens. Participants forge new friendships while increasing their engineering knowledge, problem-solving abilities, self-confidence, and independence. Grades: 9 to 12 Dates: June 16 to 22, 2019 Location: Baltimore, MD More Info: https://blindscience.org/nfbeq NFB National Convention Youth Track-The NFB National Convention is the largest gathering of blind people in the world. Every year, blind youth can participate in a variety of seminars and social activities designed to provide a meaningful convention experience, foster independence, and promote positive attitudes about blindness. Ages: Varies Dates: July 7 to 12, 2019 Location: Las Vegas, NV More Info: https://nfb.org/convention Louisiana Center for the Blind Location: Ruston, LA Buddy Program-The Buddy Program is an innovative three-week-long program that pairs blind children with positive blind role models, teaches them alternative techniques, and includes fun activities such as swimming, tandem biking, and horseback riding. Grades: 4 to 8 Dates: July 21 to August 10, 2019 More Info: https://www.louisianacenter.org/buddyprogram STEP Program-The eight-week-long Summer Transition and Empowerment Program (STEP) introduces blind teens to the alternative techniques of blindness and workplace readiness skills through a paid internship. By interacting with mentors and peers (including during the NFB National Convention), students acquire the skills and attitudes necessary for living independently and productively. Grades: 9 to 12 Dates: June 16 to August 10, 2019 More Info: https://www.louisianacenter.org/step-program/ BLIND, Inc. Location: Minneapolis, MN Buddy Program-In the Buddy Program blind children learn important skills, embrace the empowering attitudes and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind, and explore the wonderful and fun Twin Cities. Ages: 9 to 13 Dates: June 9 to 29, 2019 More Info: https://www.blindinc.org/programs/youth-programs/buddy-program/ PREP-The Post-Secondary Readiness and Empowerment Program (PREP) is an eight-week-long summer program for blind teens where they learn new skills and become better prepared to attend college and transition into the workforce. Grades: 9 to 12 Dates: June 8 to August 3, 2019 More Info: https://www.blindinc.org/programs/youth-programs/prep-program/ STYLE-The Summer Transition Youth Learning Experience (STYLE) program offers three separate five-day-long sessions for high school students where they learn new skills, gain confidence, and have fun throughout the summer. Attend one, two, or all three sessions. Ages: 14 to 21 - Session 1: July 15 to 19, 2019; Session 2: July 22 to 26, 2019; Session 3: July 29 to August 2, 2019. More Info: https://www.blindinc.org/programs/youth-programs/style/ Summer College Comprehensive Program-This program is designed with the busy college student in mind. Participants enhance their blindness skills and increase their confidence during one or more summer programs at BLIND, Inc. Ages: High school graduates (18 years and older) Dates: June 1 to August 10, 2019 More Info: https://www.blindinc.org/programs/college-programs/ Colorado Center for the Blind Location: Littleton, CO Challenge and Adventure-In this program, students can run in a 5K race, play goalball and hockey, learn self-defense, and go canoeing. They can also try yoga, gymnastics, and develop an exercise routine. They learn how to prepare delicious foods and how to maintain a nutritious diet. Ages: 11 to 21 Dates: June 21 to 30, 2019 More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ Confidence Camp-This two-week-long day program is filled with learning, challenges, and fun. Children meet blind role models and focus on cooking, cleaning, Braille, independent travel, and technology. They also have fun swimming, rock climbing, making a tactile art piece, and going on exciting field trips. Ages: 5 to 10 Dates: June 10 to 21, 2019 More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ Cracking the College Code-In this program, blind students develop the skills they need to be successful in college. They learn about accessible tools and strategies for chemistry, biology, statistics, robotics, and more. In addition, they learn how to practice self-advocacy and learn how to navigate the landscape of higher education. Ages: 16 to 21 Dates: July 18 to August 2, 2019 More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ Module Madness-For those interested in a shorter program, the Colorado Center offers three different modules throughout the summer. In all three modules, students live in an apartment with other students and a counselor, and build core skills in Braille, technology, home management, and cane travel. Ages: Varies Dates: Varies More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ No Limits to Learning-In this eight-week-long residential program, students live in an apartment and meet blind people who work in all kinds of jobs. They participate in rock climbing, goalball, whitewater rafting, and more. They build core skills in Braille, technology, home management, and cane travel. They also attend the NFB National Convention. Ages: 14 to 21 Dates: June 7 to August 2, 2019 More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ World of Work-In the World of Work program, students travel to the Denver metro area via bus and light rail to meet with blind people who work in a variety of professions. They develop confidence, practice their interviewing skills, and put together a r?sum?. Ages: 11 to 21 Dates: June 7 to 21, 2019 More Info: https://cocenter.org/our-programs/summer-youth/ ---------- A Network of Support by Mary Lou Grunwald From the Editor: Longtime NFB of Illinois member Mary Lou Grunwald delivered the following presentation at the joint luncheon for vendors and students on October 27, 2018. I'm so excited to be at an event like this. It's kind of a dream come true for me. I'm up here because I was asked to speak about one very specific reason why I'm in the NFB. There are many reasons why I'm involved, but this is a story many of you may not know. For a little background, one of the early successes of the NFBI was that we, along with our national office, advocated with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to reclassify sheltered workshops as factories and not as rehabilitation institutions. As a result, the NLRB took jurisdiction over union organizing efforts at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. In 1976 I was in my early twenties. I wasn't able to go to college, so my first stop in my career journey was the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind. At that time it was not the place that it is today. They paid subminimum wages, and they had substandard working conditions. I worked in the factory making big ones out of little ones, a shorthand for assembling chemistry sets and switchboard plugs. It was tough work for very little money, but my mom and I needed that money desperately. I had recently gotten to know the NFB and had become involved with the Chicago chapter. Through our involvement with the NFB some of us at the Lighthouse started trying to form a union there. We worked very hard on it with the support and the guidance of the chapter and of the state and national NFB, and also the help of the Teamsters Union. Unfortunately we lost by only a couple of votes because of some ugly scare tactics that were going on. I'm not at all sorry I did it. It was wonderful experience that prepared me for things I did later on. But when I got home, the reality set in. I had done something that I thought was very important, but now I had no job, and Mom and I had very little money. My mother was very upset with me because I had done all of this advocacy. I started trying to figure out my next career move. And while I was working on that, something started happening. I started getting envelopes in the mail. These envelopes had people's names on them, people I didn't recognize. When I opened them I found checks, checks from people, and I didn't know who the heck they were. I thought, who could this be? What is this? Then I recognized a couple of the names, and I realized that these checks came from Federationists all over the country who were supporting me! People I had never met in my life were sending me money to help support me! That experience solidified my desire to be helpful in this organization at whatever level my talents would allow. That's one of the reasons I'm in the NFB. Thank you! ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Stacie Dubnow] Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers by Stacie Dubnow From the Editor: Stacie joined the staff of the National Federation of the Blind two years ago after working as a trial attorney in private practice with her father for thirty years. In her previous work she represented plaintiffs in complex business litigations ranging from securities fraud to illegal malpractice. She was also active in filing and pursuing consumer protection class actions. As readers will observe, Stacie not only possesses a fine legal mind, but her energy and intellect take her into new fields where she learns quickly and is able to share that information in a way all of us can understand. Here is what she says: On October 11 through 12, 2018, the National Federation of the Blind hosted a symposium on the use of tactile graphics by blind and low-vision individuals in education and careers. Experts from across the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, and Italy gathered in Baltimore at the Jernigan Institute to share their knowledge, innovative products and technology, and ideas for future development on the tactile graphics frontier. The educators, scientists, museum professionals, artists, and others who presented and facilitated workshops during the symposium demonstrated creativity and exciting innovation in the field of tactile graphics. This article discusses five cutting-edge products either in existence or development that have the potential to significantly improve the everyday lives of blind and low vision people in travel, education, careers, and their enjoyment of the arts. Sighted people typically do not recognize the importance of tactile graphics because vision is their primary means for consuming information. The sighted are able to access most information through their eyes- paintings and sculptures in a museum, the pages of a book on a Kindle device, graphs and diagrams on a computer or page of a textbook, or a map on their phones. However, when tactile art or graphics are added to the visual representations, the multimodal experience enhances their ability to interpret the information. For the blind and low vision, tactile graphics are the primary means for consuming information. Tactile graphics allow the blind to access the same information as the sighted, experience arts and culture, travel independently, learn independently in school, and otherwise live their lives fully. Brian MacDonald, president of the National Braille Press (NBP), aptly explains: In the digital world that we are living in today, there is still a significant gap to solving accessible needs for digital Braille and digital, refreshable tactile graphics. Having a high quality, low-cost, full-page Braille and tactile graphic display would revolutionize the world by providing blind and low-vision people instant access to digital tactile content at an affordable price. This would be extremely helpful for adults in the workplace and for students needing accessible STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) materials that often need multiple lines of Braille to more effectively read complex equations or problems and tactile graphics to supplement the information. During the 2018 Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers Symposium, Mr. MacDonald previewed exciting research in which he is engaged with the National Braille Press to develop a full-page Braille/tactile graphic tablet-a Kindle-like device with a tactile surface that can be read by a blind person using Braille. NewHaptics-a company with connections to the University of Michigan, reports it is working toward the first truly affordable technology that can display multiple lines of Braille and/or high-quality tactile graphics in a single format. Current refreshable Braille displays limit access only to a single line of Braille, making it impossible to use these devices to show relationships such as columns and indentation, which is particularly important in mathematics. Think about adding two four-digit numbers if you couldn't have read it a column at a time. However, the new display in development will be a full-page tablet that allows for tactile graphs, diagrams, spreadsheets, and other spatially displayed information. Unlike the traditional refreshable Braille displays now on the market-which rely on piezoelectrics to raise Braille pins-this new Braille tablet is driven by microfluidics, which uses fluid-air or liquid-to inflate small bubbles that in turn push tactile pins up and down. This approach leverages unique manufacturing techniques that will be considerably more affordable than existing technologies and, once available, useful in school and the workplace.[1] The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) and Orbit Research have collaborated to develop an additional groundbreaking technology. The Graphiti is a dynamic tactile display that consists of an array of moving pins of varying heights that can be touched with the user's fingers to access graphics such as diagrams, bar charts, floor-plans, and topographical maps. Dr. Gina Spagnoli, the founder of Orbit Research, explains: "The variable-height capability [of] our Tactuator technology will allow blind users to experience and interact with graphics like never before-live and in three dimensions. For the first time, a blind user will be able to create graphics in digital form, enter them into a computing device, review and edit them, and exchange such graphics with others."[2] During the National Federation of the Blind's 2018 symposium, Ken Perry, a software engineer with APH, and Venkatesh Chari, president and CTO of Orbit Research, demonstrated the Graphiti software and hardware features that enable users to view and edit graphics by touch, scroll and zoom images, and use the touch interface to draw and erase graphics. By connecting the Graphiti to a laptop, they showed how it was possible to create 3D objects using the laptop's software. Not only can the Graphiti be connected to computers, tablets, smart phones, and the Orion TI-84 Plus Talking Graphing Calculator, but an HDMI port lets the user connect the Graphiti to any device that has a video display output, which then identifies the Graphiti as a display monitor. What this means is that a blind student can connect a tactile monitor- the Graphiti-into instruments like telescopes, microscopes, computers, or talking calculators and see in real time whatever is at the other end of that device, whether it is a planet in an astronomy class, a specimen in a biology class, or a graph in a math class. The product provides blind and low-vision individuals with access to the same information in real time as their sighted peers. Offering "real time depiction of dynamic content ... students will be able to immediately see the graph on the tactile screen. Textbooks in math and science contain thousands of graphics. Graphiti provides a path toward delivering textbooks with graphics, electronically."[3] Other valuable features include a haptic, or vibrating, feedback interface, an SD-card slot, and the ability by the user to "draw" on the display of pins using fingertips, which raise the pins along the path traced, as well as push an object created by raised pins on the display to physically move it. Additionally, Dr. Luca Brayda, a researcher at the Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department of the Italian Institute of Technology, is also investigating the use of tactile feedback using an array of movable pins to display spatial information to blind and low-vision individuals. Dr. Brayda presented research at the 2018 symposium on a product in development called a BlindPad, a portable tablet that translates visual information into tactile representations using a grid of magnetically controlled bumps that lock in an up or down position and can vibrate or animate. The tactile display becomes a bas relief that can be understood using the hands and allows for both static and moving patterns. Not only can it display spatial information such as the layout of a room, neighborhood, or intersection, but it also makes accessible through touch information such as in-class diagrams, graphs, or geometry problems for students. During the symposium, Dr. Brayda described recent research investigating the effectiveness of the BlindPad for blind and low-vision participants for orientation and mobility tasks. Study participants haptically explored a pin-array map of a room that marked a target destination. A control group and experimental group then entered the room on three consecutive occasions and attempted to reach the target destination. The control group used a static map (the original tactile map), and the experimental group used a changing tactile map that not only showed the original map and target destination, but also the position the participant reached each prior occasion. The group using the animated map significantly out-performed the group using a static map, demonstrating "that learning spatial layouts through updated tactile feedback on programmable displays outperforms conventional procedures on static tactile maps. This could represent a powerful tool for navigation, both in rehabilitation and everyday life contexts, improving spatial abilities and promoting independent living for VI people."[4] Although the BlindPad is still in development, it represents an exciting breakthrough in the creation of an affordable, portable tactile tablet for the blind. Ultraviolet (or UV) printing is another technological innovation that rapidly is improving the accessibility of spatial information to blind and low-vision individuals. The raised nature of UV print is making possible low-cost museum and gallery signage, descriptive labels, and illustrations in Braille books. During the NFB Tactile Graphics in Education and Careers symposium, Steve Landau, president and founder of Touch Graphics Inc., a company that produces tactile graphics and touchable 3D models, explained how large format flatbed UV printers are replacing vacuum thermoforming as the most efficient way to produce high quality tactile graphics like raised line and textured maps and diagrams to explain spatial concepts to blind and low-vision students. UV printers create tactile signage, Braille, and other raised or textured images by dispensing ink that cures immediately when exposed to bright ultraviolet light, producing precise three- dimensional effects. Steve Landau expounds: These printers can produce precise, consistent, and durable raised lines, textures, and Braille directly on paper or plastic substrates, rigid boards, and flexible sheets. Most importantly, these printers make it possible to print over the tactile image with high resolution visuals that are perfectly aligned and registered with the raised lines, textures, and Braille. Since the new generation of UV printers can produce both tactile and visual images on the same machine, the difficult problem of lining up vacuum formed and in-print images is now solved. As a result of the newest UV printers, Mr. Landau reports that universally accessible floor plans, signs, and tactile interpretations of visual art are being produced that can be used by everyone. By way of example, using UV technology, Touch Graphics has produced two new tactile map units installed at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, a ledger-sized foldable tactile map for the opening of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and a tactile museum guide for the recently opened New York Transit Museum. Some of these tactile maps, as well as various museum exhibits, also include audio in tactile-bas relief, speaking when touched. A tactile replica of a painting at the San Diego Museum of Art, interpreted by Touch Graphics with the assistance of tactile artist Ann Cunningham, describes the still life Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber by artist S?nchez Cot?n; the audio captures in words what is visually depicted in vivid detail as the visitor's hands move across the raised and textured surfaces. As a result of innovations like these, blind and low-vision individuals not only are able to orient themselves and travel independently through museums and other venues, but also they can experience art and culture on an equal basis with all other visitors. Similar to the paintings and sculptures that are becoming more accessible to blind and low-vision visitors at museums, techniques are being developed to increase access to archaeological artifacts in museums. Advances in 3D printing (additive manufacturing technology)[5] are making it easier to produce replicas of artifacts that can be experienced through touch as well as vision. New digital technologies are profoundly changing the way people interact with ancient treasures. ... 3D scanning, printing, and carving technology has made it possible to recreate objects and architecture with a high degree of precision, but in a form that allows visitors to have a tactile experience with these materials. While useful and interesting to everyone, these technologies are especially significant for sight-impaired visitors. For the first time, artifacts from archaeological sites, large and small, can be encountered directly through the sense of touch.[6] During the 2018 symposium, archaeologist and independent museum professional Dr. Cheryl Fogle-Hatch described a recent case study involving the creation of high-quality 3D printed replicas of stone spear tips that are part of the collections of the Maryland Archaeological and Conservation Laboratory. Among other topics, she discussed design considerations relating to scanning original artifacts to obtain accurate information about them to produce high-quality replicas, as well as the importance of attaching a QR (quick response) code to replicas, which allows visitors to scan the code on their smartphones to obtain electronic Braille, audio, and text descriptions about the original artifacts. This case study provides promise for future applications of 3D scanning and printing, which already is successfully being used to create human tissue and organs in design and manufacturing, and-as discussed here-in the arts. The application of 3D printing in the field of education is particularly exciting since both sighted and blind children now should be able to learn subjects such as chemistry and biology through the use of tactile representations (printed molecule models and organs such as the human heart). The field of tactile graphics is rapidly evolving in an effort to keep pace with emerging technology and society's increased dependence on that technology in virtually every facet of our lives. Although technological advances sometimes create accessibility barriers for blind and low-vision people, such advances also sometimes hold the solutions for breaking down accessibility barriers. As the overview of the above- described products demonstrates, innovations in software and hardware, digitization, pneumatics, UV printing, and 3D printing are enabling blind and low-vision people to meaningfully experience art and culture in museums, travel more independently, and access the same learning as sighted children in school. Although significant progress has been made on the tactile graphics front, we must continue to work together to promote not only the further development of tactile graphics materials and production methods, but tactile fluency by our young blind and low-vision children so that they learn at an early age how to effectively interpret and use tactile graphics both in the classroom and the world at large. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ramona Walhof] The Fifty-Year Perspective: An Interview with Ramona Walhof From the Editor: Some anniversaries are special. Fifty is one of these, and it is a real pleasure when one of our affiliates can celebrate half a century of progress and even more rare when we can have people who were at the original founding to relate what was done and what it was like to be a part of it. This article is taken from the Illinois Independent, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. Here is the article: On the morning of Friday, October 26, 2018, NFB of Illinois board member Cathy Randall interviewed Ramona Walhof, one of our special guests at this year's convention, the fiftieth held by the NFB of Illinois. Cathy Randall: I'm talking to Ramona Walhof about the beginning of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois fifty years ago. Ramona Walhof: The National Federation of the Blind organized a student division in 1967 in Los Angeles. Jim Gashel was the president, and I was the secretary. My future husband was second vice president. After the convention we were invited to go to Montreal and organize students in Canada. Jim Gashel and I did that, and we succeeded in organizing a group up there. There was a lady named Lucy Sienkowicz who wanted it to happen. If you come across Paul Gabias, he will tell you he was at that meeting. He's active in the Canadian Federation of the Blind, and so is his wife, Mary Ellen. Somewhere during the winter between the 1967 and the 1968 national convention, I met Rami Rabby in Des Moines. Dr. Jernigan invited him to come to Des Moines to visit. I was working there for awhile, so I met Rami. We didn't talk about Illinois when I met him, but he was interested in the student division. He was working on a graduate degree at that time. After the 1968 convention, which was held in Des Moines, Dr. Jernigan planned that we would go to Illinois and organize an affiliate. We students had no clue how to do that, but he got six of us together, and he said, "I want you to go to Illinois." He said we would go one Saturday and organize an affiliate the next Saturday. We said, "How will we do that?" He said, "We've got a list of people." I don't know where that list came from, but they did indeed have a list of people, and Dr. Jernigan gave the names to us. Rami knew a few people also. By that time he'd been in Illinois for a few months. So we drove into Chicago and met with Rami and Mrs. Hastalis, Steve's mother. We might have met Steve that first day, but we didn't see much of him until the next week. Cathy Randall: So you spent the week calling people? Ramona Walhof: First we would call, and we would ask people if we could go and visit them. We spent a lot of money on cabs. We took cabs all over Chicago! I took a train down to Galesburg, Illinois, and met with a woman who had adopted three children. She was blind, and it was rare in 1968 for a blind person to be an adoptive parent. Gwendolyn Williams, who was a very dedicated volunteer, drove us some places, but of course she couldn't drive us to all of the places we needed to go. We went two by two into people's homes. We would talk about why we had joined the Federation and what we thought the Federation could do for them personally. We'd talk a little bit about legislation and making better vending programs and better rehab. At that time the programs in Iowa were unique in the country. We learned to travel independently. We were not afraid to travel in Chicago by ourselves. We had enough training that we knew how to do that, and we felt comfortable. We would talk about how we got that training and how we wanted other people to get it too. We would talk about what we did in college and what our majors were. We'd talk about the people we met at convention. I met a man named Gaspardus Belhuysen from Wisconsin. I met him at the Washington, DC, convention in 1965. He said, "Ken Jernigan always wants me to go down to Des Moines and get some training, and I'd love to do it, but I can afford to get what I need." I thought that was the craziest thing I'd ever heard! I asked one of the people I knew in the Federation what he knew about Belhuysen, and he said, "Oh yeah! He's a millionaire!" He was not in the vending program, but on his own he had gone out and found places where he could put machines, and he hired a full-time driver to help him. I had never met a blind millionaire before, and I was impressed. That's one of the reasons I joined the Federation-because I heard about what Belhuysen and other blind people were doing. We told people about Belhuysen and other people we had met. Dr. tenBroek was a lawyer, and there were a whole bunch of blind lawyers in California. There were a whole bunch of blind chiropractors in Iowa. We talked about our experiences, but we also listened to what the blind people wanted. We would say to them, "If you had your choice about what kind of service you could have, what would it be?" Then we'd try to help them figure out how an organization of blind people, locally and statewide, could address something like that. We'd stay for about an hour talking. We spent about five days, maybe six, and we talked to a lot of people. A lot of them said, "I just can't do anything, and you can't do it for me. I don't want to help." But we found some who were responsive. Jim Gashel went into Steve Benson's home and met him. I think Steve went to the organizing meeting. On Friday evening Dr. Jernigan came, and we met all together. All six of us who had been pounding the pavements met with Dr. Jernigan. He said, "Who have you met who has leadership capacity?" There was no trouble with the presidency; we thought Rami Rabby should be president, and he was willing. (Dr. Jernigan probably would have twisted his arm if he wasn't!) I don't remember who the other board members were. We may have elected Steve Benson to an office. Steve Hastalis still had a year of high school to finish. He was very young. His mother was the spokesperson at the time. Steve was kind of quiet, but he was there. Anyway, that Friday night we planned what we were going to do about leadership. The next day Dr. Jernigan introduced himself. He explained what the Federation is. There were a few hostile people in the audience, and he said, "If you pay your dues, you can vote. If you don't want the Federation, you should leave the room." A couple of people did. Dr. Jernigan presided at the meeting. After he answered questions he said, "We need to adopt a constitution before we elect officers." He had a model constitution, and he read it article by article. A few changes were made. I believe that at first the affiliate was called the Illinois Congress of the Blind. Rami was very interested in politics, and since this was America, he thought we should have the Illinois Congress of the Blind, so we did. After that meeting everyone dispersed, and it was up to Rami to keep it going. I'm sure he was in telephone contact with Dr. Jernigan every day. I went off to Idaho because I was engaged to a man from there. I actually delayed my move from Des Moines to Boise to come to Illinois and organize. When I came to Illinois, we still had fewer than forty affiliates. When Dr. Jernigan was elected president in 1968, he set the goal that we would have affiliates in all fifty states. By about 1974 we did. We organized very vigorously. I went ahead and organized in Kansas, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, and Michigan, and a little bit in North Carolina. Other people did other states. We organized Nebraska and several of the southern states and the smaller states. We still have to reorganize from time to time, but we've had affiliates in all of the states for about forty years now. I remember one person who said, "I'm in college, and I'm working for the summer. I can't afford to take a week off work to go organize." Dr. Jernigan said, "We'll take care of that. We need you, so we'll take care of your salary for the week." We didn't have very many people available, and Dr. Jernigan knew that if we sold the Federation for a week to as many people as we could, we would become stronger Federationists ourselves. He was absolutely right! ---------- TO-ed at the OT [Ticked off at the Occupational Therapist] by Lauren Merryfield From the Editor: Many of us have stories about dealing with healthcare professionals and social workers that rankle us. As we get older and often see more of these folks, the occasional inconvenient comment and the possible threat represented by it grow frequent and even more threatening. This is not a comfortable topic, but it is one well presented by Lauren. Here is what she says: I remember as a young Federationist how we would laugh so hard we couldn't stop during our banquet speeches. The one giving the address would bring up totally ridiculous things about blindness that someone wrote in to the National Center or mentioned to someone over the phone. What they said was so absurd it was humorous because all of us blind people were gathered in one room where we supported each other-so we could laugh. It happens every year. I know, because even when I am unable to attend our national conventions, I listen to the banquet speeches after they've been delivered. But when you are living through one of these anecdotes on your own, it can be totally frustrating and even maddening. The usually patient person I am can, after so much low expectation talk, want to throw in the towel. So far, I've always hung in there when I am well enough to do it. Now that I am an older blind person with medical issues, over and over again I am reminded that healthcare professionals just are not being trained in how to work with blind people. What's more, the problem is pervasive. I've had similar experiences in several different states where I've lived. Though I sometimes feel frustrated by some of the repeated experiences, at least I hope I am helping to educate one person at a time. Sometimes they just don't get it, but now and then they do. The other day there were four healthcare professionals in my apartment with me. I was outnumbered in a major way. Three of them were pounding me with expressions such as: "Lauren, you have to be able to see to cook the right food." "You have to see to manage your medications." "You have to see to safely move from one room to the other in your apartment. There are fall risk situations in here, and you need someone with you who can see ..." One of them even asked, "Are you the only adult in this home?" to which I answered "No, there is me, and there are two adult cats." I'm not kidding about the things they pummeled me with that day. How one has the audacity to tell me what I need vision to do is beyond me. It smacks of disrespect toward me. It is negativity brought into my happy home with just me and the cats. I finally felt quite ticked off about the things the OT (occupational therapist) was saying. So I said, "Well now wait a minute," and I asked Vicki where she got all of that information about blind people, and was it really fair for her to come into my home and dump all of that on me? At least she shut up for a few minutes. I wonder again what closet they think I've been in all these years. I also wonder why more of them can't be humble enough to admit that they have no idea how I manage, and simply respond by saying "Please tell me. I'll listen and learn from you." I haven't heard that one yet. They all assume the worst for me. During this onslaught of healthcare professionals, I was also informed that I needed someone to coordinate my clothing and help me get dressed. I couldn't see which clothes were clean and which were dirty. What? I was told that it was a fall risk for me to hurry to the bathroom and that I needed someone to take me there because it would be faster and less of a safety risk. I'm not kidding! I was told that I couldn't do my own showers because I wouldn't know where my shampoo, soap, etc. were, and I'd have trouble locating the hand- held shower head. At one point the OT said I'd have trouble locating the handheld shower head when I had it in my hands. I would have trouble figuring out what it was because you had to see to do that. She further said I wouldn't know when I was clean because you have to see to know that. Again, I am not kidding. Finally, I stood up (which is very painful now), and I said it was time for show and tell. I showed them that I could walk around by myself in my apartment with my cane or a walker. I showed them my talking items. I typed a note on my computer which they couldn't understand, but at least they saw me doing it. I showed them how I cook, clean my dishes and sink, and so on. I didn't mind explaining to them or showing them. On some occasions I do not have the luxury of being able to show healthcare professionals how I function, especially when I am in the hospital. But in my own home! They were going to hear from me whether they liked it or not! What I had trouble with were two things-1) that they were so very uneducated about how blind people function and 2) how the OT Vicki was not convinced. Neither was Judy, the nurse. Lisa, the caregiver, did speak up on my behalf. She said, "I had no idea what to expect the first day I started working with Lauren, but she does a lot of things by herself, and she does them well. I could have walked in here deciding she couldn't do anything, but I didn't do that. I decided to wait and see what she needed me to do and what she didn't." The social worker, Carol, sat typing away on her computer. I was concerned about what she was typing, but I did not ask. She hadn't said anything quite so ridiculous as the others yet. While I was up demonstrating blindness skills, I did remark that it seemed odd and out of place for all of them-the OT, the nurse, the caregiver, and the social worker-to be there in my home all at the same time; I doubted that this would be happening if I could see. Now I just have to say this: my cats never come up with all of this negativity. They know I can't see, and they just work around it, like the caregiver I currently have. I appreciate their having the confidence in me to realize that if I can't do something one way, I'll do it another, but I'll still do it. It has occurred to me that "live the life you want" isn't exactly what is happening in my life; however, I am going to do it to the best of my ability when and while I can. I realize I'm slowly winding down toward the end of my time here (aren't we all?) However, I'm not going to let these people cut into my living the life I want in my own home! Even in the hospital, I'm going to say something as long as I can. When my time is up, if one person gets it, that will be good. I am writing this so that when or if similar things are said to you, you can gain the confidence to speak up when you can. Remember that you have people-other blind people and some sighted people-who do get it, and this is something for which we can be very grateful. As we support each other, it is much more likely that we will "live the life we want." I was quite ticked off at the occupational therapist when she was here, but after they all left, I thought I was going to cry. Instead, I laughed. I thought about those banquet speeches, and how we're all in this together, and I laughed! ----------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Allen Harris] The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund by Allen Harris From the Editor: Allen Harris is the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Fund Committee and was one of the people who came up with the idea of honoring our former president and longtime leader by establishing a program to promote attendance at the national convention, where so much inspiration and learning occur. Here is Allen's announcement about the 2019 Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Program: Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest and most important yearly convention of blind people in the world. The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB national convention are the roundtrip transportation, the hotel room for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won't pay all the costs. Last year most of the sixty grants were in the range of $400 to $500 per individual. We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the amazing experience that is convention week. Who is eligible? Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an NFB national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply. How do I apply for funding assistance? 1. You write a letter giving your contact information and your local NFB information, the specific amount you are requesting, and then explain why this is a good investment for the NFB. The points to cover are listed below. 2. You contact your state president in person or by phone to request his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell the president when to expect your request letter by email, and mention the deadline. 3. You (or a friend) send your letter by email to your state president. He or she must add a president's recommendation and then email both letters directly to the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee. Your president must forward the two letters no later than April 15, 2019. Your letter to Chairperson Allen Harris must cover these points: . Your full name and all your telephone numbers-label them-cell phone, home, office, other person (if any); . Your mailing address and, if you have one, your email address; . Your state affiliate and state president; your chapter and chapter president, if you attend a chapter; . Your personal convention mentor, and provide that person's phone numbers; . Your specific request, and explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for yourself. The body of your letter should answer these questions: How do you currently participate in the Federation? Why do you want to attend a national convention? What would you receive; what can you share or give? You can include in your letter to the committee any special circumstances you hope they will take into consideration. When will I be notified that I am a winner? If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter with convention details that should answer most of your questions. The committee makes every effort to notify scholarship winners by May 15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are chosen: 1. Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for roommates to reduce the cost.) 2. Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet, by May 31. 3. Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and advisor. 4. If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win a grant this year. How will I receive my convention scholarship? At convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card will be listed in the letter we send you. The committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you win a scholarship and to pay your treasury back after you receive your debit or credit card. What if I have more questions? For additional information email the chairman, Allen Harris, at kjscholarships at nfb.org or call his Baltimore, Maryland, office at 410-659-9314, extension 2415. Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists in the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to see you in Las Vegas. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month have been provided by the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri. [PHOTO CAPTION: Robin House] Easy Chicken Chili by Robin House Robin is currently the chairperson for the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri Sports and Recreation Division and is coordinating the 2018-2019 Anthem/USABA National Fitness Challenge in Missouri. Robin is currently working as a school counselor at Stix ECC in the Saint Louis Public Schools. Ingredients: 1 pound ground chicken 1 white onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can tomato sauce 1 can red kidney beans for chili 1 can black beans 1 package frozen corn 2 tablespoons brown sugar Chili powder, cumin, and sriracha to taste Method: In one tablespoon of olive oil, cook chicken, onions, green pepper, and garlic until chicken is cooked thoroughly and vegetables are soft. Use Dutch oven and any excess liquid. Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans, black beans, and frozen corn. Add one can of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add brown sugar and chili seasonings, cover, and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, corn chips, or crackers to your taste. You can also serve over rice or noodles to make a chili mac. Recipe can be doubled. Substitutions can be made for chicken and types of beans. This recipe serves four to six, but leftovers freeze well. ---------- Zucchini and Tomato Bake by Pam Nestlehoff Pam Nestlehoff is a longtime member of the Jefferson City Chapter. Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped 1/4 cup of butter 4 unpeeled zucchini, finely sliced salt and pepper celery salt, or use celery-1 to 2 cups, chopped three large tomatoes, or use 1 can diced tomatoes Parmesan cheese Method: Brown onion in butter, add zucchini, and cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Place in one-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Note: I added browned hamburger to ours. We really enjoy it. There is so much you can do with this. ---------- Sesame Pork Ribs in the Crockpot (AKA Chinese Ribs) by Cari Ford Cari Ford is a Missourian who came to us from Wisconsin. She did so in the name of love, and this is why she prepares this recipe. Ingredients: 1 slab boneless country-style pork ribs 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons honey 1 teaspoon white vinegar 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 of a small onion, diced Method: Trim the fat from the meat and break up the slab of ribs. I usually break them so each rib has one bone to make for easier handling. Mix the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot, then mix in the ribs. Cook on low for five to six hours. Remove heat and serve over rice. Top with toasted sesame seeds and green onions if desired. Makes four smaller servings or two larger servings as is. This recipe is flexible, and it doubles nicely. Use a 3.5 qt. or larger crockpot. Beef ribs can probably be substituted, though I have not tried it that way. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Melissa Kane] Whole-Grain Oatmeal Raisin Cookies by Melissa Kane Melissa is president of our Jefferson City Chapter and serves on the NFB of Missouri State Board. She really enjoys baking. Melissa is involved in most activities and projects of the NFB of Missouri which has her balancing healthy baking with her participation in the 2018-2019 Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield United States Association of Blind Athletes National Fitness Challenge. She adapted this recipe to incorporate more whole grains. Ingredients: 1 cup raisins 1 cup water 3/4 cup butter 1-1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup white whole wheat flour 1/2 cup flax seed 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 2 cups old-fashioned oats 1/2 cup chopped walnuts Method: Pour water over raisins in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until raisins are plump, this takes about ten minutes. Drain raisins, reserving the liquid. Add enough water to raisin water to equal 1/2 cup; usually, I don't have to add any additional water. Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and raisin water and beat until smooth. Next, stir in all ingredients from above list starting with the two types of flour through the ground cloves. Then stir in raisins, oats, and nuts. Drop by the spoonful onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 for ten to twelve minutes. ---------- Shianne's Fruit Salad by Shianne Ramsey Ingredients: 1 apple, cored and chopped 1 orange or 2 Cuties? (clementines), peeled and sectioned juice from 1 orange 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup coconut Method: Chop apple finely with food chopper or knife. Peel and section orange and chop. Add juice from one orange, sugar, and coconut. Mix and serve. You can add other fruit you like such as blueberries and sliced banana. Delicious for any meal or healthy snack! ---------- Shianne's Peanut Butter Balls by Shianne Ramsey Ingredients: 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup instant powdered milk (more or less) Method: Mix well until smooth and make into small balls. You can roll each ball in coconut or not as you prefer. Great snack full of protein, and one of my childhood favorites! ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Washington State At-Large Chapter Elections: The Washington State chapter-at-large held its elections January 10, and officers are as follows: president, Kris Colcock; vice president, Jenelle Landgraf; secretary, Judy Jones; treasurer, Niki Palmer; board member, Chris Jones. The chapter is growing, and we have also had out-of-state attendance. We were successful in our fundraiser, held at our state convention in October, and Kris and Jenelle did much to make that happen. Our state president, Marci Carpenter, continues to be wonderful support and help to the chapter and each of us as individuals. We all have been working together to help this chapter succeed and are looking forward to a great 2019. Thanks for Here's Hank: Matthew Jepsen wrote to tell us: "Just thought you would like to know that my 10-year-old daughter Elizabeth (an avid Braille reader) has been loving the new Here's Hank books she's been getting in the mail from the American Action Fund these past few weeks. She reads them everywhere, including our local coffee shop." Great Radio by Blind People: Hello friends. I am Ken Lawrence from the New Jersey affiliate. Would you like to listen to some great radio made by blind people with all musical tastes in mind? Well, why not try Out of Sight Radio. This is a radio station linked to the out-of-sight.net voicechat site where some of the members are hosts of radio shows. We have among others two great oldies shows, plus specific shows for the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We have country and jazz standards and much, much more-including my regular show the Rock and Soul Review. And when there's no live show, there's great music in the automated stream. To listen to our station just visit www.out-of- sight.net/radio, and click the high quality stream if you are on a computer, or if you are away from Wi-Fi the lower bit rate mobile stream. We are also on TuneIn radio so you can listen on the Amazon Echo or a Google Home speaker. Just ask Alexa or your Google Home to play Out of Sight net radio. Since we are also on the ooTunes database, you can even hear Out of Sight Radio on a Victor Reader Stream. So come in and tune in anytime for the best mix of music anywhere whether on terrestrial radio or internet. It's like I say on my show, Out of Sight Radio, your blind spot on the internet is your hot spot on the internet. In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. New Year, New Titles in UEB from Seedlings! Seedlings Braille Books for Children just added seven more books to its Unified English Braille collection for independent readers, bringing the total to 155! One is a new title, Magic Tree House #34: Season of the Sandstorms. The other six are books converted from the old Braille code: Ramona and her Father, Ramona Forever, Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom, and Walking the Road to Freedom: A Story about Sojourner Truth. To see all 155 of Seedlings' books in contracted UEB for older children, go to goo.gl/oHp4X9. Check back often as we are regularly adding additional titles to our UEB collection for independent readers. All of Seedlings' 310 print-and-braille books for younger readers are already in UEB. See our online catalog at http://www.seedlings.org/order.php Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. For Sale: Two Freedom Scientific Braille Blazers for sale. They have the following features: serial or parallel connections to a PC (A USB-to-Serial cable may be used with these embossers on machines which don't have serial or parallel ports); carrying case (built-in); standard computer power cord; embosses on 8.5-by-11-inch fanfold tractor-feed paper; embosses standard Braille in portrait or landscape mode; embosses graphics; is supported by most Braille translation software, including Duxbury Systems; configuration is accomplished through voice-guided instructions; may be used as a speech synthesizer as well as a Braille embosser. The user manual is available at: https://www.edvisionservices.org/Manuals/BrailleBlazerUserManual.pdf. We are asking $400 each. Contact Sheryl Pickering at 830-743-7655. ---------- NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution. ----------------------- [1] During the symposium, Michael Kolitsky of nextgenEmedia LLC described yet another innovative technology to enhance learning opportunities for blind and low-vision students-talking tactile templates. Audio-enriched products can be created by combining 3D printed, 3D laser-cut, and raised- line graphics templates with paint. [2] American Printing House for the Blind, 2016, American Printing House for the Blind and Orbit Research Announce the World's First Affordable Refreshable Tactile Graphics Display [Press Release], https://www.aph.org/pr/aph-and-orbit-research-announce-the-worlds-first- affordable-refreshable-tactile-graphics-display/. [3] American Printing House for the Blind, 2016, American Printing House for the Blind and Orbit Research Announce the World's First Affordable Refreshable Tactile Graphics Display [Press Release], https://www.aph.org/pr/aph-and-orbit-research-announce-the-worlds-first- affordable-refreshable-tactile-graphics-display/. [4] Brayda, L., Leo, F., Baccelliere, C., Ferrari, E., & Vigini, C. (2018). Updated Tactile Feedback with a Pin Array Matrix Helps Blind People to Reduce Self-Location Errors. Micromachines, 9(351), p. 1. [5] "3D printers print objects from a digital template to a physical 3- dimensional physical object. The printing is done layer by layer (A !'(*/345IK?"???u v ?? ??????????????"?+y+?l?l?\?Njh |U[pic]mHnHu[pic]- h':Wh??6?OJQJ]?^Jh':Wh?&OJQJ^Jh':WhkbXOJQJ^Jh':Wh [OJQJ^Jh':Wh??6?OJQJ^Jh':Wh?- fOJQJ^Jh':Wh"K?OJQJ^Jh*#?OJQJ^Jh':Wh[pic]I?OJQJ^J[6]?h':Wh??OJQJ^J$[7]?jh':d ditive manufacturing) using plastic, metal, nylon, and over a hundred other materials." Mpofu, T., Mawere, C., & Mukosera, M. (2014). The Impact and Application of 3D Printing Technology. International Journal of Science and Research 3(6). [8] Accessible Archaeology for the Blind and Partially Sighted. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2019, from http://digitalarchaeology.org.uk/accessible- archaeology. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Fri Apr 5 13:46:51 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2019 13:46:51 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, April 2019 Message-ID: <201904052046.x35Kkp0G014698@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 4 April 2019 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 ? 2019 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. [PHOTO/CAPTION: Mandalay Bay Resort] Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-9001. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2019, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 4 April 2019 Contents Illustration: All Work and No Play Is Not What We're About Membership in the National Federation of the Blind: Equality, Opportunity, and Security through Collective Action by Mark Riccobono My Journey to Becoming a Member by Jeannie Massay Trying to Make a Difference by Barbara Pierce >From Member to Memorable: Rachel Olivero's Legacy of Love by Mark Riccobono Membership is a Beach: The Water is Nice, but the Sand is Good Too by Stephanie Cascone Dogs, Donuts, and Much, Much More by Gary Wunder Reflections on My Hook by Barbara Loos My Experience of Being a Member of the National Federation of the Blind by Chris Walker Finding My Place, Accepting the Challenge, and Helping Others as I Have Been Helped by Pam Allen Why I am a Member! by Everette Bacon An Ongoing Commitment: Why I Joined and Why I Continue My Work in the National Federation of the Blind by Daniel Garcia The Importance of Building Membership: My Commitment to NABS and the Broader Federation Community are the Same by Rilee Sloan Why a Sighted Person Would Dedicate So Much of Her Energy to the National Federation of the Blind by Carlton Walker The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund by Allen Harris Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Alabama affiliate prepare food for participants of the affiliate's first annual walkathon.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Alabama affiliate enjoy a barbeque dinner together after their first successful walkathon.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Montgomery Chapter play bingo together.] All Work and No Play Is Not What We're About Articles in dozens of issues of the Braille Monitor have covered activities undertaken by members of the National Federation of the Blind at the local, state, and national level: meeting with legislators, protest marches, lawsuits, meetings with school officials of varying levels, and more. And while all of these are serious, necessary actions to bring about the change crucial to allow blind Americans to live the lives they want, they are only one facet of our organization. Just as important to our success are the activities that are fun and promote the bonds of family and friendship among Federationists, and between Federation members and the community at large. Events like trivia nights, walkathons, and car washes can raise funds for chapter and affiliate activities and introduce the community at large to the NFB. Volunteer opportunities like packaging food at food banks or blood drives turn on its head the stereotype of the blind as receivers rather than providers when it comes to charitable activities. Then there are the bingo games, movie nights, or meals out together that promote the kinship among Federation members. And let's not forget the bonding by Federationists that takes place at a picnic with good food, games, and the conversations that propel us from acquaintances to friends to family. [PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Riccobono] Membership in the National Federation of the Blind: Equality, Opportunity, and Security through Collective Action by Mark Riccobono From the Editor: Our elected President assumes responsibility for an incredible number of tasks, one of them overseeing our program to recruit, grow, and nourish our membership. It is obvious that President Riccobono sees this as a major priority, and here is what he says about his coming to the organization and what we must do to ensure that others keep coming: One of the most important titles I have been able to put next to my name is member, National Federation of the Blind. I first became a member in 1996, and I cannot imagine a day in my life when I will decide to no longer be a member of this great organization. As I travel the country talking to people about the work of our movement, certain predictable questions come up including but not limited to: what does it mean to be a member; how do I join; and what are the benefits of membership? More often than not, I find that people have not joined because of misconceptions about membership in our organized blind movement. I also find that the idea of "membership" in an organization takes on different meanings depending on your background and perspective. In this article I will attempt to share with you what membership in the National Federation of the Blind means to me and what I believe we, collectively, hope it means for each of our present and future members. If you are not yet a member, this article is an invitation to explore joining us and an opportunity to create understanding about who we are and why we need you to be in our family. If you are already a member, I hope this article speaks to your experience in our movement and contributes to your growth as a leader. If you are not sure whether you are or are not a member, I hope this clears things up and encourages you to make your membership status definitive. What Do We Mean by Membership? It is important to begin with some organizational basics related to membership. Let us start by talking about what membership in our organization is not. I grew up in the 1980s when the Members Only brand emerged in the United States. It was a cool thing to have something that sported the name "Members Only," and we sought opportunities to create social circles for ourselves that we considered "members only" regardless of whether you owned any of the merchandise. For example, in elementary school my friends and I had a Ghostbusters Club (based on the 1984 movie) where we could easily limit the participants since there just were not many characters in the movie. We created our own rules and expectations for participation-sometimes driven by the movie but often with our own agreed- upon alterations-and we had a good time. However, the goal was not to bring other people into our club. In fact, we liked that it was a closed membership. We were already friends and our "members only" club strengthened our bond. This notion of membership is much different from what I have found in the National Federation of the Blind over the past twenty years. In our organization we believe in an open membership policy where all are welcome to be considered for membership and, with only a few exceptions, our meetings are open to non-members to observe even if they cannot vote on matters of importance-only Federation members can determine its policies and elect its leaders. While only members of the Federation have certain rights and privileges within the organization, we hope to have as many blind people as possible join with us in our mission to improve the lives of all blind people. Open membership means that we do not put significant qualifiers on being a member of our organization. It is worth talking about the handful of qualifiers we do have for membership. To begin, you have to want to be a member, and you need to pay dues to a chapter, division, affiliate, or the national organization. Our goal is not simply to sign people up for the membership roll; we seek members who want to actively participate. In general, another qualifier is that the majority of our members have to be blind. On a nationwide basis better than 90 percent of our members are. Thus, on a national basis, we do not need to worry about sighted individuals joining and taking over our organization. However, at the local level this sometimes becomes a problem when a small chapter starts inviting many sighted people to be members. The constitution of the National Federation of the Blind and every entity under the Federation requires a majority of the membership be blind. By blind, we mean a functional definition of blindness as Kenneth Jernigan so eloquently described it decades ago in his speech "A Definition of Blindness." One major exception to this policy is our National Organization of Parents of Blind Children-one of our national special interest divisions-where a majority of the members in that specific division need not be blind. In fact, that division includes the vast majority of the Federation's sighted members, but it is not the exclusive place where sighted people participate actively as members. I list this as a membership qualifier because we are, first and foremost, an organization of blind people, led by blind people, and directed by blind people. While we are on the topic, you cannot be elected to our national board of directors unless you are blind. A final qualifier is that an individual must be prepared to uphold the standards we expect from each other in this organization. The standards of membership and for leaders of our organization are set by Federation members themselves. They are articulated in our Code of Conduct (https://www.nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/code-conduct). Essentially, we come together through the common bond of blindness to serve as a vehicle for collective action by the blind. We seek to treat each other with dignity and respect, and we value an atmosphere free from discrimination and harassment of any type. It is worth noting that those seeking to be leaders of this organization have additional responsibilities above those of everyday members. While all members of the organization are asked to support the policies and programs of the Federation-see the Federation pledge at the end of this article-leaders of the organization are expected to implement the policies and programs. This means that leaders need to take actions consistent with the organization's policies and that leaders should not commit themselves to organizations that actively work against the Federation. In short, the membership of the National Federation of the Blind is the class of individuals, a majority of whom are required to be blind, who pay dues to the organization at the local, state, or national level (joining at the local and/or state level gives you automatic membership in the national organization). The mechanics of qualifying to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind are truly that easy. However, the process of understanding the power of membership in this organization and coming to be an active participant in the decision-making process of it often feels much more daunting to new members. This is why we have recently initiated an onboarding process for new members to welcome people into our organization and assist with navigating the things that long-time members like me take for granted today. How Do you Become a Member? In order to become a member of the National Federation of the Blind, you have to join one of the parts of our organization. While there is not one path to membership, keep in mind that where you join makes a difference as to when you can actively vote on Federation matters. Here is a simple breakdown. Our organization operates at three levels: local, state, and national. Local: The local level of the Federation is typically represented by a chapter-in my city I participate in the Greater Baltimore Chapter. Chapters are typically geographically organized, and in larger communities there are sometimes multiple chapters in order to facilitate local meetings more effectively. Again, using Baltimore as an example, we have three local chapters that meet in the Baltimore region comprising Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Local chapters are generally not incorporated but serve as a subordinate part of the state affiliate which is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization. Most chapters meet in person, but some state affiliates have established at-large chapters which are meant to bring together members who cannot, for one reason or another, meet in person regularly. Additionally, state affiliates will frequently establish special interest divisions which bring blind people together around a common topic. These divisions are distinguished from chapters in a couple of ways. Divisions bring people together around a topic area rather than organizing geographically, and they typically have one major business meeting each year as part of the affiliate convention-whereas most chapters meet every month. Although it is not required, it works best when members of a division also participate in a local chapter. Members of local chapters or divisions are automatically made members of their state affiliate and the national organization. Additionally, members of a state affiliate division are often automatically made members of the corresponding national division. Local division membership dues reflect inclusion of a small amount-generally $2-for dues to the state affiliate and national organization. Local chapters set their dues, and they are generally at $5 or $10 per year. The goal is to ensure that economic status is not a barrier to membership, and the Federation does not use dues as a fundraising activity. State: There is one state affiliate in each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Local chapters and divisions report to their state affiliate which helps to coordinate the activities of the organization. Each affiliate has an annual convention which serves as the annual business meeting and determines the policy direction for the affiliate. At the state level, the affiliate convention elects the board of directors and establishes the local priorities. Through the charter of affiliation with the national organization, the state affiliate work must be consistent with the policies and programs of the national organization, but otherwise there is significant discretion as to the implementation of program activities. National: The state affiliates come together to form the national organization. According to the constitution of the National Federation of the Blind, the annual national convention is the supreme authority of the organization. The convention sets policy and elects the board of directors. The constitution sets forth the duties of the President of the Federation, who serves as the chief executive, and the duties of the board to manage the organization between conventions. Members who attend the national convention are invited to vote on policy matters with the exception of roll call votes where each affiliate gets one vote. Each affiliate selects a delegate to represent the affiliate at the convention and cast votes when necessary. The delegate frequently is the individual who serves on the organization's nominating committee-the one committee in the Federation which is not appointed by the President. There are some members who only join the national level, but it is not the general membership path. Frequently people join the Federation as members of one of our national divisions. That membership only grants membership in the division and the national organization as a whole-it does not give you any membership rights at the local and state level. However, national divisions are a common way for people to come to know our organization. Frequently, this is an avenue for getting people connected with our local chapters and state affiliates where the real engagement in the work of the organization can happen. Individuals can also join as at-large members of the national organization. At-large members are typically people who wish to show their support without plans to be actively involved. However, this can also be an avenue for people to get to know us before they join at the local level. At-large membership at the national level is extremely small, and it is not a membership option we actively promote because it is much more effective if people participate in the organization through our local affiliates. What makes our organization strong is a powerful local network of organized and engaged members. What Does It Mean to Be a Member? Membership in the National Federation of the Blind opens up opportunities for service and for fellowship that I believe are unparalleled. Being a member gives you a connection to thousands of other members all over the country. In my experience, this means having thousands of people who are prepared to support and assist you at every turn in your journey as a blind person. That includes people who are newly blind and struggling to learn what blindness means in their lives as well as people like me who start to think we have it all figured out-until something new comes along or a blind person breaks into a new area that we had not considered previously. I find that every day I am learning something from the powerful network of the Federation. Being a member also gives you the power of collective action when dealing with issues facing the blind in all aspects of life. This includes at the individual level where if I run into a problem-like someone wanting to take my children away because of my blindness-I know I can call upon my friends in the Federation for help. Membership also gives me access to the training and experts who can help me be a stronger self-advocate. So often the discrimination and artificial barriers we face can be dealt with when we are equipped with the knowledge and resources to understand the law and the expectations that should flow from it. On a broader scale, being a member gives us the power of individual effort collectively focused. In our organization, we select our direction together, and we push toward that end together. It makes our outcomes more effective and more likely to succeed. Similarly, we uphold the value of not dividing ourselves-when we pick a position, we all agree to push in that direction without fighting among each other. Together we are able to make significant progress that we could never accomplish alone. This brings me to what membership is not. Membership is not giving up our own individual perspectives and beliefs. Those who are not members of our organization sometimes falsely say that we must be brainwashed. In fact, the membership of the Federation is as diverse and opinionated as you can find, and we continue to seek channels to strengthen our diversity. Debates happen throughout the membership about policies to pursue, what our shared philosophy about blindness means and how it applies today, and whether or not a specific concern is within the area of interest to our organization-blindness. Our diversity helps to make our decision-making better. Once we agree by a vote to have a policy or elect a leader, we support them until we vote in a different direction. To some degree, we are constantly testing our policy positions, sometimes through actions in the halls of power and sometimes on the streets of America where we face the low expectations of society. Those who do not know us mistake unity for lack of individuality. This is not the case. It is worth saying that membership means supporting the will of the majority. This sometimes means that your idea wins, it sometimes means that someone else's idea wins, but it most often means that a combined idea is the one we select and pursue. The membership moments I enjoy the most are when we get a room full of blind people discussing a topic, and in the end whatever action is decided upon cannot easily be credited to any one individual. It is important to recognize that being part of an organization like ours means that you will not, and should not, always get your way. We are a team, and that means members have an obligation to work together. >From my perspective, it is actually the joy of working together. In fact, that is exactly why our membership medallions have the Braille contraction of the word "together" embossed on them. The original launch of the Members Only brand in the 1980s used the tagline "When you put it on, something happens." This tagline applies equally to membership in the National Federation of the Blind. I know that when I started being a proud member of the Federation my confidence completely changed. As a Federation member I walked more confidently because I learned the techniques that blind people used to be successful, and also because I knew that thousands of people had my back. Furthermore, I wore the pride of knowing that I had their backs as well. Even more importantly, through my active participation in the National Federation of the Blind I got to know other members in a very personal way, and I came to think of them as part of my Federation family. I now have family members all over the country and not just family in name only. I know them, and I know I can count on them. This is something you can really only understand by coming to be a member of our organization and participating actively in it. When you start wearing your membership in the National Federation of the Blind-understanding it in your heart and your mind-things will happen to change your life for the better. These are the benefits of membership that are too priceless to value and too intangible to measure. If you make the commitment to participate actively in our movement, you will begin to discover the reasons that I am a lifelong member and wear this organization proudly in my daily life. There are lots of other things that membership means and benefits that membership provides to us. I think it is more meaningful if you come discover them for yourself, and by becoming a member you get to help decide how we use our resources and what our priorities will be in the future. Very selfishly, I hope you become a member because it will enhance my own membership experience. I will have another person to work with, another friend to lean on, and another blind person to steal nifty tips and tricks from. I know from my experience that we are stronger together and that your diversity will enhance and improve our organization. Once you join, please share your ideas about how we can do what we do even better, including articulating the meaning of membership and the benefits of our collective action. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Jeannie Massay] My Journey to Becoming a Member by Jeannie Massay From the Editor: Jeannie is the chairman of our membership committee, and the enthusiasm she brings to the task is infectious. Here is the story of her finding the Federation and the role we have played in her life: The National Federation of the Blind became a part of my life in a lasting way in the summer of 2008. I had received help in attending my first national convention. I didn't really know much about the Federation but figured that I should check it out. Don't get me wrong; I had heard plenty about the Federation, mostly negative. However, these comments were primarily from people who had only misinformation, myths, and misperceptions to talk about with me. As I was later to find out, they did not truly know the Federation. I was told that the leaders and members of the Federation were unforgiving and had no tolerance for blind individuals who did not have perfect Braille skills, perfect mobility and orientation skills, perfect technology skills, and well, if you were not a perfect blind person, then you did not belong in the Federation. I was not at the time nor am I today a perfect blind person. There is no such thing. I had also heard that the Federation did not like guide dogs and were rather intolerant of those who chose a guide dog for orientation and mobility. Although I am not a guide dog user, I thought that was horrible. I had also heard crazy rumors about the national convention. Were any of these things true? I didn't know. What I did know was that I do not take someone else's word about anyone or anything. I like to find out for myself. The week that I spent with close to 3,000 attendees at the 2008 convention in Dallas forever convinced me that the Federation was the place for me to be. I met what seemed at the time to be all 3,000 people at the convention. I had never been present with that many blind people-so many blind people. Blind children, blind students, blind seniors, blind parents, blind lawyers...well, you get the idea. The Federation has members from all walks of life and from all states, but the thing I discovered we all had in common was that we were blind, and it was not just okay, it was great! I was welcomed with open arms to participate in whatever interested me. I learned about new technology, took my first trip to the Exhibit Hall, and heard Dr. Maurer bring down the gavel to call General Session to order for the first time. I remember it like it was yesterday. Bang, bang, bang. The yells and screams resounded throughout the convention hall. I still get goose bumps when I think of the first time and always get them every convention since. I was thirty-seven when I began losing vision. I did not know a blind person. I did not know anything about blindness. The reason that I came to find the Federation was money. I had applied for a scholarship but did not receive one at that time. The most valuable gift that I have received was going to that first convention. That single event has continued to shape the trajectory of my life ever since and will continue to do so until I am no longer able to participate actively, if that day ever comes. What I found in the Federation was a group of like-minded blind people who were kind and loving, a bit tough when necessary but who stood up for the rights of the blind to be an active, equal part of society. That is what caught my interest. Many people and many causes have lent themselves to my continuing active participation. When I returned home from the 2008 National Convention, there was a fire in my belly for the Federation. I knew that I couldn't keep it a secret and needed to find every blind person that I could to tell them about what I had found to be the truth of the NFB. A group of Federationists met to form a second chapter in Oklahoma. We have continued to grow ever since. This is not due to me alone. Many people in Oklahoma and across the nation have had a hand in shaping the Oklahoma affiliate into what it is today-a proud affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind that is continually growing and seeks to spread the news that you can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. We are better, stronger, and louder as a means of collective action when we come together and stay together. The members supported and encouraged me throughout the earliest days of blindness. They answered technology questions, helped me to find accessible textbooks, and instilled in me their unwavering belief that I could and would succeed at whatever it was that I wanted to do. It seems in looking back that my friends in the Federation believed in me more than I believed in myself. As I continued growing with the Federation, my level of participation grew as well. I found myself volunteering to take on projects and continued to meet more and more people who wanted to change the world for the better. In 2011 I became president of the Oklahoma affiliate and was elected to the national board of directors in 2013. I now serve as treasurer and membership committee chair. My most important role then was the same as it is today-being a member of the National Federation of the Blind. I am so glad to have found out for myself what the Federation was all about. You should too! The National Federation of the Blind welcomes all blind people, parents of blind children, blind students, those losing vision, and more. We are a family of members and friends who know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want. We invite you to attend a chapter meeting, a state convention, our national convention, or any number of events that we hold. How does one become a member of the National Federation of the Blind? The best way to become a member of the NFB is to attend a chapter or division meeting in your local area. You can find your nearest chapter or division meeting by reaching out to your state affiliate president. Membership in a chapter or division will automatically grant you membership in your state affiliate and the national organization. Go to https://nfb.org/about-us/state-affiliates to find your state's affiliate president and their contact information. What are some of the benefits of being a member of the National Federation of the Blind? . Access to national and local resources and information . The support of a powerful local, statewide, and national community . Connections to blind mentors . Access to training . National and local NFB voting rights . A subscription to our monthly e-newsletter . A beautiful membership coin to carry with you as a reminder that you are a part of something larger than yourself Our new National Federation of the Blind Membership coin is made of pewter and is about the size of a half-dollar. On the front side of the coin is our logo which depicts six blind figures with long white canes moving forward together. The other side of the coin has "National Federation of the Blind" around the perimeter, the word "Member" in raised letters, and the letters t, g, and r in Braille (which is the Braille contraction for the word together) above that. Together as members of the National Federation of the Blind there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Barbara Pierce] Trying to Make a Difference by Barbara Pierce From the Editor: I am always uplifted when I get an article from Barbara Pierce. I know from long experience that I will be inspired and educated. I also know from experience that what she sends will be a piece I can drop in without worrying much about editing. No article I write ever frees me from wondering, "What will Barbara think of this? What mistake would I not have made were I still reviewing every article with her?" Maybe this is always the way it is between teacher and student, but here are Barbara's thoughts on becoming a member: I was twenty-nine before I was exposed to the philosophy of blindness developed by the National Federation of the Blind. Until then I had had virtually no contact with other blind people, and I am ashamed to say that that suited me quite well. I was then called and handed a stack of recordings of banquet speeches delivered by a man named Kenneth Jernigan. It was a formidable stack of recorded disks, and I simply dumped them in a corner and forgot about them. I forgot them until a January weekend when my husband was out of town, and I was stranded at home with three small children, including an infant with a cold, and no Talking Books to help me keep my sanity. In desperation I remembered the speeches and decided that reading them while I walked the baby in a steamy kitchen would be more interesting than listening to the radio. I don't recall which speech I read first. It doesn't matter. It was like eating potato chips. As soon as I finished one, I was reaching for the next record. The ideas I discovered that weekend have now become so familiar to me that I can hardly separate them to remember my first reactions. I can remember the staggering shock it was to have Dr. Jernigan point out the magnitude of the discrimination that blind people, even me, were still facing. This was 1974. Cities were burning, and Jim Crow was not yet dead. Suddenly I was discovering that blind people were being denied second-floor rentals because of the danger that they would be trapped in a fire. They were having to bring a sighted person along to travel with them when they wanted to buy a bus or train ticket. Needless to say, these ideas turned my world upside down. I organized a chapter in my county and became its president. I found and became friends with blind people who lived near me. I naturally became active in the Ohio affiliate. I went to my first national convention in 1975, and I met amazing blind people from across the country. I observed truly effective cane travel for the first time, and-more important-I observed what personal confidence in managing the business of living looked like. My cane began to grow as I abandoned the folding cane and found out how responsive and light a straight fiberglass cane could be. I noticed that people with sighted spouses continued to use their canes when they were walking together. My husband and I tried it and discovered that we could safely walk side-by- side because I was taking responsibility for finding curbs, rough places in the sidewalk, and staircases. I realize now that word about me was spreading through the convention, and people would stop by my chair to meet me during hospitality in the evening-yes, back then convention evenings were open enough that we had hospitality with a cash bar each evening. I began meeting Federation leaders and talking about philosophy and NFB activities. I returned home after that convention feeling that I had made blind friends all across the country, people that I could turn to and get advice from at any time, and I discovered that I had absorbed an entirely new set of attitudes about blindness and what constituted independence. These friends were not apologetic about blindness. They went where they wanted to and did what they needed to, asking for information when they needed it but completely comfortable with the accommodations they used to get things done. I read the Braille Monitor as soon as it came out each month. I was soon elected to the governing body of the affiliate and was elected first vice president a couple of years after that. I learned to write press releases and do interviews for newspapers and radio and TV. And all the time I was growing. I noticed that blind people whom I knew traveled independently and retrieved their own suitcases from the luggage carousel. I asked people how they did it, and I then tried it myself. To my delight it was as easy as they told me it would be. By 1981 I was ready to go back to work. My youngest child was eight, and I thought that I might be ready to put all this Federation philosophy to work for myself. I returned home from the 1981 National Convention to be met in the jetway of my plane by my two girls shouting that I had been offered a job at the college. That is when the panic set in. I had been fearlessly saying that the average blind person could do the average job in the average place of work and do it as well as his sighted neighbor. I even believed it-until I had to think about juggling three children, a thirteen- room house, entertaining students for my husband, and holding down a fulltime job in the college Alumni Office. Could I really do it all? I turned to my Federation friends. They were mostly working, and they seemed to be convinced that I could do it. I took a deep breath and, trusting the members of the NFB, accepted the job. Within three years I was president of the affiliate, and then I really was busy. But I had discovered that my blind friends had been right. There were enough hours in a day for me to get everything done. As president I did not travel around the state as much as I should have done, but I found lots of hours for NFB work. By 1988 Dr. Jernigan was urging me to leave Oberlin College and come to work for him, learning to edit the Braille Monitor. By this time my son was in college and the girls were in high school. Those next twenty years flew by because I was so busy. I pretty much dedicated all of my free time to Federation work, what with acting as national rep at other state conventions and trying to take a stand for good rehabilitation here in Ohio. Before I quite knew where I was, I was facing retirement from the Monitor, and I had put in twenty-four years as president of the Ohio affiliate. That also seemed long enough, so I began seeking successors for these two jobs and looking around for other work to do in the organization. I served for a couple of terms as president of the Ohio Association to Promote the Use of Braille, but it became clear that the Ohio Senior Division needed leadership. So I have stepped in to see what I can do to meet this need. I now live in a retirement community, so I see firsthand the growing population of seniors losing vision. This is a hard group to serve because these people don't want to learn new techniques for doing the things they always did using vision. Rehabilitation funding is scarce for teaching them to travel using the long white cane, and they are terrified to go out into the community trusting that insubstantial wand to tell them where they are going. But the need for information and friendship is acute. I talk on the phone to seniors and their family members about ways of coping with vision loss. The division now conducts monthly calls for anyone losing vision regardless of age. I am trying to work with Departments on Aging to teach their staffs to work constructively with blind seniors. It is slow going, but it is very necessary work. I urge all chapters to reach out to seniors losing vision. These people can benefit from getting to know their blind neighbors and other blind seniors. We have much work to do with seniors losing vision. I am not worried that I will run out of things to do to keep myself busy. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Rachel Olivero, September 22, 1982 - February 3, 2019] From Member to Memorable: Rachel Olivero's Legacy of Love by Mark A. Riccobono From the Editor: One of the most challenging pieces to write is a final goodbye to those we love, admire, revere, and respect. When we take on this task, we give our mortal best, and no matter how hard we try, we are never satisfied that we have drawn the real picture of the human life that so thrilled us, spoke to our hearts, and made us feel uniquely blessed by a special friend and loved one. What follows is an article about just such a special person. It is a reflection of her keen mind, her inquiring spirit, her heart that extended itself in the service of others, and the heart of the man who has tried to put it all down for us. Here is President Riccobono's tribute to a person whose loss we mourn and whose soul we were glad to have among us: This article is about one of us, but in so many ways it is about all of us who are proud to be members of the National Federation of the Blind. In sharing her story, it is my hope that you get a sense of the beautiful person who touched so many members of the National Federation of the Blind. It is a difficult task because there really is not enough space to write the words that can capture who she was to us and how she contributed to our movement-not to mention her contributions beyond the Federation family. I certainly cannot capture my twenty years of knowing her and growing together in this organization. This is why I say this article is also about all of us. The members of this organization have a bond of faith that we share from generation to generation. We receive the gift that previous generations of the Federation have given to us, and we have the joy of securing it and passing it to a future generation and, if we are lucky, observing what we do together with that gift. When you come to understand what membership in this movement really means, you understand the bond that we share with each other and the opportunities that come from sharing in the advancement of blind people. This also means a real sadness when we lose one of our Federation family, especially someone who was only thirty- six years old. Let this article be a tribute but also a legacy that urges each of us to dig a little deeper in our hearts and dedicate ourselves more firmly to that bond of faith for all of the wonderful things that happen when we work together to turn dreams into reality. Rachel Amelia Olivero was born on September 22, 1982, and by all accounts her personality and talents began emerging as soon as she began to walk and talk. It did not really matter that she was blind because she had a natural way of getting the information she wanted, and she always had a sense of what she wanted. I first observed Rachel when she testified at a hearing at the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in 1999. I had been elected president of the National Federation of the Blind of Wisconsin about six months earlier, and improving the educational services for blind children was a top priority for our affiliate. I joined the National Federation of the Blind three years earlier, and the members of the Federation blessed me with an understanding of the truth about blindness-that it was not a tragedy-and they also blessed me with a network of resources and people that were there for me at every step in my journey. I was still really figuring it out for myself, but I knew the difference in my life between before the Federation and after it, and I wanted every blind student in Wisconsin to have the gift I had been given. When I listened to Rachel testify to the panel of state legislators and public representatives, I was impressed with her poise, but I recognized myself in what she said. She was settling for lower expectations, she was fooling herself that she had it all figured out, and she was faking it the rest of the way. I knew it because I had lived it, and I wanted to help. I was fortunate that a year later I landed in a position where I could share the gift of the Federation with Rachel and all of the other students at the school because I was hired to direct the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which included the residential school. Rachel knew what she wanted, and it was clear when I showed up that she wanted to contribute to the technology infrastructure of the school. She also wanted to know how I did what I did as a blind person. A natural mentoring relationship formed, and my wife Melissa and I began to answer her questions about how we did things and the advocacy work of the Federation. Melissa and I found that inviting students into our home was a good way to provide mentoring without having it feel like teaching. We had a number of opportunities to do this, and Rachel was often part of the crowd. One time that sticks out is when I attempted to teach a couple of students how to cook over a charcoal fire. The cooking was not the only part of the teaching experience because you had to prepare something to cook. I taught the students how to form hamburger patties out of raw meat. I then left them to form them in whatever way they wanted. The cooking went very well, but Rachel had prepared very spherical hamburgers. I think they were probably the best grilled meatballs I have ever had, and we often laughed about the experience. It did not take long before she was passing on the ideas and techniques that we shared with her in true Federation fashion, although I do not think she ever was eager to teach someone how to make hamburgers. Rachel became a part-time employee at the school for the blind, providing technology support. She often knew the technology better than the full-time staff, and she was persistent in finding answers to questions she could not answer. She knew that I was eager to increase our technology infrastructure, so she frequently shared new product announcements or ideas about things we could do. It was always fun to consider the future, and I always learned from her in these conversations. Once in a while I would know about something before she would, and I always delighted when I could find a technology nugget to pass on to her, even if it was a rare occasion. Somewhere in this back and forth mentoring there began to emerge a mutual admiration and friendship. Rachel decided to join the Federation near the time of our national convention in Philadelphia. This was a good opportunity for me to help her to understand how to be an independent traveler. She was interested in the idea that we were going to travel through the airport without assistance, but then I informed her we were also going to do so under sleepshades. I had received training at the Colorado Center for the Blind, and I understood the power of having confidence in your heart and your mind that vision is not a requirement for success. I wanted her to recognize that she was over-relying on an unreliable sense-her eyesight. When Rachel was internalizing a conversation, she would stop talking and really sit with an idea in her own mind. I had many more opportunities to fly with Rachel, but our flight to that national convention was the quietest trip we ever took together. Rachel completely absorbed the experience of traveling the airport under sleepshades, and she carried the spirit of structured discovery through the rest of the convention. Although she never received formal training at an NFB training center, she committed herself to improving her own skills on a daily basis and stretching herself to try new things. She later started mentoring others with what she had learned. Rachel quickly began to apply her talents to the building of the National Federation of the Blind. She urged our affiliate to buy its own sound equipment for conventions, researched the appropriate equipment at an affordable price, and volunteered to manage sound at our events. She was not interested in being the only one that could use the equipment, so she looked for members who were interested in learning how to help with the sound and shared her expertise with them. Rachel was a great advocate for our legislative initiatives by always bringing a unique perspective to whatever the issue was that we were tackling. She quickly emerged as a leader in our affiliate and was elected to our board where she provided valuable insights and always volunteered to do what was needed, often before the need was identified. Her love for technology and gadgets was known by anyone who spent about ten minutes with her. She always had an interesting device before the rest of us did, and this meant that I, too, was interested in having gadgets-even if I did not seek them out as aggressively as she did. Her gadgets were handy. There was the time we drove from Janesville, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to take a contingent of Federationists to a protest that our Minnesota affiliate was holding in front of a state agency. It was a long trip, especially since we went up and back in one day. However, the tunes that Rachel's new music device provided from the back of the van gave us all the entertainment and laughs we needed to make the time fly past. It was in that same year that Rachel and I invented a new holiday. We got together on the day after Christmas and spent some time at a mall on the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Each of us found a new gadget to purchase, although today I do not remember what thing we thought was missing from our Christmas cheer that we just had to have. Rachel was a very giving person, and I often encouraged her to make sure she was looking out for herself-for that matter she did the same for me. After securing our new stuff, we decided that our technology trek should become an annual tradition to be celebrated every December 26. We christened the holiday New Gadget Day. If it was convenient, we celebrated this holiday together by going out to get gadgets. Over the years we were generally not together on New Gadget Day, so we would exchange the customary greetings of the day- Happy New Gadget Day-followed by a discussion of what new gadget was on our list. One or both of us did not always make a purchase on the holiday but simply used the day to plan a gadget purchase. With the rise of internet shopping, going out was less important. Yet, we maintained the tradition mostly among ourselves and a small handful of loved ones who came across our strange celebration. Now I am opening up the holiday to the entire Federation so that it does not get lost. The important lesson that I took from Rachel related to this day was that giving generously is important, but you have to allow a little space to give to yourself in order to effectively contribute to others. Rachel began making her own mark on the Federation at our national convention in 2002 when she was a national scholarship winner. She did not take the money and run. She found her places to contribute at the convention. She became central to the Amateur Radio Division and could often be found at the table for distributing listening devices or helping with important marshalling assignments. With certainty, most Federationists were kindly yet firmly marshalled into the right elevator queue before banquet by Rachel. After Melissa and I moved to Baltimore, Rachel often showed up and stayed at our house. It was always like having a member of the family come to visit, and it unfailingly resulted in creating new memories and laughing about the adventures we had in the past. Rachel moved to Baltimore in 2007 to be an access technology specialist at the NFB Jernigan Institute, and she stayed with us while she searched for an apartment. Her stay overlapped with our son Austin's first birthday. Rachel was always afraid she was going to break one of our children, but she loved them as strongly as any member of our family, and she was an important part of their village of support. However, not everything she did to help worked out. She offered to use her camcorder to capture Austin's first birthday. As blind parents, we love reliving the memory of that occasion, but apparently sighted viewers of the tape get tired of looking at the walls of our living and dining rooms. Knowing Rachel, after that experience she went off and figured out how to effectively shoot video as a blind person, and I would not be surprised if she taught her techniques to others. While we are on the topic, we thought she was finally getting comfortable with children when our daughter Oriana was born. Rachel really enjoyed holding baby Oriana, but we figured out it was mostly because Rachel was telling her about their joint quest to take over the world together. It was a classic example of Rachel's sense of humor and her snarky attitude all wrapped up into one. So far Oriana has not revealed what the evil plans were and, for our sake, I am hoping she has forgotten them, although I am sure Rachel's love will continue to be a strong memory in her heart. In 2012 Rachel moved to Nebraska and began working on accessibility for Humana. We were sad that she was not nearby, but she always made sure we kept in touch. When I was elected President of the National Federation of the Blind, Rachel was one of the first people who came to the stage after the banquet to say she had my back. I held her to that when I called her a few months later and told her that we very much needed her in Baltimore to help direct our internal technology efforts at our national headquarters. This is when my relationship with Rachel, which had moved from mentor to friend, advanced from friend to partner. Rachel and I anticipated each other's moves and what might be needed. Whether it was playing cards against another pair of opponents at lunch or meeting with executives at Google or Amazon, Rachel and I shared the joy of working together to advance the work of the Federation. She was much sharper at multi-tasking than I was, so she would often complete action items that came up during a meeting while we were still heavily in discussion, and she never missed a beat in the conversation. As President I could count on her wise counsel and dedication to seeing the job through to the end. As a friend, I could count on her sharing the truth with me-those things I wanted to hear and those I needed to hear from a friend-and I knew that I could give her the same feedback because we trusted each other. Her move back to Baltimore at the beginning of 2015 marked an important event in the circle of mentoring within the Federation and for Rachel personally. For our movement, her return to Baltimore was essential to the transition we experienced in the office of the president. I was getting on-the-job training in how to lead this tremendous organization, and I knew that accelerating our technology infrastructure was critical to what we hope to achieve. Executive Director for Operations John Berggren, who had overseen our technology efforts, had many new things on his plate in addition to technology, and we needed to build a core of internal managers at our national office for the next generation of our work. Rachel stepped into that, bringing a tremendous amount of skill and a deep understanding of the heartbeat of our organization. More importantly, she was willing to challenge herself to tackle the big job in front of us. Having her voice in the mix of planning new initiatives for our organization was critical to the things we have done over the past four years. Even as her responsibilities at the national office increased, she found time to provide mentoring to the next generation. One of her final weekends was spent with our NFB of Maryland mentoring program. Like all leaders of the Federation, Rachel shaped us, and she was shaped by us. When she left Baltimore the first time, she said the last thing she wanted to do was management. Partly she came back because she knew she could push herself further, and the Federation was where she wanted to devote her energy and imagination. It was the Federation that taught her how to go beyond where she perceived her limits to be. Like so many of us, Rachel thought she knew who she was, but she had suffered under low expectations for so long that it took time and experience for her to really find herself and exhibit the confidence to live the life she wanted. She found that confidence and that direction during the last four years. More importantly, when she found it, she shared it with others in the Federation. She spent countless hours reaching out to people, encouraging them, passing on what she had learned from the Federation philosophy, and loving them into the Federation family. In the process, she continued to grow from every experience she had in teaching others, and in the same way, I grew from being blessed by the opportunity to mentor her, become her friend, and eventually her partner in raising expectations and building our movement. Even more powerfully, Rachel had an impact in the broader software developer and accessibility communities, and I doubt she ever really knew how deep it was. When news of her death spread to the Drupal open source community, they immediately began compiling an article about Rachel's impact on accessibility and improving the overall Drupal platform. Dozens of notes have come to us about feedback she had provided that fixed bugs in mobile applications, improved major processes for managing accessibility in corporations, and everything in between. In providing all of this feedback, she always shared the message that she was one blind person and that if developers really wanted to understand equal access for the blind, they needed to work with the National Federation of the Blind, where they could meet thousands of blind people. In many ways, Rachel was allowed to find her own voice because of her membership in the National Federation of the Blind. We have only explored a fraction of who Rachel was to us as a movement and to me as her mentor, friend, and colleague for the past twenty years. Rachel became who she was through the personal relationships and dedicated service she provided to the organization. She, like our strongest long-term members, opened her heart to our movement and shared herself with others. The members of the Federation have benefited from that, whether they knew Rachel personally or through people she mentored or through the systems she helped us build. It is humbling to me that I could play a small role in her journey to being able to live the life she wanted. Then again, I am humbled that members of the Federation have done and continue to do the same for me. I stick with the Federation because I know that I am not done learning and that the real changes in my life come from the continued effort to share the gift of the Federation with others. Rachel Olivero is one of the people I think of when I hear the question of what it means to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. In closing I must relay one of our shared moments that always makes me smile. My first national convention as President was 2015, and I decided that we should attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest umbrella mosaic ever. I was on stage during the morning of the record attempt. Rachel was in her element providing logistical support, especially helping people who needed medical attention. This was often how Rachel and I worked together-I was on stage, and she was making things happen behind the scenes. At the peak moment, I did the countdown, and 2,480 umbrellas opened in unison-setting the world record and making us all officially amazing according the Guinness tagline. Except Rachel did not raise an umbrella. She had been helping someone who was dealing with a medical issue, and she was near the ambulance when the countdown started. This was outside of the qualified area, and there was no time for her to get into the mosaic. I only learned what happened after the convention, and I was sad that she had not been included in this historic event. Rachel wasn't; she was proud that she did what was needed for the team. Some of us were designated as officially amazing that day, but in the hearts of those who knew Rachel, she already had that title. She was not amazing because she was blind, but rather she was amazing because she did not let blindness stand between her and her dreams. She wore the title of "Member, National Federation of the Blind" with pride and confidence and did so in a way that was authentic to her own personality. She shared everything she had with as many people as she could find. I believe that Rachel gave all that she could in the time she was with us, and very few of us can make that claim. When asked who Rachel Olivero was, what comes to mind is that she was everything that makes membership in the National Federation of the Blind meaningful. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Stephanie Cascone] Membership is a Beach: The Water is Nice, but the Sand is Good Too by Stephanie Cascone From the Editor: Stephanie is one of the latest additions to our national staff in her capacity as the director of communications and marketing. She is the parent of a blind child, and her talent and enthusiasm are a joy to behold. Here is what she says about finding one's own level of participation in the Federation: As soon as we get to any beach, my wife Lisa runs right into the water. I'm always surprised if she even gives herself enough time to drop off her belongings before heading in, because she can't wait to be swimming in the sea-the cool water on her skin and the hot sun on her face. It's amazing at how different we are. Me? I prefer to relax on the beach with a book in my hand and feet in the sand. What does this have to do with being a member? Sometimes members are like my wife at the beach-all in right away. They become a member, volunteer for committees, and engage with the waves of endless opportunities. Engage. Lead. Repeat. We need those members, but not all members are the same. However, all members are valuable. Some members prefer staying on the sand. What about those members who prefer to hang back or maybe just get their feet wet? They're needed, too. I have been one of those members. On social media, they call people like us the lurkers. We are a large volume of any audience who observe what's going on but don't actively participate much. We've been to a few meetings or maybe volunteered for an event or two. Or, we simply watch from a distance either on social media or through the available publications. Don't count us out or forget about us. We believe in the mission; that's most likely why we joined. We also have potential to participate more. I am a parent of a blind child. Sometimes I want to be more active as a member while other times I would rather not. My son is similar; it's probably safe to say that he gets a lot of his personality from me. I've encouraged him to be involved in the community, whether it's our local community or the blind community, but being engaged can feel difficult at any age. A few years ago we joined the National Federation of the Blind but started off simply lurking. Eventually, I helped at a couple of local events and attended some family connections. Most importantly, I began getting to know other members. I've started to become more involved-slowly making my way into the water. The water is nice. Be the member that you are comfortable with being. All members are needed to help build the Federation and reach our goals to raise expectations. I asked my fourteen-year-old son why he thought membership is important. He said, "If you ever wanted to change the world, being a member allows you to do that." His wisdom is clear and simple: when you are a member, you are making yourself be part of the mission-no matter how big or small your splash is. Dive into the water or stand with your feet in the sand. Let's change the world together. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Gary Wunder] Dogs, Donuts, and Much, Much More by Gary Wunder As I try to figure out ways to recruit new members to the National Federation of the Blind, I work hard to remember what it was like before I knew about and came to love this organization. While it was clear that I was as blind as one could get, my family and I thought that being a blind kid was very different from being a blind man. As sad as it is, I have to admit that I was afraid of becoming a blind man and had been assured that I would not. Science would save me from that fate. We firmly believed that, by the time I was of driving age, I'd be driving. Before I finished high school, I would be reading the newspaper. Just around the corner I would be able to see the faces of my mother and father, my brothers and sister. But for me the real excitement was going to be that I could see things that I could not detect through my ears, my fingers, or my other working senses. So in my early years blind men and women were the other, the different, the people who were not like me. I would thrive as the exceptional blind child, but I would never be that blind man walking out on the street with a stick. Of course, as the years ticked by and I was still blind, I began to have my doubts. So too did my family. We all began to prepare for the reality that, not only was I blind, but I would likely have to navigate my adult life as a blind man. Could I live on my own? Could I travel safely without someone's arm? Could I get a job, and, if so, what in the world might it be? My grandma thought I could be a preacher, my cousin a lawyer, and my dad was certain I could be a musician. The tape recorder ruled out musician, the lack of what people referred to as "the calling" ruled out being a preacher, and learning that Perry Mason's work life as a lawyer was television fiction and that he did more than work one hour a week for twenty-six weeks a year tainted my image of how wonderful it would be to adopt his profession. When leaving home was not a distant possibility but something that was a little over a year away, I decided to look into what a guide dog might do for me. This required reaching out to blind adults, and it was the blind people with this information who loved me into the Federation. Their only agenda was listening to my interminable questions. When we shared experiences, I talked, and they listened. Only after it was clear that they cared about me did they ever so gently try to mold me, convince me that there were others like me, and help me to see a future I had not considered before. They introduced me to a successful blind vendor, an office supply salesman, a teacher, a law student, an accountant, the owner of an insurance agency, the proprietor of a hardware store-and all of this within Missouri and Kansas. They said there were lots of folks doing even more, and all of them were available to help me on my journey to independence and employment. I could come to know them through this organization they called the National Federation of the Blind. The people who recruited me knew that, if they moved too quickly, they would push me away, but, if they put caring about me uppermost, they might just draw me in. I was offered help before I was asked to help. They proved how much they cared about me, and I wanted to return that care in any way I could. Part of demonstrating caring on my part was being tolerant when they kept talking about this National Federation of the Blind. Part of caring meant going to some meetings because they wanted me to and not because I had some particular feeling of commitment to the organization's goals. Last, coming to the meetings had something to do with dogs and donuts: the guide dogs I wanted to see and the donuts I was glad to eat. I was sixteen when I came to my first meeting of the organization, and fighting discrimination, injustice, and unfair treatment against the blind were not a part of my agenda. It wasn't that I came without a conscience; I simply didn't know such mistreatment existed. At sixteen I was still under the protection of my mother and father and had never really had to face significant problems as a blind person. When I first began hearing about the unequal treatment of blind people, I am ashamed to admit that I wanted to blame the victims. That was easier than changing my view of the world. No agency had ever tried to bully me or narrowly restrict my options, and I was confident that, if they did, I'd just persuade them differently-me, the man with the silver tongue. Not surprisingly it wasn't until I became a victim of some discrimination, some arbitrary treatment by powerful people and some choices that were given to me as "take it or leave it. I have all the power and you have none," that I began to look with more compassion and understanding at those who alleged discrimination based on blindness. The closer I came to graduation, the more the fear of growing up challenged the desire to do it. When you fear that despite your best efforts you will grow up to be a disappointment to those who respect hard work and success, and then you find a group that says, "We have lived through those fears and will show you how to push beyond them," the world comes alive in a very new way. Narrow channels for staying afloat become wide rivers of opportunity. Joining with an organized group of blind people meant rejecting some things I had heard and believed about myself and others who were blind. In my elementary school my parents were warned that they should be cautious about letting me associate too much with other blind folks. This could too easily lead to an unhealthy reliance on having only blind friends and not mixing with people who could see. When I mentioned to a blind friend that I was going to attend an NFB meeting, he became angry and said, "Now Gary, I really thought you were smarter than that." I was confused and told him so. "I can't believe that you would want to go and be a part of those Jernigan jumpers," he said. "What is a Jernigan jumper," I asked, and "For that matter, what is a Jernigan?" He said, "Kenneth Jernigan is the president of the National Federation of the Blind, and when he says 'jump,' people don't ask why. They ask, 'How high, sir?' Now if you want to join an organization of the blind, you ought to join the one that I'm a part of. My God: going to a meeting of the Federation: I really thought you were smarter than that." These Federation people who had been nice to me had never said anything bad about the organization to which he belonged, and in fact they demonstrated the utmost regard for him as a man who had been quite successful in working a difficult job in private industry. If I had any doubts about going, he gave me the critical push by calling into question my brains, my good sense, and the character of people I had come to care about. There is a lesson in this when we are tempted to talk about other organizations of the blind. It is far better to speak about what we do than to characterize what they do. Presume that people will have the brains to find the organization that is best for them, and, if they are on the fence, encourage them to look. Last, my friend who questioned my brains never once told me he was a member of another organization until he challenged me about going to a Federation meeting. As much as I am sure that the Federation philosophy is just the right fit for me, I have the niggling sense that, had he asked, I might have chosen a different path. How many of us have friends who don't know we are members of the NFB? After attending several meetings, I decided to join, and that meant asking for admission. My request became a part of the agenda, I was introduced by those who knew me, I was given a chance to say hello, and then I was voted in unanimously. There followed a number of welcoming comments by people I knew as chapter leaders and by rank-and-file members I could not identify. All of them were clearly happy to see that I had joined, and I have to admit that I was impressed by the ceremony that officially tagged me as a member of this organization. Finding the Federation began a paradigm shift in my life. What are the jobs I can do as a blind person soon turned into what are the few jobs I cannot do. Instead of fearing that I would have to be exceptional to get any kind of job at all, I began to hear and believe that the average blind person could do the average job in the average place of business and could do it as well as his sighted neighbor. If these people were as truthful as they were loving, they were offering a world very different from the one I thought I was about to walk into as I came closer to being an adult. "We have some good news for you," they said. "If you don't have the talent or the desire, you don't have to become a musician, but neither do you have to face the music of deprivation, disappointment, and despair you say you fear. You may think that your life is about to change for the worse because you don't have everything figured out, but you don't have to fear growing up. There are those who will tell you that because you are blind you are less capable, have fewer opportunities, and must choose among the small number of jobs fit for the blind. But don't you believe it!" Sometimes we make a judgment about whether people are interacting with us in a welcoming or off-putting way. Often it is a matter of perception and perspective. In my own case this usually means making the decision about whether to be open or defensive. When Federation members suggested that I should be doing better academically than I was, my first reaction was that the organization was off-putting. But when I listened to their message with the love they had amply demonstrated for me, I knew that they were not offering a criticism but a promise of things that could be. The choice would be mine about whether or not to embrace the opportunity to live a full life as a normal human being or a full life as defined within the small box of what I thought blind people could do. When I could get beyond the idea that my little box was being attacked and realized that it was being opened so that I could experience a greater sense of the world, I knew that any off-putting feelings came from my defensiveness and not their love. Sometimes I talk with people who say, "Before I join the NFB, I have to decide how important it is to me. You see, I'm really an all-or-nothing kind of person. When I commit to something, I go all the way." On the surface this sounds reasonable and even admirable. But at least in my life it doesn't stand up to the test of the way I really function. I am a supporter of public radio. I am saddened by world hunger and contribute to foundations that are fighting it. I care about equality of opportunity and a better chance for people of all races, so I contribute to education funds and civil rights organizations. I care about chronic illnesses and give to research for their cure and care for those afflicted, and I even donate so that caretakers can have a time to recharge. I don't believe I am letting any of these causes down because I do not give my all to them. I give greater time to my family than anything else. My job and my Federation involvement are a big part of my identity and thus get a big part of me. But I don't count myself out as a force for good in dealing with other issues affecting my community, my country, and even the world. I think the truth is that we all operate with many priorities and that each is brought to the forefront as the situation demands. Not everyone needs to put the amount of time that President Riccobono does into the organization. Some are leaders, and some of us play different but important roles. The fact that we divide our loyalties, our energy, and our financial resources among many different interests should not determine whether or not we are Federationists. What I give this week will be very different next week if I have a family crisis, if there is a need in my community, or if a friend falls on hard times and needs much more from me than usual. Being a Federation member does not mean that the organization automatically gets a certain part of me or that my effort won't vary. I am an active member, but I also try to live a life that is balanced: work and play, listening to music and enjoying silence, listening to and taking part in good conversations, being involved in all that is going on around me but then taking time for quiet time and meditation. The NFB wouldn't have it any other way for me and for all of those we seek to help become integrated into the mainstream of our world. Another reason I was given not to join the NFB was that they were interested only in the super blind. The term "super blind" was never quite defined, but I gathered from snippets of conversation that these people were those who were extremely bright, were employed in tremendously well- paying jobs, enjoyed fantastic travel skills, were excellent cooks, and could read Braille at hundreds of words per minute, some of them rivaling the print speed readers who were alleged to read more than 1,200 words a minute. I wondered if the warm invitation I had been receiving would be retracted when I was found to be lacking in so many areas. To this day my cane travel skills are pretty good: I manage to avoid head-on collisions with poles, find the stairs and make my way up when they go up and down when they go down; but my orientation is a different matter altogether. Sometimes I can walk into a restaurant, exchange pleasantries with the hostess, be guided to my seat, interact with my dinner companions, enjoy my meal, pay the bill, and then realize I have absolutely no idea which way is out. It has to be the opposite of the way I came in, but I somehow don't have that information. My sense of level is atrocious. If you hand me a cup of coffee, the first thing I would do is say thank you; the second thing I would do is take a drink from the cup to determine its fullness and then decide an acceptable sense of level. This is a fine technique for me, but I suspect that not many people will be asking me to bring coffee to their table if holding it level means I take the first sip. I can read Braille all right, but I would lose out to both the hare and the tortoise in any slate-writing contest. I have been blessed with a good job for most of my life, but I won't be leaving much to my children, the thing of most value being my advice to work hard and try to get along with others. No, the Federation has not demanded that I become a super blind person. They have instead encouraged me to be honest with myself-to push when my skills can be improved and to accept with gratitude those innate talents I got when placed upon this earth. Do we admire and reward people who are outstanding in their field? Of course we do. Do we use their experience to motivate others and to change the public's perception of our limits? Most certainly we do. But do we who are rank-and-file members have to meet this high bar? We do not, and we are loved and nurtured just the same. We are the examples who speak eloquently to members of the National Federation of the Blind being a cross section of the population. Now comes the something really special that makes me glad to be a member. Blind people are quite frequently the recipients of help, sometimes needed, sometimes thrust upon us. But our Federation helped me see that I too have something to give-what a chance to turn the tables and to be a helper, a mover, and a shaker. In my time as a member, I have seen the passage of the Model White Cane Law; the right to vote by bringing a person of one's choice to the polls; a massive expansion of the Randolph-Sheppard program to include cafeterias; a change in the insurance laws of many states so that blind people can buy life and health insurance; the Air Carrier Access Act, which clarified that we could keep our canes with us while flying; the Americans with Disabilities Act; the Help America Vote Act; the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act; the Space Available Act; and now the Marrakesh Treaty. Some of these changes have benefited me directly, but all have benefited me indirectly because I had some small part to play in bringing about something good in the world that did not exist before we willed it into being. Before I became a part of an organization of the blind, I encountered a number of organizations for the blind. The difference is significant. Organizations for the blind invited me onto their luxury cruise ship and almost demanded to do everything for me. But the National Federation of the Blind invited me into one of their canoes, gave me an oar, and asked me to dip it in the water, move the canoe forward, and help determine its direction along with the rest of our fleet. When taken together, we make up an impressive armada fighting for change, but we are nothing without each canoe. We are not just the blind speaking for the blind; we are the blind acting in concert to make real the dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for a segment of the population which historically has not enjoyed these fruits but has endured existence, restrictions on our freedom and activity, and the denial of many opportunities others have all-too- often taken for granted. When we tackled quiet cars that put at risk our freedom to travel, Debbie Kent Stein wrote something that is deeply meaningful. She said: As blind people we contend with a host of barriers and concerns. There are inaccessible websites and kiosks, and there are standardized tests with a visual bias. Setbacks and inequities are rooted in a long history of ignorance, prejudice, and discrimination. Furthermore, along with the rest of the world, we face more threats and dangers than we can count, from the fraying ozone layer to the constant menace of war. Before the enormousness of the world's ills I often feel overwhelmed and helpless. Our success in tackling the issue of quiet cars seems a featherweight in the balance. Yet the passage of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act stands as proof that we as individuals have the ability to make a difference. When we commit ourselves to a cause and win the commitment of others, we harness the power of collective action. When we stand together, we can change the world. What a fitting observation she makes about why we have the Federation. I am thankful that I know what it's like to be enriched by finding a cause larger than myself, to tap into the expertise that collective action allows, and to speak with the amplification that the Federation provides. I share this with the hope that others will join and benefit in their own special way. I urgently want people to become a part of us so that their dreams and their views will come to constitute this wonderful force we call the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Barbara Loos] Reflections on My Hook by Barbara Loos From the Editor: This issue focuses on membership-what it is, why it is worth being a member, and just how it is that some of us were invited and have been blessed by participating. When I mentioned that we were dedicating an issue to this subject, one of my favorite authors asked if I would consider something she had written. When she asked, I knew it was going to be a wonderful day, and it is a pleasure to run this. She provides enough biographical information that I will not do it here. I hope you enjoy her experience as much as I do: If we look carefully at what motivates us, we'll often discover a pattern in what draws us in, hooks us, and compels us to act. For me, from the time I was a small child, I have been deeply influenced by literature. I've always loved to read and have often figured out how I feel about things by writing about them. I vividly remember what hooked me on the National Federation of the Blind, even though it happened over forty years ago. I invite you to join me on a brief walk down Memory Lane, close to where it intersects with Action Avenue. As early as 1941, one year after its founding, there was an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind in Nebraska. There was even a National Convention in Omaha in 1955. The former predates me and the latter would have found me to be a child of four, about to get my education at the school for the blind, where the Federation ranked among the unpopular. So it wasn't until 1971, when Mary Ellen Anderson (now Jernigan) and Arlene Gashel (later Hill) came to Nebraska as part of a team to reorganize the affiliate, that I had my first brief encounter with the organization. That January, although my sister, Laurie, and I, both of us blind and students at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, met with them, we neither attended the organizing meeting nor joined the movement. We did agree, though, to receive the Braille Monitor, the Federation's monthly magazine. Our initial response to the Monitor was heavily influenced by the approach at the school for the blind, where Federationists were said to be pushy "pie in the sky" radicals with respect to expectations for the blind who would do anything to get their way. We derisively dubbed the publication the "Jernigan Journal," because it was replete with articles and editorial comments by Kenneth Jernigan, who was, at the time, the Federation's President. Typically, I read, ridiculed, and rejected the Monitor out of hand. I did so, that is, until the September 1974 issue. That one included the convention banquet speech entitled "Blindness: Is Literature Against Us?" Upon reading that speech, I found myself quietly, almost guiltily slipping it into a shelf reserved for things to ponder. And ponder it I did. I was fascinated by his opening statement: "History, we are told, is the record of what human beings have done; literature the record of what they have thought." But what caught and held my attention were his comments concerning the future of the blind as seen through literature: If we turn to the future, the answer is that the future-in literature as in life-is not predetermined but self-determined. As we shape our lives, singly and collectively, so will we shape our literature. Blindness will be a tragedy only if we see ourselves as authors see us. The contents of the page, in the last analysis, reflect the conscience of the age. The structure of literature is but a hall of mirrors, giving us back (in images slightly larger or smaller than life) exactly what we put in. The challenge for us is to help our age raise its consciousness and reform its conscience. We must rid our fiction of fantasy and imbue it with fact. Then we shall have a literature to match reality, and a popular image of blindness to match the truth, and our image of ourselves. Poetry is the song of the spirit and the language of the soul. In the drama of our struggle to be free-in the story of our movement and the fight to rid the blind of old custodialism and man's ancient fear of the dark-there are epics which cry to be written, and songs which ask to be sung. The poets and novelists can write the words, but we must create the music. We stand at a critical time in the history of the blind. If we falter or turn back, the tragedy of blindness will be great, indeed. But, of course, we will not falter, and we will not turn back. Instead, we will go forward with joy in our hearts and a song of gladness on our lips. The future is ours, and the novelists and the poets will record it. Come! Join me on the barricades, and we will make it come true! That didn't feel like "my way or the highway" to me. It felt like choice! And literature as "the song of the spirit and the language of the soul" certainly resonated with me, and I sure did want to go forward with that joy in my heart and song of gladness on my lips. I even longed to be one of those creating the music. Was it really "pie in the sky"? I determined to find out. In December of that year, I was offered an opportunity, as part of my job at the Nebraska Rehabilitation Services for the Visually Impaired (now the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired), to go to another agency for the blind to see how it operated and bring back possible suggestions for the fledgling Orientation and Adjustment Center we were in the process of creating. That was a no-brainer for me. I wanted to meet the author of that literature speech and see if the agency he directed, the Iowa Commission for the Blind, was as good as the rumor mill claimed. I came away from that experience not only believing that it was, but doing all I could to ensure that the center we built here emulated that one. On Louis Braille's 202nd birthday, January 4, 2011, I purchased a booklet from National Braille Press by D. Croft. Entitled "Monday Morning Quotations," it contains fifty-two leaves, each of which offers words of wisdom. The first quote on the second leaf, attributed to Bertrand Russell, aptly summarizes what I learned at the Iowa Commission: "Even when all the experts agree, they still may well be mistaken." The second quote on that page, penned by William Safire, succinctly comments on the growing connection with reality I was experiencing: "Never assume the obvious is true." Things, indeed, aren't always what they appear to be. Once I began to engage with those who both truly believed that it is respectable to be blind and that the average blind person, given proper training and opportunity, could do the average job in the average place of business as well as his/her sighted colleague, life began to unfold for me in most fascinating ways. As my expectations for myself and those blind folks I was teaching rose, so, too, did our confidence. And with confidence came competence. Ken Hakuta's quotation on the first leaf of the aforementioned booklet conveys, to some degree, how things next began to play out: "People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours." In January 1975, about a month after my trip to Iowa, I joined the Lincoln Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. The following month, I was elected its president. Before the year was out, I had attended both my first state and national conventions, a leadership seminar in Des Moines, and a demonstration against the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC) in Little Rock. Since then, I have held numerous positions, both elected and appointed, within the movement. Many of the opportunities which have blown my way have involved literature. One of the first was a request from Mr. Regler, superintendent of the Nebraska school for the blind, who asked my sister (who had also joined the NFB) and me to write a song for the school's centennial celebration. He told us that the theme was a quote from its blind founder, Samuel Bacon, "Not just a living, but a life." Pleased to so soon have a chance to be part of writing a song which had, in fact, asked to be sung, I fleshed out that quote for the chorus and wrote a couple verses, then handed it off to Laurie to write the literal music. It was truly awesome to hear blind youth proclaiming that message of equal expectation and to have it adopted as the school song, knowing that the National Federation of the Blind, the organization that had been maligned there, had had a hand in it through my sister and me. Our mom, who had discussed our change of perspective with Mr. Regler at some point, mentioned that his response to her had been that if we raise children to think independently, we shouldn't be surprised when they do. With increased involvement in the Federation, I found myself writing letters, delivering testimony to legislators, drafting resolutions, writing reports, and generally immersing myself in the business of contributing to the voice of our nation's blind. In 1990, when the NFB celebrated its half- century mark, I received the awesome privilege of being one of two Federationists to represent the 1970s on a panel of ten, two from each decade, at our National Convention in Dallas. A video of that session, items from chapters, divisions, and state affiliates as well as other selected materials were placed in a time capsule to be examined in 2040. That panel discussion is available in an article entitled "The National Federation of the Blind: Five Decades of Progress." In December of 1998, exactly twenty-four years after I had first met and questioned him, I received the sad but unparalleled honor of paying tribute to Dr. Jernigan at his memorial service in Baltimore with remarks entitled "Making It Count." Two years later, I was thrilled to be invited to deliver a speech, "Employment Creation," at the Fifth General Assembly of the World Blind Union in Melbourne, Australia. The following year found me speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the building we now call the Jernigan Institute, those comments appearing in an article entitled "A New Day Dawning: The NFB Breaks Ground for the National Research and Training Institute for the Blind." (A precious side note is that I got to stand beside a seven-year-old blind boy as we used giant scissors to cut the ribbon for the Institute's grand opening in 2004.) When I served as the first chairman of the newly-established Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NCBVI) board of commissioners from 2000 through 2007, I was mindful of setting precedents for future commissioners as we wrote formative documents and as I delivered annual reports to state conventions as NFBN's designee on the board. Over the years, I have attempted to meet the challenge Dr. Jernigan spoke of "to help our age raise its consciousness and reform its conscience" about blindness through both presentations and vignettes. A partial list includes my introduction to the Federation (The Missing Piece), grieving (A Vinegar and Oil Federationist), alternative techniques (Fueling the Fire), teaching and networking (The Cribbage Game), Braille (A Morsel to Chew On), parenting (A Lesson From Marsha), mentoring (United We Stand), living our philosophy in the world at large (For Laura), giving back to society (Feeding Our Future), influencing blind youngsters (Laying the Groundwork for Independence), experiencing convention through streaming (Dancing in the Rain), going outside the comfort zone (Corky Canvas) and unusual blindness-related experiences (A Boa in My Brailler and Barring the Chaos Factor). Interestingly, not only have these and other writings of mine appeared in our NFBN newsletter, the Federation's Kernel Books and Future Reflections, but they also have found their way into the Braille Monitor, that publication that I once found so unnerving. I now find it to be both a treasure trove and a lifeline, and I hope you do, too. Whether serving as state president, treasurer, board member, committee appointee, or, my personal favorite, rank and file member of this organization, literature of some kind is always influencing my approach. As I was writing this article, for instance, I received an observation in an email message by Bob Perks which I think sums up well how the Federation can turn around your life, whatever your initial hook may be. He wasn't talking about blindness, but I think it applies. He said, "I used to say, 'I'll believe it when I see it.' Now it's, 'I'll see it when I believe it!'" The first part of that statement is, of course, a slight rewrite of that old, untrustworthy stereotype "seeing is believing." The second part could be restated in a phrase I have often heard my husband say which I liked so well I used it for the title of another of my writings about mentoring, "Attitude is everything." The former sets a trap, while the latter sets you free. And that, really, is what the National Federation of the Blind has done for me. It has set me free, and it can do the same for you. I think our stroll down memory lane has taken us right up to that intersection I mentioned earlier, the one with Action Avenue. Yes, a submission deadline is just around that corner. I hope I'll find you there, too, either on the pages of this publication or responding to your hook in another place along the avenue, living the life you want and changing what it means to be blind in positive ways. ---------- My Experience of Being a Member of the National Federation of the Blind by Chris Walker From the Editor: Chris Walker is an active member in our Virginia affiliate. He comes to the Federation at a later date than some of our contributors, having gone blind in late 2009. A little research by talking with his fellow Virginians tells us he is the chapter president in Winchester, and in a very admiring voice one member said, "The thing I love about Chris is that he is such a nice guy." I admire people who are so kind that they rate the title "nice," and I can't wait to meet him. Here is what he writes: To help explain my motivation and commitment to the NFB, I would like to provide some of my personal background. During the last two months of 2009 I went from being a sighted person to being completely blind from Acute Retinal Necrosis (ARN). In December 2009, when I was discharged from the hospital after going blind at age forty-four, I was given a normal, supportive, walking cane and sent on my way into a sighted world with no information on what to do next. During the next six months I received blind services in Las Vegas, developed orientation and mobility skills, and began to learn the blindness skills needed to become an independent person. My partner and I decided to move back to Northern Virginia to be closer to our families. Shortly after the move my partner passed away suddenly. I knew from that point that I needed to be independent and self- supporting. I also knew that once I got my life back together, I wanted to be able to be there for the next person who lost his/her vision. I began the next phase of gaining my independence by moving from my family's home in Warrenton to the city of Winchester, Virginia, where I rented a room from a recent acquaintance. Once settled, I began looking for an organization that would be able to guide me through this new life. I tried to find local organizations around Winchester that could help assist me on this journey. One day as I walked around town with my friends, we met a blind couple who suggested I visit the National Federation of the Blind website. I went home and joined the NFB that night. As I learned more about the NFB, I found the Virginia affiliate's at-large group and attended several of that group's monthly conference calls. I later discovered there was a local Winchester chapter of the NFB, and I have been an active member of the chapter since joining in 2015. While attending my second chapter meeting, I expressed a desire to set up an information booth at a local community's Fourth of July celebration. I was immediately nominated and elected as the outreach chair for the Winchester Chapter of the NFB. After joining the local chapter I realized that being a member of the NFB was what you made it. The more I put into the organization the more I got back. In the summer of 2015, I listened to the NFB national convention through the internet and social media simulcasts. That fall I attended my first state affiliate convention and was asked to join the Virginia affiliate's Leadership Fellows Program, which gave me the opportunity to begin learning about the different operational areas of the national organization and the state affiliate. The next year I attended my first NFB national convention and was inspired by the thousands of attendees not letting blindness be their defining characteristic. As an active member of the NFB, I have been provided with many opportunities to become involved at the local and state levels of the organization. The NFB has helped me to grow personally and professionally. I have been involved with all sorts of fun recreational events from climbing a thirty-foot rock climbing wall to judging a chili cook-off event. I have also attended fun learning events like "Connecting the Dots, the Federation Philosophy." The NFB has also provided me with opportunities to become a more confident public speaker by inviting me to be a guest speaker at other Virginia chapter meetings and by encouraging me to speak to the Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, and other local service organizations. I have learned the importance of advocating for the rights of the blind by contacting the local voter registrar about issues that the members of the Winchester chapter were experiencing while trying to vote. Through my efforts the training for the local poll workers changed from "telling a visually impaired person to have someone help them vote" to the poll workers being trained on how to use the ADA-compliant voting devices and how to instruct people on the procedures for voting with the device. I was also invited to the poll worker training sessions to describe my experiences and to discuss proper etiquette when working with the blind/visually impaired. I am not saying that being a member of the NFB has always been a walk in the park-it's just like life: there are ups, and there are downs. But I have found, when I focus on my natural gifts-which have a special place in my heart-there are many more ups than downs. My natural gift is volunteering to provide outreach to the blind/visually impaired who have not found the support of the National Federation of the Blind. I have been very involved with social media, and I am a member of many blind/visually impaired discussion groups and chat rooms. Through my social media presence I have stayed on top of what's going on at the national, state, and local levels across the United States. By being part of the heartbeat of the National Federation of the Blind, we can encourage and challenge each other to serve in many different capacities, to give back to others, and to serve in our local community. We can all help to console, empathize, support, and educate people about our experiences with being blind and how the NFB has helped us to embody the axiom, "You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. 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." ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Pam Allen] Finding My Place, Accepting the Challenge, and Helping Others as I have Been Helped by Pamela Allen From the Editor: If Federationists were to describe Pam Allen, these would be the words they would use: kind, humble, intelligent, genuine, friendly, and caring. What is so wonderful about this person is that with all of these positive attributes, she is not full of herself. She cares deeply about paying back those who have created the opportunities she has taken advantage of and is equally committed to paying it forward so that others have even greater opportunities. Here is what she has to say about what brought her to the Federation, what keeps her, and her intense desire to see that others benefit both from the programs and activities of the organization and from the blessing that comes through giving back and bettering the lives of others: As I grab my keys and my purse, I reflect upon my day. I am grateful that the conference call that just ended was productive and that we were able to make some positive suggestions to the teachers trying to establish an IEP that will give the student strong blindness skills. I think about the senior who stopped by to inquire about techniques for maintaining independence though her vision was decreasing. I am energized by the prospect of the passage of the legislation my colleague and I met earlier to discuss which will protect the rights of blind parents. I close the door behind me and head to my local chapter meeting. As we recite the NFB pledge together, I think about how "participating actively in the National Federation of the Blind" has made such a positive difference in my life. I have been blind since I was about two years old. I was incredibly blessed to have parents, siblings, teachers, and friends who did not see blindness as a limitation. They held high expectations for me and taught me that I could achieve the dreams and goals I set for myself. As I transitioned from childhood to adulthood, I began to have questions that my sighted friends and family members could not answer fully. I began searching for successful blind mentors who could give me advice and share their experiences about living independently and excelling in various careers. I was not interested in interacting with people who were content to be passive and limited by the stereotypes about the inadequacies of blind people. Rather, I was determined to find people who were not afraid to challenge the negative misconceptions about blindness so prevalent in society. While in college, I attended a seminar for blind college students sponsored by the NFB of Ohio and the Student Division of the NFB. While there, I met competent and confident blind people who challenged and inspired me. I also learned about scholarships for blind students and about an internship opportunity at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, one of our three NFB training centers. Prior to my senior year of college, I had the distinct honor of winning a national scholarship from the NFB. As part of my award, I attended my first national convention in New Orleans and immediately knew I wanted to be part of this dynamic Federation family. I realized how many of the opportunities I had been afforded were a direct result of the systemic change brought about by the work of the National Federation of the Blind. Little did I know how much my life would be forever changed. During the years since that first convention, I have had the true honor and privilege of being mentored and guided by so many incredible role models. I have benefited directly from the life-changing training approach which was developed by Dr. Jernigan and is now carried out at the Louisiana Center for the Blind of which I am a graduate and at our sister centers in Minnesota and Colorado. My involvement has allowed me to travel to numerous conventions and presentations around the country where I can share with and learn from others who are committed to working together to help blind people live the lives they want! I have witnessed the extraordinary transformation that occurs when a person realizes and internalizes the belief that blindness does not have to be a barrier to success! I have also been blessed to have met my incredible husband, Roland, whose support and dedication to our work serve as a catalyst for such positive growth. As the chapter meeting continues, I am motivated by listening to President Riccobono's remarks on the Presidential Release as I dream about the possibilities! I think about the members gathered at the meeting where representing so many different backgrounds and experiences are joined together by the common belief that blindness is not a tragedy and that we have the power and imagination to create positive change! From our youngest members who happen to be daughters of blind parents to our oldest member who lost her vision later in life, we are all committed to supporting each other and helping one another gain the tools and the confidence needed to accomplish our goals. I reflect on a report given about a recent yard sale held by our chapter where members not only raised funds but equally importantly, showed themselves and the public that blind people can organize and execute a successful event! As our meeting adjourns and members begin to head out to dinner together, I am moved by the expression of love I witness as one offers some pointers on cane travel to someone who is still unsure and just beginning the journey toward independence. As we swap stories and laugh together over dinner, I think about the thousands of Federationists meeting in chapters around our country. Our philosophy and core values of collective action, courage, respect, full participation, democracy, and love are demonstrated in large and small ways through the work we do together. I am grateful for the foundation our philosophy provides as we work on conquering our individual fears about blindness and as we implement policies and programs that will bring about the needed societal change. I am encouraged by the risks we will take to redefine blindness. Just as I know it has for so many others, my involvement in the NFB has enabled me to be part of and an active leader in the most powerful organization of blind people in the world, one that has opened doors of opportunity and given hope to so many! From my first convention to the present, I have found so many ways to give and serve. In the beginning, I believe I benefited more than I gave, but with time and nurturing, I was able to find ways to share. I continue to take and give, to be a learner and mentor, and to be challenged never to settle or lower my expectations. Even when the battle seems daunting or the goal hard to attain, I draw strength from our collective experiences and from the knowledge that there is still so much more to do together! Like an orchestra that combines so many different instruments to perform a symphony, we all have a place in this organization to utilize our talents and knowledge to create something that is more powerful and beautiful than we could have imagined. One of the things I love most about the Federation is that we have so much to offer-something to share, a mentor to meet, a way to grow-whether you have recently joined or have been a member for decades. The Federation is comprised of blind people from diverse backgrounds and different life experiences who know the power of working together to shatter misconceptions about blindness. Being a member of the National Federation of the Blind will challenge you as it has and continues to challenge me. It will shape your ideas and attitudes about blindness and will push you out of your comfort zone. You will find hope and will increase your belief in what is possible. After we get home from dinner, I sit in front of my computer preparing for a seminar class the following day with students at the center, many of whom are learning about the National Federation of the Blind for the first time. We will be discussing President Riccobono's 2016 speech, "The Understanding of Fear and the Power of Progress," delivered at the annual convention banquet. One of my favorite passages from the speech is: 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. I am grateful for the small part my active participation contributes to accomplish these goals, and I am thankful for each member's tireless commitment to creating a world free from fear and full of opportunity. We need you! Together, let's go build the National Federation of the Blind! ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon] Why I am a Member! by Everette Bacon From the Editor: Everette Bacon is a member of the national board of directors and serves as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah. He is energetic, hardworking, and ever so approachable. It is always a pleasure when he submits an article for the Braille Monitor, and I am sure that you will enjoy his latest contribution. Here is what he says: I am blind. I have always been blind. When I was a child all the way up until I became a young man, I never wanted to admit this fact. I knew plenty of blind people, I even came from a family with hereditary blindness. I was told, and I came to believe, that my partial sight was different and that I was not ever going to be like "those" blind people! Boy, was I wrong! I came to know the Federation because of a bad job experience. In 1997 I became the lead store manager of a Blockbuster Video store in Irving, Texas. I love movies and pop culture, and this job was fun and rewarding. I was able to move from lower performing stores to the third highest revenue Blockbuster store in the greater Houston area. I received awards, promotions, and in 2002, I had trained ten other store managers in Houston and surrounding areas of Texas. All the while, my vision was slowly decreasing. It became more difficult to perform my responsibilities, and I knew that I needed to do something about it. I was aware that there was assistive technology such as video magnifiers and software like ZoomText available, and I thought if I went to my human resources manager at Blockbuster, I could request and receive these accommodations. In January of 2003, I made a formal request for accommodations, and a little over a month later, I was called into the regional director's office and was informed that I was being terminated for fraudulent inventory practices. I was never given any physical proof of this; I was only told that there was evidence. The ironic thing is that in October of 2002 I had just received an award for the top inventory control store for that fiscal year. Needless to say, I was devastated. My wife and family were furious! I did not know where to turn, and I really did not know what I was going to do. My wife, who happened to be in medical school at the time, drafted an email that was titled "Blind man discriminated against by Blockbuster Video!" This was shared with all of our contacts, and my mom had forwarded it to a listserv that just so happened to include the email address of Scott LaBarre. For those of you who do not know, Scott LaBarre is an attorney who does significant legal work for the National Federation of the Blind. Scott was able to reach out to me and became my attorney. He also told me that the NFB was very interested in my case and that if need be, they would also provide assistance to me. I did not know about the NFB. I did not know any members of the Federation. I had never heard of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Marc Maurer, or anyone else. I knew nothing of the significant work the Federation has done on behalf of blind people. Scott told me the NFB only asked one thing in return for its representation and assistance: that I check out their website and maybe attend a chapter meeting. I was really impressed by Scott and the generosity of the Federation, and I promised I would look into the NFB. By early 2004 my wife was accepted into a medical residency program in Utah. We moved to Utah in the spring of 2004, and I reached out to NFB of Utah president Ron Gardner. I received a call from a local chapter member by the name of Milt Taylor, and I attended my first chapter meeting in Salt Lake City. There I was welcomed by members such as Nick Schmittroth, Tai Tomasi, Dave Sarle, and so many others. What I found in that local chapter meeting and in the Utah affiliate was people just like me! Some were completely blind, some had partial vision, but they all had something in common that I did not have: they were proud of their blindness. They were motivated to make changes that would affect them directly and many other blind people as well. They were living the life they wanted, and blindness did not hold them back. I kept attending monthly chapter meetings, and Nick and I became close friends. Nick showed me how to use a cane with confidence, and later that year I was hired by the Utah Division of Services for the Blind. I officially joined the chapter that summer, and in 2005 I was elected to the chapter board of directors. In 2006 I was elected to be treasurer of the chapter. I also attended my first national convention in Dallas, Texas. The convention was a wonderful experience, and I am proud to say that I have only missed one convention since 2006. Unfortunately, my good friend Nick passed away in 2006, and I was elected to serve as the Salt Lake City chapter president. I have gone on to become the Utah affiliate president and am currently honored to serve on the national board of directors. I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind because I found a community of people who are just like me. They have hopes and dreams, they want careers, and they want families. They want and are not afraid to do whatever it takes to achieve these things-and oh, by the way, they also happen to be blind! I am proud to be blind, and I am proud to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Daniel Garcia] An Ongoing Commitment: Why I Joined and Why I Continue My Work in the National Federation of the Blind by Daniel Garcia From the Editor: Daniel Garcia is a bright young professional who has decided to give some of his intelligence, enthusiasm, and energy to our organization. After studying the history of blind people and looking at the needs that confront us, he came to the decision that in recognition of those who worked before him, he would give back. To help those who would come after, he would pay it forward. Here is what he has to say: The first time I came in contact with members of the National Federation of the Blind was in November of 2011. At the time I was receiving skills of blindness training at the Training Center for the Blind in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The actual training center was undergoing a $5 million renovation at the time, so the training was being held at what was then the Clarion Inn. By pure coincidence, the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan had its 2011 Convention at the same hotel that year. On Friday evening, many training center students and I walked around the exhibit hall. I talked with a few members of the Western Wayne County and Ann Arbor chapters who encouraged me to attend their chapter meetings once I graduated from the center. Little did I know at the time that this would foretell the journey that I would embark upon a mere three years later. Once I finished my training, I went home and decided to learn as much as I could about the history of the blind. I came upon a book titled Walking Alone and Marching Together. This book is enormous not only in size, but also in the profound way that it changed my thinking about blindness. While reading the pages of this monumental book, I started to get acquainted with the core philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind: that it is respectable to be blind, that with the proper training and opportunity blindness can be reduced to the level of a nuisance, that blindness is merely a characteristic, and that the real problem of blindness is not blindness itself but people's negative reactions to it. In 2013 I decided to go to World Services for the Blind in Little Rock, Arkansas, for training to become a collections representative at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Though I was not an NFB member at the time, I started reading the Braille Monitor, and I decided that whatever city I ended up working in, I would join the NFB. In March of 2014 I started working for the IRS in Kansas City, Missouri. In August of that same year I joined the Kansas City Chapter of the NFB. In 2015 I was asked to serve on the state affiliate board of directors; I was elected to fill a partial one- year term when another board member was elected to the position of corresponding secretary. In 2016 I was asked to serve as my chapter's first vice president. I have been privileged to be a part of many NFB of Missouri events. In February of 2016 I attended my first Jefferson City Seminar, the NFB of Missouri's equivalent to the Washington Seminar. Though I was a novice, I was still expected to do the work and to get around the Capitol building by myself. On the second day of Jefferson City Seminar, another NFB newcomer and I were paired up and assigned to visit the offices of various state legislators. The fact that two beginners were entrusted with such a huge responsibility was nothing short of empowering. In October of 2016, the NFB of Missouri had an employment seminar in St Louis, and I was asked to give a presentation. Since I am part of the lucky 30 percent of working-age blind people who have a job, I thought it important that I do whatever I could to try to put a dent in the unemployment rate of the blind. In 2017, I started to chair the NFB of Missouri's Public Relations Committee. Our committee has had moderate success in promoting the goals and programs of our state affiliate. I was elected chapter president and started serving in this capacity in January of 2018. It is certainly not an easy job, but I do have a great chapter board who help me run the chapter. At the state convention in Jefferson City in 2018, I introduced a resolution about the AV START Act which was passed by the convention. I also gave a fifteen-minute speech about the AV START Act and the coming age of the fully autonomous vehicle. As I write this, the chapter is experiencing explosive growth in membership. In fact, we had a chapter membership seminar in February of 2019 to introduce to the NFB the nine members who joined our chapter since October of 2018. This increase in membership is due to the work of the state membership committee and the work of chapter members telling our story and asking blind and sighted people to join our ranks. Looking ahead, I am very excited about the Strategic Plan for 2019 through 2021 that was recently launched by our national body. I am particularly enthusiastic about the NFB's goal of developing leadership as well as the opportunity to enhance our advocacy skills. Though doing the work of the Federation can at times be exhausting, I am committed to becoming a more effective leader and advocate for the blind. I dream of a world, hopefully in the not-so-distant future, where all blind people can own and operate a voice-activated fully autonomous vehicle. We all need to work collectively to define what we need, demonstrate that need to the public, and then make sure that it is translated into products and services that make everyone's life better. The autonomous vehicle is the most obvious example of something that will both transform our lives while at the same time making society safer and more productive. If history has taught me anything it is that freedom is not achieved easily. Freedom is not something that is merely granted to us just for the asking; we have to continually fight for it. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Rilee Sloan] The Importance of Building Membership: My Commitment to NABS and the Broader Federation Community are the Same by Rilee Sloan From the Editor: Sometimes people joining our organization think they are joining only one division, but to most the reality quickly emerges that without all of us, none of our groups, committees, or divisions can have any substantial unity or strength. Rilee has been quick to recognize this, and through his actions and words demonstrates that the health of the body isn't maintained or improved by concentrating on a single organ. Here is what he says about building a bridge between seemingly different interest groups to form one active and vibrant organization committed to helping everyone who is blind: After winning one of the National Federation of the Blind's national scholarships last year, it came as no surprise when I announced that I would be using the scholarship funds to pursue a degree in history and political science. My love for history has always been apparent among my chapter members. When I attended my first meeting of the NFB, I immediately professed my appreciation for the history of the organization and the legacy of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek. I had read countless speeches by Dr. tenBroek, as well as other historic leaders within the NFB. At my first meeting, I was excited to pursue my dream of advocating among other devoted Federationists. My knowledge of the organization's history offered tremendous advantages, among them a strong feeling of insight and passion. However, it also created a problem of its own. In my glorification of the origins of the organization and its leaders, I overlooked the most important issue of all: grassroots organizing. Without members we can't discern needs, dreams, and aspirations. Without grassroots members we can't begin to bring them about. After getting more involved in the National Federation of the Blind and other organizations, I discovered the power of grassroots movements. The greatest source of this wisdom was discovered at the NFB's 2018 National Convention. Here I was surrounded by thousands of other Federationists. My fellow Federationists have always inspired me, but it was at this gathering where they profoundly altered my perspective toward grassroots organizing. I met hundreds of Federationists, all from different backgrounds and walks of life. Almost every single person I met discovered the National Federation of the Blind through their local chapter. I realized that one of the most significant contributions I could make to the work of the organization was to promote my local chapter and expand its membership. This idea was enhanced further by my involvement in the ACLU's Smart Justice Campaign and the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). While serving as an intern at the ACLU's Smart Justice Campaign, I worked directly in grassroots organizing. Among other things, I met with local organizations, promoted events, and organized teams of volunteers. Soon after the 2018 National Convention, I got more involved in the National Association of Blind Students. This strengthened the connection I had begun to form between grassroots organizing and the National Federation of the Blind. While serving as the co-chair and secretary of the NABS legislative advocacy committee, I reached out to local chapters to get more students involved in legislative advocacy. By working with the NABS Legislative Advocacy Committee, I learned that the NFB's influence is predominantly strengthened by the size of our local chapters, as well as the passion of its members. As a student, it is especially critical that I understand the importance of grassroots organizing at all levels. NABS has long served as a tool to attract new, diverse members to the state and national organization. In his speech, "The History of the National Association of Blind Students," Michael Baillif, past president of NABS, said, "We need students to be reaching out to other students in a way that only you can." Without a full understanding of NABS' role in membership recruitment, my leadership skills are inhibited within the National Association of Blind Students and the National Federation of the Blind. I must be aware of the effect of grassroots organizing and membership recruitment. This awareness will undoubtedly help me promote the success of the NFB and its student division. In addition to NABS' role in membership recruitment, it has strong origins as a grassroots organization. It was founded by a small group of students at the Federation's 1967 National Convention. Since then, NABS has experienced tremendous growth. It has become one of the largest and most active divisions of the National Federation of the Blind. Without the early leaders of NABS and the place that grassroots organizing played in their priorities, the organization never would have formed into what it is today. As members of the National Federation of the Blind, you can support the NFB's grassroots efforts and its goal to recruit new members in a variety of ways. First, you should promote collaboration and interaction among your current members. You know that one member of your chapter who always seems too shy to introduce themselves? Go ask him or her to join you for a cup of coffee. Maintain excitement among your members, attract new members, and organize social meetings in your community. The chapter in Austin, Texas, has already begun organizing social events for its members. In an interview with Syed Rizvi, a member of the Austin chapter and the vice president of NABS, Rizvi said, "The Austin chapter has monthly meetings like all chapters, but what they add to that is a social after every meeting where they go out for lunch in the city." In addition to this, the Austin chapter has reached out to other organizations to expand membership and promote awareness for the organization. When asked about the impact of this form of outreach, he said, "It's all very informative. It creates a social network of blind people you can relate to." There are numerous opportunities to expand membership in your local chapter. Many chapters like the one in Austin have taken action to reach out to their communities and attract new members. Public outreach may seem intimidating, but it's necessary for the cause. Your fellow Federationists will be more than happy to give you tips and assist you in your efforts, and they will in turn be inspired by them. Grassroots organizing and membership recruitment are critical for the success of the National Federation of the Blind. Without public outreach, our organization cannot gain the resources and membership it needs to effectively help blind people achieve their fullest potential. Again, quoting from my interview with Syed, he said, "All of the most successful social movements have always been successful through their social network. Constantly working on building that social network will lead to an organization's success." Through my own experiences in the National Federation of the Blind, I have learned the tremendous value of grassroots organizing. Only through our membership can we gain the resources we need to help blind people live the lives they want. As a student leader, I recognize that the efficacy of grassroots organizing can predict the success or failure of an organization. Fortunately, there are many ways to demonstrate grassroots organizing and expand membership. The National Federation of the Blind is counting on you to help us grow. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Carlton Walker] Why a Sighted Person Would Dedicate So Much of Her Energy to the National Federation of the Blind by Carlton Walker From the Editor: Carlton Walker is one of the most inspirational people I know. Yes, I know the word inspirational is too often used to describe blind people, whether we're making a bed or climbing Mount Everest. Carlton isn't blind, but I find her inspirational because she knows how to take when she needs and then to give back what she has taken when she can. It doesn't matter whether you say she is giving back or giving it forward. What is important is that she doesn't take it for granted when she is helped and doesn't just assume it is her due. She takes the time to say thank you and then sets to work doing something that shows that in her mind thank you is not a phrase but a chance to act. Here is what she says about being a member of the National Federation of the Blind: Gary Wunder, a wonderful friend and the stalwart editor of the Braille Monitor, asked me to write an article about membership in the National Federation of the Blind. In other words, "Why am I a Federationist?" What a terrific question, and one I love to answer! Growing up, I did not think much about blindness. I didn't know any blind people; I'd never even seen a blind person in real life. In fact, until 2004, I would have laughed if anyone had told me that I would be a proud, committed, and unwavering member of the National Federation of the Blind-that I would be a Federationist. Back then, I could not have imagined how or why any organization could become an essential part of my life. In 2001, my husband and I were thrilled to welcome a wonderful little person we named Anna Catherine into our lives. Her first two years of life were filled with surgeries and hospitalizations, but she grew into a healthy and happy toddler. Then, doctors told us she was "legally blind." We didn't really understand what that meant. In fact, at that time we did not even consider Anna Catherine-blind. As she got older, we understood that her lack of good vision was affecting her. We knew that she got close to the television, a toy, or anything she wanted to see. We knew that she had to get within just a few inches of very-enlarged print to make it out. We knew that our little four- year-old wouldn't walk outside without holding an adult's hand. Anna Catherine was not as independent as her peers, and we knew that something had to change. After many phone calls and dead ends, I found information about a conference called Beginnings and Blueprints at a place in Baltimore named the National Center for the Blind. While we still didn't consider our daughter blind, after work on Thursday, May 5, 2005, we packed up the minivan and Anna Catherine and headed down to Baltimore. We thought we would learn how Anna Catherine could "maximize" her remaining vision; at that time, we truly believed that Anna Catherine's success was directly tied to her amount of residual vision. However, we weren't at the national center very long before we found out how wrong we were. We learned so very much in such a short time. We heard from and talked with several blind adults who proceeded to blow our previous misconceptions out of the water. We met blind adults with and without functional vision, but we couldn't tell the difference. What we did notice was that everyone at the conference, blind and sighted, were professional, knowledgeable, and in control of the conference. They were not separated by physical attributes; they were united in a common purpose to educate the conference attendees, teachers, and parents about blindness. We returned home and tried to put some of what we learned into practice. Unfortunately, we lived too far away to go back to Baltimore easily. Moreover, the blind women and men we met in Baltimore were accomplished people, including past NFB president Marc Maurer; Mark Riccobono, the current president of the National Federation of the Blind; Dr. Betsy Zaborowski; Carla McQuillan; Chris Danielsen; Brigid Doherty; and Heather Field. They had talent, jobs, and busy lives. (These folks are heavy-hitters; just Google these names and you'll see.) While they encouraged us to reach out anytime, we didn't feel like we could bother them. Who were we that they would take the time and energy necessary to re- teach us and support us from a distance? Luckily, the members of this organization don't always wait to be asked. These fabulous people stayed in touch. They asked about Anna Catherine, and they kept providing me information and tools to support her. In 2006 we attended the National Federation of the Blind annual convention in Dallas, Texas. Wow! Not only did I meet talented blind adults wanting to help Anna Catherine and our family, I met sighted parents of blind children who were members of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC). I learned that the NOPBC is a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). I learned that members of the NOPBC are members of the NFB-even if they are sighted--and that many remain NFB members long after their children reach adulthood. I learned that the NOPBC's strength comes directly from the NFB-because it is the NFB that provides the guidance, support, and love needed to allow a blind child (with or without residual vision) to build the skills, confidence, and fortitude necessary to grow into the independent adult that child has a right to become. When we left Dallas, I was exhausted, but I was invigorated as well. At the airport I noticed that something seemed off. It took me a few seconds to identify the problem: no canes. Over the course of the week in Dallas, the steady and confident tapping of thousands of long white canes became a part of me, and I missed it. That sound represented, to my mind, the beating of a heart of the amazing organization called the National Federation of the Blind. Before the trip, I wanted to start getting more involved with the organization. When I arrived home, I knew that I needed to become a member of the Federation. I no longer viewed the NFB as an "organization." I knew that it was and is a family, and I knew that this family would welcome me with open arms. We did become members, and we did start attending NFB events on the state and national level. In 2007 we attended the NFB convention in Atlanta, and our state affiliate president, Jim Antonacci, invited Anna Catherine to carry the Pennsylvania banner in the March for Independence. In 2008 Harriet Go, a member of our state affiliate, took time out of her convention experience to teach Anna Catherine how to safely and confidently use an escalator-a task at which neither my husband nor I had succeeded for more than a year. At the same convention we ran into Dr. Abraham Nemeth (inventor of the Nemeth Code-Braille math) at the hotel elevators. I timidly introduced myself and Anna Catherine to him. He greeted us warmly and was so pleased to hear that Anna Catherine loved math that he began quizzing her and was delighted with her (correct) answers. This giant of a man treated two strangers like family-because we were. We were all members of the Federation Family. The only other organization in which I have felt a connection so strong that I call it a family is church. As much as I do love my church family, I must honestly share that those relationships took more time to develop-even though I am with members of my church far more regularly than I am with members of the NFB. This is not an indictment of any church; it is simply the truth. Becoming involved with the NFB will provide you great information and tools. Becoming a member of the NFB will change your life and your child's life for the better. Before I joined the NFB, I could never have imagined how wholly and completely fellow members help and support one another. When others freely give of themselves to you, you want to give back and to pay it forward. It really is a feeling you have to experience to fully comprehend. These lines from Tim McGraw's 2016 award-winning song, "Humble and Kind" display the ethos of Federationists and may encourage you to become a member of the National Federation of the Blind: "Don't take for granted the love this life gives you When you get where you're goin' Don't forget turn back around Help the next one in line Always stay humble and kind" Please come to meet us. Please share with us your struggles, your pain, and your needs. Please let us share our knowledge, our hearts, and ourselves. We welcome you to join us as members of the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Allen Harris] The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund by Allen Harris From the Editor: Allen Harris is the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Fund Committee and was one of the people who came up with the idea of honoring our former president and longtime leader by establishing a program to promote attendance at the national convention, where so much inspiration and learning occur. Here is Allen's announcement about the 2019 Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Program: Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest and most important yearly convention of blind people in the world. The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB national convention are the roundtrip transportation, the hotel room for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won't pay all the costs. Last year most of the sixty grants were in the range of $400 to $500 per individual. We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the amazing experience that is convention week. Who is eligible? Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an NFB national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply. How do I apply for funding assistance? 1. You write a letter giving your contact information and your local NFB information, the specific amount you are requesting, and then explain why this is a good investment for the NFB. The points to cover are listed below. 2. You contact your state president in person or by phone to request his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell the president when to expect your request letter by email, and mention the deadline. 3. You (or a friend) send your letter by email to your state president. He or she must add a president's recommendation and then email both letters directly to the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee. Your president must forward the two letters no later than April 15, 2019. Your letter to Chairperson Allen Harris must cover these points: . Your full name and all your telephone numbers-label them-cell phone, home, office, other person (if any); . Your mailing address and, if you have one, your email address; . Your state affiliate and state president; your chapter and chapter president, if you attend a chapter; . Your personal convention mentor, and provide that person's phone numbers; . Your specific request, and explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for yourself. The body of your letter should answer these questions: How do you currently participate in the Federation? Why do you want to attend a national convention? What would you receive; what can you share or give? You can include in your letter to the committee any special circumstances you hope they will take into consideration. When will I be notified that I am a winner? If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter with convention details that should answer most of your questions. The committee makes every effort to notify scholarship winners by May 15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are chosen: 1. Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for roommates to reduce the cost.) 2. Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet, by May 31. 3. Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and advisor. 4. If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win a grant this year. How will I receive my convention scholarship? At convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card will be listed in the letter we send you. The committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you win a scholarship and to pay your treasury back after you receive your debit or credit card. What if I have more questions? For additional information email the chairman, Allen Harris, at kjscholarships at nfb.org or call his Baltimore, Maryland, office at 410-659-9314, extension 2415. Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists in the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to see you in Las Vegas. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month were provided by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana. [PHOTO CAPTION: Robert Jaquiss] Keto and Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Bread by Robert Jaquiss Robert Jaquiss lives in Missoula, Montana, and serves as the secretary of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana. Ingredients: 3-1/2 cups blanched almond flour 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1-1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking soda 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 10 large eggs 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) 3/4 cup Swerve or Splenda 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 cup of optional mix-ins: chopped pecans or walnuts Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rack in center of the oven. Grease two eight-by-four-inch loaf pans or use two silicone loaf pans. Combine the pumpkin, eggs, Swerve, and vanilla in an electric mixer. Add the dry ingredients one at a time; mix well. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans and smooth the top of the batter. Bake for forty-three to forty-six minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for about thirty minutes on rack. Store in resealable plastic bags in refrigerator for up to five days; the bread can also be frozen. Note: Almond flour should be refrigerated in a sealed bag. I found the best price for almond flour at Costco. ---------- Classic Shortbread by Karen James Karen says, "This is a quick and easy sweet treat!" She is a longtime Federationist and the wife of Rik James, president of the At-Large Chapter of the NFB of Montana. Ingredients: 1/2 cup softened butter 1/3 cup confectioners sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup all-purpose flour Method: Cream butter, add sugar, then vanilla. Work in flour using a fork or clean hands. Press dough into a greased round cake pan and prick surface of dough with a fork. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake shortbread for thirty minutes. Let shortbread cool in pan for ten minutes. Flip pan, removing shortbread onto flat surface. Cut shortbread into eight pie-shaped pieces. ---------- Mile High Biscuits by Karen James Ingredients: 3 cups flour 2 tablespoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon cream of tarter 3/4 cup butter, softened 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk Method: Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter with a pastry blender. Combine egg and milk. Add to dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Knead ten times. Roll out dough one inch thick, cut with 2-1/2 inch cutter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in oven at 425 degrees for twelve to fifteen minutes. ---------- Cowboy Coffee by Karen James Ingredient: Ground coffee (amount determined by number of cups of coffee desired) Method: Fill coffee pot full of fresh water. Bring to a boil. Remove from stove and stir in ground coffee, allowing 1/2 cup per six cups of water. Stir and return to heat briefly. Pull off heat source and allow grounds to settle to bottom of pot. Strain into cups. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Lauren Merryfield Publishes an Audiobook: Jesus Makes the Difference: A Collection of Stories for Young People is now in audiobook format at iTunes and audible.com. Lauren's book setting is a fictional account of a school for the blind at which some students come to realize that their difficult situations can be made better and at times easier with the help of Jesus. There are serious moments and some humor throughout the book. Because she enjoyed writing about these characters so much, a sequel is nearly finished for publication. NFB of Denver Elects Officers and Board Members: In its January 19 meeting, the NFB of Denver Chapter elected the following: president, Dan Burke; first vice president, Vicki Sayler; second vice president, Dishon Spears; treasurer, Brittany Savage; secretary, Kyra Sweeney; and board members John Batron, Brett Boyer and Showe Trella. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Tue Apr 30 22:10:53 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2019 22:10:53 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, May 2019 Message-ID: <201905010510.x415ArMG014752@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 5 May 2019 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 ? 2019 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. [PHOTO/CAPTION: Mandalay Bay Resort] Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-9001. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2019, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 5 May 2019 Contents Illustration: Extending Accessibility in Financial Options for the Blind An Outside Expression of an Inner Conviction by Kathryn Webster Celebrating 100 Years of Success by Julie Deden Freedom Foundation Honors Twin Vision? Kindness is Greater than Fear: Changing Access Denials by Finding the Roots of Conflict by Sassy Outwater-Wright Big Opportunities in a Small Town: Thinking Outside the Box by Dennis Miller Facts About Blindness . . . According to Me by Joe Orozco Opening New Doors in Tactile Art with the Help of Arts in Society by Ann Cunningham The Power of Commitment by Nancy Burns Seminar for Computer Beginners by Curtis Chong Shaking Things Up by Jim Marks Child Care During National Convention: NFB Camp Infused with BELL Academy Activities by Carla McQuillan Blindness Skills: The Only Sure Bet in Vegas! by Carlton Walker Sharing a Room at Convention and How to Survive it with a Smile by Grace Warn See You in Washington at the Convention by Kenneth Jernigan Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO/CAPTION: President Riccobono stands at the podium on stage at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.] Extending Accessibility in Financial Options for the Blind One significant role of the National Federation of the Blind is getting blind people in contact with money. At first it was working for enough public assistance so that the blind were not the responsibility of their parents, brothers, and sisters. Now the focus is employment so that we can earn our own money. But what do we do once we've earned it? We have to figure out a place to put it. We have to have a way of knowing how much there is, whether we are receiving interest, and whether there are fees that must be paid. All of this argues for accessibility: online accessibility, statements that are accessible, and ATM machines that are usable without sight. The banks, of course, are where most people deposit their money. This is why we have focused on ensuring that all of their services are usable by the blind. But banks aren't the only place to keep one's money. Credit unions are very popular, and those who take advantage of them believe they are superior to banks in many ways. It is important that we have access to the services they provide, and this is why President Riccobono addressed the Credit Union National Association Government Affairs Conference in Washington, DC, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. He talked with them about making all of the services they provide to the public accessible and reminded them that not only must outward facing services be accessible but so too must the machinery of the business so that credit unions across the country can take advantage of talented blind employees. Of course he offered the good offices and the unmatchable resources of the National Federation of the Blind in this effort, and the result will be yet another partnership leading to greater opportunities for those of us who are blind. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kathryn Webster] An Outward Expression of an Inner Conviction by Kathryn Webster From the Editor: Kathryn Webster is the latest in a long line of young men and women who have been chosen by students to head the Federation's student division, the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). Kathryn is intelligent, motivated, poised, friendly, and welcoming. She is everything we could want in a Federation leader, and here is her most recent contribution to our magazine: We learn from Jillian Michaels that people believe practice makes perfect, but it doesn't. If you're making a tremendous number of mistakes, all you're doing is deeply ingraining the same mistakes. In high school, I, like many of you, made a ton of mistakes, and I am still reflecting each day to ensure I am not making the same errors. In losing my sight quickly and uncontrollably, I let external pressures overtake my autonomy and even my values. I leaned on those who didn't believe in me as I shaped my future. Now I ask myself why? Why did I seek advice from my high school guidance counselor on a weekly basis, when her low expectations were blatant as she pigeon-holed me into colleges that I saw as subpar and incompatible? I had an above average GPA; I proved myself through my scores on standardized tests; I was a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient; I was a cheerleader, ran track, rowed; and the list goes on. On paper, I was worth it. Mostly worth it because, as a blind woman, I felt that I had no choice in the world but to excel more than my sighted counterparts to be given serious consideration in several elements of life. To my guidance counselor, I was not enough solely because of my blindness. I could have been the valedictorian, but my disability created this blurred line of what I could and could not do, almost literally crossing out my qualifications to prove that something just wasn't all there. Still, I craved her approval and expertise throughout one of the most defining choices of my teenage years. Socially, I disguised my insecurities with extreme confidence and poise. I wanted to be known for anything in the world but my blindness. Truthfully, I wasn't even blind. I was a visually impaired girl who wouldn't use a cane because I was scared of what the cute boys would think. I say this now, and I am simply mortified. Back then, it was true. I worked out excessively to make sure I had everything else going for me because this prominent defect could only be overcome by excellence and exception in all other aspects of my life. Again and again, I sought thumbs-up from people that were supposed to matter. I pitied myself, but no one would have ever known. On the surface, I was a young independent woman with lots of sass and attitude. Internally, I struggled. Those repetitive experiences brought me to the lowest point. J.K. Rowling teaches us that rock bottom becomes the solid foundation on which one rebuilds his/her life. Stripping your core to the bare minimum requires grit, dedication, resilience, and most importantly, loving yourself. While I am not proud of some of the actions and choices I made, I am grateful for the wake-up call that allowed those lessons to leave a lasting mark on my character, pushing me toward maturity, authenticity, and true confidence. Had you known me six years ago, you probably could have never imagined me as a successful young adult with a bright and challenging career at a top management consulting firm or the national student president of the most powerful blindness advocacy organization in the world. Had I not encountered those years of struggle and pain, I would never be where I am today. And now, this idea of leadership and mentorship comes full circle as we reflect on the meaningful conversations we had today. We cannot create leaders without guidance from others. Whether formally or informally, those we look up to have a tremendous impact on our actions and decisions as we progress through our lives. So far this weekend our Virginia and Mississippi students have learned about branding themselves in a positive and powerful light, understanding that teams are made up of talent from all walks of life. Our national student leaders have learned that our actions are watched and admired. We discussed the idea of first impressions and how each motion we make can be scrutinized and observed by anyone at anytime. This makes me think of a special day in 2015. I was not yet on the NABS Board, and I was a sophomore at Wake Forest University. From a title perspective, I was nothing in the National Federation of the Blind. I was in the lobby of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Boston at the annual Massachusetts State Convention. As I was chugging down my much-needed coffee, an energetic and curious 18-year-old guy approached me. He was weirdly impressed that I was put together, smiling with my shoulders back and head held high and walking swiftly around the hotel confidently holding a straight white cane in my right hand. This young adult was impressed that I was carrying on with my day as anyone else would, but he was impressed because I was blind. This young man and I got to talking, and I learned that he was losing his vision faster than he could have even imagined or understood. He was frightened, his family was frightened, and he really thought that his chance of being successful was no longer feasible. These feelings of low self-worth hurt my heart so much. Even more, I felt the pain because I had known that same pain just years prior. So, how do we fix this pain? How do we, as leaders, leave lasting impressions on our youth so they not only understand, but truly believe that they are remarkable individuals with a shot at greatness? Each of us brings a unique perspective to the table. Some demonstrate leadership by example, others by gentle and intentional guidance, and some through encouraging reflection at the individual level. None of these approaches represent the gold star to leadership. For me, I am a direct and intentional leader, emphasizing accountability and growth. I set higher expectations for people than they do for themselves. I do this because I believe. I believe in pushing oneself to the next level because I want each of us to grab onto our untapped potential and thrive. When we don't have the internal strength to trust in our actions, we will never take risks and develop as ambitious young people. This young man in Massachusetts didn't believe in himself. In hearing him share his story with me, I saw a spark in him that radiated throughout our whole conversation. He wanted to be a lawyer, a father, and a husband; most importantly, he wanted to give back to this world. In losing his vision, he couldn't see how that was possible. I left an impression on him that gave him a glimpse of hope. Each of you have the ability to influence others, but that starts at your core. Three years later, I share this story with so much pride and joy in the young man that is still developing each and every day. He left his home state and local college to gain blindness skills at one of our NFB training centers. He flew across the country to give himself a chance at greatness. Now, he is a student at a top-notch school with a killer GPA. He is on his way to law school in the next year. Most significantly, he is giving back to our world in a way he never saw as possible. While the first encounter we had brought me sadness, it brought him a sense of hope. This guy, who is a year younger than me, encourages me every day to be more relaxed, less hard on myself, and to create spaces of greater openness. Each day, I teach him to be diplomatic, intentional in his words, and reflective in his actions. Each day, I am so grateful for that day in Massachusetts because it brought hope to someone I now call a brother. Syed Rizvi serves as first vice president of the largest student organization of blind people in the world. Our peer mentorship to each other brings a sense of challenge to both of us. It is stories like these that make me understand that our interactions leave lasting impacts on everyone; but it is on us to initiate those meaningful moments. The blindness journey isn't easy for anyone, but the power of unity and togetherness emphasizes how important it is to advocate for ourselves and others; to pave the path for every single blind person who may walk in the room right after you. We learn from Brad Paisley that "The world tries to clip your wings." The National Federation of the Blind makes sure you know that you won't let the world have that much control. Once, I was insecure and scared of tomorrow. Through my transition to accepting my blindness, I masked those insecurities with confidence. I pushed myself to come off as stronger than I felt inside. In doing so, I recognized my self- worth in a way that allowed others to believe it. In our organization, our family, we lean on each other for the pure sense of comfort we so deserve. And, we also learn from our NFB brothers and sisters that there is a world ahead of us that we must grasp onto and run with. Our dreams can start in this room tonight, but it is your ambitious attitude, bright mind, and dedicated soul that will bring these dreams full circle. I want to leave you with this piece of advice: be true to yourself, be curious about everything, and take risks. You define your future, and we are here to witness your achievements. I promise that the doubt that exists within you is felt by so many others. I also promise you that as we tear down society's misconceptions of blindness, those doubts will continue to diminish. Keep making me proud. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Julie Deden] Celebrating 100 Years of Success by Julie Deden From the Editor: Most of us know that Julie Deden is the director of the Colorado Center for the Blind. What may be less clear is who she is as a person. Julie has a son who is twenty-five years old. Dan Burke is her husband, and they married in 2016. She loves to read and go on long walks. She is as kind and gentle a person as you are likely to find, and her sense of commitment to everything she touches is evident. Here is what she has to say about the American Action Fund, an important anniversary, and a fine celebration to commemorate it. Do you know when the American Action Fund began distributing free Braille calendars? When you think about the American Action Fund, you probably think about that Braille calendar you've been receiving for so many years, or maybe you think about Twin Vision books. The latter is a story in itself, one we told at length in the May 2013 issue of the Braille Monitor. In 1919 the American Brotherhood for the Blind was founded by Florian Baker, a member of the Theosophical Society. His intent was to universally serve all blind people. At that time there were few programs for blind people, and it was nearly impossible to obtain any kind of Braille publication outside schools for the blind. One hundred years later, now known as the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (AAF), this organization has distributed thousands of Twin Vision books to blind children and adults, provided Braille books, and most recently has provided drawing kits to blind children so that they can create and access visual images tactilely. These are just a few of the programs that the American Action Fund has sponsored in the last century. Help us celebrate the AAF's centenary at our National Convention in Las Vegas. Immediately following the Braille Book Fair, we will host a carnival for everyone where you will learn more about the American Action Fund and its rich history, hear about other exciting programs that the Fund sponsors, and visit several booths to play games, win prizes, and meet special guests. We hope you are one of them! Who knows how long the Action Fund have been producing calendars? We won't make you wait till Las Vegas for the answer: they were first produced in 1964. ---------- Freedom Foundation Honors Twin Vision? From the Editor: Recognition for the work of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is nothing new. One event was recorded in the May 1969 issue of the Braille Monitor. We reprint part of that article here as we pave the way for a fine centennial celebration that will take place in July. Here is the way the article was introduced: [Editor's Note: The following story is reprinted from the Van Nuys (California) News and was written by the Assistant Editor of the News, Haig Keropian.] For its "heart" and latest contribution in bringing knowledge, understanding, and inspiration to the blind throughout the world, Twin Vision, an educational arm of the American Brotherhood for the Blind, today possesses the coveted George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. This honor-as well as the presentation of special Twin Vision awards to Mrs. Rockey (Jay) Spicer, first president of nine-year-old volunteer Twin Vision Action Committee, and William Schiffmacher, for his artistic contributions to the group-highlighted the organization's annual banquet. The Freedom Foundation medal was awarded for the Twin Vision production of the Constitution of the United States in Braille. It was presented to Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, blind president of the American Brotherhood for the Blind by Mrs. Theodore Flynn, a member of the awards committee, Los Angeles County Chapter, Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. In her presentation, Mrs. Flynn said that recipients of the George Washington Honor Medal are judged on the basis of "outstanding achievements in bringing about a better understanding of the American way of life." Since its inception, Twin Vision, which maintains its headquarters at 18440 Topham Street, Tarzana, has been cited on many occasions for its books which make it possible for sighted parents to share rewarding reading experiences with their blind children and vice versa. Twin Vision publications have been sent to schools for the blind, libraries, and homes throughout the nation and in many foreign countries. Twin Vision honors-the Golden Book Awards-were presented to Mrs. Spicer and Mr. Schiffmacher by Dr. Jernigan and Mrs. Jean Dyon Norris, founder and director of Twin Vision. The Braille production of the Constitution was sponsored by the Pilot Club of Van Nuys headed by Elizabeth Noble. Another highlight of the banquet was the presentation of the initial copy of the organization's new publication "The White Cane Story" to Mrs. Jacobus tenBroek, widow of the late blind president of the American Brotherhood for the Blind. Mrs. Norris said "The White Cane Story" is dedicated to Dr. tenBroek, whose inspirational guidance had made the publication of the book possible. Dr. tenBroek had taken part in all previous banquets of Twin Vision. His impressive record of courage and accomplishment continues to serve as an inspiration to both the blind and sighted. Reference to Dr. tenBroek's inspirational work was made by Mrs. Spicer during her acceptance of the Golden Book Award. She in turn was commended for her pioneering efforts with the volunteer Action Committee by Mrs. Norris. Tributes to the memory of Dr. tenBroek also were given by Dr. Jernigan, who referred to the significant value of the printed page to both sightless children and adults. He said the blind today are distinguishing themselves as students and in many professional areas of activity. Dr. Jernigan said that "blindness is not a great tragedy," and that the blind can overcome what he referred to as a "nuisance" handicap. He said the blind seek equal treatment and an equal share of community responsibilities, as well as an equal share in the rewards of community progress and development. "We have hope for the future and confidence in the present," Dr. Jernigan concluded. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Sassy Outwater-Wright poses for a photograph on a city street.] Kindness is Greater than Fear: Changing Access Denials by Finding the Roots of Conflict by Sassy Outwater-Wright From the Editor: Not too long ago I was directed to a blog article, and I liked it very much. I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to contact its author, but what do you know-she was a part of the National Federation of the Blind's Massachusetts convention. In this blog entry, which she modified slightly for our publication, Sassy talks about the problem in enforcing the rules about allowing guide dogs and rideshare companies. I observe that many people are angered when they are passed by, but remarkably few people are willing to complain using the monitoring tools we have in place, and still fewer are willing to tell drivers and providers when they have received good service. As you will soon see, guide dogs and ridesharing services are only a small part of Sassy's message. They provide the context for a more substantial lesson, one I hope you find as moving as I do. Here is the article: On my way home from work and medical misadventures in Boston one snowy January night, I had a long trip ahead and was eager to just collapse into my Lyft, pull out my laptop, and work on a presentation due the next day. I was not feeling well, it was bitterly cold, and I was in one of those take- no-crap-from-anyone moods, where the first wrong thing is instantly the last straw. So when my Lyft driver called and was having trouble finding my address and I talked him in by giving turn by turn instructions, I bit my lip and wanted to be wrong. But I couldn't ignore my hunch-this guy was going to try and refuse my guide dog. The only thing cuing me into that was his accent. Yep. I was going there, judging. And I hated myself for it. My bias was showing, and there was nothing good about it. There are several reasons I hear as to why drivers won't allow me to get into their vehicles with my guide dog. First is fear. They are scared of my dog. They're worried the dog will bite them or jump and distract them or ruin their car's interior. The next most common reason is an allergy. The ADA classifies allergies of life-threatening severity as another disability. So that's classified in Lyft and Uber policy to the drivers as "being able to perform essential job functions." They would have to take any passengers who presented themselves for transport. I can't drive because my eyes don't work; they don't give blind people driver's licenses. Some people cannot be that close to dogs. Similar consideration. Lastly, you get those who come from cultures or countries where dogs and people don't mix. Dogs are strays and attack people in many developing nations. Drivers have never heard of a service dog. Disabled individuals do not have access to the rights we do, so seeing someone out with a guide dog is a new experience for many drivers. Dogs are not in-home pets, and the concept of a service dog is one they don't understand and have probably never had a chance to learn about firsthand. Sure, they've read the paperwork and heard about it, but seeing a disabled person out on their own in public is different enough; seeing them with a service dog is incredibly hard to understand when the only thing you've seen dogs do where you are from is chase people and get into fights for scraps. My responses vary. Fear of my dog damaging vehicles or attacking people is laughable. Accidents happen once or twice in a working dog's career. I pay to have them cleaned, or, like any good dog handler/dog mom, have learned to leap twenty feet to catch all matter of bodily excretions in a relieving bag, which I can whip open in .2 nanoseconds if need be. I've done it in a dressing room while trying on bras. Nothing phases me, so no car is in danger from my dog. And my dog won't attack anyone. I'd never let someone hurt him to a point where he might feel he needed to defend himself, and he'd never think to do that, so it's not something I ever worry about. I've had nineteen years of dog handling experience at the level of dog training that might easily qualify me as a dog trainer. I can handle pretty much any situation and know what my dog is thinking. It's just a non-issue. While a non-issue for me, for someone terrified of dogs, all my assurances aren't going to do anything for them. There are those who argue but listen to reason, then there are those who just look for a fight. I've been refused rides so many times that I have gotten good at reading people from the moment they pull up-if they pull up at all. Some see me with my black Labrador guide in harness standing next to me and drive off before I can talk to them. Most say no and speed off. If they stay to argue, I can usually eventually get them to listen to reason. I don't like having to report them to Lyft because they will lose their access to drive. They'll lose their job. That doesn't feel good to anyone. But standing there in the cold with no ride because I'm blind and work with a guide dog doesn't feel good either. This gentleman had an Arabic accent. I know that sound anywhere, because I grew up surrounded by it. I grew up in an Arabic household, and I know the nuances of why many in Arab cultures fear dogs being too close to them. I should be the last person thinking that this man was going to refuse to transport my guide dog. Besides, I know how to explain it if it comes to that. They're not the ones I usually worry about, because I can talk to them. I can reason with them. The angry ones who won't listen a) don't have a particular ethnicity or country of origin despite popular harmful theory, and b) you can't reason with rage-fueled hate. This is just fear, I told myself. I "powered up" before striding toward the car, my guide dog working at my side. I call it powering up when I push past the emotions I'm feeling, the anger and the fear, because those won't get me anywhere in an advocacy situation, and it's not about me. When it's their fear or misunderstanding, it's about what I can offer to support and teach them, if they'll listen, and I'm in a place where I can offer. Like powering up battle armor or putting up an onstage persona, emotions aren't answers; they're pieces of data. I needed to be clinical and not center myself, even though I was the center of this possible access problem. His reaction to me was the crux of the problem. I can't change my blindness; he can change his perspective. I walked up to the car and put my hand on top of the passenger side window, which he had rolled down. And sure enough: "You're with the dog? I can't take you. I can't take the dog." "Federal and state law say that you must take me, this is a guide dog. If you do not take me, you may lose your job with Lyft." "That's okay. I'll lose my job. I can't take the dog." "Why?" "I'm scared. I can't take the dog. He will hurt me." "No, he won't hurt you. He is a trained guide dog." At this point, the passenger sitting in the back transferred to the front (it was a shared ride), and the driver watched as I pulled out my phone. "Either I call the police and report this to Lyft, or you let me and my guide dog get into your car and you take me home." I asked in Arabic: "Do you speak Arabic? Are you Muslim?" He answered with an emphatic "no" and kept insisting he couldn't take the dog; but he didn't pull away, and I could tell he didn't want me to call Lyft. He was torn. So eventually he let me get in, and my guide dog lay obediently on the floor under and behind my legs, where he couldn't reach the driver or sit up much because my legs were in his way. He snuggled up to my boots and was snoring a couple minutes after we got on the road. He was fast asleep and stayed that way the whole ride. My heart was racing though. I didn't know if this driver I just argued with was trustworthy or if I had just angered him. He could do anything to me. He dropped the other passenger off, and it was just us. I clutched my phone in my hands, thinking: "What will I text people if something goes very wrong?" I typed a quick text message to my husband that I was concerned for my safety. The moment the door closed behind the other passenger, it was like a light switched on. The driver looked back at me. "You speak Arabic?" he asked in Arabic, hopefully. It was an unspoken coded message between us, meaning: "Are you safe? Do you hate me because I'm Arab? Is it okay for me to be real and myself in front of you or will you treat me with hate and discrimination simply because I'm Arab?" I got it instantly and gave him the most genuine, kind smile I could find, not even knowing if his eyes were on the road or on me. "Yes, I do. I'm safe. You're okay." "Can I tell you why I'm so scared of your dog?" At my gentle nod, he launched into a halting half-English, half- Arabic tale of being bitten by a dog while he was working. A dog attacked him out of nowhere while he was making a delivery, and he needed many shots to recover from the attack. He was petrified, driving with my dog inches from him. I nodded my understanding and carefully explained the ADA. He asked about my upbringing and how I came to know how to explain disabilities and laws to him in Arabic? He also wanted to know why I was being kind and educating him? He was used to anger and hate from people. And he acknowledged that I had every right to be angry with him for his initial refusal to transport me with my service dog. I wrote another text to my husband to let him know I was fine; there would be no further worrying. I understood what had happened. The driver's explanation did not negate the argument we had earlier, but he was listening avidly to everything I said about guide dogs and the ADA. He was trying mightily to be brave enough to get me and my guide dog home because he respected that I deserved the same access to services as everyone else. No law can lessen his fear of my large dog though. Not after the horrific trauma he had experienced. So we were quietly empathetic to one another in that ride. And the shared cultural experience of both being aware of the hatred Arabs experience in America every day was the bridge that melted that initial tension and fear. We were instant friends and allies because both of us know what it is like to be so misunderstood and to fight for basic kindnesses every day of our lives. We talked for a long time as we inched through traffic-about Africa, religions, history, baby names, and choices of faith. I learned he was going to be a first-time father to a little baby boy in one week. We talked about good names. We talked about love, people, sacrifice, and kindness in how we listen to others and don't center ourselves when it's not about us, but about their emotions being the block to a resolution. When we pulled up to my house, I said: "I'm going to have my dog stand up and get out of the car behind you on the driver's side so he doesn't have to turn around. His face will be close to you, but I'll keep my hands here so he can't touch you. Is that okay?" To my surprise, he got out of the car and held the door open for me. "It's okay," I said. "He's going to jump out right there. You can back away so he isn't close to you. I've got him on his leash, see?" "It's safe. I'm safe with him, I know," he said, smiling. "He's nice. He's quiet. What's his name?" "Ferdinand." I slung my backpack across my shoulders, and Ferdie wagged at the driver in greeting but pulled on me. He was hungry, it was his dinnertime, and his house was right there! "Thank you," the driver said in Arabic. "You were very kind to me. I apologize. Thank you for teaching me and understanding why I was so scared." "You don't need to apologize for being afraid. You were willing to listen and be brave for me, and that is a great kindness. It's a law, but the kindness goes further tonight. I understand. I'm glad I could help you learn and help you understand my side of the story." We parted with a firm handshake and a smile, and I called back: "Enjoy your new little son soon, Baba!" Baba is the Arabic word for father. That simple encounter changed us both a little bit. It made me a better, more aware and empathetic and responsive advocate. And it taught my driver about guide dogs and that there are plenty of people who love having men like him here in this country, no matter where they come from, because they are kind and brave. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dennis Miller] Big Opportunities in a Small Town: Thinking Outside the Box by Dennis Miller From the Editor: Missouri is a rural state with a lot of farmland and many small towns separated by a considerable distance. In most of these there is no bus service, no taxicabs, and though you can bring up the rideshare app of your choice, there simply are no rides to be had. It is a given for people who live in a small town that one will have a car or a pickup truck that they can drive, so many people who are blind take as an article of faith the idea that the only way for us to be independent is to move to a place large enough to meet our basic transportation needs. Although for many this is a choice, for some it is not. Perhaps they are unwilling to part from the family support which is the primary focus of their lives. Some blind people are themselves the support for their loved ones as they take care of older parents or siblings who cannot take care of themselves. So what do you do when you've gone through school, have gotten rehabilitation money to get a college degree, and find yourself in a small town here in Missouri? The answer to this question can be found in part in the presentation made to the convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri on March 23, 2019, by Dennis Miller, a member of the Missouri affiliate who is blind and significantly hard of hearing. In these remarks he provides concrete examples of how he has managed to get work and some uncomfortable examples of why we sometimes fall short of the goal he has achieved. Push for what you want, but don't just wait; do what you can until you can do what you want to do. The need to survive should make this clear, but sometimes programs that are intended as a safety net end up being a lifeboat. The problem is that a lifeboat is never intended to be a vessel on which someone lives permanently. It is way too small and has none of the necessities most of us require and take for granted. Over time that lifeboat is transformed from a safe refuge to a prison, and far too often we don't realize that we are making a choice to stay in it. Staying in the lifeboat occurs when we decide to give up on seeking employment or pretend to ourselves that there are just so many choices out there that we can't bring ourselves to make one. Here is what Dennis said about finding employment where he wants to live as a part of living the life he wants: Thank you, President Wright. What an honor it is for me to be here among you folks today. This is only my second National Federation of the Blind convention, and I'm very much enjoying it. I've known Shelia Wright for almost thirty years now, and when we first met it was at an agency called Blind Focus. While I was a student there, and I was going through a lot of difficult adjustments, this lady was kind enough to shepherd me through all of it. Ever since that point, when she has asked me to do something, I've asked three questions: when, where, and how much am I getting paid? After a few years I realized that the answer to the third question wasn't going to change, so now I just ask when and where. I want to talk briefly today about my experience living in a small town and being employed. The residents of my small town may not like some of the things I say, but so be it. Actually Kirksville is a very small community of 17,000 people. It's ninety miles to the north of Columbia, and some of you in your lifetime have probably had the misfortune of traveling through it on your way to somewhere else. Kirksville is one of these towns where once you've gone to the Walmart supercenter, you've about seen everything. But Kirksville is my home. It is where I was born and raised. It is where I went to school as a totally blind person and graduated from the university there. When I graduated from Truman State University, the district supervisor for Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (who has since been put out to pasture) told me that if I ever wanted to be employed, I had to leave Kirksville. He said there was absolutely nothing for me and Kirksville. For a while I thought he might be right. I graduated with a degree in broadcast communications and minored in political science. I spent several years living out my dream in radio, but I left radio because there was very little money in it, and unfortunately there's very little need for humans anymore. It's become almost totally automated. I worked several years in the independent living industry, and I wanted to do something different. I really liked the idea of thinking outside the box, maybe doing some things on my own. And I think this may be the major focus of my talk today. Sometimes when you live in a small community, opportunities come down and hit you on the head. If you are there, and if you're willing, you can take advantage of them. The first opportunity I was given was to spend six years as a contract Braille instructor for an entity over in Milan, Missouri, which is even smaller than our town of Kirksville. Milan is about thirty-five miles to the west. Some of you may remember the young man I helped, because he won an NFB scholarship and took that on to Northwest Missouri State University where he graduated with honors. He's now married and very happy and very gainfully employed. So I was given an opportunity that required my being in the right place at the right time and being willing to think outside the box, being willing to do something that I couldn't imagine myself doing. I never thought of being a teacher. I hated school. But being a teacher was what I've been in one form or another since 2000. My experience with the Braille instructor position led to a contract with TAPI [the Telecommunications Program for Internet], a wonderful program operated by the Missouri Assistive Technology Project that provides equipment and instruction to help blind people get on the internet. But after you do so much training in a small town like Kirksville, you run out of people who need it. The next question I asked myself was where am I going from here? In the summer of 2006 I happened to overhear a conversation among parents who had blind children who were being homeschooled. The state of Missouri had already passed a law that requires all graduating seniors to have a working knowledge of the state and the United States constitutions. That applies to everyone, whether you are in a public school or being educated in a private or homeschool. These parents were commiserating among themselves, saying, "We don't think we know enough to be able to teach this. We don't have the skills. What are we going to do? We barely understand the Constitution ourselves. How are we going to teach these crucial documents to our children?" One of the parents said, "I think Dennis has a background in political science." That piqued their interest, and they turned to me and said, "Would you be interested in teaching a civics class for children who are homeschooled, both middle school and high school students?" My first thought was that I had never taught a group before, but almost immediately my second was that I would certainly give it a try. They also said, "While you're teaching that, would you mind teaching a public speaking course?" So that's how my experience in teaching large groups of kids went, teaching civics and public speaking. I developed my own way of teaching civics because there was no set formula. I wasn't in a public classroom; I was in a private setting where I could kind of do my own thing. I decided that instead of using a textbook, I would teach directly from the documents themselves. This means that I taught directly from the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Missouri Constitution. I had a lot of success with that. The kids seemed to like that it was very interactive. They were encouraged to ask questions and to venture answers. We came to Jefferson City every year to meet with their senators and representatives. One year we had a particular representative who took a strong interest in our class. I can't remember the issue (I suspect it was not a major one), but it was up for a vote. Our representative walked over to the kids and said, "How should I vote on this?" They listened to the debate, they told him, and then they were able to see him go vote in the way they had suggested. That may have been how he was going to vote anyway, but it was a different way of doing things that said to them that what they thought mattered. This year is actually the first year I have not taught that civics class because, through my teaching of that, I have built a reputation as a good teacher. So when the city of Kirksville got a grant for this teaching of English as a second language, they turned to me, and I accepted. We have two manufacturing plants, one in Milan and one in Kirksville. Many of their employees are from African speaking nations as well as some Latin American nations. We have people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, the Ivory Coast, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, Venezuela, Panama, and Puerto Rico. There are a wide variety of people, but it works. I happen to go to church with the lady who is responsible for that grant, and I asked her "How do you do that?" She said, "What we really need are volunteers who are willing to talk to the adults. Dennis, you would be perfect at that because you have such a strong curiosity and interest. I think it is something that you would really enjoy, and they would enjoy you." I promised her that I would give it a try. For those of you who don't know, I do have some hearing difficulties. I have a cochlear implant which I got a couple years ago, but I wasn't quite sure how it would work out. I said, "Okay, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I will give it a try." I started the job in January of 2018, and they kept asking me to increase my hours. I started out doing this just one day a week, and that went until the end of the school year. They then wrote my position into the grant so that I could teach more hours and actually get paid. The request to increase my hours has continued, and it has been the most rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. I love every second of it. I would not trade it for the world. So why do I bring all this up? I bring it up because when I came to my first convention in 2006, I didn't know I could've imagined my doing any of those things. I was not a teacher. I knew nothing about teaching. I didn't even like books unless I was reading them for myself for pleasure. The point that I have come here to make is that we need to be willing to think outside the box. When an opportunity comes your way, don't be afraid to say, hey, I'd like to try that. A lot of times what happens is that we go to school, we get a degree, and we don't find a job within a certain amount of time in the area in which we got our degree. We then give up. Yes, the unemployment rate among blind people and people with disabilities in general is extremely high. Some of that is because we are not given the opportunities that we deserve, but, in my opinion, some of that is that we don't take advantage of all the opportunities that are out there. [applause] You know, if someone said, "Dennis, do you want to collect trash out of the street?" I would have to admit that that is not a job that I would really want to do, but keep in mind that somebody has to do it. When I started as a civics teacher, it was as a volunteer. The same is true for the ESL class. As I said, they then rolled me into the grant so that I can get paid. Now maybe I didn't want to start out as a volunteer, but they needed the work done, and I wanted the challenge. Had I not taken that opportunity, someone else would've. That somebody else would now be written into their grant, and I would not be working every week. So my real point in all of this is that when you are looking for a job, be willing to explore-be willing to explore, be willing to experiment, be willing to try something different. If I had an advanced bachelor's degree in chemistry and I couldn't find a job in chemistry, I'd probably be upset, but it really comes down to do you want to work or do you want to stay at home? Sometimes I think we limit ourselves because we're not willing to think outside the box. We too often tell ourselves that we are above this job, or this job isn't what I want. I know that when I graduated from college, if you would have come to me and asked if I wanted to teach immigrants English, I would've said absolutely not. No way! But as I said, this has become the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life, and it is now something I would not trade for the world. I leave you with this plea and challenge: be willing to try, be willing to expand your horizons, be willing to dream, be willing to go into an area that is outside your comfort zone. I had never been around immigrants before; I told you I live in Kirksville, Missouri. I didn't even know we had immigrants. I just assumed somebody else did all of those factory jobs. But these people have become some of my best friends. I am extremely comfortable around them, and they are very comfortable around me. They look at me outside of the classroom as somebody they can rely on to help them if they get in a difficult position. But again that is an opportunity that, had I not been willing to take that chance and take that risk, would've gone to somebody else. Don't limit yourself. Never think that something isn't right for you until you have taken the opportunity to try it. It's okay to try it and not like it. I did not particularly enjoy working in the independent living center-it wasn't my thing. I did it because it was a job, and I needed to work. How do you know if you don't like something until you try it? Some of you in here may remember a man named Casey Kasem. He's probably too old for some of you. Back when I was a small boy, Casey Kasem had a weekly show on the radio called America's Top Forty. He always ended the show with the same signature line, and I'm going to end my presentation in the same way. "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Joe Orozco] Facts about Blindness ... According to Me by Joe Orozco From the Editor: The following is taken from the Vigilant, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia. Many of its articles are good reads, but we highlight this one in particular. Joe Orozco originally published this in his blog. He is the editor of the newsletter, and here is his offering: What have you always wanted to know about blind people but were always too afraid to ask? My thoughts are not the definitive view on the subject. Contrary to popular assumption, we're not all related to each other, and our opinions are as diverse as the people that make up this small segment of society. Still, it's a good start. Will it offend you if I refer to you as blind? Actually, "blind" is preferable to visually challenged, seeing impaired, sight handicapped or any of a growing combination of politically correct terms. These attempts at politeness are fumbling conversation starters and only confuse the bottom line that I can't see as well as you can. There was a point when the fact that I am not totally blind would have prompted me to correct another person's understanding of my visual acuity, but let's start with blind and then work our way into color, lighting, and depth. Has your hearing improved to compensate for the loss of your sight? A person may concentrate more on his hearing when the eyes don't work, but concentration is a far cry from the pinpoint-sonar people attribute to blindness. Actually, my hearing feels below average compared to what I notice other people pick up. Whatever you do, please do not ever go to the other extreme and raise your voice at me. I'm an easygoing person, but my cane may find its way to your ankle at high velocity. What, I'm blind, and you were in my way! For what it's worth, my sense of smell also seems supremely underwhelming. What is one of the most misunderstood aspects about blindness? "Blind people are so cool because they don't judge others by appearance..." Yeah right. First, appearance has more to do with overall presence, not just physical characteristics. Second, we're every bit as observant as anyone else, and while my ears and nose may not be anything to write home about, I would have never dated a girl whose voice got on my nerves or whose body odor made my skin crawl. Also, don't be surprised if we ask our sighted friends to give us their assessment of you. I would have personally not have taken a friend's opinion at face value, but if enough people pointed to the same flaws, I might start believing-where there's smoke, there's fire, and all that. Rest assured your judgment of me will never measure up to the harsh criticisms of a fellow blind person... What advice would you give to someone who's just lost their sight? Blindness is pretty dull as far as disabilities go. Maybe it's a matter of perception, but I would think we'd be far worse off if we could not hear, walk on two legs, or labored with a mental illness that prohibited traditional interaction. No doubt there are representatives of these conditions who would tell you their life is every bit as fruitful as ours and list ways they too are misunderstood. See what I mean about blind people and prejudice? My point is that, assuming blindness is the only characteristic, your life will shift to new ways of doing things, but it's hardly a dramatic alteration. Did you see that movie? Wait, sorry, did you hear it? Let's not get hung up on semantics. Yes, I saw the Harry Potter movies, at least the first three, and I don't know that the British did the stories justice. Think of it a different way: I'm pretty sure deaf people could be backhanded as much for what they say as what they sign. Do you ever get depressed because of your blindness? I went through my brief periods of depression. I went from good sight to nearly nothing and am therefore aware of what I lost. I don't know that I ever felt overwhelmed. I had good teachers, high parental expectations, and enough blind role models among peers to know things would ultimately be okay. That is not always the case, and if you are one who still struggles with your condition, drop me a note. We'll talk through it. Don't get me wrong. You never stop wishing you could drive a car or see the faces of loved ones. With time you learn to cope and find other ways of enjoying similar sentiments. When the day comes that I am totally blind, I will come back and reread this passage, and I'll do my best to remember that things did not go completely off the rails when I first started noticing the deterioration of my sight when I was a kid. I have had so many great experiences and have met so many great people that I would otherwise have never met if I weren't blind. If you could undergo a surgical procedure to restore your sight, would you? Any surgical procedure has risks. I could gamble away what little sight I have left, and to take the leap of faith would suggest I am dissatisfied with my current condition. I would give it long thought but would probably pass. How do you cross lighted intersections without help? When I had Gator, my first Seeing Eye dog, people assumed it was the dog that did the intelligent crossing. I suppose there could be a way to get around the color blindness, but I am alive today mostly owed to my own common sense and good education. At its simplest, you cross with parallel traffic, which is to say the flow of traffic moving in the same direction as you. There are complicated intersections where the traffic flows aren't as straightforward as east/west immediately following north/south, or streets crossing at a slant as is true of downtown DC, and in those cases I don't mind standing at the corner studying the pattern until I feel comfortable enough to venture out. I may look foolish standing out there on the corner, but at least I'll be around to enjoy people's comments about my foolishness. Eventually I walk a route enough times to measure the distance between lights, and if I'm in a hurry, I may start paying attention to my parallel traffic halfway down the block to get a rough sense of how much time I have to cross when I arrive at the corner. Regardless of the intersection, I've learned not to follow the flow of pedestrians. Too many people cross on red lights, and I am not one of those people who would jump off a bridge if all my friends got together and decided to do so. For your reference, guide dogs do not know when to cross an intersection; however, they do know how to intelligently disobey their handler. A guide dog will not cross a street if it sees an oncoming vehicle. It will not deliberately walk a pedestrian off a train platform. Now, one could argue these skills can be attributed to superb training, and maybe that is true. Yet I'm thinking the dog is invested in its own survival. We just happen to be holding its harness. What are some of the social aspects of being blind you wish people understood? Speaking for myself, I don't really look forward to buffet lines. Independence is partially about looking graceful, and in my opinion there is nothing graceful about feeling around for serving spoons and running the risk of dipping a finger in the casserole, embarrassing yourself and making the other guests feel dubious about where your fingers may've been. There are methods to handling such tasks of course. You could move your hand inward over the table surface, find the rim of the dish, and move around its edge until you find the utensil. I paid attention in my independent living classes. Yet independence is also about seizing conveniences, so you could also just ask someone to help load your plate and go on about your business. I feel far more confident about carrying a tray and drink to my table than I do about navigating someone else's logic about the way dishes should be laid out. I walk fast when I walk alone. In fact I experience my own version of pedestrian's sidewalk rage, but I feel slow and stumbling when walking with someone else because my attention is divided between carrying a conversation and stopping myself from colliding with a lamppost. In some cases I would rather walk with a hand on the person's elbow to ensure the smooth continuity of both our conversation and our journey. This is especially true in crowded restaurants. Something else that comes to mind is my attitude about how the rest of the world perceives me. As I grow older it matters less. If truth be told it probably never mattered enough, but there was a point when I wondered about the stain on my shirt or the syrup on my cheek or the rip in my jeans. If you saw either on a fellow sighted person, you would attribute it to laziness or wouldn't think of it at all. If you saw this on a blind person, however, your first thought might be that it was because the person was blind. I'd like you to point it out to me in the spirit of open communication. No one likes to walk around attracting the wrong kind of attention, but don't be surprised to discover that I can be every bit as careless or clumsy as you. When you see me board a train or bus, it'd be nice if you offered me the seat near the door. I will turn you down, but it's the thought that counts. My independence will not be threatened by the same type of courtesy I would extend if I were sighted and came upon a blind person. To that end, I may not always take advantage of the discounts and freebies offered to senior citizens and persons with disabilities. If I don't, chalk it up to a desire to equally contribute to society and not because I am an ungrateful person. I worked hard to be a taxpayer. How do you handle household chores as a blind person? When I cook I first ensure the location of all supplies and ingredients. I memorize the heat level for the dial positions on the stove and oven. I use a fork to test the state of cooking meat or vegetables. I also listen for changes in the way the food sizzles to gauge states of readiness. There are tactile dots on the microwave and other appliances with touch screens. I now rely on my iPhone to keep track of time and will probably use the iPhone in the future to find recipes. Otherwise, I follow basic safety steps like using oven mitts when pulling pans from the rack. If I don't cook more often, it's partially because I'm a perfectionist, and what should take an hour to prepare often takes me two. Blind or sighted, nothing works better in cooking than tasting the meal in progress. The proper way for a blind person to sweep a floor is to do so in bare feet. The idea is that you can feel whether or not you are catching all the dirt and grime. I'm not above such strategies. I just find vacuums much faster. I periodically check with my hand if a wooden floor seems fine. Carpets are a little more difficult, but the way that usually works for me is to vacuum in continuous patterns to ensure every inch is covered at least three times. The same is true of scrubbing tubs, cleaning toilets, wiping counters, and washing dishes. Laundry is straightforward. For the moment I can still distinguish colors, but when I can no longer do so, I have different baskets for lights and darks. I've marked the machines. My stepmother would be disappointed to learn I no longer iron as often as I did in high school or even college, but that too is a process of orientation and using your hands to smooth, flatten, and iron in patterns for equal coverage. Remodeling is also doable. There are blind people far more handy with tools than I will ever be, so let's just be clear then when I say "remodeling," in my case it means moving furniture up and down stairs, into and out of trucks, and from one end of the house to the other. My point here is that blind people are not inept, can lift heavy objects, and are perfectly capable of helping you move. Until then, is there anything I missed? Or, is there something I got wrong? That's technically impossible since so much of what I wrote is subjective, but alternative views are always welcomed in the comments. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ann Cunningham] Opening New Doors in Tactile Art with the Help of Arts in Society by Ann Cunningham From the Editor: Ann Cunningham is an artist with a significant reputation, but most of her career accomplishments of late have been found in introducing blind people to the world of art. She has been a pioneer in working on techniques that allow her to share one of her significant life interests with people who are generally not thought to be capable of enjoying or participating in art. Here is what she has to say about a recent grant received in recognition of the work she is doing: This year I am celebrating my twentieth anniversary of teaching art at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB). As I inch toward retirement, I was concerned that the art program would fade away if I didn't take some action to make sure that a succession plan was in place. To me, this meant that I needed to find a teacher to take the program over after I left. When I first came to the Center in 1998, I was seeking help with a public art commission at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs. My only concern was to make a good piece of art that was also accessible and meaningful to students. I found the folks at the Colorado Center were happy to help me with critical advice about my approach to my project. I was also introduced to a student who was in the middle of a complex project. He was creating a tactile map of a large hotel in Atlanta, the site of the National Federation of the Blind Convention in 1999. This student asked if I could read floor plans. And so my education began. David James, the student I was working with, clearly instructed me as we made stairs out of popsicle sticks: "Ann, make a set of stairs. Now close your eyes and make another set and pay attention to how you do it. Make as many as you need to until you figure out what you are doing. Next tell me." That was the beginning and has remained the foundation of how I teach. I learned about how genuine accessibility and effective communication can create an inclusive learning environment. The next year I offered to teach. For many years I was just trying to find the edge of the envelope of what kind of art my students could make. We never did find that limit, and I now know that people who are blind are no more limited in their potential than a person with sight. Creative vision does not discriminate! When I heard about the Arts in Society grant, I couldn't help but think that this might enable me to explore the idea of offering training to a person who was interested in teaching art who was blind. I had a student in mind, and I wrote the grant. Her name is Jenny Callahan, and she had gone blind overnight about two years before I met her in my art class. She had just recently graduated from the Center when this opportunity presented itself. We were awarded the grant in 2017, and the adventure began. It was not easy for Jenny and me to form this new partnership. This is where the true value of the grant became apparent: I felt a huge obligation to make it work or give it back. So when we ran into an obstacle, we would collect ourselves and try again. Our big breakthrough came when I finally understood that even though she did indeed want to teach art, she had her own ideas about what she'd teach and how she was going to go about it! It seems funny, looking back now, that the key trait that anyone needs in the arts is creative thought, and that was what was getting in our way. Once I understood that I could best serve our goals by guidance and not instruction, we made headway. We began seeking out specific information to help Jenny accomplish her goals. This has taken the form of offering and taking workshops. We have also been able to order tools and materials for new techniques of art making for community projects. The Arts in Society also allowed Jenny to test her abilities when she was able to conceive of and organize a large community project in Orlando, Florida, at the National Federation of the Blind Convention. She invited anyone interested to stop by and contribute as much or as little as they wanted in the construction of a huge colorful octopus, "Calypso." It was then displayed in the main convention hall where 3,000 attendees could appreciate the work of their cohorts. During this grant we have had the chance to work with Marie Gibbons to learn hand-built clay techniques. Jenny is working with an intern from Katie Caron's ceramic class at Arapahoe Community College to set up the art room at the Center so that Jenny can offer wheel-thrown pottery instruction. We took a class on costuming from Virgil Ortiz at the Colorado Fine Arts Center. Now we are getting ready to take an anatomy class from the Zahourek Systems Anatomy in Clay learning series. These opportunities were made possible by the grant and are essential in building Jenny's repertoire of creative options. Our community is growing. Just as I was instructed by my first student, all my students became my instructors. Jenny is now teaching 3D sculpture at CCB on Fridays. She is offering paper m?ch?, chicken-wire float sculptures, alabaster stone carving, hand-building clay techniques, wax sculpture to be cast in bronze, and whatever else she cares to do! Soon she will also be able to offer wheel-thrown ceramics! I am teaching a twenty-three-week program to all the students at the Center on tactile drawing. It includes concepts of perspective, drafting and STEM illustrations (charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams), as well as creative self-expression. And the great news is I am working with a staff member from the Center who is proving to be an adept teacher herself as she quickly learns the concepts and then assists me in teaching. My fingers are crossed that she will be interested in continuing! This Arts in Society grant continues to make an impact every Tuesday and Friday in art classes at the Colorado Center for the Blind, and on the third Tuesday evening of each month at Tactile Art Club. If you would like to stop by and observe either class, please contact me at: acunningham at cocenter.org to make arrangements. Or if you would like to join us for Tactile Art Club please send me your email address, and we will send you an invitation with times and location. Everyone is welcome! Marie Gibbons: http://www.mariegibbons.com Katie Caron: http://katiecaron.com/About Virgil Ortiz: http://virgilortiz.com Zahourek Systems: https://www.anatomyinclay.com ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Nancy Burns] The Power of Love and Commitment by Nancy Burns From the Editor: Nancy Burns is well known to readers of the Braille Monitor. She has a life filled with rich experiences, and what is so fantastic for readers of the Braille Monitor is that she knows how to share them. Here is what she has to say about her public education and the role that Dr. Isabelle Grant played in it: Commitment is a commonly used word in today's vocabulary. Television commercials may boast of a commitment to giving the buyer the best deal if you purchase a car from this dealership. Banks or loaning agencies may boast of being committed to providing customers with the best rates. Every business, from grocery stores to shoe stores, may boast of their commitment to providing customers with the lowest price. All of these promises seem to dilute the true meaning of commitment since they are tossed around so frequently and casually. The National Federation of the Blind exemplifies the true meaning of commitment. This organization, which stretches from coast to coast and from Alaska to Puerto Rico, provides sincere commitment to the blind, visually impaired, and to their friends and family. At the root of this commitment is a philosophy, the cornerstone of which is the belief that blind people will lead happy and productive lives if they have a positive attitude and the proper training. The best way for this writer to explain commitment is to share some of my own personal experiences. At the age of eleven I suddenly lost my vision as the result of a traumatic injury to both eyes. This took place in Southern Missouri, where I grew up and attended school. My parents knew nothing about blindness and mostly survived on denial and were certain that the next of numerous surgeries would restore my vision. This, however, did not happen. A representative from our local school board visited and told us about a school for the blind in St. Louis. I was sent, although reluctantly, to this school, and that was the best thing that ever happened. It became the beginning of the belief in myself as I saw active blind students. They roller skated, swam, and carried around large Braille books which were used to do their homework assignments. Shortly after enrolling, I was taught Braille, and I soon found that I too could skate, swim, and read my assignments in Braille. As I was ready to begin the tenth grade, my mother told my sister and me that we were moving to California. We were not pleased with this decision, but the move was made. It was assumed that I would again attend a school for the blind, but this was not the case. We were living in the Los Angeles area, and the California School for the Blind was in Northern California. This transition in my life was yet another important turning point. I was enrolled in a large, metropolitan high school in Los Angeles. This move forced me to adjust from the segregated school for the blind to the "real" world of sighted students. This is where I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Isabelle Grant. I find it difficult to verbalize the right words to express the important role she played in my life. She was a tiny bundle of energy who said that she was Scottish, not Scotch. She explained that Scotch was something one might drink. Dr. Grant had been the principal of a large school in Los Angeles until she lost her sight as the result of glaucoma. She was then placed in a resource room in the school I attended. This was way below her qualifications, but her impact on the blind students who returned from the classroom to that resource room was nothing short of phenomenal. If I asked her the meaning of a word, she didn't stop at the definition but would tell me the derivation. She also strongly encouraged me to take the college prerequisites. Prior to her encouragement, I had no intention of attending college, and, without her support, I doubt that I would have gone on to UCLA. Much of who I became and who I am is the result of my association with Dr. Isabelle Grant. She opened my mind to possibilities that I might never have considered without her encouragement. She was truly a huge influence in my life. In addition to her academic support, she began speaking to me about this organization of blind people. She invited me to her home one Friday evening, and I just went because she wanted me to do so. I was only a high school student, and the picture I had of this meeting I would attend was this room full of blind people, and most likely old blind people. Some of these attendees were possibly in their 40s or even 50s while I was a kid of only seventeen. With her white cane she took us by bus through busy Friday evening Los Angeles traffic to her home. Blind men and women began arriving, and I met mechanics, homemakers, social workers, and office workers. During a break Dr. Grant served tea and cookies. What an eye-opener this all was. No pun intended. This was the beginning of a true commitment to me on the part of Dr. Isabelle Grant. No other individual has ever affected my life in such a positive manner. She encouraged me and began filling me with NFB philosophy. What an awesome honor for me to have her guidance. After graduating from high school, I met several college students, and once again the name National Federation of the Blind popped up. I found myself in the student's group and even became president. This was the first of many positions I have held within the NFB. It was also another lesson in the true meaning of commitment. Students supported one another in many areas of life, and during these years the influence of Dr. Grant was again felt. She spoke with students and discussed the importance of organizing and of the affect that Dr. tenBroek was having on the blind population. She told us about the work at state and national conventions and encouraged students to become involved. As a blind teacher she led the movement in California to remove the vision requirement for teachers. She put forth the argument that, as long as an applicant was otherwise qualified, there should be no vision test required. With her support a law was passed revoking the controversial vision requirement. I moved to San Francisco and completed my bachelor's degree in sociology at San Francisco State. Good fortune continued to follow me since that was where I met Laurence (Muzzy) Marcelino, another dynamic leader in the National Federation of the Blind. I joined the local San Francisco chapter and demonstrated my own commitment to growing the NFB. After completing my bachelor's degree, I returned to Los Angeles and became even more involved in the movement. Since this organization had become a huge part in my training, I became totally involved and organized several local chapters. Even after marriage and having two sons, my commitment to the NFB continued to grow. I remember bundling my babies up, and my husband and I took them to chapter meetings. I began attending state and national conventions and was elected to the California Board of Directors in the 1970s. My husband and I divorced, and I gained full custody of my boys. I was hired by the California State Department of Rehabilitation and maintained my involvement in the National Federation of the Blind. In 1993 my life took yet another huge turn while attending the national convention in Dallas, Texas. It was there that I met Don Burns, a gentleman who asked me to dance with him at a huge barbecue. He was involved, although recently, in the NFB. Don was in the process of losing his vision, his wife, and at the same time he was struggling with his future. He was from New Mexico and had connected with Fred Schroeder and Adelmo Vigil, who became his mentors. We connected immediately, and three months later Don and I were married. Don told me about an opening at the commission for the blind training center, where he was working as a cane travel instructor. While still working in California, I had completed my master's degree in Counseling and Psychology and was not certain as to where I wanted to work. I applied for the position of independent living instructor and was accepted and moved to New Mexico. Besides our love for one another, we both shared a commitment to the National Federation of the Blind. He confided that after losing his job in the field of construction for many years, then losing his wife, he had struggled until he met members of the organization. Our love for one another, along with our commitment to the organization, has continued to develop and grow. After working for the commission for the blind for a year, Don and I moved to Burbank, California, where I still owned property. We both maintained our involvement in the NFB. Don was appointed to the position of legislative director by then NFBC president, Jim Willows. He worked for several years on legislation, and his work was instrumental in creating Braille and math standards for blind students in the state. I was elected state president in 2000 and served until 2006. Following my service we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We, of course, maintained our commitment to the Federation. It is my sincere hope that I have been able to give to others even a small portion of the gift which was given to me by Dr. Isabelle Grant. She was the epitome of love and commitment, and her influence is still felt within the movement. The best way for me to describe the influence of Dr. Isabelle Grant on my life is to quote some words from Eleanor Roosevelt: "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart". ---------- Seminar for Computer Beginners by Curtis Chong From the Editor: It is instructive to look back, sometimes several decades, and see what we were working on and how what we do has evolved. Here is an article run in May of 1989 talking about these devices called personal computers and the software that made them usable by the blind, software known as screen review software. When did we evolve to calling this software a screen reader? I should remember, having been in the field and likely at the meeting, but I don't. Enjoy: Have you ever thought about buying a computer? Perhaps you are one of those people who is being required to learn how to use a computer, either at work or at home. Maybe you are just one of the many confused and frustrated individuals who have heard that computers are simply marvelous! You've started thinking about getting one for yourself, perhaps, but you find that there is so much information available about hardware, software, screen review programs, and the like as to daunt even the most determined computer neophyte. What kind of computer should you buy? IBM? Apple? Another brand? What is a good word processor? What is the best screen review program? What should you buy if you want to communicate with other computer systems over the phone? And then, once you have a computer, what is the best way to go about learning how to use it? Well, the National Federation of the Blind in Computer Science is conducting a Seminar for Computer Beginners at this year's National Convention to deal with the concerns, questions, and frustrations of people just like you. Although we don't guarantee to answer all of your questions about computers, we will certainly try to deal with as many concerns and questions as we can. We may even have some interesting computer hardware for you to look at, and you won't be bothered by someone who is trying to sell you something. The seminar will be held on Monday, July 3, [1989] from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., somewhere in the headquarters hotel. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Jim Marks] Shaking Things Up by Jim Marks From the Editor: Jim Marks is a stalwart Federationist of many years. He currently serves as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana. Professionally, Jim served as the director of disability services for students at the University of Montana for twenty-one years and as the Montana director of vocational rehabilitation for seven years. He currently owns and operates the firm, The Blind Grizzly/Jim Marks Consulting, and he is writing an historical fiction novel based on his ancestors' experiences in nineteenth-century Montana. The State of Montana hired me in January 2010 to serve as its director of vocational rehabilitation in order to shake things up. Here is my story. Quality vocational rehabilitation changes lives. Most mistakenly believe the services focus on employment, but the deep story is one of civil rights. Civil rights always speak to the self-determination of individuals who face limitations and denials of choice. For people with disabilities, as with other oppressed groups, the barriers come from outside of ourselves as well as within. Vocational rehabilitation services primarily address the internal oppression. When vocational rehabilitation functions as it should, it achieves success when those it serves believe in themselves. Good services guide, and clients decide. All people with disabilities want to live the lives we want, and services grounded in high expectations leverage the change that leads to employment. When the public vocational rehabilitation program performs as Congress intends, its outcomes are stunningly beautiful. Forged in the letter and spirit of civil rights, vocational rehabilitation empowers people with disabilities to take control over our own lives and our services. The Rehabilitation Act and its amendments assert bedrock American values such as the values of informed choice, competitive integrated employment, and the priority for those with the most significant disabilities. Underlying the entire construct is a very simple premise: Believe in yourself and what you can do. Here is the thing: such powerful transformative beliefs come from the National Federation of the Blind. For many decades, the fingerprints of Federation leaders show up all over our nation's public vocational rehabilitation program. No bread is baked without a persuasive philosophy, and the Federation finds the high marks for what blind people can do. Federation leadership goes well beyond blindness as it lifts the aspirations of all people with disabilities. Additionally, the Federation possesses the grit and know-how to bake the bread for ourselves and others. Time and time again, the Federation relentlessly brings down barriers and engages everything necessary to leave our world better off than we found it. Unfortunately, even the clearest and most compelling of ideas become obscured in day-to-day struggles. The public vocational rehabilitation program sometimes loses its way. One distraction comes from the dense set of written and unwritten rules under which vocational rehabilitation operates. Many policies and practices cause the program to focus on budgets over people or to adopt top-down medical models. One can see the negative results of such follies by examining the employment outcomes. For many decades, vocational rehabilitation failed to budge negative unemployment and under-employment rates of those served. That is why Montana hired me to shake things up. However, the demand for corrections in the public vocational rehabilitation program erupted everywhere. It was not about me. Rather, it was about us. Together, we need to figure out public policies and practices that deliver positive change and better outcomes. In 2014 Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act with the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). As soon as former President Obama signed the bipartisan bill into law, it launched massive changes. In fact, the WIOA amended the Rehabilitation Act 100 times. Most of these amendments were so sweeping, experts declare that the vocational rehabilitation of today bears only passing resemblance to the program that led up to the WIOA. Just to focus on one of the changes, the WIOA emphasizes services for youth. The law earmarks significant federal funds solely for brand-new services designed to prepare young people for transition to post-secondary education and work. Federationists embrace the concentration on youth because that kind of attention has long been fundamental to our beliefs and practices. After all, it is much better to educate young people about their power of self-determination than to try and repair the ravages of oppression on adults. Remember, if we can get individuals to believe in themselves, there are no limits on what can be accomplished. Before and after the WIOA became reality, I enjoyed a front-row seat. I served on the Executive Committee of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). At the time, many in Congress expressed skepticism about the voice of CSAVR. After all, CSAVR is a membership organization comprised of directors of the state agencies Congress hoped to change. CSAVR tried to find allies, but some disability advocacy groups, particularly independent living center advocates, abandoned vocational rehabilitation in order to break free and to establish their own authority. I personally harbor no ill will toward the independent living folks because they were doing what they felt they had to do to find their own voice. Still, these were dark days for vocational rehabilitation professionals. Fortunately, CSAVR linked arms with the Federation and a few other disability organizations. True to form, the Federation made all the difference. CSAVR CEO Steve Wooderson told me once that he felt confident that CSAVR knew what it was doing and how to work hard and effectively until he had the pleasure of collaborating with Federation leaders like John Par? and Anil Lewis. John and Anil led the Federation charge to amend the Rehabilitation Act under the direction and encouragement of Marc Maurer and Mark Riccobono as well as the entire Federation membership. "Those guys," Wooderson once told me, "set a bar I didn't think possible." Vocational rehabilitation and Federation leaders enjoy much in common. Both believe in positive attitudes and quality training and opportunities. Both are change agents. Together, vocational rehabilitation and the Federation accomplish much. CSAVR pays attention to the big picture ideals while defining and developing what it takes to realize those ideals. That's exactly what the Federation does. For example, CSAVR recently sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos of the US Department of Education strongly urging her support for competitive integrated employment services. CSAVR and the Federation speak as one against segregated subminimum wage employment. We believe all workers with disabilities can work in our communities for comparable pay and advancement opportunities. Our opposition harbors low expectations for people with disabilities, and partnerships forged in the spirit of civil rights convince everyone, including those who oppose us, to relegate sheltered workshops and subminimum wages to the history books. The time has come for all workers with disabilities to be guaranteed competitive integrated employment. Make no mistake about it. We are engaged in a nationwide revolution that shakes things up. Yes, we have miles to go before we sleep, but we are getting there more and more each day. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kids camp at previous national convention] Child Care During National Convention NFB Camp Infused with BELL Academy Activities by Carla McQuillan From the Editor: Carla is a successful businesswoman who makes her living building the future of our nation by modeling and strengthening the character of its children. She owns and runs Main Street Montessori Association in Eugene, Oregon, and we are blessed by her service as the head of NFB Camp, the childcare service we provide for the children of those who attend our convention. Here is what Carla has to say about NFB day camp: During National Convention this year in Las Vegas, we will be offering child care services to children ages 6 weeks to 12 years. NFB Camp is located in a block of meeting rooms at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, not far from the sleeping rooms. Camp is open to sighted and blind children in attendance at convention. Camp Hours: Sunday, July 7: 8:30-12 :30 and 1:30-5:30 Monday, July 8: Camp is Closed Tuesday, July 9: 8:30-12 and 12:45-5:30 Wednesday, July 10: 9-12:30 and 1:30-5:30 Thursday, July 11: 8:30-12:30 and 1:30-5:30 Friday, July 12: 8:30-12:30 and 1:30-5:30 Banquet: 6:30-30 minutes after banquet ends Please note that these times are approximate. The actual times will be thirty minutes before the start of meetings and general sessions, and thirty minutes after adjournment. If the President calls for an early start, or if meetings run long, the opening and closing times will reflect those changes. Late fees will apply if children are not picked up within that thirty-minute window. Rooms and Setup: The children will be divided by three age groupings: infants and toddlers, preschool/kindergarten, and elementary. There will also be an activity room for special projects, speakers, and small group activities. Each room will be equipped with toys, games, and books that are appropriate for the ages of the children in that room. In addition, we will be taking the older children outside on the hotel grounds for gross motor activities and water play. We will not be taking the children swimming. NFB BELL Academy Activities: We are excited to announce that again this year, we will have a variety of activities from our BELL curriculum, taught by BELL teachers from across the country. All children in camp, sighted or blind, will be invited to participate in these activities. We plan to offer BELL Academy activities during each session of camp throughout the week. Parents will receive the "Campers' Curriculum," which will list the times and dates for each of the planned activities. Staff and Supervision: Each of the camp rooms will be staffed by members of the Federation, many of whom have been working in camp for years. There will be a lead teacher in each room and additional helpers depending on the number of children in attendance. Carla McQuillan, executive director of Main Street Montessori Association, president of the NFB of Oregon, and a member of the National Board of Directors will be responsible for the supervision of the staff. Registration and Fees: Fees for NFB Camp are as follows: First child: $100/week or $25/day Additional children: $75/week or $25/day Banquet: $25 for each child (includes dinner and a show) Space in camp is limited. We accept children on a first come, first served basis. Please register by June 15 to allow adequate time to secure proper staffing. Online registration is now open. Please go to: https://nfb.org/nfb-camp-registration-form Child Care Outside of Camp Hours: We maintain a babysitting list at the NFB Camp desk for parents who are in need of child care when camp is closed. Arrangements must be made directly with the individual on the babysitting list. NFB Camp is not responsible for scheduling or making payment arrangements for child care outside of the regular camp hours. All questions should be directed to Carla McQuillan at president at nfb- oregon.org or 541-653-9153. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Carlton Walker] Blindness Skills: The Only Sure Bet in Vegas! by Carlton Walker From the Editor: Carlton Walker is one of the most active advocates I've ever met. She knows what it is like to have a child who needs services, knows how to find the people who can help get them, and knows how to become a part of those people so that "they" become "us." What a pleasure it is to be on the same team with her as once again the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children organizes a week-long educational and sharing opportunity for parents of blind children. Here is Carlton's argument for why you and your children should be with us in Las Vegas: Every year the Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) brings new ideas, incredible resources, and the love and support of NFB members into the lives of blind people of every age and their families. This July, thousands of members of the NFB will meet in Las Vegas, Nevada, to hold our annual convention. Concurrently, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), a proud division of the National Federation of the Blind, will host a conference within the NFB convention. We gather together to learn and share, to reconnect with friends, and to meet new friends. We certainly hope that you can join us. There's an old truism: "Vegas wasn't built on winners," and it makes perfect sense. The odds of any game of chance must be in favor of "the house," or there would be no way to afford the building, utilities, and staff required to host the game. Some games of chance have better odds, and some have worse, but all games are stacked in favor of "the house." Unfair odds are part of the gambling world, but they are not supposed to be part of our daily lives or part of school for our children. However, for years, it felt like the odds were stacked against my daughter, Anna Catherine, and our family. School officials insisted that she should "maximize" her vision-even though doing so gave her headaches, caused neck and back pain, and left her demoralized and exhausted. Nothing can improve my daughter's vision, so the odds are always stacked against her if she relies on her vision. However, with blindness skills, like Braille, cane travel, and accessible technology, my daughter can do what she needs to do-efficiently, effectively, and without headaches, neck pain, or feeling like she is less-than her peers. This June my daughter will graduate from high school, and may I proudly say that she will do so with honors. Every day she uses blindness skills like Braille, Nemeth Code, a long white cane, and accessible technology to perform her schoolwork, take part in community activities, and perform chores around the house, like laundry, cleaning, and meal preparation. None of this would have been possible had we listened to the "experts" in the schools. If we had tried to maximize her use of vision, we would have been minimizing her in every way. You'll hear "There's no such thing as a sure bet," but this is wrong. Throughout the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino July 7 through 12 you will find information about and access to the only sure bet in Vegas: blindness skills-those skills which allow our children to survive and thrive without any regard to how much vision they do or do not have. Come join us at the NOPBC Conference and the NFB Convention in Las Vegas this July. Please join our sessions, which will include information and ideas for families of blind students from birth through college. We also will have sessions on IEPs (individualized education programs), tactile graphics, accessible art, and bringing more STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) into blind children's lives. You will also enjoy: . Sunday, July 7: ? Kid Talk, with NFB President Mark Riccobono ? Lunch with the NOPBC Board ? Megan Bening Memorial Technology Giveaway (last year, we gave away $10,000 in accessible technology to blind children and youth) ? Family Game Night (where we will have accessible games for a great evening of family fun) . Monday, July 8: ? Cane Walks (an opportunity to receive free cane travel instruction from orientation and mobility professionals-and sighted family members are encouraged to participate as well) ? NOPBC Style Show (our children and youth walk the runway and share with us their interests and goals) . Tuesday, July 9: ? NOPBC Annual Meeting (an opportunity to learn more about and become involved with our division; speech from the 2019 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students; electing members to the NOPBC Board) ? Braille Book Fair (all books are available at no cost and will be shipped to you at no cost) ? Braille Carnival to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the American Action Fund (the organization which has provided thousands of Braille books at no charge to blind children and youth) . July 7-12 (Sunday through Friday): ? Exhibit Hall (opportunity to have hands-on experience with accessible technology; meet and speak to vendors of blindness and low vision tools and technology) ? Independence Market (opportunity to handle, test out, and learn how to use blindness and low vision tools and technology; accessible games and household items; accessible watches, calculators, books, and other items) ? NFB Literature (Free: hundreds of articles, speeches, Kernel Books, and past issues of Future Reflections and Braille Monitor magazines in print and Braille-all free for the taking) ? Breakout sessions on technology, interest areas, and many more topics . July 10-12 (Wednesday through Friday): ? NFB General Session: Hear from nationally-renowned speakers on a plethora of topics affecting blind individuals of all ages at the NFB General Session and vote on the resolutions which set forth NFB policy ? Wednesday July 10: IEP Night as well as Tactile Art and NFB BELL Academy sessions ? Friday, July 12: Mock Trial and other evening events put on by NFB divisions and centers for the blind ? NFB Banquet: Banquet speech by NFB President Mark Riccobono, announcement of NFB Scholarship winners, good food and conversation with our Federation family ---------- Sharing a Room at Convention and How to Survive It with a Smile by Grace Warn From the Editor: Grace Warn lives in Missouri, and one of her passions is visiting Disney World. She believes that if there is a good business model in the country, Disney is it and that if a good proposal for providing customer service arrives on the scene, Disney will probably be the company bringing it. This kind of loyalty translates into annual visits, and to cut down on the expenses, she rooms with folks. She thought her advice about roommates might translate well for those of us going to the 2019 national convention. Here is what she says: Going to convention, whether national or state, is an amazing experience. But it often comes with another experience that isn't always so amazing: sharing a hotel room. Whether to save money or because you're traveling with children too young to be on their own, you're sharing a room with more than just your significant other. And, no matter how much you love your Federation friends or how well-behaved your children are in close quarters for a few days, little frustrations can build up and drain some of the joy from your time at convention. With a minimum of pre-trip planning and almost no effort while there, you can keep the positive energy and enthusiasm flowing during your time at convention. The first step in this process is figuring out who's rooming with whom. Identify a few simple characteristics of each roommate: Who snores? Who prefers to shower in the morning versus in the evening? Who are the early birds, and who are the night owls? Who wakes up if a mouse sneezes, and who can sleep through brass bands? Now take a look at the roommate list again. Do you have a light sleeper in with three who snore like chainsaw jugglers riding Harleys? Is there a lone night owl in a flock of early birds? You may want to see if there's a way to juggle people to keep those of similar tendencies together. But, if you can't, there are ways to keep friction from these differences to a minimum: If you're a light sleeper, consider packing foam earplugs or sleep wearing in-ear headphones. Either of these will block a lot of the sounds that might keep you awake. If you are more sensitive to light than sound, think about a sleep mask so that others can turn on bathroom lights without waking you. If you snore, think about ways to lower the volume of it. If allergies make you snore more, make sure you are taking antihistamines and/or decongestants. From personal experience, I say try Breathe Right? strips; they can make a difference. Be aware of what sleep positions you may want to avoid if you can. Early birds, lay out your clothes for the day the night before. That way you avoid making a lot of noise rummaging around in drawers/suitcases, without feeling trapped by the need for quiet. If you're the lone early riser, consider starting the coffee maker to sweeten the inevitable wake-up for the rest of the room. Night owls, if you plan to stay out late socializing, be considerate coming in. Keep your voice lower, and make sure to kick off your shoes where no one will trip over them. Leave your pajamas in an easy-to-find spot in the suitcase or drawer. Basically, try not to wake everyone up, because everyone needs their sleep to make the most of the short time you'll have at convention. Discuss amongst yourselves who prefers to shower when and for how long. If everyone takes quick showers, it's no problem if each of you in the room prefers to shower in the morning. Try to work out the rotation for showering, and keep in mind the number of sinks, outlets, and their accessibility while someone else showers so that everyone has a chance to shave, style, and prep for the day without feeling unduly rushed. When you first get into the room, take a quick minute for one simple discussion and define territory. You will be coexisting in a smaller amount of space than you're used to, possibly with people you don't usually live with. Setting up whose stuff goes where and then abiding by what is decided can go a long way toward maintaining harmony. Decide as a group that Joe will get the bottom drawer in the dresser, Sally and Eric each get half of the next drawer up, etc. Try to base the division of territory on practical considerations such as mobility-don't make the person with a bad back bend to use the bottom drawer. Once each of you has staked out your claim, respect the boundaries. Throwing something where you please is fine at home, but it's not fine when it ends up being in a place allotted to one of your roommates. Each of you will have a place for your things, and it's a good idea to have at least one area designated for communal use, such as one place for all technology to sit safely as it recharges, etc. Remember that bathroom counter space can be a scarce commodity and a great cause of irritation before everyone has had their morning coffee. Taking along a hanging shoe organizer designed to either hang in a closet or over the back of a door can give you more places to sort your toiletries and leave a clearer path to the sinks. If you have a guide dog, make sure roommates know where the water bowl will be and decide whether it will be deployed only at feeding time or at any time the dog might wish a drink. Tuck the suitcases in the bottom of the closet or in a corner as out of the way as possible, and make sure the main walkways remain clear. Because a tiny little frustration like tripping over someone's suitcase every time you try to go to the bathroom can become a major annoyance faster than you would expect, it can poison the rest of the experience. Depending on who you're rooming with and how long you're staying, a pop-up mesh laundry basket can be pretty handy for that. It doesn't take up much space in a suitcase, can be found in many dollar stores, and it can be endlessly useful. It can be a place to corral dirty clothes, an easy-to- carry transport for flyers or other merchandise for chapters/divisions, or can be used as the designated location for the day's haul of souvenirs. Speaking of things to bring along from home, one of the best items to pack on your trip is at least one power strip. These days everyone has at least a cell phone. But there are also iPads, handheld gaming consoles, notetakers, and many other electronics that require regular recharging. Hotel rooms never have very many outlets, and sometimes the outlet is in a less-than-accessible place, such as a corner behind a small table and chair. The longer cord will bring the power strip up so that everyone can reach it to plug in items easily and give you many more outlets for everyone to share. Sit down and consider exactly what your daily routine will involve, and make sure everyone understands it. You may never have considered that you have to decide which bed you're sleeping on based on the distance from an outlet and availability of a flat surface for a CPAP machine, but what's routine for you may not be for your roommate. That doesn't mean you can't share a room, but it does mean that you need to make sure they're aware of the requirements that are important and perhaps even critical for you. Maybe you're a guide dog user; your roommate doesn't mind dogs-no problem, right? Except when you were considering who snores in the room, you only considered the humans, and your dog snores louder than you do. You and your spouse are used to it; it's white noise that actually helps you sleep better in unfamiliar places. To your roommate, that could be a week spent wishing they'd packed earplugs and praying for a decent night's sleep. Or maybe one roommate has a mild allergy to dog dander. For a couple of hours during a chapter meeting or dinner with a friend, no problem; but sharing a room for a week or so might mean they will need an antihistamine. When you take just a few minutes to prevent the small disagreements and frustrations, you prevent the larger arguments that can happen when the little things add up with exhaustion and excitement to fuel them. While it only takes a few quick minutes of discussion before you leave home, all of these things become a lot harder to do once you're away at convention. What you can tolerate for a day or two is a lot less tolerable on day five of a convention, when you're tired and almost ready to head home. ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan] See You in Washington at the Convention by Kenneth Jernigan First Vice President National Federation of the Blind From the Editor: For a number of years we have been holding our conventions in Orlando, and with each passing year we received less and less information about the city. The thinking, of course, was that there was less to tell, and perhaps this was indeed the case. But here, just to show what advertisement we did for our conventions forty-four years ago, is a promotion for our 1965 national convention that appeared in the May issue for 1965. As you read it, consider the number of tourist attractions that are highlighted, and consider also how you would begin to work many of them into what many now consider our convention experience. Enjoy: How many times have you thought of going to Washington? How many times have you said to yourself, "What a thrill it would be to visit the Capitol and see Congress in action; visit the White House and meet the President; visit the imposing marble structure where the Supreme Court meets and makes historic decisions, some of which have shaken our society to its very foundation! And then, there is Mount Vernon, birthplace of the father of our country; Ford Theatre, where the Great Emancipator was shot; and Arlington National Cemetery, place of the Kennedy gravesite and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Add to these the great Smithsonian, the Pentagon building, the National Cathedral, B'nai B'rith, Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial." Well, make this dream a reality. Attend the Silver Anniversary Convention of the National Federation of the Blind to be held in the "Hotel of Presidents," Washington's aristocratic Mayflower, July 6-9, 1965. There is so much to see in Washington, D.C. Every American, from childhood on, is imaginatively and emotionally attracted to see his nation's capitol. He knows he will feel at home, even before he gets there- for this wondrous, shining city belongs to all Americans. Here, in Washington, are the national shrines, the stately public buildings, the foreign embassies and the historic tree-lined avenues where history is made; the city is alive with a cultural spirit all its own. The late John F. Kennedy spoke of Washington as the Federal City, the hub of political activity. It houses, in addition to the imposing array of tourist attractions already mentioned, numerous other Federal Buildings such as: Veteran's Administration-servant to American inactive military men; Justice Department-home of the Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; State Department-factory of our foreign policy; Department of Interior-guardian of our national resources; Treasury Department-holder of the nation's purse strings; Commerce Department- overseer of America's numerous business enterprises; Department of Defense- watchdog of the nation's military might; Labor Department-coordinator of employer-employee relationships; Post Office Department-distributor of America's mountains of mail; Department of Health, Education, and Welfare- headquarters for those who minister to the nation's needs. In terms of history, the nation's capital pays homage to most of America's great, from quaint old Georgetown with its 18th century homes (now the residence of the city's elite society) to the C&O Canal that was once Washington's "seaport on the Potomac." View the Iwo Jima Statue, the Jefferson Memorial, the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the statue in Lafayette Square, memorial to the men of the Titanic, Sheridan Circle, or the Nathan Hale Statue and the Ben Franklin memorial. Or, tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Custis-Lee Mansion, the Executive Office Building next door to the White House, the National Geographic Society, the Naval Gun Factory, the National Archives, and the Dumbarton Oaks estates. Visit the Library of Congress, the Wax Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Constitution Hall, the beautiful Botanical Gardens, the Freer Gallery of Arts, the Franciscan Monastery, the Islamic Center and Mosque, the famed Cosmos Club, the Lisner Auditorium for the Performing Arts, or see the changing of the guards at the National Memorial Amphitheatre. Be a part of a new artistic sensation, attend Washington's famous Watergate Stage. Listen to a symphony under star-studded skies, and hear the rippling waters of the Potomac murmur a soft and restful background. Or, if you prefer the modern, there is the Carter Baron Amphitheatre where most of our modern artists appear; but if your taste tends toward the local, then go to the Sylvan Amphitheatre where local artists display their many talents. To round things out, add to these the gourmet restaurants offering a variety of cuisine to tempt the most fastidious palates. There are the French and the German restaurants, the Italian and the Chinese, the small and intimate, the large and palatial, the downbeat and the offbeat, you name it, Washington has it. So, we will see you in Washington at the Convention! The [1965] convention will open at 10:00 Tuesday morning, July 6, and will adjourn at 5 p.m. Friday, July 9. Single rooms at the Mayflower Hotel are $7.00; twins, $11.00. The banquet will be held on Thursday, July 8, priced at $4.95 (including tip and tax). If you have not yet requested reservations, write immediately to: Reservations Manager, Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C. For further details on Washington convention plans and program, see "NFB Pre-Convention Bulletin," the Braille Monitor, January 1965. ---------- Recipes This month Monitor staff looked back in the archives for a selection of light, easy, delicious dishes that would be perfect for any dinner you might have. Basic Chinese Dish by Mrs. Florence Grannis This recipe first appeared in May 1975 as Recipe of the Month. We at the Monitor thought it deserved a second run for the versatility of ingredients that could be used in it. Ingredients: 1 to 2 cups cut meat (any kind) cooked or raw in quarter-inch cubes and marinate as long as you have time for in the following mixture: 2 or 3 tablespoons dry sherry 2 or 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic 2 to 3 cups cut vegetables (any kind except tomatoes, potatoes, or sweet potatoes) cooked or raw, very small. 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1/2 cup chicken-flavored broth 4 tablespoons oil (butter-flavored Wesson oil, if possible.) Method: After the above is prepared, put in wok over highest heat. Add two tablespoons oil and the meat mixture, cook five minutes, stirring constantly (can cook less if meat is already cooked.) Remove, and add two tablespoons more oil. Add vegetables and cook no more than two minutes, stirring constantly. Add meat mixture to vegetable mixture in wok along with 1/2 cup chicken-flavored broth and cornstarch; let heat very briefly until amalgamated, stirring constantly. ---------- Cheese Souffl? by Arlene Gashel This recipe was originally the Recipe of the Month in April 1978. At the time, it was introduced with this note: Arlene Gashel is secretary of the NFB of DC and the wife of Jim Gashel, chief of the NFB's Washington Office. Ingredients: 6 ounces natural cheddar cheese (not processed cheese) 6 tablespoons flour 4 eggs, separated 3/4 stick butter or margarine 1 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups milk Pinch of red cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika Method: Butter a two-quart casserole. Separate the eggs. In the top of a double boiler over boiling water, melt the butter; blend in the flour, grated cheese, and seasonings. Add the milk and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Remove from the boiling water and let stand. Beat the egg yolks until thick. Stir the yolks into the other mixture. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Put them in the buttered casserole and gradually pour in the cheese mixture, folding very carefully until well blended. Bake for forty- five minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Serve at once. Note: This recipe may be prepared and refrigerated for up to ten hours before baking. If you do this, place the refrigerated souffl? in a cold oven and bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. ---------- Cheesy Spinach Pie by Eileen Rivera This recipe originally appeared in the April-May 1989 Braille Monitor. It was introduced like this: Eileen Rivera is a former NFB scholarship winner and is now a resident of Maryland, where she actively participates in Federation work and holds (see elsewhere in this issue) a responsible position with the Wilmer Eye Clinic at Johns Hopkins. Ingredients: 1 single pie shell 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar and/or swiss cheese 1 chopped onion 2 minced garlic cloves 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 packages frozen spinach 2 tablespoons crushed oregano 1 teaspoon each: pepper, sweet basil, salt 3 beaten eggs 2/3 cup milk 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 cup cottage cheese Method: Prepare pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for twelve minutes. Remove shell from oven and spread grated cheese in the hot shell. In a large sauce pan, saut? the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Next, add the defrosted spinach and spices. Stir the mixture over medium heat for about five minutes. Then combine the eggs, milk, and parmesan and cottage cheeses in the pot. Stir until mixture thickens. Pour filling into the pie shell and bake for thirty to forty minutes. Great with a crisp garden salad and warm rolls. ---------- Baked Pineapple by Mary Ellen Jernigan This recipe is a favorite of many longtime Federationists and Monitor readers, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ingredients: 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup cheddar cheese 1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple (drained) 1/4 cup butter 1/2 tablespoon corn starch crushed Ritz Crackers Method: Mix all ingredients together except crackers. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle cracker crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for thirty to thirty-five minutes. ---------- Old-Fashioned Ice Box Pie by Theodora Turner This recipe was first published in April 1992 as part of a group of recipes submitted by the National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas. At the time, Theodora Turner was a member of the Little Rock Chapter, and her husband was the president of the chapter. The associate editor then was Barbara Pierce. Ingredients: 1 can of sweetened condensed milk juice of 2 lemons 2 eggs, separated graham cracker crust Method: Prepare a graham cracker crumb crust by combining and pressing against the bottom and sides of a pie plate one packet of graham crackers, crushed, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine. Bake this until golden brown (ten minutes or so at 375 degrees), or chill crust thoroughly. Combine lemon juice with beaten egg yolks, add condensed milk, and beat mixture until it thickens. Pour into prepared graham cracker crust and top with meringue, made by beating two egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in three tablespoons of sugar until it is dissolved. Cover pie with plastic wrap and freeze until set. Associate Editor's Note: I make this pie with a slight variation. Instead of preparing a sweetened meringue for the top, I fold the unsweetened stiffly beaten egg whites into the lemon mixture before spreading it into the pie crust for freezing. It is delicious. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family How to Pay for Your Convention Hotel Stay: This helpful information comes from Tony Cobb, who for many years served as a fixture in the lobby of our convention hotels. Here is an important warning for those who may be considering how to pay for their stay: Every year at our national convention we have serious trouble with use of debit cards or cash payments at hotel check-in, and, having worked to solve these problems for years, I can tell you they can nearly ruin the convention week for those experiencing them. Planning to attend our national convention should therefore include thinking seriously about how to pay the hotel, and I cannot urge you strongly enough to avoid using cash or a debit card as your payment method. Doing so may seem convenient, but you should not do so. If you do not have a credit card of your own to use instead, prevail upon a close friend or family member to let you use one just for convention. Here's why: If you are paying in actual currency, most hotels will want enough cash up front at check-in to cover your room and tax charges for the entire stay, plus a one-time advance incidentals deposit to cover meals, telephone calls, internet service, and other things you may charge to your room. The unused portion of the incidentals deposit may be returned at check-out or by mail after departure. Understand, however, that, if your incidentals charges exceed the incidentals deposit credited, you are responsible for payment of the full balance at check-out. The total can end up being a very large sum indeed. If you use a debit card, however, you are really at a potentially painful disadvantage. The hotel will put a hold on money in your bank account linked to the debit card to cover the estimated balance of your stay-that is, for the entire week's room and tax charges plus a one-time incidentals deposit to cover meals, movies, and so on charged to your room. You should be aware that the hold can therefore be a considerable amount of money and that you will not have access to that amount for any other purchases or payments with your card. (Hotels sometimes also put authorizations on credit cards, by the way, but those are not often a problem unless they exceed your card's credit limit.) Holds can remain in effect for three to five days or even a week after you check out. If you have pre-authorized payments from your bank account, for example your monthly mortgage payment, or if you try to make a purchase with your debit card and it's refused, the hold from the hotel can cause you trouble or result in very large overdraft fees for payments you thought you had money in your account to cover. I have seen this hit some of our members in the form of hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. This means that, if you use a debit card, you would have to be certain you have a high enough balance in your checking account when you come to convention to cover any debit card holds. This is a perilous practice since charges may exceed your estimate by a considerable amount. (Some frequent travelers even open a separate checking account used only for debits like these.) Remember, a hold is going to be placed on your debit card regardless of how you end up paying the bill, and the hold is not necessarily released right away, even if you pay with a credit card or cash when you check out of the hotel. Planning ahead in this area can ensure an untroubled week at convention, leaving you free to enjoy fully the world's largest and most exciting meeting of the blind. Braille Book Fair 2019: Calling all Braille readers, teachers, and parents! It's that time again: Time to sort through all those boxes of Braille books and donate those gently used but no longer needed Braille books to the 2019 Braille Book Fair sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. Our primary goal is to get more Braille books into the hands of children, youth, and beginning adult readers, so here's what we need most: . print/Braille storybooks (aka Twin Vision) . books in good condition . leisure reading (fiction or nonfiction) books . cookbooks and poetry Children are so hungry for their very own books that every year, despite generous donations of books, most of our books for young children are gone in less than an hour. So begin your search through the boxes in your basement and spare room and get those books shipped. We do not accept magazines, textbooks, or audio books at this time. Mail books you are donating to: 2019 Braille Book Fair, National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, MD 21230. Please note that you are shipping the books FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND; you do not need to pay any shipping cost for Braille items. Handwrite, stamp, or affix a label to the upper right-hand corner of the box which says: FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND, and take your package(s) to your local post office to mail. Internal Revenue Service Forms and Written Communication: The NFB is investigating the accessibility of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms and written communication. If you have requested or would like to request alternative format documents from the IRS such as Braille, large print, or audio, please contact Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator, at vyingling at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2440. Resolutions for Convention: Here is a message from Sharon Maneki, who chairs the NFB Resolutions Committee: Do you think we should change a government policy, take a stand concerning an agency for the blind, or create new regulations? If you do, consider writing a resolution. At the 2019 National Convention, the Resolutions Committee meeting will be held on Monday, July 8. The committee will debate and discuss resolutions on a wide variety of subjects. If passed by the convention, these resolutions will become the policy statements of the organization. To ensure that your resolution will be considered by the committee, please send it to President Riccobono or to me by June 24, two weeks before the committee meeting. Since things are always busy leading up to the convention, sending them earlier will be appreciated. If you send a resolution to me by email and do not receive a response acknowledging your email in two or three days, please call or send it again. If you miss the deadline, you must get three members of the committee to sponsor your resolution and then get it to the chairman before the meeting begins. I will be pleased to accept resolutions by email at nfbmd at earthlink.net, or by mail at 9013 Nelson Way, Columbia, MD 21045. In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Secretary Toulouse Oliver Awarded "Outstanding Innovations in Elections" by the US Election Assistance Commission: New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver has received the 2018 "Clearie" Award for Outstanding Innovations in Elections by the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for her implementation of a new electronic ballot software system that allows blind and visually impaired voters to independently and privately cast an absentee ballot. "Every eligible voter deserves the dignity and convenience of being able to mark their ballot in an independent and private manner, which is exactly what our electronic ballot system does for blind and visually impaired voters," said Secretary Toulouse Oliver. "I want to thank the US Election Administration Commission for this award, and I want to dedicate it to the determined efforts of New Mexico's blind and visually impaired community who worked closely with me and my Office to ensure blind and visually impaired voters have fair and equal access to the ballot box." According to the EAC, the annual "Clearie" awards "recognize best practices in election administration and highlight exemplary models which can serve as examples to other officials and jurisdictions." "We are thrilled to recognize Secretary Toulouse Oliver and her team for their innovative approach to serving voters with disabilities," said EAC Chairman Thomas Hicks. "We are proud to share details about this program with election officials across the nation, as well as the voters they serve." Secretary Toulouse Oliver and her staff worked closely with the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico and the New Mexico Commission for the Blind to create the system that allows blind and visually impaired voters to independently mark, print, and return their absentee ballot. As KOB News 4 noted in 2018 as the Secretary of State announced the new system, "New Mexico is leading the country when it comes to making absentee voting more accessible." "The National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico deeply appreciates Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver," said Adelmo Vigil, president of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico. "Because of her work, blind voters in New Mexico, for the very first time in history, can now independently and privately mark the printed absentee ballot using the low-vision and nonvisual access technology of their choice. Secretary Toulouse Oliver worked closely with us to make this happen. She provided public testimony and support for the legislation that brought all of this about. She is a true friend of the blind." Greg Trapp, executive director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, added to Mr. Vigil's remarks, saying, "Because of the efforts of Secretary of State Toulouse Oliver and of the National Federation of the Blind, blind and visually impaired citizens of New Mexico can now fully and equally participate in the fundamental right to vote. This is a tremendous step forward, and New Mexico can take pride in what the Secretary of State and National Federation of the Blind have accomplished." More information about the US Election Assistance Commission: The US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). It is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with ensuring secure, accurate and accessible elections by developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as administers the use of HAVA funds. Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. For Sale: We have one Freedom Scientific Braille Blazer for sale. It has the following features: serial or parallel connections to a PC (a USB-to-serial cable may be used with these embossers on machines which don't have serial or parallel ports), built-in carrying case, and standard computer power cord. The Braille Blazer may be used as a speech synthesizer as well as a Braille embosser. It embosses on 8.5-by-11-inch fan-fold tractor feed paper; embosses standard Braille in portrait or landscape mode; embosses graphics; is supported by most Braille translation software, including Duxbury Systems, and configuration is accomplished through voice-guided instructions. The user manual is available at https://www.edvisionservices.org/Manuals/BrailleBlazerUserManual.pdf. Asking price is $300, contact Sheryl Pickering at 830-743-7655. For Sale: We have two Classic Electric Perkins Braillewriters for sale. One has a carrying case (asking $25 extra). Asking $300 each. Contact Sheryl Pickering at 830-743-7655 For Sale: Romeo Braille Embosser by Enabling Technologies in carrying case. Excellent condition. $50 plus shipping if not Free Matter. Call or text Terry at 805-339-9853. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Sat Jun 1 11:29:56 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2019 11:29:56 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, June 2019 Message-ID: <201906011829.x51ITvJx015548@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 6 June 2019 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 ? 2019 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. [PHOTO/CAPTION: Mandalay Bay Resort] Las Vegas Site of 2019 NFB Convention The 2019 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7 to July 12, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Mandalay Bay Resort staff only. Call 877-632-7800. The 2019 room rate of $99 per night applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The resort fee (normally $37 a night) will be waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access may apply. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Plus, it offers top-notch entertainment including Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. The schedule for the 2019 convention is: Sunday, July 7 Seminar Day Monday, July 8 Registration and Resolutions Day Tuesday, July 9 Board Meeting and Division Day Wednesday, July 10 Opening Session Thursday, July 11 Business Session Friday, July 12 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 62, No. 6 June 2019 Contents Illustration: Paws for Celebration Correction Let Us Play Us: Starting Down the Road to Equality on Stage and Screen by Julie McGinnity How Do You Get Around? There's No One Strategy to Get There by Sheri Wells-Jensen How People Who Get It Done Get It Done by Gary Wunder The Changing Landscape of Accessible Voting at the Polls by Lou Ann Blake Regarding the Colorado Center for the Blind and My Experience by Luc Gandarias Social Butterflies at Convention by the Communications Team Blindness, Dual Disabilities, and Aira by Eric Duffy A Blind Man Whose Business Was Doing Business by Peggy Chong Can I Have an Able Account if I am Forty-Fifty-Sixty Years Old? by Albert Elia Botany: Growing Plants, Growing Strategies, and Growing People by James Beck Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Maryanne Cooney Melley marches with her guide dog at the Let Us Play Us protest] [PHOTO CAPTION: Nani Fife loves on her guide dog] [PHOTO CAPTION: Stephanie Flint and her guide dog at Capitol Hill with John Par? and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan regarding new funding for the National Library Service for the Blind] [PHOTO CAPTION: Ashley Alvey stands by the road with her guide dog] Paws for Celebration As a blind person, learning how to travel can be one of the most empowering skills one ever gets. For some of us freedom of movement is achieved through using a guide dog. Some of us use a cane. A goodly number use both a dog and a cane and let the situation determine which they will use. In recognition of the important role guide dogs play in the travel of many blind people, the last Wednesday in April is celebrated as International Guide Dog Day. This year it fell on April 24, and we participated in the celebration by highlighting it on that day. We continue to act as strong advocates through our legal advocacy, our rideshare testing, and our active National Association of Guide Dog Users and its many programs. Moving is essential to a movement, and we proudly recognize our brothers and sisters who travel with their loyal and dedicated guide dogs. Correction In the May issue of the Braille Monitor we ran an article entitled "Facts About Blindness" by Joe Orozco. In the editor's note we credited the article to the Vigilant, but mistakenly referred to it as the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia. In fact it is the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. We regret the error, but we very much appreciate all of the letters from Virginia. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Julie McGinnity] Let Us Play Us: Starting Down the Road to Equality on Stage and Screen by Julie McGinnity From the Editor: Julie McGinnity is a program specialist who works at the Jernigan Institute. But as many of us do, she holds different jobs in the organization, and in this article she speaks primarily in her role as the president of the Performing Arts Division. I remember the first time I was denied a role in a production because of my blindness. In fifth grade we performed a children's version of A Christmas Carol, and I longed for one of the leading roles. Now, elementary school isn't Broadway. In order to earn a leading role, a student had to read, speak, learn, and communicate well. He or she also had to be comfortable performing in front of an audience. Since some of the roles were divided among the students, there was plenty of stardom to go around. And yet, I did not receive one, despite being at the top of my class academically, being clear and perhaps even loud with my verbal communication and having been in voice lessons for the last year. I knew I could sing as well as act up to their standards, and looking back, I know my confidence at the time was not misplaced. However, the music teacher didn't give me a chance because he would not produce the script in Braille, and he believed that I could not navigate the stage independently. I remember parroting lines that were read to me, one line at a time, rather than reading lines and engaging in the dialogue on the script like my peers. One stand-alone line was given to me that I could deliver standing in a group of other students so that I wouldn't be walking by myself on the stage. I was hurt that no one would let me audition for a role I really wanted. The opportunity was denied me, and even worse, I didn't have the language to fight it and advocate for myself. When I began thinking about the roots of the Let Us Play Us campaign, that recollection came to mind. So many of you can probably relate to my story because it is not unique. It speaks to a pattern that continues to occur in the world of the performing arts. That pattern rests on the low expectations of blind performers and is perpetuated by a lack of opportunity that persists on stage and in the film industry. Let's dig a little deeper into the Let Us Play Us campaign and what we can do about this problem. Then I hope you will join me in working hard together to break this pattern and open up opportunities for blind performers. We protested on April 4 in New York City outside CBS headquarters with two immediate goals in mind: We wanted the show In the Dark to be canceled until a blind actress could replace the current choice, who is not blind. We also wanted CBS to consult with us about the show and any future decisions it makes regarding its portrayal of blindness. But that's not why I protested. I protested because I, like many Federationists, have had enough. My voice deserves to be heard, and my experience as a performer should grant me a spot at the table. I am tired of the current narrative surrounding blind performers, and I would like to lead the charge as we speak out. It's time to turn performers' dreams into reality and work together as a federation to be heard by the entertainment industry. We would like to develop relationships with those in the industry so that we can work together to create a landscape of equality for blind performers at all skill levels. Allow me to point out one important fact: Blind people are and can be successful in the performing arts. There are accomplished, professional blind musicians, opera singers, actors, dancers, and more. Although the successful blind performers I've met have faced discrimination, they have also been given chances to learn and prove themselves. So, before I begin writing about what we should work to accomplish in this industry, I want you to know that it can be done. My story above was not my end as a performer. The actress, Marilee Talkington, who spoke at our 2018 national convention, did not meet the end of her career when she was discouraged either. But so many blind performers are kept off the stage and away from the film sets. We are questioned, challenged, swept aside, and denied access to learning more on a regular basis. We have received stories from a range of blind performers, from those who could never gain experience on the stage as a child, to those who perform professionally as a career. All of them have one thing in common. They experienced unequal treatment in their performing endeavors. Blind performers seek equality, opportunity, and full integration in the entertainment industry-lofty goals, I've been told. The Let Us Play Us campaign, after all, is a first step. How can we expect full integration when we can't even play blind characters on TV? This is nonsense and does not represent the goals and aspirations of the Federation I know and love. The National Federation of the Blind believes in the capabilities of blind people. We believe in each other and live out that belief through our high expectations. We won't accomplish everything right away. But if we only look at this as one protest, one opportunity for a blind actor to play a blind character, we are doing our blind performers a disservice. We must consider first how we plan to change attitudes. What attitudes need correcting as we continue this process after Let Us Play Us? After all, nearly all unequal treatment stems from negative attitudes about blindness. We must begin by rejecting the inspirational model. You've all seen them, those inspirational stories written about blind performers who have overcome their blindness. Inspiration may seem uplifting and harmless, but it does not promote an atmosphere of respect for the performer's talent, education, and skill. The inspirational model defines blind performers by their blindness and does not give them credit for actual accomplishments. In grad school, after a performance of opera scenes in which I played several solo roles, a professor told me I was inspirational. I replied that I didn't want to be inspirational; I wanted a job. Blind performers are looking for work, and too often, we are not taken seriously. How can our talents and accomplishments be fairly evaluated and appreciated when we are praised for simply walking on the stage? While we invest ourselves in overturning harmful attitudes about blind performers, we must also work to open up opportunities for future blind actors. Acting classes, improv groups, and university programs should know that they can come to the National Federation of the Blind when a blind student seeks to join their ranks. I have heard far too many stories about blind hopefuls being turned away from acting classes because the teachers believe it would be too difficult to accommodate a blind student. I have also heard stories, though fewer, involving the success of a blind participant in an acting or theater class. Blind people must learn gesturing and facial expressions differently from our sighted peers, but we can and do learn them. If we allow ourselves to build relationships with these institutions of learning, we can dispel the misconceptions about what it takes for a blind person to learn to act on stage or screen. Finally, let's use our organizational platforms to lift up those blind performers who have experienced full integration on stage or in film. Many of us have played a variety of roles that do not involve blindness. If a blind performer has the opportunity to play a blind character, and they are able to make this portrayal authentic to a true blind experience, we should celebrate this as well. I caution us not to wait for this to occur. Blind characters may be appearing more frequently lately, but they are still few and far between when we consider the sheer number of characters that should be open to us in plays and films. Even as we have undertaken this campaign, I have received questions. Can blind people play sighted characters? Should a blind person act out a role that is specifically meant for a sighted person? Can a blind person really learn to act as though they live in a sighted body? Those are good questions. I would answer them, however, by proudly proclaiming that this has been done before, particularly on stage. I am not the only one who has played a variety of characters in stage productions. The script does not tell us that the nun, the queen, the sassy house maid, or the god of love must be sighted. These are all characters I have played with varying degrees of accommodations as a blind opera singer. On stage the blindness matters less and can be deemed unimportant as the actor fulfills his/her role in the story. It is my understanding that the film world has not gotten to this point, so I urge us to discuss how we will find our place as ordinary characters on TV and in the movies. Let's begin by highlighting those who have had those experiences and discussing how we will make them work on film as well. All of these goals can also be accomplished by forming relationships in Hollywood. There are agencies dedicated to diversity and increasing minority representation in film. We should reach out to them as well as to casting agencies, writers' guilds, and organizations of producers and directors. Staying silent isn't an option any longer. If we want representation, we must build the relationships and firmly demand that blind people are represented in stories and casts. In order to accomplish these goals, we need your help. We need your ideas, perspectives, experiences (for those who have them in this area), and your talents. We cannot achieve the representation we seek if only a few of us are fighting for it. Although we have a good start, we are also exploring uncharted waters. We have not yet explored the limits of blind actors and performers. Let's join together to raise our expectations and achieve the dreams of blind performers. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen stands in the street surrounded by bright green trees, bedraggled and soaking wet after the rain. She clutches her briefcase, phone, keys, and cane but is beaming regardless.] How Do You Get Around? There's No One Strategy to Get There by Sheri Wells-Jensen From the Editor: Sheri Wells-Jensen is an associate professor at Bowling Green State University in the College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in linguistics, where she does teaching and research. In this piece she observes that traveling as a blind person is much more than route travel. It is an ongoing exploration. Sheri shows that what we do doesn't have to be or look perfect; the important thing is that it gets done. Here is what she says: Like just about everybody who doesn't drive but needs to get places, I have a lot of interactions with cab drivers. I mean ... a lot. Mostly, these involve the basics: exchange of greetings, exchange of information, exchange of cash, and mission accomplished. But there are always those extra exchanges that stick with a person. "How do you get around?" This particular driver wanted to know, asking just as I was opening the door to exit the cab. After sitting in companionable silence all the way across town, I was startled by the question. With the door open and one foot on the curb, I didn't have time to say much. Even by that minimal standard, though, my answer felt inadequate. "I just ... go around," I said vaguely, distracted. "Like anybody. I take cabs, like this one ... or I sometimes walk ... you know." This piece of brilliant elocution accomplished, I finished extricating myself from his cab, closed the door on his answer, and headed on my inarticulate way across the parking lot and up to my office. I don't consider it my job to educate every abled person about blindness or any other disability, but when people aren't overtly rude, I do at least try to be reasonably congenial and moderately informative most of the time. The poor fellow had probably deserved a little more of my attention, but his question, I realized, juggling phone and keys and cane and computer bag in the elevator, was hard to respond to. He'd wanted there to be a simple answer: the one magic thing that disabled people do to solve the problem. The one "right" way we all pour water, or match our clothes, or pick cat hair off a jacket-the silver bullet that "makes it all possible." What could I have told him that both would have been true and would have fit into the approximately five seconds I'd been given? As an experiment, I put the question to the next student who stopped by my office: "How do you get around?" I asked her, pretending this was a normal question one human being might ask another. I was secretly pleased when her answer was about as inarticulate as mine had been. "What do you mean?" she wanted to know. "Like ... on campus? I just ... walk mostly, or I take the shuttle sometimes." "But what if you don't really know where you're going?" I pressed. "What if you had to go to ..." I searched for a moderately obscure building I'd had to find, "... Eppler South?" She hesitated. "That's by the Union, isn't it? I'd just like, go over there and look around until I found it, I guess." Fair enough. Neither of us was being very clear. She "goes over there" and "looks around." And she doesn't think about it. Despite my inarticulate interaction that morning, I do think about it. And while as a sighted person she has just one primary, half-conscious way of finding a building she needs, I have a basket full of interconnected strategies ready to employ whenever I want to go somewhere-especially somewhere new to me. Let's take that example of Eppler South-a building that is, I agree, somewhere over by the Student Union. It is vaguely northwest from my office. I confess that I still don't know where exactly it is, but the English department faculty, for some reason, had decided to hold a mid- morning meeting over there just a few weeks back. If I were sighted, I suppose I, too, would wander in that direction and look around until I saw the sign, and then go on in and check room numbers and find the meeting, and that'd be that. You could call that Plan A if you like. Plan A doesn't work in the same way for me. So that morning, knowing I had to find this new building, I started with Plan B. It went something like this: About two hours before the meeting, I text a pal of mine who I know is probably going to the same meeting: "hey kimberly u going 2 the department mtg?" I don't ask her to go out of her way. If she's going, I'll meet up with her somewhere. There's time. She's going to use Plan A, and I could follow along. She replies in under a minute. "mtg? nooooo! going 2 b late!" We text back and forth for a bit, griping about faculty meetings, and I say finally: "c u there" Plan C: I try another contact. "Hey [NAME-REDACTED] r u going 2 the mtg?" [NAME-REDACTED] takes over ten minutes to answer, during which I become a little more alert to the passage of time. My phone buzzes. "r u kidding? no freaking way!" He adds a few pertinent emoji, including my favorite, the "smiling pile of poo." I sympathize. But I do have to go. An hour and a half later, I take my usual cab to campus, which drops me off near my own office. Things are getting tighter. Plan D: I stop on the curb and text another pal. "hey chad? r u walking over 2 the mtg?" Chad replies almost instantly. "already here! 26 minutes early! where r u????" I choose a sarcastic emoji or two in response and proceed with plan E. I walk over to my building, reasoning that other colleagues will be coming out of there, and I could follow somebody over. No luck. Either they've already left, or like Kimberly they are planning to be late ... or maybe they're on the [NAME-REDACTED] plan-lucky dogs. The time comes when I can't wait any longer or I won't have time for plan F, which I start inventing fast! So ... Plan F: I turn around and head northwest. It's worth mentioning at this point that it's raining ... that dreary, uncompromising, insistent kind of Midwest rain that likes to last all day just to make you miserable. I get what I figure is about halfway there and pull out my phone again. I have several GPS apps, some of which work well on campus and some of which don't. My favorite is Over There by Dmitrijs Prohorenkovs, which grew out of Smith-Kettlewell's virtual talking signs project. You hold the phone flat like a remote control and point it around, and it identifies landmarks. Trying to keep the rainwater off the screen as best I can, I scan for the building. But it isn't there. I mean, it literally isn't there. It's as if the rain had washed it completely off the map. Fail. Plan G. It's time to stop a passerby and get information the old- fashioned way. But the rain has apparently washed all the people off the map too, and I hear nobody near me. Plan H: Are we really on plan H already? I have just under ten minutes now. Returning to Over There, I do find an entry on the map for "BGSU Something-Something Gymnastics" (I can't hear well through the increasingly heavy rain), and I remember that the building I'm looking for was a gym once, or still is maybe? If anything near me had anything to do with gymnastics, Eppler South might be it. And it's kind of in the right direction. I re-adjust course, choose a sidewalk that seems to trend that way, and step up the pace, sploshing through some pretty impressive puddles I don't have time to avoid. The wind is picking up, and I don't think I'm that close. Plans I through L form in my mind. I could just keep going, which will probably eventually work if I'm right about the gymnastics thing. I could go inside whatever classroom building is nearest (I hear one looming off to my left) and find somebody to ask, or I could re-text one of my pals and ask them to come out to meet me, or I could turn around-which is sounding pretty nice right about now-and take my soggy self back to my office. Maybe [NAME- REDACTED] is there, and we could commiserate. Plan M presents itself in the form of a colleague of mine walking up behind me with an umbrella and asking if I'm going to the meeting ... and if I'd like to go with him because I'm looking a little drowned. And off we go. Now, if the meeting had been a particularly important one, I would have arranged things more securely ahead of time. Working through my possibilities, I would have come up with three or four totally different plans, each of which could have served as a backup for the others. I could have learned the route ahead of time, or made arrangements to help set up the meeting and accompany someone there, found out if a cab could go directly to Eppler South instead of to my usual drop-off place, or asked around until I found someone else who was definitely going and met up ahead of time, maybe for coffee-making it a win-win situation, especially considering the rain. I would not have been relying on chance or the casual good will of strangers. And that's just the thing ... my ability to "get around" is much more a set of contingencies than a single, easily articulated method. It grew out of years of cane practice and persistent trial-and-error. It grew from countless times when I got lost, re-found my way, got lost again, and realized that getting lost is neither permanent nor disgraceful. And, most of all, it grew out of the realization that there is no one right way to do anything-that all success is a patchwork of tactics we employ when they are needed. We start out, reappraise, continue, evaluate, adjust, invent alternatives, actively strategize, and make endless micro-decisions as information flows in. We are improvisational artists, juggling options like plates spinning high above our heads, deftly selecting this strategy or that as we proceed. I wouldn't say that it's difficult, but it can be intricate. In any case, it's definitely too much to describe in five seconds with one foot on the curb and the other still inside a taxi, no matter how articulate you believe yourself to be. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Gary Wunder] How People Who Get It Done Get It Done by Gary Wunder In writing an editor's note for "There's No One Way to Get There" by Sheri Wells-Jensen, I realized I could not put into it all the things I think must be said about how we get where we are going. The first step to getting things done is realizing that they can be done, even if doing them may be more challenging than we would wish. Most answers to questions are in the affirmative: I do this, this, and this. But in the case of blind people and challenges, what we don't do seems every bit as important. Let me see if I can make something positive out of statements about what people who get along in the world don't do: People who get things done don't just say, "It shouldn't be this hard." They may think it, but they know that complaining about what shouldn't be is less effective than working within the system to create something closer to what should be. People who get things done don't just say, "I deserve better than this" when confronted with stressful or anxiety-producing situations. Sure they feel it, but feeling it and letting it immobilize them are two different things. Stress is a normal part of life. So too is some level of anxiety. Some things will always be hard; other things are hard but get easier as we repeatedly do them. But the stumbling block that keeps things hard, creates anger and frustration, and keeps us feeling like victims is the idea that we deserve better. One of my friends said that he has started asking himself how his problems compare to people who live in more difficult places in the world. I have to find a building. I don't know where it is. So how does my need to problem-solve my way to a solution compare with the girl who spends three hours each day going to get water for her family? How does it compare to the unfortunate refugee whose life has been torn apart by a war he didn't start and didn't want? He reminds himself that the issue he is dealing with is smaller, and within his ability to change. It's hard, and it's frustrating to have to deal with, but unlike war or physical distance from potable water, he can overcome it for himself. One message we must find a way to share with blind people so they can live the lives they want is that stress, failing, and wishing things could be easier is a part of everyone's life. I get tired of making routine corrections to text we publish, but I bet my father got tired of moving levers on the machine that dug basements, and my mother tired of sweeping floors that were clean yesterday but were dirtied by foot traffic from all of us who failed to appreciate how much work went into her keeping things clean. We need to look at the world without thinking of ourselves as disadvantaged or permanently hobbled. We have challenges. Considered together they can seem daunting, but one at a time they are manageable. Whether they are our curses or our salvation we can decide, and helping people see that there really is a decision is part of why the National Federation of the Blind exists. We are here to eliminate barriers, but we are also here to say that we are just as capable of dealing with them as others. We are not frail; we do not consider ourselves entitled to a stress- free world. We will live as best we can, invoking the prayer that has been the salvation of so many: God, grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Lou Ann Blake] The Changing Landscape of Accessible Voting at the Polls by Lou Ann Blake From the Editor: Lou Ann Blake is a very busy woman. She is our go-to person for voting issues, and she is also the deputy executive director for blindness initiatives in the Jernigan Institute. Here is some history about the passage of the Help America Vote Act and what has happened since. With the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), blind, low- vision, and other voters with print disabilities have been able to cast a private and independent ballot at the polls. However, the type of accessible voting system used and how it is implemented has changed over the past sixteen years, due in large part to a lack of federal funding once the initial HAVA funds were spent, and increased security concerns surrounding elections in the United States. This article will discuss the transition from a direct recording electronic (DRE) voting system to a paper ballot and optical scan system that the majority of state and local governments have undertaken and the impact this change in voting systems has had on voters with print disabilities. It will also discuss the secrecy of their ballots. Voting Rights for People with Disabilities Prior to 2002, when HAVA was signed into law, there was no legal requirement that mandated the right of blind, low-vision, and other people with print disabilities to vote independently. Consequently, before HAVA, voting systems were inaccessible and most voters who were blind or had other print disabilities had to tell their choices to a sighted person and trust that person to mark their ballot as instructed. HAVA was enacted as a response to the problems that occurred with old mechanical-lever voting machines during the 2000 presidential election. Advocacy efforts led by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) resulted in HAVA's requirement that at least one accessible voting machine be available in all polling places for federal elections. For the first time in our nation's history, the right of blind and other voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently was guaranteed. However, HAVA only applies to federal elections, and, as a result, there are currently some states that do not provide an accessible voting system for state and local elections. In addition, HAVA does not provide a voter with a disability a right to file a lawsuit when her right to vote privately and independently in a federal election is violated; instead, the US Department of Justice is assigned the authority to enforce HAVA. Recent changes in US Department of Justice regulations have resulted in the successful application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in voting discrimination cases. These regulations extend to state and local elections the rights guaranteed by HAVA to voters with disabilities during federal elections by requiring election officials to provide voters with disabilities an opportunity to exercise their right to vote privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity provided to voters without disabilities. In addition, the ADA provides people with disabilities a private right of action when they have been discriminated against. Therefore, when blind voters in California were not able to vote privately and independently at their polling places because of malfunctioning accessible voting machines, and when blind voters in Maryland were not able to vote absentee privately and independently because of an inaccessible paper ballot, federal courts found that they had been discriminated against under Title II of the ADA. The First Generation of Accessible Voting Systems HAVA authorized the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to administer $3.9 billion in grants to the states so they could replace outdated lever voting machines by January 1, 2006, with either direct- recording electronic (DRE) touch screen voting machines or an optical scan system that included an accessible ballot-marking device. These first- generation accessible voting systems included the Diebold AccuVote, Election Systems & Software (ES&S) AutoMARK, and the Sequoia Edge. The advantage of the DRE touch screen voting machine was that all voters used the same system. To make this type of system accessible to a blind voter, poll workers simply had to attach headphones and the user interface keypad. Most DRE systems do not produce a paper ballot but record an image of the voter's ballot on an external drive. Unlike the DRE voting system, an optical scan system uses paper ballots that are marked by hand or an accessible ballot marking device (BMD) and then inserted into the optical scan tabulator. The Move to Paper Ballots and the Second Generation of Accessible Voting Systems In 2003, shortly after many states had begun implementing voting systems based on a DRE voting machine, computer security experts at Johns Hopkins University performed a security analysis of DRE voting systems that revealed security vulnerabilities. This analysis was followed by others that also raised security concerns, and nervous state legislators started following the lead of the Nevada legislature, which passed a law in 2004 requiring a voting system that produced a voter-verifiable paper record. The future of voting was all electronic when HAVA was passed in 2002. However, by 2019 that future has changed, with virtually all of the states requiring a paper ballot or voter verifiable paper record in response to the security concerns surrounding DREs. The security concerns and shift away from electronic ballots by election officials has resulted in the discontinuation of the development and manufacture of DRE voting systems by election technology vendors. Consequently, the second generation of accessible voting systems available to state and local election officials consists only of optical scan tabulators and accessible ballot marking devices. Xx These systems include the ExpressVote BMD from Election Systems & Software, the ImageCast Tablet BMD from Dominion Voting Solutions, the Verity Touch Writer BMD from Hart InterCivic, and the Unity Voting System. Election technology vendors promote BMDs as universal voting systems because they include a touchscreen, as well as accessibility features that enable the majority of voters with disabilities to vote privately and independently. All BMDs include a headphone jack and a user interface keypad so that blind and other print disabled voters can navigate through an audio ballot and privately and independently mark and print their ballot. In addition, the touch screen font size and contrast can be changed to make the ballot marking process easier for voters with low vision. Devices such as sip and puff and jelly switches can also be used with BMDs to make them accessible to voters with dexterity disabilities. In addition to accessibility features, another important feature of BMDs is that they eliminate the problems of stray marks and over-voting that are frequently encountered with hand-marked ballots. >From a Universal System for all Voters to a Segregated System for the Blind At the time that many states were abandoning a universal DRE voting system because of security concerns, there was no federal money available to purchase the replacement optical scan systems. Consequently, the replacement system that was implemented by most states and local governments relied on the majority of voters hand-marking their ballot and provided only one accessible ballot marking system per polling place. In addition, the fear that a BMD could be hacked through the computer used by election officials to design the ballot and program the software that are loaded onto the BMD has also prevented BMDs from being deployed as a universal voting system. However, these fears may not justify limiting the use of BMDs to voters with disabilities because the US Department of Homeland Security has developed many tools and services to assist state and local election officials and election technology vendors with managing risk to our election infrastructure. Limiting the use of BMDs to voters with disabilities creates a separate, unequal system for those voters and jeopardizes the secrecy of their ballots. As shown by the blind and low-vision voter surveys conducted by the National Federation of the Blind, the likelihood that the accessible voting system would be set up and running when a blind voter arrived at her polling place has decreased from 87 percent in 2008 to 66 percent in 2016 and 2018, and the likelihood that poll workers had problems setting-up or activating the system increased from 19 percent in 2008 to 33 percent in 2016 and 2018. This forces blind and low-vision voters to wait while poll workers attempt to figure out how to set-up or activate the accessible ballot marking systems. It too often means voters with disabilities are deprived of their right to vote privately and independently and instead must vote with assistance because of poorly trained poll workers. This does not meet the ADA's mandate to provide people with disabilities an opportunity to exercise their right to vote privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity provided to voters without disabilities. If the accessible ballot marking device was used as a universal voting system for use by all voters, it would be far more likely that the BMD would be set-up and running when a voter with a disability arrived at her polling place and that the poll workers would know how to operate the system. Finally, the secrecy of the ballots cast by voters with disabilities may be jeopardized when the use of the BMD is limited to disabled voters. The ability to cast a secret ballot is vital to our democracy since it enables a voter to vote for the candidate of her choice without fear. However, many of the BMDs currently in use do not enable a voter with a disability to cast a secret ballot because they produce a paper ballot that is different in size from the hand-marked paper ballot. In addition, many of the BMD paper ballots only list the candidates selected by the voter, as compared to the hand-marked paper ballot, which lists all of the candidates for each contest. When a contest is too close to call at the end of Election Day, the ballots are removed from the ballot box for a recount. When the ballot produced by a BMD is different in size and content from the hand-marked ballot, and its use is limited to voters with disabilities, election workers performing the recount will know that a BMD ballot was cast by a voter with a disability. This is not a secret ballot. The mandate of the ADA to provide voters with disabilities an opportunity to exercise their right to vote that is equal to the opportunity that is provided to voters without disabilities has not been met. Legislative Efforts to Mandate a Segregated Voting System for Voters with Disabilities The Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act, HR 6093, was first introduced into the House of Representatives on June 13, 2018, and while the bill was never voted out of committee, efforts are currently underway to revive it in the Senate. This bill will amend HAVA to require a paper ballot. In addition, it will not allow funds provided under the PAVE Act to be used to purchase BMDs unless they are to be used by voters with disabilities. States will be provided only enough funds under the PAVE Act to purchase one accessible BMD per polling place. Any legislative effort that mandates a paper ballot and a segregated system for voters with disabilities must be vigorously opposed because it fails to provide blind and low-vision voters with an opportunity to exercise their right to vote that is equal to the opportunity provided to nondisabled voters as required by Title II of the ADA. Surveys of the Blind and Low-Vision Voter Experience There is no data available that quantifies the specific impact that a segregated, paper-based voting system has on the voting experience of blind and low-vision voters. Similarly, there is no data available that focuses specifically on the issues experienced by voters with disabilities on Election Day in 2018 in the twenty states that were using DREs that were more than a decade old and had outlived their useful life. However, national surveys of blind and low-vision voters conducted by the National Federation of the Blind following the elections in November 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 provide insight on the general experience of blind and low-vision voters during these elections. Trends revealed by the 2016 and 2018 surveys may reveal the impact that the changing landscape of accessible voting has had on voters with disabilities. Data from the 2018 survey indicates that the percentage of blind voters who voted at the polls (85 percent) was consistent with the data from 2012 through 2016. However, the number of blind voters who voted at the polls and who requested or were offered an accessible voting machine declined significantly from 2016 (92 percent) to 2018 (81 percent) as compared to a steady increase reflected in all prior surveys (63 percent in 2008, 79 percent in 2012, and 88 percent in 2014). The percentage of blind voters surveyed who reported that they were able to cast private and independent ballots decreased from 79 percent in 2016 to 68 percent in 2018, and the percentage of voters who cast their ballots with assistance increased from 17 percent to 29 percent. For blind voters who cast their ballots on accessible voting machines, the majority of voters surveyed indicate mixed results, especially when compared with 2008. As noted earlier in this article, only 66 percent of the blind voters surveyed in 2016 and 2018 who used an accessible voting system said that it was up and running when they arrived at their polling place, as compared to 87 percent in 2008, 63 percent in 2012, and 74 percent in 2014. The percentage of voters who used accessible voting systems and reported that poll workers had problems setting up or activating the machines remained high in 2016 and 2018, at 33 percent. This compared to 19 percent in 2008, 29 percent in 2014, and 33 percent in 2012. In 2018, 21 percent of blind voters who cast ballots on accessible machines said that poll workers did not provide them with clear instructions on how to use the machines, similar to the results from 2016 (20 percent), but a significant increase from 10 percent in 2014. However, 54 percent of respondents said they did not need such instructions in 2016 and 2018. Only 59 percent of blind voters were able to cast their ballots on accessible machines with no problems in 2018, compared to 87 percent in 2008, 62 percent in 2012, 60 percent in 2014, and 66 percent in 2016. The percentage of blind voters who were able to cast their ballots privately and independently using an accessible voting machine declined to 75 percent in 2018, compared to 86 percent in 2008, 75 percent in 2012, 83 percent in 2014, and 85 percent in 2016. In 2018, 75 percent of blind voters surveyed indicated that they were somewhat to very satisfied with their voting experience, as compared to 89 percent in 2008, 75 percent in 2012, 78 percent in 2014, and 80 percent in 2016. The percentage of blind voters who were somewhat or very dissatisfied with their voting experience has increased from 11 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2018 (compared with 19 percent in 2012, 15 percent in 2014, and 17 percent in 2016). The percentage of surveyed blind voters who said their voting experience was better than their previous experience also declined. The 2018 percentage was 28 percent, compared to 35 percent in 2016 (33 percent in 2008, 27 percent in 2012, and 21 percent in 2014). However, the percentage of blind voters surveyed who said that their experience was worse than their previous experience was higher than all previous surveys at 20 percent, continuing the trend of results from 2012, 2014, and 2016 surveys (17 percent, 15 percent, and 15 percent respectively). This compares with only 7 percent in the 2008 survey results. Finally, the percentage of surveyed blind voters who said they would vote again remained high at 98.8 percent. When asked what would improve their voting experience, only 15 percent of the blind and low-vision voters who responded to this question in 2018 said it did not need to be improved, as compared to 20 percent in 2016. Thirteen percent of the 2016 responses said that poll workers needed better training on the operation of their accessible voting machines, while 6 percent of the responses said that poll workers needed better training on how to interact properly with a blind voter. In 2018, 21 percent said that better training of poll workers on the accessible voting machine and on how to interact with blind voters would improve their voting experience. In 2016 the need to correct machine breakdowns and malfunctions was noted in 9 percent of responses, while a new machine, better machine, or a machine that worked was mentioned in 11 percent of the 2018 responses. The data from the 2018 survey highlight several issues that should be of concern to blind and low-vision voters. The percentage of all blind voters surveyed who reported that they were able to cast private and independent ballots decreased from 79 percent in 2016 to 68 percent in 2018. In addition, the number of blind voters who were able to cast a private and independent ballot using an accessible voting machine decreased from 85 percent in 2016 to 75 percent in 2018. In both categories these numbers reverse a trend of steady improvement from 2008 to 2016. The same trend reversal is reflected in the percentage of voters who cast their ballots with assistance, which increased significantly to 29 percent in 2018 from a low of 17 percent in 2016. In 2018 the percentage of voters who were able to cast their vote using an accessible voting machine without any problems was only 59 percent. This continues the steady decline in this category from 2008, when a high of 87 percent experienced no problems when they cast their vote using an accessible voting machine. These trend reversals may reflect the unfamiliarity of poll workers--and to some extent of voters with disabilities with the new accessible BMDs that are now in use in most states. Also, the continued use in some states of DREs that are more than a decade old may also be reflected. As poll workers and voters become more familiar with BMDs, and as the remaining DREs are replaced with BMDs, it will be important to note if data from future surveys reflects a reversal of these trends. To read the entire 2018 Blind and Low-Vision Voter Experience report, visit https://nfb.org/programs-services/center- excellence-nonvisual-access/national-center-nonvisual-election-3. Conclusion The move by the majority of states to require a paper ballot or some form of paper record has resulted in the loss of a universal voting system, and the resulting segregated system for voters with disabilities has meant the loss of a secret ballot for many blind, low-vision, and other print disabled voters. In 1954 the United States Supreme Court found the separate but equal doctrine unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. Clearly there is inequality when voters with disabilities do not have a secret ballot because their ballot is different in size and content from the hand- marked ballot. Inequality also exists when only 75 percent of blind voters who used an accessible voting system were able to mark their ballots privately and independently because one-third of poll workers do not know how to setup or operate the system or when the system malfunctions because it is old technology. Restoring a universal voting system will help to resolve these inequities because all ballots will be the same size and have the same content, and the necessity for poll workers to know how to operate the accessible voting system will be stronger because everyone will use the same machine. Finally, a universal BMD system will also prevent the over- voting and stray marks associated with the hand-marking of ballots. It is vital that all blind and low-vision Americans join in opposition to the unequal treatment we currently experience in the exercise of our right to vote. Let your state and local election officials and state and federal legislators know that you oppose a segregated voting system because separate is not equal. As first-class citizens, we deserve nothing less! ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Luc Gandarias] Regarding the Colorado Center for the Blind and My Experience by Luc Gandarias From the Editor: Luc Gandarias made a wonderful presentation at the convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington, and he writes with a flavor that is seldom seen from someone who will be turning sixteen as you read this. Gary and Denise Mackenstadt were the people who were primarily responsible for recruiting him into the Federation. Luc's writing displays a wonderful sense of humor and brings quite a lot of wisdom to his subject. I hope that this is but the first of many articles he will write for us. He has taken his advanced placement biology test using Braille and audio, and he loves math and science. He wants to go to a good university and become an astrophysicist. Luc participates in cross country and in track. He uses a human guide, but does not compete in the disabled category. He loves to bike, and in addition to all the physical outdoor things he does, he loves computer nerdy stuff. He will soon attend the NFB EQ, a week-long engineering program, and he has been accepted to participate in the Microsoft Ninja Camp program later this Summer. Here is what he has to say about his initial reaction to attending the Colorado Center for the Blind and his subsequent reflections on the experience: Good afternoon fellow Federationists. I am glad to return to the Washington affiliate convention after a year break due to my aunt's wedding, which was inconveniently scheduled over convention weekend. At any rate, I am here to speak to you today about my summer at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB). Before I can talk about the main points, it is important that I give some background. I first learned of CCB while I was at national convention three years ago. My mother and I were returning to our hotel room after a lengthy general session to change and prepare for the banquet when she noticed the CCB table. Immediately she strode over to it with me in tow and began cheerfully firing questions at the CCB rep behind it. I listened in curiously until I heard it mentioned that it was an eight-week program all the way in Colorado, from which point I tuned out the conversation. Clearly having her voracious appetite for answers satiated, mother turned to me and said "Excellent! Guess where you're going after freshman year." I, for one, was vehemently opposed to this idea. I was twelve and entering seventh grade at the time. I was certainly opposed to anything that impinged upon my summer pastimes of alternately hanging out with my friends and playing Minecraft. I clearly wasn't seeing the wisdom in going to such a program, though it would provide the skills training I needed to realize my goals in the professional workspace. As time wore on, I grew considerably warmer about the idea of going to CCB. I talked with many of my closest Federation family members, who all thought that the Colorado Center was a perfect fit for me. They said the experience would give me a taste of what college living might be like. Another factor that contributed to my newfound desire to attend the program was the additional activities they offered, such as outdoor rock climbing, whitewater rafting, and a 5K run. These activities were all under sleepshades, which I was understandably underwhelmed about. However, what I didn't realize is that once you're under sleepshades for eight hours a day anyway, it isn't a problem to put them on for recreational activities as well. Eventually the time came for me to attend the program, so my mother and I made the journey down to Littleton to get situated in the apartments. It was then that I met my counselor, a college student in Georgia, and also the president of NABS in that state, named Justin Heard. This is also when I met a fellow student named Brett Camen. I would soon grow quite close to both of these people. After the three-day period of rest while everyone got to know one another, the program came on hard and fast. The home management segment of the program held no real difficulties for me since I have always been expected to cook and help out with the chores at home like any other kid. However, even in the first week, I saw enormous growth in other students at the program as their counselors instructed them on how to complete a basic cooking or cleaning task and then turned them loose to try it themselves. By the end of the program, several students who came to CCB scared to open an oven were making entire meals unsupervised, and that is the power of Structured Discovery. Though the physical tasks of cooking and cleaning weren't difficult for me, the aspect of living with three other people was. It was exceedingly hard to keep my possessions separate from those of others. There were even several instances when I went on a mad rampage around the apartment looking for one of my dress shirts that had inexplicably dematerialized from the hanger. To make matters even more convoluted, my counselor and I both wore the same size clothing and had pairs of khakis that were identical. This experience greatly improved my organizational skills, which desperately needed help anyway. Probably the class that challenged me the most and incited the most growth in my skills was travel. I was a competent cane user before coming to the program, and I had experience using sleepshades, but my skills under them were mediocre at best. This changed quickly, however. CCB mandated that all students were to have their sleepshades on from announcements at the beginning of the day until the bell at the end. This was initially quite difficult for me, and I was caught several times peeking, but I adapted reasonably quickly. After about the second week I didn't mind not being able to use my sight, but I did mind very much the sticky, itchy, uncomfortable nature of the sleepshades. The temperature was in the high 90s in Littleton after all. However, I slowly grew accustomed to this too. The first few days of travel class were slow going and mainly consisted of basic cane techniques, but we quickly progressed to lessons navigating different intersections in the neighborhood surrounding the center. When I asked when we would work on traveling to specific locations, I was informed that they would start doing such lessons the following week. This was too long for me to wait, so I planned a trip with one of my friends to go to the Microsoft store in Park Meadows on Thursday of the second week of the program. This store was fifty miles from the apartments, all the way on the other side of Denver, and it involved three train transfers and two busses to get to. Michael and I actually had no real reason to go to this store, because we neither needed nor had the money to purchase anything. The trip was meant to challenge our problem-solving skills and to prove our abilities to the counselors so we could do other such expeditions in the future. This played out well for me since the travel instructors were quite willing to let me go on independent routes or to go with another student. They even permitted me to go to Wells Fargo to resolve an issue with my bank account during center hours-alone of course. Perhaps the most beloved part of each week at CCB was the Sunday shopping spree and cleaning extravaganza. Students would loudly complain to one another about how long shopping took and how much they didn't want to clean. I never found cleaning particularly grueling; in fact, it usually took me about a half hour to clean the apartment, which went rather quickly. However, I am in full agreement with the other students regarding the laborious task of shopping for the week. It was mind-numbing and took hours. The shopper's assistants were slow and rarely acquired the correct items. A list of twenty-five items took nearly two hours to locate, acquire, and check out. At home, I know the layout of all the local stores and can easily find almost any item. A shopping trip like the one described above would take my family and me about twenty minutes total. In spite of this, I feel that it was beneficial to do this on a regular basis. I may have a more efficient method for shopping in my area, but the experience at the center allowed me to see what shopping will be like when I am in college or living on my own. Additionally, creating a weekly budget to provide meals for various eating styles in my apartment was a challenge and a necessary skill to develop. I learned a lot about budget and compromise. Also, I learned how expensive my favorite summer meal of Greek pasta salad is to make when not shopping at Trader Joes. Truly the most highly anticipated and fun part of the program was the NFB national convention. All eighty-nine students from all three programs were flown to Florida to experience the magic of a national convention. Our trip was excellent. Like normal, we were required to wear our sleepshades from eight in the morning until five in the evening unless we were sitting in a meeting. This amounted to very little time actually wearing the shades since meetings comprised most of the day, but navigating around the hotel under shades was torture. The place was cavernous and echoing in one area, which was difficult to navigate, but not too bad. The lower hall was a different story altogether. It was carpeted and lined with tables that made shorelining impossible. The only way to navigate this hallway was to make an educated guess where the walls were and walk as straight as possible toward the escorts at the end of the hall. This gave me all kinds of mobility practice in a vast and unknown area. It was good experience for my fellow CCB students and me. General sessions were long but never boring. I have had the good fortune to attend convention three times before this summer, so I knew what to expect. This was not the case for many of my peers, and they were overcome by the sheer number of blind people in one place. Something I noticed among all students during the convention was the desire for involvement in this great organization. Even those most depressed by their condition before coming to the convention were fired up by the NFB philosophy by the end. Interacting with people who share ideas, adventures, and prospects for the future was a new experience for many of us. All that I learned at CCB can't be contained in this speech, but one thing I would like to mention before I close is that I will never be a dishwasher. Though my plan has been all along to go to college and study to become a physicist, I am doubly convinced that this will be my path now. At the end of the program, students were assigned to an internship at various local establishments, and my job was a dishwasher at a local restaurant. On the first day, the supervisor told my friend and I that he hoped this internship made sure that we never worked in the restaurant industry, and that set the tone for the rest of the week. On the upside, we were provided free food and anything we wanted to drink the entire time we worked there. I also enjoyed the commute in the morning. It was rather long since we worked in Golden. This commute was made without supervision after the first two days, when we were deemed to have sufficient travel skills to find our own way. Eight weeks at CCB seemed daunting at the beginning of the summer, and I thought I would lose all my vacation. In the end, I am so happy I went to CCB and came to know the amazing friends that I met. I have people I can call all across the country now. I have lifelong friends, and I got a glimpse of what skills I need beyond my regular school day. Thankfully, my NFB family and early TVI, Denise Mackenstadt, set me on a good path. I only hope that attendance at CCB will be an option for more Washington state students. This is not just a live-in program but a real-life program. ---------- 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 or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three-hundred-and-fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit , and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- Social Butterflies at National Convention by the Communications Team From the Editor: The Communications Team is headed by Stephanie Cascone, and serving with her on that team are our web guru, Alyssa Vetro; our director of public relations, Chris Danielsen; and our director of social media, Karen Anderson. I have the pleasure of getting to sit in on and contribute to the deliberations of the committee, which I value as a way to know more about what's going on and a way to get good ideas for the Braille Monitor. Here is what the team has to say about participating on social media during our 2019 National Convention: Whether or not you consider yourself to be a social butterfly, national convention is one of the best opportunities for in-person engagement and connection with your Federation family. However, there is another way to also amplify the experience. If you're attending national convention or unable to attend this year, connect with members, other attendees, and the session topics online through social media. Let's leave the cocoon and explore the many blossoming platforms that you can land on to engage with us during convention. Social media allows for our voices to be heard on digital public forums, although most can be also set to private, and it's a way to have conversations with each other anywhere from a smartphone or desktop computer. Similar to butterflies, we can glide back and forth from different platforms as much or as little as we would like. Here is some general information about the various social media platforms: Twitter The idea behind Twitter is to say what you are thinking or doing very concisely, in 280 characters or less. When you sign up for Twitter, you'll create a username or handle. This is what people will associate with you along with the name you list. For example, our National Federation of the Blind username is NFB_Voice. In your profile, you'll be able to edit a little more information about yourself such as a brief bio, your picture, and your location. When you create a tweet, which is what posts are called on Twitter, it will be listed under your profile. By placing the @ symbol in front of a username, you can tag, or mention, another user in your tweet. . A follower is someone who follows you on Twitter and sees your updates on their home feed, and you can follow people back to see their tweets in your home feed. . Your home timeline displays a stream of tweets from accounts you have chosen to follow on Twitter. . Retweet (RT) is a way for someone to share a tweet from another user's account. . Hashtag is the act of using the # symbol in front of any word or phrase to tag your tweets. When someone clicks that hashtag, they see your tweet along with everyone else's tweets using that same exact term. . Alt-text for images-be sure to turn on the feature to compose image descriptions that can be found in settings. If you create a post with an image, a field will then populate to include the description. . If you are using Twitter on your iPhone or Android, the Twitter app is fairly accessible. On iOS, Twitterrific is another popular app that has taken accessibility very seriously. On your desktop computer, you can use Twitter by going to the website twitter.com. You can also choose to download a client such as OpenTween or Chicken Nugget. Because of Twitter's decisions about what to allow outside apps to access, these clients are not always up to date with your direct messages, but they do provide an ad-free and easy-to-access way of reading and writing tweets. It is worth noting that we will be live-tweeting much of the 2019 National Convention, so make sure to follow us. Facebook Facebook is arguably the most popular social media platform. On it you can "friend" people you know and keep up with what they are doing, join groups related to things you are interested in, and follow the "pages" of companies and organizations you are interested in. For example, you can find us on Facebook by searching for "National Federation of the Blind." If you are using an iOS or Android device to interact with Facebook, you should download the Facebook app. If you are using your desktop or laptop computer for Facebook, you use the website facebook.com. Alternatively, you can use m.facebook.com for a "lighter" experience. By lighter we mean fewer options as the downside but easier screens and more obvious options on the upside. During the convention, there may be various times in which we Facebook Live. This is a video that is streaming on the platform that allows you to watch and comment. We'll be sure to post the expected times prior to, so those at home or work can be ready. Facebook has recently added the ability to add alt text to photos using the mobile app. To do this, create the post and share it. Once you have done that, find the post in your newsfeed and double tap on it. Double tap on the picture, and then double tap on "more." In that menu you should find the option to edit alt text. Instagram and LinkedIn The newest flowers that we in the NFB are pollinating are Instagram (IG) and LinkedIn. Instagram is a primarily picture-based social media platform. While this doesn't sound like something that will interest many blind people, the ability to add alt text to pictures was recently added, and this makes IG a much more enjoyable experience. There are also Instagram videos which can be enjoyable, so make sure to follow us @NFB_Voice. LinkedIn is a great social media tool if you are looking for a job or if you are an employer looking to hire someone. The goal of LinkedIn is to connect people and to show off your resum? and experience. You can currently add alt text on LinkedIn only by using the desktop site. Once you have uploaded your image, click on "add description" to add alt text. You can find us on LinkedIn by searching for National Federation of the Blind. Flying Away In conclusion, it would be great to connect on social media. If you're new to it, it's ok to give it a taste and see what you enjoy. Whether you choose one platform or all of them, social media can add value to your convention experience and might even help you meet people you had not met before. We look forward to strengthening connections and creating new ones through these various platforms. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Eric Duffy] Blindness, Dual Disabilities, the Federation, and Aira by Eric Duffy From the Editor: Eric Duffy lives in Ohio, and he is well-known in the Federation for his service as the president of the Ohio affiliate, his work at the Jernigan Institute as the director of technology, and the kindness and enthusiasm he brings to everything he does. This first appeared in the spring issue of the Buckeye Bulletin and has been updated as a result of recent discussions ongoing at Aira. Here is what he has to say about functioning with dual disabilities. Neither of my parents graduated from high school, but they both had more than a healthy dose of common sense. I was born at least two months early in 1963. I was quickly placed in an incubator, which of course saved my life, but it also left me blind. I don't know how old I was when my mom took me to the doctor and said to him, "This baby is blind." The doctor said, "Lady, there is nothing wrong with this baby." My mom said, "He doesn't look around, and he doesn't turn his head until he hears a sound." She said, "I've had enough children to know what I'm talking about." After a little more convincing by my mom, the doctor performed some tests and told her she was right. He said, "Your son is blind, and the best you can do is to take him home, keep him clean, and take good care of him. Someone will have to care for him for the rest of his life." That is the story my mom told me more than once many years later. Of course my parents were devastated. They knew nothing about blindness. They had just been told that their youngest son was going to have to be cared for for the rest of his life. But their troubles weren't over yet. My mom soon noticed that I wasn't reaching some of the appropriate milestones for movement, such as sitting up, crawling, and walking. The doctors eventually told her that I had cerebral palsy. They wanted her to put braces on my legs at night and get me into physical therapy. I remember the braces and the physical therapy all too well. The braces were heavy, they felt tight on my legs, and if they thought it was hard for me to walk before, what were they thinking the braces were going to do? So naturally I fought the braces and the therapy. When I was still very young, I remember having two surgeries on my legs to lengthen muscles. For some little time I walked on my tiptoes. I remember being in casts for months. And of course there was more physical therapy. When most kids my age were starting kindergarten and first grade, I was dealing with leg surgeries and their aftermath. I wasn't thinking about school, and neither were my parents. I had to walk better before I could go to school, so I started school at a later age than most kids. I have a younger sister, and of course she was walking, running, jumping, and doing a lot of physical activities long before I was. So at some point in my life I learned that I was different from everyone else in my family. I was told that I was blind. I was told that I couldn't walk like everyone else. I don't know when I heard the term "cerebral palsy" for the first time, but I do remember being told that I couldn't do certain things until I learned to walk better. I was also told that I was going to go to the school for the blind and that I was going to have to stay there during the week and come home on the weekends. I wanted no part of that. When the day came for me to go to the school for testing, I told my mom that I wasn't going to do it. She could take me there, but I wasn't going to talk to them. Well, I did what I said I wasn't going to do, and they got the testing done. I don't remember how that happened. But they told my mom that I wasn't going to be able to read and write Braille. They said that my hands weren't strong enough. I heard my mom telling other people this. By that time, I wanted to learn to read and write Braille. I was placed in the classroom of first grade teacher Mary Butler. She started teaching me to read and write Braille. I started school in April, and by June I could read and write Braille as well as anyone in my class. In fact, one evening, when my dad came to pick me up, they called him into the office and asked him who was teaching me Braille at home. He said that no one was. No one in my family knew Braille. They told him they couldn't believe how fast I was learning to read and write. Their concerns about my physical strength were put to rest also. I played on the playground, took physical education, and did the same things that the rest of the kids did. To their credit, that is exactly what the teachers and staff at the school encouraged me to do. I soon figured out that I couldn't run, jump, and do some of the things that the others in my class could do. I also didn't take long to figure out that, if I could use my upper body to compensate in any way for the leg strength that I didn't have, I would have a great equalizer. I started to do things to build my upper body strength. While everyone else was running around, I was hanging on the monkey bars and the jungle gym. I knew that I could build my hand and arm strength and that doing so was going to be to my advantage. I don't remember anyone telling me to do this. It just made sense. As most boys do, my friends and I liked to wrestle, and yes, occasionally we got into fights. Word soon had it that whatever you do you can't let Duffy get his hands on you. If he gets his hands on you, it's all over. You're done. I wrestled in elementary school and made the high school varsity team. Balance and leg strength just weren't a big issue anymore. I completed all of my physical education requirements, from which I could have gotten an exemption. At some point I got smart enough to realize the long-term value of physical therapy, and I actually volunteered for it. So it went throughout my time at the school for the blind until it came to orientation and mobility. I was given basic cane travel instruction. In fact, I had permission to leave the campus alone and travel to nearby locations. As I continued to work with instructors, however, they became concerned with the fact that I fell occasionally. For me it was not a big deal. I fell, got up, and kept going. But the school decided that they were no longer going to give me orientation and mobility instruction. When I asked what I was supposed to do when I started college, I was told, "You're smart enough to figure it out." Figure it out I did. I taught myself to use the bus system in Columbus. I was soon traveling wherever I wanted to go. I then began to question why so many people were nervous about traveling in new places alone. Why did we have to have these highly educated professionals teaching travel? It just didn't seem to be a big deal. As I began spending time around other Federationists, I learned that there were others who didn't spend a lot of time thinking about how to get from one point to another. Like me, they thought traveling as a blind person just wasn't something to spend a whole lot of time thinking and worrying about. I got a lot of good tips from Barbara Pierce and Bob Eschbach. There came a time when I was elected to the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio. This meant that I was also traveling on behalf of the organization. Sometimes during that travel I would fall. No one made a big deal of those falls. One time, as I was walking through a gas station with a glass Coke bottle in my hand, my foot hit a pump island. I went down. The bottle broke, and my hand was cut. The cut seemed bad, so I went to a nearby fire station and from there to an urgent care center. I went from the urgent care center to an emergency room, where they told me I needed stitches. I won't take up space here describing everything I said to try to convince the doctors that I didn't need stitches. Let's just say that they weren't amused when I started talking about what I had learned about stitches in medical school. Long before that point I had come to understand that society tends to judge all blind people on interactions with just one or two blind people. I was proud of the work that the Federation was doing and that I was beginning to be a part of the leadership in Ohio. But I also knew I had balance problems. I did not want people to judge our work and our organization based on my falls. I called Barbara Pierce and told her what had happened. I also told her that, if she thought I should, I was prepared to resign from the board. She said she wouldn't hear of it. She said, "You didn't fall because you're blind." After that point I had no more questions. It was a refreshing change to go from a school where I was told that I wasn't good enough for its orientation and mobility program to an organization that embraced me. I have often heard people criticize the Federation by saying that we are not accepting of people with multiple disabilities. When it is pointed out that I have a disability other than blindness and that I am a leader in the Ohio affiliate, the critics don't know how to respond. I was once walking with Jim Gashel and other Federationists at a rather fast pace while Jim was still employed as the director of strategic initiatives for the Federation. We were walking on some narrow and rather uneven sidewalks. Jim asked if I would like to take his arm. I did, and I began to explain about the cerebral palsy. Jim simply said, "I know," and we didn't discuss it any further. John Par? has always been good about pointing out ramps and asking whether or not I need assistance when steps were the best way to go. President Riccobono has done the same thing when we have walked together. All of this is part of the reason I say the Federation is an accepting family that I'm proud to be a part of. In 2016 I began to use what was then a new service called Aira. When signing up for the service, I created an online profile. I was asked if there were health issues or medical concerns that I wanted Aira to know about. I did not mention the cerebral palsy. I said nothing about balance concerns. While taking my first walk using the Aira glasses, I hit my foot on the bottom of a construction fence. The Aira agent had told me the fence was there, and I touched it with my cane. Nevertheless, as I walked along the fence, my foot hit one of the supports that were sticking out, and I went down. I popped up quickly and went on walking. Of course the agent asked me if I was ok, and I said I was fine. I continued my walk to the Walgreen's store. When I reached into my pocket to get my wallet, I noticed there was a problem with the little finger on my left hand. Actually, I thought I had broken it. That night I spent several hours in the emergency room only to find out that it was a sprain. I never told anyone at Aira until about eighteen months later when I had lunch with the agent with whom I had been working when the fall happened. In late July of 2017 I was walking to a barbershop in Baltimore. The Aira agent told me I was approaching construction ahead. She suggested that I turn around, walk back to the corner, cross the street, get past the construction, and cross the street again. I said no, that sounded way too time-consuming. I said I would step out into the street and get around the construction that way. Wouldn't you know it, my foot hit a traffic cone, and I went down. A very concerned Aira agent asked if I was ok, and I told her that I was. I could hear the concern in her voice, and I tried to reassure her. I continued my walk to the barbershop, got my haircut, and walked back to the Jernigan Institute. Later that evening I received a call from an Aira team lead. He and I had developed a good rapport. He said he was calling out of personal concern and because the Aira agent had reported my fall and that she was very concerned. I assured him that I was fine and that there was no further need for worry. I knew then, however, that something had to change. I then called my friend Amy who is still a vice president at Aira. I explained what had happened, and of course she was already aware of my fall. I told her about the cerebral palsy. I told her that it is something I have dealt with all of my life. I explained that I know how to fall without getting hurt. I also said that, if I needed medical assistance after a fall while I was working with an Aira agent, I would let the agent know. I told Amy that I understand that the agents will be concerned when I fall and that in fact I appreciate the concern. But I said that I am always going to fall. Sometimes I will fall while working with an Aira agent. But somehow, you have to help me deliver the message to the agents that, if I fall and tell them that I'm ok, I am ok. We should go on as normal. I can't have agents panic every time I fall. Much to Amy's credit and to that of Aira, the message has gotten through. New agents get it as well. My falling is not a big deal to me, to the Federation, or to Aira, and that is how it should be. I believe Aira has saved me from many falls. They can spot uneven terrain ahead and warn me of it in advance. They point out rough or cracked sidewalks. As I get older, falling takes a bigger toll on my arms and shoulders, so I appreciate it when an Aira agent or anyone else for that matter helps me avoid a fall. Aira has a policy that requires agents to remain silent while an explorer is crossing the street. At first glance this policy makes sense. However, many people want to know when they are veering into the parallel traffic. This kind of information can be extremely helpful to those with hearing loss. I would like to know when I am veering, and I would also like to be directed to the curb cut. An agent giving direction while I am crossing can help me avoid a fall. I am one of Aira's biggest champions, and I have been since the first time I used it on that walk to Walgreen's when I sprained my finger. I will continue to champion Aira, but I am making a simple request. Let me check a box, sign a waiver, or do something to indicate that I understand the company's street-crossing policy, but I am waiving liability in order to get the information I need. Many of us have been in ongoing discussions with Aira about this policy for more than a year. They tell us they are listening. They hear our concerns. I believe them, and I believe they will be responsive. I know many of the people in the administration of Aira. They are good people, and I believe they want to provide the best service possible while protecting the best interests of the company. I do not know how the revised policy Aira is working on will turn out, but I am an optimist, and I believe the change will be acceptable to all concerned. Whether or not it turns out to my liking, I will continue to use Aira just as much as I always have. I will continue to champion the service as much as I always have. But I am intelligent enough to ask for the information I need and use it in a responsible and appropriate way, and I trust Aira to know this and to act accordingly. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Peggy Chong] A Blind Man Whose Business Was Doing Business by Peggy Chong From the Editor: Peggy Chong is an exceedingly active member of the National Federation of the Blind, and she makes frequent valuable contributions to the Braille Monitor. In addition, each month she sends out an email to her growing list of subscribers, with the topic of the month from The Blind History Lady. Below is her April email. If you would like to subscribe to The Blind History Lady's email, send a note to theblindhistorylady at gmail.com. Happy Spring to my Blind History Lady fans. This time of year cures my cabin fever. I like to get out and find new places to go. My story this month is about a man who got out and tried varied careers and modes of transportation in the late 1800s. If not for a few newspaper articles, William would go unnoticed to the world. He thought of himself as just an average guy working at whatever he could to support his family. I am sure he loved spring as well. He had little education and many hard breaks in life. In some ways, his hard breaks are what made him a relatively successful businessman, father, and husband. May I introduce to you William Branch. William Nicols Branch was born in July of 1852 to William H. and Mary Branch in Hamilton County, Ohio. Soon after his birth, his parents moved to the Ramsey County area of Minnesota. Father William and an older brother also named William H. were carpenters and bricklayers, a good profession for the new state and its growing communities. The Branch family had six children in total, William being the third. It is believed that William became blind at a young age. In about 1865, the school for the blind in Faribault knew of him but had not been able to convince his family to enroll him as a student at that time. The institution was new. The first class did not begin until 1866, and many parents labored under the false impression that the school was also an asylum-a place where one might put a family member away who was feeble- minded; a place where people went in but did not come out; a place to get sick or stay for the rest of one's life. They certainly did not think it was a school. In 1867 at the age of 15, William was finally enrolled by his parents at the school for the blind. At that time the school for the blind and the school for the deaf were housed in the same buildings. There were far more deaf students than blind students, and there was only one instructor for blind children for the first few years of the program. While at school William learned to play music for a trade. He played the piano, organ, violin, base, and flute in the school presentations, musical reviews, and annual concerts. During his time at the school, there was not a class in piano tuning. Indeed, the only occupational training that was available for blind students was that of a cooper (barrel builder). After leaving the school in 1873, he moved back to the St. Paul area near family. He is not listed as a graduate, most likely because he was an older student who was focusing on employment. William's father had died on New Year's Eve of 1872. Because there was little support for a widow, William could not rely on his mother or family to support a blind child; he had to make it on his own. For a time he tried being a milkman, delivering milk door-to-door on a horse for the rural neighborhood. His horse worked something like a guide dog. William listened for fences, groves of trees, or other landmarks to indicate a drive. William tugged the reigns to tell the horse what direction to turn. The job was short lived. You may wonder how he even thought about riding a horse by himself. When he was a young boy, William showed off his horse-riding skills at the Dan Rice Circus one night. It was late after dark-a disadvantage to many of the boys and young men who wished to ride the trick mule pony of the circus. There was little lamplight for the sighted boys, but being blind and having little usable vision, the lack of light did not bother young William. He accepted the challenge of trying to stay on the bucking mule. He did stay on and won the five-dollar prize that night for his accomplishments. When he got home later that night and told his family that he won the money, he got a "licking" from his father for trying such a stunt. Next, he took a job in a piano factory in St. Paul where pianos were built, repaired, and tuned. He worked in the tuning room with other blind and sighted piano tuners. Here is where he learned the profession most thought of as possible for the blind. According to William, the blind employees were the best at the shop because they paid attention to the little details. He befriended the blind men and eagerly learned their craft. Music helped him to earn money. William played the piano, violin, cornet, flute, and clarinet. All of these he played with better-than- average skill. Knowing how to play several instruments meant that he could also get jobs playing music for many occasions. He could sit in for another musician in another band at short notice. He would travel by streetcar or walk to most of his engagements just as he did in getting to the piano factory. In 1876 William married Nellie, a woman five years his junior, who immigrated from Sweden in 1869. The couple had four children. Sadly, their two boys died at very young ages. James was born in 1877 and George in 1879. Neither boy made it to his fifth birthday. The couple later had daughter Sara, born in 1888, and Lillian, born in 1898. In 1890 William worked out of his home that he purchased that year at 981 Margaret Street in St. Paul. Few blind people could afford to purchase a home, so even though one of his businesses did not succeed, the combination of all his efforts provided for his family. Besides piano tuning he also advertised as an acupuncturist out of their home. This particular business was not very successful, and after a few years he no longer advertised the service. No records show where he received training for this profession. Some tuners hired children to lead them around or had their own children do so. In William's case, there is no indication that he used a sighted guide at all. His sons died before being able to do so. His daughters were born much later. There is no mention of William's wife in news articles, leading me to believe that she did not act as his guide either. To get to his various piano-tuning jobs, William rode a bicycle through St. Paul for many years. A blind man riding a bike? Yes, it was not as unusual as you would think in the Twin Cities. Once one piano tuner tried it and succeeded, others did the same. The ruts in the road from the wagons left a deep trail to follow and helped keep the wheels of the bike inside of the wagon rut. By listening and noting the changes in ruts, he recognized intersections and large alleys or driveways. He noted the change in the air. A sudden breeze could mean an alley or a taller building. William rode a horse through town if he could rent one. Of course, it was important for him to know where he was going when riding. A horse does not want to injure itself and avoids obstacles that the blind rider might not notice; this made it even more difficult for William to know where he was and where he intended to go. Walking alone on the streets of St. Paul, William often was offered help. Sometimes he needed the assistance; most times he did not. Sometimes he would ask for assistance or directions. Once in a while he would walk with a fellow citizen to his next destination or to a street he was looking for. This proved to be a great opportunity to educate the public about blindness and also allowed him to drum up a little business as a piano tuner and musician. William passed away on May 26, 1907, in St. Paul. He was fifty-five and left his widow with one young child. In 1910 Nellie still lived in the house and had enough funds to support her young daughter without working. Daughter Sara, "Sadie" lived with her mother and was a piano teacher, a skill she had learned from her father. William left enough behind to keep his wife until her death decades later. You can read my books at www.theblindhistorylady.com. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Albert Elia] Can I Have an ABLE Account if I am Forty-Fifty-Sixty Years Old? by Albert Elia From the Editor: This informative article was taken from the Spring 2019 issue of the Braille Spectator, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. Here is the way it was introduced: Editor's Note: Recently, Congress enacted legislation that permitted the blind, and others with disabilities, to establish ABLE savings accounts that will largely not affect their eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and other public benefits. Albert Elia, an ABLE expert, an attorney with TRE Legal, and a member of the National Federation of the Blind, gave the following presentation at the 2018 Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. An ABLE account is kind of like a 529 college savings plan, only it's for people who have disabilities. If you're familiar with a ROTH IRA, an ABLE account works very much like that. You can invest money in an ABLE account and do not pay taxes on any growth that you get in the account; thus you can put money into it and use it like a savings account. The interest is tax-free, or there are investment options just like a typical retirement account and those, too, grow tax-free. Now, it's important to know whether you qualify to get an ABLE account. It is only for people with disabilities, and you must have had a qualifying disability-blindness is a qualifying disability-before the age of twenty-six. So if you are currently blind and are under the age of twenty-six, you need to have an ABLE account. For example: you win an NFB scholarship, and you have all this money that you got from the NFB, and you deposit it into your bank account. Then all of a sudden your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit goes away because you have too much money in your bank account. That won't happen with ABLE. One of the main purposes of ABLE is to ensure that all of the means- tested government benefits, like Medicaid and SSI, are not affected if you have money saved in an ABLE account. As in the earlier example, say you are a student; you have scholarship money, all the money you get from your relatives to go to college and to pay for expenses, and anything that you earn from a college job. You put all of that in the ABLE account, and it does not impact your SSI. Second, you can use it for any disability-related quality-of-life expense. This can basically mean anything that is legal. So no buying drugs, but otherwise you can pretty much use ABLE for anything that you want. You can use it to buy the self-driving car or to pay for an Uber. You can use it to pay for health care, or housing, or tuition. You can use it to pay for pretty much anything, as long as it is a thing that increases your quality of life. Now, for everyone here who is not currently under the age of twenty- six, if you were disabled prior to the age of twenty-six you can still open an ABLE account. For instance, I am currently forty-four years old, and I became legally blind at the age of seventeen. Last year I was allowed to open an ABLE account because I was legally blind, I was disabled, and this disability occurred prior to the age of twenty-six. So if you were disabled- you were legally blind or had another qualifying disability-prior to the age of twenty-six, then no matter what your current age is, you can open an ABLE account that will, basically, allow you to save money tax-free for disability-related expenses or for retirement. However, you can use that money before retirement if necessary; it is basically like free money that can't be taxed. And let's face it, we need more free money that can't be taxed so that we can support NFB, and then give NFB some of the money, right? For those of you who don't have an ABLE account, I want to give you two websites. One is www.ablenrc.org, and the second one, since we are here in Maryland, is www.marylandable.org. You can use either of these to sign up for an ABLE account. In addition to a tax benefit for not having to pay taxes on the growth of funds, if you live in Maryland, you are a Maryland taxpayer, and you open a Maryland ABLE account through that marylandable.org website, then you actually qualify for a deduction on your state income taxes-up to $2,500 per year for the money that you put into your own or another person's ABLE account. So, again you are going to save $2,500 on your taxes; save the money, donate money to the NFB, or keep more of your money for yourself. It does not matter what age you are, if you had a qualifying disability, like blindness, prior to the age of twenty-six, you qualify to open an ABLE account, and you should all do so. I opened one. I am using it as an alternative to a retirement account because I work for a small employer, and we don't have a retirement plan. But if you want to use it to simply save up money for that self-driving car when it comes out, or so you can pay for the Aira service, put the money in ABLE. You can put up to $15,000 per year in an ABLE account. Or if you are working and contributing some of your earned income, you can contribute your earned income up to an additional $12,000. So basically, if you are working, you can contribute up to about $27,000 per year. I would love to be able to contribute $27,000 per year; that would be a great problem to have to hit that limit. In the meantime, even without the extra earned income, the $15,000 is still three times what you can contribute to an IRA. It is a really, really valuable financial tool for people like us who have disabilities. I urge you all to do it, and, like I said, especially you students out there. You really need one because the last thing you want is to have to deal with SSI, having your benefits terminated, and having to go through the reapplication process. Just put it in an ABLE account, and you don't have to worry about it. There is not a means test for ABLE. The goal of ABLE is to avoid a means test for benefits like SSI and Medicaid, which require means testing generally. This creates a way to avoid the means test without being penalized. However, ABLE does not reduce your income for purposes of income testing under the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Program and other income-tested programs. This is because ABLE accounts are exempted from means testing but not income testing. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: James Beck] Botany: Growing Plants, Growing Strategies, and Growing People by James Beck From the Editor: These remarks were presented to the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas annual meeting on November 3, 2018. Dr. James Beck teaches in the department of biology at Wichita State University. It is always encouraging to find a teacher willing to go above and beyond in helping his or her blind students achieve. It is even more encouraging when one is listening to Dr. Beck, who is not only a teacher willing to but actually eager and enthusiastic about the time and effort involved to blaze a trail and create the best ways to teach advanced botany concepts to a blind student. Whether this has been done before we do not know, but when he and his student couldn't find others who had done it, they worked to invent techniques and to share them. Here is what he has to say: I'd like to thank Emily Schlenker and all of you for the invitation to speak here today. This is a new experience for me, not just because I've never spoken to a mainly blind audience before, but also because I'm not accustomed to speaking about my teaching. I've given many presentations about my research, which is in the field of plant systematics. Systematics is simply the discipline of biology, where we attempt to document how many species there are on earth and how they are related to one another evolutionarily. In other words, my job is to help figure out plant biodiversity and plant evolution. I've been at Wichita State since 2013, and I have an active research lab in which both master's and undergraduate students participate. My teaching at WSU includes courses in ecology, evolution, botany, and general biology. My first experience with a student who is blind was with Emily when she took my general biology course last Spring. I team- taught that course with another professor-Mary Liz Jameson, and since Mary Liz had the first half of the semester, she really got the ball rolling, establishing one-on-one study sessions with Emily and working with the Disability Services office to produce tactile diagrams and Brailled lectures. There were delays at times with getting Emily's Brailled/tactile materials, but as long as these were in place, that class went smoothly. Looking back I think we had already identified the four key ingredients for a successful class: 1. Materials prepared in advance: Brailled lectures, screen readable versions of the textbook, and tactile versions of key diagrams are fundamental. It's critical that these are available to the student well before the material is presented in lecture, and this requires a lot of communication between the professor and the media resources folks that prepare these specialized documents. If these are in place, it gives the student time to read ahead a bit and (perhaps most importantly) helps minimize that feeling of the unknown that all good students have. Good students worry that really difficult material is just around the corner, even if they have the entire text at their disposal. I would assume that this anxious feeling is even more pronounced for a blind student, particularly if he/she has minimal opportunity to read materials ahead of lecture. 2. One-on-one instruction: In my experience Emily does two things during class: makes use of the tactile diagrams when we get to them, and listens. In particular, she seems to prioritize listening to and understanding what I'm saying, and for this and practical reasons she can't make detailed notes, specifically drawings. There are also limits to what can be conveyed in a tactile figure, and there are many figures that simply can't be made tactile. Some images, especially photos of complex structures, are simply too busy to be comprehended in tactile form. For that reason we decided from the start to have standing meeting times for one-on-one instruction. These typically lasted one to two hours, in which we'd go over any topics from the most recent lectures that were confusing, paying particular attention to topics conveyed in tactile diagrams. Having a standing meeting is good for both student and professor. The student can count on that extra instruction each week which reduces anxiety, and it allows the professor to reliably set aside that time and keep other blocks of time free for research and other activities. 3. Creativity: There are of course limits to what can be presented simultaneously to both sighted and blind students and limits to the ways a blind student's knowledge can be tested on an exam. In these instances the instructor needs to come up with alternative but equally rigorous ways to present material and test a student who is blind. In general biology there were really very few of these limits because the exams were multiple-choice- based, but in my next course creativity was a daily task. 4. Student attitude: There's no getting around the fact that these three key ingredients I've just mentioned require a major time investment on the part of the instructor. However, in my experience this is totally worth it if the student is eager to learn and adapt when things don't work out perfectly. But this would be a nightmare scenario for a professor if all this work went toward a student who was not willing to put in the time, was hostile, entitled, or even if they were simply the kind of passive personality so common in many of my students. It's hard to overstate the importance of student attitude-teaching someone who wants to learn can be a genuine joy even if it is a ton of work. Late in the Spring semester Emily told me that she was going to take two upper-division biology courses in the fall, one of which being my Vascular Plants course (Biolog 502). The idea of a botany course may conjure up images of students happily gazing at flowers, but this is a dense, technical course where we discuss the evolution and diversity of all green plants-that's everything from green algae to redwood trees. To do this we cover a wide variety of topics, including how to reconstruct evolutionary history from DNA sequence data, basic descriptive morphological terms for plants, major evolutionary transitions along the green plant phylogeny, and detailed discussions of numerous plant families. Students find this course difficult; in fact the last time I taught it in 2016, 47 percent of students either dropped the course or failed it. So this is considerably more difficult relative to general biology. We're also adding many activities that require creative solutions. For instance, how does one relate the key information from a very busy image under a microscope? How does one describe plant structure that is too small to be tactile? And how does one test a blind student over this material? Luckily we already had a game plan. As with the previous course, we knew it would take a lot of advance preparation of materials, devoted one-on-one study time, creativity, and a positive student attitude. And I think this approach is working. First the materials. A real eye-opener for me was the almost complete lack of Brailled and tactile materials for botany, a fact that I strongly believe extends to most upper division science coursework. One of the first things I did was put the word out on professional listservs and social media: does anyone have experience teaching botany to a student who is blind, and/or do you know of any relevant materials? Absolute radio silence. The only responses came from people who wanted me to contact them if I came across anything. This was alarming but also pretty exhilarating- it became clear that we were among the first people to attempt this kind of instruction, and it's exciting to do something new. So we knew that we'd have to develop our own materials, and my saving grace were the folks at the WSU's Media Resources Center, specifically Jay Castor in the Academic Accessibility and Accommodations unit. These folks have been able to make essentially any tactile/Brailled materials I need, but they also pushed me to prepare as much in advance as I could. This was critical, particularly since each of my PowerPoint lectures needed to be modified to make it accessible. This involved adding alt text to all images, making sure all slide text was in text boxes, adding titles to all slides, and choosing slides to convert to tactile diagrams. This takes several hours per lecture, and the MRC folks got me trained and going with this early in the Summer. If they hadn't been proactive, this semester would have been a train wreck. They also identified an elegant, versatile solution for making tactile materials-the "Pictures in a Flash" (PIAF) system. PIAF allows most anything that can be photocopied to be made tactile. The MRC folks could adapt figures from my botany textbook, print them on the special PIAF paper, and then run them through a heater which causes the printed portion to swell and become tactile. They've made many such figures for my class in this way. The same system also made it possible for me to draw figures and make them tactile. Again, all I had to do was make an original image, copy it onto the PIAF paper, and heat it to make it tactile. This is how I relate complex images and plant structure to Emily, by making my own drawn versions of these images tactile. Emily and I then review these images, and she adds titles to them with Brailled adhesive labels. PIAF was a lifesaver and has been easily the most important technical approach we've taken. Emily and I also established and stuck to a schedule for one-on-one instruction. The botany course meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so we have a study session on Wednesday and Friday mornings. This gives me enough time to prepare a few custom-drawn tactile materials that fill gaps in the previous evening's lecture, which Emily and I discuss along with any other topics she found confusing. This typically takes around an hour per session. I mentioned creativity before, and this course has required a number of creative solutions. One came from my colleague Melanie Link-Perez (Oregon State), who suggested that when we discuss flower structure I could have all students make flowers that matched various technical specifications or were representative of a particular plant family. The key here is that the sighted students learn by doing, and the flowers they make become instant tactile teaching material for Emily. I've already mentioned the use of PIAF to reproduce figures from the text and also make custom ones. These have been useful on exams because I can ask the sighted students to identify portions of an image of a slide, and then make a tactile version of that same image and ask Emily to identify the same things. Some exam questions also require dissections, and when these are needed we do an interactive dissection. Emily tells me exactly what/how to dissect and what to look for; then based on my feedback, she answers questions about the given structure. I think the most creative (and maybe the most fun) solution for an exam question involved a phylogeny (evolutionary tree). The question listed eighteen items-these were either "tips" on a phylogenetic tree or names for internal branches, and the students had to draw a tree connecting and including all these items. Sighted students typically find this question quite difficult but are not physically limited; they can simply draw the phylogeny. For Emily I decided to provide a set of cut poster board strips of various sizes along with Brailled versions of the items. Using these materials Emily had to construct a tactile version of the same phylogeny on a large table. That worked quite well. That exam question and countless other moments in this course have required the positive student attitude I mentioned before. Emily is genuinely interested in the material, views learning as a reward unto itself, and takes both praise and criticism seriously. That attitude has made it not only possible, but also enjoyable for me and the folks at the MRC to provide this instruction. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month were provided by the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska. [PHOTO CAPTION: Audra Kramer] Artichoke Spinach Dip by Audra Kramer Audra has been the treasurer of the Lincoln chapter for twenty years now. She is employed by the Nebraska Department of Labor as a statistical clerk. She lives in Lincoln. Ingredients: 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1-1/2 cups of parmesan cheese 1-1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, divided 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 2/3 cup sour cream 1/3 cup mayonnaise 2 garlic cloves, finely minced Paprika, to taste (optional) Method: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Press the excess moisture from the spinach. Combine the artichokes, spinach, 1-1/4 cups of parmesan cheese, 1-1/4 cups of monterey jack cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Spoon the artichoke mixture into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining monterey jack and parmesan cheeses on top, and then sprinkle with paprika, if desired. Bake for thirty minutes. Serve warm with tortilla or pita chips, crackers, or vegetables. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Christine Boone] Napa Salad by Christine Boone Christine has been a long-time active leader in the Federation. She currently serves as the NFB of Nebraska legislative chair. Ingredients: 1 head napa cabbage (I have used regular cabbage in a pinch, but napa is a lovely green color and much fluffier than ordinary cabbage, so it's great if you can get it.) 1 bunch green onions 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1 package ramen noodles without the sauce packet 3 tablespoons sesame seeds 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar (you can substitute 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar plus 1/2 teaspoon tarragon leaves) 3/4 cup olive oil 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce Method: You will need a very large bowl, a small bowl, a small saucepan and a nine-by-thirteen-inch glass pan or similarly sized dish. You will begin by making the topping and then the dressing, as both will need to cool before use. In a small bowl combine the sliced almonds, ramen noodles crunched very fine, and the sesame seeds. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, being sure not to let it get too brown. Add the nut and noodle mixture and brown in butter for about five minutes. You will want to stir constantly, and it will smell wonderfully toasty when brown. Return the toasted mixture to the bowl and set aside to cool. In the same saucepan combine sugar, vinegar, tarragon, oil, and soy sauce. Stir to dissolve the sugar and heat to boiling. Let boil for about two minutes, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Shred the cabbage by hand or chop with a good knife and place in a large bowl. Slice the green onions, being sure to remove any limp ends, and combine with the cabbage. Mix these greens well. Coat the greens with cooled sauce and place in the nine-by-thirteen pan. Then stir in about half the nut and noodle mixture. Refrigerate for two hours before serving. You can retain the rest of the nut and noodle mixture to use on your next salad, or if your family is like mine, you will want to add it as a topping immediately before serving this salad. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Nancy Oltman] Red Hots Applesauce Salad by Nancy Oltman Nancy Oltman has been a long-time Federation leader in Nebraska. She has served on the board of directors in years past and currently is a member of the board of directors for our senior division. She has won numerous ribbons and awards for her cooking throughout the state and can always be counted on to bring delicious items that bring us lots of money during our auction held at our annual convention. She says about this recipe: "My family has been making this recipe since I was a little girl, many, many years ago, and it is still a favorite of mine." Ingredients: 1 large package of cherry Jell-O 2 cups boiling water 1 package Red Hots Cinnamon Candies 1 24-ounce jar of applesauce Topping: 1 8-ounce package cream cheese 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 3/4 cup coarsely chopped celery 3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (generally I use pecans, but other nuts work) Method: In a large kettle, bring water to a boil. Add the boiling water to Red Hots and over low to medium heat continue stirring until candy has dissolved. Turn off heat, add Jell-O, and stir until Jell-O is dissolved. Add the applesauce. Pour into a nine-by-thirteen-inch glass pan. Place in refrigerator to let the mixture set up totally. Note: The applesauce takes the place of the usually added cold water. Beat cream cheese until smooth; then beat in mayonnaise and add sour cream. Stir in celery and nuts. Spread mixture over Jell-O mixture and refrigerate until ready to serve. ---------- Italian Sausage Soup by Christine Boone Christine says, "I love this recipe because it is so easy and makes a wonderful, big potful. It tastes like you worked all day." Ingredients: 2 pounds sweet or mild Italian sausage 3 carrots, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, peeled and chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 2 quarts chicken stock 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning 2 14.5-ounce cannellini beans (white kidney beans) 1-1/2 tablespoons basil 1 cup small shell pasta Method: Brown the sausage in a frying pan, drain, and place in a large soup pot. Add carrot, onion, garlic, tomatoes, beans, and broth and bring to a boil. Add the basil and simmer for about thirty minutes. Add small shell pasta and continue boiling gently until the pasta is tender, about fifteen minutes. Serve with crusty Italian bread and salad for an elegant meal. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Deb and Jeff Altman] Bierock (Runza) Casserole by Deb and Jeff Altman Jeff serves as the first vice president of the Nebraska affiliate. He teaches travel at the Nebraska Center for the Blind and serves on the National Blindness Professional Certification Board. He lives with his wife Deb in Lincoln. Ingredients 1 pound hamburger 2 cups shredded cabbage 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 can cream of celery soup 2 tubes Pillsbury Dough Sheets 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Method: Brown hamburger; drain. Add cabbage and onions. Simmer for ten minutes to cook cabbage down. Add cream of celery soup; mix well. Place one dough sheet in the bottom of a nine-by-thirteen-inch pan to form bottom crust. Spread the hamburger mixture on top of the dough sheet. Sprinkle the cheese over the hamburger mixture. Place the second dough sheet on top of the hamburger and cheese mixture to form top crust. Bake at 350 degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes or until crust is brown. Note: You can also make this with colby-jack, swiss, or any other cheese you prefer. Crescent rolls may be used for the crust instead of the dough sheets. Just unroll the crescents, but do not separate them. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Mike Hansen] Taco Soup (Fritos Pies) by Mike Hansen Mike is the second vice president of the Nebraska affiliate and also serves as our webmaster. He is employed by the University of Nebraska in the telecommunications department. He lives with his wife and daughter in Lincoln. This soup is a family favorite. Ingredients: 2 pounds hamburger 2 cans RO-TEL 2 cans stewed tomatoes 2 cans pinto beans 2 cans chili without beans 1 large block Velveeta cheese 2 bags Fritos corn chips Method: Brown hamburger and drain. Drain RO-TEL, tomatoes, and beans. In a crock pot combine hamburger, RO-TEL, tomatoes, beans, and chili. Cut cheese into small chunks for easier melting, add into crock pot. Cook on high stirring occasionally until cheese is completely melted. To serve, put a handful of Fritos in a bowl and ladle some taco soup on top. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Bryan Baldwin] Pork Wellington by Bryan Baldwin Bryan served as the president of the Nebraska Association of Blind Students and NFB Newsline? coordinator until he was recently hired to work as an orientation and mobility instructor with the Colorado Center for the Blind. He and his wife Steph (a leader in our movement in her own right) are making the move from Lincoln to Denver. Ingredients: 1 egg 1 tablespoon water 1 pork tenderloin 1 pack of prosciutto 1 ounce dried apples 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon mustard seed 1 sheet of fully thawed puff pastry Method: Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk one egg and one tablespoon water and set aside. Cut pork tenderloin longways down the center and flip one the opposite way so the thickness of the ends match. Lay out the prosciutto on top of parchment paper, overlapping each piece until they are the length of the pork tenderloin. Make sure to overlap the long sides of the prosciutto. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and thyme over the prosciutto. Place pork tenderloin pieces together in the center of the prosciutto. Put the dried apples in a food processer and blend until they are medium diced. Then place in between the tenderloin slices and push them together. Using the parchment paper to help, roll the prosciutto and tenderloin into a meat roll of sorts. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and roll out the thawed puff pastry to twelve-by-fourteen inches. Sprinkle mustard seed across the center of the puff pastry and place the meat roll on top of that in the center. Fold over the puff pastry and roll. Pinch the ends and tuck them. Brush the whole pastry with the egg wash. Place on parchment-paper-lined baking sheet and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Let cool for ten minutes after. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter] Cowboy Dinner by Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter Bridgit is the president of the Omaha Chapter and also serves on the board of directors for the state affiliate. She and her husband live in Omaha with their two energetic young boys. Her recipe makes six to eight servings, and while it is a vegan recipe, you can substitute animal-based products instead where desired. Ingredients Beef Mixture: 2 pounds Gardein meatless crumble 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup frozen corn kernels 8 ounces plant-based sour cream 1-1/2 cups salsa (jarred or homemade) 1 can (15-ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup Daiya non-dairy cheddar cheese, shredded Cornbread Topping: 1/2 cup cornmeal 1-1/2 cups flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup coconut or avocado oil 2 tablespoons chia seeds, mixed in 6 tablespoons water 1-1/4 cups almond milk or plant-based milk of choice Method: Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a nine-by-thirteen- inch pan and set aside. In a large twelve-inch skillet, cook the onion, adding the salt and pepper, over medium-high heat for about two minutes. Add the ground crumble and cook an additional three to four minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the corn, salsa, and beans. Pour the mixture into the prepared nine-by-thirteen-inch baking pan and set aside. For the cornbread, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, combined chia seeds and water and milk. Whisk together until just moistened and no dry spots remain. Sprinkle the cheese over the crumble mixture and pour the cornbread batter over the cheese and crumble mixture. Gently spread the cornbread to the edges of the pan, evening it out over the top of the casserole. Bake for forty to forty-five minutes until the edges are bubbly and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let the casserole stand for ten minutes before serving. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kimberly Scherbarth] Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Butter Garlic Sauce by Kimberly Scherbarth Kimberly currently serves as the president of the At-Large Chapter and a member of the affiliate board of directors. In addition, she is an active participant in the Nebraska Career Mentoring Program and the new Nebraska NFB-NEWSLINE? coordinator. She says that this recipe has become a Christmas tradition for her family. Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 2 to 3 tablespoons minced garlic 1-1/2 cups half & half 1 cup shredded, fresh parmesan cheese Salt and white pepper to taste 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 12 ounces part skim ricotta cheese 10 ounces spinach (if frozen, thaw and drain completely) 2 cups chopped mushrooms One medium onion, finely chopped 2-1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese 16 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan melt butter on medium low heat. Add garlic and simmer one to two minutes. Whisk in half & half and parmesan cheese. Heat to a simmer, about three to five minutes on medium low heat, until bubbly and smooth. Whisk in oregano, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat; stir in ricotta. In a greased lasagna pan spread a thin layer of sauce. Set aside. Add spinach, mushrooms, onion, and shredded chicken to remaining sauce in saucepan. Stir well. Spread a layer of chicken, vegetables, and sauce mixture over lasagna noodles. Sprinkle one-third of the mozzarella cheese over this layer. Add another layer of uncooked noodles, sauce mixture, and mozzarella. Repeat for the third layer. Cover lasagna with aluminum foil, being careful to keep the foil from touching the top of the lasagna. I make a foil tent, so that the cheese does not stick to the foil. Bake covered for forty-five minutes. Remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Remove foil and return to oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until cheese is toasted and browned. Remove from oven, and let it rest for ten minutes before cutting the lasagna. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Amy Buresh] Peanut Butter Dessert by Amy Buresh Amy is a member of the national board of directors and the president of the Nebraska affiliate. She lives in Lincoln with her husband Shane, (a Federation leader in his own right) and their children Noah and Sarah. First Layer: 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter 1/4 cup melted butter Mix all ingredients together and press into a thirteen-by-nine-inch pan. Chill. Second Layer: 1 8-ounce package cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter 1 cup Cool Whip Mix cream cheese, sugar, and peanut butter together. Mix in the Cool Whip. Pour this over the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Chill. Third Layer: 2 3-ounce packages instant chocolate pudding 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 cups milk Mix all ingredients together and pour over the second layer. Chill. Fourth Layer: 3 cups Cool Whip 1/2 cup salted peanuts. Top with the Cool Whip. Sprinkle nuts over all. Chill. ---------- Revel Bars by Nancy Oltman Nancy says about this recipe, "It is a bit more complicated than some recipes; but in my opinion it is worth the effort for the delicious fudgy center. The filling on its own also makes the best hot fudge ice cream topping ever." Ingredients: 1 cup butter or margarine, softened 2 cups brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal Filling: 1 15-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1 12-ounce package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate pieces 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup chopped walnuts Note: Things have changed a bit for this recipe. Sweetened condensed milk is now a 14.5-ounce can, and most chocolate chips come in an 11-ounce package. The canned sweetened condensed milk still works fine, but make sure you use two cups of chocolate chips. Method: In large mixing bowl, cream together butter or margarine and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in oats. Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture until blended. Pat two-thirds of mixture into a greased ten-by-fifteen-inch jelly roll pan. Set aside remaining dough. In heavy saucepan over low heat, melt together sweetened condensed milk, chocolate pieces, butter or margarine, and salt, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Note: you can melt milk and chocolate pieces together in microwave if you would prefer. Spread chocolate mixture over dough. Dot with remaining oat mixture. Remaining dough will not totally cover the chocolate mixture. As stated, dot dough over chocolate and use fingers to spread it out a bit, but it still will not totally cover chocolate, which is okay. Bake twenty-five to thirty minutes at 350 degrees. Cool, then cut into two-inch-by-one-inch bars. Yields about seventy-five bars. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Krafter's Division Craft Sale: The Krafter's Division is offering an opportunity for crafters to sell their products during the 2019 NFB Convention. If interested, go to https://www.krafterskorner.org/convention/. There is a link here where you can use PayPal to pay the $50 registration fee for a table. Note: The Krafter's Division is not responsible for your products or manning your table. We just provide the opportunity for you to sell at the convention. If you have further questions, please contact Tammy Freitag, Krafter's Division president at krafters.division.president at gmail.com Elected: The South Dakota affiliate held elections at our annual convention with the following results: president, Kenneth Rollman; first vice president, James Konechne; second vice president, Mike Klimisch; secretary, Beth Albury Konechne; one-year board position, Cheri Knispel; and two-year board position, Pam Fisher. Governor Northam Vetoes Legislation to Change Virginians with Disabilities Act: On May 3, 2019, Governor Northam vetoed House Bill 2296, which would change the Virginians with Disabilities Act (VDA) by requiring a claimant to provide at least 120 days of notification to financial entities prior to the commencement of a lawsuit regarding web accessibility. The Governor's full veto statement is below. May 3, 2019 Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 2296. This legislation changes the Virginians with Disabilities Act (VDA) by requiring a claimant to notify financial entities including banks, trusts, savings institutions, and credit unions, at least 120 days prior to commencement of a lawsuit regarding web accessibility. This legislation recognizes that as more banking services move online, it is essential that websites are accessible for all Virginians, especially individuals with disabilities. The legislation takes a positive step in ensuring accessibility by establishing web content accessibility guidelines. However, the legislation also creates arbitrary delays in the administration of justice for individuals with disabilities. It creates onerous preconditions for the initiation of a lawsuit and shifts the burden of identifying VDA violations from covered entities to people with disabilities. Additionally, the bill will make it more difficult for people with disabilities to obtain legal representation to aid them in protecting their rights under the VDA. Finally, House Bill 2296 does not address the issue that it seeks to remedy. While the bill makes changes to the VDA, it does not and cannot override the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. With this in mind, I encourage stakeholders to work together to find a solution. Accordingly, I veto this bill. Sincerely, Ralph S. Northam In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Announcements from Seedlings: For teachers: To celebrate our thirty-fifth anniversary in 2019, Seedlings Braille Books for Children is offering all certified US teachers of the visually impaired four one-volume books of their choosing for FREE this year! . Order online at http://www.seedlings.org/order.php and use the code TVIP19 as your Purchase Order number so you won't be asked to pay. . In the Check Out Information, include your school name and address. You may enter a different address in the 'Send to' information if you wish. . Understand that by ordering these free books, you are agreeing to be on our email list for our quarterly newsletters and other updates. . Please be patient. We will produce and pack free book orders when we are not busy with paid orders. . Teachers are eligible to sign up for this program one time only during 2019. . For more information about this and Seedlings' other free book programs, go to http://www.seedlings.org/special.php For kids: Children ages zero to twenty-one in the US and Canada who are blind or visually impaired are eligible to receive three FREE Braille books a year from Seedlings through our Book Angel Program. But they must be re- registered every calendar year. Sign up is easy! . Go to http://www.seedlings.org/bkangel2009.php . List four books from our online catalog http://www.seedlings.org/order.php and we will send three of them (as time and materials allow). . If you have questions or if you would like us to mail you a printed catalog, please call Seedlings at 734-427-8552 or 800-777-8552 or email us at info at seedlings.org. These offers are good throughout 2019, but why delay? Order/Register today! The Hunger Games, Book One added to Seedlings' list of 475 UEB titles: The Hunger Games, Book One is now available in Unified English Braille from Seedlings Braille Books for Children. The Hunger Games is one of ten books recently added to Seedlings' UEB collection for independent readers, bringing the total to 165! The other nine are Boxcar Children #47: Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon; Magic Tree House #3: Mummies in the Morning; Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief; Sharks: The Perfect Predators; Ramona and Her Mother; Rosa Parks: My Story; Hana's Suitcase; A Little House Chapter Book: School Days; and Who Was Steve Jobs? This brings to 165 the number of books Seedlings offers in contracted UEB for older children! Order today at goo.gl/oHp4X9 Check back often as we are regularly adding titles. All of Seedlings' 310 print-and-Braille books for younger readers are already in UEB. See our entire catalog at http://www.seedlings.org/order.php Get Stevie Wonder, Mary Poppins, and 480 more titles in UEB from Seedlings: Seedlings Braille Books for Children just added five more books to its Unified English Braille collection for independent readers! One is a brand-new title, Who is Stevie Wonder? The others were converted from the old Braille code: Mary Poppins; Catching Fire, Book 2 of The Hunger Games; My Father's Dragon, a Newbery Honor Book; and Boxcar Children #3: The Yellow House Mystery. This brings to 170 the number of books Seedlings offers in contracted UEB for older children! Order today at goo.gl/oHp4X9 Check back often as we are regularly adding titles. All of Seedlings' 310 print-and-Braille books for younger readers are already in UEB. See our entire catalog at http://www.seedlings.org/order.php #braille4kids National Inventors Hall of Fame Announces 2019 Inductees at CES: On January 8, 2019, nineteen innovation pioneers were announced today as the 2019 Class of the National Inventors Hall of Fame? (NIHF) on the main stage at CES?. These innovators, whose inventions range from the UNIX operating system to fluoride toothpaste, will be celebrated as the newest Class of Inductees during the NIHF Induction Ceremony. In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), NIHF will honor these Inductees in Washington, DC, on May 1-2 at one of the innovation industry's most highly anticipated events-"The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation." "I am honored to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame," said 2019 Inductee Bill Warner, pioneer of digital nonlinear editing for video. "I love how inventions can change the world for the better, and I am thrilled to join this year's Class." Of the nineteen inductees, Monitor readers may be most interested in Chieko Asakawa, who was inducted for her web browser for the blind and visually impaired. Asakawa invented the Home Page Reader (HPR), the first practical voice browser to provide effective internet access for blind and visually impaired computer users. Designed to enable users to surf the internet and navigate web pages through a computer's numeric keypad instead of a mouse, HPR debuted in 1997; by 2003, it was widely used around the world. For full biographies of each Inductee, visit http://www.invent.org/honor/inductees/. The Class of 2019 will be honored at "The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation," a two-day event held in our nation's capital. Danica McKellar-star of the TV show The Wonder Years, Hallmark Channel regular, mathematician, and author-will serve as master of ceremonies. The Illumination Ceremony at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum at the USPTO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, where new Inductees will place illuminated hexagons displaying their names in the Gallery of Icons will take place on May 1, 2019. On May 2, the Forty- Seventh Annual National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, where the new Inductee class will be honored for their contributions to society during an evening including a black-tie dinner, ceremony, and after-party. To learn more about the event, visit http://www.invent.org/honor/inductees/induction- ceremony/. "The National Inventors Hall of Fame honors the innovation game- changers who have transformed our world," said NIHF CEO Michael Oister. "Through inventions as diverse as life-saving medicines and web browsers for the visually impaired, these superhero innovators have made significant advances in our daily lives and well-being." About the National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is the premier nonprofit organization in America dedicated to recognizing inventors and invention, promoting creativity, and advancing the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Founded in 1973 in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, NIHF is committed to not only honoring the individuals whose inventions have made the world a better place, but to ensuring American ingenuity continues to thrive in the hands of coming generations through its national, hands-on educational programming and collegiate competitions focused on the exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate. For more information, visit http://www.invent.org. To nominate an inventor for Induction, visit http://www.invent.org/nominate. Xavier Society for the Blind Goes Digital: Xavier Society for the Blind is pleased to announce that our conversion to digital talking book format is now complete, and we have added some popular titles on cartridge to our library! These books can be played on the talking book machines provided by the National Library Service. With an existing catalog of over 1,500 Braille and audio titles, Xavier Society for the Blind provides inspirational, spiritual, and religious reading materials in Braille and audio to the blind and visually impaired community of the faithful free of charge. One of our primary objectives is to choose new titles which will appeal to a larger audience, and we hope that the combination of more appealing titles and the digital talking book format will allow us to reach many more people. Adding titles in Spanish is a key objective as well. For more information, including how to register for our materials, please visit our website http://www.xaviersocietyfortheblind.org or call us at 800-637-9193. We look forward to serving many more patrons in new and innovative ways! State Resource Handbooks Available for Purchase: I have created forty-four screen-reader-friendly resource handbooks containing resources pertaining to the blind and visually impaired for use by consumers and professionals. This handbook is for the residents of specific states and includes the many organizations for the blind and visually impaired covering areas such as employment, housing, transportation, and more. The handbooks include contact information on the local, regional, and national level. Currently the handbooks are for Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Oregon, Ohio, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, North Dakota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Tennessee New Hampshire, Nebraska, Vermont, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and Iowa. The Resource Handbooks are available in the following electronic formats: Microsoft Word, PDF, HTML Microsoft Word, and Rich Text. Since these are electronic formats it will be sent to you by email with an attachment. If a large-print hard copy is desired, please contact me at insightfulpub at gmail.com. When contacting me regarding large print hard copy, please let me know what state resource handbook you desire so I can give you the correct pricing information. For more information on pricing and formats please contact Insightful Publications by email at insightfulpub at gmail.com or by phone at 808-747- 1006. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Wed Jul 3 11:29:31 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2019 11:29:31 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The braille Monitor, July 2019 Message-ID: <201907031829.x63ITVnT010345@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 7 July 2019 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 ? 2019 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. 62, No. 7 July 2019 Contents Illustration: Art Coming Out from Behind Glass Displays Creating a More Perfect Union: The Role that a More Perfect JTB Law Symposium Can Play by Gary Wunder When Two or More are Gathered: The Power of One with a Multiplier by Adelmo Vigil The Injustice of Disability-Based Subminimum Wages by Justin Salisbury The Gem of Rocky Bottom by Shelley Coppel Dr. James Nyman: An Unconventional Man Embracing Unconventional Solutions by Fredric Schroeder The Buzzsaw, the Plumber's Skillet, and the Montana City Hardware Caf? by Dan Burke The Best of Both Worlds: The QBraille XL Almost Perfectly Blends a Braille Display and a USB Keyboard by Karl Belanger Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Ten-foot tall blowup of President Mark Riccobono's open letter to museum leadership] [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis, John Olson, and others pose with display of a tactile map] [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis and others stand in front of the open letter at the 3DPhotoWorks display] Art Coming Out from Behind Glass Displays John Olson and 3DPhotoWorks have worked together with the National Federation of the Blind for several years now. From the tactile timeline at the 2015 National Convention to the Newseum exhibit of tactile photography in 2018, they have been working to make art accessible to the blind. And their work has not gone unnoticed. On May 20, 2019, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) had its trade show in New Orleans, and the National Federation of the Blind and 3DPhotoWorks were there. They brought the bas-relief versions of photographs with touchpoints that activated audio descriptions of elements of the photos that debuted at the Newseum, large quotes from Federationists posted visibly, and a ten-foot blowup of President Riccobono's open letter to museum leadership about the importance of finding ways to make art accessible for the blind and visually impaired. And the museum community is listening. Leadership for the AAM spoke about ways that they are trying to make its collections more accessible for the disability community as a whole: special hours with lowered light and sound levels for patrons who are autistic or have sensory processing disorders, websites or apps designed to work with screen readers for the blind, along with less high-tech methods of accessibility. And it's not just American museums, either. The Singapore Museum has commissioned three artists to make touchable adaptations of its own works (with more planned), and the Louvre has commissioned small low-relief models of parts of its exterior for exhibits about the museum's history. Creating a More Perfect Union: The Role that a More Perfect JTB Law Symposium Can Play by Gary Wunder The work of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek's life extended far beyond people who are blind. He was concerned with all of those who were disenfranchised by society as evidenced by his writings and his service. He wrote The Right to Live in the World and made frequent contributions to other publications of the time. He also served on the California State Social Welfare Board and for a number of years served as its chairman. To honor and further his work, the National Federation of the Blind holds the Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium. It speaks to discrimination experienced by all people with disabilities, and its goal has been to have speakers representing those whose voice society has not heard or heeded. But as progressive as we have tried to be, our efforts in being inclusive and fully representative have sometimes fallen short of the ideal Dr. tenBroek's work created. Our work to be inclusive has taken many forms. First, we recognized that our organization did not always welcome people of color and to say through word and action that this was unacceptable. Of course, this was well-intentioned but not enough. We then created a group to deal with issues faced by people of color, but in retrospect we worked so hard at emphasizing our commonality as blind people that we did not fully appreciate or embrace the issues that needed to be addressed that were unique to those of us of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, or any of the other characteristics that provide different perspectives. Embracing includes actively recruiting and accepting the talents of the groups who have for too long been on the fringe of our organization. We continued our evolution with the creation of the Underserved Populations Committee, but what we have come to understand is that failing to reject a group isn't the same as embracing and really listening to its members. We reorganized the Diversity and Inclusion Committee in 2017 to reflect new thinking, emphasis, and direction. Next we crafted a policy statement that put in writing our expectations of one another, and in 2018 we published our code of conduct which again was a combination of codifying in formal policy what we have long strived to do in practice. While we would prefer to believe that we are ahead of the curve and are able to see and bring about the changes required in our treatment of one another as equal members, sometimes internal processes are not enough, and we need to listen to the outside world. This presumes that the outside world also respects what we do and offers its criticism because it believes we are open to and able to change our behavior. We believe that this was the case when we received an open letter suggesting that our symposium has not worked hard enough to hear the voices of those who have for too long gone unheard, unheeded, unrepresented, and consequently underappreciated and underutilized in our movement. Below is an open letter to the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium Steering Committee, and following it is a response from President Riccobono. After his response we are including a list of activities that will take place during the national convention intended to do a better job of listening to and being influenced by all of the intersectional voices that are a part of our role as the leading consumer organization of the blind. Our approach will be to continue to actively work to further the rights of blind people and to put equal energy into seeing that we warmly embrace and listen to all of the groups that make up the community of blind people we wish to serve and represent. Here is the open letter: An Open Letter to the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium Steering Committee April 5, 2019 Dear Steering Committee Members: We write this letter in our personal capacities as lawyers, law students, and advocates dedicated to disability rights advocacy. We are current and former attendees of the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, some of us for years, others in years past, and some for the first time. Some of us have also served on the Steering Committee. A few have desired but have never been able to attend. We come from different backgrounds, specialties, and areas of practice within the broad realms of disability rights and disability justice. What brings us together to write this letter is our concern about the systemic problems that exist within the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium regarding diversity, inclusion, and social justice. We do not take lightly the decision to write a public letter such as this one. This, however, is a topic that has been brought up year after year, privately, and both formally and informally to members of the planning committee and other voices of influence within the conference. Unfortunately, these efforts have proven unproductive at best. Eventually, when dealing with matters of such importance to the community we claim to represent, a public approach becomes necessary. The Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium is a space of great potential as an important gathering of disability rights lawyers, advocates, and other professionals to discuss matters pertaining to disability law. Unfortunately, like so many spaces in disability advocacy, this Symposium has excluded voices of color and LGBTQ voices in favor of predominantly white, cisgender, male voices. As an example, in 2019, during the first day of the Symposium, there were no speakers of color during the plenary sessions and only one during the breakout sessions. Over the years, sessions about topics that disproportionately and predominantly impact people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities have been led by all-white, predominantly cisgender male panels. These topics include immigration, intersectionality, incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, and international disability rights, among many others. Rarer still are moderators, keynote or plenary speakers, and panelists with lived experiences related to these issues, which many other conferences and symposia have long-since begun to include. Some of these directly affected people included in other conference spaces include people who have been homeless or who have been targeted for criminalization-both issues that were discussed at length during this year's conference with no representation from affected persons. This leads to an environment at the conference that is largely unwelcoming to people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, and people from other marginalized identities with disabilities in the profession. In past and present conferences, many of us have witnessed or experienced time and time again, unintentional and intentional prejudice on the part of tenBroek participants and organizers, often in the form of jokes and demeaning comments. Many participants with marginalized identities who have attended tenBroek in the past have stopped attending precisely because of these issues-leaving feeling unwelcome in this space and by extension, in the movement and profession. When these issues are brought up, the response is often a demand for "non-white" lawyers to "step up" or "help out," with little or no acknowledgement of the work marginalized people have been putting in to engage with and shift these problematic dynamics. In truth, it is people in positions of power who must take proactive action to remedy these kinds of systemic problems. Shifting the burden of responsibility, rather than assuming it, unjustly puts the onus on marginalized people to remedy that which they often have no structural power to change. For too long, the burden of improving diversity and responding to the nature of intersectional identities has rested on the most marginalized among us, and it is not acceptable. Other times when these concerns are raised, we have been met with vitriol, defensiveness, or excuses (e.g., personally attacking people who raise concerns or claiming that underrepresentation is only because lawyers of color are not interested in participating) or have tried to shut down conversation by claiming that the act of identifying these problems is "uncivil." This prevalence of racism, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ oppression, ageism, defensiveness, and exclusion is unacceptable within any activist community. It is anathema to the very core of the values of the disability community. At a minimum, we believe that the following changes must take place for tenBroek to begin rectifying these wrongs as it aspires to honor Jacobus tenBroek's legacy of full and meaningful inclusion: 1. The conference's steering committee and other groups planning the conference need to be composed of at least 50 percent people of color with disabilities. 2. The conference must make a commitment to not accepting or hosting panels or break-out sessions that are all-white or all-male. 3. The conference should commit that at least 50 percent of the total speakers during the symposium will be people of color. 4. The conference must make a commitment to hosting greater discussions and sessions about issues that impact the community intersectionally, including training for participants on these incredibly important topics. 5. The conference must commit to include in panels voices with lived experience, meaning those who are directly impacted by discrimination, violence, and oppression, and not just those who represent them. 6. The conference must take proactive steps to bring younger attendees of color and/or with other lived or marginalized experiences, such as waiving or reducing conference fees and providing travel scholarships as appropriate to expand participation. 7. The conference must restructure plenary sessions to be led by a diverse group of qualified facilitators, including people of color, women, people with various disabilities, and LGBTQ people. We write this letter from a place of love and deep concern for the future of the symposium, and the disability rights profession and disabled communities after years of frustration. We cannot engage in the same practices, year after year, while expecting advancement for our profession, communities, or movements. As the advocates who claim to represent such an incredibly diverse community, we must evolve if we wish to remain part of the movement. Sincerely, Nancy Alisberg Zainab Alkebsi Alexis Alvarez Ma'ayan Anafi Torie Atkinson Sam Bagenstos Rabia Belt Zoe Brennan-Krohn Lydia X. Z. Brown Debbye Byrne Claudia Center Natalie M. Chin Sarah Colby Sam Crane Richard Diaz Esperanza Dillard Nida Din Tim Fox Dustin Gibson Karla Gilbride Pilar Gonzalez Deepa Goraya Kelly Israel Scott Huffman Caroline Jackson Jinny Kim Rachael Langston Martie Lafferty Talila A. Lewis Katherine Mathews Jennifer Mathis Caitlin Parton Katherine P?rez Jamelia Morgan Tifanei Ressl-Moyer Gena Rinaldi Amy Robertson Rebecca Rodgers Victoria M. Rodr?guez-Rold?n Mehgan Sidhu Ariel Simms Brianna Terrell Michelle Uzeta Shira Wakschlag Stephanie Woodward Silvia Yee Here is the letter President Riccobono wrote in response: April 12, 2019 Dear Colleagues, On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors, this letter is to thank the signatories for raising the issues detailed in "An Open Letter to the tenBroek Disability Law Symposium Steering Committee" dated April 5, 2019. We acknowledge and take responsibility for the concerns raised regarding the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. In this response, we hope to clarify the evolution of the disability rights efforts we are involved in and to make some initial commitments to evolving the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium specifically. We understand and take responsibility for the fact that individuals have been harmed by the actions that we have or have not taken. The letter also makes it clear that hostility and misdirected blame have been unfairly targeted at the segments of the population that are most underrepresented at the symposium. We commit to seeking more effective ways of listening and acting on concerns raised in the future and more fully pursuing the standards of equity and social justice that Dr. tenBroek championed. We apologize for our role in creating, explicitly or implicitly, a hostile and exclusionary environment in our law symposium. We have heard the urgent need for stronger representation of people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ, people from other marginalized identities with disabilities, as well as voices with lived experience regarding the topics being discussed. The commitment of the National Federation of the Blind to diversity is real, and we are prepared to evolve the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium to ensure that it leads the way in broadening the diversity of disability rights generally. We invite, and in fact need you to be a part of this evolution. As President of the National Federation of the Blind, I have the ultimate responsibility for the programs we conduct and the environment that we create for guests to our events in and outside our building. The Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium is one of the most important events that we organize and host, and I am deeply disappointed that we have missed the mark in meeting the highest expectations for the symposium. The steering committee, along with a number of the Federation's volunteer members and Federation staff, helps to guide our work on the symposium. It is worth acknowledging that our steering committee members have volunteered dozens of hours of their time to share their ideas, connections, and insights to continue building the symposium into a dynamic community. We believe that they are also people who work from a place of love, and I know they share my disappointment that an important set of voices in our movement have been unintentionally or unconsciously unwelcomed and excluded. We acknowledge that we have work to do in formalizing the process for engaging individuals including people of color and people who identify as LGBTQ on our tenBroek steering committee. We are further committed to more clearly articulating the role of the steering committee and ensuring that they, like leaders of the Federation, remain guided by the diversity statement found in the NFB's Code of Conduct. We would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that while the National Federation of the Blind has been a strong supporter of the development of the Disability Rights Bar Association, it does not dictate the policies and practices of that entity. The National Federation of the Blind has supported that community through financial and in-kind support, and many of our members are active in the DRBA. However, the Federation does not direct the priorities of that organization. We have tried to create synergy through the tenBroek Symposium by providing space and resources to programs like DRBA and, more recently, the Deaf Law Day, to bring the community together rather than divide it. It is clear from the letter that our collaboration in these activities has created uncertainty about how they are planned and organized and who has responsibility for them. On behalf of the National Federation of the Blind, we plan to seek ways to make the processes more transparent and to share the priorities of diversity and inclusion with programs that are conducted in partnership with the symposium. Seven specific items were identified as necessary reforms for us to achieve the quality of community at the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium that we all want to experience, and we commit to considering those as important guides in shaping the symposium of the future. It would be disingenuous to make a complete commitment to achieving each of the reforms by the time of the 2020 symposium-especially after just one week of reflection. While this symposium is a critical forum in the disability rights movement, it is only one piece; the broader success will take the continued commitment and engagement of many more organizations. However, we ask you to recognize that our organization has made a significant commitment to this work. We know that it is going to continue to take real work to evolve the symposium effectively, and it is our intent to make changes for long-term growth not simply for short term effect. We ask that you hold us accountable, and we welcome your assistance and active engagement as we move down that path. There are some immediate steps we are taking to begin this process. These are initial action items, and do not represent the entire scope of the work that lies ahead. 1. We are reviewing the evaluation questions for the law symposium-this is why we have not yet sent out the program evaluation. We are examining the evaluation to make sure that it captures information about improvements that are needed. We intend to specifically include a feedback loop regarding diversity and recommendations for changes in the symposium that can accelerate improvements. Moreover, the evaluation summary will be written by someone who was not involved in the planning of the symposium in order to make sure that I, as well as our paid staff and the volunteer steering committee, receive the best unfiltered information about how we can do better. 2. We have begun a conversation with the existing steering committee about the future of that group and how we will change the appointed participants in the next couple of months. It is not that we intend to only listen to the existing committee, but we believe we also need to actively engage them because of the time, energy, and expertise they have put into our symposium. 3. We will seek to rebuild the steering committee to be more inclusive of the diversity of characteristics and perspectives that we want reflected in our symposium. 4. We have shared your letter with the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind as well as the co-chairs of the Federation's Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. I will be engaging the committee to seek further suggestions for how we can help make systemic changes in the pipeline of individuals going into disability rights work, and we will commit to share what actions our organization is taking during the next symposium. 5. I will be reviewing with our staff the allocation of resources we put into the law symposium. Every year we invest significantly in the symposium. We have granted many appeals for discounts in registration to allow a broad cross section of participation. I am not aware of any appeal for assistance that we have turned down. It is possible that our organization should be putting even more of our resources into this event. I am committed to doing a deep dive into the details of the resources we have committed to determine if we can do better as an organization. In turn, I also welcome the participation of other national disability rights organizations in assisting us to find ways to provide grants for individuals to support their attendance at the symposium. I hope that we might all agree that the effort will be more successful if it is supported across the community and not simply by the National Federation of the Blind. 6. We have begun examining the structure of the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium and our process for soliciting program items. It is our hope that we will be able to provide a clearer call for papers for the symposium for 2020 and that we can engage you in helping us devise strategies for expanding the pool of submissions. We will also be considering whether a different format for the symposium will be more effective in expanding the voices included. Finally, we intend to build mechanisms into the symposium for active feedback regarding the continued growth and improvement of the forum as well as the broader disability rights community. Those are our near-future steps, and we are certain that much more work will be needed. We are confident that we do not know all that we need to and that we are not aware of all of the people that are best suited to help. We take responsibility for our symposium, but we sincerely do need your help. We need to know where you can help and what your interests might be. We are certain that it will be impossible to fully implement every suggestion in the short term, but we know that we are bound to fall short if we do not receive your input. Please consider sending your thoughts directly to officeofthepresident at nfb.org with the subject line "#JTBLaw Recommendations" so we can consider them. I close with again thanking you for your direct approach. I have attempted to be open and honest and invite you to continue the dialogue. I am certain there is more to learn together, and I hope that you will take away from this letter my sincere openness to continuing to build upon the legacy of Jacobus tenBroek in a way that each of us can be proud. Sincerely, Mark A. Riccobono, President National Federation of the Blind New Diversity Initiatives That Will Occur at the 2019 National Convention Sunday, July 7 5:30 to 7:00 PM Mujeres of the Federation Join us for a keynote from a dynamic Latina leader. This session will provide inspiration and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of blind Latina trailblazers. ?No te lo pierdas! 7:00 to 9:00 PM Black Leaders Advancing the Federation Celebrate the numerous contributions of black Federation leaders. Let's inspire youth through personal empowerment, leadership development, and mentorship. All are welcome to attend. Monday, July 8 4:30 to 6:00 PM Asian Membership Development Contribute and gather ideas on how to provide culturally relevant outreach and support to the Asian community. Your thoughts are critical in shaping the course of this initiative. 7:00 to 9:00 PM Diversity and Inclusion Committee Meeting We are providing an avenue to share experiences, explore strategies, and generate ideas to support NFB diversity efforts. Get involved in this aspect of our movement. Tuesday, July 9 7:30 to 8:30 AM Presidential Diversity Morning Mixer This gathering provides an open opportunity to engage with national leaders to chat about diversity and inclusion topics. Please drop in and share your ideas, suggestions, and thoughts about our continued efforts to broaden the participation and advancement of blind people from diverse backgrounds in our movement. Facilitator: Mark Riccobono, President, National Federation of the Blind Thursday, July 11 6:00 to 7:00 PM Intersectional Meet-Ups Participate in a series of special topic community conversations that include: . Tropics A - Masculinity, blindness, and Latino culture: Explore these topics and learn how others negotiate these various identities. . Coral B - Blindness and interracial relationships: Share experiences around dating, marriage, family dynamics, and social perceptions. . Shell Seekers A - Marriage and dating as a blind person in the Asian/South Asian community: Discuss cultural practices, social expectations, and their relationship to blindness. Moving Forward These meetings at the 2019 National Convention and changes in the steering committee and other processes for the Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium are obviously not the end of the journey. They are the next steps taken on the path to being as inclusive and as representative as we can be. The Federation embraces all members as family, united in the desire to make the world a better place for all blind people and determined to see that blindness will not be the defining characteristic of our lives. But in focusing only on the characteristic of blindness we will not lose sight of the other facets of our Federation members that will enrich our organization with their diverse identities of race, gender, sexuality, and life experience as we work together in challenging the barriers that would prevent us and future blind people from living the life we want. We look forward to these ongoing efforts to uplift our diverse perspectives and showcasing our span across a broad cross-section of society, because we are the nation's blind. We will be listening to Federationists and supportive outside voices alike as we determine the next steps to take in traveling a more inclusive path. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Adelmo Vigil] When Two or More are Gathered: The Power of One with a Multiplier by Adelmo Vigil From the Editor: Adelmo Vigil is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico and has worked for a long time for the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. Less known are Adelmo's early years and overcoming the obstacles that could have cost him two wonderful careers. Here is what he has to say: When I think about why I am in the National Federation of the Blind, my greatest reason is that I want to give what has been given to me. Because I have been blessed, I want to share that blessing, and my hope is that telling this story continues my payment. I started school in the small town of Amalia in New Mexico where my family lived. I could not see well enough to read, and everybody knew this. But what none of us knew was what to do about it. It wasn't until I was thirteen that the nurse at my school said I needed to go to the school for the blind, and for two years they continued trying to have me read print. At age fifteen a doctor examined my eyes and said, "I am sorry to tell you that you are going to have to learn Braille." She thought she was giving me bad news, but I was happy-very happy. She was saying I could learn to read, and I thought about all that had been out of my reach before. I would learn Braille, and to my heart and mind this was a dream come true, something I thought impossible. I could learn through reading and not rely entirely on listening and memorization. I could look at things I wrote and not be counted off if, in my nervousness, I forgot. I would be graded on what I could think about and write and not on my memory as I pretended to read. So after two years at the school for the blind, at age fifteen I finally learned to read for the first time. Blessed: it is what I felt then and what I still feel today. I learned to run track, and, most important to me, I learned to wrestle. I didn't know it at the time, but being a wrestler would one day give me a fantastic opportunity and a way to make some money. One of my jobs at the school was to help with the younger children. Again this was a blessing because I realized that I liked working with them both in the dormitory and in the gym teaching the younger ones how to wrestle. This is when I decided I wanted to teach, and I've never regretted that decision. Walking across the stage during high school graduation, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to take the next step to becoming a teacher, and that step was going to college. I enrolled in Western New Mexico University located in Silver City. I started in 1973, and the campus was my home until 1977. No one expressed any reservations about signing me up for education classes, so I was on my way to becoming what I wanted most to be, a person who could be to others what some wonderful people had been to me. In my third year I happened to meet a man in a speech class we were taking, and we struck up a conversation. His name was Travis Columbus, and this stranger who was fast becoming a friend said he was a schoolteacher in the Silver City school district. When I said I was in training to do the same thing and would soon be ready to student teach, he said that he would be glad for me to work in his third-grade class. He even went so far as to check with his principal to see if this generous offer would be supported, and the principal was enthusiastic about keeping Travis's commitment. Before I knew it, I was sitting in front of my advisor reviewing graduation requirements. Both of us knew student teaching was next, and he said he would be contacting the school for the blind to see if they would take me. As politely as I could, I said that I didn't want to teach at the school for the blind. I had already worked with blind children and liked them, but I wanted to teach sighted students. He said, "No one will take you. Blind teachers do not teach sighted students." When I said I had a teacher willing to take me, he sounded surprised, but to his credit he took the phone number of my teacher friend and said he'd get back with me. Since I was the one who had the most interest in getting this done, I said I'd see him the next week, and this I did. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had indeed contacted Mr. Columbus and his principal. Both were as good as their word, and my advisor seemed surprised. I did my student teaching and came through with flying colors. Then came the harder job of finding work. Since I student taught in the Silver City school district and this was where my wife Soledad and I had located, I started by looking there for a job. But as the season for getting a contract wound on, I decided I had to act. As July turned into August my hope began to turn to a firmer realism. I started by talking with the principal of the school at which I had interned. He said I had not been contacted because my name did not appear on the list principals used for hiring. He suggested I set up a meeting with human resources. This I did, and though the director gave me an interview, I never felt like he was serious. The interview ended with him telling me he would get back to me, and when I never heard anything from him, I sadly concluded I was right. I got myself a meeting with the superintendent of the Silver City district, and my friend Travis was on my side again, picking me up from home and driving me to the meeting. The superintendent met with me, and to his credit he was honest. "When people open your application and see that you are blind, they just don't think it is worth the risk," he said. I asked if he knew about affirmative action, and he said that indeed he did. "Affirmative action is why we try to find people with Hispanic surnames." I wondered whether Vigil wasn't a Spanish surname, but I didn't say anything because he had already given me the reason why I wasn't being taken seriously for any of their positions. Disappointed but thinking ahead, I asked the superintendent what he thought I should do. He said I should go visit each of the principals so they could get to know me, and maybe that would allay some of their fears. Once again Travis was there to pick me up. I told him what the superintendent had said, and Travis immediately said, "Well, let's go see the principals." So we went to the elementary schools in Silver City. There were at least three of them, and we went to each one. They all knew Travis, and with his help I got a meeting with officials of each of them. The thing I most appreciated about Travis was that he accompanied me, but he never tried to speak for or answer any of the questions asked of me. The principals all gave the same story when it came to why I wasn't getting called. They said my name wasn't on the list of available candidates distributed by the personnel director, so they weren't even seeing me, let alone passing me up. We asked one of the principals if we could have a copy of that list, and he said yes. I am glad he didn't get in trouble for that, but I am very grateful he gave me the list. So the next place we went was to see an attorney. He advised we would have to go through the human rights commission and file a grievance. This we did, and that started a process of investigating the school district to see why they did not hire me. The district stuck to their guns, but in the meantime I kept looking for work. Soledad and I went down to the college administration offices to look at postings. We found two openings, one in Shiprock and the other in Cimarron. Neither opportunity was close to Silver City, but I thought, "Well, I've got to do something." I called the district in Shiprock and told them I was interested in the job. I talked with the personnel director, and he said, "Can you be here by Friday?" This was on a Monday, I had no idea how I was going to get there, but, of course, I said sure. Shiprock is about 350 to 400 miles from Silver City, and our car was not in any shape to drive that far. When I told the dean of the University I was applying there and had an interview, much to my surprise he said, "Well, we're going to fly you over there." I don't know how they did it, but they flew me there, and I was picked up by a former student. I spent the night with him, and the next day I went to the interview. But forgive me-I'm getting a little ahead of myself. You see, after my phone call on Monday, I started thinking about the length of the trip and all of the trouble people were going to on my behalf. So I called the personnel director in Shiprock, and I said, "I want you to know that I'm blind." He said to me, "Mr. Vigil, that doesn't matter. To me what matters is that you have gone through school just like everybody else. You've gotten your education just like everybody else, so I'm not at all concerned about you being blind." Little did I know that by that time he had received all kinds of calls, faxes, and letters from people in Silver City who were supporting me. This included the university dean and the basketball coach who was the housing director. He was a good friend of mine who was always there with me. There were other people I had worked with, and it was very inspiring to see how all of them believed in me. When I got to the interview, I was carrying a letter from the principal, as well as another letter from someone I can't remember now. The principal said, "Well, I've never had so much correspondence about a candidate as I have for you." In his interview he told me that I would be teaching remedial math in the elementary school. He said that, because the school was on the reservation, housing would be provided, and he told me the apartment in which I would be living. So after he says all this, he up and asks me, "Now, do you want to come and work for us?" I said yes, he said okay, and then he asked when I could start. So a week later there we were, Soledad, me, and my son all moving to Shiprock. I taught remedial math for three years, and I was then transferred to teach the third grade for another six. I then taught first grade for a year, and the second grade for yet another six. I also coached the junior high and high school wrestling teams. While I was teaching at Shiprock, the Silver City school district was still holding on to its notion that blind people should not teach in their classrooms. They therefore kept up the fight to keep me out of the public schools. Finally, during one of the board meetings, a board member said to the superintendent, "I see that Travis Columbus is supporting Adelmo. He works for us; why is he doing this?" The superintendent said that he didn't know. The chairman of the board then said that he would go and talk with Travis. He told Travis, "You know that Adelmo is suing the district, and we notice that you are supporting him." Travis said, "Indeed I am, and I will continue to support him because I believe in his capability to teach. You are sending away an excellent teacher who can really help our kids. I know that I work for this district, and if you guys don't think it is right for me to support Adelmo, then I will move to a different district." So the chairman of the board went back to the next meeting and told the superintendent, "You know, what you need to do is settle this now. Travis is not backing down, Adelmo is not backing down, and we're going to lose." So the superintendent offered me a job back in Silver City, they paid for my attorneys, and this was the settlement to which we agreed, though I did not take a job there. I was already working, was enjoying teaching at Shiprock, and I didn't really think that I would be treated fairly by an administration and a school board that I had put so much time and energy into suing. In all of the time I spent at Shiprock, I worked in several schools. Although the work was good, and I got good reviews, there were a few bumps along the way. The first principal I worked under would let me teach, but he wouldn't let me engage in any of the activities that were assigned to other teachers. I could not do lunchroom duty. I could not supervise recess. I couldn't do anything that involved supervising the kids outside my classroom. I heard about another principal who worked in the district, and his school was just three miles down the road. I heard that he was very open- minded and willing to work with people, and in fact he hired a woman who was in a wheelchair. She said that she really enjoyed her job, so I met with that principal and asked for a transfer. When I went for my interview with Mr. Baxter, I made it clear to him that if I got the job there, I would want to have duties just like all of the other teachers. His words I remember to this day: he said, "Adelmo, if you're going to be working here, you're going to have all of the duties that teachers have, just like everybody else." I said, "Thank you. I appreciate this." Two days later, the principal at the school at which I worked came up to me and said, "Well, Mr. Baxter is going to take you, but I want you to know that I really had to twist his arm to get him to do it." Of course I knew this was not true, and I worked for Mr. Baxter until he retired. In the new school I still taught third grade with all the duties required of all teachers, and Principal Baxter was true to his word. He required me to take on all of the responsibilities given to other teachers, and he liked my work so much that he started assigning me other outside activities. I really enjoyed it, but eventually I had to admit to myself that I was becoming involved in too many things. I decided that he and I had to have a talk. I told him that I thought I should not take on anything else because I didn't want the children I was teaching to suffer. He agreed, but I still remained very involved in all of the school's extracurricular activities. When they moved the third-graders to a different school, I went as well. To put it mildly, the principal and I were locking horns, so eventually I transferred back to the original school where I had started all of this, and by that time the school had a new principal, Mrs. Eva Stokely. I taught first grade for a year, and about halfway through it Eva retired, and a new principal took over. Her name was Genevieve Jackson. I had known her previously. She had a blind daughter, and I helped her learn Braille. So after a year teaching first grade, I asked her if I could move to the second grade. I found the first graders very sweet but a little too immature. She said that indeed she thought there would be an opening in the second grade, and, true to her word, I was transferred. One of the things I remember most fondly about working for this principal was that, every time she was out, she left me in charge of the school. She would tell the other teachers, "Mr. Vigil is in charge. If anything comes up, you guys let him know." So teachers who were working with kids having trouble brought them to me, I would take action, and I would report to her the next day she got back. These added responsibilities were not only important to me in my career advancement as a schoolteacher, but they were also helpful in convincing me that I had some interest and aptitude in administration. So after teaching second grade there for six years, I applied for a job at the orientation center run by the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. The job was in Alamogordo, Dr. Schroeder hired me, and I worked at the commission from 1993 until 2007, the year of my first retirement. I had a lot of different jobs before my retirement, and I became the deputy director in 1997. I liked the work at the commission so much that I have now retired three times from it. After my first retirement, when they called to ask that I help in teaching cane travel, I accepted. Dr. Eddie Bell had always encouraged me to get certification in the field, so in 2009 at the National Convention in Detroit I took the tests for the National Orientation and Mobility Certification (NOMC) and passed. I have been certified ever since. But retirement was still calling to me, and so I retired for a second time. Surely twice was enough, but no, not so fast. When the director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, Greg Trapp, needed my help, I signed on again as the administrator of the orientation center and worked there until 2012. After helping the new director through the transition for a year, I retired from the commission for the third time. But I guess I am still not settled with my retirement because I do consulting and teaching for different states, working as a cane travel instructor. I tell people that I have done pretty well at everything I worked at except retirement. In 2012 I was elected as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico, and in 2016 I was elected to the national board, so I now find myself with a job which sees to any unfilled time in my semi- retired state. That job is helping blind people achieve their potential through self-organization and a little bit of advocacy. My wife and I both retired in 2013, though she seems to have been better at staying retired than I have. We enjoy it very much. I have been asked several times if I would like to return to the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. I tell them that I have loved working there, but I really do want to be retired. Still it is hard for me to keep my hand out of holding down some kind of paying job. Since last May I have been working part-time as a cane travel instructor and helping the administration of the Freedom Center for the Blind in Alabama. It is certainly not full-time work, but it keeps me traveling, and there is enough work to do that I can clearly say I am not yet fully retired. I enjoy time with my family. Of course, there is my wife Soledad, and we have two children. Currently the oldest is forty-two and the youngest is thirty-nine. My wife and I have seven grandchildren and one great- grandchild. They help to round out what has been an absolutely wonderful life for me. I feel fortunate that blindness did not stop me from living a first- class life. The teenager who could not read went to a school for the blind where they taught me how to do it. There I saw the miracle that teachers can perform in the lives of their students and was able to become a teacher. Seeing that administrators could help even more people, I was pleased to serve in that capacity, and now, as grandpa and great-grandpa, I clearly see that I still have the capacity to combine love and service. It's funny how doing something for others can so enrich our own lives, and I will be forever grateful to all of the people who have had a part in helping me truly live a life that the odds were against me living. When a man has enjoyed the love of a good woman, a fine marriage, several challenging careers, and the joy of being a parent, grandparent, and great- grandparent, what more can he ask? Blindness has not been the characteristic that has defined me. The desire to succeed, the determination to think ahead, the making of good friends who care about me, and an organization that stands for all of this and lets me help in its noble work makes my life a joy I dare not take for granted. I put my energy into this organization and share this story with you because I want to expand that sharing. I want people to know that hope is not a fantasy and that dreams are not silly things that happen to us when we are asleep. Dreams can drive us, and acting on those dreams really can get us where we want to go. Let's go there together and bring with us everybody we can. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three- hundred-and-fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Salisbury] The Injustice of Disability-Based Subminimum Wages by Justin Salisbury From the Editor: This article first appeared on May 21, 2019, in Community Voices, a publication which describes itself as "kind of a cross between Letters to the Editor and op-eds. This is your space to talk about important issues or interesting people who are making a difference in our world." It is produced by Honolulu Civil Beat, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt news organization dedicated to cultivating an informed body of citizens, all striving to make Hawaii a better place to live. We appreciate the permission to reproduce this article. Monitor readers will be familiar with Justin Salisbury, who regularly contributes articles. He is an active member of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii and teaches cane travel at the Ho'opono Center for the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind has a long history of opposing subminimum wages for blind people, and Justin is one of our finest warriors in the battle. The beauty of his work, and in fact his very being, is that he leads with his head and his heart, and they are both on the same page. Here is what he had to say: I am writing an open message to workers with disabilities earning disability-based subminimum wages, as well as their friends and families. It becomes necessary to use such public media as the Civil Beat because it is a channel that flows above the walls of segregation. Technology today gives us options that are better than a message in a bottle. You see, workers with disabilities in sheltered workshops are segregated from the rest of society, a concept all too familiar to the people of Hawaii because of the way that plantations kept workers segregated. As a matter of housekeeping, not all sheltered workshops pay subminimum wages, but these wages are paid in sheltered workshops. Imagine visiting Hawaii as an outsider back in the height of the plantation days and seeing the workers with bottles around their necks. If you, as the outsider, wanted to know what was best for the plantation workers, would you ask the plantation owners, the lunas, or the workers? Surely, some were confused about this at some point in time, but most of us would agree today that the plantation workers knew what was best for them. They may not have complained-they may have even made peace with their poverty and suffering-but they were not treated with aloha. Some privileged people argue that the plantation workers were not forced to work on plantations, but they often believed they had no alternative. Eventually, they organized with elected leaders, rose up, and got off the plantations. When people unfamiliar with the sheltered workshops want to know what is best for the workers with disabilities inside them, they all too often direct their attention to the disability agencies and the leaders of the workshops themselves. These workshops and agencies will always protect their own interests first, just like any other institution. People with disabilities have organized, and we continue to become more active in our own quest for liberation. When the workshops and agencies tell us why we should like being treated as second-class citizens and paid seven cents per hour, our elected leaders push back. Sometimes, when people get up to speak publicly on something, we feel compelled to give the audience some highlights of our credentials so that people might listen to what we have to say. I have felt this urge many times. Since I have worked in the disability field since 2008, I have often felt like it would help my credibility to tell people, "I work for agency X." In fact, this is the anti-credential. What is really a credential is the fact that hundreds of people with disabilities voted for me through a democratic process so that I could speak for them. This makes me beholden to the voters who elected me, not beholden to someone who might be contributing to my paycheck. Payment Alternatives Sheltered workshops try to market themselves as part of the vocational rehabilitation system as if they are preparing the workers for mainstream jobs. This claim has long been rejected by organizations of people with disabilities. Sheltered workshops confuse rehabilitation with entertainment, as if we are capable of nothing else besides being entertained by smiling caretakers who give us the illusion of working. This confusion was flushed out as a conflict of interest in the public hearing testimony on Governor's Message 734. Some of the able-bodied leaders and managers of sheltered workshops may have missionary mentalities, where they believe that they are doing what is best for us. Missionaries must be careful not to look down upon the people they serve and impose their own values and expectations upon those "lower" beings. Sometimes, missionaries can be too fixated upon the good feelings of accomplishing what they set out to do rather than truly giving the people what they request. I'm here to talk about alternatives to the payment of subminimum wages. Some of them are quite simple and can be done essentially overnight: Internships and apprenticeships: These allow entities to train people for jobs while paying them less than the minimum wage. I have personally done paid and unpaid internships, and there are many people in these arrangements at any given time in Hawaii. The sheltered workshops can use paid internships, or even unpaid internships, to organize their agreements with the workers with disabilities who are currently receiving disability- based subminimum wages. Whether or not someone has a disability, if they are not productive enough to be paid a full wage for that job, you can make them an intern or apprentice and pay them less while you train them into it. This is what the sheltered workshops claim to be doing anyway. Some people might say that this is pointless because it will have the same outcome, but organizations of people with disabilities say otherwise. The resounding message is that we want to be treated equally. If we are paid less because we are learning, that's fine, but it should have nothing to do with our disability. In fact, many organizations of people with disabilities take no stance on whether a minimum wage should exist at all, but, if it is going to exist, it should not discriminate. Actual rehabilitation programs: The types of interventions necessary for each disability vary, but there are rehabilitation programs for every kind. For example, blind people attend adjustment to blindness training at a residential training center like the state's Ho'opono Services for the Blind. Higher education: people with disabilities can go to college or trade school to prepare for a career of their choice. Competitive, integrated employment: Instead of going into a subminimum wage job, it is entirely possible for many people with disabilities to walk right into a regular job. Real pay in the sheltered workshop: Many sheltered workshops pay regular wages to workers with disabilities and do not hold the special wage certificate allowing them to pay subminimum wages. For the first time in eighty-one years of advocacy, there is finally a congressional committee hearing on a bill to end the payment of disability-based subminimum wages. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act, H.R. 873, on Tuesday. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has repeatedly cosponsored this legislation, and former Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa did, too. I am hopeful that, with enough support from good leaders in Congress, the bill will pass, and the practice will end. ---------- The Gem of Rocky Bottom by Shelley Coppel From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the Winter 2018 issue of the Palmetto Blind, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. Our work with seniors is exciting, and the cooperation between our senior division and our state affiliate is exemplary. Here is what Shelley has to say about last year's event: On October 14, 2018, a group of twenty-three staff and students (seniors this time) enthusiastically descended upon Rocky Bottom Retreat and Conference Center of the Blind for a week of amazing training. The NFB Seniors Division partnered with the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina to offer a first-rate training for a segment of our population who otherwise don't have an opportunity for specific skills training for loss of vision. We recruited seven individuals as staff: Frank and Shelley Coppel of South Carolina; Tom and Linda Anderson from Kansas; Liz Lewis and Michael Hartz from North Carolina; and Ruth Sager from Maryland, who is the NFB Seniors Division president. We also recruited the assistance of Christine Filter, a registered nurse who has served us for many years as our camp health nurse; a kitchen crew like none other headed up by Lenora Robertson, Ellen Taylor, Ora Bell, and JW Smith; and several volunteers. We also needed drivers since we required a golf cart to take us up and down the steep hill from one of the sleeping lodges. This lodge has a kitchen most like the one you would have in your home, which served as our training kitchen. Other classes that we offered were cane travel, organizational skills, Braille, iOS training, and a group where we discussed the effects of vision loss on our lives. As we settled in the first evening, we discussed the schedule, were introduced to one another, found out where we each would reside for the week, and had a wonderful meal for our weary, excited guests. They represented nine states and ranged in age from the mid-forties to eighty- seven. Monday morning began with a hot breakfast for fortification to begin our rigorous schedule. Sleepshades were passed out as were long white canes. Our classes were one-and-a-half hours in length, and we planned four classes in a day. Everyone participated in all of the classes. As the week progressed, folks were using their shades voluntarily and showing good cane skills as they navigated the paths, found their class sites, went grocery shopping, navigated an apple orchard, and found a pond where wonderful stories were swapped over a great fishing experience. Every afternoon we ended our day with a discussion time. We talked about the successes of our day and answered questions about the tough business of losing vision and how to deal with this personally. We also talked about how to advocate for ourselves and the way to bring those closest to us to an understanding of what help we really need, because sometimes we decide to struggle through an issue and find our own alternatives. On Thursday evening we made a bonfire and roasted marshmallows to eat s'mores. What a perfect ending for a week of great achievement. Two of our students completed the Braille alphabet including numbers and punctuation. Many thanks to the NFB Seniors Division for coming to South Carolina and using our facilities at our beloved Rocky Bottom Retreat and Conference Center of the Blind. We look forward to many more opportunities to be of service to other state affiliates and national divisions of the National Federation of the Blind. From the Editor: Now that Shelley has told you about how last year's senior retreat went, here is the flyer for the 2019 event: National Federation of the Blind Seniors Division Annual Retreat When: September 15 to 21, 2019 Where: Rocky Bottom Resort and Conference Center for the Blind, Sunset, South Carolina. Rocky Bottom is a camp owned and operated by the South Carolina affiliate of the NFB. This camp is located on Sassafras Mountain, the highest point in the state. It is a modern facility with a dining hall and several lodges for sleeping and holding classes. Retreaters will share a room with a colleague. Paved pathways connect buildings in this rural mountain setting. Fishing can be done on the property. Other off- site activities may be planned during the retreat. Eligibility: Must be legally blind and have a strong desire to learn nonvisual techniques taught by blind instructors. Preferred age over fifty but some exceptions can be made. Candidates must be able to administer their medications and know the dosages and times they should be taken. We can suggest labeling methods and organizational skills but cannot administer medications. We will have a nurse on-call throughout the retreat. Classes Offered: . Traveling with a rigid, straight white cane . Daily Living Skills . Organizational Skills and Tactile Labeling . Beginning Braille . Some Devices and Aids Found Useful . Cooking Techniques and Preparing Food . Discussions: Living with Low Vision and Blindness-Our Attitudes and Perceptions and the Misconceptions of Others about our Disability Process and Cost: Please contact Ruth Sager, president, NFB Seniors Division by email at rsager78 at gmail.com; by mail at 7634 Carla Road, Pikesville, MD 21208; or by home phone at 410-602-9030 to obtain an application. Fill out the application, and return it to the above address by August 10, 2019. Upon receiving your application, you will be contacted by an instructor or Seniors Division board member to schedule a telephone interview. This interview is designed to help us make your retreat experience as beneficial for you as possible. We want everyone to participate in all of the activities, but we will try to tailor some classes to fit your specific needs. Candidates will then be notified if they are successful retreat participants. The cost per attendee is $300. This cost covers room and board, any activities which take place during the retreat, transportation from the nearest airport (Greenville-Spartanburg) and after the retreat, transportation from Rocky Bottom back to the airport. All other expenses incurred will be covered by the candidate. After you have been notified that you are a successful retreat participant, the $300 check should be sent to: NFB Seniors Division, c/o Ms. Duncan Larsen, Colorado Center for the Blind, 2233 Shepperd Avenue, Littleton, CO 80120, no later than September 1, 2019. For more information, please contact Ruth Sager as listed above. ---------- Dr. James Nyman: An Unconventional Man Embracing Unconventional Solutions by Fredric Schroeder From the Editor: When I heard about the death of Dr. James Nyman and saw nothing in the way of a tribute, I decided to write one myself. I interviewed about four people and begged others for a brief submission. One of those I asked was Fred Schroeder. He gave me much more than a few thoughts; he provided a tribute that I cannot match. I am grateful to those who gave me interviews and will briefly summarize what you told me. People who worked for Dr. Nyman or who were students while he was the director remember him as a challenging man. At times he seemed more like the questioning, demanding professor he had previously been and less like an agency administrator. Words such as argumentative and curmudgeon are frequently used to describe him, but these characteristics have a positive side as well. They relate having to argue hard for what they wanted, sometimes being frustrated when they got less than they thought they had won through agreement, but everyone I talked with is unanimous in their belief that Dr. Nyman must be judged on the result of what he created. In that light he wins unanimous support. He hired the first blind mobility instructor and liked the results so much he did it again. He started the orientation center in Nebraska, and he staffed it with people who believed in the Federation philosophy. Though he excelled in and respected academia, he rejected the idea that his instructors must have a master's degree. Instead he hired blind and sighted people based on their potential to be trained to instill a positive view of the students in themselves. His accomplishments can easily be seen through those who have gone on to be positive agents of change in the field and whose names are well-known to Monitor readers. Some of the changes were subtle: a woodshop that was never used before Dr. Nyman came to the agency that became the confidence- bolstering facility it was meant to be. The criticism he took for requiring staff to train under training shades and having students use them throughout their stay was significant, but he held firm. While he was not what many would consider a smooth traveler, using a shorter cane than many of his staff and students, on most days he ran the two-and-a-half miles to work. In so doing, he generated positive press about the mobility of blind people and helped establish a number of contacts through others who were running enthusiasts. Here is what Fred has to say: Dr. Nyman became director of the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (at that time, Nebraska Services for the Visually Impaired) in 1974. He brought Federation philosophy to the work of the agency at a time when the Federation was viewed with suspicion and outright hostility by other rehabilitation programs for the blind. The level of animus toward the Federation cannot be overstated; it was pervasive, intense, and deeply personal. A decade and a half earlier, Dr. Jernigan had taken over the Iowa Commission for the Blind and set a new and dramatic standard in the rehabilitation field. In short order Dr. Jernigan developed a program of services rooted in Federation philosophy that completely eclipsed the work of other programs for the blind. By the mid-70s, we had Iowa and (to a far lesser extent) California and finally, with Dr. Nyman's appointment, we had Nebraska-that was it. So, what did Dr. Nyman do? At one level what he did was simple. He set about injecting our philosophy into the work of the agency in much the same way Dr. Jernigan did in Iowa, but it was not easy. It took courage and a deep and abiding belief in the ability of blind people to live as others. In 1978 I graduated with a master's degree in special education and was completing my professional training to teach orientation and mobility. At the 1978 national convention, Dr. Nyman sought me out and offered me a job. That took courage. He did not know me, and his agency was still in its early stage of development with critics on all sides. Yet, he hired me to teach cane travel at a time when the orientation and mobility profession would not certify blind people to teach cane travel; and I was not the only blind Federationist he hired. He hired me and others because he believed in blind people and was prepared to put his beliefs into action, even when it was not popular, even when it caused conflict and hostility. One day Dr. Nyman called me into his office. He said he had received a call from the governor's office. The governor's chief of staff told Dr. Nyman that a state car was seen entering a large parking lot at a high rate of speed, performing a number of figure eight turns and leaving. Of course, Dr. Nyman knew I had taken a student on a drop route, an exercise in which students are deliberately disoriented and dropped off to find their way back to the agency. The figure eights were to heighten the drama, to make the whole experience more daunting so when the student made it back safely it would mean something profound. Dr. Nyman asked me what I thought he should tell the governor's chief of staff. I said he should say we had a blind client lying on the back seat of the car and were trying to get him as lost as we could so we could drop him off and tell him to find his way back without assistance. I knew Dr. Nyman understood what we were doing and why, but I did not realize at the time what he was up against. The agency was still relatively new, and we had critics. While it is hard to imagine, I am sure Dr. Nyman had to wonder how to balance our philosophy against the need to maintain our fragile support. In other words, it would have been so much easier to say, let's take things a little slower, let's not be quite so aggressive. Let's take a safer and far less stressful approach and not be quite so radical. But, of course, that is not what he did. He believed in blind people, and he supported blind people in every way he could. When Dr. Nyman hired me to teach cane travel, I had not finished the master's program in orientation and mobility. He granted me leave with full pay for two consecutive summers to finish my master's program even though I did not need the master's to teach at the agency. He did it because he believed in me and because he believed that we needed to support one another in standing up against discrimination. Again, I did not need the master's degree to teach in Nebraska, but blind people needed to stand up to the established orientation and mobility profession-a profession that believed it knew better than we what blind people could and could not do. Dr. Nyman's legacy endures. Nearly a half century later, the Nebraska Commission for the Blind continues to be a leader in rehabilitation of the blind, but that speaks only to professional accomplishment, not to his personal human qualities. Many who knew Dr. Nyman were terrified of him. He was a crusty and sardonic fellow who enjoyed mental sparring to the point of intellectual gymnastics. But that did not mean he was unkind or uncaring; just the opposite. One day many years later, I called Dr. Nyman, and when he answered the phone, I said, "Dr. Nyman, I presume." He retorted something to the effect, "That is quite a presumption and one you would be hard put to defend." I said, "You presume I wish to defend my presumption, an indefensible presumption if I ever heard one." It is easy to look at where we are and forget how we got here. Dr. Nyman's life reminds us of the power of courage and the power of justice. It reminds us that change is born of pain and strife. It reminds us that our obligation is to do what we can, do what is right, not just what is easy. I do not remember Dr. Nyman ever praising me, but I felt his kindness and support and feel it to this day. He gave me a job when I had none, and he gave me his friendship and loyal support for all of my adult life. Would that I could do as much! Rest in peace. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dan Burke] The Buzzsaw, the Plumber's Skillet, and the Montana City Hardware Caf? by Dan Burke From the Editor: This is a story Dan Burke wrote a long time ago. Why it has been so long in getting to us I cannot say, but I doubt it was the US Post Office or a slow internet connection that caused the delay. No doubt it was Dan going about living his life, thinking only after hearing a conversation that this might just serve to show blind people what blind people can do in the same way that these travelers were showing sighted residents of Montana. Here is Dan's story: Five of us start out in the 7 a.m. darkness of a late October Montana morning: four men and one woman, four white canes, and one guide dog. We have a goal and directions from the motel clerk where we're staying to attend an affiliate board meeting: Walk straight out from the door, and you'll hit the driveway out to the road. It's a different driveway than the one you took to dinner last night. Bear to the right, and you'll find the edge of the drive; there's a line of boulders bordering it. Cross the two- lane and turn right. Pretty quick you'll come to another driveway going off to the left. Turn in there. No, that first building won't be it; that's the bank. Keep going past there, and after a while the oil ends, so keep going on the gravel. When you get down there, you'll know it; there'll be a bunch of pickups parked in front. We start, make the driveway, and find the right edge. I look for the border of boulders, mostly out of curiosity. Now we're across the road, staying close together, and turned right. There is no traffic, not even the sound of a vehicle on I-15 a quarter mile east. Walking in the shoulder gravel-shore-lining-the driveway is there after maybe thirty feet. A voice calls out from the motel parking lot. "That's it, turn left there." Kind of figured, but the reinforcement is not resented. Another four steps and the voice calls out again: "Now turn right!" This jog was not part of the original set of directions, a detail easily overlooked, especially by someone unused to giving directions to anyone but sighted people-no matter that we asked for clarification and repetition. In fact, a sighted person would be told simply, "You can see it just down there." There's nothing out here to block the view, so maybe you would have seen it already, and the only conversation necessary would center on whether it was a good place for breakfast-in this instance a matter not in doubt. The watchful eye of the motel clerk may be little more than recognition of doubt about her verbal instructions. In any case, we turn right. We continue down this drive, taking up the whole thing, some following the crown, some shore-lining the edge of the pavement, some just following the flow. There is light chatter in the rear of the procession, comments on the chill of the light breeze that greets our faces. Soon there is a flapping and slapping of nylon rope and metal coming up on our left. "Flag," Jim Marks observes just behind me. "That'll be the bank." Jim and I have traveled together often and over all kinds of terrain, and this observation is one of the things that always makes exploring with him such a pleasure. On an unclaimed afternoon in Washington, DC a few years ago, we walked from the vicinity of the White House back to the Mall and up to the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and then off to find the relatively-new FDR Memorial-the existence of which very few seemed to be able to fix in their minds well enough to give us much in the way of directions. We kept on, kept asking until a British tourist along the Potomac asked: "FDR?" "President Roosevelt," I said. "Churchill's buddy," clarified Jim. The tourist seemed to scratch his head, considering as he slowly rotated it before he finally noticed the sign beside us. He happily announced that we were there. After examining the gigantic Braille on the wall and the bronze sculpture of the fedoraed, pince-nezed President in his wheelchair, we set off back to our room at the Capitol Holiday Inn, trying to make it before dark. All day long we traded observations, identified landmarks, and taught each other a thing or two about traveling in a strange city. But we are in Jim's home territory now. His family homesteaded about thirty miles east of here five generations ago, and Markses are spread out all over this area. We already made a bit of a splash: Our outing to the Montana City Grill last night netted two sightings by members of Jim's family living in this unincorporated township, which has become something of a bedroom community for the state capitol. Since Montana City is unincorporated, there are no sidewalks, no streets in the usual sense of a city street, few right angle-turns, stop signs or streetlights-all things city travelers rely on as landmarks. On the other hand, this is pretty tame stuff. Tomorrow at this time Jim will be out in the hills and gulches where his family has lived for more than a century, quietly stalking elk with family members and neighbors on opening day of hunting season. Now another driveway turns off to the left. We hear a low buzzing sound, steady, on the far side of the drive, and I detect a rectangle of light as we come up on it, a bank sign, likely. We press on and before long find the end of the oil, and then my cane sweeps across the gravel. The track's not difficult to follow, and I start looking for signs of parked vehicles. A car or two passes on the road above and to our right, and I listen to see if any turn in ahead of us, revealing our destination. None do, but I already suspect this is the only way in anyway. Still, no traffic comes down our track to give additional clues. We are staying together, though spread out across the gravel drive, heading slightly downhill. Then the road starts to level out a little, and then from ahead a new cheerful voice: "Good morning!" "Get a call?" I ask in response, smiling in the dark. "Sharon called and said you were coming," confirming only that this is Montana small-town life. Then we are threading our way through parked vehicles to the sidewalk running along the front of the building. "I'm not sure how to give you directions," our guide confesses, trying to worry us between parked 4-wheel drives and around posts. "Just keep talking," we assure her." We'll be right behind you." Inside, only three or four of the twenty tables are occupied. We sit at a table covered with a vinyl tablecloth loaded with creamer and condiments and place settings. "Anybody want coffee?" I am already turning my mug over, examining the print with my fingers. "What does the cup say?" I ask the hostess as she comes around to pour. "Montana City Hardware Caf?," comes the half-expected answer. "I'm putting water on the table," the waitress announces. "Yours is next to your coffee," she says, and I hear the soft thunk as it comes to rest on the cloth. The south end of the building is the caf?. The north end is the hardware store, where you can buy galvanized nails, fence supplies, batteries, and alfalfa pellets for your horse on your way out after breakfast. In fact, my one previous visit here with friends who live in the area ended in just such a transaction. Now, I've got t-shirts from various trips-Washington, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago-but nowhere does Hard Rock Caf? food come close to the food served here. This is a Montana original. Our waitress starts through the specials, then reads the descriptions of the other items. But I want more than just what's in each dish. "What are the names of these?" I ask, and she begins to read the names along with the descriptions. Ted Robbins orders the Mechanic's Skillet. Appropriate enough: Ted has been blind for a quarter of a century, and though he retired from his northern plains farm a few years ago, he still tears into his vehicles to do necessary maintenance. Lately he replaced the struts on his van. We order one special, a couple of Plumber's Skillets with sausage and eggs and onions and green peppers on a bed of hash browns, and one Buzzsaw featuring homemade biscuits and sausage gravy. The place is filling up. As Federationists, we know that wherever we go in our home state, we are seen, and we are teaching a different lesson about what it means to be blind. Maybe this wide, friendly spot in the road will buzz about us after we're gone. Maybe not: Maybe some will imagine us as especially intrepid-surely blind people don't wander into the Hardware Caf? often. But somewhere in the back of their minds we hope they will recognize an important fact: That we're pretty much like them; we're after a good meal in a warm place where the customers and staff josh amiably and folks can enjoy the company of good friends. Certainly we are treated respectfully, not hovered over, yet get plenty of good information from the waitress; we're just another table of hungry Saturday morning breakfast customers. As is often the case, the most important lesson we're called upon to give today as blind people is simply showing up. By the time my Plumber's Skillet lands in front of me, I'm good and hungry. The board met till ten last night, and we have about six hours ahead of us today. I dig in a little too enthusiastically at first, but soon slow down to enjoy the food and one of Ted's salt-of-the-earth stories. When my check comes, I pick it up, extend my cane, and move around the table and then off of the carpet of the room onto the tiled area by the entrance to where I suspect the cash register counter will be. It turns out to be a table with two middle-aged women, who set me straight. "Sometimes," I explain, "you gotta get lost before you know where you are." After everyone pays, we make for the door. The hostess who met us out front on our way in is quickly there. "Do you need any help getting back?" she asks. "We won't have a problem." We thank her and make our farewells. Outside, traffic is beginning to move on the road and on the Interstate. The dull first light of morning is in the sky, revealing the shapes of the Elkhorn Mountains around us. We start off up the gravel drive, fortified, satisfied we have done a small part of the day's work of changing what it means to be blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Karl Belanger] The Best of Both Worlds: The QBraille XL Almost Perfectly Blends a Braille Display and a USB Keyboard by Karl Belanger From the Editor: This blog post first appeared on Friday, January 4, 2019. It will be clear to anyone who uses a Braille display on his or her computer that memorizing the keystrokes used to simulate Windows commands can be difficult, but this innovative technology doesn't require it. This excellent writeup comes from Karl Belanger, a technology specialist who works for us in the Jernigan Institute. Here is his post: Have you ever found yourself struggling to remember the series of commands needed to perform a keyboard shortcut on your display? Have you ever needed to do a command that isn't configured on your display? Have you found yourself switching back and forth between your computer keyboard and your display to accomplish your work? If so, then the QBraille XL from HIMS may just be the perfect device for you. The QBraille XL is a forty-cell display that takes a standard Perkins- style Braille keyboard and adds all the function and navigation keys of a standard keyboard. The result is that you can type in Braille while being able to perform all the shortcuts and commands you're used to with the standard keyboard keys. For example, Control+F is done by holding the control key and pressing the dots for the letter f, and commands like Control+Tab or Alt+F4 are done using the same keys you are used to. This is made possible by some software that makes the display appear to a connected device as both a Braille display and a regular USB or Bluetooth keyboard. Even if you haven't configured the display with your screen reader, the navigation keys and computer Braille input will work perfectly, though you will not have Braille output. The QBraille also has a small suite of internal applications. I won't be focusing too much time on these since they are very similar to those found on the Braille Edge. The only new internal application that the QBraille has is a DAISY reader for reading textbooks from services like Bookshare. The QBraille does not have speech built in, so the DAISY reader is Braille only. The Hardware The edges of the QBraille are fairly clean, with the only thing on the left side being the power button and the front and back edges completely empty aside from a small hard reset button near the right of the back edge. The right side has a USB-C port for charging and connections over USB, and behind that an SD-card slot. A card must be installed for the notepad and DAISY reader to function. On the top front of the unit is a forty-cell display, with the standard panning and cursor routing keys that are common to all HIMS displays. Above the display is the keyboard. The main portion of the keyboard is a standard Perkins keyboard that any display user will be familiar with. On the same row as the spacebar are several keys. From left to right there is control, function, Windows, and alt. To the right of the spacebar are another alt, applications, and the right control key. On the far right are the arrow keys just as on a standard keyboard. Above the arrows is the standard six-pack of keys that you find on most keyboards. This is arranged in two columns of three keys with insert and delete on the top row, home and end below insert, and page up and down below the delete key. Above the Braille keys is a row containing escape on the far left, then the standard F1 through F12 keys. Below F1 are Tab, Caps Lock, and Shift. Below the Escape key are the paring and mode buttons which have various functions when you're connected to a device. The QBraille also comes with a protective case that looks fairly sturdy and fits the device very snugly. The Software The QBraille will take a little under thirty seconds to start up, and it will display progress messages on the display. Once it starts, you will be at the main menu. The menu has several options: notepad, DAISY reader, applications, options, and information. The applications folder contains an alarm, clock, calculator, and calendar. As mentioned earlier, if you have used or read about the Braille Edge in the past, these will be quite familiar to you. You will first want to go into the options menu to set your preferred Braille language and grade, whether you want sounds to play, and other settings. Most of the QBraille's magic happens in the connectivity mode. When you select connectivity from the main menu, you have a choice between USB, Bluetooth keyboard, or Bluetooth display. If you choose one of the Bluetooth options, you will be placed into pairing mode, then into terminal mode once a device is paired. If you select USB, you are directly placed in terminal mode. Once you have at least one connection, pressing the pairing button plus F1-F12 switches between Bluetooth connections, and pairing+Escape switches to the USB connection. The QBraille supports up to six unique devices, with a display and keyboard connection for each, for a total of twelve Bluetooth connections plus a USB connection. All the major operating systems and screen readers are supported. Using the QBraille with Other Devices Setting Things Up If you're using a USB connection, the keyboard mode is active immediately. In this mode you can use all the standard function keys and type in Braille, but there will be no Braille output. In order to make things fully functional you will need to download the HIMS USB driver if you're on Windows and configure your screen reader to use the display. Once this is done you will automatically be put in hybrid mode. In this mode the display will output Braille normally, and the keyboard will operate in the keyboard mode. To have the keyboard work through the normal Braille display drivers, press the mode button to turn hybrid mode off. To set up a Bluetooth device, you will first need to select Bluetooth display and pair it as you would any display, then select Bluetooth keyboard and pair that as well. Once this is done you will be in hybrid mode. Once you have at least one connection, you will need to use the pairing and function keys to switch to an empty slot to pair either a new display connection or a new keyboard connection. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a way to view a list of established connections, nor a way to clear one specific connection. During testing, one of the keyboard connections automatically connected to someone else's Mac, and the only way I found to clear it was to reset all pairing information through the options mode. Using the QBraille XL Once you're connected, you have two options for how to work with the display. If hybrid mode is off, the QBraille functions like any other display, using the command set in your screen reader of choice. However, if hybrid mode is on, all the function keys behave as they would on a regular keyboard, and Braille input works a little differently. Pressing the pairing and mode buttons together toggles between the various available input modes. For me, the choices are computer Braille, US uncontracted, US contracted, UEB uncontracted, and UEB contracted. For computer Braille, the keys are directly sent through to the device. For the others, the text is sent when the spacebar is pressed. This seems to work well, and I haven't experienced any issues with lag or missed characters when typing quickly into a document. This does have one drawback, specifically when using single letter navigation when browsing a web page. When entering a letter, such as h for heading, the QBraille will enter the word "have" if you're in contracted mode, unless you use the letter sign. Even so, or if you're in uncontracted mode, the space is still entered which can cause unwanted actions. The best thing I've found to do if you want to browse a web page in hybrid mode is to change the input mode to computer Braille. Then the letters behave exactly as desired. I also noticed an issue with hybrid mode on an iPhone, where using the Voiceover quicknav commands that require multiple arrow keys don't work. The arrow keys simply get sent one right after the other. Another thing to be aware of is that performing some shortcuts requires a bit of hand gymnastics because of how the keys are placed. For example, doing Insert+N to open the NVDA menu requires you to reach for the insert key with your pinky while pressing the Braille keys with the rest of your hand, which could be a problem for someone with small hands. I might try the Windows sticky keys feature in this circumstance. HIMS might also consider adding an on-device solution for this. Final Thoughts The QBraille XL is a solid device that makes using a computer much more pleasant to use. On mobile devices it also allows for the benefits of both a Braille display and a Bluetooth keyboard. The internal applications, while basic, provide a nice way to take some notes, read a book, or use the basic scheduler. The experience is not perfect as mentioned earlier, but the few caveats do little to mar what is overall an excellent device. Since it's a forty-cell display with an expanded keyboard, some may consider it a bit too large for everyday carry outside of a laptop bag or briefcase, but given that its major draw appears to be for working with a computer I don't see the size as a major concern. If you're an office worker, or do any significant work on your computer, the QBraille XL is worth a serious look. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month come to us from the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada. [PHOTO CAPTION: Aaron and Terri Rupp with their children.] Strawberry Kale Salad by Terri Rupp Terri Rupp is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada, is a wife and mother, and is the author of a blog called Blind Mom in the Burbs. Note: There are no measurements in this recipe. The person preparing can choose the amount of each ingredient to his/her liking. Ingredients: Kale Strawberries Feta cheese Olive oil Salt and pepper Method: Tear the kale leaves into small, bite-size pieces. Lightly sprinkle salt, pepper, and olive oil onto the kale and gently massage. Let the massaged kale sit in a covered bowl for at least an hour in the refrigerator. The longer it sits, the better. When you are ready to serve the salad, toss in finely sliced strawberries and feta cheese. Enjoy! ---------- Kalua Pork by Aaron Rupp Ingredients: 4 pounds pork rump roast or picnic shoulder 4 teaspoons of liquid smoke 4 tablespoons of kosher salt (coarse salt) Shredded cabbage Method: Rub pork with liquid smoke and salt. For extra flavor insert garlic into the meat. Tightly wrap with four layers of aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees for four hours. Once pork is done, serve shredded on top of a bed of shredded cabbage. For every extra pound of pork, increase everything in the recipe to equal the weight of the pork, including the baking time. The only thing you do not increase is the temperature at 400 degrees. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Regina Mitchell with her husband Stan] Citrus-Scented Orzo by Regina Mitchell Regina Mitchell is currently the Southern Nevada chapter president and affiliate board member. She has been married for thirty-four years to Stan Mitchell and mother to her teenage daughter, Journi Mitchell. She's a foodie and loves mystery movies. Her passions are travel, healthy eating, and an affinity for running, although she still craves a few Cheetos. She's also on the hunt for the best cupcake and doesn't believe ketchup should be anywhere near breakfast foods. Dressing Ingredients: 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons) 3 tablespoons orange juice (1/2 orange) 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Method: Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Orzo Ingredients: 1/2 pound orzo 1 16-ounce can chicken broth (low sodium) 1 cup water 4 whole scallions, minced (white and green parts) 15 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (ribbons or strips) Method: In a large saucepan add chicken broth and water. Allow to come to a boil. Add the orzo and cook ten to twelve minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Drain the orzo in a strainer or colander if needed. Pour the citrus vinaigrette (dressing) over the warm pasta, this will allow the dressing to absorb into the orzo. Let cool to room temperature. Garnish with scallions and basil. Orzo is actually a tiny rice-shaped pasta, slightly smaller than a pine nut. Orzo is ideal for soups and wonderful when served as a substitute for rice. Add the dressing when the orzo is still warm so the dressing is absorbed into the pasta. This dish is even better when made in advance; just check the seasonings and add the basil leaves at the last minute. You can serve the orzo hot or cold, as a side dish, and as a component in casseroles, soups, and salads. Orzo usually comes in a basic pale-yellow color, but it is also available in a tricolor variety that is commonly used in rotini and other pasta types. The dressing can also be used on salad. Enjoy! ---------- Lemon Shortcake with Macerated Seasonal Berries by Regina Mitchell Macerated Seasonal Berries Ingredients: 2 pounds fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries or boysenberries) 1 cup simple syrup (1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Place in a saucepan; simmer until sugar dissolves. Cool) Method: Place berries in a large bowl. Add simple syrup to taste, start with 1/2 cup of syrup then add as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside while preparing and baking the shortcakes. Lemon Shortcake Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon and level) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup granulated sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled 2 whole lemons, zested and chopped 1 cup sour cream (not low-fat) 1/4 cup whole milk 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk (for egg wash) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for sprinkling Note: For a shortcut-purchase store-bought shortcakes or sweet biscuits from local grocery store or fresh bakery. Method: Preheat oven to 425. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the lemon zest, sour cream, and milk. Scoop the dough into six high mounds evenly on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of sugar. Bake until lightly browned, about fifteen to twenty minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are fully baked. Transfer the biscuits to a rack. Cool slightly before splitting. Place biscuits on a dessert plate. Spoon the macerated berries over the biscuits. As an alternate you may spoon a dollop of fresh whipping cream or non-dairy whipped cream on top of macerated berries. Enjoy! ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Come to the Carnival: The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is celebrating its 100th anniversary by bringing to the 2019 National Convention the best indoor carnival ever. It will have games, prizes, and the premier of a special book, Pedro and the Octopus. The book was written by Deborah Kent Stein and illustrated by Ann Cunningham. When his big sister, Lena, warns Pedro that octopuses have lots of sticky arms for catching kids, he isn't too sure that a family trip to the beach will be fun. Pretty soon, though, he gets caught up in the excitement of walking in the sand with his long white cane, finding shells and stones to put into his pail, and playing in the waves. With its print and Braille text, and Ann Cunningham's captivating illustrations that appeal to both vision and touch, this unique picture book can be enjoyed by both blind and sighted readers. At the carnival, the American Action Fund will be giving away 100 of these books, and the book will also be available for sale in the Independence Market at a cost of thirty-five dollars. The carnival will be held on July 9 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Please check the convention agenda for the room location. Come and help the American Action Fund celebrate a century of service to the blind and have a great time in the bargain. Regional Seminar for Blind Parents in August: The NFB of Colorado is hosting what we envision as a regional seminar for blind parents and are inviting parents and grandparents from around the country to come out August 23 and 24 for the event. The seminar will take place at the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton. The seminar will include discussions of our legal rights, tools for self-advocacy, and resources provided by the NFB. We will have tracks for parents based on the ages of children (infants, school-age and tweens and teens) that include everything from introducing important soft skills to hands-on use of accessible equipment and alternative techniques. We'll also have a dedicated track for grandparents and activities for your kids running at the same time. We'll have plenty of opportunities for discussion among participants, networking with other blind parents, and get a keynote address from Melissa Riccobono, first lady of the NFB. The agenda will be posted by mid-June on theblindcoloradan.blogspot.com as well as on the Colorado Info channel on NFB-NEWSLINE?. The cost of the event is $25 per person or $50 per family, with registration available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blind-parents- seminar-tickets-61853819439. For more information, contact Maureen Nietfeld at 215-353-7218. >From Imagineering Our Future: This originally appeared in the May 16, 2019, Imagineering Our Future, and it is an eloquent reminder about the role advocacy plays in being a Federationist: President's Letter Dear Friends, In the National Federation of the Blind you frequently hear about the big, bold, advocacy initiatives we are taking on-such as getting the Marrakesh Treaty ratified by the United States. While those efforts are important, the critical aspect of what we do happens at the individual level, where we teach blind people to be their own best advocate. We recognize that as a blind person, if you know the laws and understand your rights, you are the most authentic spokesperson for yourself. Thus, much of our work centers around training each other to self- advocate and backing each other up with more support as needed. We know from our decades of experience that both are essential. My wife Melissa, who also happens to be blind, and I often have to attend educational team meetings to advocate for our two daughters who receive services in the public schools because of their blindness. Thank goodness we both have received training from the National Federation of the Blind network, and fortunately we have each other and the support of our friends in the Federation. If we did not have that background and support, those meetings would be even more emotionally taxing than they already are. Melissa also spends a lot of her time going to meetings to support other families, But, despite our best efforts, we know there are so many families and blind people who are not yet connected with us; as a result, they are fighting against the artificial barriers all alone. Advocacy is one of the most important reasons for us to connect with blind people and their families. When we do, we teach them that they are not alone, we empower them with the tools to raise their own expectations, and we connect them with an unparalleled network that will be a lifelong resource for them to continue to be strong advocates for themselves. As part of our network, you are an important component of this self- advocacy training and support program. Thank you for your role in raising expectations for the blind every day. Sincerely, Mark A. Riccobono, President National Federation of the Blind Advocacy-Our Vision and Objectives The National Federation of the Blind has been advocating and teaching self-advocacy for more than seventy-eight years. At first we worked to gain economic security for blind people. The next generation focused more on civil rights. Now we are well known for our efforts to protect students, veterans, blind children, blind workers, and senior citizens losing vision. Along the way NFB taught tens of thousands of blind people to advocate for themselves politely, persistently, and persuasively. The third pillar of our strategic plan aims even higher. Our vision reads: The National Federation of the Blind is the leading advocate for all blind Americans in areas such as education, employment, transportation, voting, and civil rights. Blind people, their families, agencies for the blind, corporations, and the government turn to our organization for expert advice on programs, skills building, encouragement, nonvisual access, and technology that levels the playing field for blind people. Our objectives are: . To strengthen the advocacy capacity of National Federation of the Blind members; . To establish and strengthen our relationships with industry and federal, state, and local government officials; and . To increase public support to achieve acceptance, full integration, and equal opportunity of blind people. We will reach our goals with love, hope, and determination. You can read our strategic plan in the February 2019 Braille Monitor or online at: https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/publications/bm/bm19/bm1902/bm19 0202.htm In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. New and Unique Travel Site for the Blind: On June 3, 2019, Holman Prizewinner Stacy Cervenka launched the Blind Travelers' Network, an online platform to connect blind and visually impaired people with information and resources for nonvisual accessibility in countries around the world. The platform hosts blog posts, reviews, discussion boards, and event listings to help users expand their horizons, leave their comfort zone behind, and explore new places. Never before has there been a website exclusively dedicated to the global travel opportunities for blind people; the Blind Travelers' Network underscores the growing ability of blind people worldwide to explore independently. Cervenka, who is blind, birthed the idea for the platform after she and her husband Greg, who is also blind, sought to enjoy a leisurely horseback riding lesson at a ranch, only to encounter obstacles and disrespect in response to their blindness. The staff infantilized the couple and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act; Cervenka took legal action and wanted to share her experience with other blind people. "I wanted to post about our experience on Yelp, but I knew that it could be months or years before another blind person wanted to go horseback riding at this stable and, by then, my review would likely be hundreds of reviews down the page," Cervenka said. "I wished there was a centralized place where I could post a review of this stable where other blind people who needed to see it could do so." With the creation of the Blind Travelers' Network, there now is, and it contains information about traveling with a cane in China, paragliding in Torrey Pines, and beach-going in Sydney. The platform was also influenced by Cervenka's experience planning a cruise for her honeymoon, where the largest online aggregate of cruise information provided her ample detail about various cruise lines, cruise ships, and ports of call, but none about nonvisual accessibility. She realized that there was a need for a central platform with this information. Cervenka has also used social media to share her travel experiences with other blind people, who have historically contacted her directly with questions. Now, she hopes to scale this level of communication and community-building with the Blind Travelers' Network and also to make this information publicly available. The Holman Prize, of The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco, selects three winners a year to challenge conventions of blind ambition and perceptions of blind ability. Created specifically for legally blind individuals with a penchant for exploration, the Prize provides financial backing-up to $25,000-for three individuals to explore the world and push their limits. To visit the Blind Travelers' Network, go to blindtravelersnetwork.org. For all inquiries, please contact press at lighthouse-sf.org. Maryland Settles Discrimination Case by Blind Inmates for $1.4 Million: National Federation of the Blind Assisted Blind Inmates Challenging Disability Discrimination Annapolis, Maryland (June 5, 2019): Nine current and former Maryland prison inmates have settled their discrimination lawsuit, Brown v. Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, for $1.4 million in damages and attorneys' fees. The Maryland Board of Public Works has just approved the settlement payment. Under the settlement, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) will modify prison procedures and provide assistive technology for the blind to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws. The lawsuit, brought with the assistance of the Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind and the Prisoner Rights Information System of Maryland (PRISM), alleged that DPSCS denied the blind inmates access to prison jobs, kept them in prison longer, denied them access to prison programs and information, and put them in danger because of their disabilities. Specifically, because they were blind, the inmates were housed at a medium-security prison, even when they were eligible for lower security or for programs at the state's twenty-six other facilities. Blind inmates were also excluded from the prison work programs that allow prisoners to learn job skills and earn higher wages and credits off their sentences. The suit further alleged that the blind prisoners did not have equal access to prison services and privileges available to other inmates because the prison communicates with inmates primarily in print, but made no accommodations for inmates who could not see. The ADA, enacted in 1990, prohibits discrimination against inmates with vision disabilities and requires state agencies, including prisons, to ensure "equally effective communication" with blind and low-vision inmates. The plaintiffs in the case alleged that the prison's discrimination denied them the ability to communicate and endangered their safety. They had to rely on other inmates to help them navigate prison facilities, read their mail (including attorney-client communications), read the rules in the inmate handbook, use the commissary and prison library, file grievances and requests for medical attention, and more. Not surprisingly, this subjected them to mistreatment by other inmates, who took advantage of the blind prisoners' need for help by extorting money, commissary items, and even sex. Some of the changes that DPSCS will make under the settlement agreement include: . Setting up computers with text-to-speech screen reader software, document scanners, and other assistive technology in the prison library, classrooms, and other locations to allow blind prisoners to conduct research and read and prepare documents independently; . Ensuring that blind inmates have access to qualified human readers and scribes who meet certain security and disciplinary criteria; and . Providing training for blind inmates in skills that will allow them greater independence. "These blind inmates do not seek special treatment," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "They seek only equal and independent access to the same facilities, services, and privileges that are available to other inmates. Lack of that access has not only denied them their rights but led to a nightmare of extortion, threats, and violence. We are happy the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has agreed to make changes and hope that corrections officials throughout the nation take note. The National Federation of the Blind will continue to fight for the rights of our blind brothers and sisters, including those behind bars." Background: A National Problem According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 7 percent of state and federal prisoners have vision disabilities, significantly higher than the 2 percent of people not in prison. As people age in prison, that number increases to 15 percent. According to the report "Making Hard Time Harder" by the Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities Project at Disability Rights Washington, "While prison is hard for everyone, incarceration is even more challenging for inmates with disabilities. Research shows that inmates with disabilities are sentenced to an average of fifteen more months in prison as compared to other inmates with similar criminal convictions. The time they serve is also harder, with more sanctions imposed and less access to positive programming than other inmates." Abused, Depressed, and "Frightened All the Time" Gregory Hammond, one of the plaintiffs, lost his sight in prison due to multiple sclerosis. He says of his experiences: "I wanted to work in one of the vocational shops at the prison to reduce my sentence and learn some skills for when I got out, but they said blind people weren't allowed to work in the shops. They assigned me an inmate walker to guide me around instead of letting me use a white cane or teaching me how to navigate myself. Then they made me share a cell with him and he stole from me because I was blind and couldn't see my things. He assaulted me because I bumped into his TV, and I couldn't defend myself. And I had to depend on him for everything-going out of my cell, reading mail or rules, writing medical slips. I even had to pay him to write the medical slip to get help for the injuries he gave me. But they still would not give me a single cell. Later, when my MS acted up, no one would write a medical slip for me, so I was paralyzed in my bed overnight. Inmates I had to pay to read my mail for me even went after my family. One threatened to hook up with my mother because, while he was reading my mail, he saw a picture of her. Another wrote obscene letters to my little sister because he got her picture and address from reading my mail. I couldn't ask them to write grievances about themselves, even if I could have afforded to, and the computers in the library weren't accessible for the blind, so I couldn't do anything. I was mentally abused and powerless, and it changed me. It made me depressed. I was scared and frightened all the time. And it's hard to cope when you are a grown man and you have to depend on someone else, another inmate, to help you, and he's just taking advantage of you." Messages of Joy: I have compiled a short book of my favorite scriptures on joy. This book is about twenty pages, and I hope it will be a blessing to you. It is available in grade one Braille, grade two US Braille, and grade two Unified English Braille. The cost is $12, including shipping. Please call or email me to order this book. My phone number is 804- 328-1831, and my email is luv2beasinger1 at gmail.com Blind Employee Sues Los Angeles County for Discrimination: National Federation of the Blind Supports Sharon Watson in Fight for Her Legal Rights For Sharon Watson, a blind licensed clinical social worker with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health since 2004, it was bad enough that the county deployed software-the Integrated Behavioral Health Information System ("IBHIS")-that wouldn't work with her text-to-speech screen reader in 2014. The department has made matters even worse by refusing to provide Dr. Watson with a dedicated, qualified reader to help her complete the administrative tasks that she can no longer accomplish independently. And to add insult to injury, Ms. Watson has faced discriminatory accusations related to her job performance, even though her alleged low productivity has been caused by the county's failures to accommodate her disability. After trying to resolve the situation with the county for the past five years, Ms. Watson filed suit this week in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Her lawsuit alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Ms. Watson seeks a court order requiring the county to provide her with a qualified reader with the sole or prioritized task of assisting her, declaring that the county has violated state and federal law by deploying the inaccessible IBHIS system, and awarding her compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorneys' fees. She is being represented by Anna R. Levine and Timothy R. Elder of the TRE Legal Practice, with the support of the National Federation of the Blind. "The National Federation of the Blind is dedicated to promoting accessible technology in the workplace and beyond and to fighting for the legal rights of blind employees," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "We will not tolerate a situation in which Los Angeles County deploys inaccessible technology, refuses to accommodate a blind employee affected by that unlawful decision, and then threatens her career and livelihood by blaming her for problems of its own making." Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. APH Cassette Recorder Wanted: I am looking for an APH recorder that plays and records four track cassettes. If anyone has one of these they can part with, please call Ronnie Palmer at 615-765-7375. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Fri Sep 6 10:01:41 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 10:01:41 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, August/September 2019 Message-ID: <201909061701.x86H1f1D025596@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 8 August/September 2019 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 ? 2019 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. 62, No. 8 August/September 2019 Contents Illustration: All Work and No Play-Not Happening The 2019 Convention Roundup by Gary Wunder Presidential Report 2019 by Mark A. Riccobono Meet the 2019 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Class Choice, Exploration, and Resistance: The Road to Freedom for the Blind by Mark A. Riccobono Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Presented by James Gashel Awards Presented at the 2019 National Convention Digital Inequality and the Myth of Injustice: Equal Access for the Blind May Not Be Delayed by Eve Hill A Platform for Information and Innovation: Insights into the Aira Ecosystem in Partnership with the Blind by Suman Kanuganti The American Action Fund Celebrates a Century of Service for the Blind by Barbara Loos American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults: A Century of Innovation, a Century for the Blind by Marc Maurer Braille Carnival: A Swimming Success by Julie Deden Be My Eyes Partnership Announcement by Will Butler Perspectives on Raising the Bar in the Blindness Field: Why a New Accreditation System? by Emily Coleman Not Without Question: The Difference of the Federation Philosophy in Our Lives by Jean Brown The 2019 Convention Resolutions: A Guidepost on Our Road to Freedom by Sharon Maneki National Federation of the Blind 2019 Resolutions Convention Miniatures Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Melissa and Mark Riccobono wearing flamingo hats at the Action Fund Braille Carnival] [PHOTO CAPTION: John Arroy and Ramona Walhof wear top hats while taking tickets at the Broken Spectacles concert] [PHOTO CAPTION: Hannah Clemenson and Quincie Mattick smile and laugh together at the Broken Spectacles concert] [PHOTO CAPTION: Youth Track students take a self-defense class. In the foreground a young girl swings her leg hard to kick a blocking pad the instructor is holding.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Participants in the Youth Track use PVC blowguns to try to pop balloons] All Work and No Play-Not Happening We often talk about the serious work we do in the Federation, and some of the serious work is done at national convention with resolutions, division meetings, and national board elections. But we also make time for fun with our Federation family during convention. Since most of this issue is devoted to the work we have done, are doing, and will do, it seems appropriate to showcase some of the play that happened during the 2019 National Convention. President Mark Riccobono and his wife Melissa have a lot of responsibility during convention, but during the Braille carnival, they set aside the serious to get a little silly wearing flamingo hats. Other Federationists took the time to enjoy a concert by the Broken Spectacles sponsored by the host affiliates. Sometimes the fun mixed with educational opportunities. Participants in the NOPBC Youth Track participated in a self- defense class where they got to practice kicks and strikes against instructors using pads and body armor one day and attempted to pop balloons using blowguns made from slim PVC pipes on another day. The 2019 Convention Roundup by Gary Wunder Las Vegas is known for taking the big risk, the big chance, and flirting with the possibility that one might really hit it big and see life- changing results. In some ways the convention of the National Federation of the Blind is the same, except we know that what happens will not be a matter of luck but of hard work, faith in one another, and channeling that faith into action. Normally we know when the National Federation of the Blind shows up because the sounds in the environment change. The clicking of dog nails and the tapping of canes take center stage, but Las Vegas had enough background noise from the chirping of the slot machines and the occasional shriek of joy when someone got the big payoff that our move through the hotel was harder to hear. But our presence was obvious when the marshals made their announcements, when people began asking about the elevator banks, and when the joyous shouts that come when meeting old friends rang out across the lobby. This year the convention ran from July 7 through July 12, with the first day being seminar day, the second being resolutions and registration day, the next being board meeting and division day, and all of these being followed by day one, day two, and day three of the convention. All of this would climax with the banquet. Some who have attended convention for decades find it hard not to speak of convention Saturday or convention Wednesday, but the names listed above are now starting to feel as traditional as the ones we used when convention start was always on Saturday and convention end was always on Friday. Even before the convention started, the ground began to quake and shake. Although the two quakes that shook Las Vegas were a couple of hundred miles away, one could certainly feel them. I have often enjoyed the song that contains the line "I feel the earth move under my feet; I feel the sky tumbling down, tumbling down." But it is one thing to enjoy the song and quite another to live through the experience, wondering whether you really will. Most of us are quite accustomed to moving on the earth, but feeling the earth move is a different matter. What might have been very disruptive blessedly turned out to be only a talking point, a shared experience that will help to make our visit to Las Vegas even more memorable. No matter what it is called, seminar day always begins early for the amateur radio division. They meet to discuss emergency preparedness during the convention and to make sure they understand the logistics of the hotel should they be needed. They also have one other very important function, that being to distribute the FM receivers that are used by the hearing- impaired and a different set used by Spanish-speaking attendees. These services are invaluable, and they highlight why the country values amateur radio and why the Federation values our division. These early risers weren't alone. The rehabilitation professionals were busy beginning their conference entitled, "Contemporary Issues in Rehabilitation and Education for the Blind-Eighteenth Annual Rehabilitation and Orientation and Mobility Conference." It was chaired by rehabilitation professional Jennifer Kennedy, who was at the time from Virginia and is now the new executive director of BLIND Incorporated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This all-day seminar was sponsored by the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB) and the Professional Development & Research Institute on Blindness (PDRIB). All of the presentations addressed the way we bring Federation philosophy to programming and how we help the private and governmental systems to use their funding not only to teach skills but the attitudes that make those skills most beneficial and help rehabilitation students live the lives they want. Many of us use seminar day to listen to providers of technology as they tell us about updates they have made to increase the productivity of the blind. Vispero, formerly Freedom Scientific, held a session on what's new with JAWS, Fusion, and ZoomText. HIMS Inc. held a meeting of its user group to report on progress with its Braille displays and notetakers and to gather the all-important input it gets from its users who attend the National Federation of the Blind convention. Seminar day concluded with the Rookie Roundup, a time for new convention attendees to hear about what will happen in the week that follows and to make the acquaintance of leaders of the Federation. A report of the Rookie Roundup activities will be found in the convention miniatures section in this issue. On Monday morning at 9 a.m. Federationists who had preregistered picked up their packets, and those who had not registered, bought on-site. All the lines moved swiftly, for everyone knew that what awaited was the sponsors-only exhibitor opportunity offering the kind of deals one only finds at a convention of the Federation. In the afternoon there was the traditional meeting of the resolutions committee where policy statements are presented, discussed, and proposed or rejected for floor consideration by the committee. On the same afternoon while we were resolving policies, forty-five employers had face-to-face meetings with blind people who were looking for jobs. Still others attended a seminar on how to use credit, and our deaf- blind division conducted a workshop designed to give unique solutions and create positive changes for those who live with a combined loss of hearing and sight. When the gavel fell to begin the board meeting, which is often regarded as the first session of the convention, President Riccobono announced that Jeannie Massay was absent due to illness. She was listening on the convention stream, and she said in a later phone call that her heart felt really good to hear the love and affection that were communicated through the cheers and applause of the three thousand gathered in the room. A moment of silence was observed for those lost to death in the previous year. President Riccobono announced forty-one people whose names he knew about, but there were others, and they too were a part of our tribute. Daniel Martinez took the floor to tell our Spanish speakers that translation service would be available throughout the convention and where they could get receivers to listen. Special receivers were also made available to people who would otherwise have had trouble hearing the proceedings. Joe Ruffalo led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and President Riccobono led us in the Federation pledge. A review of those who serve on the national board of directors was next on the agenda, with President Riccobono beginning with the names of those whose terms expire this year: Denise Avant, Illinois; Everette Bacon, Utah; Norma Crosby, Texas; Ever Lee Hairston, California; Cathy Jackson, Kentucky; and Joe Ruffalo, New Jersey. Holdover positions that were not up for election are currently held by President Mark Riccobono, Maryland; Vice President Pam Allen, Louisiana; Second Vice President Ron Brown, Indiana; Secretary James Gashel, Hawaii; Treasurer Jeannie Massay, Oklahoma; and board members Amy Buresh, Nebraska; Shawn Callaway, District of Columbia; John Fritz, Wisconsin; Carla McQuillan, Oregon; Amy Ruell, Massachusetts; and Adelmo Vigil, New Mexico. [PHOTO CAPTION: Cathy Jackson] Cathy Jackson asked for the floor. She has been a member of the Federation for forty-four years and has only missed one convention since 1977. She was asked to run for the board in 2002, and after the shock of being asked, she said yes. She has enjoyed her service but now believes it is time to let someone else take on this most important responsibility. Her only request of President Riccobono is that he remembers she is stepping down but not stepping away and that he remembers her for any tasks that he needs performed in the future. Her service and her character won her great applause and a number of people exclaiming "We love you, Cathy!" [PHOTO CAPTION: Terri Rupp] President Riccobono introduced the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada, Terri Rupp. She began by welcoming us to Las Vegas and explained just how much this part of the country means to her. She travels frequently, and whenever she returns home she feels great pride in being in Las Vegas. She hopes and believes that we will come to feel the same attraction to her city and that it too will come to see that we are special. President Rupp thanked the Idaho affiliate for helping host the convention and congratulated the fifty-seven people who had registered from Nevada. She invited the convention to attend the concert that would be held the following evening, the performing group being composed of blind musicians who operate under the name of the Broken Spectacles. She said that general admission to the concert would be ten dollars, but for those showing a registration badge and a membership coin, that amount would be reduced by 50 percent, a tremendous incentive to bring both. There is a common saying that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, but this is a convention of the National Federation of the Blind, and the code of conduct we have long observed and recently published is in effect, no matter the state in which our convention occurs. People who believe they have been the victim of a violation can contact any Federation leader or staff member. Listed in the agenda and presented on the convention floor were telephone numbers people could call if they observed a breach of the code of conduct or if they needed a place to go, relax, and unwind. Part of the convention experience should be to have fun, but fun should never come at the expense of safety and personal security. This is a message we repeat often because it is so very important. Immediate Past President Maurer was next welcomed to the stage to talk about a longtime organizational ally of the National Federation of the Blind, that being the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. In honor of its 100th anniversary celebration, the Action Fund hosted a carnival on the evening of July 9. More about the carnival will appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: John Berggren] For our 2019 Convention, John Berggren served as the chairman of convention organization and activities. He was invited to the stage to discuss convention logistics, and in the presentation he talked about convention registration, the various formats in which agendas were available, and the logistics for getting three thousand people out of a room so that in less than two hours it could be used for our banquet. The next topic considered by the board was registration, and the registration number attributable to states as of the close of business on July 8 was 2,914. An additional seventy-one people had registered from other nations, raising this initial total to 2,985. Whether we would break the total set in New Orleans in 1997 of 3,347 registrants was a topic of interest to everyone until the final announcement was made at the banquet on July 12. President Riccobono discussed some courtesy rules. If people must take telephone calls, he asked that they go outside. Although everyone is encouraged to show enthusiasm, noisemakers such as bullhorns are discouraged. A number of people will cross our stage, some of them expressing views with which we enthusiastically agree, others expressing views with which we may, with equal passion, disagree. By long-standing tradition every presenter is treated with courtesy and respect. We may confront any idea we wish, but anyone who comes to make a presentation should leave knowing that they have been heard, that their point of view has been considered, and that they have been treated with civility and respect second to none. As is customary, microphones are placed throughout the convention. Delegates use them for making reports, and anyone wishing the floor for any matter of business should find one and use it. Locating the closest microphone to one's delegation is always encouraged. In keeping with tradition, announcements from the floor must be sent to the podium in Braille, and if the screener determines that they relate to convention business, they will be read to all on the public address system. Activity at the NFB 2019 Convention was highlighted on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #NFB2019. Some of the comments made will be published in the Braille Monitor, but to read everything that was said and all of the responses, please use this hashtag and live the moments as they happened. Much of our work to increase opportunities for blind people has to do with public relations, and a critical part is the public service announcements which are aired on radio and television. They can be found on the NFB website at nfb.org/PSAs. In addition to our public service announcements, we are also actively producing two podcasts. One of them is the Nation's Blind Podcast, and our newest is the Blind Parents Connection. To make contributions, or provide ideas or stories, please send an email to podcast at nfb.org. These are all part of our promotional efforts to get the word out about the National Federation of the Blind. [PHOTO CAPTION: Carla McQuillan] Carla McQuillan came to the microphone to recognize an outstanding teacher of blind students who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of his or her students. More information about the presentation of the 2019 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award can be found elsewhere in this issue. Much of the work of the Federation is done through its divisions. Changes in division officers should be reported to Beth Braun by writing to bbraun at nfb.org. Each division is also asked to submit a report to the President by August 15, 2019. [PHOTO CAPTION: Scott LaBarre] Scott LaBarre is the chairman of the Preauthorized Contribution Plan, and he came to the stage to explain its purpose and to encourage everyone to participate. In this program members and nonmembers alike are asked to sign up for a monthly donation which is automatically deducted from their checking account, savings account, IRA, or credit card. No other membership- driven program has contributed as much to our organization, and this year we came into the convention with annual donations of $465,000. To keep pace with the ever-increasing needs and expenses that face the organization, we must increase the amount that this program generates, and Scott expressed the hope that at the end of the convention we would be well on our way to reaching the $500,000 mark. Because of the generosity of our members, contributions increased to $494,000, a significant distance in meeting our goal and one in which we can all take pride. [PHOTO CAPTION: Sandy Halverson] Sandy Halverson was the next to take the stage. She began by describing the Shares Unlimited in the NFB (SUN) Fund with a few lines from a song popular in the 1970s called "Here Comes the Sun." The SUN Fund is the National Federation of the Blind's savings account created for a time we hope will never come. It is the kind of account all of us provide for ourselves, a rainy-day account, and it is intended to help the Federation in the hard times that may visit us. Those of us who know Federation history can remember at least two times when the fundraising mechanisms on which we depended were severely disrupted, so the need for this reserve cannot be overstated. Demonstrating the efficiency of Braille and her mastery of it, Chairman Halverson presented the rankings of all fifty-two affiliates, and she was able to do this without the gentle prodding of the President to move the agenda along. Congratulations to Sandy, to the SUN Fund, and to all of us who are looking out for the future of the Federation. [PHOTO CAPTION: Patti Chang] Patti Chang is a former member of the board of directors and a former president of our Illinois affiliate, the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. She now works as the outreach director for the organization, and she addressed the board and all of the Federationists in attendance about several programs that bring much-needed funding to the organization. One of the programs that generates funds for us is our Vehicle Donation Program. We take every kind of vehicle except airplanes, and donations may be made by calling 800-659-9314. This program is active in every state, and each chapter and affiliate should advertise the way to get a little more mileage out of the vehicle that has seen its best days. Our organization also works with GreenDrop in seven of our Eastern states and the District of Columbia. The states in which our program is active are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. People who wish to donate their gently used items should call 888-610-4632. Many of us are interested in giving to the National Federation of the Blind while we are alive, and a growing number are also interested in helping after our deaths. People can make donations through their will, their IRA, a payable-on-death account, etc. For more information about The Dream Maker's Circle or other programs, Patti can be reached at 410-659- 9314, extension 2422 or by writing to her at pchang at nfb.org. [PHOTO CAPTION: Tracy Soforenko] We know that all too often one of the things that accompanies blindness is isolation. This is true whether the onset of it is recent or whether a person is blind from birth. Knowing that there are other blind people who have dreams and are accomplishing them makes all the difference, and this is one of the major reasons why the blind of the nation came together in the 2019 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. To assist first-time convention attendees we have created the Kenneth Jernigan Fund, its purpose being to provide a stipend to those seeking this monumental experience. The chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Fund is Allen Harris, but in 2019 he was unable to attend the convention due to the illness of his wife Joy. The convention sent its heartfelt love and appreciation for their work through the cheers and applause, and co-chairman Tracy Soforenko was welcomed to the dais to make a report for the committee. Due to the generosity of those contributing to the Jernigan Fund, we were able to bring ninety members and families to the convention. The Jernigan Fund gets most of its money in two ways: people buy a ten-dollar ticket which offers them the possibility of two roundtrip tickets to next year's convention and a check for one thousand dollars. The Jernigan Fund also holds a raffle in which a limited number of tickets are sold for five dollars each. The winner of that raffle gets $2,500, and the remaining funds are used to bring first-timers to convention. Tracy also talked about the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund, the owner of the building which houses the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. Currently the tenBroek Fund is in the process of a $4 million renovation to create updated sleeping space for the seminars and other activities which occur at the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind. The sleeping rooms were first created in 1981, so the upgrades are timely and will reflect the best in comfort and modern technology. President Riccobono introduced Will Butler, the vice president of Be My Eyes, to make a presentation. He briefly discussed the service and then announced the partnership between Be My Eyes and the NFB. His remarks will appear in an upcoming issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Edward Bell] Dr. Edward Bell came to the stage to present the Blind Educator of the Year Award. We know that good educators of the blind make a significant difference in the lives of those they teach, and so it is that we proudly present this annual award. Dr. Bell's presentation and the remarks made by the winner appear later in this issue. One of the highlights of the annual board meeting has come to be the presentation of the thirty scholarship finalists selected to be mentored by and receive money from the National Federation of the Blind. Chairman Cayte Mendez introduced the 2019 class and gave each of them about thirty seconds to introduce themselves. Her remarks and those of our scholarship class are found elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Jennifer Dunnam] Jennifer Dunnam is the chairman of the board of directors for BLIND Incorporated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. BLIND Incorporated is a part of the National Federation of the Blind, and Jennifer's purpose was to present a check to the national organization in honor of RoseAnn Faber. After serving for twenty years as the president of the board, RoseAnn left a bequest, and Jennifer presented a check in the amount of $25,000 to be used by the national body of our organization. [PHOTO CAPTION: Ryan Strunk] Ryan Strunk, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, next took the floor. He also rose to compliment RoseAnn Faber on her thirty-one years of service on the board of BLIND Incorporated and on her activity at all levels of the Federation. From the bequest she gave to the Minnesota affiliate, Ryan presented a check to the national body in the amount of $77,866.55. This was a tremendous contribution and shows what can happen when Federationist choose to share what they have. [PHOTO CAPTION: Julie Deden] Julie Deden, the director of the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), presented a bequest to the organization in the amount of $2,333,000. This is the latest in a long string of bequests given by the CCB and the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, and it also represents the understanding that gifts at all levels must be shared. Although it was announced later in the week, the state of Texas joined these grand givers by presenting a check in the amount of $22,365.72. [PHOTO CAPTION: Valerie Yingling] Valerie Yingling is a paralegal working as a staff member for our organization. She reported that we will soon be doing testing to confirm that Redbox is complying with its 2017 class action settlement. We will be testing its kiosks in all fifty states and the District of Columbia with the exception of California, which has its own legal agreement. We will soon be concluding our secret shopper program with Greyhound. If blind people use the telephone because they are unable to navigate the website or mobile app, they are not to be charged extra to book Greyhound service. We continue to seek feedback regarding Uber and Lyft and their compliance with settlement agreements we have reached. We must monitor this program to ensure that drivers who knowingly deny rides to blind people using guide dogs are terminated as required by the driver agreements to which they have pledged themselves. Eve Hill, who handles many of our cases at Brown Goldstein & Levy, reported that we are quite focused on the issue of voting and are dealing with the state of Maryland where the right of blind people to cast a secret ballot is made impossible by the use of machines that only the disabled are encouraged to use. If we don't have a vote, we don't have a voice. We have recently resolved issues about accessible voting in Ohio, New York, and in the state of California in Alameda County. Right now we are interested in the experiences of blind people in Alaska, New Hampshire, and Maryland. The NFB is also working hard to see that new technologies are not rolled out before accessibility is considered and built into them. Of primary interest here is the issue of employment: knowing that companies are seeking employees, being able to fill out their applications, being able to take their tests, and being able to schedule interviews. All of these activities are now performed online, and accessibility problems at any level can be the determining factor in whether or not blind people get jobs. One of the things we need to understand is where all of these inaccessible websites are being generated. This includes knowing what web authoring tools are generating them and which web development companies are sponsoring their creation? Our best hope of reducing the proliferation of inaccessible websites will come through dealing with these companies and making certain that the products they use generate websites we can use. Many healthcare services are moving to online platforms for scheduling appointments, communicating with doctors, and reading test results. Far too many are not accessible. As we have reiterated many times, we are not only interested in seeing that the public side of websites are accessible but also that the behind-the-scenes services that employees perform are also usable by blind people. Since the healthcare industry represents more than 1/7 of the nation's economy, we must be vigilant in pressing for equal access to these jobs. [PHOTO CAPTION: Norma Crosby] Board member Norma Crosby took the microphone as one of the final events at the board meeting. She said she had been given an assignment by President Riccobono, had decided to change it, but when she brought him a thirty-page proposal for her presentation, he rejected it on the grounds that a) she could not convince him that there were blind people at the Alamo, and b) she had to make a presentation that would fit in five minutes. Badly shaken but always resourceful, Norma reworked her presentation with the aid of some of her friends. Together they told the 2019 Convention that in 2020 the National Federation of the Blind would be meeting in Houston, Texas. The convention will be from June 30 to July 6. [PHOTO CAPTION: Pamela Allen] The final presentation of the board meeting was made by Board Chairman Pam Allen. Here is what she said: Thank you, President Riccobono, and good morning my Federation family. It is my sincere pleasure to welcome all of you to our 2019 Convention in fabulous Vegas, where we all are working together, as noted on our membership coin, to transform our dreams into reality. I want to commend our host committee again for its phenomenal work and for making this convention one to remember, and I also want to recognize our first-time convention attendees. We are so happy to welcome all of you to our family, and as we all know and you as first- timers are discovering, there's no better place to be than here in Las Vegas this week for the most powerful gathering of blind people in the world. As we reflect this week on our history, celebrate our successes, and share our stories and plans for a future filled with hope and unlimited opportunities for all blind people, we are thankful for the strong legacy of our leaders: Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and Dr. Maurer, whose impact and example continue to guide us. President Riccobono, every day you exemplify what it means to be a true leader. Your integrity, vulnerability, transparency, love, and unwavering commitment to our organization and to each of us inspire and challenge us all to do more than we ever imagined possible. I want to thank all of you who are here at this convention and acknowledge our members who are listening online and who are with us in spirit. I thank you for your work and for your never-ending energy. On a personal note, I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all of you for the incredible support and outpouring of love shown to all of us in Louisiana affected by the tornado. Words cannot adequately express our sincere appreciation or how much strength we have all drawn from our Federation family as we rebuild stronger than ever. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Each day in the National Federation of the Blind we strive for excellence. We push the boundaries and stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zones. We embrace diversity; we encourage and love each other; and we raise expectations and shatter misconceptions about blindness that would not be possible without all of us doing our part. The National Federation of the Blind is made up of people from diverse backgrounds with many different life experiences, but we speak with one voice and together share our life-changing message of empowerment, hope, and love for all blind people. Thank you, and let's go build the National Federation of the Blind. With those concluding remarks the board meeting was adjourned, and Federationists grabbed what food we could before moving to an afternoon of division, committee, and group meetings. The Sports and Recreation Division gave us a seminar on exercising to build muscle and reduce body fat and after that to increase flexibility and enhance mental well-being with yoga and meditation. Many blind people suffer from diabetes, and the Diabetes Action Network conducted a meeting to discuss how to test our blood, administer our medication, and deal with ever-advancing technology that we cannot read, cannot set, and therefore cannot use. Many of us who are teachers attended the National Organization of Blind Educators. How do we get people into the field and handle the perception of blindness held by parents and school administrators? For children and parents there was the always exciting Book Fair. Faith is an important part of what we do, and so the NFB in Communities of Faith met to talk about faith leaders who are blind and the way they lead their congregations. A lot of what we do directly helps the blind, but one of our missions must be showing that we can give as well as receive. This is the goal of the Community Service Division. The Performing Arts Division continues to break down the barriers that keep blind actors out of movies and off the big screen, and they were joined by a successful blind actress. More about this meeting will appear later in this issue. For the last several years we have talked a lot about autonomous vehicles. This year we did more than talk about them; some of us experienced them. Nearly fifty people took a ride in autonomous vehicles provided by Lyft. They said that the experience was much like riding in a human-driven vehicle, but there was none of the herky-jerky stopping and starting or changing of speeds that are part of some rideshare and taxicab experiences. [PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Anderson] On Wednesday morning when the first official session was gaveled to order, one lucky person was awarded a substantial door prize. An invocation was given by Tom Anderson, the music minister of the Temple Pentecostal Church of Lecompton, Kansas. He is also the president of the National Federation of the Blind in Communities of Faith division and a longtime friend and teacher of many in the National Federation of the Blind. [PHOTO CAPTION: Marley Rupp] To begin our official welcome to the 2019 Convention, Marley Rupp, the daughter of President Terri Rupp of Nevada, began the ceremony. One couldn't have asked for more poise, and it is hard to believe that Marley is nine years old. Tia Gilliam, a member of the Southern Nevada Chapter, sang "Try Everything," "Climb," and "Just the Way You Are." After the first of three moving songs, President Rupp made these remarks: Once upon a time in a war-torn country far away, a family hoped and dreamed for a better future. They hopped on a plane and came clear across the world, landing in the United States of America. Shortly after arriving, while trying to learn the language and the culture, they realized their daughter was losing her eyesight. Not knowing where to turn, they listened to all the professionals. They had high school family members translating at doctor's offices, and their little girl grew up trying to fit in with the sighted world. Because she couldn't see well enough, she never felt good enough; she never felt strong enough; she never felt smart enough; she never felt pretty enough; she never felt fast enough. But indeed this little girl was enough. It wasn't until the little girl grew up and found the National Federation of the Blind that she realized that there was no shame in not hiding who she was. She got tired of faking it to make it in the sighted world. She got training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, and she hit the ground running. As a leader in the National Federation of the Blind, this little girl now has her own little girl, who she graciously gifted with optic nerve atrophy. The first little girl's dream is for her daughter to grow up knowing that, wherever she goes, she is good enough; she is smart enough; she is pretty enough; and wherever she goes, she belongs to the National Federation of the Blind. [PHOTO CAPTION: Dana Ard] After several inspiring welcomes from others, Dana Ard, our president in Idaho and the affiliate jointly hosting with Nevada took the floor. Here, in part, are the remarks she made in her own welcome: I'm Dana Ard, and I'm the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho. I want to tell you how my life has been shaped by the National Federation of the Blind. I met my first Federationist when I was five years old. She came to teach me Braille, but she taught me so much more. She taught me that she could travel independently to a place that she'd never been, and as I got to know her I learned that she was just like my mom: she could cook, clean, and do all those things that everybody else does. Except, of course, she was blind. Then when I was seventeen I went to the orientation and adjustment center at the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. I was so awed by my instructors, but particularly by Jan Omvig Gawith. She could really travel, and I wanted to be able to travel just like Jan. Of course there was also Ramona Walhof and her husband Chuck, who invited the students up to her apartment for dinner. I was amazed! She entertained just like my mom. I have to tell you about a very meaningful conversation that I had last year. This is something no one has brought up yet, and I feel the need to do it. We were at lunch, and a fellow state president said to me, 'You know, I didn't think that I could be elected president because I have orientation challenges.' I said, 'You do? I do too.' I told him that I thought I was the only one who was a president with orientation challenges. 'Everybody looks like they do everything so well. So I've always been ashamed to admit it.' It was wonderful-we connected. So as we explore our diversity and we talk about who we are and the wonderful lives that we can have in the National Federation of the Blind, we have to remember that we're not cookie-cutter Federationists; we didn't all come out of the same box of chocolate chip cookies. We are different, we are all individuals, and we have our strengths and our weaknesses just like everyone else. So today I invite you to go out, meet more Federation friends, have lots of experiences during this convention, and enjoy the largest family reunion of the blind in the world, the National Federation of the Blind. The welcoming ceremony concluded with the drawing of two tickets to any show in Las Vegas, and they are good until July of 2020. With those tickets the door prize winner also received five hundred dollars in cash. Under anyone's definition, this was quite a welcoming and the beginning of great things to come. When President Riccobono took back the microphone, he noted that Jan Omvig Gawith, who was mentioned in Dana Ard's presentation, was attending her fifty-seventh annual convention and that her husband Harry, who long has been involved in the distribution of door prizes, was forced to remain at home due to illness. The President urged that we keep Harry in our prayers. [PHOTO CAPTION: Dwight Sayer] Our celebration of freedom followed, and to conduct it was the president of the National Association of Blind Veterans, Dwight Sayer. Twenty-nine veterans walked across the stage and received their red, white, and blue freedom ribbon. A moment of silence was observed in honor of one of our color guard members, James Bryant White, who passed on January 26 of this year. We were then treated to a tremendous drum solo, and eight members of the color guard introduced themselves to the assembled. The ceremony continued by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem by the Performing Arts Division and all of us in the hall. The newly elected president of the division, Dr. Vernon Humphry, presented President Riccobono with a shirt and a check in the amount of $22,574.82. President Humphry concluded by asking that God bless America and the National Federation of the Blind. John Par? and Gabe Cazares asked that all of us, whether listening in person or on the convention stream, call our representatives and senators to encourage the passage of our bills. Of particular interest in this session was the Accessible Technology Affordability Act. In addition to the state flag for each delegation, a special sign has been prepared for each affiliate which has made significant progress in the area of parental rights and/or the elimination of subminimum wage. If a state has passed a parental rights act, it will get an orange flag. If the progress has been to eliminate subminimum wage, the flag will be blue. We next moved to the roll call of states. Barbara Manwell from Alabama rose to say that the Freedom Center for the Blind is alive and well and that a parental rights bill for the blind was enacted into law during the last year. President Donald Porterfield took the floor to acknowledge the strong participation of Arizona, and the affiliate also received a flag for advancement of its own parental rights legislation into law. He is joined by 105 first-time attendees, and the affiliate with our convention in its backyard was clearly vocal and enthusiastic. When the state of Colorado answered the roll, President Scott LaBarre proclaimed that not only did Colorado have a parental rights law but also a voting rights law for the blind. Every Coloradan is allowed to vote from home, but this has not been the case for blind people until this year. On the heels of that inspiring report, we were further uplifted by a fit break conducted by Jessica Beecham. The fit breaks continue to demonstrate how physical fitness does not require lots of space but simply the thought and ingenuity to figure out how to move one's muscles, stretch one's body, and get one's blood flowing. Connecticut next rose to be recognized and was presented with a parental rights flag. Georgia was the next state affiliate to receive one. President Dorothy Griffin said that Georgia's parental rights bill had been signed in June, and the cheers from the affiliate were among the longest and most prolonged during the roll call of states. Hawaii proudly reported that it was represented by thirty members, a delegation which encompassed every island of the state. Nani Fife announced that she was stepping down as state president, and the convention responded with a reverent round of applause showing the regard in which she is held after her many distinguished years of service. Nani made a special point of noting the arrival of a rather prominent Federationist as a member of the Hawaii delegation, that being none other than James Gashel. The state was also recognized for its passage of parental rights legislation. The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois received a parental rights flag, and the affiliate proudly announced that it had seven first- time attendees at the convention. President Ron Brown of Indiana provided the information needed from the affiliate and announced that he and Jean Brown were celebrating thirty-two years of marriage on this very day. This remark would take on significance later in the agenda when we heard from Jean herself. The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland was the only affiliate to receive two flags, and President Ronza Othman reminded us that Maryland, the state of strong deeds and gentle words, was the only one that refused to implement prohibition. The affiliate proudly boasted of bringing fifty-four new people to the convention, and this trend of bringing newcomers, noted among the many states, bids well for the National Federation of the Blind. President Riccobono recognized Missouri as the first state to have passed a parental rights bill and presented the affiliate with a flag. President Amy Buresh of Nebraska announced that the state has passed a parental rights bill, and President Terri Rupp noted that Nevada has done the same. During the roll call, New Hampshire was recognized as the first state to outlaw the payment of subminimum wages to people with disabilities, and President Cassie McKinney gave a warm welcome to Daniel Frye, who will start his new role as the director of services for the blind in New Hampshire at the end of the convention. President Carla McQuillan of Oregon announced that the state has abolished the payment of subminimum wages. When South Carolina was called on, we learned that it too has passed a parental rights bill and that this year marks seventy-five years of service to the blind by the affiliate. When President Christina Clift of the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee was called on, she reminded us that this is the state where the mighty Mississippi runs in the west, music city is in the middle, and the great Smoky Mountains are found in the east. Tennessee has passed parental rights legislation, and this year the affiliate is proud to bring a dozen first-time attendees to the convention. When the great state of Texas was reached in the roll call, as expected the voices of Texans were heard, but they were joined by many others in the convention who are already looking forward to 2020. The state passed a prohibition against the payment of subminimum wages, as did the proud state of Utah. The state of Vermont was recognized for eliminating the payment of subminimum wages within its borders as was the state of Washington. At the close of the roll call of states, the President updated us on the registration figures as of the close of business the previous day. Tension continued to build as we waited to see whether this would be the largest convention in Federation history. The afternoon session began with what has come to be a tradition in the Federation, the Presidential Report. As made clear by the response of the crowd, this was a much-anticipated presentation that lived up to what people hoped and thought it would be. Its scope was broad, its recitation of our accomplishments specific, and its resolution to continue raising the expectations of blind people unambiguous. The report is printed in full following this article. [PHOTO CAPTION: Eve Hill] Eve Hill had the unenviable task of following President Riccobono to the stage, but she is a treasure trove of information, and her ability to make a presentation that is compelling, riveting, and interesting is second to none. She addressed "Digital Inequality and the Myth of Injustice: Equal Access for the Blind May Not Be Delayed." In the address she discussed why we file the lawsuits we do, the work we do prior to filing them in hopes of developing partnerships without an adversarial relationship, and our responsibility to ensure that with our litigation we create good law, transparent outcomes, and bring about changes that truly benefit blind people. We deplore the practice of "click-by lawsuits," but with equal force we oppose changes that would undermine our ability to use the law to ensure that the leading vehicle for commerce, healthcare, and information does not shut us out. Her remarks will appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Doug Marshall] "Leadership, Partnership, and the Pursuit of Financial Accessibility" was next, and its presenter was Doug Marshall, the executive vice president and chief digital and product officer of BECU, formerly the Boeing Employees' Credit Union located in Tukwila, Washington. BECU is the fourth largest credit union in the country and has about $20 billion in assets. In terms of our engagement with BECU, Mr. Marshall said that what is important to understand is that "It started as a legal issue; it rapidly became a moral issue for us. Doing the right thing is important to BECU." He said the company was founded in 1935 in the depths of the depression by eighteen machinists working for the Boeing Company. Each of those machinists contributed fifty cents to raise the nine dollars that began the first loan fund. At that time an employee had to buy his own tools, and so the first loan of $2.50 was made so that a new man could have a job at Boeing. From there the business has grown exponentially. The BECU came not only to make a presentation but also to search for two blind employees who will help it on its journey toward accessibility and seeing that it is sustained. The remarks made by Mr. Marshall will appear later in the fall. Anil Lewis next came to the stage to address the topic "Adding Value through Community Partnerships with the Organized Blind." He began by observing that litigation is more sexy than other things we do, but when we can, we get much more from good, solid partnerships. To illustrate this point, he introduced two people to the audience. The first of these was Eve Andersson, the director of accessibility at Google. [PHOTO CAPTION: Eve Andersson] Eve began by saying that accessibility is part of the core mission statement of Google: "to make the world's information universally accessible and useful for everyone." As Google CEO Sundar Pichai has said, "Technology's great promise is to give everyone the same power to achieve their goals. As long as there are barriers for some, there is still work to be done." Eve provided several splendid examples of products made by Google to help people who are blind and people who have hearing loss. She said it is also a core value at Google that all of its software work with screen- reading technology. In terms of its own accessibility commitments, Google has significantly expanded its accessibility work since 2017, and its goal to make products accessible is that "We want to bake it in rather than layer it on." If followed, this prescription will ensure that accessibility is a core part of the product and not an afterthought that finishes second to the essential functions of the system. Eve's remarks will appear in full later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kathy Martinez] The second person introduced by Anil was Kathy Martinez, senior vice president, disability/accessibility strategy for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, California. Kathy began by noting that Wells Fargo's work with disabled people began at its founding in 1866, in large part because its founder was a stutterer. Although there has always been work to assist the disabled, Wells Fargo significantly upped its game in 2015, and it is proud to work with the National Federation of the Blind on what the company calls "our BELL Program." Ms. Martinez concluded by saying, "We are thriving, we are embracing people with disabilities as our allies, and I just want to say that our experience is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. We know we have a ways to go, but we have definitely made progress, and you are the key to the change in perspective. You are also the key to the change in attitude within the company and our priorities at Wells Fargo. Thank you very much." The remarks of Ms. Martinez will appear in full later in the fall. Our moderator concluded his presentation with these remarks: "I introduced these people as my friends, so to prove a point, how many individuals out there are attorneys? Say I." A few cheers could be heard. "Okay, that's good, and I charge you to continue to exercise the surgical precision of our legal strategy that has made us successful for so many years. Now, how many of you are not attorneys? Say I." Most of the audience responded. "Okay, I charge you to go out and build the partnerships like the ones that you've just witnessed, because they are not just my friends; they are friends of the Federation. We must continue to build these relationships so that we can build the National Federation of the Blind. Thank you." President Riccobono offered his own concluding remarks: "Both Kathy and Eve represent the important relationships that we have both organizationally and more importantly through their personal commitment: the heart that they put into it, the determination that they put into it, and the real listening that they do to make sure that they can craft their side of our win-win partnership to work for both of us. So Eve and Kathy, we would like to present you with a Louis Braille coin." [PHOTO CAPTION: Barbara Loos] Continuing with the theme of partnership, the President introduced the final item of the afternoon, its title being "A Century of Advancing Literacy for the Blind: A Legacy of Partnership with the Organized Blind Movement." To begin the presentation was Barbara Loos, the president of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. She thanked those who helped make the carnival a success the previous evening, talked about how long she has been involved with the Action Fund, described some exciting moments in her tenure as its president, and then turned the floor over to the general counsel of the organization, Dr. Marc Maurer. [PHOTO CAPTION: Marc Maurer] In his remarks to the convention, the longtime executive director and now general counsel started with the creation of the Action Fund, discussed its production of materials in Braille even before Braille was a recognized standard among blind people, highlighted its affiliation with the National Federation of the Blind, emphasized its absolute commitment to Braille, and emphatically expressed the commitment of the organization to explore the utility and production of tactile drawings and the means by which they can be made and modified by blind people. His remarks and those of Barbara Loos will also be reproduced in full later in the fall. Upon adjournment many breakout sessions were available to help us address the specific tasks we must do to advance the causes we care about. The Research and Academic Professionals met to discuss how better to get our information into the hands of those working in the field. The Communications Committee talked about how to strengthen communications within the organization so we can be more effective. Some of us went to the NFB LGBT meeting to discuss building the NFB and giving back with pride! Proposed topics included special concerns related to being blind and coming out, inclusion at Pride events, accessibility and availability of LGBT books, and community resources. The exhibit hall was open for two hours, providing vendors and attendees with an evening time to take advantage of the many exhibitors and products featured at the convention. The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOBPC) held concurrent sessions, one being a mini BELL Academy and another on the basics of a high-quality IEP. For those ready for a break, there was a concert sponsored by our host affiliates featuring the Broken Spectacles, and those who attended were very pleased with the performance and the fellowship. [PHOTO CAPTION: Carolyn Peters] The Thursday morning session began with an invocation by Dr. Carolyn Peters, a member of College Hill Presbyterian Church of Dayton, Ohio. The question on the minds of those in the South Pacific Ballroom in Las Vegas was whether this would be our largest convention ever, and at the close of business on Wednesday, the answer was clearly no, but the prospect of two more days to register meant it was a possible yes. President Riccobono introduced the first speaker of the morning with these remarks: Our first agenda item is one that I'm particularly excited about. "Global Leadership, Responsibility, and Technology: Accessibility as a Core Value at Microsoft." Our presenter today has a great resum?, but I think all you really need to know is that he comes from good roots, having been born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. End of story! But I guess you should know that he started working for Microsoft in 1993 and led many legal and corporate initiatives. In 2002 he was named general counsel for the company, and in 2015 CEO Satya Nadella promoted Brad to be the president and chief legal officer for Microsoft. Federationists will recall that in 2015 we went to meet with Satya Nadella at Microsoft, and we said that we wanted Microsoft to be the leader in equal access to technology for blind people and that we wanted executive level leadership. I would suggest to this convention that since 2015 Microsoft has fulfilled completely the idea of executive level leadership in accessibility. [applause] If you had the opportunity to read Satya Nadella's book, you know that accessibility is talked about in it. But also Brad Smith is a key part of that leadership, and I have had the opportunity to meet with Brad on many occasions. He continues to be consistent about Microsoft's journey in accessibility. He continues to own the fact that Microsoft knows at all levels of the corporation that it not only needs to continue to raise the expectations, but it wants to. So it is my privilege to introduce to you Brad Smith. [PHOTO CAPTION: Brad Smith] The president of Microsoft began his remarks with these words: "The first thing I want to say is that, as the president of Microsoft on behalf of the team that is here with me in this room, and more importantly on behalf of the 140,000 who work at our company across this country and around the world, we are honored to be with you today. Thank you for making room for us." [applause] Not surprisingly, President Smith wanted to talk about technology, but more than technology he wanted to talk about technology in the service of people and technology being driven by people. He started by mentioning Louis Braille harnessing the technology of his day to create a code through which the blind could efficiently read and write. He talked about Jacobus tenBroek making his own significant academic and societal contributions and working with Newel Perry to create a movement of the blind that is known not just in this room, not just in this country, but throughout the world, a movement committed to better lives for the blind. He talked about Anne Taylor, and about her he said: You know, Anne started as a student at the Kentucky School for the Blind, and Anne, in her day, had an aspiration, an aspiration that certainly speaks to all of us every day, all of us who work at Microsoft. Anne said that she wanted to learn computer science. It was not offered at the Kentucky School for the Blind, but it was offered at a public school nearby. So for part of the day Anne would go there, and, as she said, they had never worked with someone like her. They had never worked with a student who was blind, but as Anne is prone to do with so many people, she quickly won them over. Like Louis Braille, she became the best student in the class. Anne, as many of you know, would go on to college, would pursue this career building on computer science, and ultimately she recognized that it would become a career that would take her into this movement. It would bring her to the National Federation of the Blind. For twelve years Anne led the team here at NFB, ultimately as the director of access technology, promoting across the tech sector the need for companies like ours to better understand and better serve this community. Eventually there came a day when Anne's phone rang, and on the other end was Microsoft's head of accessibility, our chief accessibility officer, a woman who is here today, Jenny Lay-Flurrie. [applause] Like all good leaders, Jenny recognized talent and sought to recruit Anne. Fatefully, from my perspective, she succeeded. Her message to Anne was, 'You've changed technology from the outside; come join us, and see what you can do on the inside.' Every day I am grateful that Anne took that offer. One of the things I always try to remind every product team at Microsoft is that this is a big community. As you all know, there are 300 million people in the world who are blind. Think about this for a moment: think about the almost 3,300 people who are here, and yet each one of you in an important way is a voice for 100,000 more. It is a voice that, as you've heard, needs to be heard. But it's a voice that needs to be more than heard: it's a voice that we need to listen to. In keeping with the theme that people should drive technology, President Smith said: "We need to look beyond the features and the products that everyone uses today and fundamentally ask ourselves the same question that Louis Braille asked himself: How can we imagine new technology that can fundamentally improve people's lives in ways that they haven't yet experienced?" In recognition of the efforts the Federation has made to raise the awareness of individuals and businesses to the unfair and unequal treatment of people with disabilities in the workplace, President Smith said, "We are saying now to our suppliers that, if you want to work with us, you have to pay people the minimum wage." [applause] In concluding his remarks, President Smith said, We all come together in Las Vegas in 2019 in a time that often feels pretty tumultuous. There are many days in our country when it feels that people disagree with each other more than they agree. There are even days when it feels that people are shouting at each other more than listening to each other. But we need to have the vision to pursue a brighter future, and so many times I believe the best way to imagine a brighter future is to think about the journey that we must continue to pursue that will build on the best journeys of the past. When I think about that, I think of the journey that Louis Braille put all of us on two centuries ago. I think about the journey that a century ago the founders of the NFB put us all on together. I think about the Anne Taylor's of Microsoft and across the tech sector in the NFB, and I say there is not only cause for hope; there is reason for optimism. Let us build on this ability to work together, and let us do what it takes to stay committed to this journey and build on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Thank you very much. In following up, President Riccobono said, "Thank you Brad for your leadership at Microsoft, for your perspective on the organized blind movement, but most importantly, I thank you for what I think is the first major corporation to make a commitment to eliminate the payment of subminimum wages from the vendor pipeline, and we cannot overstate the significance of this. [applause] That's true leadership." President Smith's remarks will appear in full later in the fall. With the cheers of many who respect Suman Kanuganti and the company he has founded, the president of Aira Tech Corp. came to the stage. In introducing him, President Riccobono said: This next presentation is "A Platform of Information and Innovation: Insights into the Aira Ecosystem in Partnership with the Blind." Now this next gentleman has been invited to speak with us, and his company is an elite sponsor of this convention. [applause] While we appreciate that, that's not why we invited him. Last year I introduced him noting that he continues to steer his corporation toward taking risks, and that means they don't always get it right. But he has been very clear that they will make the course corrections they need to, especially as demanded by their blind customers. He stays rooted in what people in this room give him as feedback for the direction of his company, and he is deeply committed to that, having come to many conventions now. Recently the Aira Corporation introduced a new CEO, Michael Randall, who is here at this convention. Before that announcement was made public and on his second day as CEO, Suman made sure that he came first to the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind. So although Suman's position is changing slightly within the company, it does not change the very deep-rooted strength he has within the organized blind movement to be grounded in that, but also to steer the company in the innovative directions of the future. He is a member of our organization, he's a friend, he's an emerging tech leader, and here is Suman Kanuganti. Suman began his remarks in this way: "Good morning, NFB. I am Suman Kanuganti, founder and president of Aira. It is my pleasure to celebrate my fifth national convention with all of you. It is no hype to acknowledge the sheer number of friends I have made at this annual convention, and it's also no hype to recognize the knowledge that I have gained from each of you, and it's also no hype, this knowledge that shapes the heart and soul of what Aira is today." As Suman explained, Aira is not a safety device, not a replacement for cane or dog. It is a provider of information, but it is more than a set of eyes. Aira brings to its users the sophistication of information provided to its agents and to its explorers through the computerized dashboard, and very soon agents and users will benefit from the automated intelligence which is being built on the experiences of blind users in the environments into which Aira is taken. Suman's remarks will be printed in full elsewhere in this issue. We next turned our attention to the finances of the Federation, and the President presented the annual report for 2018 and a preliminary report covering the first six months of 2019. Although we suffered a loss from investments due to the downturn in the stock market in 2018, these losses have been recovered as a result of the upturn and of the vigorous fundraising efforts made on behalf of our organization. Revenue is encouraging, but our expenses are significant, and there is far more that needs to be done that we wish to do. Fundraising must remain a significant priority for all of us, not just a task taken on by some of us. The report was accepted by the convention by the passage of a motion and the applause that followed its adoption. [PHOTO CAPTION: Denise Avant] Pam Allen presented the report of the nominating committee, and after the acceptance of it, elections were held. Denise Avant of Illinois was returned to the board, and here is what she said to the convention: I want to thank you all for the trust that you have placed in me. Being part of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind is not ceremonial. We have very challenging work, but it is rewarding work as we strive to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for all blind people. I am especially gratified by this convention in seeing more than twelve hours of programming that we have had for diverse groups. I am also very happy that we are partnering with other groups such as the NAACP as we seek civil rights for all. Most importantly, I am glad to have been part of the board that put forth the code of conduct that emphasizes diversity and inclusion and sets forth that we will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] [PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon] Everette Bacon of Utah was recommended by the committee and unanimously elected by the convention. Everette struck a chord that would be echoed again and again as newly elected board members came to speak. What is important is not the official title we have after our name. The title that really counts is "member," our members being the foundation of everything we do and the reason we do it. For board position number four the name of Ever Lee Hairston of California was placed in nomination, and she was elected unanimously by the convention. [PHOTO CAPTION: Joe Ruffalo] The name of Joe Ruffalo of New Jersey was put forward for board position number five, and he too was elected unanimously. The last position elected was board position six, and the person nominated and unanimously elected was Terri Rupp of Nevada. In her first remarks as a newly elected board member, Terri said: Fellow Federationists: last year Anil Lewis spoke about putting his hat on his Federation head. Today I am honored and humbled to be putting my feet into my Federation shoes. Some of you may know that, along with planning to host the national convention, I have also been unpacking my home and unpacking my thirty-two pairs of shoes. Today I want to thank the National Federation of the Blind for giving me a powerful pair of shoes. I've often felt inadequate because I don't have fancy titles behind my name. I have chosen to put a professional career aside to raise my children. [applause] But names and titles don't really mean anything. Whether or not I am serving on the national board, serving as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nevada, I serve the Federation. I invite everybody to serve and walk along with me, and if some of you are up to the challenge, strap those laces tight, because we are on a fun run. Let's hit the road, let's remove the obstacles from our paths, let's raise expectations, and let's create a world where our children don't have to fight for equal access, where our children don't have to struggle the way the last generation did. Let's run, let's roll, and let's rock 'n' roll. After congratulating all of the newly elected board members, President Riccobono took note of our visitors from foreign countries. Nineteen countries are represented in the 2019 registration list, and those countries are Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Gambia, Iceland, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, St. Lucia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Following the morning session, representatives from Google invited attendees to see two products developed especially for the blind: Lookout, and Auto-Captioning. It goes without saying that those who did not witness the presentation can find out about each by using Google. The NOPBC held a brainstorming session in which people were asked what they liked about this convention and what they would like to see at the next. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped held a focus group to discuss graphics and the role that the library should play in making them available. Apple conducted a session in which participants were invited to learn how Apple continues to break barriers in new arenas, including the entertainment industry, striving to empower the blind community in bold ways. [PHOTO CAPTION: Karen Keninger] The afternoon session began with a presentation from Karen Keninger, the director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. There once was a time in which the National Library Service was the only significant source from which blind people could receive library service, and although we have Audible, Bookshare, Learning Ally, and a tremendous number of sources on the Internet including an expanding treasure trove of commercially produced audiobooks, NLS is still as relevant today as it ever was, because it is our free lending library. Almost every community of any size has access to a library, and clearly access to quality, easily accessible information is fundamental to our participation in democracy. Bringing refreshable Braille to library patrons has been seven years in the making, but it seems reasonable to believe that a pilot program will take place next year and that between now and 2024 the program will rollout. The director is committed to digital Braille for everyone who wants it, and the machine that is envisioned, though it will not be a notetaker, will have a Braille keyboard for finding text, navigating throughout the book, and placing bookmarks and other information as one would expect from a technologically sophisticated device. The library is excited about the changes that will come from the adoption of the Marrakesh Treaty, but there are still changes in the law that must be made for them to participate fully. The director noted that NFB has been crucial in supporting the requests of NLS and that this support will be necessary as we go forward with the refreshable Braille display and critical information technology infrastructure to support more people who will come as a result of the change as to who qualifies for the service. The National Library Service will be making a change in its name, and it will be called the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. This change is expected to occur in October 2019, and it received significant applause. Too many agencies created to serve the blind have changed their names so that their affiliation with blind people isn't clear, but director Keninger and the head of the Library of Congress are both committed to keeping the word blind in the name, and of this we are most supportive. Karen Keninger's remarks will appear later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Richard Orme] "Accelerating Accessible Content: Progress through the DAISY Consortium" was next presented by our friend and ally, Richard Orme. He is the chief executive officer of the DAISY Consortium and lives in Warwick, United Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Richard is very committed to literacy and the books whose knowledge is revealed when people are literate. As important as the invention of the Gutenberg press was to those who can see, it has taken more work to bring about widespread availability of materials for the blind. At this time in history we now have a solution whereby books can be created through accessible mainstream publishing, and this is one of the major commitments of the DAISY Consortium. Despite this amazing possibility, the truth is that both in the United States and Europe, the number of books made available in accessible formats is about 1/10 of the new books published. This is unacceptable. As Richard says, "When books are born digital, they can be born accessible; when books are born digital, they should be born accessible; when books are born digital, they must be accessible!" [applause] In his remarks Richard outlined the three major pillars of the DAISY Consortium, and his excellent presentation will appear in full in the fall. Continuing with the topic of access to information and focusing particularly on the Marrakesh Treaty, President Riccobono introduced our next presenter in this way: This next item is "Negotiation, Collaboration, and High Expectations: The Journey of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled." This person is someone likely many of you do not know, but he is someone who is well-known to the National Federation of the Blind because he was essential in making the Marrakesh Treaty a reality and in guiding the path to its ratification and implementation in the United States. While that may be the most important thing for you to know about him, he also has an extensive legal career. He served in the Obama administration, which is the thing that put him in the middle of the Marrakesh Treaty from 2009 through 2013. He worked in the Obama administration as the senior administrator to the undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property. He is a professor, and most importantly, he is a friend of the blind who has helped to increase equal access to books. Here is Justin Hughes. In his remarks, Professor Hughes began by disavowing responsibility for the nineteen-word-title that is the name of the treaty we have worked so hard to pass. He acknowledged the significant role that the National Federation of the Blind played in the negotiation and eventual ratification of this document, and now more than 3 billion people stand to benefit from its provisions given the current number of countries that have ratified it. When wanting to make substantial change in any field, it is first necessary to learn about that field. The NFB has done this in its work to make silent vehicles pedestrian-safe, but it had to go through the same learning curve when it came to working on copyright law and working in the international community. Whether our NFB team knew it or not, we were parachuting into a battlefield, and this is where Justin Hughes was of tremendous help. His remarks will appear in full later in the fall, and the ceremony in which he was given an award will appear in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: John Par? and Gabe Cazares] "Expanding Opportunities, Protecting Rights, and Ensuring Accountability: A Report from the Advocacy and Policy Department" was addressed by John Par? and Gabe Cazares. This has been a spectacular year for the National Federation of the Blind legislatively, but the challenges that lay before us in the next year are even more exciting. In listening to Gabe and John, it is very clear that we can and will do the work that needs to be done to see that the ambitious agenda of the National Federation of the Blind that requires changes in laws and regulations will be accomplished. The remarks of both of these impassioned Federationists will appear later in the fall. Sharon Maneki, the chairman of the National Federation of the Blind Resolutions Committee, came to preside over the assembly as we considered and passed twenty-one resolutions. A full report, including a copy of each resolution, will appear later in this issue. On adjournment of the afternoon session, Microsoft presented a seminar to tell people about its new mobility app called Soundscape. What makes it unique is its use of 3D audio to communicate information about where one is in the environment. Spectrum, the provider of television, Internet, and television services held a session to describe its products and the strides it has made in making them usable by blind people. We know that blindness comes with a whole host of issues that spring from low expectations, fundamental misunderstandings about what blind people want and need, and the assumption that somebody else knows better than we do what can be done to solve the problems we face. As blind people we also understand that there are other characteristics of our members that pose similar difficulties and that when combined all of these characteristics come together and require solutions that are more than any particular characteristic would require. This intersectionality of characteristics was discussed on Thursday evening when a meeting for intersectional meet-ups was held, and breakout sessions from it included "Masculinity, Blindness, and Latino Culture," "Blindness and Interracial Relationships," and "Marriage and Dating as a Blind Person in the Asian/South Asian Community." For those needing to know more about navigating the Social Security system there was "SSI and SSDI 101: What You Should Know" hosted by none other than James Gashel. Because getting Braille into the hands of those who need it is so important, we hosted a seminar on Braille Proofreading sponsored by the National Association of Blindness Professionals and another seminar on the ways we can make Braille more available sponsored by the Committee for the Advancement and Promotion of Braille. Because the messages we send to the public are so important, a seminar was held entitled "How to be a Brand Ambassador." It was facilitated by Karen Anderson, Stephanie Cascone, Chris Danielsen, Suzanne Shaffer, and Alyssa Vetro. But if relaxation was what you needed after all of the general sessions, Amazon sponsored a movie night, first discussing the devices it creates to make watching television and movies easier, and this being followed by the showing of a movie and light snacks. [PHOTO CAPTION: Syed Rizvi] The Friday morning session began with President Riccobono gaveling the session to order and then calling on Syed Rizvi, a person who is grounded in and speaks with God through the Muslim faith. His prayer was delivered first in Arabic and then in English, and the melody in the original was beautiful and moved the hall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis] The first item of business was presented by Anil Lewis, the executive director for blind initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind, and his topic was "Bringing the Synergy of the Blindness Movement into Concentrated Programs: Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute." Anyone who knows Anil Lewis has experienced firsthand his charisma. What he says is moving because it is sincere, authentic, and heartfelt. His presentation was indeed about initiatives at the Jernigan Institute, but at least for this writer it was so much more. It was about realizing that all of us have a way to shine, that all of us have a way to sing, and that the biggest barrier to our being able to do these things is in failing to recognize what makes us the people we are and being able to admit to others the people and organizations that have helped bring out the best within us. His remarks will appear in full in an upcoming issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Natalie Shaheen] [PHOTO CAPTION: Wade Goodridge] What followed was one of the most interactive sessions ever seen in a session with three thousand people attending. It was hosted by Natalie Shaheen, project director, Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research, National Federation of the Blind, and Dr. Wade Goodridge, associate professor of engineering education, Utah State University. The title of the presentation was "Education, Research, and Raising Expectations: Exploring Spatial Abilities and Training Blind Engineers." Placed on every chair before opening session was a sheet of paper with three tactile shapes on it, one fun-size box of dots, and six toothpicks. The initial task was to eat our dots in halves, matching the shape of each dot to one of the embossed images. Each dot had a domed end and a flat end. The sides of each dot were almost but not quite cylindrical. Our first task was to bite down the center of the dot so the dot was cut in half from dome end to flat end. This left half a dot in the mouth for exploration by the pallet, and the other half for sticky exploration. We then examined the shape of our dots, compared them with the shapes on the paper, and were asked to shout out which of the three shapes corresponded to the shape of the dot. It turned out to be the embossed shape on the left. We were then asked to extract the other two dots from the box. The question we were asked was, "How can you bite a dot to produce a cutting plane with the shape of a circle like the middle image?" The last question was, "How can you bite a dot to produce a cutting plane with the shape of an ellipse like the shape on the right of the embossed paper?" Once we had figured this out, we shared our findings with those sitting beside us. Then, using the box, the dots, and the toothpicks, our job was to build something, let others examine it, and see if they could determine what it was. I was not very creative, coming up with a self-standing tower. My wife, on the other hand, built a three-room house complete with central air and a two-car garage. The purpose of the exercise was to show that tools used to assess and build spatial skills that are particularly important in the field of engineering can be adapted so that blind people can be evaluated and taught to use spatial concepts. These skills are all required to excel in engineering, physics, and other STEM activities. One of the goals of the project is also to better understand how blind people think of and deal with spatial concepts and perhaps incorporate our own creativity into the process of building things for society. To experience some of the fun in this participatory experiment and to better understand the possibilities it holds for propelling blind people into science, technology, engineering, art, and math, go to https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/past- conventions/2019-national-convention. [PHOTO CAPTION: Angela Frederick] Dr. Angela Frederick is a Federationist many of us first met when she won a national scholarship in 1995. It was a tremendous experience when she came to the stage and spoke on the topic "Exploring the Layers: A Blind Researcher, Mom, and Federationist Enhancing the Understanding of Disability." In her remarks Angela relates her initial determination not to be involved in much of anything to do with blindness other than her voluntary participation in the Federation. Over time she has come to see that the field of disability and intersectionality needs the insights that only good research can provide and the expertise of great minds in the field of sociology, a distinction she won't claim for herself but one which will be obvious when you read her remarks later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Daniel Martinez] [PHOTO CAPTION: Raul Gallegos] [PHOTO CAPTION: Hilda Hernandez] Saying that we are committed to diversity and that we will not discriminate is but the first step in including people in our organization. Achieving the kind of diversity that blind people deserve requires outreach, and understanding of different cultures, and showing that we have just as much to offer them as we do to the traditional populations we have served. This was the abbreviated message of the next presentation entitled, "Cambiando Vidas en la Frontera de Tejas," which in English means, "Changing Lives on the Texas Border." To make her own remarks and to introduce the panel who would speak, Norma Crosby took the stage. She is, as many will know, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas and a national board member who resides in Alvin, Texas. She was joined by Daniel Martinez, first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas; Raul Gallegos, bilingual access technology trainer and the vice president of the National Federation of the Blind of Houston, Texas; Hilda Hernandez, legal and healthcare interpreter as well as the secretary of the National Federation of the Blind Rio Grande Valley Chapter. So moving and timely are the remarks that all of these women and men made, that they will appear in the October issue. Throughout the convention all of us wanted to know whether this would break a record, and although the attendance was tremendous, it did not. For 2019 we registered 3,284, falling short of our record convention noted earlier. Perhaps 2020 in Houston, Texas, will see us establish a new high in convention attendance. [PHOTO CAPTION: Bryan Bashin] Core to what we do is representing the authentic experiences of blind people, but we know that this representation must go beyond organizations of the blind and must find its way into the hundreds of organizations raising money to serve the blind. Bryan Bashin is the chief executive officer at the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind, and his presentation was "Led by the Blind: Bringing Authenticity to Services for the Blind and Making Them Relevant to the Lives We Want to Live." The spirit of cooperation, partnership, inclusiveness, and respect is one that permeated his speech, and the message is one Federationist would love to hear from every agency doing work in the field. Clearly demonstrated in his remarks was a respect for our history, the determination to do the best we can in the present, and to work hand-in-hand to make certain that the future is the one we want those who come after us to inherit. Bryan's remarks will appear in an upcoming issue. Never in the history of the National Federation of the Blind has the president of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) appeared in his or her official capacity to address the positive outcomes our organizations desire and the significantly different ways in which we believe they are achieved and evaluated. This year we were pleased to have Emily Coleman, the president of AER, on our stage to speak on the topic "Perspectives on Raising the Bar in the Blindness Field: Why a New Accreditation System?" President Riccobono introduced her in this way: This is my twenty-fourth convention, and I don't know about before that, but I do not ever recall anybody from AER being on our agenda in those twenty-four years. In many ways this is an important and an historic speaker. This is a quick history lesson. You will recall that in the summer of 2017 the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired announced that it was taking over the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind, otherwise known as NAC, an entity which the National Federation of the Blind for 40+ years protested, picketed, and virtually sent out of business. [applause] Going back to the early 1970s, we had a resolution saying that we were not against accreditation in this organization, but, nothing without us. We weren't heard, so we showed up and made sure we were heard. So frankly we were astonished when AER said it was taking over NAC. It was going to breathe new life into this organization. We invited ourselves to have a conversation with the leadership of AER about it. That happened many months later. We were told that we would get an in-person meeting in January 2018. January went by, and February went by, and March started to go by, and I called the then executive director of AER, and said, 'And so, which January did you mean?' He said that the accreditation council was going to meet, and they were going to talk about the participation of the National Federation of the Blind. Two months later we got a letter saying that we were invited to have a seat-one seat-on the accreditation council, the exact same thing that NAC offered us forty-five years ago. We invited the executive director of AER to this convention last year-he couldn't do it-couldn't come. As you heard in the Presidential Report, we said that was fine and that we will come to you. So twenty- five of us showed up in Reno. We made a very clear and strategic decision. The board of directors discussed this and decided not to show up and picket, as we know how to do, but to show up and play on their terms. We got an exhibit booth, which we paid for. We held a reception, which we paid for, and we said, 'We are here to be partners, not to be served as patients.' [applause] Now to fast-forward to January of this year. There is a new executive director. Her name is Janie Blome. She was the president of AER, and because she became a staff member, the executive director, AER now has a new president. I have taken the opportunity on our behalf to meet with Janie a number of times. We have started a very promising dialogue. But the accreditation effort goes forward. We have made various suggestions: we have encouraged that at least 50 percent of NAC's board should be made up of blind people. We are making progress in the conversation, and so I invited AER to this convention. I think maybe this is the first time they've actually come. [applause] Janie could not be here because of a family obligation, but she very much wanted to be here. But the president of AER has come, and the first thing I want you to know is that, while you may not know her, she knows the National Federation of the Blind because she was one of the individuals who participated in our teacher of tomorrow program. [applause] She is soon going to be the superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind. When I talked with her, one of the things she said to me was, "I don't know why we don't have a relationship with the Federation here in Texas?" She came from Washington, where she had the opportunity to work with the Federation all of the time. So she says that one of the first things she's going to do when she gets the job is look up Norma Crosby. That told me she is pretty smart, and she also wants to get some real stuff done for blind students. She's here to talk to us about AER and accreditation. Then we're going to have another speaker, and we might ask some questions. I don't know that we are going to agree with AER; I don't know that we're ever going to come to an agreement about accreditation, but I feel confident that our presenter this morning understands and actually appreciates that, no matter what, we are going to be the watchdogs. Here is the president of AER, Emily Coleman. President Coleman introduced herself to the audience. She is the mother of a blind child and formed an organization associated with our National Organization of Parents of Blind Children which was called HOPE, the acronym for Helping Other Parents Excel. She has since gone into educational administration and looks forward to her new assignment with the Texas School for the Blind as its superintendent. She says that she is fairly new to our field, so she had to do a little research to understand our concerns. Her research suggested to her that we had real, valid concerns about NAC standards and its treatment of consumers. [applause] She says that AER has heard our concerns about NAC and about accreditation in general, and her personal promise is that "We will continue to listen to NFB." She observed that we cannot ignore our history because if we do, we will most certainly repeat the mistakes of the past and carry with us our unaddressed biases. While it is clear that AER will do what it can to rebuild NAC, President Coleman pledges to do everything she can to see that we are heard, that we are included, that the standards developed will have real meaning, and that they will be enforced. Readers of the Braille Monitor are aware of the Federation's longstanding problems with accreditation without meaningful participation, accreditation without meaningful standards, and accreditation without consistent enforcement. NAC embodied the role of the agencies that believed the blind should be controlled not consulted. As for accreditation, we have never been against the concept, but whether it is meaningful and the way it is used make all the difference in terms of whether it helps or hinders blind people. If accreditation is used to elevate blind people so that we are advanced in our integration on terms of equality, it is a good thing. If it is used to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the status quo in which the agency is the dominant force in the lives of blind people and presumes to speak for them, then it is not. Blind people clearly remember that it was not so long ago that certification was used to keep blind people out of the field of work with the blind, particularly the occupation of cane travel instructor. Accreditation applies to institutions and certification to individuals. Because Dr. Schroeder's desire was to become a cane travel instructor and he was joined in his fight by the Federation, the certifying authority at the time said it would revise its standards so that they would no longer discriminate against blind people. Those new standards included functional requirements specifically designed to keep blind people out. One of the standards was that a teacher must be able to monitor a student's line of travel from a distance of 375 feet. A second standard required that an instructor be able to stand on a street corner and observe the other three corners within a period of three seconds. The certification process was most certainly designed to keep blind people out and did not reflect the substance of providing cane travel instruction or the authentic experience of people who are blind. President Coleman's remarks and the questions that followed will appear elsewhere in this issue. The Friday afternoon session began with the presentation of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards by the committee's chairman, James Gashel. This is the twelfth year that these awards have been presented, and their presentation is covered elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Ed Rogers] "Electronic Braille Reimagined: The Revolution of the Canute 360" was the topic addressed by Ed Rogers, the founder and managing director of Bristol Braille Technology, headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. Since the debut of refreshable Braille displays three decades ago, the dream of blind people has been to get more than one line of Braille. In many situations it is important to see multiple lines of information to understand what is being conveyed. Simple arithmetic provides an excellent example when one considers the task in multiplying two three-digit numbers: first deriving the partial products and then adding them together. Viewing spreadsheets on a multi-line display will provide information that will show relationships difficult to understand by viewing them as we normally do, one row or one column at a time. In the United States the Canute has been supported by the National Federation of the Blind, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, and the American Printing House for the Blind. The Canute contains nine lines of Braille, each line having forty cells. Currently the unit is not available in the United States, but selling has begun in the United Kingdom, and the price is about $2,000. Whether for pleasure reading or an extended dip into science and technology, there is no question that this technology represents a significant step forward in providing to blind readers through Braille what sighted readers get through print. The remarks of Ed Rogers will appear later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Bruce Miles] "The Next Generation of Innovations in Access Technology for the Blind: Customer-Driven Progress at HumanWare" was the next item on the agenda, and it was presented by Bruce Miles, the company's president. He was joined in his presentation by Peter Tucic, the head of the product specialist team at the company. President Miles began by saying that he had been at HumanWare for almost four years and that this was his third NFB convention. "This is always a fantastic experience. I go to a lot of different trade shows and things, but this is my favorite event of the year-it is. You all do a great job. It's an opportunity to meet amazing people and get feedback from our customers. What we get is real feedback, and there's no filter here. That's a good thing-we hear the good and the bad, and that's what we have to hear, so I really appreciate that." [applause] He went on to say that the Victor Reader Stream was developed in partnership with the NFB. It is now in its third generation and is a very successful product. As material became available in varied and sometimes complicated digital formats, the beauty of the stream was that it made all of them easily accessible. "Working together, we overcame this element of the digital divide. This was and continues to be one of the most successful products ever launched in the market, and yes, we did it together. Thank you for that." Both Bruce and Peter talked about the commitment of HumanWare to research and development, and they hinted at the products we are likely to see in the near future. Their remarks will appear later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Vogt] We next moved to a section of the agenda that deals with one of the most significant problems faced by blind people-access to transportation on our terms. Kyle Vogt is the president and chief technology officer of Cruise Automation, a company located in San Francisco, California. The topic he addressed was "The Driverless Revolution: Setting a New Standard for Transportation and Technology." This company has about 1,500 people and partners with General Motors to manufacture and deploy its vehicles. The company likes to think of its mission as today's equivalent of the space race. The technology challenge is immense, and there has been nothing like it since the Apollo program. The goal is nothing less than to take one of the most complicated and confusing tasks that humans do and use artificial intelligence to do it better. Simply put, the mission of the company is to build the most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people to the places, things, and experiences they care about. Every year 40,000 people lose their lives on the road, and despite all of the improvements we have been making in technology, this number continues to rise. Ninety-five percent of all accidents are directly attributable to human error, meaning that the vehicle fails in less than 5 percent of the fatalities suffered in this country. Kyle concluded by saying: "I know autonomous vehicles will change the way we live and move. They'll save lives, improve accessibility, reduce emissions and air pollution, and give people back two of their most important resources: their time and their freedom to go where they want to go, when they want to go. Kyle Vogt's remarks will appear later in the fall. [PHOTO CAPTION: David Schwietert] Continuing the discussion on this topic, President Riccobono recognized David Schwietert, the interim president and chief executive officer for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The address he delivered was "Autonomous Vehicles: Establishing Strong Policy for America's Transportation Future." The alliance represents some iconic names in the industry including Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Volvo. He believes that without question we are experiencing the most profound transformation in the auto sector that our nation has ever experienced. Although the technological challenges have been significant, the biggest problem faced by those wishing to move to autonomous vehicles is not found in the technology but in the embracing of it in laws and regulations. This is where the NFB can be of tremendous support. David Schwietert's remarks will appear in full later in the fall, but he closed with this call to action: For each of you, make your voices heard across the country but especially in Washington. Our joint call to action should be to reject the status quo and demand that politicians explain to each and every one of you what they are doing to expand mobility and ensuring that regulations aren't holding back key safety innovations. Your voice and involvement are critical to make it known that self-driving vehicles will revolutionize the way you live your lives, and dare any politician to deny that simple urge for free movement. No more excuses! Let's work to pass critical self-driving legislation into law that liberates mobility. The future is in our hands; we need only to reach out and take it. I'm proud to say that our nation's automakers will fight this fight with you every step of the way. [applause] [PHOTO CAPTION: Martine Abel-Williamson] "Blindness across Borders: Perspectives on Independence and Emerging Issues of Common Interest to the Blind around the World" was next presented by the treasurer of the World Blind Union, Martine Abel-Williamson. She hails from Auckland, New Zealand, and many of us had the pleasure to get to know her during the meeting of the World Blind Union that took place in Orlando in 2016. She began by talking about how welcomed she had been into the family of the National Federation of the Blind, and her experience caused her to reflect on an old saying from the indigenous people of New Zealand: "Between my food basket and your food basket, the people will thrive." Although the saying speaks to survival, it has become a saying that many use in the cause of sharing knowledge and experience. While international travel is easier than ever before, for blind people it is still a costly and frustrating experience. In her presentation, Martine related how difficult and expensive it has been to bring her guide dog to the United States, and one priority in our shared work must be making it easier, less stressful, and less expensive for blind people to travel. Her remarks can be found at https://nfb.org/get- involved/national-convention/past-conventions/2019-national-convention. [PHOTO CAPTION: Jean Brown] As the afternoon began to give way to the evening's festivities, the next to last presentation was an outstanding address entitled "Not without Question: The Difference of the Federation Philosophy in Our Lives." President Riccobono introduced our presenter in this way: We have with us a really dynamic woman, and if you do not know her, I am so glad you are about to. She is an individual who lives the Federation philosophy in her life every day... No matter what she takes on, whether it is being an entrepreneur or a parent, she brings the Federation confidence, swagger, and spirit to what she does. Many of you know her because of her husband, who serves as second vice president of the National Federation of the Blind. But, from now on, I think our second vice president will be known as Jean Brown's husband. Here, without question, is Jean Brown. In her moving remarks Jean talked about what it was like to be a fashion model, a wife, a mother, and to experience at the age of twenty- three the onset of blindness. No summary could do justice to her remarks, but one phrase in particular gave them meaning and strength: "I've got this." Her resolve, her belief in God, her selection of Ron Brown (a good man as her husband), and her desire to give back are all found in the remarks she delivered, which will appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kristen Cox] Our final presenter of the afternoon holds a highly responsible position in the state of Utah where she serves as the executive director of the governor's office of management and budget. Her name will be familiar to Federationists because her career has included distinguished service with the National Federation of the Blind in our work on governmental affairs. Her name is Kristen Cox, and the topic she addressed was "Competing on Terms of Equality and Blending in: Government Service with Federation Style." In her current job Kristen works with officials who are constantly asked to deliver more with less. Too often the response is "This can't be done;" or "I could do it, but;" or, the most familiar of them all, "Yes, but." For Kristen the issue is not if we can meet our goals but how we will meet them. The lessons she learned from the NFB about creative problem-solving have been crucial in her adjustment to blindness, in the flexibility that successful coping requires, and in meeting the demands of her job to make the seemingly impossible a reality. Her outstanding remarks will figure prominently in an upcoming issue. When the afternoon session adjourned, the staff of the Mandalay observed something that even the house might have bet against: the movement of more than three thousand people out of the ballroom in less than five minutes so that the room could be transformed from a meeting hall to a banquet hall. The festivities began shortly after 7 p.m. when Pamela Allen, the first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind and master of ceremonies called the banquet to order. [PHOTO CAPTION: Ever Lee Hairston and Arietta Woods] Our invocation consisted of prayer and song with board member Ever Lee Hairston and Arietta Woods from Los Angeles entwining reference and artistic beauty in their thanks to and request of Almighty God. With the serving of salad and the anticipation of a fine meal to come, those assembled were treated to a video presentation about the donors who help make our scholarship program the biggest and best in the country. For the second time during the convention we took time to thank our sponsors of the 2019 Convention for the tangible commitment to the organization that their sponsorship represents. We gladly use this space to again thank them: Elite: Aira Tech Corp Platinum: Google, Inc.; HumanWare; Microsoft Corporation; Oracle; OrCam Technologies; UPS; Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Vispero Gold: BlindShell; Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Target; Uber Silver: Adobe; Amazon; AT&T; Delta Air Lines; Facebook; Lyft; Market Development Group, Inc.; Pearson; Waymo Bronze: Educational Testing Service (ETS); Monster Worldwide, Inc.; National Industries for the Blind; Spectrum; Sprint; VitalSource Technologies; Wells Fargo White Cane: BECU; C&P - Chris Park Design; Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind; Credit Union National Association; Dominion Voting; Duxbury Systems, Inc; Election Systems & Software; En-Vision America; Envision, Inc.; HIMS, Inc.; Law School Admission Council, Inc.; LCI; McGraw-Hill Education; Nevada Blind Children's Foundation; Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP; RTB Safe Traffic, Inc.; TRE Legal Practice. After drawings conducted by some of our sponsors, divisions, and our Jernigan Fund, the time came for the most anticipated presentation of the evening, the banquet address delivered by President Mark Riccobono. Its title was "Choice, Exploration, and Resistance: The Road to Freedom for the Blind." The address explores the essential link between freedom and choice, the unifying philosophy that binds the National Federation of the Blind, and the imperative that we take advantage of the opportunities provided in these times to grow and strengthen the mechanism that will increase both, the National Federation of the Blind. After the banquet speech and the prolonged applause for it, Immediate Past President Maurer was asked to come to the microphone in his capacity as the chairman of the Jacobus tenBroek Award Committee. The remarks he made about Jacobus tenBroek, the reason for this award, and its recipient appear elsewhere in this issue. [PHOTO CAPTION: Long-serving staff members of the NFB] For the first time we in the Federation publicly recognized staff members who have given fifteen or more years of service to our organization. Each of them was called to the stage, and as a group they were given an enthusiastic round of applause. These valued people are Steve Booth, Gary Toporcer, John Par?, Candiss Kiah, Tammy Helm, Bridgid Burke, Byron Mitchell, Chris Danielsen, Bill Jacobs, Suzanne Shaffer, Belinda Hooks, Carylin Walton, John Berggren, Paul Ficarro, Sonia Little, Joseph Miller, and Pat Miller. Much to the relief of the thirty most deserving blind scholars in the United States, the 2019 scholarship class was introduced. A report of the presentation and the speech of the winner of the Kenneth Jernigan Award are found elsewhere in this issue. As Pam Allen observed nearing the end of the banquet, normally people say that what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, but such is not the case for the activities of the National Federation of the Blind. We want to take the energy, the love, the celebration of diversity, the hope, and the truth that we can live the lives we want, if we work together, to the places where we live and to translate this one week of intense activity into something that strengthens and sustains us every day. The city that hosted our convention is known for gaming, but we know this is no game we play. What we do or fail to do will make a real difference in the lives of blind people, and our commitment is the promise that we will do everything we can to better their lives. Luck is good, but resolve is better, and let there be no doubt that we have resolved to do everything we can to see that the voice of the nation's blind is heard and that our message is clear: together with love, hope, and determination, we will transform dreams into reality. ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Mark A. Riccobono] Presidential Report 2019 An Address Delivered by Mark A. Riccobono National Federation of the Blind Las Vegas, Nevada July 10, 2019 During the past year, the blind of this nation have continued their march to freedom at an accelerated pace. Individuals who possess determination, hope, ambition, strength, and a spirit of community join their unique talents and perspectives in our march. One by one we link arms- across cities, across states-to build the most powerful network of the blind anywhere in the world. In joining together, we create a movement that reflects the great diversity of the characteristics each of us bring to the effort. In staying united, we strengthen the bond that we share, and we enjoy the progress that comes from the power and influence our collective action commands. Together, we share a powerful name and make the commitments that form the foundation of our movement. We are the members of the National Federation of the Blind. We have prepared our movement for a significant period of growth with the development of the latest strategic plan for the National Federation of the Blind, which we released earlier this year. In order to expand our organizational capacity, our areas of priority include (1) education, rehabilitation, and employment; (2) membership and community building; (3) advocacy; and (4) development. Each of these pillars supports our ultimate goal of freedom for the blind. This new plan will allow us to accurately measure our progress, effectively synthesize the feedback of active members, and strategically utilize our resources-which are not unlimited. Our strongest and most valuable resource is our membership. This year we have issued a membership coin to each active member of the National Federation of the Blind. Here is the one I carry with me-I invite you to take yours out as well. Members from each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico now carry this symbolic token of the bond we hold together. It represents the value of our individual effort, the support of the Federation family, and the power we share together. For those who do not yet understand the power of membership in our movement, we have developed, and are now piloting, a new-member onboarding process to improve our outreach to prospective members and to accelerate the active participation of new members. In addition, we are building stronger tools to improve communication between our national organization and local affiliates in order to enhance the community of resources our members share. With each new member added to our family, we can hear freedom ring even more sweetly. If you are a member of the Federation, let's hear your freedom ring. As our movement grows, our work becomes more complex. Systems that were once well understood or less formal must be communicated to a bigger and more diverse audience. In the spring of 2017 we began developing the foundation for what is now the Federation's code of conduct. Initially adopted by the board of directors in January 2018, the code articulates in writing the expectations that members of the Federation have always had for each other and that our leadership has been required to model. This code is so core to what we do that we have made it more widely available than any other piece of Federation information. The board of directors has committed to regular review of the code, the procedures for handling grievances, and data regarding grievance outcomes. Furthermore, these policies and practices have been reviewed by an independent third-party consultant. Whether you are an active member, an individual considering joining with us, or part of a corporation seeking to partner with us, the code details our collective expectations. While the document speaks for itself, let me underscore a few points from the code that cannot be said enough: Diversity is an asset in our movement, and we need more of it. To quote our code, "The National Federation of the Blind does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, or any other characteristic or intersectionality of characteristics." We value diversity, we do not tolerate efforts to marginalize individuals based on their characteristics, and we accept the challenge of evolving our practices to strengthen our outreach to, and inclusion of the broadest cross-section of blind people possible. When we say we are the voice of the nation's blind, we mean all blind people regardless of other characteristics or immigration status. Harassment is a hindrance to our progress, and we want none of it. We choose to create an environment free of harassment for all of our members and their families. Harassment can be verbal, written, or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual because of any of their characteristics and that has the effect of limiting participation in our movement. While all forms of harassment are against our core values, we are especially adverse to sexual harassment because of the significant long-term impact it can have on victims of this treatment. Blind youth are our future leaders, and we value family. We continue to welcome an increasing number of minors into this movement, requiring us to take extra care to ensure that we are protecting these youth from harm. We continue to ensure that leaders understand their obligations, that adults participating in our youth programs have the appropriate background screening, and that we empower blind youth with resources to deal with situations that might arise, including methods to report to appropriate authorities or law enforcement. Grievances are taken seriously and carefully investigated. Within the code, we have established a formal grievance process for reporting violations. The process permits formal grievances to be filed in a variety of ways including online, by telephone, using email, or through a direct conversation with a leader of the Federation. If desired, the process permits anonymous filing. Internal procedures for investigations, maintaining confidentiality, and training a team of investigators have been implemented. Retaliation for filing a grievance is expressly prohibited. No member is exempt from being investigated for violation of the code and, in circumstances where it is necessary, a third-party investigator will be used to make determinations. The movement is more important than any one member or leader. Leaders shall practice accountability and transparency in all activities and transactions; disclose conflicts of interest; foster a welcoming environment at Federation activities; positively promote the NFB through verbal and written communication; and handle conflicts or complaints involving other members privately, directly, and respectfully. Raising expectations in society starts with setting the highest standards for ourselves; that is the purpose of our code of conduct, and that is the unshakeable commitment we make on our march to freedom in the National Federation of the Blind. Blind teachers, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, government employees, manufacturing personnel, customer service agents, and individuals seeking employment in dozens of other sectors of the economy receive support from the National Federation of the Blind. Last year we shared the story of Federation member Mary Flood of Washington, DC. Ms. Flood was hired by the United States Navy to serve as an educational technician working with young children. After a day and a half of work, she was informed that she was being fired at the recommendation of a doctor who believed the children would be at risk while under the supervision of a blind person. In April of 2018, we filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the Navy failed to uphold freedom and equality for the blind. Earlier this year, we settled the case-Flood prevailed over Navy. The Navy has paid $100,000 for lost wages and attorney's fees, and they have agreed to work with the Federation to eliminate misconceptions based on disability from their employment practices. With us at this convention is Dr. Jan Bartleson, a blind counselor and emotional/behavioral disabilities clinician employed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools for more than twenty-seven years. Despite her strong professional work skills, she constantly had to rely on sighted coworkers to help her do basic tasks like inputting student notes and accessing employee benefits, because the district used inaccessible workplace software. Despite her strong qualifications, these artificial barriers also prevented her advancement into other positions. With our help, Dr. Bartleson filed a groundbreaking suit against Miami-Dade under the Americans with Disabilities Act, arguing that after-the-fact, ad hoc accommodations are not sufficient to meet an employer's obligations to its blind employees. In February, a federal court approved a consent decree requiring the school district to make all existing websites, forms, and software accessible; to procure only accessible software in the future; to take steps to ensure the full inclusion of blind employees in school programs and activities; and to pay $250,000, which includes the Federation's attorney's fees. Going forward, the implementation of accessible technologies should improve access for all blind people interacting with the district in any capacity. One of the fastest growing employers in the nation is Amazon, where jobs range from very technical to very physical. For twenty-four years, Alfredo Estrada worked as a blind aircraft maintenance technician with United Airlines at the San Francisco International Airport. He excelled at safely completing many tasks involving aircraft repair, working with pallets and handheld carts, and moving safely in unusual places like on the roof of aircraft. Desiring to do part-time work after his retirement, Alfredo sought a position at the Amazon.com sortation center near his home. During the application process he disclosed his blindness, and Amazon hired him. However, on his first day of work the supervisors quickly escorted him out of the workplace and would not allow his return. With the support of the National Federation of the Blind, Alfredo filed a complaint, and we secured a resolution to the discrimination. Amazon will provide training to the staff at the sortation center, engage in understanding how blind people can safely work in complex industrial environments, and pay the Federation for the costs of, once again, teaching the company that the blind cannot be excluded from opportunities within its workforce. Established in 1938 by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, the AbilityOne program is an independent government agency overseen by a group of appointees known as the AbilityOne Commission. The authorizing statute directs the commission to designate one or more central nonprofit agencies (CNAs) to facilitate the distribution of government orders of procurement- list products and services among nonprofit agencies employing people who are blind or have significant disabilities. Since 1938, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) has been the CNA managing contracts employing blind people. On July 26, 2018, the AbilityOne Commission announced, without a public notice and comment period and without a competitive process to select the most qualified organization, that it was establishing a second CNA for employing the blind in competitive integrated settings. No blind workers currently employed on AbilityOne contracts were consulted, no agencies managing contracts were invited to shape the priorities, and no elected leaders of the blind were asked for feedback. Instead, the AbilityOne Commission appointed, through an exclusive backroom deal, the American Foundation for the Blind as the newest CNA. Documents show that AbilityOne and the American Foundation for the Blind engaged in years of secret meetings and negotiations, a request for proposals was issued exclusively to the foundation, and, amazingly, the foundation was unanimously rejected for being unqualified by the AbilityOne evaluation committee. In spite of its own determination that the American Foundation for the Blind lacked the necessary qualifications, AbilityOne unilaterally made the designation and justified its edict with a press release that hyped the foundation's, "unique experience and demonstrated expertise..." Regardless of the spin, the record demonstrates that the AbilityOne Commission secretly and knowingly entrusted development of a new government employment program for the blind to an unqualified agency without the experience or resources to meet the requirements. When we asked the American Foundation for the Blind about this lack of transparency, they responded by saying, "We had an opportunity, and we took it." Neither the government nor the foundation gets to determine what the future priorities are for us, without us. In support of all blind AbilityOne workers, the National Federation of the Blind has taken the opportunity to file suit against the AbilityOne Commission for violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and federal contracting and grant-making regulations. Do not misunderstand: we believe the AbilityOne program should be transformed, but we want it done right, and we want it done in cooperation with the organized blind movement. We have observed significant progress in our movement to eliminate Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which permits the payment of unequal wages to people with disabilities. During our Washington Seminar, both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives introduced the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (S. 260 and H.R. 873, respectively). While our advocacy is creating movement at the federal level, we are not waiting for Congress to fulfill its responsibility. Through our dynamic network of affiliates, we continue to make steady progress on securing state laws to eliminate the use of 14(c) certificates. Congratulations to the newest states to raise wage expectations for the blind: Oregon, Texas, and Washington. While a full report of the Federation's extensive advocacy and policy efforts will be presented later in this convention, we must highlight two significant achievements of the past year. The Department of Defense Space Available Program provides transportation on scheduled and unscheduled military flights within the continental United States and on scheduled overseas flights on a space-available basis to members of the Armed Forces entitled to retirement or retainer pay. Since 2012, we have been working to extend these benefits to veterans with a service-connected, permanent disability. Like our veterans, members of the Federation do not quit until we secure victory. On August 13, 2018, the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act including our bill language was signed by the president of the United States granting our blinded veterans the increased freedom they deserve. A critical component to freedom is literacy. Previously blind people have only had access to a small fraction of the world's published works, but, thanks to the National Federation of the Blind, the circumstances are dramatically changing. In June 2013, our collaboration with leaders of the World Blind Union resulted in the completion of the first international treaty dedicated exclusively to access for the blind: The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually- Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled. Over the proceeding five-and-a-half years, we undertook a substantial effort to secure United States ratification and implementation of the treaty, which would facilitate our use of the accessible works from other countries. On October 9, 2018, the president of the United States signed Public Law Number 115-261, confirming our nation as fully compliant with the Marrakesh Treaty. Our country is now an official party to the Marrakesh Union, which currently includes eighty- two other nations with more expected to join in the near future. As soon as the law was adopted, we turned our attention to encouraging the World Intellectual Property Organization to develop an efficient international system of exchange that serves blind people directly rather than requiring complex library structures. Our voice has been heard, and we will continue to provide leadership in establishing the access systems of the future. Equal access to the full range of options for blind people to vote privately and independently in elections continues to be a pressing priority. In November 2018, we reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with Alameda County, California, requiring acquisition of new accessible voting machines, implementation of an accessible vote-by-mail system, dissemination of improved poll-worker training, adoption of procedures for managing election-day accessibility issues, and compliance with the WCAG 2.1 AA standards on the county's website. In February 2019, we reached a court-ordered settlement agreement with the state of New York. The agreement, among other provisions, requires the state's board of elections and department of motor vehicles to make their websites fully accessible, allowing for private and independent voter registration. In our voting outreach work under the Help America Vote Act, we evaluate nonvisual access to voting systems, bring key stakeholders together to advance best practices, and conduct regular, national conference calls with protection and advocacy system personnel and elections officials. The authenticity in our expertise comes through local engagement from Federation members. Since 2008, we have monitored fall elections through our Blind Voter Survey, which is the most meaningful data available that documents the experience of blind voters in the United States. We will continue to work tirelessly to advance full participation of the blind in the American democracy. At our National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, we coordinate the most extensive program of access to technology by the blind anywhere in the world. A growing area of focus for us is inaccessible touchscreens and kiosks. We are collaborating with manufacturers to include accessibility, as observed in progress we have made in tabletop machines in some restaurants and in micro-market vending locations. We are engaging in structured negotiations in other cases. One example is the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which has deployed a fleet of inaccessible self-service kiosks in public locations around the state to alleviate wait times and improve access to a number of vehicle registration tasks. Does the state think that blind people have nothing better to do than wait in line? Speaking of lines, many stores are implementing self-service checkout lines. Based on the experience of Cynthia Morales, a Federation member from Maryland, we raised the inaccessibility of these checkout lanes with Walmart. A Walmart employee, who was assisting Ms. Morales with the inaccessible self-checkout kiosk, selected the cash back option without Cynthia's knowledge, and proceeded to pocket her money. Walmart brushed off the incident and ignored our offer to collaborate on equal access. In October we filed suit against Walmart to demand that its self-checkout kiosks be made accessible. In the meantime, members of the Federation may wish to spend our hard-earned dollars at other stores that value our equal participation in their services. Artificial barriers in healthcare systems are frequently encountered by blind patients and blind employees. In North Carolina we are pursuing access to critical healthcare information and billing invoices in accessible formats. In Indiana we are exploring equal access to applications and resources provided online by state-administered benefits programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, low-income housing assistance, childcare assistance, and vocational rehabilitation services. In Massachusetts to protect the jobs of blind healthcare workers, we are demanding that Epic, one of the nation's largest providers of healthcare software, build accessibility into the employee-facing portions of its systems. And across the nation we are pursuing a number of other accessibility issues related to medical devices and services. Our network of dedicated members makes enforcement of our agreements effective, authentic, and powerful. At last year's convention, we announced a settlement with Greyhound Lines Inc. to provide blind customers with equal access to greyhound.com and the company's mobile application. As the company worked on its accessibility, blind customers were permitted to call to buy tickets without being charged the standard call-center booking fee. We conducted a secret shopper program with over 120 reports filed by Federationists that were essential to holding Greyhound accountable for the policy implementation. From now through 2021, we will monitor Greyhound's maintenance of equal access to its website and mobile application. We have also committed to holding both Uber and Lyft accountable for equal access to their services, including protections for blind users of service animals. Federation members have helped to generate over four thousand surveys in our monitoring effort, and it is clear that discrimination continues. We now enter the final year of our existing agreements. If the discrimination persists, we will have no choice but to head back to court to seek an even stronger court-mandated solution. While the lack of progress is frustrating, your continued effort to submit the Federation's monitoring surveys is the best tool we have to document the scope of the problem. Your commitment to the final year of our rideshare- testing program is critical. In return, the National Federation of the Blind reconfirms its commitment to ensure that these companies arrive at the destination of equal access for the blind. For decades, Federation affiliates have provided what assistance they could to blind individuals in the prison systems, recognizing that these individuals disproportionally come from minority backgrounds and experience some of the most brutal discrimination imaginable. Maryland is an unpleasant and typical example. The state holds all of its blind inmates in one facility but offers no access technology there. The prison communicates to inmates in writing and requires submission of handwritten forms for medical requests, grievances, commissary orders, and other matters, but it offers none of these in accessible formats. Blind inmates are not allowed to do any of the highest-paying inmate jobs, not provided with orientation and mobility instruction, not permitted to participate equally in education and self-improvement programs, and not given access to programs at other facilities. Blind inmates have no choice but to rely on other inmates for navigation and access to communications. You can imagine the horror of being at the mercy of another inmate who is unreliable, untrained, and frequently dangerous. In 2016 we sued the Maryland Division of Correction on behalf of nine blind inmates, and last month we reached a landmark settlement. The state will now develop an accessible process for requesting and providing reasonable modifications and auxiliary aids to blind inmates; will provide accessible formats of all inmate documents and forms; will provide a suite of access technology; and, when human assistance is required, will ensure that the person is qualified, impartial, and maintains confidentiality. Maryland will pay each plaintiff $42,500 for the discrimination they suffered and reimburse the Federation over $1 million in attorney's fees and costs. More than a great victory for social justice, it is our hope that this settlement serves as a model for all states to use in ensuring equal treatment of blind inmates. In 2018 we joined forces with the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates and the NAACP to file a federal lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act against the United States Department of Education. The suit challenged the announcement by the Office of Civil Rights that it was, without advance notice and public comment, changing its procedures dramatically with the effect of diminishing the enforcement of rights it is charged with protecting. In November, in response to our suit, the Office of Civil Rights voluntarily reversed course and restored previous protections. Yet, we continue to seek enforcement by the court. We are proud that we can link arms with other civil rights organizations to raise expectations for, and protect the civil rights of, the blind. We continue to make progress in eliminating unequal treatment of the blind in higher education. After a two-year fight, we scored a victory last month when a United States District Court judge found that the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD)-the largest community college in the nation-discriminated against two blind students by denying them meaningful access to their education. The court's findings specifically note discriminatory action including the use of Pearson's inaccessible MyMathLab product, failure to deliver accessible instructional materials, operating an inaccessible website and a student information system made by PeopleSoft, and offering library databases with inaccessible documents. We now await the Court's decision on the scope of the injunction that will be entered to ensure that LACCD complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We will continue to reject second-class treatment at all institutions of higher education, and we will provide leadership to those schools seeking to serve as a model of equal access. Through our Blind Parents Initiative, we lead the way in advancing equal rights and creating resource connections for blind caregivers. We are a quarter of the way to our goal of every affiliate securing adoption of our model parental rights legislation. Today we celebrate the recent enactment of protections for blind parents in Georgia, Alabama, Nevada, and Hawaii. Minh and Daniel Turnbull are a blind couple who live in Eagle Point, Oregon. On December 21, 2018, they experienced the joy of giving birth to their first child-a boy named Silas. Little did they know that the low expectations and misconceptions of a nurse in the hospital would soon turn their celebration into a nightmare. Uncertain how a blind couple would safely manage the care and feeding of a newborn baby, the nurse reported the couple to Oregon's Child Protective Services, where the most experienced staff were on leave due to the holidays. Exercising their duty to protect, the remaining agency staff ordered that, to take Silas home, the couple must have a sighted person observing their actions twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Just one instance of the Turnbull's failure to comply, they were warned, would result in Silas being removed from the family. Imagine, in the middle of the night, the parents must first rouse a sighted person before undertaking one of the many care tasks that newborns require-tasks that most parents, blind or sighted, learn to do without turning on the lights. What is harder to imagine is the irreversible impact this unnecessary restriction had on the bond between parent and child in the early days of life. Fortunately, on New Year's Day, a friend of the family called Carla McQuillan, a blind mother, educator, and president of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon. It took Carla the better part of twenty- four hours to get someone from Child Protective Services to respond, but when they did, the biased restriction was lifted within the hour. Mihn, Daniel, and Silas are now members of the National Federation of the Blind, and they are here at their first convention. Through the generous support of the Gibney Family Foundation, we are expanding our Blind Parents Initiative in order to reach more people before they face these harmful low expectations. We have launched a new podcast called Blind Parents Connection, and we are building new educational resources and expanding our blindparents.org website. None of this could happen without the tremendous expertise of the Federation members who volunteer their time to share their experience with others. Some of the most meaningful contributions of Federation members are offered in our extensive education programs. Our nationwide Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning Academies provide blind students intensive instruction in Braille and related skills from people who model the Federation philosophy. This summer we will have forty-five academies- making it the most comprehensive national Braille instruction program. We do so much more with Braille. On behalf of the Library of Congress, we train hundreds of people annually to be certified Braille transcribers or proofreaders. In partnership with the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, we distribute more than four thousand free Braille books to blind children every month. Through our early childhood outreach work, we engage families with Braille reading prompts and fun activities that empower parents to be their blind child's first and most important teacher using the positive philosophy of our organization. Let us not forget that we continue to partner with jolly old Santa Claus in sending Braille copies of his letters to more than four hundred children annually. The Federation sets the standard for educating blind youth in science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Two weeks ago we concluded another highly successful engineering academy for thirty students, and, for the first time, ten of our program alumni are here at this convention as part of our project to enhance their career exploration. Through our engineering program, which is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, we focus on teaching the development of spatial skills using nonvisual techniques and provide challenging opportunities to exercise those skills. Engineering relies heavily on spatial reasoning skills, and we believe our work will contribute significantly to helping sighted and blind students more effectively use spatial understanding in their discipline and in life more generally. New understanding is being developed through our engagement with the museum and art communities. In partnership with 3DPhotoWorks, Federation leaders participated in an exhibit at the annual conference of the American Alliance of Museums in New Orleans. The Alliance represents three thousand institutions worldwide. The exhibit booth included a letter, enlarged to be ten feet high, inviting institutions to work with the National Federation of the Blind on accessibility. In Baltimore we participated in a community- funded project known as the Ways of Seeing Tactile Art exhibit, which featured collaboration between blind and sighted artists. The exhibit facilitated conversation about tactile art and how to actively engage more people in the arts. In all of this our message is simple: incorporating our perspective enriches the experience for everyone. We have attempted to share our philosophy with, and build bridges to, the professionals working with the blind. Last July, more than twenty-five Federationists attended the International Conference of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). We worked an exhibit table and hosted a reception in an attempt to share the authentic perspective from our movement. We sought to open avenues for collaboration and exchange of information. We intend to play a leading role in programs for the blind, and we hope that the professionals choose to treat us as partners rather than to serve us as patients. In all of these areas of education and so many more we continue to lead the way. Our motto is if they will not teach them, we will teach them ourselves. We need more members to engage as mentors in our programs and to contribute expertise to raising expectations for the next generation. Later in this convention we will receive a full report of our education, technology, and research work, as well as hear from the partners that join with us to build the future. In 1978 we committed to moving our national headquarters to the National Center for the Blind (now known as the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute), a complex of buildings occupying a square city block in Baltimore, Maryland. We had a property without much functional capacity, but over time and as resources have allowed, we have made improvements. Initially, this meant remodeling a significant portion, but not all, of the fourth floor of the primary building for our use. In the early 1980s we added sleeping rooms to the building, allowing us to host overnight seminars. In 2001 we broke ground for a new, twenty-million- dollar building on the southwest corner of the property to provide new conference, training, research, archive, office, and parking space- significantly increasing our capacity to implement almost any type of program or project we might imagine. We now seek to improve our capacity even further. Work is currently underway to make modest upgrades to our beautiful dining room and to dramatically transform the 18,500 square feet east of it that has been office and storage space for the past forty years. Expected to open in September of this year, the remodeled space will include twenty- one new sleeping rooms along the east and north exterior walls, featuring windows, nine-and-a-half-foot ceilings, and comfortable amenities. Near the sleeping rooms will be casual spaces for working, open spaces for spending time with others, a kitchen space for teaching, laundry facilities, and a substantial fitness area. Immediately to the east of the dining room will be a foyer featuring a forty-two-inch diameter wood-burning fireplace with seating on all sides and touches of Federation history and symbolism. The foyer transitions to the north to a seating space named in honor of a blind couple from Colorado who have built programs for the blind that have transformed the lives of thousands of Federation members. This living room space will have a fountain built into the east wall-a symbol of the experience of being at their home. In our new spaces, as was true at their home, relationships will be forged, and the bond of faith we share will be passed between generations of blind leaders. We anticipate welcoming you to our new Diane and Ray McGeorge Living Room at the Jernigan Institute. Our efforts to educate the public about blindness are growing faster than at any time in our history. We launched a new and improved nfb.org website, experienced strong growth in our social media engagement, reached a broader audience through stories published about us, and enjoyed the benefits of increased name recognition through distribution of our public service announcements. We launched the #LetUsPlayUs campaign to change the representation and inclusion of the blind on screen and stage, and we protested in front of CBS in New York City over the lack of authentic representation. We partnered with Kellogg's on the Rice Krispies Love Notes project to promote Braille. In less than one month, the complete stock of thousands of Braille Love Note sticker sheets and audio boxes were distributed. News about the partnership, including a video featuring members of the National Federation of the Blind, reached nearly 125 million web viewers. While this effort brought conversations about Braille to grocery stores in the United States, we are not done. In the fall of this year, we will announce a new partnership that will bring Braille and the name of the National Federation of the Blind to stores around the world. All of these accomplishments, and those we have not had time to review, happen because of the individual efforts of each and every active member of the National Federation of the Blind. Every day I am filled with hope, energy, and love by participating in this organization because of what each of you does to raise expectations for us. I am humbled and blessed by the opportunity to serve as your President, and the trust you place in me is an unparalleled honor in my life. On September 18, 2018, the Baltimore Orioles honored the National Federation of the Blind and our forty years of being headquartered in Charm City, by becoming the first professional sports team in the United States to wear Braille jerseys during a game. Over 250 stories about National Federation of the Blind night at Oriole Park reached 2 billion views on the worldwide web. One of the jerseys from that evening is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another jersey is displayed at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. I had the distinct honor of wearing that jersey as I stood at the edge of the pitching mound in the center of the field at Oriole Park. With hundreds of Federationists in the stands, I held a regulation major league baseball, which felt at the time like a bowling ball. I took a deep breath and focused on the three things that keep me grounded every day. One, no matter what happens I know that the members of the Federation family have my back. As I felt the stitching on the ball, I experienced the strength of the interconnected commitment that binds us together in this movement. Two, it is my responsibility to raise expectations every day rather than settling for low expectations. I understood that while most of the crowd expected me to be the highlight on the evening blooper reel, Federationists know that blindness is not a defining characteristic, and I was expected to throw a strike. Three, I have been elected to represent the hopes and dreams of Federation members, and I should not ask of you anything that I am not prepared to deliver on myself. In everything I undertake for us, I dedicate all of the heart, energy, and thoughtfulness I can bring to the assignment. Whether it is with a baseball; our treasury; our legal team; our building; our picket signs; our educational resources; or the invaluable time, energy, and love of the members of this movement, I step forward as long as you call me to do so, and I strive to hit the mark every time. I stood up straight, gripped the seams of the ball one last time, and put everything I had into representing blind people that evening. I could not hear the ball hit the glove over the sound of our march to freedom. However, Orioles announcer Jim Hunter declared that we threw a strike that evening, shutting out the low expectations between blind people and our dreams. My Federation family, this is my report for 2019. This is our progress. This is our commitment to each other. This is the unshakeable bond of faith we share. This is how we grow the team that will transform our dreams into reality. Let our freedom ring. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Cayte Mendez] Meet the 2019 National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Class The chair of the scholarship committee, Cayte Mendez, introduced the 2019 class with these remarks: Good morning, Mr. President and members of the board. It is my privilege to present to you today the thirty finalists in the 2019 National Federation of the Blind scholarship class. These folks hail from across the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. They have been selected because of their scholastic aptitude and leadership, and it is my honor to let them speak to you today. I will give you their full names, the state that they are hailing from (their home state), the state where they are attending school, and their vocational goals. [PHOTO CAPTION: Amy Albin] Amy Albin, New Jersey, New Jersey, Industrial Psychology: Hello, and thank you all for making this day possible. In psychology we study cognitive biases such as confirmation bias and ingroup-outgroup bias that affect our attitudes. My psychology major will give me the academic background to do what I've been doing already for years: promoting high expectations of blind people. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Makayla Bouchea] Makayla Bouchea, Georgia, Georgia, Business and Human Resources: Good morning, everybody. I'm just going to start out by saying human resources is not only hiring, firing, and training. It's also the ability to make sure that everybody has the resources they need to be successful in the workplace. As someone who was not given accommodations and had to go find her own technology throughout school, I don't want people to have to stress about that in the workplace. I talk about being a navel science 1-4 cadet all the time, because I was a big part of NJROTC. That program helped me to become a leader, a follower, and taking back all the information that I have learned from this convention to Georgia will definitely help. [PHOTO CAPTION: Tracy Boyd] Tracy Boyd, Oregon, Oregon, Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Good morning, Federation family. I am so grateful to be here and to be a part of this 2019 scholarship class. I have been a member of the National Federation for the past five years, and this organization has helped me raise the bar for myself. I am in my final year of my master's program, and I'm excited to reach my goal to work with blind veterans. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kaden Calahan] Kaden Calahan, New Mexico, New Mexico, High School Teacher: Good morning, Federation family. It is an honor and a privilege to be here today. One of the things that I think about as I go into education is the value and importance of mentorship and learning from others. I have tremendous mentors in the National Federation of the Blind, tremendous people who push the expectations higher every day. I feel confident now-this is my third major change-that education is the place I want to be. I want to push that knowledge on to those that I can help most. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Rashid D?me] Rashid D?me, Michigan, Michigan, Human Rights or International Law: Good morning, marhaban, na nga def, bonjour. Aside from education, a portion of my time is spent advocating for equity, not only for individuals with disabilities but other identities as well. I work with local social justice initiatives learning about interfunctionalities of programs. With my compassion for humanity I truly believe in helping people help themselves. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Eric Duffy] Eric Duffy, Ohio, Ohio, Vocational Rehabilitation Administration: Good morning, fellow Federationists. Thirty-five years ago I became a part of the Federation family. At a very young age you helped me begin to define my understanding of what blindness is and what it is not, and that is what I will take into my career as a rehabilitation professional-our understanding of blindness. Together we will build a great agency somewhere in this country. [PHOTO CAPTION: Skye Dunfield] Skye Dunfield, Nevada, Nevada, Victim Advocate: Hi, everyone, and thank you so much for having us here as a scholarship class. You know, when I was first going to come to this convention, I wrote out a whole spiel. And then I came here, and I learned something: I learned that I have a lot to learn, and I have an entire family here to support me, and it's going to be an amazing resource as I work my way up in my education, my career, and my life. I just want to say thank you so much. Normally I'm nervous, but right now, talking to all of you, I'm not because I know I have my whole family here in front of me. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Emily Eagle] Emily Eagle, Texas, Indiana, Disability Rights Attorney: My desire to be an advocate has been reinforced by two recent experiences: first, my internship with the State Department's international disability rights team, where I was inspired by international advocates, many of whom were fighting for even the slightest access to an education for those with disabilities. Then there was my involvement in the formation of Notre Dame's first disability advocacy organization, where it's been amazing to see the united voices of a very few build such meaningful bridges. However this convention has reminded me that we are so, so far from alone. Thanks y'all. [PHOTO CAPTION: Amy Hatten] Amy Hatten, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Rehab Counseling: Good morning, fellow Federationists. As a future rehabilitation counselor, I want to help individuals with disabilities with advocacy, breaking down the barriers, and to find the integrated, competitive employment like this organization has helped me do for myself. I want to bring the love, hope, and determination to all my future consumers and clients like this organization has brought to my life. [PHOTO CAPTION: Maureen Hayden] Maureen Hayden, Pennsylvania, Texas, Research or Academia in Marine Biology: Good morning, fellow Federationists, or as we say at Texas A&M, howdy. As a doctoral student pursuing my career in marine biology, I hope to work with individuals who are visually impaired or blind in discovering their own passion for STEM careers. I'm already active in this goal as a Learning Ally college success program mentor as well as an industry mentor for the Project POEM program funded by the National Science Foundation. If there's one thing I've learned, it's never say never. [PHOTO CAPTION: Gene Kim] Gene Kim, California, California, Engineering: Good morning, fellow Federationists, or as we say in California, hello. I will not lie. Up until last week engineering has been a very daunting task to me, a daunting career that I want to pursue. I doubted myself; I thought I would not be able to do it. After all I've only been blind for two-and-a-half years. I don't know Braille skills yet; I don't know all of these different tactics that are more efficient. But coming to this convention, which is my first, has given me a complete 180 in that direction. I now have met so many people who have accomplished so many great things, who have been so supportive to me, and who helped me conquer this fear and anxiety. So with this newfound confidence in my own blindness, I am eager to take the challenge that is before me, and I am eager to design technologies that will allow us to live more accessible lives and live the lives that we want, and help me live the life that I want, which is to express and share the love and empowerment that you have given me. Thank you, my new Federation family. [PHOTO CAPTION: Jenelle Landgraf] Jenelle Landgraf, Washington, Washington, Therapist: Thank you. Those of us who share the characteristic of blindness are aware of the dominant ableist norms that can lead to feelings of shame. One shame-resilience factor that won't surprise the Federation family at all is connection with other people who share the same disability. This research has opened a door of understanding for my future patients rather than stigmatizing people as is often done in mental health care. I am passionate about strengthening mental health care services because it impacts all of us. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Nina Marranca] Nina Marranca, New York, New York, Clinical Psychology: Good morning, Federation family. When I was thinking about what to speak about today- which is terrifying-I only have thirty seconds, and I talk way too much- this quote honestly came to mind: "Chase your dreams with a passion that makes it impossible for your fears to keep up." As President Riccobono has said, this is an investment. This is an investment in me, in my future, in my ability to succeed and to represent every single person in this room so that we can live the lives we want. And, honestly, it's a little terrifying, because it's like, wow, okay. But honestly it's a huge honor because not everybody gets to say that they went through this program, and I'm so happy to be here. Thank you guys so much. [PHOTO CAPTION: Ana Martinez-Larumbe] Ana Martinez-Larumbe, Louisiana, Louisiana, Social Work: Good morning, guys. Helping others and bringing people closer to Christ are my biggest passions, and if I can combine both, even better. As a social worker I want to help children who have been abused, neglected, or traumatized. I want to get a second degree in divinity, so I'm hoping to open my own facility and help children who are struggling with life situations while at the same time bringing them closer to Christ and share with them the joy of living a life with Him. [PHOTO CAPTION: Lucas Mebane] Lucas Mebane, North Carolina, North Carolina, Biomedical Engineer: Good morning, Federation family. I'm delighted and honored to receive this award. With biomedical engineering I want to help make people's lives better by designing new technologies and fulfilling the slogan of the NFB by living the life I want to live. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Gerald Meredith] Gerald Meredith, Virginia, Virginia, Professor of Criminal Justice: Good morning, my Federation family. With criminal justice we study theory. I have twenty-five years of practical experience in the field of criminal justice and corrections and security. I want to marry these two, the theory and the practical, and teach criminal justice on the collegiate level and show that these two can work together. Thank you. I am grateful to be here. [PHOTO CAPTION: Pablo Morales] Pablo Morales, North Carolina, North Carolina, Business and Management: Good morning, NFB family. I already have a degree in computers. Right now I am a senior student in business and economics, so my goal for the future is to have a master's in information and technology management. My professional goal is to improve the value of our organization products and services and also make accessibility a competitive advantage. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kaylee Nielson] Kaylee Nielson, Arizona, Massachusetts, Business Journalism: Thank you. About six years ago I became a member of the blind community, and it's been a learning curve ever since. Skills like advocacy, independence, and creative problem-solving have served me beyond striving for equality. These skills have helped me become editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, president of national honor society, and an admitted student at Wellesley College for the fall. My blindness does not define me, but it is an important part of my story and my narrative. Luckily for me the Federation shares this feeling. I am honored to be here. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Erin Olsen] Erin Olsen, Idaho, Idaho, Instructional Design for Vulnerable Populations: Well, being on the upper end of that age range, I'm going to try to be with my younger class members and try to say "wassup, NFB." My passion has always been knowing people, finding needs, identifying niches, and then trying to find ways to fix them. And I was able to do that for the last twenty years or so. Then I hit a couple little road bumps. One was blindness, and the second, within just a few months, was a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. When I got my act together, I said, "Huh, guess I need some new skills." So I got some new skills through some excellent training, and then I found my NFB family sitting to my left, the fantastic Idaho affiliate-let's give a shout out Idaho, [cheers] thank you. The skills were the foundation, but my affiliate gave me the support that I needed to get through some pretty rough times and of course introduced me to all of you and the fantastic people on the stage behind me. What I look forward to is continuing with what I call "being a blur," and yes, there's multiple meanings to that. But it's my philosophy and that is for all of us to live beyond living under restrictions. Thank you very much; have a fantastic rest of your convention. [PHOTO CAPTION: Rachel Ooi] Rachel Ooi, Tennessee, North Carolina, Law: First of all, thank you so much to all who made this possible. I am having such a great time at convention, and it's only Tuesday. As an intersectionally-diverse person (Singaporean, Japanese, blind, and a woman) I aspire to bring a unique cultural landscape to all aspects of my life. I aspire to be an attorney where I bring an equitable education and equal rights to all those who are underrepresented to help them live the lives they want. I believe that the National Federation of the Blind will help me in this goal. [PHOTO CAPTION: Amelia Palmer] Amelia Palmer, Idaho, Idaho, Electrical Engineering: To the futures we've all chosen, for the independence we fight for, and the dreams of jobs, dreams of grades, the prospects of dependence fade. Together we stand to make our worth known. [PHOTO CAPTION: Aracely Rosillo] Aracely Rosillo, Georgia, Georgia, Vision Rehab Therapist: Hello, everybody. I am currently studying psychology, and I'm pursuing my bachelor's degree. My career goal is to become an independent contracting vision rehabilitation therapist. First of all because I would love to make my own schedule and not listen to anybody else, but also because it would let me reach out into the immigrant community, something that is really close to my heart as a Latina woman. A lot of people in the immigrant community are unable to receive services like this, so I want to be able to work with them and help them so that they can achieve and be the best they can be. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Heather Schey] Heather Schey, Rhode Island, Rhode Island, Human Services: Good morning, everybody. I first want to say thank you for this amazing opportunity. I never thought I would be here today. I also want to share that when I started my journey in life-I'm a little bit older than some of the others here, too-I didn't have a voice. It was hard for me to find my voice, my path in life. So from attending a conference all by myself, not knowing one person a few years ago, that challenged me. I found a little bit of my voice. Then I recently-before I attended this conference-flew away the week before. I was just inducted as the first blind president of my local Lions Club. My job and my human services degree will also help me to give others a voice. I work at an agency that assists people with disabilities to remain independent and living on their own. I am excited to say that with this degree I can actually become more involved one-on-one with the consumers, and that will help me give them more of a voice learning how to advocate for themselves and to continue their life's journey so that they can have a successful life. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Vanessa Sheehan] Vanessa Sheehan, Arizona, Arizona, Manuscript Editor: Hello. For anyone who does not know what a manuscript editor is, it is a person who works with authors before their book is published. So books are probably one of the most important things in my life. When I lost my vision a few years ago, my first priority was finding a way to read using Braille, BARD, and other accessible methods. I want to be able to help people who are just as passionate about writing as I am to put out books that can make people just as passionate about reading as I am, and I'd like to thank the NFB for helping me to get closer to that goal. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Brandon Shin] Brandon Shin, California, California, Law or PhD in English: I am an imperfectionist; I have had my share of faults both metaphorically and physically. As such, life can be both a journey and a fight. Likewise, life at times cannot just throw you a lemon but can pull the pin and lob a grenade at you. During the aftermath of those explosions we find ourselves having a hard time getting back up. It is never a shame to fall, but it is a shame to fall and never get back up. Life never plays fair, life will never fight fair, and in the words of Brad Williams, "Life is not what should be, but life is what is." Life should be fair, life should be non- suffering, and everybody should not be blind, not be disabled, not sick. But we are blind, and we are here. I am a Federationist. Life can hit me as much as it wants; I can hit right back. Anything that threatens my development better hit hard because all I'm going to do is get back up and hit six times harder. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Derique Simon] Derique Simon, South Carolina, South Carolina, Law: Good morning, fellow Federationists. One year ago I was sitting where you guys are now as an LCB STEP student, and I came to a very disturbing discovery with myself: that I want to do better. I wanted to be better than what I was the day before and the week before that. I found amazing mentors who pushed me to think better, think smarter, and I discovered that I wanted to go into law. With law it's not just for the blind community, it's for every community, whether they be blind, deaf, etc., etc. And if it wasn't for my Federation family, I don't think I'd be here today; so I sincerely thank all of you, the scholarship committee, President Riccobono, and everyone for giving me this wonderful opportunity. [PHOTO CAPTION: Georgie Sydnor] Georgie Sydnor, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Transcriber and Teacher of Blind Students: Federation family! Whew, I'm nervous. I want to be a teacher of blind students because I know the power of high expectations-I don't believe in it. I know it for a fact. I see it in people around me, I feel it in my own life, and I'm ready to give back to our kids who will become our adults. I'm a very, very proud graduate of the Colorado Center for the Blind. I'm very, very proud to serve as the secretary of the Massachusetts affiliate. I'm very proud of the work we do in the Federation. I mean truly- when I was eighteen, nine years ago, the NFB changed my life, and it shapes it every day, and I'm so, so honored to be here. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Alicia Ucciferri] Alicia Ucciferri, Texas, Texas, Civil Rights or Human Rights Attorney: Good morning. I'm planning to study law for largely the same reason that I studied vocal performance before this. I believe that one of the reasons I exist is to communicate reality in ways that are accurate, beautiful, and convincing. Law is a means just like singing was a means. The goal is equity, that every single one of us be on the same playing field in society, that every single person in this room would get to live in a world in which we can entirely participate and genuinely flourish. Thank you Federationists for trusting and enabling me to fight for that alongside you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Madelyn Walker] Madelyn Walker, Texas, Mississippi, Pharmaceutical Oncology: Good morning, my fellow Federationists. I'm honored to be here in front of you today. When I first lost my vision, I thought my life was over. I only heard what I couldn't do. But through examples, leadership, and encouragement of people in this organization in our community, I learned that the only thing stopping me was me. So in spite of that statement I organized a community day of service, blood drives, and raised over $60,000 for cancer research. This statement is all to say that I hope to encourage others, as you all have encouraged me, to overcome any obstacle in their path. Thank you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Ryan Wullschleger] Ryan Wullschleger, California, California, Attorney: Hello, everyone, my name is Ryan. I'm a little nervous here. I've been blind just a few years, and through those couple of years I haven't met many in the community. I think it's partially because of me being nervous to maybe even admit that things are different. But since I've been at this conference, I've been welcomed. People have treated me so well, and this won't be the last conference. I thank everyone here for that. I thank the committee for accepting me, not just because of the scholarship, but because of you guys. So thank you for everything. At the banquet Emily Eagle won the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship. Here is what she had to say: Hi, everyone. Thank you so much. I genuinely never thought I would be in this position. I would like to begin by thanking President Riccobono, the scholarship committee, sponsors, and a special thank you to my mentors who made this week seamless and put me at ease. This is my first NFB convention, and in large part it's my first genuine exposure to the National Federation of the Blind. And to say that this week is transformative is an extreme understatement. I genuinely hope that I can continue to contribute to this organization meaningfully throughout my life. I'm so grateful for the lessons I've learned, the growth that I've experienced, the beautiful friends that I've made, and especially for this extremely generous scholarship which is genuinely life changing. [applause] Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. I genuinely really appreciate it. I really could go on and on about how amazing this experience has been, but I know that no words will be sufficient to express just how incredible it's been. So I will simply finish by humbly saying thank you to the National Federation of the Blind for enabling me to live the life that I want. Thank you. [applause, cheers] Following is a complete list of 2019 scholarship finalists and the awards they received. In addition to their scholarship, each student received a plaque and a $1,000 cash award from inventor and futurist Dr. Ray Kurzweil, an Acer Chromebook laptop and a $1,000 cash award from Google, a JAWS or Zoomtext license from Vispero, a $1,500 voucher toward the purchase of a Talking LabQuest from Independence Science, and nine months of service from Aira, for a total award for each winner with a minimum value exceeding $5,000. $3,000 NFB Scholarship (16): Amy Albin, Kaden Calahan, Amy Hatten, Jenelle Landgraf, Nina Marranca, Lucas Mebane, Gerald Meredith, Pablo Morales, Rachel Ooi, Amelia Palmer, Aracely Rosillo, Heather Schey, Brandon Shin, Derique Simon, Georgie Sydnor, and Ryan Wullschleger $3,000 Charles and Betty Allen Scholarship: Eric Duffy $3,000 Dr. Adrienne Asch Memorial Scholarship: Kaylee Nielson $3,000 Edith R. and Alvin J. Domroe Foundation Scholarship: Ana Martinez Larumbe $3,000 Janette C. Eyerly Scholarship: Vanessa Sheehan $3,000 Charles and Melba T. Owen Scholarship: Maureen Hayden $3,000 E.U. and Gene Parker Scholarship: Makayla Bouchea $5,000 JAWS for Windows Scholarship: Alicia Ucciferri $5,000 NFB STEM Scholarship: Madelyn Walker $5,000 Pearson Scholarship: Erin Olsen $5,000 Mimi and Marvin Sandler Scholarship: Rashid D?me $8,000 Oracle Scholarship for Excellence in Computer Science: Gene Kim $8,000 Oracle Scholarship for Excellence in a STEM Field: Tracy Boyd $10,000 Charles and Melba T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Skye Dunfield ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Mark A. Riccobono] Choice, Exploration, and Resistance: The Road to Freedom for the Blind An Address Delivered by Mark A. Riccobono, President At the Banquet of the Annual Convention Of the National Federation of the Blind Las Vegas, Nevada July 12, 2019 Freedom: the quality or state of being free, such as the absence of constraint in choice or action. Freedom: a widely celebrated concept but one that is often taken for granted by those privileged to have the most of it. Freedom: a standard built upon the benefit of choice. The poet Robert Frost wrote a number of works about choice. The most well-known is "The Road Not Taken" in which a choice is offered between two roads-one seemingly safer, but the other with more opportunities for adventure. The poem ends with these often-quoted lines: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Sometimes the choices are this simple, while other times they are significantly more complex. Without thoughtful reflection we may find no true choices at all. Frost wrote another poem about choice entitled, "The Armful," which reads: For every parcel I stoop down to seize I lose some other off my arms and knees, And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns- Extremes too hard to comprehend at once, Yet nothing I should care to leave behind. With all I have to hold with hand and mind And heart, if need be, I will do my best To keep their building balanced at my breast. I crouch down to prevent them as they fall; Then sit down in the middle of them all. I had to drop the armful in the road And try to stack them in a better load. This evening we take a brief moment in our march to freedom to review the choices that are in front of us. We do so with the knowledge that we represent the most empowered blind people in the history of mankind. We have the greatest range of choices available to us because of the progress we have made over the past three-quarters of a century in the organized blind movement. Yet choices add complexity to our work. If we measure our freedom by comparing where we have been to where we are today, our current choices appear excellent. However, if our comparison uses where we want to be as our benchmark, our current choices are inadequate. If we believe equality is not yet ours, then we must make a conscious choice to continue our march to freedom. How does choice influence the freedom we seek as blind people, which choices are essential, and how do we take ownership of the choices for our future? In the history of humanity the experience of the blind has largely not been characterized by the positive aspects associated with freedom. We have been constrained in choice and action, prevented from developing full independence, and exempted from participating in the responsibilities that come with the rights of freedom. For us no real choice existed. The future was thought to be determined. The systems were put in place to ensure that we were properly cared for by institutions. That was until a fundamental change altered the direction of our freedom. Blind people began to make choices for themselves and to align those choices to the freedom they wanted in the world. This change-like all revolutions-was neither an accident nor a certainty in outcome. It took hope, determination, and consistent choices to break the shackles and establish a new path. On November 16, 1940, Jacobus tenBroek-a blind scholar of the United States Constitution and the first President of the National Federation of the Blind-declared our intention to secure freedom for the blind by calling "for creating the machinery which will unify the action and concentrate the energies of the blind, for an instrument through which the blind of the nation can speak to Congress and the public in a voice that will be heard and command attention." Since that declaration in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, we have made the choice to determine what freedom means. We the blind, with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and intersectionalities, have chosen to come together to create a choir of freedom. When we say let freedom ring, we mean let us build the National Federation of the Blind. Our road to freedom is shaped by the choices that individual blind people make and how we bring those efforts together into a unified force. Each generation of our movement attempts to expand choices for the one that follows. Dr. tenBroek had a brilliant understanding of the law but struggled to secure employment at a university. Yet, his tenure at the University of California at Berkeley was, among other things, a demonstration of progress. His own mentor, Dr. Newel Perry, graduated from the California School for the Blind and immediately dedicated himself to securing a doctorate of philosophy in mathematics with the goal of working at a university. Unable to secure employment in academia due to his blindness, Dr. Perry eventually made the choice to return to the California School for the Blind as an instructor, where he shaped the lives of dozens of future blind leaders by passing on the kernels of knowledge that became the basis for the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind. While Dr. Perry faced great adversity with few choices, he did not allow his spirit to be broken. He consistently chose a path that brought him closer to freedom for the blind. The result was more choices for the blind of tenBroek's generation. Kenneth Jernigan was the second dynamic and long-term President of the National Federation of the Blind, but, before he knew the organization, he also was limited in his choices. He had thought that he might pursue the study of law in the early 1940s, but his rehabilitation counselor told him while he had the freedom to choose any course of study, the agency would not pay the costs for a blind person to study law. This type of choice is not far from the treatment modern-day rehabilitation clients receive. Dr. Jernigan later met the National Federation of the Blind and learned that, with the support of the Federation family, his choices could be different. He went on to build a brilliant career as a teacher and administrator of programs for the blind. He benefited from the choices made by the early marchers in our movement, thus allowing him to contribute by building the nation's best blindness programs based on the understanding he gained through the National Federation of the Blind. What is the understanding of the National Federation of the Blind? The fundamental building block is the development of a positive self-belief within the individual blind person. That self-belief system is guided by the body of knowledge collected and distilled into action by the members of our organization. Generally referred to as the Federation philosophy, it is the most misunderstood component of our march to freedom. We cannot adequately talk about choice unless we reflect on our philosophy about blindness. Our philosophy is a collective understanding about the capacity of blind people and our place in society. While certain aspects of it have been documented in the Federation's extensive publications, the understanding grows and evolves based upon blind people living their lives with confidence and sharing their experiences with others. Those who do not bother to examine our philosophy in detail portray it as an edict of commandments that the best blind people are expected to follow. While there are some guiding principles-such as understanding blindness as a characteristic that does not define an individual-it is not a list of things a blind person should or should not do. Our philosophy is also falsely portrayed as a path that only the highly skilled blind person can make actionable in their life. Based on the broad cross-section of blind people I know living this philosophy in their lives daily, I find no evidence that this is true. What is true is the more that people apply the Federation philosophy in their lives, the more choices they open for themselves. The Federation philosophy empowers us all with choices, and we strive for all blind individuals to enjoy the freedom of those choices. To quote Dr. Jernigan from his speech entitled, "The Nature of Independence," "Above all, independence means choices, and the power to make those choices stick. We are getting that power, and we intend to have more of it. That is why we have organized. That is why we have the National Federation of the Blind." If our philosophy is not merely a list of boxes to be checked and if it is a living body of knowledge, then consistent attention to our understanding is required for progress. This is why choosing to build a meaningful construction of blindness within ourselves remains one of the most important choices we can make. Do you make that conscious choice daily? Before I met the National Federation of the Blind, I honestly believed that blindness did not play a major factor in my life because I pretended I was not a blind person. My self-belief was a result of years of conditioning that taught me to over-rely on the small amount of eyesight that I had. My actions were largely driven by what I could or could not see, but I rationalized my choices as though they had nothing to do with my blindness. I was faking it, and I was best at fooling myself. I told myself that I did not go places because I was uninterested in them, that I did not pursue work opportunities because they were beneath my standards for myself, and that I could do anything as long as I decided it was something I wanted to do. I believed that I was making a choice driven by my real desires. Yet my choices were often uninformed, which further reinforced the low expectations I had internalized-a constant downward cycle. When I was a senior in high school, the teacher of blind students offered to teach me Braille if I wanted to learn it. The choice was mine. Why would I want to learn Braille, what would I do with it, and what benefit would it have in my life? Had I known to ask these questions, my choices would have been more clearly understood. Instead, I was permitted to make an uninformed choice that rejected a tool that would have expanded my options. My choice confirmed what I had been conditioned to believe-I was different from all of those other people who had no choice but to use Braille. I lived in a pattern of denial that gave me the illusion of freedom and independence. When I met the National Federation of the Blind in the summer of 1996, it gave me hope for my future, but could what the Federation said about freedom for the blind be true in my life? I faced some difficult choices. The easy road was to adhere to the understanding I already possessed-it was comfortable, I had strategies to fake my way through, and I could avoid the fear of uncertainty. It was also easy to find examples in society to confirm that it was not respectable to be blind and that vision was a requirement for success. Absent the skills and the true understanding of blindness, justifying my low expectations was a well-worn path. The harder road was the one I did not know, the one I observed the members of the National Federation of the Blind traveling. It offered possibilities, but exposure to the Federation philosophy would challenge me to rebuild my understanding. It would be uncomfortable, frustrating, and maybe even painful. The examples of why it was worth the effort were evident in the lives of Federationists. More importantly, they told me they would be with me on the journey, they would share in my ups and downs, and they would be there for as far as I chose to go. Breaking my previous instincts and internalizing the elements of freedom found in the Federation philosophy has taken a lot of work. Actually, it continues to take effort every day. It is a journey, not a destination; a journey for which we have not yet found the limits. Previously I only had the perception of choice. When I made the real commitment to explore the collective understanding of the Federation in both my heart and mind, my choices began to grow exponentially. Each time I thought I had it figured out, the Federation has presented a new choice- another opportunity to raise the expectations for myself and for others. What makes all the difference in pursuing even greater freedom is the love, hope, and determination I share with my sisters and brothers in the National Federation of the Blind. One of the people I have been blessed to share with in this movement is Marc Maurer, the longest-serving President of the National Federation of the Blind. He began to learn about choices as a student in Dr. Jernigan's programs. Under Dr. Maurer's leadership, choices for blind people expanded significantly, including the development of our NFB training centers and the establishment of the only research and training institute run by the blind-our Jernigan Institute in Baltimore. Shortly before we opened the doors of our institute, Dr. Maurer asked me to come develop educational programs for the Federation. By this time, I had a good understanding of what I could do as a blind person, but Dr. Maurer challenged me to recognize that there were more choices. In our programs at the institute we often teach blind people how to operate a chainsaw. We do so because it teaches some very valuable lessons about our internal beliefs and fears around blindness. When a class was offered, Dr. Maurer was the teacher. One day he subtly mentioned that we needed to find some more teachers. The choice was mine: learn to teach or find some other instructors. I was confident I could run the chainsaw safely-I had done so many times. Did I believe I could teach it safely and competently? I was very uncertain about taking that risk, but Dr. Maurer believed in me. Tonight, I am proud to say there are a number of people in this room who think fondly of their choice to take the chainsaw class under blindfold with me as the teacher. The National Federation of the Blind empowers us with choice, and choice is fundamental to freedom. That is why when we say let freedom ring, we mean let us build the National Federation of the Blind. As many have mused, "Freedom cannot be granted. It must be taken," and the challenge we face daily as blind people is to align our choices to the freedom we desire for blind people. Consider just one example, the airport. When a blind person steps into the airport they are faced with a choice-do I turn myself over to the hands of the assistance program personnel to be treated like a piece of luggage, or do I exercise my independence and encounter the choices ahead? Let me pause to say that I do not offer these choices as right or wrong alternatives. I offer them to illustrate that the choices we make contribute to our freedom as defined by blind people or to our freedom as limited by the misunderstanding of others. If you have no blindness skills or know nothing of the Federation philosophy, you do not perceive you have any choice beyond using assistance. Just knowing that blind people navigate airports independently does not automatically give you the choice to do so either. You need to know something about the techniques and to be prepared to practice them-in the airport this means having enough time before your plane takes off. Furthermore, you need to develop enough experience to understand which techniques work best in which situations and when assistance is or is not useful. All of that takes creating choices for yourself and finding ways to exercise those choices. The goal is not perfection but rather working toward making an informed choice that works for you and is built upon, and contributes to, the diverse experience of thousands of other blind people. There are hundreds of other choices that blind people face in the airport. At the security checkpoint: Give over your cane and let the security staff push and pull you, or negotiate with them about the rules and what will best facilitate us moving with dignity through the process? After security: Explore the amenities of the airport (free roaming blind people always attract attention), or settle in at the gate where we are not likely to be physically handled as much? At the gate: Answer the questions- what's your name, who are you with, where are you going, can I see your boarding pass? Or employ some other strategy to avoid the harassment? Pre- board or board at the appointed time? On the airplane: Keep your cane with you or let them take it? And do you suffer the individual safety briefing that is forced upon you or vigorously decline it? In this last example, the airline personnel are almost certain to tell you: "We are required to do this for you." In other words, you have no choice. If our goal is freedom defined by our expectations, those being equal treatment and full participation, then the Federation philosophy encourages us to make choices that point us toward that goal. It does not dictate that we choose the same thing all of the time, but it does encourage us to move consistently toward the freedom we want to have. The alternative choice is to let others define what freedom means for us, and that is a choice that limits our future. An important element of defining freedom on our terms is choosing to share our understanding of blindness with the general public. I grow weary of explaining why going up an escalator is not amazing and that my standing in one place does not mean I am lost, confused, or waiting for my sighted assistant to retrieve me. However, I try to remember that my choice-to respond with joy or anger-will contribute to how my freedom is determined. In the National Federation of the Blind, we know that educating the public sometimes means having the strength to firmly yet politely assert our equality. Despite our best efforts, this causes conflict. While we should not take every incident as an attack on our freedom, we should determine the boundaries for ourselves. For me, those boundaries are always triggered when a mysterious hand silently grabs me. Were it to prevent me from falling off a cliff or getting hit by a moving vehicle, I would most certainly greet it with a thank you. However, it is almost always the result of the perception of an unknown individual who is concerned that I am not going where they think I should or to prevent my cane, which is intended to find things, from touching some object in front of me. These situations often create an opportunity for further conversation about expectations, but occasionally my unwillingness to be treated like an object for public handling creates conflict. In the effort to educate the public, we can choose our approach, but we cannot choose how others will react to the freedom we seek for ourselves. In our enthusiasm to define freedom for ourselves, we must continue to choose to meet other blind people where they are today. Our philosophy is not a box to be checked; it is a choice that requires exploration, support, and constant effort. In order for all blind people to enjoy the benefits of that choice, we must first help them and their families understand that the choice is available, then support them as they navigate the complexities of freedom. Reaching blind people from diverse backgrounds and with characteristics different from our own will challenge us to build new understanding into our philosophy. All of this will advance our march to freedom in the National Federation of the Blind. Once we have made the choice for ourselves we must ensure that the systems of our nation are consistent with the freedom we seek. We start with the premise that blind people are equal and, therefore, deserve equal treatment under the law. We also assert that we require equity within society to overcome the disadvantages of artificial barriers that bar us from full participation. Consider the most fundamental activity within the American democracy- the right to vote. The Constitution of the United States did not originally define who was permitted to vote, leaving the determination to individual states. In general, this meant white males who owned property. Four of the amendments to the Constitution clarify voting rights by stating that these rights cannot be denied or abridged based on certain characteristics: "race, color, or previous condition of servitude," the 15th Amendment; "on account of sex," the 19th Amendment; "by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax," the 24th Amendment; and "on account of age" (for those who are eighteen years of age or older), the 26th Amendment. The Constitution does not address voting by people with disabilities, and thus second-class systems of access have been implemented. Since 1940 the National Federation of the Blind has worked to eliminate these voting inequalities. We secured significant national gains with the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. This act ensured that the blind would cast their votes, "in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters," through nonvisually accessible electronic voting machines. In the decade after the act was passed, our monitoring efforts recorded steady progress in the ability of blind people to vote privately and independently at public polling places. We then began to seek equal access to absentee voting. In the state of Maryland, the board of elections argued that blind people had equal access to a method of voting (physical polling locations), and that the law did not require equal access to all of the voting options. We argued that equal access means having an equal opportunity to choose from the same range of options as all other voters. The court upheld our definition of freedom, choice is now the standard of equality, and it is due to the collective action of the National Federation of the Blind. Our progress is threatened as many states are now responding to concerns about security in voting by returning to printed paper ballots. This has caused the return of segregated voting systems for the blind, which are being justified with the claim that both accessibility and security cannot be achieved. We say that a nation that can put a man on the moon and that has the greatest resources for technological innovation in the world can certainly provide equal access to a secure voting system for all of its citizens. We will never again choose to permit our voting rights to be denied or abridged. We have the power to define freedom for ourselves, and we intend to make it reality. Even if it takes an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, we will have equality in the American democracy. Education is another example of limited choices for the blind. When blind children come to the public classroom, they are automatically sent to a second-class system of education. While the sighted children receive books, the educators must convene a meeting to decide if the blind children should receive Braille books. While the sighted children are tested using the latest technologies, the team is forced to choose a second-class alternative for the blind because the technology is not accessible. While the sighted child may show up at the school and move about freely, the educators sometimes require blind children to use a specific type of cane- generally short and heavy-and frequently limit when and where the blind child may have that cane. Of course, this is just for the safety of the sighted children in the school. These constructs of equal education are neither free nor appropriate. The cost to blind children is their freedom and their right to equal opportunity. We say set our blind children free. The time has come for us to redefine free and appropriate education for the blind. We will no longer tolerate the slavery of special education systems. Let freedom ring, and let the National Federation of the Blind lead the way in offering the choices of the future. The laws of the land tell us that we have the freedom to seek equal employment opportunities, yet our choices are not comparable to other Americans. We are not guaranteed the right to a minimum wage throughout the nation. We cannot apply for positions where the job applications use inaccessible screening tools. What choices do we have when we manage to secure a job where the workplace systems discriminate against those without vision? Many blind people are in jobs where they have no chance of advancement unless they choose to confront their employers regarding the discriminatory artificial barriers they face. Second-class treatment or unemployment-that is the definition of Hobson's choice. The rehabilitation systems are intended to provide equity in the process of getting people with disabilities into the workforce. Yet more and more blind people struggle to get access to quality training. The rehabilitation regulations, due to our efforts, require informed choice to ensure that blind people are provided adequate information about the training options available. However, the state agencies often tell us, "Here are all the choices, but remember we will only pay for the state's preferred vendor." No real choices are offered by the very system that is intended to enhance our independence; and if you are a blind person from certain racial or socioeconomic circumstances, you can expect to face additional challenges in accessing services. Specialized employment programs for the blind have, after decades of advocacy by us, raised their wages and improved their working conditions to a point where they want us to know their jobs are good jobs. These programs argue that blind people choose to work in these positions over jobs with other employers as if all of those blind people had equal choices in the economy. When we suggest to these programs that they need to go further to advance equality for the blind, such as creating opportunities for blind people to supervise the programs not just work for them, they suggest that the choices are limited by federal regulations, not employer practices. We can either choose the paths designated by the employers or design our own future, and we choose freedom for the blind. As observed in this convention, we are working closely with a diverse range of companies and organizations on partnerships to raise the expectations for the blind in this nation. Despite this progress, we have not yet advanced far enough on our road to freedom to avoid all conflicts. There are those who simply do not believe what we do about blindness. There are those who fear we are pushing too hard for change. There are those who believe that conflict is to be avoided at any cost. To these individuals, we say that we do not seek confrontation as a matter of course. We seek freedom for the blind as defined by our growing expectations for equality. When we can combine our efforts with others to build that future, we choose that path. However, if our freedom is in question, we are not afraid to choose confrontation if it is necessary to go the rest of the way to equality. For nearly eight decades we have committed to take freedom for ourselves, to own it, shape it, and strengthen it into a powerful force that allows all blind people to enjoy the full rights and responsibilities of our nation. Our most important choice is the one we reaffirm here this evening. We choose to participate actively in the National Federation of the Blind. We do so because it makes a difference to us as individuals and to the community of blind people for whom we seek freedom. Some choose not to march with us. Some make that choice because they misunderstand what we represent. Others make that choice because they fear the conflict that might be required. Still others do not know that the choice is available to them or, if they do know, they do not understand what it will mean in their own lives. We welcome all blind people who have not yet found the freedom that comes from choosing to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind to join our family. We need you, and our experience is that you will benefit by being part of us. We choose to leave the door open, and we seek new ways to reach more blind people to contribute to our freedom. We, who have already committed to our collective freedom, re-commit to sharing our understanding with everyone. We know how the road to freedom is determined, and we have not yet found the limits of where that road will take us. Every day we have more choices than the day before because of the progress of the National Federation of the Blind. We pause in the road and reset our load knowing that we must make a conscience choice daily: settle for where we are or face the challenge of going the rest of the way. To rewrite the conclusion of Frost's poem to describe the nature of our movement since 1940: Two freedoms diverge into the future, and we- We chose the one to set the blind free, And that has made all the difference. My Federation family, while progress offers choices, we must not forget that our most important choice is to continue our march together- that will make all the difference in our freedom. We choose to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind. We choose to speak for ourselves. We choose to raise expectations. We choose to share our understanding with the world. We choose to transform our dreams into reality. We choose to explore the limits. We choose what is essential for our equality, not what is easy. We choose, with love, hope, and determination, to let our freedom ring. Let us go build the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: James Gashel] [PHOTO/CAPTION: The Bolotin Award Winners from left to right: Libra Robinson, Raquel O'Neill, Kevin Brousard, Michael Nye, Ed Rogers, and Bolotin Award chairman, Jim Gashel] Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards presented by James Gashel Thank you, Mr. President. In Hawaii, which is where I live now, we use the term "ohana" to refer to our extended family. So to you I say, greetings my Federation ohana. [applause] This is the twelfth year for the Jacob Bolotin Awards. These awards are made possible with help from the Santa Barbara Foundation and the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust. To date we have presented $630,000 to fifty-nine recipients. Five new recipients will be added this year. [applause] Jacob Bolotin was a medical doctor. He specialized in diseases of the heart and lungs. As a child he attended and then he graduated from the Illinois School for the Blind. He wasn't just kind of hard of seeing; Bolotin was really, really blind. And he didn't do anything at all to try to hide the fact that he was blind. He was proud that he was blind. He practiced medicine in Chicago, and he lived thirty-six years, from 1888 to 1924. His story has been told by his niece Rosalind Perlman. The biography, called The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story is something you can buy in print or in audio CD on Amazon, or you can just get it free at the NLS. You all need to read this book. No matter if you're sighted or blind, it's going to give you some new perspectives and change some of the perspectives you already have. Jacob Bolotin's story defines what it means to live the life you want. Students of today take note: Bolotin had no rehabilitation, he had no agency for the blind to deal with, he had no ADA, he had no section 504, and he had no NFB to back him up. He had himself and his own determination. But, in the spirit of Newel Perry, Jacobus tenBroek, Kenneth Jernigan, Marc Maurer, and Mark Riccobono, Jacob Bolotin broke down barriers and blazed new trails for us to follow. So in every way that counts he was in fact if not in name a Federationist before the Federation itself existed. The annual awards program we conduct keeps Dr. Bolotin's memory alive by recognizing exemplary people and projects that work on behalf of the blind. The awards include a cash prize for each recipient along with an engraved commemorative plaque and a medallion. The medallion is especially inscribed for the purpose. Here's the text that appears on the plaque: Presented to [name of the recipient] by the National Federation of the Blind and the Santa Barbara Foundation July 2019 The medallion suspended above the plaque has the NFB logo on the obverse side and says, "The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award/Celebrating Achievement, Creating Opportunity." On the reverse side of the medallion you have Dr. Bolotin's bust appearing and the inscribed words as follows: "Dr. Jacob Bolotin/1888-1924/Celebrating his Life/The Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust." Audio Introduction: Ladies and Gentlemen, the National Federation of the Blind is proud to introduce the 2019 recipients of our Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards. These five individuals and organizations have broken down barriers faced by blind people in innovative ways, changed negative perceptions of blindness and blind people, and pushed past existing boundaries to inspire blind people to achieve new heights. Our two individual winners are: Libra Robinson, CEO and owner of N'Sight VIP Services of Washington, DC, teaching blindness skills to seniors and other people losing vision. Libra Robinson: What we do in the Washington, DC, area is provide computer training for the blind and visually impaired using the screen reader JAWS. I also teach intermediate Braille; that's just the basic, it's called the Braille Club. It's just the basic Braille letters and alphabet and words. I also have what is called the smartphone Bootcamp in which I teach alongside another gentleman. We teach the smartphone as well as iPhone instructions for blind and visually impaired persons. So often our seniors are left out when it comes down to rehabilitation services because they feel that they don't need computer skills or need to learn any kind of new technologies because they're beyond working age. With my program I'm able to teach students of all ages. Audio Narration: Michael Nye, artist, creator of the My Heart is Not Blind book and art exhibit. Michael Nye: The project is really two separate projects: it's a book printed by Trinity University Press, and it's also a traveling photography and audio exhibition. It's about understanding. It was really the greatest privilege of my life to spend seven years interviewing and photographing men and women, blind and visually impaired. I spent two to four days with each person. It takes time to tell a story, and it takes time to listen. And when it opened at the Witte Museum-it's a large museum in San Antonio- everyone in the exhibit speaks in their own voice, so there's an audio box and headphones underneath each large black-and-white portrait. Between 25 and 30,000 visitors came into the Witte, put on headphones, and listened. And these stories are not from a distance; they're close up; they're very intimate. I think that as I started this project, I really became an advocate and realized how incredibly unfair the blind and visually impaired are treated. Justice is about fairness, and it's really obscene the misunderstanding by the public of the capacity of all of us, but especially someone who is visually impaired. Audio Narration: The three initiatives and organizations receiving Bolotin Awards this year are: Bristol Braille Technology of the United Kingdom, creators of a new low-cost multi-line Braille display. Here is founder and managing director Ed Rogers: Ed Rogers: This is called the Canute 360. It's called 360 because it's a Braille e-reader with 360 cells. That's nine lines of Braille on one device, forty cells per line. As you can tell, that's a radical and quite revolutionary amount of Braille. It means that you can present spatial Braille information, even basic tactile diagrams. But, more importantly, you can present mathematics, music, tables, represent headings as being properly indented with white space, and be able to see two paragraphs, one above the other-it just opens up electronic Braille to a much wider range of users who previously had been restricted to paper Braille. The other exciting part of this for us is that it's brand-new technology that we designed ourselves in Bristol in the United Kingdom. It's very hard-the Braille itself is hard; it doesn't compress; it's not piezoelectric technology. And, because we've designed our own technology for this, the price of the Canute is going to be somewhere under-it's going to cost less than any single-line forty-cell Braille display, despite having 360 cells of Braille on it. Audio Narration: BlindConnect of Las Vegas, for establishing Angela's House, Nevada's only training center dedicated to serving adults who are blind or losing vision-founded in loving memory of BlindConnect board member Angela Hoffman. Here's BlindConnect President Raquel O'Neill: Audio Narration: BlindConnect has been in existence in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1998, and our original mission is really to provide Nevadans resources and information about vision loss as soon as it occurs in the early stages of eyesight conditions. Then, as we grew as an organization, we recognized the need for additional education and training for blind Nevadans. So now our mission is really to increase independence and self- sufficiency for blind Nevadans across the board. In the aftermath of Angela's loss, our organization and her family have been committed to finding a place-a training center in Nevada-where blind Nevadans can begin their journey of independence without having to leave home or leave their loved ones and supportive networks. Audio Narration: The United States Association of Blind Athletes for its National Fitness Challenges-here is USABA Programs and Finance Manager Kevin Brousard: Kevin Brousard: The USABA National Fitness Challenge purpose is to improve the health of blind Americans, and we use that in two main ways. The first thing we do is we provide Fitbit wearable technology, the fitness trackers, for 450 blind Americans in seventeen different cities. The Fitbit is great because it is a highly accessible smartphone application, so it allows all of our participants to easily access their information. A big part of the Fitbit is tracking how many steps you have per day, and 10,000 is the recommended level of steps per day; that's kind of the overarching goal everyone wants to achieve. That equates to about five miles per day. The second portion is that we work with our local partnering agencies to provide those people in seventeen cities with programming to introduce them to sports and recreation and kickstart some lifelong healthy habits. So we give them the tool with the Fitbit to track their fitness, and then we work with our local partners to ensure that they are getting opportunities to stay active and learning some new skills along the way, hopefully leading to a healthier lifestyle. Audio Narration: And here's Pam Allen, director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, partner in the National Fitness Challenge: Pam Allen: It's been a great opportunity. We all know how important physical fitness is to overall wellbeing, so we were delighted to partner with USABA through the Fitness Challenge. We've done a variety of activities, anything from rock climbing to rowing. We've done several 5Ks. Also we've done yoga and a whole variety of different sports. We have had so many different opportunities to challenge our students and members of our affiliate to really push themselves, and the results have been incredible, both as far as better overall physical fitness and also just better wellbeing in general. Audio Narration: Ladies and gentlemen, these winners will now receive their awards, which include a trophy and a monetary prize to advance their continuing work to help blind people live the lives we want. Please give each of them a warm welcome as the National Federation of the Blind proudly presents them with their 2019 Jacob Bolotin Awards. Jim Gashel: Thank you very much. I'm going to ask our winners to form a line-we discussed, they got very specific instructions-so if you all will step forward in the order described. I tell you, no matter how many years we do this, these presentations always have an effect on me. So we have five more winners this year; you've heard from all of them. The thing you don't know is how much money they're getting. Now all together they're getting $50,000, but not each one of them-don't get your hopes up, guys. Please hold your applause while I announce each winner's cash prize and President Riccobono presents each winner's plaque. Our first recipient is Libra Robinson for her inspired leadership of N'Sight VIP Services in Washington, DC. Congratulations Libra for your Jacob Bolotin Award in the amount of $5,000. Our second winner is BlindConnect in Las Vegas to support its training center program called Angela's House. Congratulations Raquel O'Neill, president, here to receive the award on behalf of BlindConnect in the amount of $5,000. Our third winner is United States Association of Blind Athletes in recognition of its National Fitness Challenge Program. Congratulations to Kevin Brousard, programs and finance manager at USABA, here to receive the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award for USABA National Fitness Challenge in the amount of $5,000. Our fourth recipient is Michael Nye for exploding the myths about blindness and helping blind people to tell our own stories in our own words. Congratulations to Michael Nye for your award in the amount of $15,000. And now, for our highest cash prize-and this prize also comes with the opportunity to say a few words-this is the award that goes to Bristol Braille Technologies and its managing director Ed Rogers for the development of the Canute 360, the world's first multi-line digital Braille e-reader-this has been a long time coming. [applause, cheers] The award to Bristol Braille Technologies is for $20,000. Here's Ed Rogers. Ed Rogers: Thank you very much to all the committee. It's an incredible honor for the entire team and for the hundreds of people who've been testing, developing, trying, and showing us how the machine didn't work in the past and helping us improve it. Thank you very much. I think it's important to note here that not everyone knows the role that the NFB has played in the development of the Canute 360. Since I first took a prototype to Baltimore and showed it to President Riccobono in 2016, we have received guidance, we have received the support, and, very importantly, we have been sponsored by and had feedback from the Federation and the American Action Fund in the prototype pilot process, which has been what's sustained us to this stage. So without the effort of everyone at the NFB and the Action Fund, this would not have happened. I would like to give my most heartfelt thanks, most especially, to President Riccobono and Dr. Maurer, and of course to all the Federationists here. Thank you. [applause] Jim Gashel: Thank you, Ed Rogers. Now you guys get a chance. Here, standing before you, is the Jacob Bolotin Award winners' class of 2019. Let's hear a loud Federation cheer. [cheers, applause] Please visit our website, the Jacob Bolotin Award page at nfb.org, where you can listen to the full content of the audio text-we played shorter clips for this presentation, but the full presentation will be available on that page. Thank you to Ron Brown, to Mary Ellen Jernigan, to Everette Bacon, and to Marc Maurer for joining me on the Jacob Bolotin Award Committee this year, especially for their enlightened experience and wise judgment on picking through these winners. Now also a special thanks to the people in our group who nominated these award winners. And all of you can do the same thing in the months and years to come. We know the projects that truly benefit blind people in the spirit of Dr. Jacob Bolotin. Our awards competition will open again in November 2019, and we will get ready to present the 2020 Jacob Bolotin Awards. The competition will close on April 15. Do your job, bring us the winners, and we will make the presentations. Mr. President, this is my report and the presentation of the Jacob Bolotin Awards for 2019. Mahalo. [applause] ---------- Awards Presented at the 2019 National Convention From the Editor: Of the many wonderful things that happen at national convention, one element that many Federationists look forward to each year is the presentation of awards, both to Federationists and those who are not members of our organization but go above and beyond in helping the Federation in the pursuit of our goals and agenda. Some awards are presented annually, others only when a truly deserving candidate is recognized. The energy, joy, and satisfaction shared by the committees who bestow the awards and the audience watching their presentation is something that we hope comes through as clearly in print as it did in-person at the convention: Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award presented by Carla McQuillan Every year the National Federation of the Blind recognizes a teacher of blind students who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to meet the needs of his or her students and specifically to uphold the philosophies of the National Federation of the Blind, teaching Braille and other techniques of blindness. This year the 2019 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award is being given to Adrienne Shoemaker of Concord, Massachusetts. [applause, cheers] Adrienne has been a teacher of blind students for ten years and is currently the only teacher of blind students in the Concord public school system. In addition to her teaching of blind students, Adrienne has helped to develop a program for teachers of blind students and has taught the Braille courses that are part of that curriculum. She has also served as a liaison between the Massachusetts Department of Education and the University of Massachusetts Northeast Center for Vision Education, recruiting candidates to be teachers of blind students. Adrienne received her master of special education in 2010 from the University of Boston, Massachusetts. She has also, in 2018, received her orientation and mobility certification. In 2014 she was one of ten teachers chosen by the National Federation of the Blind to be part of our STEM2U program. She is an effective advocate for Braille and is helping to train future teachers of blind students. These qualities and her willingness to go above and beyond have made her an excellent candidate for this year's Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award. I have here a plaque that I'm going to give to Adrienne, and the plaque reads: THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND HONORS Adrienne Shoemaker 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 9, 2019 Along with that-oh wait, the best is yet to come-although the plaque will last longer, we have a check here for $1,000. [applause] Congratulations. [PHOTO/CAPTION: Adrienne Shoemaker poses with her award and her student, Abby Duffy] Adrienne Shoemaker: My sincerest thanks to the National Federation of the Blind for this incredible recognition. As a teacher of blind and visually-impaired students and as an orientation and mobility instructor, I share your passion for high expectations and teaching skills that will enable my students to live their best lives. I have witnessed the power of Braille and the many opportunities it gives students for participating, accessing, and creating work. Having solid orientation and mobility skills leads to greater sufficiency and confidence. Skills in the use of technology increases independence and creates access to information at the same time as sighted peers. I get so much joy from watching my students develop self-advocacy skills as they navigate through the education system in preparation for college and career. I love when my students are working collaboratively with sighted peers, and the only difference is that my student is using Braille and accessible tools and materials. So much learning is happening in these moments, and I am thrilled that sighted peers are getting exposure to what someone who is blind is capable of doing and achieving. [applause, cheers] I am so thankful to Penny Duffy, first vice president of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, who also happens to be the mother of one of my students, Abby. Over the years she had shared information with me about the NFB. Through her I learned about the National Reading Media Assessment, Structured Discovery, and the summer and weekend opportunities that her daughter Abby was participating in. Through these programs Abby was gaining incredible skills and forming relationships with other blind students. They have attended the annual convention for many years, and I'm always excited to hear about what they have learned and the experiences that they have had. It truly helps to make me a better teacher. It is incredible being a part of convention this week. I now truly understand how the NFB is like a big family. Thank you again for recognizing educators and for the programs that you provide to students. The work being done by the NFB and the support to students, parents, and teachers is amazing and makes a positive impact on the lives of all of those involved. Thank you. [applause] The Blind Educator of the Year Award presented by Dr. Edward Bell The Blind Educator Award was created through the National Federation of the Blind many years ago to recognize blind people who had successfully worked in the education field. Teaching is one of those professions that blind people are very well suited to but have not always had an easy time getting into, and those who get into the field change lives forever. It is our honor to be able to recognize individuals who make significant contributions in this field. The 2019 recipient of the Blind Educator Award is a person who was a sighted individual and was a teacher of general education kids. After losing her vision she continued with her passion for teaching and obtained her graduate degree in teaching blind children. In 2013 she began working in the Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning program in her state and by 2014 was coordinating it statewide. In 2015 she started monthly Braille enrichment programs to help continue to get blind kids Braille throughout the year, rather than just a little here and there. In 2017 she became the transition coordinator in her state, where she continues to work with blind children and blind teenagers. Please help in congratulating Ms. Allison Steven of Idaho. [applause, cheers] Here is a plaque for you, and included with this plaque is a check for $1,000. I'm going to read the language on the plaque: THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND BLIND EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR Presented to Allison Steven In recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the teaching profession. YOU ENHANCE THE PRESENT, YOU INSPIRE YOUR COLLEAGUES, YOU BUILD THE FUTURE. JULY 9, 2019 Congratulations to Allison. [applause, cheers] [PHOTO/CAPTION: Allison Steven with her award] Allison Steven: I'm overwhelmed; this is incredible. I had no idea. I am very grateful for this. I've always had this imposter syndrome thing in my head where one day someone's going to realize I don't know what I'm talking about. [laughter] I am very grateful to the National Federation of the Blind because I've only been a member for about six years, but I have learned so much. I believe that we never stop learning. I had no idea of the direction my life would take, and it's an honor and a privilege to have been called to work with blind individuals and particularly with kids. I want to thank my chapter and the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and also Louisiana Tech because that's where I got my masters. [applause] I'd also like to honor the memory of my friend and mentor Becky Sherman, who died just recently, for everything that she put into my life. Thank you so much for this award. I am so glad to receive it for doing something that I love. [applause] The Jacobus tenBroek Award presented by Marc Maurer Good evening, fellow Federationists. I'm mighty glad we've got a President like Mark Riccobono. I come tonight as the chairperson of the Jacobus tenBroek Award Committee. Dr. Jacobus tenBroek was our first president. He came into the presidency in 1940, he was our first president, and he served until 1961. He resigned in that year, but he came back into the presidency in 1966, and he served until his death in 1968. He was an innovator; he was a scholar; he was a leader; he was a man of towering intellect; he was a demanding soul; he was a person who dreamed of a time different from the one that he inherited; he was a teacher, and he taught himself and the next generation. When something demanding needed doing, he could be counted as among those who would do it. He was a man who planned and caused change. We give our Jacobus tenBroek Award to people who are like Dr. tenBroek, who have a history, who have a passion, who have the ability to lead, the ability to teach. And we don't give it every year, but only as often as we find somebody among our company who is deserving of such an award. Now I serve as the chairperson of this committee, and I want to thank the members who serve with me: Pam Allen, Jim Gashel, Barbara Loos-they are people who are thoughtful, argumentative, [laughter] demanding, argumentative, [more laughter] great people to work with, and they sound just like Federation members, don't they? [laughter, applause] And after deliberation we have identified a person whose characteristics emulate those of our founding president, a lady who has been a member of our organization for some time, and who attended her first convention in the year that I began chairing conventions in the National Federation of the Blind, that is 1987. It was in Phoenix, Arizona. [cheers] A very interesting convention: Patricia Maurer was about to give birth; I persuaded her to come anyway. She waited until after she got home, which was just as well. [laughter] She's not the recipient, because she attended her first convention much earlier than 1987. The person that we selected is also a leader, not just in the National Federation of the Blind, but also in the civil rights movement. So Ever Lee Hairston, [long, loud cheering and applause] while you make your way to the platform, I would like to say a word or two about you. She was raised in a log cabin. I know we've all heard about wonderful people who were raised in log cabins. It was on the Cooleemee Plantation in North Carolina. She is the daughter of sharecroppers who were on the plantation, and when she was ten or eleven-somewhere in there, maybe twelve years old-she learned that her job was to pick cotton. Now, it doesn't take a long time picking cotton to find out that there could be some other way of life that's more fun. She wanted to be a nurse, but she was rejected because of her blindness. She decided, however, that she had to go to college. But she didn't have any money, and there wasn't anybody to provide it. She went to New York. She heard that she could get a job being a maid, and she spent time there in the summers being a maid so that she could earn enough money to go to college. She got a degree to be a teacher. [applause] She taught for a time, but she also learned that there was a civil rights movement in the United States, and she joined Martin Luther King Jr. in marches to protect the freedom for everybody in our country. For if one is not free, all share in the failure of freedom. [applause] The sheriff's deputies came when she was demanding equal treatment, equal opportunity to work, and they threw her in jail. She didn't know whether she would be required to stay there indefinitely; thankfully it was not long before she was released. But she also stood with Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington for the most famous public address given in the twentieth century, the one which said, "I have a dream." [applause, cheers] I didn't know Ever Lee then. I didn't meet her until later. She came to her first convention in 1987, as I say. She learned that there was another civil rights movement, and she was attracted, although she had-as so many of us have from time to time-been faking it, and she hadn't learned all the techniques, either. But she found that there were things to know and ways for her to be free that she hadn't realized in the past, and eventually--after founding a chapter in New Jersey-she became its president, and she became vice president of our New Jersey affiliate for fourteen years. I kept trying to get her to run for president of a state affiliate. She resisted, but I finally got it done when she ran for and was elected to the presidency of the National Federation of the Blind of California. [applause, cheers] She has a good many honors in her life: she has received from the NAACP Los Angeles chapter the Unsung Hero Award. She has been recognized as Woman of the Year. She has appeared on the "Sixty Minutes II" program nationally to talk about how it is that the white part of her family, which had owned the black part, hadn't treated the black part very well. The white man, who was then a judge and was the head of the family, was taken aback when she demanded that he recognize that equal treatment demands more than just letting a person in the front door now and then. She is a person who has come to be a central part of what we are. She has a stern and demanding voice when she insists that there be a little something for everybody. It is the honor of this argumentative committee and the honor of the National Federation of the Blind to present the Jacobus tenBroek Award to Ever Lee Hairston. [applause, cheers] [PHOTO/CAPTION: Ever Lee Hairston smiles as she holds up her plaque. Marc Maurer and President Riccobono smile and clap beside her.] JACOBUS tenBROEK AWARD PRESENTED TO Ever Lee Hairston 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 COLLEAGUE WITH RESPECT. WE CALL YOU OUR FRIEND WITH LOVE. JULY 12, 2019 Ever Lee Hairston: Federationists, this is truly an honor. I remember when I went to jail with Dr. Martin Luther King. I was a frightened young woman. Spending that night in jail for our freedom, I never imagined that I would be a part of another civil rights organization. [cheers] But becoming a part of the National Federation of the Blind has truly given me a new purpose for my life. And that purpose, I want all of you to hear, is about change-what our President has talked about in his speech tonight-change. What has it meant to me? Change has meant having courage. Change has meant gaining confidence in myself by going to the Louisiana Center for the Blind. [applause] Change has meant being competent, knowing and understanding that knowledge is power. The H in change stands for honesty: to thine own self be true. I have learned that no matter what I do in the Federation, I first must be honest with myself. A is the change that I have made: I know that all over the United States of America and in many of the islands, I have had to advocate for myself as well as others. N: Never say never. G: No matter what we do in life, we must have orderly directions, good orderly directions. That's what G-O-D stands for, but for me it means God. Through Him I can do all things, for He strengthens me. And the E: the change that I have made in my life stands for enthusiasm. No matter what I have done, I realize that I must smile and be enthusiastic about it. I love you. God bless you. Thank you so much. [cheers, applause] This means so much to me. [PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Hughes smiles and holds his book-shaped award] Global Literacy Award presented by Scott LaBarre From the Editor: Following a presentation by Justin Hughes about the negotiation and passage of the Marrakesh Treaty, Scott LaBarre came to the podium to say a few words to Mr. Hughes and the convention: So Justin, we have a little surprise for you. The work of the treaty was arduous and difficult. One of the reasons was because this was the first time that an intellectual property treaty was exclusively dedicated to a consumer interest and not granting further rights to rights-holders. So obviously all these huge companies were very afraid of the treaty. That's why Exxon and others opposed it. There were so many moving parts, and one of the most skillful negotiators was in fact Justin Hughes. We want to recognize your role in getting the treaty adopted, not only internationally. You played a big role with the United States delegation- the US governmental delegation to the Marrakesh Diplomatic Conference made a huge difference in getting the treaty adopted. By the way, one of the other members of the US delegation, because she was in the government at the time, was Eve Hill. [applause] She helped out as well. But once we got Marrakesh adopted internationally we had to get it ratified in the US, and, as Justin said, it took five years. And we had to essentially relitigate all the same issues again. And once Justin got out of the government, he wanted to help. Now he didn't go to the publishers and say, "Hey I'll help you with the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty." He didn't go to the libraries; he didn't go to anyone else except the National Federation of the Blind. [applause, cheers] He came to us to help us get the treaty ratified, and more critically, help us get the implementing legislation written so that we could implement the treaty in a practical way. Justin sat on our side of the table as we negotiated with the publishers again and negotiated with the libraries. He played a critical role in helping us draft the language that would make everybody happy. So in recognition of that work, Justin, we're going to give you an award. It's in a beautiful box. We're going to take it out of this beautiful box, hold it up here. It's a beautiful, heavy, crystal award. The award reads like this: Global Literacy Award National Federation of the Blind For your commitment to making the world's literature available to all; For your dedication to accessibility for the blind; For your imaginative leadership in eliminating the barriers to sharing equal access across borders; We, the organized blind movement, confer upon Justin Hughes this Global Literacy Award. In recognition of your significant leadership in making a worldwide book treaty for the blind possible. You have facilitated effective sharing of accessible, published works around the world; You are a true friend of the blind and a champion for literacy. July 11, 2019 Justin Hughes: I'm not going to say anything but thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Eve Hill] Digital Inequality and the Myth of Injustice: Equal Access for the Blind May Not Be Delayed by Eve Hill From the Editor: Eve Hill is the co-leader of inclusivity strategic consulting and a partner at Brown Goldstein & Levy. Her presentations are always outstanding, and this one, delivered on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 10, was no exception. Here is what she said: You may have wondered what the title of my speech meant-I hope you said something like "Eve is going to talk about injustice being a myth? That doesn't sound like her!" Well, I'm not going to talk about injustice toward the blind being a myth. As we all know, injustice toward the blind is very, very real in the digital world. The NFB has been talking about, advocating for, and helping companies and government agencies to make their websites and other technologies accessible for decades. There are now over 1.7 billion websites in the world. Luckily, 85 percent of them are inactive, so there are only about 200 million active ones. There are 547,200 new websites created every twenty-four hours (that's 380 per minute). The vast majority of websites are hosted in the US. More and more, the internet is replacing physical stores-as you know, many retailers and service providers now have no physical presence at all. And workers now work virtually-even the application and assessment process is entirely online. This should be a good thing for blind people. The digital world is made up entirely of zeros and ones that can be presented to the user in any format-audible, visible, tactile. And online access relieves blind people of the hassle of traveling, which is a major barrier for people who can't drive and have limited access to public transportation. According to WebAIM, among the top one million websites' homepages, 98 percent had accessibility barriers. WebAIM found an average of almost sixty accessibility errors per homepage. WebAIM concluded that fewer than one percent of homepages were accessible. To the NFB and its members, getting those websites to be accessible is a daunting task. But as President Riccobono has discussed, we're not daunted! The NFB challenges inaccessible websites and other digital technologies in the most impactful areas of life-health care, employment, education, voting, retail, and more. The NFB gives the owners of inaccessible websites the opportunity to fix their websites before we litigate. With companies that are willing to work with us, the NFB enters into public settlements that require those websites to be made accessible and that require the owners to adopt policies and practices that make sure those websites stay accessible-as with Boeing Employees Credit Union, Monster.com, Expedia, Miami-Dade School District, Greyhound, and more. We monitor their progress to make sure they meet their commitments. And when the businesses refuse to make their websites accessible, we litigate the cases. As a result, the NFB has made the law clear in cases across the country-from Target to Scribd to Los Angeles Community College to EPIC to Ohio's Secretary of State to the Container Store to state and federal government agencies. Now we're going upstream to try to stop the flow of inaccessible websites into the digital world by challenging website developers like GoDaddy and Wix to make the websites they build accessible. We learn from the parable of the babies in the river-we have to address the hundreds of thousands of inaccessible websites already in the digital river. But we also need to go upstream and stop the developers from throwing them in. But to some other people, including some blind people and some lawyers, inaccessible internet growth is not a civil rights issue but a business opportunity. About fifty-seven web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2015. In 2018 it was 2,285-a 177 percent increase. And that number is on track to increase this year. You've probably heard about the so-called "click-by" lawsuits-where a lawyer runs an automated web accessibility test on a bunch of websites and files a bunch of lawsuits against the businesses that fail the automated tests in the name of a blind person. Some lawyers are filing ten or more complaints per week, sometimes in alphabetical order as if they're picking from the phone book. These lawyers don't send the owner of the website a demand letter in advance or seek settlement beforehand. Often they do little or no research about the company or its accessibility efforts, so websites have been sued even though the company has already entered into a public settlement with the NFB, and even if the company is already carrying out a comprehensive plan to make its website accessible. After these lawyers file the complaint, they demand a confidential settlement for a monetary payment (usually $5,000 to $15,000). So we never know whether they have required the websites to be fixed or whether they ever follow up to see if the websites are fixed. Often the companies sued are small businesses, and paying $5,000 is cheaper than either making their website accessible or hiring a lawyer to litigate the case. Other times, these are big businesses, and they sometimes fight back. And the lawyers who have filed more cases than they can handle and who haven't done their research are unprepared to make the case. Unfortunately, this often creates bad law that can be used against the NFB and blind people in other cases. This bad law can limit who can sue over an inaccessible website or can limit the number of cases a blind plaintiff can file. Some companies even defend these cases by saying the ADA does not cover websites at all. These cases are being used by business associations (just like they use the "drive-by" cases involving wheelchair access) to argue for ADA Notification Acts that would require us to send certified letters to defendants before we can file and then wait six months to see if they'll make the fixes. If they do, we can't go forward, even if the fixes aren't adequate and even if we were harmed by the discrimination. That act will come up again this year, and the drumbeat message of the business associations is turning Congress against people with disabilities and against our rights. Because of these cases, businesses are arguing that digital equality for blind people is unjust to businesses. That's the myth of injustice I'm going to talk about. These cases are creating frustration among judges, who will seek any excuse to kick the cases out of court, making bad law that the NFB then has to step in to fix and hurting every one of us as we try to navigate the digital world. And these "click-by" lawsuits are being used to tarnish all of us as if we were not enforcing real civil rights-I've been called a "drive-by" lawyer in court. The NFB has been accused of fabricating cases just to file lawsuits. None of that is true. We don't rely on automated accessibility tests alone. We don't agree to confidential settlements except in unusual circumstances. We back up our complaints with all our resources. We know the law. We monitor settlements to make sure they are fulfilled. We pay attention to the legal precedents we're making. So, what's the problem with filing lots of lawsuits challenging inaccessible websites? Nothing. There are lots of inaccessible websites, and they're violating the civil rights of blind people! They're excluding blind people from everything from healthcare to voting to work to school! They have to be challenged. And, while sending a demand prior to litigating is a best practice, I don't even think a website owner who uses an inaccessible website is entitled to a letter ahead of time telling them it's inaccessible. It's their website, they bought it, they designed it, they chose not to make it accessible. We have no obligation to explain it to them. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Getting caught for violating the law is not unjust. But businesses like Dominos Pizza, Winn-Dixie, the National Restaurant Association, the American Bankers Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Theater Owners, and the National Retail Federation are arguing that it's unjust to require them to make their websites accessible so blind people can be their customers. They say they need a regulation that says specifically that websites are covered by the ADA. Otherwise they don't know. Well that's pretty funny because the Department of Justice has been saying websites of public accommodations and government agencies are covered since 1996. And courts have been saying so too. Those businesses are also saying they need a regulation that says what the applicable accessibility standard is. Well, that's funny because during the last federal administration they opposed the DOJ's efforts to release a regulation. But now they know there's no possibility of getting such a regulation because of the Executive Order that requires each agency to rescind two regulations for every new one it issues. So, safe in the knowledge that the federal government isn't going to issue a regulation, these businesses are arguing that it would violate due process for courts to require their websites to be accessible because they don't know what it means to be accessible. Dominos is trying to argue that to the Supreme Court. Winn-Dixie made that argument to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. These companies should be ashamed. In the face of clear violations of your civil rights, they have the nerve to argue that we're violating their rights by demanding to be able to buy their products and services! So is there any way they don't understand what accessibility means? WCAG 2.1 Level AA is clearly the major way to achieve accessible websites. The federal government has adopted WCAG as its own accessibility standard under Section 508. Other countries have adopted WCAG as their accessibility standard. There isn't another standard! But, in case there is or in case a company can come up with an innovative way to make its website accessible that isn't WCAG, or in case WCAG is too much accessibility for the purpose of the particular website, what the ADA specifically and explicitly requires is "equally effective communication." So as long as everything the website communicates is communicated equally effectively to people with and without disabilities, the business is complying. All they have to know is that they have provided the information in a way that lets PWDs acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as sighted students and faculty with substantially equivalent ease of use, including privacy and independence. But there is a problem with filing more lawsuits than you can actually litigate. I say a two-lawyer firm can't handle ten lawsuits a week and do a competent job or even pretend to do a competent job litigating them. Disability rights lawyers and plaintiffs have a higher obligation to their community and to the disability rights movement than someone who files a slip-and-fall complaint. We have a moral obligation to each other to help the law develop in a way that respects civil rights-that fixes the problems the law was designed to fix. And we can't do that if we don't know the law, if we don't use the law effectively, and if we don't make sure the fixes happen. And we have a moral obligation not to become part of the problem. Confidential settlements too often just hide the problem, hide the inaccessibility of the website that continues to exclude blind people, hide the incompetence of the plaintiffs' lawyer, and hide the bad faith of the website owner. Confidential settlements avoid accountability on all sides. That's why the NFB publicizes its cases and settlements on its website. And that accountability doesn't belong to the individual plaintiff and her lawyer. Accountability belongs to all of us-the disability community, the community of people who want to decide what businesses they patronize based on their behavior, the American public who deserve to hold each other to our American standards. Five thousand dollars to the individual plaintiff lets those businesses off the hook without accountability to all of us. So what's the solution? Ignore inaccessible websites? No-380 websites per minute. If those websites actually interfere with blind people's access to those businesses' services, we should let their owners know we don't accept that. It's not the number of lawsuits; it's the quality of the lawsuits and the ability of the lawyers to handle them. What we have is not too many cases; what we have is not enough qualified and ethical lawyers to handle them. Should we let small businesses off the hook for website accessibility? No-those businesses should have us as customers, and making a website accessible is not hard and not expensive. Do we need to give businesses more time? It's been almost thirty years! What about disbarring or banning "click-by" lawyers and their clients from court if they file too many lawsuits? While that sometimes seems like a solution, that actually hurts all of us. How many websites do we use each day? One article I saw said eighty-nine per month (about three per day). If half of them are inaccessible, that's over five hundred inaccessible websites per blind person per year. So how many lawsuits is too many? And that's not just an inconvenience-that's discrimination, and it's exclusion, and it hurts blind people. It hurts your productivity at work. It hurts your ability to educate your children. It hurts your ability to have your vote counted. It hurts your ability to participate in your community. Fighting your way through all those inaccessible websites wastes your time and your energy, taking time away from living your life. Again, it's not the number of lawsuits that's a problem-it's the quality of the lawsuits and the ability of the lawyers to handle them. I think accountability is the answer. We need to hold ourselves (and our lawyers and the businesses we buy from) accountable. Tell your lawyers you won't accept a confidential settlement that just pays your lawyer and doesn't fix the problem. If you have friends who are plaintiffs in cases that don't fix the problem or that cover up the problem, tell them you don't respect that. Don't be afraid to call out lawyers who file so many cases they can't possibly handle them all and those who enter into confidential settlements for money. If you are a lawyer, join us in doing accessibility cases. We need more responsible lawyers to challenge barriers that are real barriers, not just technical ones, and to get them fixed. But you should know the law and the pitfalls so you don't make bad law. The NFB's lawyers have encountered most of the pitfalls in this area, and we're happy to help. Call us. There's a whole Disability Rights Bar Association that can help. Call us. Hold businesses and web designers accountable. If a website isn't accessible, we should call them out. The NFB does that through public settlements, complaints and press releases, and through resolutions that condemn those businesses' practices. Do enough people-blind people and sighted people-know about the websites that exclude people with disabilities? Do we boycott businesses whose websites discriminate by taking our money elsewhere when a business' website is inaccessible? Do we tell our friends? Do we call shame on the businesses that argue in court that it's unjust to hold them accountable for excluding blind people? The National Restaurant Association has about 150 members-I have the list, which includes Walt Disney World, Yum! Brands, Starbucks, Sodexo, Subway, McDonalds, Marriott, Dunkin, Burger King, and 7-Eleven, just to name a few. Are we still patronizing them? And all of us should resist-hard-any effort to cut back on our ability to enforce our rights just to prevent the bad apples from abusing our rights. Notification acts aren't the answer. Businesses were notified thirty years ago when the ADA was passed. They were notified again in 1996 when the Department of Justice said websites of public accommodations were covered. They were notified by the many cases and settlements requiring website accessibility. So-to quote the amazing Beyonc?-I ain't sorry! I ain't sorry for demanding accessible websites, mobile apps, self-checkout machines, kiosks, educational technology, employment software, and every other type of technology people use to live the lives they want! I ain't sorry for filing lawsuits when companies refuse to comply! I ain't sorry for shaming businesses who discriminate against blind people! I ain't sorry for calling out lawyers who don't do their job for all blind people. And, most of all, I ain't sorry for representing the National Federation of the Blind and its members to demand the right to live the lives you want in every aspect of the digital world. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Suman Kanuganti] A Platform for Information and Innovation: Insights into the Aira Ecosystem in Partnership with the Blind by Suman Kanuganti From the Editor: Aira is a partner of the National Federation of the Blind. It harnesses the power of technology to meet the needs of blind people, and those needs are defined by blind people. Suman Kanuganti is the president of Aira and is well-known to Federationists. Here is what he said to the convention on the morning of July 11: Good morning, NFB! I'm Suman Kanuganti, founder and president of Aira, and it's my pleasure to celebrate my fifth National Convention with all of you. It's no hype to acknowledge the sheer number of friends that I have made at this annual convention. And it's also no hype to recognize the knowledge that I have gained from each of you-knowledge that shapes the heart and soul of what Aira is today. NFB has been a partner, investor, and advisor to Aira since the beginning. Aira's operating philosophy is in alignment with the National Federation of the Blind views on blindness. The shared understanding of the capacity of blind people is reflected in Aira's fundamental operating model. Aira is designed to be an information tool that enables explorers to make their own decisions on their own terms. Simply put, Let Freedom Ring, #OnMyTerms. Any of you can access the full partnership statement established between our two organizations at Aira.io/NFB So, before I dig deeper, I want to thank President Riccobono; the national leaders of the Federation; the members of the NFB Advisory Group, led by Gary Wunder; and all of you for helping to create an enduring relationship grounded in mutual trust and respect that acknowledges the value of the consumer voice. In partnership with all of you every year, we hope to do our part to make the convention fun, a place to learn, and a place to live! So Aira comes to you this year as The Elite Sponsor of the 2019 NFB Convention here in Las Vegas. Our teams always strive to generate lots of convention fun. For example, last year we held a concert with Apl De Ap of the Black Eyed Peas. This year, two days ago, we hosted an experience show with multiple partners: Zappos, Lyft, Vispero and Bose. Those who made it to the show on Tuesday-what do you think? [applause and cheers] We have a number of Aira staff present for the entire week, and they are ready to engage with each of you this year. Mike Randall, why don't you please stand. I want to briefly introduce Mike Randall, Aira's new CEO; Randall will be managing the continued growth of Aira, while I work together with him to enhance Aira's vision further. Over the years we have made it crystal clear that Aira is not a safety device; it is not a replacement for the white cane or dog or blindness skills. Aira has evolved. Our agents have evolved. Our systems have evolved. Our policies have evolved. Yes, this evolution aligns with the fundamental principles that inform the Federation's home-grown philosophy of self-determination. Here is one example: There is a change that's coming this fall on how explorers may interact with Aira agents when crossing the street. That's right-you will witness how Aira's policies on street-crossing are evolving, at the request and in favor of explorers. This new policy, though, will be flexible and available as an option. Technology is a beautiful thing. Aira provides "visual interpretation" services, delivered by our well-trained agents, who enrich your experiences. Technology is moving faster than humans can adopt it. Historically, if you consider advancements in technological automation, these always begin with human efforts. Humans were moving items on an assembly line before robots could do that job. Humans interpreted maps before the navigation routes were automated. Humans labeled images before a computer could recognize a coffee mug or an apple. And, by way of recent example, humans drove cars before autonomous vehicles were made practical. It's humans that ultimately drive the innovation and algorithms for computers. We must be in the forefront of technology-not an afterthought. We can easily create an app to recognize objects based on those items already labeled, but without the human component of the human/AI equation, the opportunity to gain insights from the blind user community is lost. Often, we as humans understand technology in its simplest terms-Aira is, for example, a remote pair of professional eyes. However, there are at least 3 major technology components of Aira's ecosystem. The agent dashboard, often forgotten and the most powerful piece of software that allows our agents to teleport themselves into the world of our explorers. This dashboard includes everything from the camera, GPS, maps, satellite views, rideshare, etc. All of this offers an agent the ability to immerse him or herself into the explorer's environment. A second part of the Aira ecosystem is our Horizon Glasses, which give the Aira agent a 120-degree view of the explorer's world and a hands-free experience for peak efficiency. Finally, Chloe, our continuously learning AI agent that you should soon anticipate will undertake increasing levels of autonomous service. In terms of a business model, Aira relies on free access zones that are sponsored by public and private partners. Over the last twelve months, Aira has grown to providing over 25,000 Aira access locations including brands such as Walgreens, Wegmans, AT&T, and Target. Then there is digital access such as Intuit and Vispero. We strive to bridge equal access for the blind community across the entire planet. Our employment and educational programs are a crucial part of our access partner strategy. At last year's convention, I announced the availability of Aira's employment program. More than four hundred explorers took advantage of free Aira to perform tasks relating to their career enhancement. In analyzing observations from this program, I want to offer some insights from which the industry can benefit: The top three use cases in the employment program, included 31 percent accessing printed and other visual information; 25 percent accessing and manipulating digital information; and 13 percent used Aira for navigation purposes. A second insight gleaned from our study was that 80 percent of the tasks would have been accomplished only by relying on friends and family. Major outcomes that I am excited to share include that 196 explorers (or 52 percent) of those surveyed for our study started new jobs or enhanced their careers. Even more encouraging, seventy-seven respondents were previously unemployed, beginning in jobs as diverse as salesforce administrator, school counselor, and licensed massage therapist, to name a few. Based on these insights, here's my first exciting announcement for this year's convention. Previously the job-seeker program was limited to subscribing explorers. I hereby announce that we are now making this program available free to everybody. All you need to do is download the Aira app, sign up as a free guest user, and begin using Aira to find work that you want starting now. And now for a quick update on our Education Back-to-School Program made possible by our partners at AT&T. To date, over three hundred students across more than one hundred campuses have participated in this program. Of those enrolled, over 92 percent of these students have successfully graduated from college. In this context, over 30 percent of our student usage is related to supporting them to integrate and participate in social and recreational activity, a figure that resonates with me. And this leads me to my second major announcement for this year. If you are a National NFB Scholarship finalist, make some noise. [the thirty finalists sound off] This year all thirty of you accomplished scholars will be given the opportunity to automatically be enrolled in our Back-To-School program, which gives you free access to Aira services for the next academic year. Founders, business owners, and entrepreneurs in the room, make some noise. [cheers] As a result of the Self-Employment Program, sponsored by our partners at Intuit, 332 new small businesses were registered, and over fifty new businesses were created. I'd like to thank Ted Drake, Intuit's chief accessibility officer, for his support. As an entrepreneur myself, this news truly gets me excited, and Aira will continue to promote new economic engines through this program. Our newest partnership that I am excited about is Bose. How many of you tried Aira with Bose Frames? Bose is a leader in designing form factors for the best audio AR. Aira drives innovation in designing audio AR experiences. It's a perfect partnership and many of you asked what does that entail? I am happy to announce that Bose has become an investor in Aira, and they are helping us bringing their world-class audio to next- generation Aira form factors. Visit our booth, meet our Bose partners, and experience Aira with Bose Frames. I want to share a few more facts and figures with you, which reflect the vibrancy of Aira. These facts and figures reflect your interest and activities. So here's some confidential information-which won't be confidential anymore. In the last year the total time spent between explorers and Aira agents has tripled, hitting 3.5 million minutes, or 58,000 hours across half a million tasks averaging more than 1,000 calls per day. Aira answered 99.6 percent of all in-coming calls. Beyond these global numbers, Aira supported, for example, formatting and layout of over 1,000 presentations. Aira also handled 2,000 PDF-related tasks such as digital signatures and exporting them. As part of our partnership with Vispero, over 4,000 JAWS-related inquiries were addressed. Our agents either requested or tracked in excess of 15,000 rideshare rides. You may be surprised to know that our agents have described more than 1,400 titles during this last year, including Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. We've used our Aira Live feature to create community in this context-hosting virtual description parties among explorers who share common interests. Transportation is key, as it encourages mobility, and it leads to increased economic opportunities. We have grown to provide Aira access at more than forty domestic and international airports in the last year. Explorers touched more than 100 different airports at least once in the last twelve months. We also entered into an exciting partnership with Boston's MBTA. They introduced our pilot where Aira is enabling access at all 138 commuter rail stations, 145 subway stations, and all eight thousand bus stops in the greater Boston area. We have diligently worked to bring Aira to as many as we can through free Aira access both physical and digital, and through low-priced introductory offerings; but this is simply not enough. Our business model has evolved and shaping in many ways at scale. Our mission has always been to bring Aira to explorers for low-cost or no-cost. This leads me to my biggest announcement in the history of Aira. I been waiting for this moment for a long time. So, starting this fall, we will, for the first time, irrespective of the plan that an explorer is on, be offering to all a free tier of service that will allow "some" daily use of Aira for any task. We will be rolling this out in phases. The first phase will be for all active explorers and guests, whether you are on a paid plan or using Aira access for free in countries where Aira currently operates. The details on limits of daily use will be disclosed during the rollout, but I can tell you that to be included in the earliest stages of the daily free use of Aira service, I encourage each of you to establish an account with Aira and start putting it to use today. What better place than to do it at this convention which is a free Aira access zone. Free daily service does not mean reduced quality; it means more access to more explorers and more guests. Visit our booth, and our staff will get you set up with an account, you will be up and running in seconds, and you will be part of this significant service expansion. I hope that everyone here sees the energy and effort that goes into building the Aira platform. I hope you see how we bring your preferences and practices where Aira goes. I hope that you also see our commitment to breaking down barriers of information access in every facet of life. I hope you also see the results from the few insights I've shared today. You are all a part of the Aira revolution. It's a revolution for equal access to information. In closing, all the explorers and guests in the room (everybody who has had an experience with an Aira agent), I want all of you to please stand. Ladies and gentlemen, you are all part of Aira shaping the future of information access, and we will not stop until the idea of inaccessibility becomes a thing of the past. Together, let Aira enable freedom to ring. Thank you all. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Barbara Loos] The American Action Fund Celebrates a Century of Service for the Blind by Barbara Loos "Time", according to Henry David Thoreau, "is but the stream I go a- fishing in." When contemplating the century mark of the Action Fund, originally the American Brotherhood for the Blind, and its partnership with the National Federation of the Blind since its founding in 1940, it occurred to me that my tenure on the board is the same, to the month, as the entire life span of our current Federation president, Mark Riccobono. So if you know how old he is, you know how long I've served in this capacity. I was elected president in 1990, the year the Federation turned fifty. The man I will soon introduce has been fishing in the stream for just a few months less than I have overall, but he has frequented more public areas. While serving as executive director of the Action Fund, he always encouraged us to be on the lookout for ways to expand the reach of our positive approach to blindness. I will share one moment when my line was in the water at just the right spot for a fun catch. In 2015 I brought a book to one of our meetings and expressed interest in our partnering with a young man from my church, Travis Bossard, and his friend from Seattle, Mick Szydlowski, whose blind cat, Oskar, had become a social media sensation. In November of 2013 Travis had approached me seeking input on a children's book he and Mick were writing in response to the myriad questions Oskar's antics had raised about being blind. They wanted to portray blindness authentically, both to encourage people to adopt blind and disabled pets and to empower blind children. Many of you are familiar with the resulting 2016 Bolotin Award winning books featuring thrill-seeking Oskar and his homebody pal Klaus: The Search for Bigfoot and Mission to Cataria, both of which became part of the Action Fund's free Braille books program in 2017. The latter received the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children's Twig Book Award that same year. It also traveled into space as the twelfth-ever Story Time from Space book. In April of 2018, astronaut Ricky Arnold read it from the International Space Station's cupola room while orbiting the earth. Some of you may have Oskar into Orbit and other shirts featuring Braille and tactile designs. Maybe you have made LEGO Oskars or, as one of our Nebraska BELL students did, pretended to be him. Sadly, Oskar died suddenly on February 5, 2018. Mick and his wife Bethany now have another blind cat, Juno, who we hope will be making her voice heard soon. This week we are releasing a new Twin Vision book, Pedro and the Octopus, written by Deborah Kent and illustrated by Ann Cunningham. Reminiscent of our Shape of Things series from the 1980s, this one features not only shapes, but also texture and perspective. On July 8, as part of our promotion, twelve-year-old Nick Oliver from Houston, NFB social media coordinator Karen Anderson, and I had the awesome privilege of touching and being embraced by an unnamed live octopus at the Shark Reef Aquarium. When I relive that wonderous moment, I call her PedroLena, in honor of the siblings in our book. From Braille books and calendars to refreshable Braille and tactile graphics devices, from free canes and slates to GPS and print access, from driverless vehicles to 3D interactive photos, from cutting wood to grilling steaks, from offering scholarships to shaping laws, our next presenter has been helping us reel in attitude-changing, expectation-raising fare for decades. It is my honor and privilege to introduce to you now, for his perspective on this hundred-year anniversary, my colleague and friend, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults general counsel, Dr. Marc Maurer. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Marc Maurer] American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults: A Century of Innovation, a Century for the Blind by Marc Maurer From the Editor: Marc Maurer needs no introduction since many people know he is the immediate past president of the Federation. What some may not know is that he has long worked for the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults to see that its programs continue to expand and thrive. Here are the comments he made following those of President Barbara Loos: The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is one hundred years old-having initiated operations in 1919. Its official name at the time of formation was the American Brotherhood for the Blind, and its official name today is the American Brotherhood for the Blind, but it has adopted a trade name, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. At the time the organization came into being, the idea of brotherhood was an important concept in social organizations. Many of the labor unions that had been formed were known as brotherhoods, and the term was widely used for social action organizations. Of course, our president today is Barbara Loos, who may be more inclined to favor sisterhoods, but I have not heard her express an opinion. In 1990 the Action Fund decided that a more dynamic name would identify the purpose of the organization more precisely than the name Brotherhood. Consequently, the Brotherhood adopted its trade name. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults conducts numerous programs to support the blind, but this is not new. At the time the Brotherhood began, its paramount program brought literacy to the blind. It produced Braille. This was before Braille had been adopted as the proper form of writing for the blind in the United States. The Action Fund loves Braille-Braille now, Braille one hundred years ago, Braille all the time. The person responsible for founding the Action Fund is Florian A. Baker, born in Maine in 1866, who was a theosophist. Theosophists want: First-To form a nucleus of the Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color. Second-To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science. Third- To investigate unexplained laws of Nature and the powers latent in man. [taken from The American Theosophist, January 1914] Florian A. Baker, who, among other things, painted portraits of movie stars in California in the second decade of the twentieth century, learned Braille in 1917. Members of the Theosophical Society asked him to manage a small library of Braille theosophical books, and Baker decided to learn Braille so that he could comprehend the material he was managing. Two years later he formed the Brotherhood. The American Brotherhood published a quarterly periodical entitled Brotherhood Progress Magazine. Very little information about this magazine is contained in the records of the Brotherhood, but it appears that the magazine continued in circulation at least until 1938. In 1932 the American Brotherhood created one of the most popular magazines for the blind distributed during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. This periodical, entitled the All Story Magazine, reprinted articles that appeared in nationally recognized publications such as Good Housekeeping, Collier's, and McCall's. In 1945 the National Federation of the Blind persuaded the Brotherhood to include a legislative supplement in the All Story Magazine. The legislative supplement was edited by Newel Perry, who had been the most influential teacher of the founder of the National Federation of the Blind, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek. The legislative supplement continued to grow, and by 1957 the name of the magazine was changed to the Braille Monitor, which carried on its front cover the declaration "Voice of the National Federation of the Blind." The focus of the newly-named magazine became blindness and the rights of the blind. The Brotherhood continued to support publication of the Braille Monitor through 1959. In 1960 the Monitor was not only the voice of the National Federation of the Blind but its property as well. The Braille Monitor has been the flagship publication of the National Federation of the Blind for well over half a century. When the Federation ran out of money at the end of 1960, the Monitor was suspended. In the spring of 1961 the American Brotherhood for the Blind began the publication of The Blind American, which printed news about activities of the blind. In the summer of 1964 the Braille Monitor resumed publication and The Blind American stopped. In 1965 the Brotherhood created a biweekly Braille publication entitled Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind. This magazine gathered news stories to be put into Braille for deaf-blind readers. Blind people could hear the news on the radio or television; sighted people could read it in the paper; but the deaf-blind could not get it at all until Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind brought it to them. The publication ceased in 2013. By that year deaf-blind people could get a number of Braille publications featuring the news of the day. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults publishes the magazine for teachers and parents of blind children, Future Reflections, in partnership with the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a division of the National Federation of the Blind. Future Reflections promotes educational opportunities for the blind and provides methods for achieving them for parents and educators of blind children. Unlike other magazines produced by the Action Fund, Future Reflections is not published in Braille. Shortly after the organization came together, the Brotherhood commenced printing Braille copies of books for distribution to state libraries for the blind and to the Library of Congress. Many of the early books were theosophical writings, but others were also produced. One book from the 1930s is a play by John Galsworthy with a copyright date of 1926 entitled Old English. A copy of this book resides on the shelves of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. Another book is the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, one of the most famous autobiographies ever written. This autobiography is ascribed to the years 1558 to 1563. It details experiences of Benvenuto Cellini in the Renaissance era in Italy. In 1960 Jean Dyon Norris, a leader in the Brotherhood, started work on small Twin Vision? volumes that contained print with pictures along with the same text in Braille. The method used to create such books is to remove the binding, interleave Braille between the pages with print, and rebind the whole. The first of these was produced upon the table in Mrs. Norris's kitchen. Golden Books for children contained all of the print and all of the pictures that had been in them at the beginning, but they also had Braille. Blind children and sighted parents or sighted children and blind parents could read together. The Action Fund decided that tactile reading with Braille enhanced the little books, but the organization wanted tactile pictures as well. Later efforts occurred to create raised illustrations of the pictures in the books. Then, the Brotherhood began to publish books of its own. Nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars are fairly easy to get, but what did the coins of the colonial era look like? What is meant by pieces of eight? What is a pine tree shilling? The American Brotherhood for the Blind created books on the theme the Shapes of Things and included within them raised illustrations of those shapes. Birds of the United States, dinosaurs, and colonial era coins were publications in the Shapes of Things from the Brotherhood. At about the same time, the Brotherhood published Braille versions of great American documents including the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. When I walked into law school in 1974, I had my Braille copy of the United States Constitution in hand from the Brotherhood. I could find the Constitution in Braille only from the American Brotherhood for the Blind. Enclosed within the copy of the Constitution is a raised illustration of the Liberty Bell showing both the inscription on the bell and the crack. The Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge presented the George Washington Honor Medal to the American Brotherhood for its work in bringing the great documents of American history to the blind. A confession: I still have that copy of the Constitution. Don't tell anybody at the Action Fund because I am not sending it back. A Christmas book produced by the Brotherhood contained raised images of Christmas decorations. Actual candy canes were attached to the pages of the book. When I first observed this book, I wondered how many of the candy canes were returned to the library with no toothmarks. Braille is important but not the only thing. The Action Fund supports travel by the blind as well. The Brotherhood published an original book entitled the White Cane Story in 1969. Some people view the white cane as evidence of failure, but a proper understanding of this tool is that it offers independence. The White Cane Story illustrates the truth of independence for the blind through travel. About a decade ago the Action Fund started giving away this tool for free-tens of thousands of them. The program continues to operate as a cooperative effort between the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults and the National Federation of the Blind. The canes are small ones for toddlers, medium-sized ones for most other people, and enormous ones for those who possess the longest legs. Although the Brotherhood began by creating books to be given to libraries for the blind, when it began producing Twin Vision books, it built a library of its own. For almost sixty years the books would come to the blind of the United States. Often the children and their moms and dads would read the stories together viewing the words on the page or touching them. Borrowing a book is a good thing, but having a book of your own to keep and to read over and over is even better. How many times have parents read about Peter Rabbit? The children know Peter Rabbit, and they can't stand Mr. McGregor. In 1997 the Action Fund began to print Braille books for blind children to keep: the Hardy Boys mysteries, the Nancy Drew stories, Little House books, National Geographic Kids, and many others. I, who believe that small miracles come in most lives, have always wanted to have a Christmas book to give away each year to blind children, and often we have made it. Sometimes we have Brailled an entire extensive series of books, such as The 39 Clues. Today we are printing in Braille the Here's Hank books created by Henry Winkler, also known as "the Fonz." Forty-three hundred books go out to the blind children of America each month. In 2018 the books collected in the library of the Action Fund were moved from California to Baltimore. Distributing them through a lending library has been effective in the past. Today we are using the internet to let readers get their fingers on them. ShareBraille is the distribution system. Our volunteers place books on the ShareBraille website. Those who want them can request that the books be sent to them. Whenever the readers have finished with them, they may once again place the books on the ShareBraille site. Other readers can request them from those who are currently in possession. In the first few months of the program, more than a thousand books have been placed on https://sharebraille.org/. For blind people Braille calendars have often been very hard to get. Beginning in 1964 the Brotherhood printed these calendars and distributed them to the blind of the United States. At the height of the program more than thirty thousand calendars were given to the blind free of charge annually. Even today some twelve thousand calendars are sent to the blind each year. Promoting the use of Braille is as important as creating it. The Action Fund has recently become a sponsor of the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest. This is a regional effort being promoted by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. Most blind people who achieve positions of employment in the workforce possess the ability to read Braille. Braille readers are indeed leaders. Braille does not ensure leadership, but many people who read it rise to positions of leadership. Consequently, the Action Fund will promote this skill. The Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest offers recognition to blind children who read significant amounts of Braille within a specified period of time. What is true for Braille is also true for print. At the beginning of using the skill of reading, most effort goes toward learning how to read. However, soon reading becomes a method of learning. Reading can be a chore, but it can also become a joy. The Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest shows blind children the wonder of unexplored arenas of science, poetry, and adventure. The Action Fund supports educational opportunities as well. Any blind person in the United States who wants one can have a slate and stylus for writing Braille at no charge. The organization gives scholarships to blind people to offer educational opportunity. Probably the best known of these is the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship funded by the Action Fund and presented each year at the convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Sometimes we promote blind scholars who wish to enter fields that are uncommon for the blind. A brilliant student seeking to enter the study of bioethics received a scholarship from the Action Fund, became a professor of bioethics, and challenged those in the bioethics field to welcome all who have the drive and talent to enter this demanding profession. The Action Fund also promotes research into areas of knowledge not yet fully developed. The organization is pursuing a program to make a practical guide for creating an automated translation program for Braille mathematics. When this project is successful, we will expand it to other scientific disciplines. In recent years the Action Fund has undertaken programs to help blind children know that they too can participate in art. Sighted children get crayons and coloring books at an early age. Blind children should also have such products. The Action Fund distributed art boxes to blind children containing the supplies for tactile drawing that could be used at home. Posted on the website of the Action Fund are videos describing how these products can be used. Following the initial distribution of art boxes, the Action Fund presented interested blind children with more complex tactile drawing kits. Art is as much available to blind people as it is to the sighted although the methods for achieving it may not be the same. This is the message the Action Fund conveyed to the blind children participating in the project. The Action Fund is also seeking mechanisms to produce raised images that are tactilely informative and visually interesting. Raised images in the past have been informative to the touch. Print images have been informative to the eye. But the new method for producing these tactile visual images makes them interesting to both. A book, commissioned by the Action Fund, is being released at this convention. This book, Pedro and the Octopus, has a number of images of a creature that is difficult for a blind person to handle. We will be seeking methods for automating the production of raised images that also present visual understanding. Created as a theosophical organization to help the blind, the American Brotherhood for the Blind (now the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults) has become one of the strongest supporters of educational efforts for the blind in the United States. A quiet group, the Action Fund has steadfast leadership. It has had nine presidents in its hundred-year history. Some of these presidents will be well known to the blind. These presidents took office in the following years: Florian A. Baker (1919), Maitland L. Bishop (1939), Newel Perry (1939), Jacobus tenBroek (1945), Kenneth Jernigan (1968), Marc Maurer (1978), Ralph Sanders (1978), Joanne Becker (1981), and Barbara Loos (1990). Our current president, Barbara Loos, has served for twenty-nine years, the longest time that any person has been president of the Action Fund. She is a quiet person and introspective. However, she is also unflappable, toughminded, demanding, and gentle. For nineteen years Dr. Kenneth Jernigan served as executive director of the Action Fund. I served in that office for twenty-one years. At the beginning of 2019 Mark Riccobono accepted that responsibility. What will the future of the Action Fund be in the next hundred years? I suspect that it will remain the same quiet, steadfast, supportive organization it has always been. I suspect that it will continue to seek research projects to expand knowledge and educational learning for the blind. I suspect it will continue to seek partners to give greater opportunity to individual blind people throughout the nation-especially to blind children and to individuals who are deaf-blind. I suspect that it will remain the stalwart friend to the blind that has given it the position it now occupies. Its role is to support blind children and blind adults with greater opportunity than might have been available without it. I know that it will offer a full measure to the blind of hope and of faith. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over 7,000 canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. ? Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than 350 blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over 400 local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over 350 Braille-writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO/CAPTION: Debbie Kent Stein and Ann Cunningham sign copies of Pedro and the Octopus at the Braille Carnival] [PHOTO/CAPTION: Sienna and daughter, Mercedes, smile for the camera while enjoying the Braille Carnival.] Braille Carnival: A Swimming Success by Julie Deden From the Editor: Julie Deden is the director of the Colorado Center for the Blind, but she also serves as the vice president of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. Taking assignments, as all board members do, Julie volunteered to chair the Century Celebration Carnival. Here is her report: Schools of Braille enthusiasts swirled through the room for the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Century Celebration Carnival on Tuesday, July 9. Hundreds of kids and adults were there to celebrate one hundred years of innovation in the areas of Braille and tactile literacy by the Action Fund. At the center of it all was the Action Fund's latest innovative product, Pedro and the Octopus, a beautifully written and illustrated tactile print and Braille book. Author Debra Kent (known to us as Debbie Stein) and tactile illustrator Ann Cunningham were on hand to pass out the books and sign them. The first one hundred families received a free copy. Participants played Braille relay games, tried their hand at drawing, and sniffed out all kinds of scents. They enjoyed popcorn and lemonade and were given the brand new 2020 calendar by Dr. and Mrs. Maurer. Not surprisingly, the theme of the carnival was sea creatures. Austin Riccobono (the son of our President and First Lady) was there talking about all kinds of sea creatures. He showed off tactile replicas of many. When the American Action Fund began its work as the American Brotherhood for the Blind in 1919, Braille itself had been around for less than one hundred years. At that time all Braille was produced by hand, so its availability was limited. The Action Fund began with the simple goal of making Braille materials available to blind adults and children. So our celebration was not just about the past one hundred years, but about the ocean of possible innovation that the next one hundred years will mean for the blind, and the American Action Fund will be sailing with a brisk tailwind. We want to thank the National Association of Blind Students for all their work. Thank you also to the entire board of the Action Fund. All of us are ready for another century of service. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Will Butler] Be My Eyes Partnership Announcement by Will Butler From the Editor: President Riccobono introduced this special announcement with these words: "Every year now for a number of years we've had our Bolotin Award program. One of the things we do in the Bolotin Awards is acknowledge individuals and organizations that are undertaking innovative projects to help blind people live the lives they want. And, since we are the premier organization of blind people, we seek opportunities to partner with our Bolotin Award winners. I'd like to introduce for a few remarks one of our recent Bolotin Awardees who has come to talk about some recent developments and future developments with the National Federation of the Blind. Representing Be My Eyes, here is the vice president of Be My Eyes, Will Butler." Thank you, President Riccobono. When the blind Danish craftsman Hans J?rgen Wiberg came up with the idea for Be My Eyes back in 2013, it was based on a pretty simple concept: what if we could get blind people the support they needed, when they needed it, and that's it. What if independence actually meant decentralizing when and how you ask for help so that you never had to tap the same person twice and not tax the sighted relationships in your life? [applause] When we launched almost five years ago, we didn't know if we were going to be able to build the community support platform that we were imagining. But in the first twenty-four hours we had 10,000 signups, and with the ongoing support of organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind and with the Bolotin Award that we received last year, we've been able to build that community into one of the largest global communities of blind and visually-impaired people across the world in 150 different countries, speaking about 185 different languages, 138,000 blind and visually impaired people. And as of this week we have about 2.5 million volunteers signed up for the platform. [applause] But that was just the first step for us. In 2018 we introduced experts to the platform. We invited brands from tech support to personal care to banking; world leaders like Microsoft, Google, and Proctor & Gamble, who now provide support to our community through their experts every day. And just like Be My Eyes (the volunteering side), the expert support is free. Google recently launched its accessibility support video service globally across our platform so that now it's available to everyone in the world. Yesterday we announced a new partner called Clearblue. For those that don't know, Clearblue is one of the world's leading manufacturers of the home pregnancy test, a product that historically has been woefully inaccessible. If you ask a friend who is a blind woman who has a pregnancy story, she will also tell you a second story about who read her results. Starting this week, we are closing that gap with Clearblue, who will now be providing private, anonymous, and free interpretations of readings of home pregnancy and fertility test results for women anywhere in the world. [applause] I share this today to communicate the brand of independence we are after at Be My Eyes. It's a brand that brings awareness to accessibility issues that gives our users the peace of mind and confidence to live a life untethered and doesn't put up any additional barriers to accessing information simply because you can't see. To be clear, we don't believe that information that is accessible to some 95 or 99 percent of the population is something you should have to pay for access to. [applause, cheers] But there's another kind of expertise that can't be delivered through the eyes. Mentorship, sage wisdom, lived experience, in my opinion is the best way to live a life with confidence and zeal, and that's why I'm pleased that we've worked with the NFB leadership to set up a partnership that will allow the NFB to join our specialized help platform, not as users but as providers of expert support. [applause] So with an emphasis on families, parenting, and daily life, NFB experts will be able to answer calls from our users starting this fall and give our users not help through the eyes, but a perspective that could be even more valuable. I personally am thrilled and excited to see how this helps our community grow and flourish, and I just want to thank the National Federation of the Blind for all of its support over the years, and here's to the future for Be My Eyes. Thank you. [applause] ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Emily Coleman] Perspectives on Raising the Bar in the Blindness Field: Why A New Accreditation System? by Emily Coleman From the Editor: Not all conflict can be resolved by communication, but if it is to be, communication is at least the first step. The Federation is reaching out to AER as evidenced by its multiple invitations for the Association to appear on our convention agendas. I think that the speech that appears below represents a commendable effort on the part of AER's president to try building a bridge. See what you think: Thank you President Riccobono, and thank you all for allowing me some time at the National Federation of the Blind 2019 National Convention. I'm grateful to be on this stage as I've watched a packed agenda with impressive speakers. Before I move to the topic of my presentation, I wanted to mention how I personally became acquainted with the Federation to help you understand my own philosophies. In 2005 my son Eddie was born blind in Montana, and I met a remarkable family trying to get a parent support group off the ground. By the time Eddie was six months old I had been recruited as an officer in our new organization tied to the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children-[applause] yeah, it's worth clapping. We were called HOPE in Montana. HOPE was an acronym and in true NFB style meant Helping Other Parents Excel. [applause] So my introduction to NFB as a parent was that yes, you wanted to support families, but also you wanted to help me excel to provide the highest expectations for my son. As he entered school some educational programs were better than others, some teachers were better than others. Because he had multiple disabilities, at times I had to fight for better instruction so others could see him through the same lens as myself. Although his schools had accrediting bodies and certified teachers, they sometimes didn't understand how to push my child. So I'm going to ask you all a few questions. Let me know if at any point in your life you were met with low expectations because you are blind. [loud cheering] Let me know if those people setting a low bar were certified professionals of some kind. [cheering] Now let me know if they worked for an organization that was supposed to train or educate blind individuals. [cheers] Let me know if you felt frustrated or helpless. [cheers] So personally, for my son, I could answer yes to all of those questions. As a parent I felt helpless in many meetings because my voice was unheard. At that point in my life I knew I had to return to school and become a teacher of blind students. I couldn't rely on always having good teachers and good programs and had to be prepared to be all those things for Eddie. While enrolled at Portland State University I learned about the NFB's Teacher of Tomorrow Program. [applause] Not having worked with NFB from the professional angle, I wanted in. We don't have enough time today to talk about all I learned in that year of travel, or the trouble we may have gotten into, or time to discuss the quality relationships I built with other teachers and also with Federationists. From Maryland to DC to Louisiana to Dallas, every step only fortified my belief that the NFB has great value to us, our children, and our work. [applause] So thank you for the multiple opportunities you provided to me and educators like myself. Of course there is one phrase I learned from NFB that stuck in my mind and continues to be echoed in my thoughts throughout my work, and that is: nothing about us without us. Or as we just heard, nothing without us. I hope that as a teacher of blind students, as a past administrator at the Washington State School for the Blind, as the soon-to-be-Superintendent of the Texas School for the Blind, and as I'm here today as the president of the AER that I will always be seen as a professional inclusive of consumers. Somebody who invites you to the table and values your contributions to our work and the personal expertise that you bring to every conversation. [applause] Now to return to my presentation, titled, "Perspectives on Raising the Bar in the Blindness Field: Why A New Accreditation System?" As Mark shared, I became president-elect of AER in July of 2018, and then due to Janie Blome's move to executive director I became president early in January of this year. Therefore the decision to take on an AER accreditation program was made prior to me being seated on the board. However, I have great respect for AER leadership, membership, and the organization as a whole, so I do trust their decision. Our mission is to serve and empower professionals to deliver standards-based practices that lead to improved educational and rehabilitative outcomes for individuals with visual impairment and blindness. This is powerful to me. It speaks to me, and I can see why accreditation would land in our wheelhouse. As the AER president I am here to speak on our behalf, and I hope I can share something valuable with you today. In some ways the title of my presentation answers the question within. We ask: why a new accreditation system? And my answer would be to raise the bar in the blindness field. As I shared about my own journey, we know in some instances poor services are being delivered. We know blind adults and students aren't getting what they need. We know accountability systems for schools and agencies are often geared toward individuals who aren't blind. Because of this their standards often do not reflect the needs of blind people. There are beliefs that organizations are mandated to have some accrediting or certifying body, but that is not the case. After asking around I've learned that, for example, some schools for the blind seek out accreditation not because they were required to do so but because they see value in outside oversight. However we know that oversight doesn't work unless it is continuous and not just one check-in every five years or so. AER intends to provide continual progress monitoring of those they accredit and will not give a stamp of approval unless standards are met. Our council has already proved that to be true, AER accreditation is not easy. We also know that accreditation does not work without knowledgeable individuals on the team who know what to look for to ensure quality outcomes for consumers. AER's accreditation work cannot consist of just anybody; it has to involve the right people and the right organization. This includes you. [applause] As I shared, I wasn't on the AER board when President Riccobono and Dr. Bell wrote their articles in the January 2018 edition of the Braille Monitor. I was on the board when Everette Bacon wrote his article in October 2018 and attended the NFB Texas convention shortly after, because we want to collaborate with NFB. I specifically look forward to collaborating with NFB Texas, which is a robust, successful chapter, as we heard earlier today. Before traveling to Fort Worth I discussed my intent to attend, and our executive director at the time Lou Tutt and President Janie Blome were in full support. Learning about AER and my role as president alongside Janie has been a positive experience for me. It is my understanding that she meets regularly with President Riccobono, and although AER and NFB have not always seen eye-to-eye, our conversational efforts are important and will lead to better outcomes for blind adults and children. Through their discussions, it is also my understanding that blind individuals will be a required part of our accreditation council and your voice will be heard. Janie was disappointed she couldn't be here today, but she had, as Mark said, a family obligation which we all know is important too. After speaking with President Riccobono on the phone and reading his article in the Braille Monitor I have a better understanding of your history with NAC, so I understand your alarm when AER initially agreed to take on its accreditation program. Lou Tutt is a great mentor of mine, and his guidance lead me to AER leadership. He wanted you to understand that AER wasn't just taking over NAC, that there would be new standards and greater oversight, but we may not have fully understood the personal component for all of you. I didn't understand until recently. I'm fairly new to our field, so I did a little research, and based on what I've read within the Braille Monitor the NFB had real, valid concerns about NAC's standards and its treatment of consumers. [applause] AER has heard your concerns in regard to NAC and in regard to accreditation in general. We will continue to listen to NFB. As we've learned in our current political climate and the divisiveness in our country, we can't ignore the past. We all come to the table with history, some good and some bad. And when we ignore the history we cannot help but repeat our mistakes and bring with us not only our knowledge to the table but also our unaddressed bias. AER plans to move forward acknowledging NFB's concerns, including the lack of blind adult and blind professional participation in the past. [applause] As Dr. Jernigan said in 1971, NFB is not against the concept of accreditation, but NFB is against the lack of consumer participation. In President Riccobono's call to action in 2018 he said to, "let AER know that the blind are not opposed to accreditation itself, but we are opposed to repeating all of the sad songs of the past." We don't want to repeat that playlist, either. I want NFB to know, and President Riccobono to know, that AER hears you. Yes, we took over NAC, and yes, that means we have assumed its history, which was made very clear by the reaction of NFB which I completely respect. Therefore we need to make sure that we don't ignore your concerns from the past and that we try to address them for the future to improve outcomes. Dr. Bell's article in the January 2018 Braille Monitor explained the difference between certification, accreditation, training, and licensure. I, personally, was grateful for his work because the concepts are so intertwined that it's hard to sort them out. He said that at their core, all of these concepts have largely to do with ensuring the individuals receive quality training and education and are protected from negligence and incompetence. So if we ask why a new accreditation system, I would say why not? Can there be too many entities ensuring blind individuals are properly educated, trained, and kept free from negligence? Can there be too many effective organizations looking out for the best interests of blind people? I say not if it's done right, and AER intends to do it right. [applause] As I understand it from my limited knowledge, NFB's National Blindness Professional Certification Board has proven a successful method to ensure quality practices and outcomes for training centers operating under the Structured Discovery approach. [applause] Your model includes continual oversight, program monitoring, onsite visits, and more. You've recognized a need for oversight, and your training centers agreed and have thrived because of it. AER's wishes are the same. We hope agencies will recognize a need for oversight, will seek out accreditation from not just anyone but someone knowledgeable about blindness. If they happen to seek out AER accreditation, we will increase positive outcomes for their clients and students, and we will be confident in our work because we will have learned from our field's history. As the president of AER, soon-to-be superintendent of TSBVI, and parent of a blind child, I want to thank NFB. Your work is some of the most important in our field, and I'm grateful for every written word or conversation you have that advocates for blind individuals. Advocacy is critical, and you have it in spades. There may be times we have differing opinions, or I need to ask lots of questions to better understand your perspective, but that doesn't mean I want you to not show up. Keep up your work and hold us to task. Our task is better services for blind people, and you set the highest standard. If you choose to seek more opportunities to work with AER or with other organizations in our field, I hope you do. If you choose to simply stay behind the scenes and monitor what we're doing, that's great too. My only request is that you don't disengage. We need you, and so do our consumers and students. [applause] I encourage you to think back ten minutes or so when I asked about you or your children receiving poor services and maybe feeling unheard. That's a horrible feeling. Even given my professional background and personal experiences, I still find myself frustrated at complicated systems with questionable priorities. I look to organizations like AER and NFB to hold programs accountable to us, our students, and our friends. Many parts of the president's report two days ago resonated with me. When President Riccobono said, "Raising societal expectations starts with setting the highest standards for ourselves," I felt that applies to professionals, too. If AER doesn't set the highest standards for training and educational programs and doesn't have a way to articulate what those are, then professional expectations will not rise either. I appreciate your time and attention. Please reach out to me, and I'll answer what questions I can. If I can't answer due to my lack of knowledge, Janie Blome or myself will follow-up. As President Riccobono also said on Wednesday, "A movement is more important than any one leader," and I need other leaders and members within AER, NFB, and beyond to have my back and more importantly the back of blind individuals. Thank you. [applause] Before President Coleman left the stage, questions were invited from the audience, and Immediate Past President Maurer asked this one: "We have been doing the work of picketing the National Accreditation Council during almost all of the time I've been in the National Federation of the Blind. We have used the phrase repeatedly that we speak for ourselves. [applause] The education system in the United States has not served the blind well. I know there are some very good teachers and some people with very good hearts. But, as a whole, it has not served the blind well. I want to know if, when you put an accreditation system together, you plan to tell us what programs are good for us or if you plan to set up a system in which we have the right to tell you which programs are good for us? For we who experience what they are can tell you precisely which ones work and which ones don't." [applause] President Riccobono called on President Coleman, and she replied: "I know that Janie and Mark have been in conversations about what the direct involvement will be from the NFB. I do know, as Mark shared, that 50 percent of the Council will consist of blind individuals, and we have offered a seat. I know there was some concern that that was a token offer. I don't know that there has been a decision made on that at this time, but I would request that NFB strongly consider taking that seat because the Council will decide who receives accreditation and who doesn't, and NFB should be in that room. So that is the suggestion I would make, but I don't know exactly what is entailed in the entire process of accreditation, but I would almost guarantee that they do speak to individuals being served by the agencies and schools that are seeking accreditation, and I would personally value any of their input just as much as anybody else's." Carlton Walker asked for and was granted the floor. She asked: "Miss Coleman, as you would agree I'm sure, teachers must be competent at what they teach. According to AER's accreditation website, six University TVI programs hold AER accreditation. The Louisiana Tech program, which we know is superb has Braille courses that are integrated into every single course in the program, and individuals must demonstrate Braille proficiency by reading at least twenty words per minute or by obtaining NCUEB certification before graduating. Would AER be willing to condition accreditation of programs on similar high expectations and standards for teachers?" President Coleman responded: "Thank you. I'm not going to argue against Louisiana Tech; that's a great, great program. It's hard to answer that question because I'm not on the accreditation council, and, as I shared with Mark, I'm probably not the best person to be here today. But I do think that is an important part, for NFB to be involved in the process to help us look at those standards and make sure that we are setting a high bar, because I certainly think that our teachers need to be qualified for the population that they serve. Personally I hold myself to the highest standard in that regard by maintaining my Braille certification anywhere that I live, even though I'm not doing direct teaching, just because I think that's important for our students. [applause]" President Riccobono concluded the presentation with these remarks: "So Emily, I appreciate you coming here to this convention. Again this is the first time that we've had an AER president be here with us. [prolonged applause] I think it does suggest a change in opportunities from the approach that AER has taken in the past. I also appreciate that you have acknowledged the real detrimental experience that people in this room have had from the low expectations that they've experienced and your real personal commitment to raise the bar. We give our commitment to that same thing. We are here to raise expectations, and whether it is as a formal member on the accreditation council, which we have not committed to because we don't really feel that it accurately reflects the power and importance of the organized blind movement, but whether it's on the council or not, you can be assured that this organization will continue to be honest with you, will continue to be authentic, will continue to hold ourselves and the professionals in the field accountable, and we will definitely let you know whether a program is accredited or not, whether it meets the expectations of the blind of this nation. Thank you for being here." ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Jean Brown] Not Without Question: The Difference of the Federation Philosophy in our Lives by Jean Brown From the Editor: On the last afternoon of the 2019 Convention, many of us in the audience got to know someone we had only known as the wife of our second vice president, Ron Brown. When Jean Brown stepped to the microphone, she revealed that her life has been made up of many successes and challenges. Some of the successes raised her so high that they could have separated her from her faith and her God, but they did not. Some of her setbacks were so close to overwhelming that they could have done the same thing, but they only strengthened the values that make her who she is. Here is what she said: Thank you, my Federation family. It is so good to be here today, and I thank President Riccobono for allowing me this opportunity. Some of you, as he said, know me as Jean. Others, especially from Indiana, know me as Jeannie. Others simply know me as Ron's wife. I thank all of you, because all of you are such a big part of our lives. We absolutely love the Federation family, and I want the Federation family to know more about me. At the age of thirteen I became a freelance model, and at the age of eighteen I had a daughter named Lisa. At the age of twenty-three, which became a pivotal point in my life, I was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. At the age of twenty-three I found out that I was carrying my second child. At the age of twenty-three I found out that I was going to be an exclusive for Ann Geddes Modeling Agency. At the age of twenty-three I lost my sight. All of those things happened, and trying to deal with one thing after another was very hard to do. Those were some of the most memorable days of my life and some of the most heartbreaking days. But, all in all, I realize that where we have a plan, God has a blueprint. [applause] I decided that there were three words that were going to get me through, and they were simply "I got this." [Cheers and applause] It was amazing how a marriage that had gone on for almost ten years was about to end simply because my ex-husband couldn't deal with my blindness. I had to wake up every day to it, but he couldn't deal with it. I had to use the cane so that I didn't step off the curb or fall down a flight of stairs, but he was busy putting that cane behind the door when I got ready to leave, saying "Take my arm; I gotcha." I found out that doesn't last forever. You better know how to get around by yourself [applause]. You better know how to take your cane and go where you need to go. Because if you are depending on someone else, you may or may not get there. So I realized that now this man is really putting me down. You are embarrassed because I have to use a cane? Well, at that point it was time to say, "You need to pack." [applause] So as he did just that, I had two daughters who were four and nine that I had to take care of. Mind you I left Mama's house to go to his house, and now my house with my children and all of the responsibilities that came along with it were on me. That's all good though, because I got this. I got this. [applause] My daughters are very bright. They were good at reading and writing. My nine-year-old was helping me write out checks. I was making up stories and telling them to them because I couldn't read Braille. Then the Lions Club gave me a Braille writer, and I sat with tears rolling down my face because I could not read Braille, I could not write Braille, and I would sit there at my dining room table at night trying to learn to read this. It made no sense to me. But I'll tell you what: what did make sense was that if I did not learn it, I had only myself to blame, and I was going to be there for my daughters no matter what. Let me go back just a little bit here. When my youngest, LaTrice, was born, I remember the nurse standing beside my bed, and she reached over and touched my hand as if to console me. She said, "You know, we can send someone to your house every day to help you take care of your baby because being at home alone like this with her is going to be really difficult." And you know, I had the same three words for her: "I got this. I've had one child in the house; I can do this." So she looked at me as if she didn't quite understand, and she said, "But you know, it's going to be hard. You've got to warm up her bottles, and you've got to change her, and how are you going to know..." I said, "The same way you do. The finger in the diaper always works." You see, I don't need somebody to come into my house and be in my space where I'm giving my children all the love that I can possibly give them. I've got this! [applause] When I met my now-husband, we were at a rehab center where he was working and I was getting ready to be a craft instructor, and I mean, I may be blind, but I still like tall, handsome, good-looking men. [applause] So when we were introduced, I kind of took a step back and said "Whew, yeah." My daughter looked at him, and because she had seen him before, she thought "Whew, there's Stevie Wonder." She took off. She had never seen a blind man before, and here he was, with a head full of hair, and she thought for sure he was Stevie Wonder. Months later when I got the job and she saw him coming around the corner, tapping that cane, she said, "Momma, there's Stevie Wonder again." And I thought, "Oh yeah, this is all good!" [amused cheers] It was interesting how my sighted husband gave up almost ten years of marriage because he didn't want to wake up every day to a blind wife. [some sporadic booing throughout the hall] Oh honey, I ain't mad-and how I met Ron and after dating him for six years we got married, and he was like, "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever woke up to." And I was like, "Oh, I like this." [applause] But you know, I went through a period of time where I thought family didn't understand. The cousins that I'd grown up with were staying away from me and not stopping in like they used to because I lost my sight. They were just not the same. I mean, I knew what was different about me-I'd lost my sight-and if that made you want to stay away, then I thought, "Good idea. I didn't ask for this either." But I learned to adjust, and I learned that I could go on with or without those that I knew because I had the power of Almighty God on my side, [applause] and I had my daughters beside me, and I had Ron in my life, and I knew that things were going to be a lot different. Ron was involved in the National Federation of the Blind thanks to Dr. Maurer, who recruited him when Ron was a teenager. When Ron and Paul Howard decided that they were going to start a chapter in Northwest Indiana, they were busy trying to convince me that I needed to be a part of it. I thought and said, "I don't need to be a card-carrying member of anything. I'm fine like I am." Paul said, "But don't you want to give back to the community?" And I thought, well, I guess I could. I kind of felt like so many people belong to so many things, and some of them mean something to them, and some don't. They just want to be a part of something. Well, I used to do political fundraising, and I thought, "Okay, yes, I do want to give back." I started fundraising back in 1982, and I've been fundraising ever since. [applause] I went from being a chapter fundraiser to becoming the state fundraiser in 1987 for the state of Indiana. I still hold that position, and I not only hold it as a position, but I hold it in my heart because I know the importance of the fundraising that we do. I know the importance of the advocacy work that we do. I know the importance of the community outreach that we do. I know that we have a purpose, and there is nothing that I would not do to build this organization. The Federation has made a significant difference in my life, and I want it to touch the hearts of everyone that I meet who is blind, who feels that they can't do anything to give back to other blind people. I want them to know that there is something you can do, and whatever you do, no matter how small a project it is, it's worth it. It's worth it, and we thank you. You know, being a blind wife is just like being a sighted wife. When we got ready to get married, my pastor looked at me and looked at Ron-some counselor, you know-and he said, "You know what? I really don't think you two know what you're getting yourselves into. Ron, you can't even take her to the grocery store. You can't take her shopping. I mean, you can't give her the lifestyle she's accustomed to. Why are you two getting married?" And Ron, trying to be real nice, said "You know, pastor, I work every day, and as long as I've got money in my pocket, I can pay for a cab to take her anywhere she wants to go." [applause and cheers] I think that getting married to Ron was one of the best things that I did, and I think that being a part of this organization and him introducing me to the Federation was indeed a highlight of my life. I love and appreciate all of you. I thank you, and please, check out my new book, Not without Question by D. J. Brown. Don't ask me what that D stands for because I won't tell you. But you can get the book from me, from my website, notwithoutquestion.com, from Amazon, from Kindle, it's at Barnes & Noble, it's on Books-A-Million, so get the book, read it, and please post your comments about it. I'm interested in what you'd like to see next and how you enjoyed the book. Thank you very much. I love you. [applause] ---------- The 2019 Convention Resolutions: A Guidepost on Our Road to Freedom by Sharon Maneki Freedom has been an important value in American society since we declared our independence from England in 1776. We have been singing and writing about freedom throughout our history. For instance, in 1832, Samuel Francis Smith wrote the song "America." We still sing this song today, but it is better known as "My Country 'Tis of Thee." The most famous verse of this song reads: My country 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died! Land of the Pilgrim's pride! >From every mountain side, Let freedom ring! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote and delivered one of the most famous speeches about freedom on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He delivered this speech entitled "I Have a Dream" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The last paragraph of this famous speech reads: "...when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'" Freedom is equally as important to the blind as it is to the sighted. Freedom is not something that we merely sing or write about. Obtaining freedom requires action. As President Riccobono explained in his 2019 banquet address: "We the blind, with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and intersectionalities, have chosen to come together to create a choir of freedom. When we say, 'Let freedom ring,' we mean let us build the National Federation of the Blind." How do we determine the next steps on the road to freedom for the blind? As we know, the convention is the supreme authority of the Federation. During the convention we establish policies and adjust priorities. Our policies and priorities are reflected in the resolutions adopted by the convention. Each year, President Riccobono appoints a resolutions committee to review all of the resolutions presented by the membership and to determine which resolutions should be considered by the convention. This large committee of Federation leaders met to debate twenty-one resolutions on July 8. I was honored to serve as the chairman of the committee and was ably assisted by Patricia Miller, secretary of the committee, who has been part of our national staff for thirty-two years. Other members of the 2019 committee were: Pam Allen, Denise Avant, Everette Bacon, Edward Bell, Ron Brown, Amy Buresh, Shawn Callaway, Christina Clift, Norma Crosby, Tim Elder, Chancey Fleet, Deepa Goraya, Ever Lee Hairston, Lynn Heitz, Cathy Jackson, Scott LaBarre, Anil Lewis, Barbara Loos, Jeannie Massay, Dr. Marc Maurer, Cassandra McKinney, Ronza Othman, Thomas Page, Sachin Pavithran, Barbara Pierce, Donald Porterfield, Bennett Prows, Casey Robertson, Amy Ruell, Joe Ruffalo, Tracy Soforenko, Ryan Strunk, Dan Wenzel, Kevan Worley, and Gary Wunder. On July 10, the convention considered these resolutions and eventually decided to pass all of them. In his presidential report, President Riccobono explained "We have prepared our movement for a significant period of growth with the development of the latest strategic plan for the National Federation of the Blind, which we released earlier this year. In order to expand our organizational capacity, our areas of priority include (1) education, rehabilitation, and employment; (2) membership and community building; (3) advocacy; and (4) development. Each of these pillars supports our ultimate goal of freedom for the blind. This new plan will allow us to accurately measure our progress, effectively synthesize the feedback of active members, and strategically utilize our resources-which are not unlimited." How do the twenty-one resolutions reflect the priorities in our strategic plan and establish a guidepost for our continued progress on the road to freedom for the blind? Pillar II of the strategic plan is membership and community building. Objective #4 under this pillar calls for the further development of methods and practices for recruitment of new diverse members from a diverse pool. Resolution 2019-01, regarding diversity, intersectionality, and blindness, promotes this objective. Intersectionality means the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. In this resolution it is resolved that, "the National Federation of the Blind pledge its willingness to partner with advocacy organizations to provide the authentic expertise of the blind and to connect blind members of these advocacy organizations with the resources and expertise of the Federation." This resolution was sponsored by Ever Lee Hairston, a well-known author and civil rights advocate who serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. The convention passed six resolutions concerning the first pillar of our strategic plan: education, rehabilitation, and employment. Four of these resolutions were about education. Ashley Neybert sponsored resolution 2019-07, regarding the lack of accessibility of the American Chemical Society examinations. Ashley is the vice president of the Science and Engineering Division of the National Federation of the Blind. She intends to obtain a PhD in chemistry. Unfortunately, she had to abandon her studies in the US because of the accessibility issues outlined in this resolution. Ashley will be continuing her studies in Australia. In this resolution we demand that the "American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute promptly adopt and post publicly a robust accessibility policy." Resolution 2019-17 also deals with access to education, but in this case the culprit is Pearson Education Inc., North American Operations. In this resolution we call upon Pearson to demonstrate a full commitment to accessibility by publicizing its roadmap for addressing the accessibility of its educational products and services and by ensuring that all new products conform with WCAG 2.1 AA prior to their release. This resolution was sponsored by Johna Wright, a senior at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Johna also serves as vice president of the Community Services Division of the NFB and social media coordinator for the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). Two people proposed resolution 2019-11 concerning equal accessibility for all Learning Ally customers, including the blind. Sheri Koch is the president of the NFB of West Virginia. Trisha Kulkarni is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Blind Students and the vice president of the California Association of Blind Students. She won a national scholarship in 2018. These proponents explained that one of the problems with the Learning Ally phone app is that you can only move backward through a book-you cannot go forward. Therefore, the resolution reads in part "this organization strongly urge Learning Ally immediately to upgrade its current book-reading software and VOICEtext audio format so that blind patrons have the same access and equivalent ease of use as other print-disabled readers." Tactile Graphics fluency is an important skill in education for both children and adults. We will never be able to achieve this fluency unless we have access to this material. Mausam Mehta, a board member of NABS and secretary of the Virginia Association of Blind Students, proposed resolution 2019-15. In this resolution we urge the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped to include tactile graphics in the production of all future hardcopy Braille materials and to develop a policy that offers a hardcopy of just the accompanying tactile graphics that BARD users can order. The convention passed one resolution concerning rehabilitation. Thanks to the NFB, consumers have informed choice, which means that they can choose their rehabilitation service providers. In resolution 2019-04 we "call upon all state vocational rehabilitation agencies to review implementation of their informed choice policies with particular reference to selection among comprehensive adjustment to blindness training centers, including documentation of public participation by blind individuals and organizations in those reviews." Aaron Espinoza, who was attending his first national convention, sponsored this resolution because he had difficulty getting information to attend an NFB training center. The convention passed two resolutions dealing with employment. Denise Valkema, president of the NFB of Florida, introduced resolution 2019-02. In this resolution we urge "all entities that continue to exploit workers with disabilities through the payment of subminimum wages immediately to develop and implement models to transition all of their disabled workers to competitive, integrated employment." The convention passed a second resolution concerning the subminimum wages problem. In resolution 2019-06, we call upon the United States Congress quickly to pass H.R. 873 and S. 260, the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act of 2019. This act will sunset Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and permanently unlock the doors to competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities. Anna Forest, a recent graduate of the Louisiana Center for the Blind program who will begin her college studies at Michigan State University this fall, sponsored this resolution. The convention passed fourteen resolutions concerning the third pillar of our strategic plan, advocacy. This third pillar contains the most categories, so it is appropriate that most of our resolutions fall under advocacy. The vision statement of this pillar states: "The National Federation of the Blind is the leading advocate for all blind Americans in areas such as education, employment, transportation, voting, and civil rights. Blind people, their families, agencies for the blind, corporations, and the government turn to our organization for expert advice on programs, skills building, encouragement, nonvisual access, and technology that level the playing field for blind people." As you might expect from this priority, the convention passed resolutions on voting, civil rights, transportation, and accessibility. Over the years the convention has adopted many resolutions about voting. This year was no exception. Recently, the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act was introduced in the United States Senate. This act limits the use of ballot-marking devices (BMD) to voters with disabilities. Since ballots printed from a BMD differ in size and content from hand-marked ballots, the BMD ballots are no longer secret. Lou Ann Blake, deputy director of the Jernigan Institute, proposed resolution 2019- 05 to ensure that voters with disabilities have the same right to a secret ballot as voters without disabilities. The resolution further states, "that this organization demand that the Senate amend the PAVE Act to make BMDs the primary method for ballot-marking and provide sufficient funds to state and local governments to purchase the required number of BMDs for use by the majority of voters." The convention passed two resolutions that specifically deal with civil rights. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. To assist us in asserting our rights under the ADA, the law contains a private right of action. A small group of plaintiffs and attorneys do not advance the cause of accessibility, because they file dozens of lawsuits all at once and settle them quickly and confidentially. In some cases the settlements do not evidence any changes to the websites, so the businesses pay money but no good for the blind results. In 2019-09, we urge members of the legal community to act responsibly and to draw up public settlement agreements that outline the specific steps to be taken by an entity to achieve accessibility and the anticipated timeline for those steps to be completed. The resolution also states our continued objection to any federal or state legislation, "that seeks to shift the burden of compliance from the entities to people with disabilities affected by noncompliance." Tai Tomasi proposed this resolution. Tai is a civil rights lawyer who won national scholarships in 2000 and 2004. She recently became the program manager for the Alabama Freedom Center for the Blind. Christina Clift, president of the NFB of Tennessee, sponsored the second civil rights resolution. Title II of the ADA prohibits state- administered benefit programs, such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and workforce development from discrimination against and disparate treatment of people with disabilities and thus mandates the provision of equally effective communication and equal access to services for such persons. In resolution 2019-08, we insist that all state- administered benefit programs live up to their ADA obligations. The convention passed three resolutions concerning relatively new forms of transportation. Dockless electric scooters disrupt the flow of pedestrian traffic because users leave them in locations that block curb cuts, obstruct sidewalks, and block bus stops and stoops. Resolution 2019- 13 reads in part: "that this organization demand that all dockless electric scooter companies place their company name, scooter identification number, and contact information on each scooter in a format accessible and easily detectible by the blind and that these companies develop accessible websites and mobile applications so that blind pedestrians can easily communicate reports of misuse or injury." Ronza Othman, who serves as both president of the Maryland affiliate and first vice president of the National Association of Blind Lawyers proposed this resolution. She won a national scholarship in 2006. Domonique Lawless, who serves in the Virginia affiliate as the Richmond chapter president and won national scholarships in 2004 and 2013, sponsored resolution 2019-16. In 2017 the National Federation of the Blind entered into settlement agreements with Uber and Lyft to resolve drivers' discriminatory treatment against blind travelers with service animals. In resolution 2019-16 we demand that Uber and Lyft vigorously enforce all aspects of these agreements. Autonomous vehicles will be a tremendous transportation option for blind people when they become fully operational. The convention adopted resolution 2019-18 to send a message to automobile manufacturers and other stakeholders not to overlook or leave the blind behind. The resolution outlines four features that must be included in the design, development, and testing of these vehicles to ensure full accessibility for the blind. Scott Van Gorp, president of the Iowa affiliate, sponsored this resolution. The convention passed five resolutions dealing with accessibility. GreatCall is a cell service and medical alert provider whose products are primarily intended for use by seniors. Resolution 2019-03 outlines the accessibility issues with these products. The resolution reads in part "this organization urge GreatCall to provide an accessible activation method, describe the accessibility features of its phones in the Product- Support section of its website, and train customer service staff on all accessibility features." Elizabeth Wisecarver is very familiar with the need for and problems with accessible phones because she serves as the NFB- NEWSLINE? coordinator for the NFB of Texas. Liz also directs a popular training program for seniors called Silver Bells. She was a great sponsor for this resolution. Dorothy Griffin, president of the NFB of Georgia, introduced resolution 2019-10, regarding the speedy passage of the Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act. Blind people are losing our independence because digital interfaces prevent us from operating home appliances, fitness equipment, and medical equipment used in the home. This act will require the Access Board to create nonvisual access standards for this equipment, the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the nonvisual access standard for medical home use devices, and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the nonvisual access standards for home appliances and fitness equipment. Chelsea Page, a teacher of blind students who has been active in the Federation for some time and recently moved to Iowa, sponsored resolution 2019-12. This resolution calls for social media to give accessibility features more prominence on their platforms and to implement stricter accessibility testing protocols. When reading Kindle books with a refreshable Braille display, formatting and attribute information such as line breaks, indentation, and page breaks are frequently not conveyed to the reader. In resolution 2019- 19 we "call upon Amazon to design, develop, and implement solutions that will enable Kindle books displayed in Braille to convey formatting and attribute information to blind users." Elizabeth Rouse, who serves as the vice president of the Iowa Association of Blind Students and won a scholarship in 2018, sponsored this resolution. Audio description makes movies and television programs more accessible to blind people. Everette Bacon is president of the NFB of Utah and a member of the National Board of Directors. He also represents the Federation on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Disability Advisory Committee. Everette proposed resolution 2019-21 to demand that HBO begin airing new original programming with video description. In this resolution we "call upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explore mandating that video description be provided by HBO and other premium cable services." The last two resolutions that I am discussing in this article illustrate how the Federation intends to carry out objective number three of the advocacy pillar or priority. Under this objective the Federation will "increase public support to achieve acceptance, full integration, and equal opportunity of blind people." In resolution 2019-14 we "urge all parts of the entertainment industry, including directors, producers, casting agencies, and acting schools, to seek authentic representation when casting for blind roles." When we achieve the goals of this resolution, the public will have a better understanding of the real capabilities of blind people. Maryanne Melley, president of the NFB of Connecticut, sponsored this resolution. Cody Bair, treasurer of the NFB of Colorado, who also won national scholarships in 2012 and 2013, proposed resolution 2019-20. Blind Ice Hockey is becoming a popular sport. Unfortunately, athletes who are totally blind are limited to playing only the goaltender position because additional modifications are needed such as locator sounds when the puck stops moving. A sport for the blind should be fully accessible for all blind players. A sport that is more accessible to individuals with a greater level of vision perpetuates misconceptions about the capabilities of blind athletes by promoting a hierarchy of sight. In this resolution we "demand that the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation, USA Hockey, and the United States Association of Blind Athletes immediately convene a study group that includes blind ice hockey players and members of the National Federation of the Blind Sports and Recreation Division to explore ways to make the sport of blind ice hockey equally accessible to blind players regardless of their level of vision." As you can see, NFB resolutions provide the next steps in fulfilling our priorities. They truly are a guidepost on the road to freedom for the blind. This article is merely an introductory discussion of the resolutions considered by the 2019 Convention. The complete text of each resolution is reprinted below. Readers should analyze the text of each resolution to understand fully our policy on these subjects. Let freedom ring through the 2019 resolutions! ---------- National Federation of the Blind 2019 Resolutions Resolution 2019-01 Regarding Diversity, Intersectionality, and Blindness WHEREAS, since 1940 the National Federation of the Blind has served as a vehicle for collective action for the nation's blind, working to expand equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; and WHEREAS, for over seventy-eight years the Federation has served as the voice of the nation's blind, has changed attitudes and public perceptions and has developed authentic expertise regarding topics affecting the lives of blind people; and WHEREAS, consistent with the National Federation of the Blind's code of conduct and reflective of the Federation's members, the Federation does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, marital and/or socioeconomic status, age, genetic information, disability, and any other characteristic or intersectionality of characteristics; and WHEREAS, these differing characteristics and life experiences are tied together by the common bond of blindness, and many of those intersecting identities are also subject to inequalities, public misconceptions, and injustices; and WHEREAS, the Federation has actively worked to influence and improve public policy through self-advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels and has fostered relationships within industries to protect the rights of the blind; and WHEREAS, in June of 2018, as an expression of our common interest with other organizations, the Federation jointly filed suit with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates against the United States Department of Education to prevent the erosion of civil rights enforcement regulations; and WHEREAS, advocacy organizations such as the National Organization for Women, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Unidos US, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Human Rights Campaign, and many others who advocate on behalf of issues that affect a cross-section of Federationists and who have resources, including websites, programs, and activities that are inaccessible to interested blind people; and WHEREAS, these advocacy organizations can benefit from the collective expertise on blindness and unique perspectives that a diverse group of members of the Federation have gained through their participation in the organized blind movement: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge the National Organization for Women, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Unidos US, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Human Rights Campaign, and other advocacy organizations to ensure that their resources including websites, programs, and activities are fully accessible to blind people; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge these advocacy organizations to include blind people in their policy and program discussions to reflect better the intersectional priorities of blind people; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind pledge its willingness to partner with advocacy organizations to provide the authentic expertise of the blind and to connect blind members of these advocacy organizations with the resources and expertise of the Federation. Resolution 2019-02 Regarding the Continued Exploitation of Workers with Disabilities under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind believes in the capacity of the blind to be fully participating members of society, able to compete on equal terms with the sighted; and WHEREAS, we oppose the unfair, discriminatory, and immoral provision found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. ? 214(c)), that allows the United States Secretary of Labor to grant special wage certificates to employers, permitting them to pay their workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage; and WHEREAS, it has been demonstrated repeatedly that people with significant disabilities who receive the proper training and support can also engage in competitive, integrated employment, making the use of subminimum wages unnecessary and exploitative; and WHEREAS, although previously outspoken about the need for Section 14(c), the AbilityOne Commission and its two central nonprofit agencies, National Industries for the Blind and Source America, have finally begun to implement the proven strategies that led to the competitive, integrated employment of individuals who were historically placed in segregated subminimum wage environments; and WHEREAS, many employers who have been informed about these successful training and employment strategies have abandoned their 14(c) certificates in favor of a model that creates competitive integrated employment opportunities and better futures for the people they serve; and WHEREAS, employers who continue to advocate for the use of Section 14(c) may feel they are doing the right thing through their caretaker model of services but fail to acknowledge the detrimental impact this model has on the futures of the people they employ; and WHEREAS, rather than using their resources to develop competitive integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities, these employers use funding to actively lobby against the repeal of Section 14(c); and WHEREAS, employers continue to manipulate the thinking of the parents and guardians of the individuals with disabilities to the point where they are convinced that their children have reached their full potential through a legal provision that allows any entity lacking the talent, expertise, or desire to create better opportunities for people with disabilities to exploit these individuals through the payment of subminimum wages: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization condemn and deplore all entities that use special wage certificates under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge all entities that continue to exploit workers with disabilities through the payment of subminimum wages immediately to develop and implement models to transition all of their disabled workers to competitive, integrated employment. Resolution 2019-03 Regarding Mobile Phones for Blind Seniors WHEREAS, the number of blind or low-vision seniors continues to increase, and the number of basic accessible phones available through the main mobile phone carriers continues to decrease; and WHEREAS, Jitterbug is a manufacturer of phones designed for seniors and GreatCall is a cell service and medical alert provider whose products are primarily intended for use by seniors; and WHEREAS, the Jitterbug Flip and Smart2 are the two phones offered by GreatCall; and WHEREAS, the Jitterbug Flip, while offering limited font and contrast options for low-vision users, has no accessibility features for blind users; and WHEREAS, the Smart2 includes Google Talkback but does not offer any opportunity to configure accessibility settings during phone setup and requires the use of a printed activation number that is not available in a nonvisual format; and WHEREAS, GreatCall lacks information regarding accessibility features in any of its product documentation: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge Jitterbug to add nonvisual access features including menu and message readout to the Jitterbug Flip; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge Jitterbug to make available the ability to enable Talkback or other accessibility options at the initial stage of setup and provide documentation for all features of its products in an accessible format; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge GreatCall to provide an accessible activation method, describe the accessibility features of its phones in the Product-Support section of its website, and train customer service staff on all accessibility features. Resolution 2019-04 Regarding Informed Choice for Consumers in Selecting Blindness Training Programs WHEREAS, comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training is often essential for blind people to succeed in education, employment, and full integration into society; and WHEREAS, this training is frequently recommended and obtained under an individualized plan for employment with assistance provided by a state vocational rehabilitation agency; and WHEREAS, providers of comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training include both state and private agencies, which, although following a general pattern of service and training curricula, often produce varying outcomes for students and graduates; and WHEREAS, the law provides blind consumers the right to exercise informed choice in selecting among providers of comprehensive adjustment-to- blindness training, but this right is often denied due to the lack of sufficient information for consumers to compare programs and expected outcomes; and WHEREAS, the federal vocational rehabilitation regulations, 34 CFR ? 361.52, "Informed Choice," and RSA Policy Directive RSA-PD01-03, "Implementation of Informed Choice," require state agency personnel to assist individuals to obtain information sufficient to exercise their right of informed choice, but this obligation is often not fulfilled: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization call upon all state vocational rehabilitation agencies to review implementation of their informed -choice policies with particular reference to selection among comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training centers, including documentation of public participation by blind individuals and organizations in those reviews; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that at a minimum the outcome of such reviews must ensure that each state vocational rehabilitation agency will obtain and maintain current descriptions and data supplied by each known training center (updated annually), regardless of whether the center is a currently approved agency contractor, and regardless of the location of the center within the United States; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all current and up-to-date descriptions and data, including contact information supplied to a state vocational rehabilitation agency by any public or private provider of comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training, whether they are or ever have been a contractor and whether located in-state or out-of-state, must be provided to all individuals considering such training, to allow them to evaluate the relevance and quality of any center's program for their desired employment outcome; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization request the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University with its expertise and experience to collaborate in the development and publication of consumer guidelines for selection among adjustment-to-blindness training centers as a reference for individuals to use in their exercise of informed choice. Resolution 2019-05 Regarding the Use of Accessible Ballot-Marking Devices as the Primary Ballot Marking Tool WHEREAS, the ability to cast a secret ballot independently is a cornerstone of our democracy that enables citizens to vote their conscience without fear; and WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that voters with disabilities be afforded an opportunity to exercise the right to vote that is equivalent to the opportunity afforded to voters without disabilities; and WHEREAS, the majority of state and local elections are conducted using paper ballots with the accessible ballot marking device (BMD) limited to voters with disabilities; and WHEREAS, election technology developers, such as Elections Systems and Software (ES&S), Dominion Voting Systems, and Unisyn Voting Solutions, have designed accessible BMDs that produce ballots that are different in size and/or content from the ballot that is hand marked by the majority of voters; and WHEREAS, because the BMD ballots cast by voters with disabilities are different in size and/or content from the hand-marked ballots cast by the majority of voters, the BMD ballots can be identified as having been cast by a voter with a disability and are, as a result, not secret ballots; and WHEREAS, a state or local board of elections may be in violation of Title II of the ADA when it does not provide voters with disabilities the same opportunity to cast a secret ballot that it provides voters without disabilities; and WHEREAS, BMDs are the superior method for marking ballots because they prevent the stray marks and over-votes that can result when ballots are hand marked; and WHEREAS, the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act, introduced in the United States Senate on May 15, 2019, mandates a hand-marked paper ballot, limits the use of BMDs to voters with disabilities, and provides state and local governments with enough funds to purchase only one BMD per polling place, thus denying voters with disabilities a secret ballot: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that the Senate amend the PAVE Act to make BMDs the primary method for ballot-marking and provide sufficient funds to state and local governments to purchase the required number of BMDs for use by the majority of voters; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that state and local governments implement the legislation and election procedures necessary to make the use of BMDs the primary method of ballot-marking for the majority of voters, thus ensuring that voters with disabilities have a secret ballot. Resolution 2019-06 Regarding Support for the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act of 2019 WHEREAS, since its founding in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind has fought to repeal the unfair, discriminatory, and immoral provision found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), which allows the secretary of labor to grant special wage certificates to employers permitting them to pay their workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage; and WHEREAS, Section 14(c) of the FLSA is a statutory codification of the negative attitudes and erroneous stereotypes that perpetuate the unemployment and exacerbate the underemployment of people with disabilities based on the fallacious argument that they cannot be productive and therefore deserve to be paid less than nondisabled employees; and WHEREAS, segregated subminimum-wage work environments are not transitional job-training service providers for workers with disabilities, and research conducted by Dr. Robert Cimera of Kent State University found that work habits learned in a segregated work environment must be unlearned in order for workers with disabilities to become competitively employed; and WHEREAS, it has become evident that subminimum-wage employers who conceal their vested financial interest in the continuation of this exploitative subminimum-wage business model are actively lobbying against the repeal of Section 14(c); and WHEREAS, data from the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division published on April 1, 2019, shows that 1,743 exploitive work environments continue to employ 106,339 workers with disabilities at wages lower than the federal minimum wage; and WHEREAS, on January 29, 2019, Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland introduced S. 260, the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act of 2019, which will sunset Section 14(c) of the FLSA over a six-year period and award grants to states and providers to assist with their successful transition to competitive integrated employment; and WHEREAS, on January 30, 2019, the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, along with Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, introduced identical companion legislation in the House, H.R. 873; and WHEREAS, on May 21, 2019, the United States House Committee on Education and Labor held a full committee hearing entitled "Eliminating Barriers to Employment: Opening Doors to Opportunities" to learn more about the successful transition of workers with disabilities from segregated subminimum-wage employment to competitive integrated employment: Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization commend Representatives Bobby Scott and Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Senators Robert Casey and Chris Van Hollen as well as all cosponsors of H.R. 873 and S. 260, the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act of 2019, for their leadership and bipartisan efforts to end the discrimination against people with disabilities and their belief in the capacity of people with disabilities to obtain competitive integrated employment; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the United States Congress to take up consideration of this legislation without delay, sunsetting Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, thereby permanently unlocking the doors to competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization commend those entities who have voluntarily transitioned their business models away from subminimum wage employment and into competitive integrated employment. Resolution 2019-07 Regarding American Chemical Society Examinations WHEREAS, the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute (ACS Exams) produces and distributes more than fifty different chemistry examinations for use in high school, collegiate, and graduate-level chemistry courses nationwide; and WHEREAS, ACS Exams promotes its tests as nationally normed and standardized, and many schools use ACS Exams's tests as required placement tests, qualifying assessments, or final exams; and WHEREAS, ACS Exams does not make its full suite of tests available in Braille, but instead requires schools to transcribe and emboss ACS Exams's tests for blind students individually, thus compromising the standardized assessments; and WHEREAS, electronic versions of ACS Exams's tests and study materials are not presented with corresponding tactile graphics, do not conform with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 or 2.1 AA, and are therefore not accessible to blind students who use screen-access software; and WHEREAS, blind students have been pushed out of their chemistry studies and given failing grades on tests because of access barriers and lack of Braille in ACS Exams's products; and WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind in December of 2018 urged the country's top fifty chemistry programs to stop using ACS Exams's products; and WHEREAS, after meeting with the National Federation of the Blind in March of 2019, ACS Exams committed to adopting an accessibility statement, but has not yet made such a statement public: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that ACS Exams promptly adopt and post publicly a robust accessibility policy; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that the American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute implement a process by which schools can request and receive pre-embossed Braille versions of any ACS Exams test; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that ACS Exams audit and remediate electronic versions of its suite of assessments and study materials so that they conform with WCAG 2.1 AA and are fully accessible to blind students who use screen-access software. Resolution 2019-08 Regarding the Accessibility of State-Administered Benefits Programs WHEREAS, state-administered benefits programs include critical programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, workforce development, and low-income housing vouchers; and WHEREAS, eligibility requirements are often streamlined so that ineligibility for one program results in ineligibility for multiple programs; and WHEREAS, blind people are often unable to apply independently for or renew their eligibility for many state-administered benefit programs because the web-based eligibility forms do not conform with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 or 2.1 AA and are therefore inaccessible using screen- access software; and WHEREAS, blind people have been denied program communications in Braille or other alternative formats or have otherwise failed to receive communication that is as effective as communication provided to nondisabled beneficiaries; and WHEREAS, blind people have been deemed ineligible for state-administered benefits solely because they were unable to complete required eligibility forms, resulting in immediate, unnecessary, and discriminatory hardship; and WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits state- administered benefits programs from discrimination against and disparate treatment of people with disabilities and thus mandates the provision of equally effective communication and equal access to services for such persons: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that all state-administered benefits programs honor requests for alternative format communications and equal access to programmatic information, benefits, and services in a timely manner; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that state- administered benefits programs promptly implement accessibility policies that require web-based information and forms to conform to web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA) and promptly audit and remediate application and renewal of eligibility processes and forms so that they are fully and equally accessible to blind people. Resolution 2019-09 Regarding ADA Litigation WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability; and WHEREAS, to assist Americans with disabilities in asserting our rights under the ADA, Congress included a private right of action, which has assisted Americans with disabilities to secure landmark victories that have opened doors in employment, education, commerce, and other arenas; and WHEREAS, under Department of Justice interpretation and court rulings, ADA Title III applies not only to physical places of public accommodation but also to their websites; and WHEREAS, many websites are inaccessible to blind people who use screen readers to access digital content and to other people with disabilities; and WHEREAS, a small group of plaintiffs and attorneys are exploiting the situation by filing dozens, occasionally hundreds, of lawsuits all at once or in rapid succession; and WHEREAS, rather than acknowledging that website inaccessibility is a real and growing problem, some business groups and media outlets have focused on this behavior as evidence that the ADA is merely a tool for greedy lawyers to extort quick cash settlements from businesses; and WHEREAS, this largely misplaced blame for ADA lawsuits has led to the introduction, and in some cases enactment, of state legislation that places onerous burdens on people and organizations who wish to bring legitimate complaints under the ADA, as well as attempts to enact federal legislation that would have the same effect; and WHEREAS, even if litigants act in good faith and with noble intentions, blanketing a geographic area or business type with lawsuits often does not meaningfully advance the cause of accessibility because the litigants may lack the resources or the commitment to investigate each lawsuit thoroughly, and many lawsuits brought in this way are settled quickly and confidentially, thereby failing to hold public accommodations accountable for true progress toward making their websites accessible: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge members of the legal community to engage in responsible, ethical, and transparent behavior when pursuing ADA litigation, including contacting targeted entities to try to resolve accessibility issues without litigation where possible and appropriate and to draw up public settlement agreements that outline the specific steps to be taken by an entity to achieve accessibility and the anticipated timeline for those steps to be completed; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization reaffirm its opposition to any legislation, state or federal, that seeks to shift the burden of compliance from the entities to people with disabilities affected by noncompliance; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization continue to work collaboratively with the policymaking, legal, business, and web development communities to advance accessibility, while not hesitating to commence litigation if needed. Resolution 2019-10 Regarding the Greater Accessibility and Independence Through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act WHEREAS, the rapid proliferation of digital technology has led to the increased use of touchscreens and interactive visual interfaces, replacing traditional controls such as knobs, switches, and buttons on home-use medical devices, exercise equipment, and home appliances; and WHEREAS, this major shift in technology has rendered the majority of home- use medical devices, exercise equipment, and home appliances inaccessible to blind users, potentially threatening the health, safety, and independence of blind people; and WHEREAS, in most cases the technology already exists to allow for nonvisual access to these products; and WHEREAS, accessibility is relatively easy and inexpensive to implement when it is incorporated into the design of a product from the outset; and WHEREAS, the ability to operate nonvisually all home-use medical devices, home appliances, and exercise equipment is essential to a blind person's wellbeing, independence, and overall quality of life: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge the United States Congress swiftly to consider and pass the Greater Accessibility and Independence Through Nonvisual Access Technology (GAIN) Act, thereby ensuring and protecting the independence of blind Americans. Resolution 2019-11 Regarding Equal Accessibility for All Learning Ally Customers, Including the Blind WHEREAS, in 1948 Recording for the Blind was established to enable blind veterans to take advantage of the GI Bill of Rights and over the years has expanded its services to include students with learning disabilities, as reflected in the change of its name to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic in 1995 and then to Learning Ally in 2011; and WHEREAS, Learning Ally produces books in classic audio format or in VOICEtext format that readers use on their computer, reading device, or Learning Ally's smart phone app; and WHEREAS, Learning Ally's expanded mission has redirected its resources to include print-reading populations, which offer larger markets, and mentions blind students on its website only when describing its history; and WHEREAS, this expansion has resulted in a priority shift away from the blind, making our community no longer Learning Ally's primary priority, nor even an equal priority with other served groups; and WHEREAS, this second-class treatment is demonstrated by Learning Ally's lack of accessible navigation for blind readers in its phone app; and WHEREAS, the At-Large Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia has repeatedly asked Learning Ally to fix these problems; and WHEREAS, the need for Learning Ally's products and services, especially its human-read narration and scripted descriptions of figures, illustrations, graphics, charts, and tables in textbooks remains a paramount need because it is often the sole source of accessible educational material for blind patrons; and WHEREAS, educational institutions, from K-12 through higher education, purchase subscriptions to Learning Ally for materials in specialized formats for their students; and WHEREAS, these institutions are required to purchase products that provide equal access to all students, including the blind: Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization strongly urge Learning Ally immediately to upgrade its current book-reading software and VOICEtext audio format so that blind patrons have the same access and equivalent ease of use as other print-disabled readers; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon all educational institutions to refuse to purchase memberships to Learning Ally for students until it provides the same access to the blind that it offers to other print-disabled readers. Resolution 2019-12 Regarding Accessibility of Social Media Platforms WHEREAS, social media has become an integral part of many people's lives, serving as a vehicle for staying in touch with friends, seeking advice, searching for jobs, and staying up-to-date with information about local and national news and events; and WHEREAS, much of the information available on social media platforms is added by users as photos or graphics that are not inherently readable by access technology such as screen readers; and WHEREAS, when accessibility features such as the ability to add alt text to photos are included by social media platforms, they are often buried in "advanced settings," requiring users to have knowledge of how to find these features; and WHEREAS, frequent updates to social media platforms and apps introduce new features and bring changes to existing features, and accessibility is frequently not taken into account when these new builds and features are released, resulting in blind users being unable to use features, add content, or access content added by others: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization call upon social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and others, to make a serious commitment to creating more inclusive experiences by giving accessibility features a more prominent place on their platforms and implementing stricter accessibility testing protocols, including user testing, before new features launch; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge all major social media companies to engage actively with the organized blind during the development stages of product and feature design in order to inform their accessibility and usability processes. Resolution 2019-13 Regarding the Proliferation of Dockless Electric Scooters WHEREAS, dockless electric scooters are a new form of transportation that has become increasingly popular in the United States; and WHEREAS, the appeal of these scooters is that they may be retrieved from and left anywhere because they do not need to be parked at a docking station or rack; and WHEREAS, as a result users are leaving these scooters in locations that block curb cuts, obstruct sidewalks, block bus stops and stoops, and generally disrupt the flow of pedestrian traffic; and WHEREAS, users further endanger pedestrian traffic by riding these scooters on sidewalks and other pedestrian rights-of-way; and WHEREAS, these scooters are virtually silent when in use, making it impossible for those using nonvisual means of travel to detect them; and WHEREAS, the public is encouraged to contact the various scooter companies directly to report scooter misuse, request that a scooter be moved, or report an injury or other concern by calling the company, visiting the website, or making a report using the app; and WHEREAS, the blind cannot identify the scooter companies' names, phone numbers, or websites because the information on the scooter is available only in print; and WHEREAS, blind people are further denied the opportunity to make reports or issue complaints, since scooter websites and apps are generally not accessible via access technology; and WHEREAS, few laws in the United States regulate the use of these scooters, and laws that do exist are inconsistent from city to city: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization call upon the United States Congress to establish a minimum sound standard for dockless electric scooters; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge state and local governments to work with affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind to enact laws regulating scooter use to control parking, prohibit riding on sidewalks, and generally avoid disrupting the flow of pedestrian traffic; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that all dockless electric scooter companies place their company name, scooter identification number, and contact information on each scooter in a format accessible and easily detectible by the blind and that these companies develop accessible websites and mobile applications so that blind pedestrians can easily communicate reports of misuse or injury. Resolution 2019-14 Regarding the Authentic Representation of Blind People in the Entertainment Industry WHEREAS, the entertainment industry has produced dozens of movies and TV shows portraying blind characters, usually offensively or inaccurately, which exploit blindness for admiration and awards; and WHEREAS, stereotypical portrayals of blind people in the media continue to affect negatively the perception of blind people in society; and WHEREAS, the CW, CBS, and Red Hour Film produced a television series called In the Dark that follows a blind woman as she works to solve a suspected crime; and WHEREAS, despite the fact that the main character in the show is blind, the role is portrayed by a sighted actor rather than a blind actor; and WHEREAS, executives of In the Dark are perpetuating low expectations by making the excuse that a blind actor could not be found for the leading role; and WHEREAS, various levels of the entertainment industry are failing to create a pipeline of blind actors in order to bring authentic representation to blind characters and roles for which a blind actor may be suited; and WHEREAS, blind people are often discouraged from pursuing an acting career or are denied acting roles due to low expectations and misconceptions regarding the capacity of the blind: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge all parts of the entertainment industry, including directors, producers, casting agencies, and acting schools, to seek authentic representation when casting for blind roles; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that the entertainment industry consult the organized blind and hire blind writers when developing a blind role, in order to eliminate stereotypes and misconceptions regarding blindness; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge the CW, CBS, and Red Hour Films to produce the second season of In the Dark with the lead character played by a blind actor; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the entertainment industry to promote the inclusion of blind actors and characters in its television shows and movies, not solely in specific blind roles but in any role for which the blind actor may be suited. Resolution 2019-15 Regarding the Handling of Graphics in NLS Materials WHEREAS, graphics such as charts, tables, maps, and pictures are important features in books and periodicals; and WHEREAS, the Braille Audio Reading Download (BARD) system is a popular service that the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) uses to distribute books in accessible formats; and WHEREAS, NLS provides some tactile graphics and descriptions of pictures in some of its hardcopy Braille formats, but cannot include tactile graphics on the BARD system because Braille devices cannot display this content; and WHEREAS, the exclusion of graphical materials denies information and diminishes the reading experience for patrons: Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge NLS to include tactile graphics in the production of all future hardcopy Braille materials; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization commend NLS for including its Braille collection on the BARD platform, thus enabling users to store and access Braille using refreshable Braille displays; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization strongly encourage NLS to develop a policy that ensures that, when it produces a hardcopy Braille version of a book containing graphics, it also offers a hard copy of just the accompanying tactile graphics that BARD users can order. Resolution 2019-16 Regarding Uber and Lyft Ride Denials for Travelers with Service Animals WHEREAS, Uber and Lyft's ridesharing services are increasingly available nationwide, are used for millions of rides annually, and are now considered transportation fixtures in society; and WHEREAS, an ever increasing number of people with and without disabilities rely on these services as faster and more convenient alternatives to traditional public transportation options; and WHEREAS, in 2017 the National Federation of the Blind entered into settlement agreements with Uber and Lyft in an effort to resolve drivers' discriminatory treatment against blind travelers with service animals; and WHEREAS, the settlement agreements include the education of drivers on their obligation to accept riders with service animals and strict single- strike policies that require Uber and Lyft to terminate drivers who knowingly deny transportation to travelers with service animals, and WHEREAS, despite the settlement agreements, driver education, and strict policies, drivers continue knowingly to deny rides to and discriminate against blind travelers with service animals; and WHEREAS, Uber and Lyft have chosen to reeducate rather than to terminate drivers who, after denying rides, claimed ignorance regarding knowledge of travelers' service animals, even in cases where riders notified drivers that they travel with service animals: Now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that Uber and Lyft vigorously enforce their single-strike policies for terminating drivers who knowingly refuse transportation to riders with service animals, as required by their settlement agreements with the NFB; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that Uber and Lyft thoroughly investigate all claims of discrimination against travelers with service animals and that Uber and Lyft respond to complainants and the NFB promptly and transparently and in accordance with their settlement agreement obligations. Resolution 2019-17 Regarding Pearson's Access Barriers WHEREAS, Pearson Education Inc.'s North America operations offer educational content, assessments, and digital services to K-12 and higher education schools nationwide; and WHEREAS, Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit schools from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and ultimately require that schools provide effective communication and equal and integrated access to programs and activities; and WHEREAS, Pearson's 2018 Sustainability Report identifies that Pearson's new products are not yet all born accessible; and WHEREAS, some Pearson products, including MyLab, are compatible with screen- access software only for selected multiple-choice and free-response questions, but not for all questions; and WHEREAS, Pearson has publicly posted robust steps to make elearning accessible, but has presented these steps as guidelines and not requirements for its development teams; and WHEREAS, Pearson has received repeated complaints from students, the National Federation of the Blind, and others regarding the inaccessibility of its products but has failed to address systematically the cause of these barriers; and WHEREAS, blind students have been harmed by Pearson's failure to ensure that its products are fully and equally accessible, such harm being evidenced by low test and assignment scores, low course grades, or pressure to withdraw from classes that use Pearson's products; and WHEREAS, the United States District Court of the Central District of California recently found that the Los Angeles Community College District discriminated against a blind student when it failed to provide meaningful access to coursework via Pearson's MyMathLab or equivalent assignments in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, Pearson acknowledges falling short of its goal to make one hundred percent of its higher education courseware digital portfolio accessible by 2020, but has not yet been transparent in sharing its revised timeline with schools, students, and advocacy organizations; and WHEREAS, Pearson promotes on its accessibility webpage that it works collaboratively with the NFB; and WHEREAS, Pearson's assessments team has partnered with the NFB on tactile graphic studies and other projects, but Pearson's higher education and K-12 courseware and sales teams have not engaged with the NFB on accessibility- related solutions; and WHEREAS, Pearson's North America operations have not accepted NFB's repeated invitations to enter into a robust company-wide accessibility agreement with the NFB and to take critical steps to enculturate accessibility fully, to the long-term detriment of blind students: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization call upon Pearson to demonstrate a full commitment to accessibility by publicizing its roadmap for addressing the accessibility of its educational products and services and by ensuring that all new products conform with WCAG 2.1 AA prior to their release; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that Pearson announce publicly its process and timeline for responding to complaints from schools, students, parents, and others regarding access barriers in Pearson products and services; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization condemn and deplore Pearson's continued use of and failure to remediate its inaccessible MyLab questions, tutorial content, and features. Resolution 2019-18 Regarding Considerations for Blind Users in the Development of Autonomous Vehicle Technology WHEREAS, autonomous vehicles are the next major advancement in the transportation industry; and WHEREAS, innovations in autonomous vehicle technology represent a valuable new resource that has extraordinary potential to help blind people gain greater independence and improve transportation options; and WHEREAS, private industry stakeholders such as Cruise, Waymo, and Volkswagen Group, along with others, are already designing, developing, and testing autonomous vehicles on roads and highways across the country; and WHEREAS, four essential features will need to be included with all autonomous vehicles to ensure that blind people can independently operate them; and WHEREAS, the first of these essential features will be a nonvisual vehicle- location system that will direct the blind user to the vehicle and give instructions regarding pick-up and drop-off locations; and WHEREAS, a second essential feature will be nonvisually accessible navigation and maintenance controls that will allow the blind user to program destinations and make changes during the trip and will alert the user to any maintenance the vehicle may need; and WHEREAS, a third essential feature will be accessible interior environment controls, including but not limited to climate control, the entertainment system, and the opening and closing of the windows; and WHEREAS, the final essential feature will be exterior environment alerts that will inform the blind user when the vehicle experiences sudden and unexpected changes due to heavy traffic, obstacles, or equipment malfunctions: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization urge automobile manufacturers, technology companies, and all other stakeholders involved in designing, developing, and deploying autonomous vehicles to make their vehicles fully accessible to the blind by including nonvisual access to these four essential features in their products; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge these entities to work directly with blind Americans to test and acquire feedback on the nonvisual access features of autonomous vehicles. Resolution 2019-19 Regarding the Quality of Braille Output from Amazon Kindle Books WHEREAS, Amazon's Kindle books constitute a major source of titles in the commercial electronic book market; and WHEREAS, when reading Kindle books with a refreshable Braille display, formatting and attribute information such as line breaks, indentation, page breaks, and text highlighting is frequently not conveyed to the reader; and WHEREAS, when a book is displayed without proper formatting, technical material such as computer programming, mathematics, and creative or artistic content like poetry is rendered partially inaccessible or completely unusable; and WHEREAS, consumers who purchase Kindle books with the expectation that they will be able to read them using a refreshable Braille device face the possibility that the book will not meet their needs, especially if formatting and attribute information is critical to the use of the book: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization call upon Amazon to design, develop, and implement solutions that will enable Kindle books displayed in Braille to convey formatting and attribute information to blind users. Resolution 2019-20 Regarding Calling for a Study Group to Ensure Equitable Access to Blind Ice Hockey WHEREAS, according to the United States Association of Blind Athletes, blind ice hockey is a new, increasingly popular sport, and while blind ice hockey is not yet a Paralympic sport, in 2015 the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation was formed to recruit athletes internationally in order to grow the sport; and WHEREAS, currently, the only modifications to the sport of blind ice hockey are a larger, slower-moving puck that makes noise while in motion, goals thirty-six inches in height instead of forty-eight inches in order to keep the puck closer to the ice and increase the sound being made, and a rule that at least one pass must be completed on the offensive half of the rink before a team can attempt to score in order to increase opportunity for puck location; and WHEREAS, although this is considered a sport for blind athletes, athletes who are totally blind are currently limited to the goaltender position due to a lack of additional modifications to the sport such as locator sounds when the puck stops moving and locator sounds on the goals; and WHEREAS, a sport for the blind should be fully accessible to all blind players; and WHEREAS, a sport that is more accessible to individuals with a greater level of vision promotes a "hierarchy of sight" and perpetuates low expectations and misconceptions about the capabilities of blind athletes: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation, USA Hockey, and the United States Association of Blind Athletes immediately convene a study group that includes blind ice hockey players and members of the National Federation of the Blind Sports and Recreation Division to explore ways to make the sport of blind ice hockey equally accessible to blind players regardless of level of vision; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the International Blind Ice Hockey Federation to work closely with the National Federation of the Blind, USA Hockey, and the United States Association of Blind Hockey to implement recommendations from the study group so that all blind ice hockey players can enjoy equal access to the sport. Resolution 2019-21 Regarding the HBO Cable Channels and the Lack of Video Description WHEREAS, HBO, operated by Home Box Office, Inc, a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia, is a package of premium cable channels that air commercial- free, uncensored content including movies, comedy specials, concerts, documentaries, sporting events, and original scripted television series; and WHEREAS, subscribers pay an extra fee in addition to their regular cable or satellite television subscription for access to the HBO channels or can subscribe to a streaming service, HBO NOW, for a monthly fee if they do not have cable service; and WHEREAS, over the past two decades the original programming produced by and for HBO has been among the most critically acclaimed, culturally significant, and popular television programming available, including shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, True Detective, Veep, Westworld, and its most recent hit, the miniseries Chernobyl; and WHEREAS, HBO uses the Second Audio Program (SAP) feature that can be accessed by most televisions and cable devices to carry Spanish-language versions of its programs, but does not use this capability to carry video description of its programs for blind viewers; and WHEREAS, the use of the SAP feature to carry programming dubbed into Spanish is redundant and unnecessary because the package of HBO channels sold to subscribers also includes HBO Latino, which simulcasts Spanish versions of the programming being aired on HBO's main channel; and WHEREAS, not only has HBO failed to add video description to its original programming, but it does not carry the video description that is already available for the movies that it runs nor even for the educational program Sesame Street, whose episodes are now first run on HBO instead of on the Public Broadcasting Service; and WHEREAS, other cable channels, the major broadcast networks, and streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime provide video description for some or all of their original programming and for many movies and programs that they license from other producers and providers; and WHEREAS, while HBO and other premium cable services are not mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to carry video description, as the networks and some other cable channels are, nothing prevents HBO from voluntarily adding video description to its programming; and WHEREAS, the lack of video description means that blind subscribers, while paying the same fee for access to HBO as subscribers without disabilities, do not have equal access to its programming: Now, therefore BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this eleventh day of July, 2019, in the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, that this organization demand that HBO begin airing new original programming with video description and set forth a plan to add video description to its existing movie and program library; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to explore mandating that video description be provided by HBO and other premium cable services. ---------- Convention Miniatures Honoring and Strengthening our Diversity: The Diversity and Inclusion Committee organized nearly fifteen hours of content to advance our organizational diversity efforts, to provide platforms for intersectional gatherings, and to generate action plans that promote the growth of our organization in ways that are both meaningful and inclusive. The sessions are listed below in the order that they occurred during national convention: Mujeres of the Federation Black Leaders Advancing the Federation Empowerment Seminar (conducted jointly with other Federation leaders) Asian Membership Development Diversity and Inclusion Committee Meeting Presidential Diversity Morning Mixer Masculinity, Blindness, and Latino Culture Blindness and Interracial Relationships Dating in the Asian/South Asian Community These sessions provided an opportunity to learn about the unique ways in which blindness exists across various dimensions of identity, with the communities that are at the center of these experiences leading the conversation. Aside from providing platforms to build community and capacity, the sessions also served as vital sources of knowledge to bring increased visibility to issues of social justice and equity across our Federation work. Performing Arts Division Activities at Convention: The National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division presented an exciting program of activities at this year's convention. Every year we set a program that includes as much interactive performing as possible so that blind would-be performers have opportunities they may be discouraged from pursuing in their communities. This year we provided these opportunities through our acting workshop, dance lesson, and our annual Showcase of Talent. We were honored to welcome Marilee Talkington, a professional blind actress, back to our convention as the teacher of our acting workshop. She led a beginning-level, professional quality acting class on the second evening of convention. Approximately eighteen people of varying ages and backgrounds participated in a series of exercises to engage their bodies, focus their minds, and increase their awareness of their presence in their physical space. If you had walked in the room at a critical point in the workshop, you would have been met with the sound of twenty people vigorously tapping the backs of their hips as they sought connection with their inner physical centers of energy. After the exercises, the participants partnered up and tackled a script. Each pairing was instructed to come up with a scenario that would prompt the dialogue in the script to occur, but they were not allowed to tell the class their story or anything about the characters they were portraying. Acting gets deep. Each set of partners worked together to develop a story for the script and then, after performing the script once in front of the class, they specified their character's motivations and dug deeper into their emotions. There were tears; there was laughter, and most importantly, there was much learning of the work it takes to connect with a character and a script. The next evening we held our annual business meeting. Our meeting agenda centered on discussions of the Let Us Play Us campaign. We are grateful that President Riccobono took the time to open the discussion. He motivated us with a rousing speech encouraging us to hold the industry accountable in our pursuit of acting opportunities. Everette Bacon continued the discussion by speaking on his experience as a performer and advocate in the entertainment realm. Our discussion remained lively and will be continued in the coming months. If you are interested in working on the Let Us Play Us campaign with us, please email us at nfbpad at gmail.com. The time is now for blind performers to stand up and fight for representation in the entertainment industry. In the business portion of our meeting, we welcomed Christina Jones, a professional opera singer from California, to our board. I will add here that you need not be a member of the board of the Performing Arts Division to aid us in our programming. Our work is truly ground-breaking and exciting, and we always invite the involvement of members. This year we held our dance lesson after the close of the business meeting. Katelyn MacIntyre, a competitive ballroom dancer and our vice president, led the participants in a bachata lesson. Usually, I cannot speak to these lessons because I tend to stay outside the room collecting the fee for the event. But this year I danced with the rest of the class and enjoyed Katelyn's descriptive teaching. If you have not checked out one of our dance workshops, I urge you to attend next year. Katelyn uses words to describe the steps of the dance and provides useful direction that includes methods of orienting to the room without sight. If you've ever been told that dance wouldn't be appropriate to learn as a blind person, this experience will break down that misconception. Our nineteenth annual Showcase of Talent featured a dynamic and entertaining lineup of performers. If you've never attended a Showcase of Talent, you've truly missed out on a convention staple and highlight. Our MC, Briley O'Connor, kept the audience energized, and our resident audio tech, Sam Claussen, gave us timely and expert sound throughout the evening. Our appreciation for their work cannot be measured. In recent years we have turned the showcase into a talent competition. At the end of the evening, our judges chose three winners of cash prizes. This year our judges, James Brown, Darian Smith, and Lesley Hamrick, chose the following three winners: first place, Rachel Grider, an opera singer from California; second place, Tara Briggs, a flutist from Utah; and third place, Wilkins Eugene, a saxophonist from Georgia. These winners gave spectacular performances and impressed the audience with their skill. Please watch our Facebook for a recording of the Showcase of Talent to be available on our YouTube channel. Whether you are an aspiring or professional performer, wish to take up performing as a hobby, or are simply interested in the issues surrounding blind people in entertainment and the performing arts, we have much to offer you. We thank those of you who took part in our activities and look forward to hearing any ideas or input you have for us as we start a new year of exciting work. If you would like to become a member, please email us at nfbpad at gmail.com. If you would like to email me directly, please do so at jmcginnity at nfb.org. Let's continue working together to turn blind performers' dreams into reality! The Plan, the Road Map, and the Courage: From the Editor: Elizabeth Rouse is a senior at Central College in Pella, Iowa, where she is majoring in English and theatre. Currently, she serves as a board member for the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). She is also the vice president of the Iowa Association of Blind Students. I hope this is the first of many contributions from her: The national convention has come and gone, but our student love is even stronger. As Earl Nightingale once said: "All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination." As students, we constantly focus on the future: the looming assignment due date; the upcoming break from classes; the next step toward the real world. Most of these steppingstones become overwhelming. As blind students we also encounter the challenge of proving ourselves each day. This means blind students must raise the bar even higher in proving ourselves in different ways than our sighted counterparts. Oftentimes, our peers and instructors doubt our abilities because of our blindness. This hesitancy that we face on a daily basis makes our national convention of the National Federation of the Blind even more rejuvenating and refreshing. Once a year, nearly five hundred blind students mingle with peers who experience our unique obstacles. We are filled with love and welcoming vibes as we leverage our own backgrounds and identities to learn from one another. During the first evening of convention, NABS hosted a student networking event, where we empower one another to overcome the inconveniences interfering with our paths. This gathering is the perfect opportunity for each of us to devise a unique plan that will lead each of us to our final destination: self-defined success. Once we have a plan, we need some guidelines to follow. Perhaps another student's past experience can serve as a road map, advising us on which paths we may wish to take on our journey. During our ground-breaking annual business meeting, our national student division president Kathryn Webster shares stories from her past experiences to motivate and encourage our membership, emphasizing the idea that blindness bonds us together as a community as we strive to achieve full recognition and equality within society. Along with passionate speakers such as First Lady Melissa Riccobono, who welcomes conversations around self-care that are essential to our success, the annual NABS business meeting serves as a fueling station to ignite us with energy for the year ahead. We elected a board of dynamic and ambitious leaders whose goals are to support students in navigating the roadblocks that life presents, as well as serve as role models to the upcoming blind leaders of the National Federation of the Blind. Congratulations to our newly elected board members: Trisha Kulkarni of California, Johna Wright of Georgia, Elizabeth Rouse of Iowa, and Justin Salisbury of Hawaii. A huge shout out to our continuing officers: President Kathryn Webster of Virginia, First Vice President Syed Rizvi of Texas, Second Vice President Kenia Flores of North Carolina, Treasurer Dustin Cather of Illinois, and Secretary Mausam Mehta of Virginia. Thank you to our national president, Mark Riccobono, for demonstrating what true support and belief in students looks like. The love, compassion, and mentorship that we receive from our fellow NABS members enables us to pass those feelings along to future Federation leaders in all of our affiliates. This year NABS helped coordinate the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the American Action Fund by manning tables at the Braille Carnival. This allowed our volunteers to network with authentic national leaders in all stages of life. Playing games and spending time with new friends was a perfect way to see a direct result of what the Federation's work has the power to achieve. Whether through exercising in our annual walk-a-thon, selling NABS swag at the exhibit hall, helping out with marshaling the convention, or simply participating in our national mentor program, the National Association of Blind Students was alive, proud, and welcoming at the 2019 National Convention. As we embark on the next year of success, our hearts are full of strength, empathy, courage, and love; and we want every blind student to be embraced by this beauty. Another Successful Rookie Roundup from its Chairman, Pamela Allen: I am proud to let readers of the Braille Monitor know that we had a successful Rookie Roundup. Those who participate are always grateful to the many veterans who welcome our first-timers to our family! We gave out over 350 ribbons that night. In addition to welcoming our Jernigan Fund winners, we had first- timers from many states and several countries. The energy in the room was high as President Riccobono and First Lady Melissa shared their warm greetings. Rookies were also treated to remarks by Dr. and Mrs. Maurer, who encouraged all to get involved and become part of our family. We had a special welcome for our Spanish-speaking attendees and discussed Spanish translation at convention. Tracy Soforenko gave a special welcome to our Jernigan Fund recipients! Kathryn Webster highlighted student activities throughout the week. All ages were represented that evening in our audience. Joe Ruffalo demonstrated the proper way to acknowledge receipt of a door prize with vigor and enthusiasm! I also want to thank all those who served as marshals to help our first-time attendees find the room as well as the wonderful staff from our Center who helped hand out ribbons and tote bags. It is always such a powerful experience to feel the excitement of those coming to their first convention, confident it will not be their last. It Stems from You: Membership Builds Our Family From the Editor: Kathryn Webster is a rare find-a dynamic, intelligent, friendly, outgoing, and approachable young person whose decision to be a part of the National Federation of the Blind bodes well for the future of the organization and the advancement of the blind. She is the current president of the National Association of Blind Students, but she writes this article in her capacity as the co-chairman of the National Federation of the Blind Membership Committee. She conducted the meeting at the 2019 National Convention, and this is her report: During the 2019 National Convention banquet address, we learned from President Riccobono that "While progress offers choices, we must not forget that our most important choice is to continue our march together-that will make all the difference in our freedom. We choose to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind." Certainly, that choice is each and every one of ours to make, but it is also our choice to welcome others with open arms and Federation love as new members join our movement. Most importantly, it is on the shoulders of each of us to extend our reach by spreading our mission further and wider than ever before. With creativity, charm, and intentionality, recruitment can be executed in several ways. Over 100 members joined together during the 2019 national membership committee meeting to converse about our greatest asset: our members. We were fortunate enough to commence the two-hour meeting with energetic remarks from our national president, as President Riccobono emphasized the significance and true value in growing our people by expanding our reach. We then discussed the formalized onboarding process. Our expectation is that each chapter appoints a membership coordinator to submit the new member forms via the online platform. Our committee also elaborated on the membership coins, something each of our members should hold in high regard as we exemplify the power of our voices across the country. Finally, we deeply missed our incredible chairwoman, Jeannie Massay, during the 2019 National Convention, but recognize health concerns should take priority. Our 2019 membership committee sends a huge heartfelt thank you to Jeannie's intentional and authentic leadership as she guides our national membership efforts forward, no matter the circumstance. We spent a great deal of time in break-out discussions, where we gathered recruitment ideas and tools that could be replicated at the local level. While this list is by no means exhaustive or the full list of innovative and imaginative ways by which we can build our membership, we wanted to share some excellent ideas that could spark thoughtful actions across all of our chapters. 1. Word of Mouth Goes Far You've got to friend raise, before you fundraise. If you encounter a cane user on the street, introduce yourself. There is nothing more powerful than one-on-one conversations about our work and how they can be a part of changing what it means to be blind. Reading a Facebook post or Twitter hashtag will appease some, but greater impact comes from personal experiences and stories. When I talk about the Federation, there is a huge smile on my face. Those feelings of pride and vibrance radiate onto others, encouraging them to be interested in learning more. Let's challenge each of our members to bring a friend to the next meeting. In doing so, we must push ourselves to be bolder and more vocal when sharing information about the National Federation of the Blind. Don't fear walking up to a total stranger who happens to be blind. Approach him or her with high energy and a poised attitude. It will make all the difference. 2. Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up Easier said than done, but the warmth and sincerity that accompanies a follow-up call is a game changer. For newcomers, that single appreciation telephone message could be that ah-hah moment that clicks in someone's mind in choosing to be a part of our Federation family. In following up, you are offered the ideal opportunity to get to know the new member at a more personal level. Take advantage of that conversation. Learn about what they enjoy, don't enjoy; ask questions about their passions and what makes them most energized. Turn that conversation into tangible ways they can get involved and assert their strengths at the local level. Do keep in mind, they may not be fully sold from the get-go. That's okay. Never give up. There is a fine balance between being too pushy and witnessing our mission sink in as folks learn more. Finding that balance is key, but our leaders are here to guide you through that approach. Finally, introduce potential new members to others in the chapter. Find them a mentor, a peer, and a comfortable project where they may shine. And remember, always thank them for their valuable contributions. 3. Leverage Existing Resources Oftentimes, we overlook what's right in front of us. Our local, state, and national resources offer immense information for our leaders and members to outreach with blind people in your area. The white cane list, scholarship applicant information, and Future Reflections subscribers just to name a few, offer perfect opportunities to capture information on potential members. Keep track of these individuals, routinely reaching out to share information and invite them to upcoming events. Beyond our Federation resources, there are several options to distribute information through state and local agencies and programs as a means of advertising Federation-related business. Build as many relationships as possible. Simply by presenting your authentic and genuine self, I guarantee you will open several doors in an effort to strengthen our membership. 4. Meet People Where They Are We are all human, shaped by different experiences and backgrounds. Each and every one of us has something unique to offer and bring to the table. We learn from the best leaders that diverse teams create the greatest success. In order to build a strong and authentic membership base, we must be intentional about meeting people where they are. Our blindness skills vary in so many ways. The National Federation of the Blind welcomes all skill levels, without question. In order to live and act on this statement, our local efforts should include coordinating events that allow our members to see that we are an organization that excels by sharing resources. I encourage chapters to host an activity that allows members to share personal experiences, teach others tips and tricks, and truly encourages knowledge broadening. We enhance the lives of all blind people, not just our members. Let's lead by example by embracing non-members into our initiatives, illustrating the importance of being an integral part of the action. It is my hope that the above ideas ignite motivation surrounding our membership efforts: the core of our movement. It stems from each and every one of you. Without you, our members, we would not be able to feel unified as a family. We would not be able to push our legislative priorities forward. We would not be able to bring Braille literacy to our youth. We would not be able to get a cane into the hands of a newly blinded adult. Without you, we would not be the National Federation of the Blind. The conversation starts here. I encourage each of you to share your ideas by emailing membership at nfb.org. Let's build our family; let's build the National Federation of the Blind. A Report from the Computer Science Division: The goal of this year's meeting was to catch people up with the state of access technology with respect to the stuff they use every day, i.e. Windows, Narrator, and the other screen readers. In addition, our division wants to show that real blind folks are employed and doing interesting work in the field of computer science or technology-related subjects. To that end, we covered progress at Microsoft, how to set up and operate an Amazon cloud of servers and services, the state of accessibility laws in Colorado, how to learn to program for iOS from the Hadley School for the Blind, and an extended tutorial on how to use Google suite with a screen reader. To become a part of our thriving and exciting division, go to https://web.nfbcal.org/nfbcsreg. Whether you are a professional in the field of computing or someone who uses a computer enough that you want to stay current and even learn more, this is the division for you. National Association of Blind Veterans (NABV) Meeting Summary: The NABV presented President Riccobono with a check for $22,574.83. We performed our traditional Celebration of Freedom at the opening session of the 2019 National Convention. In this ceremony, all the veterans and active service members were introduced to the Federation. We met in our breakout session on Monday, July 8. Attending were approximately thirty-three members. We held biennial elections, and the following members were unanimously elected: president, Vernon Humphrey, PhD, US Army Retired Master Sergeant (Georgia); first vice president, Doug Ingram, US Navy, (Florida); second vice president, Roy Stinson, US Marine Corps (Arizona); treasurer, Dwight Sayer, US Air Force (Florida); secretary, David Hutchins (Missouri); and board members Mark Erickson, US Marine Corps (Minnesota); Wayne Field, US Navy (Massachusetts); Gustave (Jim) Jonas, US Marine Corps (New York); Brad Loos, US Navy (Nebraska); Nancy Hester, US Army (Florida); and Jeff Bradshaw, chaplain, US Air Force (Florida). ----------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research: The National Federation of the Blind published Volume 9, Number 1, of The Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research (JBIR) on June 18, 2019. You can access the table of contents and articles in this issue of JBIR Vol. 9, No 2, at https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/jbir/jbir19/jbir0901tc.html. Research manuscripts included in this issue are: . Access to Math and Science Content for Youth Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. Edward C. Bell, PhD, and Arielle M. Silverman, PhD. . Perspectives of Teenagers and Adults Who are Legally Blind on Their Knowledge and Preference for Either Nemeth or UEB for Mathematics. Edward C. Bell, PhD, and Arielle M. Silverman, PhD. . Locke and Hume's Philosophical Theory of Color is Investigated through a Case Study of Esref Armagan, An Artist Born Blind. Simon James Hayhoe, Ruby Cohen, and Helena Garcia Carrizosa. Professional practice articles included in this issue are: . Braille Codes for Native American and First Nations Languages. Justin M. H. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB and Carol Begay Green, MA, CTVI, NCUEB. . Structured Discovery Learning and High Expectations: The Ultimate Equalizer in the Early Childhood Development of Blind Children. EvaMarie Sanchez. JBIR is the NFB's free, open-access, online-only professional journal that publishes peer-reviewed, original research manuscripts, and professional practice articles that deal with all aspects of blindness other than the medical. Practice-based articles that share the author's expertise in how best-practices can improve education and rehabilitation outcomes are strongly encouraged. To learn more about JBIR and how to become an author or peer reviewer, please visit the JBIR Home Page at http://nfb-jbir.libraryhost.com/index.php/JBIR. In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Seedlings publishes 500th book in UEB! Seedlings Braille Books for Children just published its 500th book in Unified English Braille (UEB). That means Seedlings is a leader, if not the leader, among Braille publishers in the United States in the number of children's titles it offers in the new code. The 500th book is A to Z Mysteries: The Panda Puzzle, the story of three kids trying to find a panda kidnapped from the zoo. Seedlings has been converting books in its catalog from the old Braille code since 2016 when the United States officially adopted UEB. All 314 of its print-and-Braille books for younger readers have been in UEB for a few years. Now 186 of its all-Braille books for older readers are in UEB, for a total of five hundred! Other recently converted titles include A Little House Chapter Book: Laura's Ma; Magic Tree House #4: Pirates Past Noon; The Westing Game, a Newbery Medal winner; We'll Race You, Henry-A Story about Henry Ford; and My Book of Bible Stories. Seedlings is continuing to add titles in UEB at the rate of about one a week, so check www.seedlings.org often for the latest offerings! ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Mon Sep 30 14:28:26 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2019 14:28:26 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, October 2019 Message-ID: <201909302128.x8ULSQ0q021503@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 9 October 2019 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 ? 2019 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. 62, No. 9 October 2019 Contents Illustration: Bells Ringing throughout the Nation Accessibility and Accountability: Drive-by Lawsuits Leave Pothole-size Problems by Chris Danielsen Bringing the Synergy of the Blindness Movement into Concentrated Programs: Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute by Anil Lewis Global Leadership, Responsibility, and Technology: Accessibility as a Core Value at Microsoft by Brad Smith Cambiandos Vidas en la Frontera de Tejas by Norma Crosby, Daniel Martinez, Hilda Hernandez, and Raul Gallegos The Driverless Revolution: Setting a New Standard for Transportation and Technology by Kyle Vogt Autonomous Vehicles: Establishing Strong Policy for America's Transportation Future by Dave Schwietert Led by the Blind: Bringing Authenticity to Services for the Blind and Making Them Relevant to the Lives We Want to Live by Bryan Bashin Competing on Terms of Equality and Blending in: Government Service with Federation Style by Kristen Cox World's Number One Card Game for the Win by Stephanie Cascone Meagan's Guide to Stylish Farewells: On Coming to Terms with Vision Loss by Meagan Houle The Right of Blind People to Serve on Juries Comes to the Court Exhibitors' Showcase Review by Jessica McLeod and Mark Jones Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Participants in the Pennsylvania BELL program pose in front of the state capitol building.] [PHOTO CAPTION: BELL student rides a recumbent bicycle] [PHOTO CAPTION: A BELL student (center) enjoys using a Perkins Brailler while a BELL teacher and another participant smile with him.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Annie uses nonvisual pouring skills while making play dough.] [PHOTO CAPTION: A Federation friend holds a young alligator to allow BELL participants to touch the reptile.] [PHOTO CAPTION: A young man feels the water jet at the pool.] Bells Ringing throughout the Nation It is exciting to work with children and to help them find the magic in words and particularly words on paper. Far too many blind children are steered away from Braille by the schools that should be teaching them, so we do what we can to fill the gap. Not only do we teach Braille, but we give these young people experiences to remember. In Pennsylvania the program took its students to the state capitol, toured each of the chambers, and had a meeting with no less than Governor Tom Wolf. He was interested in them: their names, where they lived, and what they were doing in this program. But everyday life is also about the little things such as learning to pour liquids and make play dough, and all without worrying about how much or little one can see. Sight has nothing to do with enjoying exploring the water jets of a swimming pool or riding a modified bicycle. Sight must not keep us from touching the untouchable, even when what we want to touch is an alligator. Boise NFB BELL Academy students got hands-on and personal with several reptiles and arachnids, including a tarantula, a giant tortoise, and the alligator pictured. The session with Reptile Adventures ended with seven of the students holding a fifteen-foot albino python! Learning is about coming upon new things, understanding them, and making them part of the rich tapestry that should be the life of every blind person. This is why we have bell ringers and why we work so hard to make the BELL Academy a success. [PHOTO CAPTION: Chris Danielsen] Accessibility and Accountability: Drive-by Lawsuits Leave Pothole-size Problems by Chris Danielsen From the Editor: Chris Danielsen is the director of public relations for the NFB, and it is easy to see why he has been charged with packaging our message. His writing has the beauty of being both interesting and educational. His passion for what we do, coupled with his sense of trying to understand the other person's position, make his contributions extraordinary. Here is what he says about click-by lawsuits, an issue discussed in the August-September issue by Eve Hill: Link. Link. Image. Image. Button. Button. Our screen readers too often utter this and similar gibberish. We all know that there are plenty of inaccessible websites out there, and plenty more that, while not completely inaccessible, have frustrating accessibility barriers. The idea of suing them all probably brings a certain visceral satisfaction to many of us as we pound on our keyboards in exasperation. Some are doing just that. But certain lawsuits hurt our progress. Those are click-by or drive- by lawsuits. Click-by or drive-by plaintiffs and their lawyers file dozens or hundreds of lawsuits against businesses, municipal governments, and other entities that are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, claiming that their websites are inaccessible. Recently the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported that a man living in Daytona Beach, Florida, had filed some 130 lawsuits in the state since 2016. Many of the lawsuits were against Florida cities with public documents hosted on their websites that were not accessible to the man, Joel Price, and other blind people who use screen readers. Inaccessible government documents violate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other laws. Acknowledging they had a problem, many of the cities were removing the documents from their sites and then replacing them when the accessibility issues were resolved. Some removed all the public documents at once, while others did it in stages. Thus, the news report began: "If you're having trouble finding what you're looking for on your city's or county's website, even information you know used to be there, you're not alone." The piece went on to report that Mr. Price, when interviewed, claimed that the cities he had sued were among several to which he was considering moving. The message of the article, intended or not, was this: If you can't find what you need on your city's website, it's probably this blind guy's fault. Perhaps Mr. Price really was considering a move and couldn't find the information he needed on the websites of the cities he visited. And the lawsuits did spur many of the cities to action. Some important accessibility victories may therefore have been won. But the article also reported that many of the cities had settled the suits that Mr. Price brought against them for between five and fifteen thousand dollars. It wasn't clear whether all those cities were remediating the inaccessible documents on their websites or had plans to do so. Given the high number of lawsuits and the cash payouts, Mr. Price may also be what has come to be called a "drive-by" or "click-by" plaintiff. As a start, these plaintiffs or their lawyers pick a category of business in a geographic area, such as wineries in upstate New York, and then file suits against them in alphabetical order, as if they simply read the listings from the Yellow Pages. Sometimes the legal complaints they file have the exact same allegations about each business, as if the language has simply been repeatedly cut and pasted. Occasionally this results in errors that immediately raise red flags, such as the name of the business not matching the address of the allegedly inaccessible website. In a few cases the lawsuits have been almost entirely without merit, meaning that the websites didn't contain any accessibility barriers or only very minor ones. Why is this a problem? For a few reasons. Lawsuits are complex things. When a blind person, or the National Federation of the Blind, alleges that a website is inaccessible, we must be prepared to prove it in court, because the burden of proof is rightly on the person or organization making the allegation. Proving a case involves gathering testimony and evidence, both to show the court that we're right and to answer any arguments that the website owner might make in its defense. It takes patience, time, and money. If it is not done thoroughly and correctly, the case can be thrown out of court or lost on appeal. In the latter circumstance, an appeals court may issue an opinion that sets a bad precedent. Appellate courts publish their opinions, and lower courts in the same jurisdiction are bound by them. To put it simply, bad cases make bad law. It is unlikely that plaintiffs and lawyers who file dozens of lawsuits at a time are prepared or have the resources to thoroughly investigate and prove each of them. Their intentions may or may not be good, but their strategy depends on the defendants quickly doing the legal equivalent of crying "uncle": settling the case to put an end to the matter. Small businesses are likely to want to settle quickly when sued; it may be cheaper for them to pay a plaintiff's attorneys' fees than to fix their website, even though accessibility isn't necessarily expensive. Cynical plaintiffs' attorneys know this, and so they calculate that if they sue a few dozen businesses and each of those businesses pays a few thousand dollars to make the pesky lawsuit go away, this will add up to real money in their pockets. What this strategy doesn't necessarily do is improve the accessibility of the websites that are the subjects of the lawsuits. Some plaintiffs and lawyers may sincerely believe that, when business owners must pay up, they learn their lesson and fix their websites. (One lawyer told me that he was pleased to be able to do so much good with so little effort.) That may even sometimes happen, particularly if the business owner is smart enough to realize that failing to fix the website may bring another lawsuit down the road. Most of the time, though, the approach won't bring meaningful change. What click-by lawsuits have been very successful at doing, however, is mobilizing some companies, business groups, and policymakers against the ADA and the rights of people with disabilities. Last year, the National Federation of the Blind fought against the so-called ADA Education and Reform Act, which would have curtailed the ability of disabled plaintiffs to file suit. Our efforts were not enough to stop the bill from passing in the United States House of Representatives. Fortunately, it was never taken up by the Senate, but it's a sure bet that the coalition who supported it will try again. After a blind California man successfully sued Domino's Pizza, the company is now asking the United States Supreme Court to rule that the ADA cannot and does not apply to websites. Powerful business lobbying organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are lining up behind this argument. If the Supreme Court accepts the case and rules as Domino's wants, then blind people will be left with little or no legal recourse when we experience online discrimination. This is where holding ourselves and others accountable comes in. The National Federation of the Blind has no need to make apologies for our legal strategy. We always seek partnership and collaboration with businesses and government entities before pursuing litigation and file suit only when they absolutely refuse to work constructively with us. We have reached several agreements to improve accessibility without ever entering the courthouse with companies including Expedia and Monster.com. Whether or not we use the courts, we reach agreements that are publicly posted to our website and require specific steps toward accessibility and accountability for maintaining it. We have also made clear that we disapprove of plaintiffs and lawyers who fail to do likewise, most recently through Resolution 2019-09 passed at our national convention in Las Vegas. But, just as we hold ourselves organizationally accountable and call out bad actors who imperil our rights, we must all be individually accountable as well. Each of us can and should be an effective accessibility advocate. In the November 2018 issue of the Braille Monitor, my colleague Karl Belanger wrote an excellent article describing how we can bring accessibility issues to the attention of companies we deal with. We can all follow the steps Karl described whenever we encounter an accessibility barrier. In addition to alerting businesses to accessibility issues, this strategy demonstrates that inaccessibility is real and affects real people. We can also let businesses and the public know that we, as individuals and as members of the organized blind movement, are willing to help them serve all their customers equally. If persuasion fails, of course, we must be ready to fight; we cannot simply roll over in the face of discrimination. But fighting discrimination doesn't always mean going to court. We can call out the businesses who are discriminating against us, refuse to do business with them online or off, and tell our friends and families to avoid doing business with them as well. We can publicly commend entities that take accessibility seriously and send business their way. When there are serious and systemic barriers, we can file complaints with the United States Department of Justice. And yes, if necessary, we can go to court. But we must use our nation's legal system in a strategic and coordinated way that results in positive and permanent change. Members of the National Federation of the Blind who think that legal action may be necessary and appropriate should inform their affiliate president, who can then coordinate with President Riccobono to ensure that the contemplated action fits in with our legal strategy and priorities. Finally, to return to the click-by problem, accountability means making sure we aren't drawn into such litigation. When members are contacted by lawyers or even by other blind people who ask us to sign on as plaintiffs in a lawsuit or series of lawsuits, we should politely decline to do so, even if the person making the request claims to be a member or working on behalf of the Federation. Then inform Valerie Yingling, our national legal program coordinator, of the solicitation. Valerie can be reached at 410-659-9314, extension 2440, or by email at vyingling at nfb.org. We know that at least one individual, Mr. Juan Carlos Gill, is soliciting participation in serial lawsuits. Mr. Gill attended the national convention and may attend state conventions. We believe that his efforts are representative of the click-by litigation discussed here, and either Valerie Yingling or President Riccobono should be informed when he contacts members or attends state conventions. There is a long way yet to go in achieving a fully accessible Internet for everyone, and we must continue the effort to get there without giving ammunition to those who want to make it harder or even bring it to a premature end. At the same time, we have made tremendous progress through a careful, coordinated legal strategy, as well as by other means. As in all our efforts, let's work together with love, hope, and determination to make sure blind people can fully participate in our increasingly digitized society. To get an overview of the legal actions we are currently taking and to learn how you can help some of those efforts and engage in effective individual advocacy, visit our legal web page at www.nfb.org/legal. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis] Bringing the Synergy of the Blindness Movement into Concentrated Programs: Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute by Anil Lewis From the Editor: Anil is the executive director for blindness initiatives at the Jernigan Institute, and whenever he speaks, it is clear that we are blessed to have him as a part of our movement and as a part of our staff. He is a deep thinker, an effective communicator, and a man I admire for the tremendous ability he has to understand others, meet them where they are, and develop meaningful and lasting relationships. Here is what he said to the 2019 National Convention on the morning of July 10: Good morning, Federation. Thank you guys for waking up and coming down. Hasn't this been a wonderful convention? [applause] I have to admit that I was a little afraid that we had gotten so comfortable in Florida that the challenge of a new location would trip us up, but in Federation form and fashion we stepped up, and man, we turn this place out. Thank you guys, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. When I saw the title, bringing synergy, I reflected back on last year's banquet speech. I had to go back and revisit it to understand what synergy was. So what I learned is that synergy is the interaction and/or cooperation of two or more agents working together to produce a combined effect that is greater than the sum of the separate effects. What? That's where I went with that! So I thought about this a little bit, and I recognize that that is what we do as an organization. In order to get grounded in really understanding this, I picked one of our programs and realize that yes, synergy is what we do through our movement and our programs. The Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning [BELL] Academies evidenced in 30+ states and 40+ programs is definitely exemplary of synergy in the blindness movement. This program started with the recognition that we as an organization needed to step up and provide services to our blind students in a way that the current systems are not. If they will not teach them, we will teach them ourselves. [applause] It started as a program in Maryland with Jackie Anderson and all of her team, and then other people added to that program to get where we are now, to the place where we have such nationwide exposure, starting with one program and growing to include so many. Beyond this, the efficacy of what we do has also drawn the attention of funding sources that have allowed us to leverage that as well. Yes, we could do it through our commitment, our volunteer efforts to change the lives of blind people, but it sure does help a lot when we get $100,000 to put in the bank to help some of that programming. Thank you to Wells Fargo for being a financial partner in our BELL Academies. I think that what is important to understand is that synergy is not the sum of our separate efforts, but it's producing an effect that is bigger and broader than that sum. So the different parts are not just additive; they are exponential. We are not talking about 2X, but X squared. When we add to this the advantage of our diversity and continue to work on including more and more people, we can raise this to the third power and the fourth power. Our synergy helps us take one person's desire and wish, build on the effort of the nation's blind, and create exponential programs that positively affect blind people. But this effort requires all of us, not just some of us. We must seek to understand from various perspectives in order to make sure that we can bring individuals with varying perspectives into our organization. How many of you guys have seen the movie The Help? [applause] I often try to find analogies that help me understand stuff, but it wouldn't do any good if you didn't share that same understanding. The Help is a movie about black domestics in the 60s. I should've asked permission, but I'm going to put this out there. Ever Lee Hairston, Gary Wunder, and I were sitting around having a conversation about The Help. Ever Lee was saying "Oh, I really just didn't like the way that the movie was portraying some of these black people. That's real; that's her perspective. But, being a little country boy raised in the big city and my mom being a domestic for a significant part of her life, a lot of the scenes in that movie resonated with me and struck as so true with what I saw her experience to be. But the interesting dynamic ends up being two things: Ever Lee and I are both African-American, and we saw it from a different perspective. We saw good and bad in the movie from different lenses. So Ever Lee said that she was very disappointed in the way that black people were portrayed in that movie. Gary Wunder, just being Gary Wunder, added insight that helped me expand my paradigm of this perception: "I was embarrassed and upset by the way they portrayed white people." [laughter] That hadn't been my lived experience. So it's very helpful for us to have those candid conversations, for us to really look at things from different perspectives, and then what we need to do is respect them and value them. [applause] When it's all said and done, we need to just look at each other and say, "You is smart, you is kind, you is important." If you don't get that, you have to watch the movie; I'm sorry. So as we work on our diversity and inclusion efforts, one thing that's very important is this: let us not forget that, as we seek to embrace every characteristic of individuals, we don't stray away from our core of accepting everybody regardless of their vision. [applause] Regardless of their level of sight, they are part of the National Federation of the Blind. Moreover, we must accept them regardless their skill level. [applause] Whether you can make it from here back to your room without touching anything or needing any assistance or whether you need someone to guide you through this, you are still a member of the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] We are not an organization of elitists. But the National Federation of the Blind is an elite organization. We have to be welcoming and accepting to everyone. The foundation of the National Federation of the Blind is what gives us our strength because we are founded on the lived life experiences of blind people. That's our core. It's not based on some curriculum that someone passed; it's not based on some program; it's based on our everyday lived experiences interacting with the world, and we develop strategies and techniques that allow us to be successful in this world. We know the perils and the pitfalls of blindness, we challenge them, and we overcome them. We have not just survived; we have thrived. We took what little the world had to offer us, and we made something powerful-the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] Now you know that I can't get up on the stage without being authentic to who I am. My grandma raised hogs. You guys are asking yourself, "Where is he going with this?" [laughter] Since my grandma raised hogs, I have had everything on the hog from the rooter to the tooter. That's a delicious animal; I'm just letting you know. I'm sorry, John Par?, but it is a delicious animal. I've had pigs feet and pigtails and pig ears, but see we had that because my grandma raised the hogs. But we didn't get the good stuff. Very rarely did we get the porkchops and all the pork loin, for that is what we sold. We sold it so we could have money to buy other groceries. We had to use the leftovers, but man my grandma made it delicious. The only thing I couldn't get into was the chitlins. I thought I had eaten every part of the pig until I talked with Mrs. Patricia Maurer one day, and she says, "Obviously, then, you've had pig cheeks?" I thought about that and I said, "No, pig feet, pig ears, pigtails, but no pig cheeks-oh, you mean hog jowls. Oh yeah, I've had some hog jowls. >From the rooter to the tooter, I've had it all." You know back then those were the dregs, but people like my grandmother, who knew how to cook those things, made people realize that they can be gourmet dishes. Now the pig feet and pigtails and pig ears I used to get are now top dollar when you go to a restaurant. But my grandma was not getting any cut of that. I mean that's just not right. She started this, opened up this industry, and she's not getting anything. I only say all of that to say this: we as an organization have taken what little the world has offered us, and we've made something very powerful: the National Federation of the Blind. We need to make sure that our value is respected as we move forward. We need to make sure that the world recognizes that we can enhance and enrich through our participation. One of the programs we've developed to do this is our Blind Users Innovating and Leading Design. As technologies evolve, we recognize that only if we are involved in the design phase can blind people really impact the development so that not only is it accessible for us when it's over- it's also better for everyone who uses it, not just blind people. Through our build program we offer support from novices to experts, because many companies out there developing this technology will hire a blind person who's definitely skilled. God rest her soul, Rachel Olivero could've made the most inaccessible thing accessible, but that would leave a person like me unable to use it at all. So we make sure that we give feedback in a way that really represents our selfish desire to see that we can access things but also our altruistic desire because we realize that our participation helps everyone, not just us. Let me take the time now to thank each and every one of you who signed up for the build program. I know we haven't pushed a lot of it out, but we have to build the infrastructure first so that we can make sure that as the demand comes, we're able to meet it and that we keep the demand coming. Just to show you some examples of this, where are New York and Colorado? [shout outs from both states] So we had a company contact us, and they wanted to test digital lockers. They wanted to make sure that they were accessible for blind people. We'd already demonstrated our expertise in that by working with the Amazon locker system, but in the past they would've pulled blind people aside, had them participate in the experience, and said "Thank you very much," and shook their hands. But because we were able to negotiate and they recognized the value of our participation, we were able to make sure that each and every person who participated in that demonstration received $100 for about forty-five minutes worth of work. I think that's a pretty good minimum wage, don't you? [applause] Now everything won't bring that degree of value, so I don't want everybody to sign up thinking wow, I'm about to get paid. But we do want to make sure that our value is recognized and our members are not co-opted. We have more work to do. We have to work on accessible kiosks; we have to work on accessible websites; we have to work on different banking solutions. We definitely have to work on point-of-sale machines and those new virtual customer interfaces like we find at McDonald's, who launch this nationwide announcement about this flagship location in Manhattan where they are introducing all of this technology and the kiosk where you walk up and make your order. It's not accessible. Now those of you who know me know that I love myself some Mickey D's. But right about now, [he sings the McDonald's theme song] I'm not loving it." So we must make sure that we're in this game and we are playing in a way that makes certain that our participation is appreciated. We must protect our brand. That's the other piece that's important for this. This might hurt some people, but I'm just going to put it out there. We have to make sure that our brand is not co-opted. The work that we do needs to bring value back to the National Federation of the Blind. How many of you guys know what the blues are all about? [cheers] Okay, so maybe this will help those who didn't understand the hogs. The blues is music that is born out of struggle, and as the music moved up north, it turned into the foundation for R&B and rock 'n roll. But a lot of people don't realize that the blues is that foundation because the brand got co- opted. Langston Hughes, in a poem around the Harlem Renaissance wrote: "You've taken my blues and gone. You mix them up on Broadway, and fix them up in operas, so they don't even sound like me. Yep, you've taken my blues and gone." We can't let anybody take our blues. Our struggle and the success and strategies that we develop as a result of that struggle belong to the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] And we are not going to let people take our blues. But we must be strategic in making sure that that is not the case. We must make sure that our value is recognized. Our National Federation of the Blind training centers, the Louisiana Center for the Blind, the Colorado Center for the Blind, Blind Incorporated, and all of our certified structure discovery centers recognize the benefit of our lived life experiences, have benefited from our struggle, but there are others out there trying to take away our blues. They think that if they add sleep shades and longer canes into their curriculum that they are in NFB training centers. No. We can't let them take our blues. I went to a meeting of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, and the work that our Michigan affiliate did with the state VR office there to build autonomous vehicle opportunities for our blind students to learn was phenomenal, and they gave us phenomenal credit in that open forum. However, there was an agency, and I'm sorry that I'm going to call them out, an agency from Idaho that talked about the wonderful work they had been doing with their BELL Program, but they gave no credit to the National Federation of the Blind. They are taking away our blues. Don't boo them: let's hug them until they realize that it is safe to say, "We did this with the NFB." There is our research that we conduct, and there are individuals who have come here for many years and have taken blind people and have done research and published it. We've even had partnerships with individuals with whom we've collaborated, and you're going to hear from them next. One of them will be Wade Goodridge from Utah State, and the other will be the new assistant professor at Illinois State University, the master teacher that we know and love, Natalie Shaheen. Wherever she goes, you know she's a Federationist, but some of the people we partner with in our research don't acknowledge us. They are trying to take our blues. When Brad Smith presented, he talked about Anne Taylor, who we know and love. In his presentation he recognized and acknowledged that she is a member of the National Federation of the Blind, and she says that proudly in every place that she goes. But there are other individuals out there who have built their reputation on the National Federation of the Blind and who have gained the skills and the confidence that they have needed to be successful. When we are talking to them here, they are all about NFB. But when you talk with them outside, they act like they can't pronounce the letters. They're trying to take our blues. Chancey Fleet of New York: I have come to rely lately on Chancey in so many ways. I love her expertise, her knowledge, but most of all I love her frankness. It is very helpful. Chancey is building a significant brand for herself as she's moving around, but anytime I've called on her or have talked with anyone about her, they recognize that she is a member of the National Federation of the Blind. But there are others out there who are using the Federation to build their brand and don't in any way acknowledge the NFB. They're trying to take our blues. Joe Ruffalo said it best when he was reelected to the board: "The best title we have is as members of the National Federation of the Blind." [applause] As I said last year and Terri Rupp reiterated it, whatever hat we're wearing, it has to be on our Federation head. We have to make sure that as we move forward that all of these things are put in place that reflect the value that the Federation has to offer. Internally we have to make sure that the programs we build through the Federation are not just programs of our National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. People shouldn't say, "Oh, this is what we're doing at our national office." These are not just Jernigan Institute programs. They are programs of the National Federation of the Blind. They are programs for each and every one of us, and they represent all of us. And all of us should participate in the development and execution of those programs. That's what gives us our strength and our power. Last year I talked about our career mentoring program. I just want you guys to know that that's going really well. We're trying to make sure that we maintain the authenticity of our program within the bureaucratic framework, and we're doing a good job of doing that in Mississippi, Nebraska, and Maryland. We're doing a lot of work with autonomous vehicles. Back in 2011 under the leadership of Dr. Marc Maurer, our current president Mark Riccobono got to drive independently an automobile on the Daytona International Speedway. That has given us credibility and standing in this space for autonomous vehicles because they recognize that we have the technical expertise and the capacity to not only make the vehicles accessible but to make them better for everyone. We're addressing the fears that people have about these autonomous vehicles, and even more, we're putting it in a way that helps them advertise the efficacy of this. You guys may not know this, but with the advent of all of this ridesharing, now there are so many more cars on the road. I think this is very frustrating because they are making it sound like the technology that has allowed us to be more effective is just disrupting their lives. Well that's just too bad. We too pay taxes to get the roads built; we want to use the roads just like you; stop exercising your degree of privilege in prohibiting us from being able to live the lives that we want. Luckily we've been able to manifest significant partnerships through Lyft and Uber, and most importantly through Lyft at this convention through autonomous vehicle rides, which was awesome. This wasn't just a demonstration of our collaboration; it was a manifestation of our desire to continue to want to participate and add value. I'll add one of the things that we're doing and that's inaccessible museum spaces. I want individuals who are interested in being ambassadors as we talk to these museums to reach out to us. We've developed a wonderful partnership with John Olson of 3DPhotoWorks to expand accessibility in all multimodal functions. Again, making the museum experience accessible for blind people enriches the experience for everyone. So you've taken my blues and you've gone. You've mixed them up in Broadway and mixed them up in operas so they don't even sound like me. Yeah, you've taken my blues and gone, but someday someone's going to stand up for me, sing about me, and write about me. The poem says black, but I'll add blind and beautiful in the vein of Ever Lee Hairston. But someday someone's going to stand up for me, going to sing about me, going to write about me-black, blind, beautiful-it'll be me, I reckon; Yep it'll be me, but it won't just be me. It'll be me working together with 50,000 members of the National Federation of the Blind to combine our efforts to produce an effect that is greater than the sum of our separate effects. Let's go forth and build the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Brad Smith] Global Leadership, Responsibility and Technology: Accessibility as a Core Value at Microsoft by Brad Smith From the Editor: Brad Smith is the president of Microsoft. What he says and does has a significant effect on what a major contender in the field of technology will do. What his company does will help set the tone in an industry in which Microsoft is a major player. Here is what he said about technology built in service to people: Thank you, Mark. The first thing I want to say is that as president of Microsoft on behalf of the team from Microsoft that is here with me in this room, and more importantly on behalf of the 140,000 people who work in our company across this country and around the world, we are honored to be with you today. Thank you for making room for us. [applause] As you might expect, I want to say a little bit about technology. Technology is transforming our world. It is changing our future, but I want to talk about technology perhaps from a bit of an unexpected vantage point. I think the best way to understand what technology can do for the future is to learn from the past, and the best way to think about the importance of technology is not to focus on technology first but to think first about people. When you think about the places that bring people together, the great intersections of the world, Las Vegas is one of them. It's a little bit of Hollywood, it's a little bit of Disneyland, it's a little bit confusing, but it's downright entertaining. I want to start with another great intersection. Just east of Paris there is a site that attracts 10 million people every year. It's called Disneyland Paris. If you were to go, you would feel that you were in California or perhaps Orlando where the NFB has often met. But as good as Disneyland is, it's not the best site in the region. If people would only go a few miles farther east, they would travel through gentle hills, amidst orchards and small vineyards, to a small town, a town of less than three thousand inhabitants. I've been there. The town is called Coupvray. As you travel through this town, you come to the end of a small street where there is a small house that is now a museum. It is a house that has stood for more than 200 years. In fact two centuries ago there was a man who lived and worked there. He built the technology products of his day, which happened to be harnesses for horses and carriages. He was a master craftsman. His name was Simon Ren? Braille. As many of you may know, there came a day in 1812 when his three-year-old son went to Simon Ren?'s workshop and pulled out a sharp tool to do what he had seen his father do, use it to cut a piece of leather. But there was an accident that day that changed his life. But because he was a person of unbelievable potential and ability, that young boy, that young man named Louis Braille took what happened in his life and changed the world. [applause] By the time he was six years old he was in a local school, and by the time he was ten he was the best student in the class. He was such a promising young boy that his father took him on a trip to Paris. They went to Paris where Louis enrolled in what was then known as the Royal Institute for Blind Youth. It was not a very nice building. It was run down, it was dark, it was damp, it was poorly ventilated, and if you think that was bad, the food was even worse. But just two years later this young promising student had the opportunity to learn from a new director of the Royal Institute, a reformer if you will. He came in, and he saw the potential in his young students. He not only improved the school; he took the students across Paris. He would take groups of a dozen blind students who were holding a rope and led by a sighted teacher. They would go to the Royal Botanical Gardens, and they would be given an opportunity to learn from everything that Paris had to offer. He brought in other people who could teach the students about new opportunities in the world. One was a gentleman named Charles Barbier from the French military. He had developed a new code that French soldiers were using to communicate in darkness at night. The most amazing thing was that it was a thirteen-year-old, Louis Braille, who said that that code could be taken and turned into something even better. It took Louis two years to perfect what we now know as the Braille language. As you all know, it created opportunities for people around the world. It is a story about a person, but it's also in my view a story about technology. Because that is what the Braille language in many ways was: it was a leap forward in technology, and it was a leap forward that in so many ways illustrated what is to this day, two centuries later, perhaps one of the most fundamental tenets that goes into creating better technology with every type of disability in the world. It is encapsulated in a saying: nothing for us without us. That is what Louis Braille showed. [applause] Like all great innovators and leaders, Louis Braille created a foundation on which others could stand. So it was almost exactly a century later in Canada that another young boy suffered an accident. He suffered this accident when he was seven years old, and by the time he turned fourteen, like Louis Braille, he too was blind. His name was Jacobus tenBroek. [applause] Like Louis Braille, he recognized that you can lose your sight, but that doesn't mean that you lose your vision. As you all know, he went on to partner with Dr. Newel Perry and create one of the great movements, not just in this country but for the world, the movement that is reflected in this room, the movement that the world now knows as the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] This movement too would connect with the world of technology. It was almost a half-century ago that Ray Kurzweil partnered with the National Federation of the Blind and created the first reading machine for the blind. It was based on that that people were inspired to go further and recognize that if there is a fundamental right in every democracy in the world, it is the right to vote and the right to make that right real for people who are blind. It took the creation of accessible voting machines. So that is what the NFB helped pioneer. [applause] Of course it was the NFB's work that led an expansion of this into the world of digital publishing and the need to promote literacy for the blind around the world in what is now known as the Marrakesh Treaty, a treaty that moves these rights forward for every community around the world. [applause] It is amazing to see how far the world has come over two centuries, and yet it is equally amazing to think about how far we still have to go. Of course I never had the opportunity to meet Louis Braille or to meet Jacobus tenBroek. But just as tenBroek built on the foundation created by Braille, there are new leaders, new heroes, and heroines who are adding to and taking this foundation even higher. My personal favorite is someone I have had the opportunity to meet and get to know. Her name is Anne Taylor. [cheers] As many of you know, Anne started as a student at the Kentucky School for the Blind. Anne, in her day, had an aspiration, an aspiration that certainly speaks to all of us every day, all of us who work at Microsoft. Anne said that she wanted to learn computer science. It was not offered at the Kentucky School for the Blind, but it was offered at the public school nearby. So for part of the day Anne would go there, and she said that they had never worked with someone like her. They had never worked with a student who was blind. But as Anne is prone to do with so many people, she quickly won them over, and like Louis Braille she became the best student in the class. Anne, as many of you know, would go on to college, would pursue this career, building on computer science, and ultimately recognize that it would become a career that would take her into this movement. It would bring her to the National Federation of the Blind. For twelve years Anne led the team here at the NFB as the director of access technology, promoting across the tech sector the need for companies like ours to better understand and better serve this community. Ultimately there came a day when Anne's phone rang, and on the other end was Microsoft's head of accessibility, our chief accessibility officer, a woman who is here today, Jenny Lay-Flurrie. [applause] Like all good leaders, Jenny recognized talent and sought to recruit Anne. Thankfully, from my perspective, she succeeded. Her message to Anne was, "You've changed technology from the outside. Come join us and see what you can do on the inside." Every day I am grateful that Anne took that offer. There have been good years for Microsoft when it comes to accessibility, and there have been not-so-good years. There were even years when we took areas where we were ahead and fell behind. But over the course of this decade, in part based on feedback from Mark Riccobono and the incredible leadership he has provided in talking to companies like ours, in part listening to more of you, and in part based on the inside leadership of people like Anne, every year we have focused on getting better. One of the things I always tried to remind every product team at Microsoft is that this is a big community. As you all know, there are 300 million people in the world who are blind. Think about this for a moment. Think about the almost 3,300 people who are here, and yet each one of you, in an important way, is a voice for 100,000 more. It is a voice that, as you heard, needs to be heard, but it's a voice that needs to be more than heard. It's a voice that we need to listen to. [applause] As I then remind our product team on so many days, there is no group more directly impacted by the next version of our product than the community of people who are blind. If we do our job well, we create new opportunities for people who are blind, and if we do our job poorly, we make people's lives harder. That is what we always need to remember in every company that creates technology today. [applause] I will say that I would like to think we are getting better. I hope you see this. I hope that you feel this when you use our products. Certainly with Windows we've worked to improve the screen-reading technology. We now have a fully functioning built-in free screen reader with a new QuickStart feature to help people learn more quickly how to put this to work. We are investing in new low-vision tools, things like bigger and brighter points, and smoother magnifiers. We are partnering with our peers who also do important work and in many ways great work across the industry. One sees this reflected in new advances like the Braille HID standard with Apple. We recognize that we are not a company that can make progress alone. We need to contribute every day to an incredibly powerful ecosystem of competitors and partners and companies old and new, large and small. We need to keep taking this into our other products as we're doing with Office in our accessibility checker. So too are we doing this with artificial intelligence, using the power of this new technology in embedded ways with suggestions to make processes quicker and more accessible for people with all types of disabilities. We need to look beyond the features and the products that people use today and fundamentally ask ourselves the same question that Louis Braille asked himself: How can we imagine new technology that can fundamentally improve people's lives in ways that they haven't yet experienced? There are a number of initiatives taking place across the Microsoft campus near Seattle. My personal favorite is one that is called Seeing AI. [applause] As many of you obviously know, with the power of a camera and a phone, and the ability of that phone to connect with the cloud, and the ability of technology to harness artificial intelligence, every phone can become a powerful new tool to help people navigate their lives each and every day. Like the innovation that was reflected in Louis Braille's work two centuries ago, my favorite image of the development of that product is the photograph of Anne Taylor, who was part of the original team who helped put it together and helped figure out how to make that product work. She walked around Microsoft with a smart phone attached with duct tape to her forehead. [laughter] People sometimes have to do amazing things to move technology forward. That, in part, is our future. But it is not a future of technology alone. It's a future of partnerships-new partnerships that we're forging through a new program called AI for Accessibility. This program is now investing millions of dollars a year to put technology into the hands of groups around the world, nonprofits and the like, who can then use our resources and technical expertise to help discover their own advances. It will take the kinds of partnerships that we've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to forge with Mark and the leadership of the NFB to stand up for the needs of people with disabilities across this country. We've done that in Washington, DC; we've done that in state capitols; and we're doing it at Microsoft itself as well as with our suppliers. That's why we as a company first made a commitment to ourselves, for our own employees, and last week we expanded that commitment to reach the employees of our suppliers as well. What we said when we looked at the people and the jobs at Microsoft and our suppliers was really straightforward. We are saying now to our suppliers: "If you want to work with us, you have to pay people the minimum wage." [applause] So as I think about the future, I think about how all these strands can come together. It is a future where technology can take us forward. It is a future where technology companies need to put people who are blind and people who have other disabilities at the center of everything we do. Because if we serve this community well, frankly we're going to serve every community well. [applause] It is a future that will require that Mark and all of you continue to do what you do so well: use your voice, raise your voice, call our Disability Answer Desk; operators are standing by. We have received over a million calls since 2012. There are days when your feedback is tough; there are days when you share with us your disappointments. But keep doing it. It is what makes us better. [applause] If there is one thing I've learned, it's that this is a community that has important things to say. You need to be heard, and we need to listen. [applause] So in conclusion I would say this: we all come together in Las Vegas in 2019 in a time that often feels pretty tumultuous. There are many days in our country when it feels that people disagree with each other more than they agree. There are even days when it feels that people are shouting at each other more than listening to each other. But we need to have the vision to pursue a brighter future. So many times I believe the best way to imagine a brighter future is to think about the journey that we must continue to pursue that will build on the best journeys of the past. When I think about that, I think about the journey that Louis Braille put all of us on two centuries ago. I think about the journey that a century ago the NFB put us all on together. I think about the Anne Taylor's of Microsoft and across the tech sector in the NFB, and I say there is not only cause for hope, there is reason for optimism. Let us build on this ability to work together and let us do what it takes to stay committed to this journey and build on the shoulders of those who have come before us. Thank you very much. [applause] ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Norma Crosby] Cambiando Vidas en la Frontera de Tejas by Norma Crosby, Daniel Martinez, Raul Gallegos, and Hilda Hernandez From the Editor: Those of you who read the convention roundup in the August-September issue will know the English translation of this title. Those of you who know Spanish as your native language are probably glad to see a title written in a language you love. Those who don't know the meaning of the title are encouraged to read, for the answer is found early on in this article. Mark Riccobono introduced this exciting presentation with these words: "Here to lead us in this panel is a woman who does not need much introduction because she has been a mentor to many in this movement. Her leadership is invaluable in our organization, and I'm always inspired by what she's trying to do to build connections within our organization. In her state she's been empowering others to explore ways to bring and build connections to people in the state of Texas who need our philosophy but who have not always been well-connected to us. So I'm really thankful this morning that we have her and the other team of presenters to talk about bringing hope, opportunity, and the family of the National Federation of the Blind to so many, and I hope that it's an example of what we can do in all of our affiliates. As you know, what we do often bubbles up, is tested, and refined on the local level. Here to talk to us about changing lives on the Texas border is Norma Crosby." Norma Crosby: Good morning, you guys. I've got to tell you before I start my presentation that, when you really care what someone thinks about what you're going to say, it's really nerve-wracking. So I'm as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof because I really care about my Federation family. So what comes to mind when you think of Texas? Do you maybe think of people walking around in Wranglers and cowboy hats, pretending that they're real cowboys? Or maybe you think of oil men who have their tailored suits and their shiny cowboy boots. [shouts from the crowd, Norma laughs] Someone said Willie [Nelson]. Those things are definitely a part of what Texas is, but they aren't all that Texas is. Let me show you what I mean by using the home of our 2020 Convention as an example. [cheers] Houston is certainly full of oil men, and they certainly strut around town like they own the place. (Which they kind of do.) However, you will also find a vibrant Latino community [cheers] and a dynamic African-American community, but our diversity doesn't stop there. Our LGBTQ population contributes significantly to what Houston is and what it aspires to become. And we respect all faith traditions. We are a melting pot, and so is Texas. The National Federation of the Blind of Texas is very much the same. Our members come from all diverse backgrounds, and as a result we continue to develop programs that serve both our current members and the members we hope to attract by making them feel included. Today I've been tasked with talking about one aspect of what we do in Texas in terms of diversity and inclusion. But as you've probably noticed if you heard my presentation during the board meeting, I'm not always good at staying on task. I'm going to veer off-topic a bit in order to tell you about a couple of other things to promote inclusion. Our NFB-NEWSLINE program is very dynamic. We are constantly adding content to our local information channel, and this year we've added a Spanish-language content manager, Ana Marquez. Ana is working to translate material that's been available to our subscribers in English so that we can make it available to our subscribers who speak Spanish. Liz Wisecarver and her team do a phenomenal job of making sure to provide access to this Federation program to as many people as we possibly can. We're also working to make our mentoring program as diverse as possible, and we've already made significant strides in that area. Most of our program participants come from minority communities, and so do many of our mentors. Because we're making efforts at reaching the Latino community in particular, we have just asked Rosy Carranza to become a part of our effort at inclusion. Rosy will be helping us to communicate effectively with parents, many of whom are a little apprehensive about allowing their children to participate in programs like ours. We're very excited to be working with Rosy, and we continue to work with Mika Baugh from Indiana. She's been helping us for the past couple of years in project planning, and so not only do we have program participants from diverse backgrounds, but we also try to reach out to our Federation family to get help wherever we can to make our programs work more effectively. We couldn't do it without the wonderful leadership from our other affiliates, and when we see talented members of your affiliate, we won't hesitate to borrow them from you if you don't mind. So thank you so much for sharing with us. [applause] Now let me talk about what President Riccobono actually asked me to talk about, which is our Cambiando Vidas en la Frontera de Tejas, [cheers] Changing Lives on the Texas Border. About a year ago members of our affiliate's committee on diversity and inclusion came to me and said, "Hey, we really think it's time for us to expand our community outreach efforts to encompass the Latino community more." I absolutely agreed with them in concept, but I wasn't really sure exactly how I could support what they wanted to do. Luckily though they had that under control. They said, "Look, we already have plans, we just need you to figure out how to pay for everything. [laughter] You can do that, right?" Well, challenge accepted. I let our team run, and they worked with other Federationists and leaders from METAS [Mentoring, Engaging, and Teaching All Students] such as Conchita Hernandez and Garrick Scott. They set about developing a program that would allow us to reach out to a community that is sometimes a little reluctant about coming out of the shadows. In the spring of 2018 we undertook our Cambiando Vidas on the United States side of the border, and then in the fall we reached across the border to host our second program in Matamoros, Mexico. [applause] We not only served blind people, but we included their families so that they could begin to understand about the high expectations we would be teaching their blind family members. Our team was spectacular. Everyone worked tirelessly for months to make these weekend-long programs possible, and all I had to do was accept the praise that really belonged to our instructors and to everyone who offered support during the process. Today, three members of a spectacular team of instructors are going to give you a glimpse into what we worked so hard to create. Here are Daniel Martinez, Hilda Hernandez, and Raul Gallegos. [PHOTO CAPTION: Daniel Martinez] Daniel Martinez: Hello, my family. I'm Daniel Martinez. We just heard from Norma Crosby. I can tell you I've eaten Mexican food with her and partied with her; she's amazing. She's opened her heart, not only to the Hispanic community, but we've seen it in the work that she has allowed us to do. In our mentoring program-which is a program that lives in my heart because that's how I started in the Federation-I now see more diversity than ever. Norma trusts me with the diversity and inclusion committee along with Jos? Marquez, the co-chair of that committee. We've developed a strong core group of mentors, among them Hilda Rolando Hernandez, Jos? and Ana Marquez, and Irma Pyka. [applause] Last year at our 2018 Convention we had a Spanish agenda, we had volunteers interpreting into Spanish the entire convention, just like we're doing here-thank you to all the volunteers who are taking the time to interpret every word that we say on this microphone into Spanish. We also held a Hispanic seminar which gave us a lot of insight into what our community needs. From that seminar we concluded that we needed to provide resources and information to our community. We talked about doing a podcast in Spanish. So we recorded the first podcasts, and then we shared them in January with Norma, and we talked about our proposal. Before she could give us a yes or a no, we were showing her the recordings of our podcasts. Now Cambiando Vidas is an amazing program. I had the opportunity to go to Guadalajara, Mexico, in November to a school for the blind. There we did evaluations, we talked with the parents, we talked with the children, with the volunteers, and we realized they need services. Later this month, from the 26 to the 28 of July, Norma, Irma Pyka, and myself are going to travel to Guadalajara to present information and give resources that community needs. [applause] In the Cambiando Vidas programs we provide programs that you're familiar with: we see them in the BELL Academies, for example. We teach Braille literacy, adaptive technology, nonvisual skills, travel skills, and one important component is the integration of the family into our rehabilitation program. And now I would like to present a friend of mine, a mentor in Cambiando Vidas and in the NFB of Texas, Hilda Hernandez, who is going to talk about the family in our rehabilitation. Thank you very much. [applause] [PHOTO CAPTION: Hilda Hernandez] Hilda Hernandez: Good morning. I have the pleasure of coming to speak to you about an important role the family plays in our rehabilitation, especially in the Hispanic community where it's so difficult to let go, especially whenever a member of the family has a disability. I worked with the family members of the participants throughout the training weekend of Cambiando Vidas. And believe me, it was not easy. Because during the training that I give to the family members, I talk about awareness, but I also talk a lot about letting them go. It's very difficult for them to let go, but once they learn how we are able to learn and to become independent, that letting go is a lot easier. Throughout the weekend I have the family members explore their emotions and their own fears, but I also talk to them and say that they need to let go of their own fears so that their family member can be successful. I emphasize the importance of thinking about the future and what is going to happen when they are not there to continue supporting them. That is what opens the family members' eyes. They want for their family member to have the tools and the independence to be able to succeed. [applause] I thank the NFB for giving me those tools and that encouragement when I was sixteen years old when I started participating in conventions and with the students. Throughout the training that I lived with the NFB and the members who supported me, I was able to explain all of that to my family. Thanks to the NFB, now I'm able to explain this message to the family members of my Hispanic community. Thank you for having me. [applause] And I am sorry, but now I would like to introduce to you a bilingual technology instructor who is also sharing this message with his students, Raul Gallegos: [PHOTO CAPTION: Raul Gallegos] Raul Gallegos: Hello to my Federation family. [cheers] As a technology instructor, I often get asked a lot of questions, some of them simple questions that I can answer in one second; others I have to do a little research. I have to say that some of the best students I have are youth, because we cannot have seniors without having adults first; we can't have adults without having teenagers first. But even before that those teenagers are children who are like sponges. So we have our BELL program. [applause, cheers] Everyone who speaks English knows that BELL is B-E-L-L. However, if you say "bel" in Spanish, typically that's just one L, so unless you're spelling my last name, you're not going to think of two Ls in the word BELL. So I had a student say, "Que es 'BELL'?" (What is BELL?) And so I said, "Well, it's an acronym," and before I could tell him what that acronym was he said, "Braille es lindo." But we often say in English, "Braille is beautiful," do we not? [applause] One of the questions I ask my students, especially the younger ones, is what is technology? And children being children, I'll often get answers like the computer, the tablet, the TV device. Nobody thinks that an abacus, a pencil, or a sketchpad is a form of technology. However, I encompass their learning by using all forms of technology, from the "boring low-tech" as some of my children would call it to the cool high-tech like the notetakers and readers and whatnot. One of my best experiences-we're not supposed to have favorites as teachers, but I have to say, something that really stands out-through the use of a device like the Sensational BlackBoard or the Sketchpad, I was able to show one of my BELL students, who only spoke Spanish, and he would often hear people talk about the sunset, but he had no idea what people were talking about. We were able to draw together a house, a little lawn, and the sun up above in the corner with little rays coming off of it. I explained to him how the sun travels- well for us science-techy people really it's the Earth traveling, but that's okay. I explained to him how the sun moves from our perspective from one corner to the other, and I explained to him what a sunset was, all by using tactile forms of teaching. And this BELL student loved it. [applause] Later on as we practiced with a portable book reader, he got to read a book, and he got to choose what book he wanted to listen to, and it was a science book-I think maybe he might be an astronaut one of these days. [applause] The students that we have typically are going to be Spanish speakers, English speakers, or even speak other languages, different groups. It just shows how diverse we are, and how much we want to share our information because we want these children to learn the right way how to be a very successful blind person. They are our next generation. Thank you. [applause, cheers] Norma Crosby: They keep moving this microphone up. [laughter] Thanks Danny, Raul, and Hilda. Programs like these are now in our DNA, and thanks to the hard work of this team of leaders, we plan to hold our next program in Texas this August, and we're planning to return to Matamoras between Thanksgiving and Christmas of this year. It's our goal to make these annual events so that we continue to partner with our Latino family to ensure that they gain the skills they need to live the lives they want. [applause] The National Federation of the Blind of Texas celebrates diversity. We want to include any blind person who wishes to be a part of our family. We don't care where you come from. We don't care about the color of your skin. We don't care who you love or what faith tradition you follow. [cheers] We believe that if we work together with love, hope, and determination, we can turn our dreams of including everyone into reality. Thank you very much. [cheers, applause] ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kyle Vogt] The Driverless Revolution: Setting a New Standard for Transportation and Technology by Kyle Vogt From the Editor: Mark Riccobono introduced this presenter with these enthusiastic words: "I'm very excited about this presentation. We invited this gentleman last year, but he declined-rightfully so, his wife had just had a baby, so he should have declined. He made it a priority to be here this year. We really appreciate that. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to first meet him right here in this hotel, as a matter of fact, in January at the Consumer Electronics Show when we were one of the founding partners to launch the PAVE Coalition, which is an effort to promote the opportunities that will come from driverless vehicles. This next gentleman is an innovator and a visionary in this space, and we're proud that we've had the opportunity to get to know him in our efforts to make sure that autonomous vehicles are accessible to blind people from day one. He's a relatively new and growing partner with the National Federation of the Blind. We're happy he could make it this year. He's the president and chief technology officer of Cruise Automation, Kyle Vogt": Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, President Riccobono, and thank you to the National Federation of the Blind for having me. Congratulations on another successful conference. This is a really impressive turnout. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today, and I'm humbled by the remarkable work you do. I'm going to tell you a little bit about the work we do. As Mark said, my name is Kyle Vogt. I'm the cofounder, president, and CTO of Cruise, which is a company based in San Francisco working on self- driving cars. We have about 1,500 people, and we partner with General Motors to manufacture and deploy our vehicles. We're working every day to improve roadway safety. We think self-driving cars can be safer than humans ever could be and also can make transportation more accessible by bringing autonomous vehicles to life. Building and deploying autonomous vehicles-we like to think of it as this generation's Space Race. The technology challenge is immense; there's been nothing like it since the Apollo Program. If you think about what we're trying to do here, we're trying to make an artificial intelligence system that is better than humans at one of the most complicated and confusing tasks that we do on a regular basis-driving-in some cases in very complex urban environments. We've seen computers beat humans at things like chess, which is a very structured and straightforward problem without a lot of complexity. We've seen computers beat people at video games and other things. But never has a computer system been better-or in this case, safer- than a human at a task as complicated and unpredictable as driving out on public roads where there are other drivers doing things: pedestrians, cyclists, and all of it can come together and create a very chaotic scene. The stakes for what we are doing are enormous. Beyond just safety we want to bring accessibility to seniors, people with any kind of disability, and all of our vehicles are electric, so we want to make the air in our cities cleaner as well. To us the vehicle of the future shouldn't be built like the vehicles of the past. [applause] Like the Apollo Program in the 1960s, today's Space Race (if you want to call it that) is being led by the private sector and not government. The industry is driving a technology revolution with huge impacts, and that makes the work that we're doing together working with the NFB extremely important. Since the government is not pushing, this is being led by private companies, and we've got to work together and fight to make sure that this technology is actually available. Our mission, simply put, is to build the most advanced self-driving vehicles to safely connect people to the places, things, and experiences they care about. This sounds like sort of a simple mission, but it's not simple to pull off. People, of course, are at the center of that, and I think that that's pretty important. Because every year 40,000 Americans lose their lives on the road, and despite all the improvements we've been making in vehicle technology and safety technology, that number is going up, and that might be because people are using Instagram and Snapchat and doing all these other things when they should be driving. The vast majority of those accidents that lead to all those fatalities are caused by human error: 95 percent of them. So that means your car is not breaking down; that's people doing dumb things behind the wheel, and we think that's an opportunity where we can improve. That includes drunk driving, distracted driving, drowsy driving, emotional driving-any kind of driving that's not the right kind of driving. We're sort of complacent with this reality today because there's not a lot of opportunities other than using a car to get where you're going in many cases. So we're sort of comfortable with this reality that's pretty barbaric if you think about it in terms of how dangerous driving can be. AVs [autonomous vehicles] have a significant potential to address this, especially given that 95 percent of the issues are caused by humans, because the autonomous vehicles don't get tired, they don't drink and drive, and they never get distracted by text messages. So today it's dangerous to be inside a car, and it's dangerous to be outside a car, and in San Francisco where we're headquartered, pedestrian fatalities have increased over the last several years. So it's risky to be a pedestrian in San Francisco today, but it could be extremely dangerous to be a blind pedestrian in San Francisco today. I think we have a moral imperative as a society to do better, to make our streets safer for everyone, and that's what we're working on. That's why I started this company, and that's why I get up every morning thinking about how to make this happen sooner and faster and to make it more accessible to more people as quickly as we can. If you look at the vehicles we're building-again, going back to that Apollo Program analogy-these are pretty complicated, pretty impressive machines. They've got sensors that are always on: laser range finders, radars, cameras-all this pretty interesting technology that's never been put on a car before, and together these sensors create a near-perfect 3D view of what's happening around the car: where all the people are, where all the bikes are, where the road is, the lane markers on all of those things. So that car is computing a safe trajectory hundreds of times per second. Again, it's doing that without ever getting distracted or ever taking a break or hopefully ever making a mistake. So even if you don't see one of our vehicles with all of these sensors, odds are it sees you, and it's trying to do the safe thing near you. We're working on this technology every day, and we want to put it on the road first in the form of a self-driving rideshare service. I know from talking to several of you that ridesharing has been game-changing in terms of accessibility and giving you back the freedom to move around when you want to. We're going to start there by deploying vehicles like this as opposed to selling cars to individuals because this has real benefits to us. When we have a fleet of vehicles that are owned and managed, we can make sure that they're properly maintained at all times, they're functioning as designed, and that if one car learns something or discovers a construction zone or an accident or something, it can share that information with all the other vehicles on the road. This is something that human drivers can't really do today because you're busy driving. You can't really call all the other drivers on the road and tell them what's happening. I think that's one of the ways that AVs are going to start maybe slightly safer than humans, and as time goes on get much, much safer. There's no reason to me that this technology has to top out at human performance. I think down the road we can make cars that are one hundred times or one thousand times safer than human drivers are today. [applause] This approach also allows broader consumer interaction with the technology. We're working to create the safe, advanced vehicle, and we want it to be available to as many people as possible and not just the elite. So we're committed to deploying these vehicles with what is called level four autonomous technology, which means it is fully autonomous within an area, so think of maybe a certain city, city geofence or something. The occupant in that vehicle never has to take control of the vehicle. And that's really important today. It's different than cruise control or a driver-assist feature. This means that you get in the car, and you don't have to touch it- that's a really big deal. It means that if you can't get a driver's license or you have a hard time getting a driver's license, that's not a problem. If your job never involves taking control of the vehicle and never involves driving the car, you shouldn't really need a driver's license. I don't think anyone should need a driver's license in the future. But you should have the freedom to go wherever you want to go, whenever you want to go, and that's what we're working on. As I mentioned before, all of our vehicles are fully electric and zero-emission. We're committed to being good stewards of the environment and want to democratize access to clean, safe, and accessible transportation and make sure the air in our cities stays clean as our population continues to grow. Ridesharing services have already improved mobility for people with disabilities-we know that, we love that-and we believe that autonomous vehicles can take it to the next level. If you think about it, when you have a rideshare service, you're still paying for another human being to spend their time sitting in that vehicle driving around, so that's going to have a cost associated with it. When you take that human being out of the car and replace it with a computer system, we can drop the cost, which makes that transportation more accessible to more people. [applause] It's also consistent; you can skip over the confusing or non-intuitive interactions with the rideshare drivers-which despite their best intentions can really vary from person to person. That consistent, reliable transportation service is something that we dream of and want to bring to life with this technology. That's related to our culture of inclusivity and diversity. We think that diversity makes us stronger and makes our technology better. We think about that both in terms of the people who build the technology at Cruise-our employees-but also the people who use it. As you know, accessibility is not one-size-fits-all. There are 57 million Americans who identify as having a disability, and the needs of those 57 million are obviously not all the same. But while there's no single silver bullet we can use to make this kind of technology available to everyone, I think there can be meaningful progress. So we've taken a pretty deliberate approach to understand the differences both between and within communities. For example the blind and low-vision community, the deaf and hard-of-hearing, people with cognitive disabilities, and the non- ambulatory community. If we recognize and understand these differences, we can hopefully make a better product for everyone. Despite our intentions we know that we don't have all of the answers, and that's where these partnerships come in, including this one. Last summer we launched a first-of-a-kind initiative to better understand the rideshare experience of people who are blind, and how we can tailor that experience specifically so that when autonomous vehicles arrive, they're available and they work for everyone. For months we worked hand-in-hand with the NFB and others in the blind and low-vision community to understand the challenges associated with using a rideshare service. These things may be obvious to many of you-like how to find the vehicle, understanding where you are during the trip, figuring out how to navigate the curb safely, and doing this complex dance when the driver is trying to find you and you're trying to find the driver-all of those things and understanding those problems so when we design this technology without the driver, we still have a solution that works. How do you find a vehicle outside the apartment when it picks you up in a different location each time or when the driver parks on the other side of a busy road and asks you to cross lanes of traffic to get there, or drops you off on the wrong side of the road. These are all real problems that I think we can help to address. As we've been made aware, the blind community is far from helpless. As President Riccobono appropriately stresses, you all are very gifted problem-solvers, and we appreciate that. We are problem-solvers. I think of building a self-driving car as one giant, complex problem to solve, so I think you're in good company here. There are answers, solutions, and "hacks" to every one of these challenges-if you are a really good problem- solver, by the way we're hiring. We'd love to get you involved. We want to work with you on this. I think there's a clever solution to all of these things, even if it's not obvious the first time we look at it. If we can solve these problems and others and make the system work, make it better, make it predictable and consistent, user-friendly, more personalizable so it knows your preferences, through all those things we hope to make it more accessible or more usable to more people. These are only a handful of the issues that we explore together with the NFB and others in our research study. We also went a little beyond that, and we examined the challenges together and worked on co-designing potential solutions together. Our work, of course, is not done. In fact over just the last couple days here in Vegas we've continued to work with the NFB and hosted more accessibility workshops and research sessions. We're sort of a sponge for information. We want to learn more and understand the problems better. We want to partner, and we want to learn from you. I think together we can unlock the remarkable promise of this technology. We can't do this alone. We believe fundamentally in the power of partnership, as do you. It's in our DNA. We partner with General Motors and also Honda to build our vehicles so that we can get there faster by going together. We partner with world-class organizations like the NFB to help us learn and help us make our user experience the best it can be. The NFB has been an outspoken leader on this issue, including calling on our elected officials to expedite the day when AVs can be a reality and we can actualize the benefits that they can bring. The unfortunate reality is that AVs have no shortage of critics. Changing the status quo is often something people are hesitant to do, and many things that are new, such as autonomous vehicles or the idea of a car without a driver are often misunderstood at first. But we both know differently, that the status quo we live in today can be much better. One hundred people die on US roads every single day, and millions of Americans struggle to live independently because of the barriers to accessible transportation. So we need your help to change it. Six million Americans with a disability have difficulty getting the transportation they need, which affects not just quality of life but also employment and connection to the community. So not only can AVs help solve those challenges, but research shows that AVs can help two million Americans with disabilities enter the workforce and save nineteen billion dollars annually in healthcare from missed medical appointments. That is a future worth fighting for, and I think we need to do it together. [applause] So I had the idea for Cruise over twenty years ago when I was on a road trip with my father traveling down a two-lane highway from where I grew up in the Kansas City area to a robot competition here in Las Vegas. I remember staring down that road, and it was just a mind-numbingly boring task of just holding the steering wheel and going in a straight line, and I thought, "Man, that seems like something a computer could do." Immediately when I got home I started trying to hack together something. Of course here we are, over twenty years later and billions of dollars invested into this and 1,500 people working on it, and we're still not quite done. But we're making progress, and it matters. So not only do we have all that wasted time and human potential but the thousands of deaths on our streets every year and the barriers to mobility and independence faced by people with disabilities. It's clear that something needs to change. So this is my life's work. I knew it when I was ten years old, and I feel it even more strongly now. It's why I dedicate myself to building this technology every single day, as do the thousands of people at Cruise and GM and our other partners. I know AVs will change the way we live and move: they'll save lives, improve accessibility, reduce emissions and air pollution, and give people back the most important resources: their time and their freedom to go where they want to go when they want to go. I'm honored to partner with the NFB in this pursuit. Thank you very much. [applause] ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dave Schwietert] Autonomous Vehicles: Establishing Strong Policy for America's Transportation Future by Dave Schwietert From the Editor: Following Kyle Vogt, President Riccobono introduced the next speaker: "We're going to stick with the theme of autonomous vehicles. This organization is not new to us, but you may not know this presenter. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has been a longtime partner of the National Federation of the Blind, and as we have gotten beyond talking about quiet cars into talking about autonomous vehicles and our role in it, one of our primary policy partners for us has been the Alliance. You have heard from the president of the Alliance in previous years, but this gentleman has been with the Alliance but not as president. Now he's serving as interim president. He's been one of the chief policy folks at the Alliance helping us to line up the stakeholder conversations to keep the blind in the center of the autonomous vehicle conversation. On behalf of the Alliance here to talk with us is Dave Schwietert" [The Beatles' "Drive My Car" plays as he approaches the microphone]: Thank you so much, Mark. You know, I really like the theme music. I testified before Congress a few weeks ago, and I'm going to have to ask about whether we can do something like that. [laughter] My name is Dave Schwietert, I'm the interim president and CEO of the auto alliance, America's leading advocacy group for the auto industry. We represent iconic companies and nameplates that you're familiar with that run the gamut from Ford, General Motors, Fiat/Chrysler, Toyota, BMW, Jaguar/Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Volkswagen, and of course Volvo. Our organization is based in Washington, DC, but we also have offices in Michigan and California, and I want to thank the NFB for inviting me to join you this afternoon, especially since I was able to leave the high humidity of Washington, DC. Today I really want to share with you what is happening in Congress and the administration regarding autonomous and self-driving vehicles, what's happening in the states, and why our shared mission to move autonomous vehicles forward is so important. Before I walk through the remarkable innovations that auto manufacturers are committed to, including the remarkable work that Kyle Vogt and the entire team at Cruise are doing, I want to personally thank President Riccobono, members of the board, and NFB's amazing staff for your very warm welcome. Without question we are witnessing the most profound transformations in the auto sector our nation has ever experienced. The inclusion of amazing technology is not only revolutionizing transportation today, but also improving our lives, expanding options for the traveling public, and having a positive impact on the environment. For the past decade the auto alliance and NFB have formed a productive and uniquely strong relationship. This partnership between the nation's foremost advocacy group for the blind and the leading association of auto manufacturers has yielded tangible progress. To be candid, the faster the pace of change the better. Working together we can accelerate the enormous benefits that innovations offer for everyone. For the past few years our collective work with the Coalition for Future Mobility, a pioneering network of forty-two members that has brought advocacy groups, associations, manufacturers, and technology companies in the fight to speed up the deployment of self-driving automotive technologies both in Washington, DC, and with federal agencies such as the US Department of Transportation. Throughout the coalition the auto alliance, NFB, and others continue to push for the creation of a regulatory framework by Congress that will respect state authorities, but most importantly provide a pathway that will give automakers and other stakeholders much-needed clarity to help develop fully self-driving and autonomous vehicles. Last Congress this partnership was effective in advocating passage of key legislation, the SELF DRIVE Act, which was unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives. Unfortunately the momentum to get legislation signed into law last Congress came up a little short, even with the related AV START Act being approved by voice vote in the Senate. Although our efforts faced unexpected resistance from trial lawyers and other special interests who fear changes in mobility, we're still committed to seeing Congress pass legislation that will create national rules facilitating the deployment and testing of self-driving cars. Until such federal legislation is signed into law there will be uncertainty for automakers and other stakeholders due to the patchwork of different state laws that will delay important investments and innovations from being commercialized. The NFB has been an invaluable partner in this mission for the simple reason that self-driving technology has promised to yield a huge improvement when it comes to the mobility of persons who are blind across the United States. [applause] One key provision in the Senate AV [autonomous vehicle] bill last Congress was a stipulation that states cannot deny access to self-driving vehicles, including people who are blind. [applause] It's a tremendously important provision, and together we're committed to pushing for action in Congress, and I'm optimistic that this common sense approach will eventually become law. But outside of Congress there's other positive efforts that are being made, including in the US Department of Transportation. Under Secretary Elaine Chao's leadership, the department continues to evaluate and make necessary changes to vehicle regulations, including other modes of transportation such as trucking and aerial drones to spur the development of new technologies. When it comes to advocating the benefits of self-driving vehicle technologies, I remember a profound statement that President Mark Riccobono expressed at an event with the Department of Transportation roughly a year and half ago, and I quote, "The deployment of self-driving vehicles will remove the artificial barriers of the past that have hindered mobility and accessibility for the blind and push toward a future in which sightedness does not determine mobility." [applause] In recognition of our ongoing partnership and the NFB's pioneering push toward a self-driving future, the auto alliance has organized a three- part workshop this year regarding automotive vehicles and increased accessibility. The second workshop is actually scheduled for next week in Washington, and so far the feedback has been very positive, not only from auto manufacturers but also from other key stakeholders including the NFB who have participated in the workshop series. To give due credit, the idea for the alliance to host this workshop series actually originated from a related self-driving vehicles accessibility conference that the NFB hosted at its offices in 2017. The conference focused not only on the benefits to NFB members but the needs of roughly 57 million Americans with disabilities. [applause] Over the past few years I've been thrilled to watch how our partnership has strengthened. Important trust was forged with collaboration on the quiet car rule, which mandated that sound be added to electric vehicles so that people who are blind can hear when these vehicles are approaching. So far I've explained a little bit about where we've come the last few years, but the key question is what we can do together to spur important regulatory and legislative changes to realize the benefits that are just around the corner when it comes to expanding mobility. When it comes to automotive safety, as Kyle noted earlier, it's astounding that our nation has accepted the fact that roughly 37,000 people perish on our roadways each year. That's roughly 90 percent of crashes that are directly related to human error. That fatality rate breaks down to an astounding figure of roughly 100 lives that are lost each and every day. Although the three largest causes of this human error are speeding, drunk driving, and a lack of seatbelt use, automakers have made tremendous progress in recent years not only to make vehicles stronger and to protect occupants, but also with technologies that are being added to vehicles. I'm excited to say that we are now starting to see a reduction in the number of crashes or preventing crashes from happening altogether due to these critical safety technologies. The reason I point to these transformative safety improvements that continue to be added to new automobiles is because these technologies, including blind spot warning, lane centering, adaptive cruise control, auto parking, and automatic emergency braking are the building blocks to fully self-driving vehicles. In effect these technologies that are available today are the gateway to expanded freedom of mobility for all Americans but especially NFB members. I'm regularly asked how long this change or transformation to fully self-driving vehicles will take. While I don't have a crystal ball, the change is coming faster than many individuals think. While certain auto manufacturers and other stakeholders have made public announcements about when they would like to deploy self-driving vehicles on a large-scale, I certainly expect that within a few decades autonomous driving vehicles are likely to be commonplace on our roads and not just in large cities. Self-driving vehicles, enabled by cutting-edge sensors can travel faster, closer together, thereby cutting commute times, easing congestion, saving fuel costs, and further reducing emissions. They can free occupants to focus on other tasks in the vehicle, enhancing freedom and productivity and perhaps, most importantly, self-driving cars will help to reduce the 90 percent fatalities tied to human error that I mentioned earlier. [applause] For your membership, however, the impact of self-driving cars will be even more powerful and transformative. Mobility in most of the United States depends on driving or having access to a vehicle. Unfortunately those who are unable to drive or afford a vehicle have less opportunities for employment, and education options are diminished. Many people who are blind are forced to rely on ridesharing services or taxis or depend on inefficient public transportation and paratransit providers. In rural areas like South Dakota where I grew up, options are even more limited or nonexistent, and this reduced mobility is a major factor contributing to the high rate of unemployment among the blind. My members, auto manufacturers, want to help solve this problem. We are approaching a future in which every blind or visually impaired person can own, operate, or use self-driving vehicles, offering seamless point-to-point services through voice-operated self-driving technology. [applause] The simple ability to commute by car to work, school, doctor's appointments, restaurants, or cultural opportunities is often taken for granted, but together we can work to change that and expand mobility as we know it today. This transformation has already begun. Nearly all major auto companies are hard at work creating the autonomous vehicles of the future, and self-driving technologies like park assist, lane correction, and automatic braking are becoming standard features in many vehicles. The question that I pose to all of you today is how fast do you want to expand mobility and for that to happen? In my experience, having worked in Washington, DC, for over twenty years, there are two kinds of politicians. The first are those who are cautious to a fault, who hesitate to allow the new innovations out of fear of their consequences. They are more concerned about how things have been done in the past than how they will be done in the future. They prefer the status quo versus innovation and disruption. Perfection is the standard they demand regardless if that precludes access or opportunity for key segments of our nation. The second type of politicians are those who embrace the future, who foster the next generation of solutions and welcome transformative change. I suspect to me and you, these are the leaders who share our collective vision for self- driving technologies. The questions around autonomous vehicles are now more political than technological. Some states have chosen to lead in this new frontier, allowing manufacturers room to test new technologies. They have eliminated fees and barriers to self-driving vehicles. Other states have opted to go the other way, taxing self-driving vehicles and restricting their operation out of fear. Developments in Washington, DC, and in state capitals will determine which approach wins out. The alliance will always push for innovative progress and safety, but we can't do it without your voice and support. The NFB, as I have mentioned, has been an invaluable partner in this push for standardization, a forward-looking national framework for self-driving vehicles, and those who are blind have too much at stake to allow trepidation and fear to impede progress toward a future that provides mobility for all. We can't slam the brakes on progress; we won't. This is a battle we will fight and one that we will win. Your passion and direct involvement can make a difference. I want to close with this call to action for each of you. Make your voices heard across the country but especially in Washington. Our joint call to action should be to reject the status quo and demand that politicians explain to each and every one of you what they are doing to expand mobility and ensuring that regulations aren't holding back key safety innovations. Your voice and involvement are critical to make it known that self-driving vehicles will revolutionize the way you live your lives, and dare any politician to deny that simple urge for free movement. No more excuses! Let's work to pass critical self-driving legislation into law that liberates mobility. The future is in our hands; we need only to reach out and take it. I'm proud to say that our nation's automakers will fight this fight with you every step of the way. [applause] Thank you so much for inviting me to join your conference today, and I very much look forward to working with all of you on this journey. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Bryan Bashin] Led by the Blind: Bringing Authenticity to Services for the Blind and Making Them Relevant to the Lives We Want to Live by Bryan Bashin From the Editor: Bryan Bashin is the chief executive officer at the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind. When I first heard about him, he was a science writer, and I was soon fascinated by everything he had to say. I was delighted to find that he was a Federationist, and I felt a real sense of awe at playing on the same team. I admit to being somewhat dismayed when Bryan gave up his work as a reporter and moved into the field of rehabilitation. But I should have expected good things, for that is certainly what Bryan has delivered at the LightHouse. Here are the comments he made on the last morning of the 2019 national convention: Thank you, President Riccobono, thank you, distinguished guests, good morning, Federation Family. Twenty-five years ago, a blind Federation cane travel instructor put a cane in my hand and taught me to believe in myself and the dignity of the blind. Fast forward twenty-five years, and I find myself leading a remarkable agency in charge of reinventing itself with that dignity in mind. [applause] Why reinventing? As President Riccobono said, we have a 117-year history with some high points and some low points. Reinvention is our friend. I want to talk with you about what happens when a large private agency starts hiring blind people at every level of management and people, blind and sighted, who know the truth about blindness. Perhaps the way an agency is led and governed is revealed by talking about who the people are who are working at our agency, and I will remind you that a little more than ten years ago the number of LightHouse people attending convention was zero. Here are the ones who are here this week: Scott Blanks, the director of our programs; Erin Lauridsen, the director of access tech; Amy Mason in our technology program; Debbie Worstman, tech trainer; Bobbi Pompey teaching life skills; Amber Sherrard, wellness; Jamey Gump, youth; Ann Kwong transition, youth; Serena Olson, adult programs; Kate Williams, employment immersion; Wanda Pearson, employment; Christina Daniels, communications and the Holman Prize; Katt Jones, O&M; and from our MAD Lab Greg Kehret, Caitlin O'Malior, and Maritza Calderon. Oh yes, did you see one other person from the LightHouse that you may have heard of-we have seen him on Sixty Minutes this January, Chris Downey, our board chair. He is my boss, his predecessor chair of the board was blind, and his successor is likely going to be blind. These folks that I just mentioned are helping us be authentic. Yes, the LightHouse does the same core training as you could find around the country, but a little differently. We believe in the power of words. We don't call the people who study with us clients; we call them students. [applause] We've gotten rid of the ableist and insulting term for blindness that so-called professionals use: we never say vision loss. We describe, out of respect, all publications, whether it's our SuperFest Film Festival or our own communications, all images. You know, we've had a camp in Napa for seventy years. For more than sixty of those years blind people were not permitted to cook in the commercial kitchen. Last year our director of camp, Tony Fletcher, went into the kitchen for something and noticed there were seven people working in the kitchen; all seven were blind. [applause] We have twenty counselors who lead the hundreds and hundreds of campers in a dozen sessions at our summer camp. Last year seventeen of those counselors were blind. Our board in our management designed our 40,000 square-foot headquarters in San Francisco; every square inch of it was designed with the blind in mind. It is a beautiful place, but much more beautiful is the fact that you can control things there: the audiovisual system, the thermostats, and we even have talking business caller ID. It's all accessible. We believe in the history we have, and we owe our predecessors a debt of gratitude. So when you come and stay at the LightHouse, you'll notice the rooms are named for people you may know: Blind Boss Chris Buckley, the San Francisco boss; Newel Perry; Isabelle Grant; Jacobus tenBroek. We shatter some myths about blind people always being dependent. We have a blood drive that takes place several times a year where blind people roll up our sleeves and contribute back to the Red Cross. [applause] A few years ago we created the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition. We spent over a quarter of a million dollars making the dreams of blind people come to life. Last week, Red Szell from the U.K. rode across ten miles of a bog in Scotland, swam across the boiling Atlantic, and climbed a twenty-two-story sea stack and successfully summited it. [applause] Last month Stacy Cervenka's Blind Travelers' Network went live, and I bet there may be one or two comments about the Mandalay Bay on that network as well. In a couple of weeks Conchita Hernandez will do the first ever all-Spanish blind family retreat in Jalisco in Mexico. [applause] In making the hard decisions about who wins the Holman Prize, we have a distinguished international committee, and all of them are blind. You may know a few of these names who are judges: Anil Lewis, Gary Wunder, Katherine Webster, Brian Miller, Debbie Kent Stein, Chancey Fleet, and a new member still in training in Colorado, Holly Scott-Gardner. [applause] Now while the name LightHouse may have suggested to you a giant factory with little blind leadership, our community and our authenticity now demand that we be more bold. So, what have we done? When nobody thought five years ago that this scrappy little startup could succeed, we invested $100,000 for an app that now has 2.5 million volunteers and 150,000 users, Be My Eyes. When it was unheard of that a LightHouse would pursue blind civil rights, we sued Redbox and made sure that 30,000 Redboxes across the states are now accessible. When we switched to an HR and payroll system at the LightHouse and found that it was inaccessible, we brought out the lawyers. We're talking with them now. When we finish and make that system accessible, the 500,000 people who get their paychecks through ADP will have an accessible system. [applause] When Goodwill in Northern California wanted to work with the LightHouse, we said, "No, you have to reject the 14(c) subminimum wage of your parent organization." [applause] We challenged them, and their board of directors removed the 14(c) certification. I ask you, is your local blind private agency troublemaking enough? When the experts said that seniors couldn't be taken to an immersive training, sometimes at our camp, sometimes in San Francisco, we thought otherwise. We are now in our seventh year of "Changing Visions, Changing Life" retreats. In our eleven-story headquarters, we fired our cleaning company and decided that blind people should get the benefits of cleaning. Today five of the seven people who clean our building are blind or deaf. Against skepticism, we put twenty-nine beds in our high-rise headquarters so that blind people could stay and connect and form community. There are hundreds and hundreds of students who stay there every year, and you may have seen some of them, the thirteen students who are here from the LightHouse's YES! (Youth Employment Series) program. Next week they're going to be staying in the rooms and commuting to their internships and jobs directly from the LightHouse. In the San Francisco Pride Parade we marched 120 strong, the largest contingent we ever had in the largest Pride Parade in the United States. [applause] We have a robust relationship with the big tech companies around San Francisco. For seven years now we've operated a sort of scrappy tech salon, LightHouse Labs, led by Erin Lauridsen and assisted by people like Amy Mason, Jim Barbour, and Brian Buhrow. But in a greater sense we are developing something precious and rare at the LightHouse-a 50/50 mix of blind and sighted people at all levels of management, working together, people who know the truth about blindness. Now we didn't do this because we are a wealthy organization. I submit to you that we became a wealthy organization precisely because of the authentic and bold steps that we in our community insist that we do. I want to tell you a few things about our biggest benefactor, Donald Sirkin. He was not, when in his eighties, an authentic low-vision person. Like so many seniors, he was ashamed and hid his own vision loss, as he would say. He saw our messages, our blind positive messages on our website, and named us in his will in 2010. He followed our authentic message of living the life we want and again, when he revised his will in 2014, named the LightHouse. We've discovered that blind authenticity pays, that fewer people give when we have these maudlin messages about the plight of the blind. But people respond to messages of hope and pride. Oh yes, about that bequest: it is the largest single bequest in the history of American blindness, $130 million. [applause] But in my heart, the biggest gift I ever received was each one of you. The only way I can repay that debt is to ensure that the United States has more agencies that are authentic and reflective of the blind community. So today the LightHouse has 140 employees in six locations. This September we're opening a new satellite location in Berkeley. We have eighty-two different and distinct programs, and we're looking for cool blind people to run them, to manage them, to direct them at all levels of our organization. And may I remind you that we are especially looking for some NOMCs. We're going to continue to do strategic blindness investments in technology like Be My Eyes. We're going to continue to do our blind civil rights advocacy. We're going to go where underserved people who are blind need our help. Last week the director of programs, Scott Blanks, went to California's Corcoran State Prison because there are blind people there-not one or two-how many blind people are in that prison? Would you believe eighty-five? It's practically an affiliate. [laughter] We want to expand our connections to people who have not been served, like the undocumented. We want to expand our TMAPS. Did anybody get one of our tactile maps in the exhibit hall? [cheers] We're proud of the Bolotin Award that we achieved last year for the tactile maps, and we are only going to grow it. These are tools blind people can use. We're going to do more immersive short-term courses like how to learn LinkedIn over a long weekend or how to learn audio editing hands-on. We're going to continue to do media partnerships, particularly with National Public Radio. Look for more than thirty podcasts about the blind and broadcasts on NPR about that. Again, we're not talking about the plight of the blind but the joy and the beauty of how we live our lives. We want to raise the bar about traditional and often overlooked blindness institutions. There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of hours that blind youth and young adults spend in blindness camps. There's never been any kind of gathering to raise the bar about that, so this October the LightHouse and CNIB in Canada are going to organize the first ever best practices in blind camps conference. [applause] We're looking to expand partnerships so that we can offer more Holman Prizes. The Holman Prize for Blind Ambition just announced our 2019 blind awardees last night. Do you want to hear who they are? Computational chemist Mona Minkara has an ambitious goal to visit the teaming public transit systems on six continents, and, like Anthony Bourdain, to blog and video how a blind person takes ordinary transit. Alieu Jaiteh, in The Gambia, will build a mentorship system of seventy blind people in the most rural parts of that nation. People will get for the first time the positive message of blindness in The Gambia. And Yuma Decaux in Queensland in Australia, a blind astronomer, has developed an app that can run on your iPhone or some other smartphone and will take the data that our satellites are getting and sonify it so that blind people directly, as part of citizen science, can play a role and discover the next exoplanet. Now there have always been blind people with self-confidence in California. Think of Newel Perry, Jacobus tenBroek, and all of those, but what we have not had is an agency in California with those kinds of people at all levels of management until now. Take the aspirations of Jacobus tenBroek for our right to live in the world and expand it now into our right to influence our world. If I can name a law, I will call it Bashin's law, which says that the more money an organization has, the fewer are the blind people who run its board of directors or are in senior management. If you look at it, in California the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh largest agencies, apart from the LightHouse, are people with overwhelmingly sighted management from the top down. Nationally fewer than 10 percent of blind private agencies are led by blind people or management teams. In 2019 I ask you, is this managerial apartheid acceptable? [The audience responds with a resounding no!] Even the 660 independent living centers are mandated to have half of their management and half of their board of directors be people with disabilities. In California though, one large private agency actually fought a bill in the California legislature, saying that it could not be mandated to find even 20 percent of its board of directors because it couldn't find qualified blind people in California. The LightHouse now is at 50 percent blind and sighted parity on our board of directors, and in the next few months it is likely that we will codify that as a permanent part of our bylaws. [applause] So it's time to take that disability refrain "nothing about us without us" and just make it simple: nothing without us! Our authenticity is based on the understanding that blind people want to be actors and not passive people. We want to be subjects and not predicates in somebody else's sentence. We don't believe in an artificial schism between blind and sighted people working in our field. And we certainly don't need a divisive and outmoded organization like NAC to tell us what's progressive and what's authentic. [cheers] In thirty years the LightHouse has not needed the services of NAC, and we never will. [applause] Our future and the future of private agencies lies in cultivating and not alienating sighted allies. They are essential to amplify our reach. Our goal then is to teach and engage and involve our wider community, but a community that must learn from us with humility and respect. It is now time for us in the Federation to take some larger strides, to expand our reach beyond our three training centers and the handful of commissions and state training centers we now influence. [applause] Our task is to light more flames of authenticity in places that call themselves lighthouses, societies, centers, or happy homes for the blind. So whether your local private agency is in the east or the west, north or south, or even in San Francisco, will you please join me in the new refrain, "Nothing without us, nothing without us, nothing without us." Thank you. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Kristen Cox] Competing on Terms of Equality and Blending in: Government Service with Federation Style by Kristen Cox From the Editor: Kristen Cox is the executive director of the Utah governor's office of management and budget. Many will remember her distinguished service as a part of our government affairs team almost twenty years ago. Here is what she said on the final presentation of Friday afternoon, July 12: It's so great to be here. I love this organization, and the older I get, the more I appreciate the profound philosophy this organization embraces. I want to thank President Riccobono and the staff for putting on a conference of this size. I have put on one that isn't quite this big, so I know how much energy it takes, and I really want to thank him and the staff. [applause] Yes, they deserve a round of applause. I run the office of management and budget. I am senior staff to Governor Herbert. He is the third governor I've worked for, and I'm going to talk to you a little bit about my job and the journey to get here. Essentially I am the COO and the CFO [chief operating officer and the chief financial officer] for the state of Utah. I manage a budget of almost $19 billion. We do all the revenue projections, I manage a team of economists, and we do all of the operations for the agencies. So it is complicated, and I also deal with the legislature. In fact, originally, way back in the day when I was completing my individualized plan for employment, I wanted to be Dian Fossey and study gorillas in the Congo. I never did that, but I do work with the legislature. Maybe-maybe-I'm just saying-it's a little close. I have a great job, it's rewarding, but I couldn't be here in the position I am today without this organization. I want to share a little bit of my journey about how I got here and my gratitude. But before I do that, I do want to announce that there is a $10,000 donation coming to the organization. I wrote a book with a colleague and his colleague, who are fans of this wonderful organization. Proceeds from the book and the workshop we are doing in Japan will be coming to the NFB in August. So we're doing our best to get the mission of the NFB to the entire world, and wherever I go, people are impressed and inspired and more committed to helping our cause. My journey is probably one that many of us have encountered. I started going blind at eleven. I did large print, I did magnifying glasses, I went through every dang plan you can imagine: an IEP [Individualized Education Plan], an IPE [individual plan for employment], a ticket to work program, and, after years of being in the school system and the rehab system, I graduated from school with no skills. I can't read Braille, can't do cane travel, have no adaptive technology. But again, I'm independent, ambitious, and I have dreams and desires. But the idea of holding down a job seemed elusive to me. But then I came across an invitation to go to a meeting of one of our local chapters in Utah, and I said, "Sure, I'll go." I met the Gardner brothers; many of you know the Gardner brothers, and that's where the beginning of my new life started. Norm Gardner introduced me to a Braille 'N Speak. At that time we had our first son, I did not know Braille, and I wanted to read to our son. So I would teach myself one letter a day. Then I would go to grade 2, and then I could read Hop on Pop. Finally I read The Hobbit-I'm a big fan of The Hobbit series-so I learned Braille. Then I started to dabble a little bit more into philosophy in this idea of cane travel. I would get out my cane, but I wasn't quite convinced that I needed it, and I was a little embarrassed and had some shame about that. At the time, I had one of those collapsible canes. I would stick it in my backpack, and when I thought I needed it, I would pull it out. I'm sure people thought I was crazy because I was like, do I need a cane, do I not need a cane, what in the world am I thinking? So I would pull my cane out when I thought I needed it and then hide it away because I hated people staring at me. One day I was walking home, had just used my cane, had just put it back in my backpack, and I fell right into a manhole. The good news was that it was in the middle of winter, so the manhole was covered with ice-cold water. The bad news was that it was covered with ice-cold water. It was freezing, it was humiliating, and it was really an eye-opener for me to start thinking about getting honest with myself. At this point I had been in the Federation for a couple of years, and I intellectually understood what we said. I could say the words: that with the right training and opportunity, blindness could be reduced to the level of an inconvenience. I could say the words that the biggest problem with blindness was not blindness itself but the misperceptions and stereotypes we have about blindness. I could say the words, but I don't think I got them in my heart yet. Then I had this amazing opportunity to come back and work at the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind. Dr. Maurer was willing to take a chance on me, and so too was Mr. Gashel, Dr. Jernigan, and others. Getting hired at headquarters exposed me to the most eye- opening experiences I've had. I want to tell you about some of them. Specifically there are four lessons that have had an impact on my life forever, not only my personal life, but even today and the way I do my work in government when we tackle big problems. The Federation philosophy impacts everything I do. One of the first things I did when I was back at the NFB-and Mr. Gashel, I don't know if he'll remember this or not-I know that we all use first names now back at the NFB, but I can't do it. I think it was my first week back there, and I was trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do. He takes me to lunch, and we were walking down the street. I was so impressed with Mr. Gashel. He is so articulate, so smart, just always on his game. So while we were walking to get lunch, I remember asking him this silly question: how much can you see? Because, in my mind still then, even though I knew the words, I had this belief that how competent or successful I could be had something to do with how well I could see. Fortunately Mr. Gashel, in the Gashel form, ignored my question, and in the months ahead I worked with such amazing people, including Dr. Maurer and the rest of the team, until I realized that I got to the place where I didn't wonder can they see or not see or how much or how little. People everywhere were successful and competent and making a difference, and all of a sudden that question of how much can you see became irrelevant. When I was running for lieutenant governor, one of the headlines said, "Blind Mormon woman running for governor." I said to myself, "Wait, what about the bald Jewish man running for Senate?" But we were out one day with Governor Ehrlich, and there had been a big flood. He had toured the site with his helicopter looking down, and when he got off, the press said to him, "How would your lieutenant governor candidate do this job? She couldn't have seen." And he was so great, because he got what I had learned by this point which was that there are many, many ways to get information other than your eyes. [applause] He knew then what I had finally learned, that vision does not determine our success. It does not determine our success. We know that in the Federation with the right training and the right support and the right opportunities, that is the mark of our success. So I went on my journey, and I started to get this idea that vision wasn't the end-all, and then came this second lesson that was so important and President Riccobono talked about yesterday in his report. The word is excellence. I remember doing my first fact sheet for Washington Seminar and giving it to Mr. Gashel. It came back just redlined and redlined and redlined. I would spend hours working on these things, and the sentences were never good enough. Then I would go in with Dr. Maurer and study elements of style with grammar. Do you split your infinitives or not? Where do you punctuate? Do you remember this? [She addresses Mark Riccobono, saying that he was in one of these classes.] I came to understand that excellence, high standards, and being our best were critical. If we want society to accept us, we've got to be our best. We can't go out to the workplace and compete on equal grounds if we are not bringing our best game to the table. I can't tell you how many classes I had taken in high school or college where no one gave me the kind of feedback I got at headquarters at the NFB. No one had! Because I was blind, they didn't want to hurt my feelings, they didn't have the expectations that I could do it, and this is after eight years of being in the system with all of the IEP and IPE you could have. I didn't have the basic skills, and it was not until I got to the NFB that something changed: the expectations were elevated. They expected much more from me in everything that I did, and I've come to appreciate how important that is because we will live up to the expectations people will set for us. Because of that we should set pretty danged high expectations for ourselves. [applause] That was the second lesson, and there are two more. The third lesson was a story that Dr. Schroeder-there are so many wonderful mentors that I've had here in this room: Dr. Schroeder, Joanne Wilson, the list could just go on and on. But I want to focus on a story that Dr. Schroeder told me. I'm going to repeat it if I can; I know I'll get the name wrong, but forgive me. This story really affected me, and I use it today with our cabinet members as we ask them to really go after big results. Government is such a mess; I'm in it, and I can't stand it. It's such a mess, and we're asking them to improve, and they're telling us every reason why they can't. This story has always affected me. Dr. Schroeder, if I get it wrong I apologize, but this is how I remember it: He was working with a boy-I call him Tony, but I think his name was Vincent. Anyway he was working with Tony, who wanted to learn to play tag, and Dr. Schroeder thought about this. How do I help this kid play tag was the question that he took home that night. The next day when Dr. Schroder came back, Tony came up to him and had figured out how to play tag. He had taken jars, put pebbles in the jars, and had given them to his friends. There was no high-tech solution or anything like that: just use jars with pebbles in them so he could hear his friends at play and join them in it. I have two sons, and we tried this once. Instead of using jars with pebbles, I had everyone turn their phones on with music so that I could hear where they were. We all wore blindfolds and played tag, and it was a blast. This little boy, Tony, had the best mindset. So many times as adults we just assume that a thing can't get done. We give all the reasons why a thing is difficult, all the excuses, all the yes-buts. What is so remarkable about Tony is that it was not an issue of if the thing could be done-but how! This is what we need to understand: that the question is not if but how! The NFB teaches us about creative problem-solving. Yes, we may do things differently, but we still get the job done. [applause] Every day at work I am working with economists and spreadsheets and graphs and revenue projections, and every day there is a new challenge about how I'm going to access this or how I'm going to communicate on that. There is always a way if we assume the thing is possible, and it's just that we have to figure out the solutions. We just have to be creative problem solvers. Again, this is so important. When Gov. Herbert first took office, he charged all the agencies to improve their performance by 25 percent. Now this was just after the recession, and our cabinet members were openly saying, "This is impossible." But I said no. Because I have learned in the NFB that nothing is impossible. I take this philosophy to work every day, so the third lesson is not if the thing can happen, but it is how to make it happen and to be a creative problem solver. This last lesson was so critical. I was blessed to go through residential training the NFB way and actually did it in the NFB center, and I'm so grateful for that. At the time we had one son, Tanner, and we went and did four or five months with the sleepshade training, Structured Discovery, and the whole bit. It was so great, and this is where it became less an intellectual exercise but an emotional exercise of really getting it into my heart, what this meant to be an independent cane traveler, and to really learn the skills of blindness. I remember working with Tony Cobb. He was my O&M instructor for the day. We were out practicing, and we were out in the park across from the headquarters. What is that park called? I can't believe I forgot the name. Yes, Riverside Park. So I'm at this park, doing my practice for the day, and I cannot get out of the park. I can hear where the highway is, right. But every time I'm walking, I'm hitting a bench. I hit grass. I hit dirt. I cannot get out of this dang park; it's like the Minneapolis airport. I hate that airport. [laughter] That airport makes no sense to me, and I feel like I travel there once a month. So I'm in this park, and I can't get out of it. So I just stop, because it's frustrating. It felt hard to me. I did not know my way forward. Tony Cobb just let me struggle for a bit, let me struggle just enough, and then he came up behind me and said something that I think about frequently. He said, "Kristin, you've got to learn to walk through your confusion and your fear. You'll get no new information by standing still. You've got to take a step into the unknown to get that information." And that was so impactful for me. As blind people we can sit back and wait for the world to come to us, but, if we do that, it's going to pass us by. Sometimes it can feel uncertain, and sometimes when I'm traveling I have questions. Last year I was in Japan traveling by myself, and at first my feeling was "How am I going to do this?" But I set that aside because I know in the NFB that we know about persistence; we know about taking one step at a time. We know that when we set our minds to big goals and things that are important to us, even if we're not sure how we will achieve it, we know that we can if we just take the next step-through our confusion, through our fear, through the uncertainty. That was a game changer then, and it's a game changer in my profession today. So when the agencies say something can't be done, what do you think I tell them? [an audience member yells out yes. She echoes back the word yes with a laugh.] There's no mercy. We have a lot of work still to do in Utah. We've made great progress, but vocational rehabilitation was transferred from the Department of Education to the executive branch eighteen months ago, and we have a lot of work to do there. Sometimes in government bureaucracy, people can list all the reasons why a thing is impossible and why we can't do it. But again, in the NFB way, we will never let obstacles impede us from achieving the goals either professionally or personally that we have. So I want to leave you with this: the National Federation of the Blind is one of the most profound organizations in the world. I have associated with senators and congressmen and different associations, but the profound and simple philosophy that this organization embodies impacts everything we do from legal action to training and education. But, more importantly, it penetrates our hearts. It's what gives us the hope and the ability to live out our dreams and totally make a positive contribution in the world around us. For that I am deeply grateful to the organization, and I am excited that we can give the $10,000 donation. The governor also wanted to make sure that I extend his gratitude. He has spoken before this group. I told him I was speaking. He knows we have work to do for the remainder of his term. He's committed to setting a very robust program to hire people who are blind within state government. I will be working closely with the NFB of Utah to make this happen. [applause] We are going to get the job done in Utah, and with that, I thank you, my Federation family. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Stephanie Cascone] World's Number One Card Game for the Win by Stephanie Cascone From the Editor: Stephanie is the director of marketing and communications, and she is working on one of our central goals, that being to partner with others in the country to advance the opportunities for blind people. Here is the article that she and officials from Mattel have offered to the Braille Monitor: It's a rush of excitement to have that one card left in an intense game of UNO. Round after round has gone by that included those darn Skips and Draw Fours. Who will be the first out? It's a game that turns family night into loud laughs or great debates. Can a Draw +4 go on top of Draw +2? But this article isn't about the rules of UNO. Instead, it's about how Mattel partnered with the blind to create a co-branded, accessible version of this globally popular game. Mattel and the National Federation of the Blind are proud to announce UNO? Braille. Through a dedicated collaboration between Mattel's game experts and the blind community, this out-of-the-box accessible game for game enthusiasts and those looking for a fun, friendly good time will be available at Target locations nationwide and online starting this month. Partners "In college, I played all-night tournaments. I love UNO!" UNO isn't new to the blind. Many of us found ways to adapt the game through the years, including Brailling our own decks with a Braillewriter or slate and stylus. But that won't be necessary anymore. The National Federation of the Blind believes in collaboration to advance our goals, and we always welcome the opportunity to strategically partner to raise expectations and secure equality. Mattel wanted to bring an inclusive game to the nation's blind and the mainstream market. From the beginning, this was a match made for success! Mattel wanted the game to be right. It wanted authentic, certified Braille. It wanted accessible instructions and a fully accessible UNO Braille website. It realized that the best way to achieve all these goals was to solicit input from blind people throughout the process of creating this new version of UNO. Every step of the way, blind people had input into this now-available product, and Mattel listened. Several rounds of samples were sent between the company and NFB headquarters until the Braille cards and instructions were perfect. Selected families with both blind and sighted members played with the new decks at our national convention and gave feedback. Our experts also vetted the website, the instructional videos, and the voice- activated tutorials that are available via Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Play "The Braille is beautiful." The UNO Braille experience starts with the packaging. There is Braille on both the front and back of the box, including the name of the National Federation of the Blind. Upon opening the box, you can find four quick play cards-each with Braille and print. If more instructions are needed, they are available at UNOBraille.com or by accessing the Voice Skill on Alexa or Google Home. Each card has Braille in two adjacent right corners. Zeros through Nines. Skips. Reverses. Draw Plus Twos. Wilds. Wild Draw Fours. Everyone playing starts with seven cards, and then the fun starts! The development of an UNO Braille game may seem like a small and simple thing, but the spirit of inclusion and partnership that it represents is significant. Even those who don't play UNO Braille will see it in Target stores and hear about it from blind friends and colleagues. This will expand awareness of the importance of accessibility and diversity. As UNO continues to be a staple of game nights all over the country, UNO Braille represents a win for everyone. The National Federation of the Blind and Mattel are proud of the work we have done. Together with love, hope, and determination, we turn dreams into reality with partners and play. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Meagan Houle] Meagan's Guide to Stylish Farewells: On Coming to Terms with Vision Loss by Meagan Houle From the Editor: Megan Houle of Alberta, Canada, has a blog entitled Where's Your Dog?, and from it we at the Monitor came across a fantastic article about transitioning deeper into blindness, about grieving the loss of a sense, and about making it in the world anyway. Here is Megan's article, and there is more where this came from on her blog at https://wheresyourdog.com: Sighted people are always caught off guard by how casually I treat my vision loss, whose inexorable progression began the day I came into the world. While I understand the assumption that vision loss is all sadness, all the time, that isn't the case for me. If my vision was ever good enough to accomplish useful tasks like driving, or fun things like painting, I'd likely be far more bereft. As it is, what little vision I was born with is more liability than blessing, becoming increasingly burdensome as it dwindles. The one thing I occasionally allow myself to mourn is the loss of color perception. Though my understanding of color was never perfect, my childhood is filled with memories of gazing with fascination at anything brightly colored, especially in nature. Now that I'm all grown up and my vision loss is more advanced, I don't reliably notice color unless I make a deliberate effort. Even then it's hit or miss. I've always known I'd eventually lose all my color perception, but over the past few months, I'd begun to view that loss as part of my present, not my future. It was no longer on the horizon. It was upon me, happening in real-time, and I couldn't deny that it seemed to be slipping away more quickly every day. The way I saw it, I had two options: I could lament its vanishing and write more soppy posts about it, or I could give it a send-off worth remembering. I chose the second option. I wanted to infuse this time in my vision loss journey with joy and gratitude, focusing on what I had rather than what I'll lose. To that end I enlisted the help of my charming and devastatingly attractive friend Krissi. (Did she pay me to say that? You decide.) She fell in love with my vision (ha ha) and planned the most colorful day she could imagine: a plant crawl. All day long we visited various greenhouses, including the Muttart Conservatory and Greenland Garden Centre, exploring plants from around the world. There was more color than I had the capacity to process, and it truly was a feast for my eyes and soul. Surrounded by vibrant flowers and exotic trees, I got all the color- gazing I could ever want. I also discovered something else. Interacting with plants is a surprisingly tactile experience if you have a brave and patient plant expert like Krissi nearby to keep you from impaling yourself on a cactus. I'd always thought of plants as delicate things that didn't like to be touched, and there was the looming threat of insects that would make their displeasure painfully known. In these climate-controlled environments, I was able to gently acquaint myself with the glossiness of banana leaves and the shapely curvature of a fruit tree. I stroked roughly textured bark and soft foliage that rivaled felt. I found a leaf that looked exactly like a feather, with its slightly downy grain. I touched leaves so fuzzy they felt like peaches and other leaves that felt like nothing so much as the rough but cozy blanket my grandfather might drape over the back of his rocking chair. I discovered creepy-feeling succulents and graceful, delicate herbs. Krissi nearly had to tear me away from a plant that appeared to have sprouted its very own umbrellas. There was so much to touch that I occasionally forgot I was primarily there to look. The biggest surprise came when we stopped off at Krissi's house so she could teach me the tricky art of flower arrangement-another chiefly tactile activity. I assumed it was all about doing whatever looks prettiest, but I soon realized that what felt symmetrical was the most reliable test for what would look fabulous in a vase. To my immense delight, I learned that rookies use their eyes, while pros use their hands. Krissi patiently showed me how to trim stems, strip leaves, and thread flowers through my fingers in an awkward X shape. Thread, twist. Thread, twist. Thread, twist. Snip ... Boom! I suddenly had a gorgeous bouquet, which made it look like I really knew what I was doing. (I still don't, but photographic evidence of my triumph will forever suggest otherwise. Tell no one.) As I cleared away the pile of stems I'd cut and sat back to admire an arrangement so bright I could actually see it, I experienced the air of celebration I'd hoped to inspire. I knew I'd soon see the world in shades of grey and that not long after that I'd see nothing at all. But in that moment, I sat back and absorbed the incredible gift I'd been given, which was no less wonderful for its impermanence. I'm sure that sadder times are ahead of me, with a blind community that is so often dismissive of partially sighted pain. I do not expect to remain this philosophical and high-minded about it all. I will have days where I'm grumpy about this slow march to darkness, even though I am already blind for most intents and purposes. But I'll always have the comforting knowledge that I can live well and happily, color or no color, light or no light. And I'm lucky to have enjoyed both, if only for a while. ---------- The Right of Blind People to Serve on Juries Comes to the Court Editor's Note: One of the strange contradictions in American law is that we can elect and appoint judges, and we can do it without much controversy. But when it comes to performing jury service, acceptance has been more sporadic and controversial. Many of us have stories to share, but seldom has our service been the focal point of a case. In California a man involved in an altercation was not awarded damages in a jury trial. He has sued on the grounds that one of the jurors in his case is blind and therefore could not see and judge his injuries. We have weighed in by filing a friend of the court brief, and what we say is both thought provoking and makes for interesting reading. Enjoy! The National Federation of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts, and the Disability Law Center respectfully submit this brief pursuant to this Court's solicitation of amicus briefs on April 16, 2019. STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE The National Federation of the Blind ("NFB") is the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind persons.[1] The NFB has affiliates in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts ("NFB of MA") is the Massachusetts state affiliate of the NFB and has chapters in Cambridge and Greater Springfield.[2] The NFB and its affiliates are widely recognized by the public, Congress, executive agencies of state and federal governments, and the courts as a collective and representative voice on behalf of blind Americans and their families. The organization promotes the general welfare of the blind by assisting the blind in their efforts to integrate themselves into society on terms of equality, and by removing barriers that result in the denial of opportunity to blind persons in virtually every sphere of life, including education, employment, family and community life, transportation, and recreation. The Disability Law Center ("DLC"), is a private nonprofit organization, and the designated protection and advocacy ("P&A") system for people with disabilities in Massachusetts, pursuant to federal statutory authority. See e.g., 29 U.S.C. ? 794e (persons with disabilities, including physical disabilities) and 29 U.S.C. ? 3004 (people with disabilities in need of assistive technology). DLC's core mission includes advocacy on civil rights and public access for people with disabilities living in the community, as well as non-discrimination in the provision of government services. On many occasions, DLC has participated in amicus briefs filed before Massachusetts appellate courts, including joining in an amicus brief discussing modifications for a witness with disabilities, In Re: McDonough, 457 Mass. 512 (2010). Amici have particular knowledge regarding the application of federal disability discrimination laws to the courts, including the range of modifications available to assist blind jurors. The outcome of this case will likely have a profound impact on the ability of many of amici's clients, members, and constituents to fully engage in civic life. SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT If trial by jury constitutes the "heart and lungs of liberty," then courts must take extraordinary measures before excluding any juror based on disability. Rauf v. State, 145 A.3d 430, 465 n.216 (Del. 2016) ("Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.") (quoting John Adams). See also Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522, 530, 538 (1975) ("[E]xcluding [from jury service] identifiable segments playing major roles in the community cannot be squared with the constitutional concept of jury trial.") Framing these cases as a balancing act between defendants' rights to a fair trial and blind Americans' rights to serve on a jury can create a false dichotomy. By its very design, jury deliberation is meant to be a collaborative process in which individuals with varying perspectives reach a fair outcome based on their collective wisdom. With assistive technology or, in many cases, without, blind people are fully capable of serving on juries without depriving criminal defendants of their fundamental right to a fair trial. ARGUMENT EXCLUDING BLIND INDIVIDUALS FROM JURY SERVICE UNFAIRLY DEPRIVES THEM OF CIVIC PARTICIPATION. The privilege of jury duty provides among "the most significant opportunit[ies] to participate in the democratic process." Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 407 (1991). Juries "afford ordinary citizens a valuable opportunity to participate in a process of government, an experience fostering, one hopes, a respect for law." Id. (citation omitted). But for blind Americans, access to the jury has proven elusive. Though no longer categorically prohibited,[3] a de facto system of exclusion persists. Nearly three decades after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the jury box remains frustratingly inaccessible for many blind Americans. The systemic exclusion of these potential jurors is rooted in outdated and stigmatizing notions disregarding their ability to meaningfully contribute to the American justice system. Anecdotal evidence from blind prospective jurors in Massachusetts illuminates the problem. One NFB member reported that she was routinely turned away from jury service by court employees who told her that a blind juror would never be selected. Once, a court official patted her on the head before sending her on her way. Another NFB member described how court officials, upon learning of her blindness, told her that she likely would not be selected for jury service and encouraged her to simply disqualify herself if summoned. A third NFB member recalled being chosen for jury duty but subsequently removed and replaced by an alternate juror prior to closing arguments because she was blind-even though she had paid close attention through the trial while several of her co-jurors had fallen asleep. Other blind Massachusetts residents revealed that they simply abstain from the jury selection process altogether, not because they doubt their own ability to serve, but because they know from personal experience that they would not be seriously considered. Outside of Massachusetts, the story is the same. In an essay published in NFB's periodical, the Braille Monitor, Maryland-based NFB member Daniel Frye shared his own disappointing jury duty experience. Daniel B. Frye, Juror 458, 52 Braille Monitor 7 (July 2009), https://archive.nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm09/bm0907/bm090711.htm. After receiving his jury summons in March 2009, Mr. Frye arrived at the courthouse a half-hour early and eagerly waited for his number to be called. Id. When the time came, he approached the front desk. Id. The court employee "paused uncomfortably" before conferring in whispered tones with a colleague. Id. She informed him that because the circuit court courtrooms were in two different buildings, to ensure his own safety, he would not be called for a jury pool in the other building. Id. Mr. Frye politely responded that he had no concerns about crossing the street and that he did not want to be treated differently from any other juror. Id. Within a half- hour, every other member of Mr. Frye's jury group was instructed to report to the other courtroom; he was told to stay behind. Id. At the heart of these stories is an understanding that jury service is more than civic duty. It is recognition as a responsible member of the community, worthy of being entrusted with questions of guilt and innocence, life and death. To be systematically denied jury service because of blindness denies that recognition, fosters a sense of otherness, and suggests that the blind fall outside the "cross section of [the] community." See Commonwealth v. Ricard, 355 Mass. 509, 512 (1969). That stigmatizing sense of exclusion is precisely the social ill that the ADA sought to combat. Nearly thirty years later, this Court should act to ensure that it is finally remedied. EXCLUDING BLIND INDIVIDUALS DEPRIVES THE JURY OF PERSPECTIVES AND LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT INFORM AND ENHANCE DELIBERATIONS. Excluding blind people from participation in jury service also carries significant consequences for the administration of justice. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides criminal defendants "the opportunity to have the jury drawn from venues representative of the community" that do not "systematically exclude distinctive groups." Taylor, 419 U.S. at 530, 538. Exclusion of "any large and identifiable segment of the community . . . from jury service . . . remove[s] from the jury room qualities of human nature and varieties of human experience, the range of which is unknown and perhaps unknowable." Commonwealth v. Arriaga, 438 Mass. 556, 562 (2003) (citation omitted). A group's exclusion "deprives the jury of a perspective on human events that may have unsuspected importance in any case that may be presented." Id. Excluding blind individuals deprives both the defendant and the members of the jury of unique perspectives and life experiences that enhance deliberations and ensure a just verdict is reached. By its very design, jury deliberation is meant to be a collaborative process in which individuals with varying perspectives, strengths, and challenges reach a fair outcome based on their collective wisdom. Blind jurors bring into the jury room perspectives and abilities not shared by most sighted jurors. Their participation may benefit the jury as a whole, sparking discussion and encouraging other jurors to take a closer look at the subtleties of the evidence. They may ask their co-jurors targeted, specific questions to better understand and help draw a mental picture of visual evidence. While sighted jurors may draw inaccurate and unfair conclusions from the dress and deportment of a defendant or his associates, the blind juror may make no such inferences. See D. Nolan Kaiser, Juries, Blindness and Juror Function, 60 Chi. Kent L. Rev. 191, 199 (1984). Though blind individuals are not bestowed with superior hearing, living without sight may sharpen their listening skills and produce a more nuanced sense of hearing. See Kim Eckart-Washington, Brain Differences in Blind People May Sharpen Hearing, ScienceDaily (Apr. 22, 2019), https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190422151020.htm.[4] As one New York court noted, "a blind person's perceptions as to voice intonation may be supplemented by the other jurors' perceptions of body movements and together, a determination of veracity may be made." Jones v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 483 N.Y.S.2d 623, 624 (N.Y. Civil Ct. 1984). FEDERAL AND STATE DISCRIMINATION LAW REQUIRES THAT COURTS INCLUDE BLIND JURORS. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that states have a duty under Title II of the ADA to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to the courts. See Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509, 532 (2004). While state courts are not obligated to "employ any and all means to make judicial services accessible to persons with disabilities," they must "take reasonable measures to remove . . . barriers to accessibility" and provide "all individuals a meaningful opportunity to be heard in its courts."[5] Id. at 531-32. See also 28 C.F.R. ? 35.130(b)(7)(i); Galloway, 816 F. Supp. at 17 (noting that a "policy of categorical exclusion of all blind persons from Superior Court juries violates the ADA"); People v. Caldwell, 603 N.Y.S.2d 713, 714 (N.Y. Crim. Ct. 1993) (finding that the ADA prevents removal of a potential juror simply because of a disability). In addition to federal law, Massachusetts law specifically requires the inclusion of blind jurors. The law states that "[a]ll persons shall have equal opportunity to be considered for juror service" and that "[p]hysically handicapped persons shall serve except where the court finds such service is not feasible." Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 234a, ? 3 (2019). See also Mass. Const. amends., art. 114 (providing that "[n]o otherwise qualified handicapped individual shall, solely by reason of his [or her] handicap, be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity with the commonwealth"); In re McDonough, 457 Mass. 512, 514 (2010) (applying art. 114 to the state court system to find that individuals with disabilities have a constitutional right to participate as witnesses in judicial proceedings). Courts have consistently recognized the ability of blind judges to serve not only on state[6] and federal[7] appellate courts, but also on trial courts[8]-including over bench trials with visual evidence. See, e.g., People v. Hayes, 923 P.2d 221 (Colo. App. 1995) (upholding ruling of blind judge, with the assistance of a professional describer, in a hearing that required evaluation of video evidence). At least one court has found that "[n]o distinction can be drawn between a blind judge's ability to make factual findings and the abilities of a blind juror." See Galloway, 816 F. Supp. at 17 (discussing the tenure of Judge David Norman, a blind judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia). BLIND JURORS MAY SERVE EFFECTIVELY WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE RIGHTS OF CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS. Although visual impairment was once a basis for per se disqualification from jury service, by the late 20th century, courts and legislatures began to reconsider blanket exclusions in favor of a case-by- case analysis that weighed the Sixth Amendment rights of criminal defendants against the public interest in equal access to the jury. See, e.g., Bewley v. Oklahoma, 695 P.2d 1357, 1359 (Okla. Crim. 1985) (holding that blindness did not automatically disqualify a juror under state statutes). But framing these cases as a balancing act between defendants' rights to a fair trial and blind Americans' rights to serve on a jury often creates a false dichotomy. While protecting a defendant's constitutional rights is essential, blind jurors have served and will continue to serve on juries without depriving the defendant of any of her fundamental rights and protections to a fair trial. See Nancy Lawler Dickhute, Jury Duty for the Blind in the Time of Reasonable Accommodations: The ADA's Interface with a Litigant's Right to a Fair Trial, 32 Creighton L. Rev. 849, 857 (1999) (concluding that "while at first blush the seating of a blind juror might appear to compromise the guarantees of an impartial, competent jury, upon closer examination these guarantees are neither sacrificed nor compromised"). In Commonwealth v. Susi, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts established that blind jurors begin with a presumption of competency. Decided five years prior to the passage of the ADA and just three years after the state legislature explicitly allowed individuals with disabilities to serve on juries, Commonwealth v. Susi found that in the context of a blind juror, Massachusetts law "creat[es] a presumption of competency which must then be evaluated on a case-by-case basis." 394 Mass. 784, 788 (1985). That presumption was overcome in Susi, the Court wrote, because "[t]he issue of identification was the predominant issue at trial." Id. at 786. The jury was asked to compare the physical features of the defendant with another man, as well as the police's composite drawings and other photographs. Id. at 785. In reversing the conviction, the Court held that a mere description of the physical evidence would have failed to "convey adequately the subtleties which would be apparent on a visual comparison." Id. at 788. While amici believe the outcome of Susi reflects a limited and outdated understanding of the capabilities of blind people, its underlying principle-that blind jurors possess a "presumption of competency" that can be overcome on a case-by-case basis-remains workable so long as the bar to overcome the presumption is set high. The case-by-case approach demands "the articulation of some specific way in which the blind juror's blindness would thwart justice." Kaiser at 197. With advancements in both technology and the public's understanding of the capabilities of blind individuals, the correct presumption is that blind jurors can access and interpret visual evidence and meaningfully contribute to jury deliberations. Rather than trying to determine why a blind juror may not be competent, the court should instead be asking what modifications, if any, will be needed to ensure the blind juror's ability to participate fully. BLIND JURORS CAN COMPETENTLY ASSESS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AND MAKE CREDIBILITY DETERMINATIONS. In the 34 years since Susi was decided, there have been dramatic advancements in both technology and the general public's understanding of the capabilities of blind Americans. Given these advancements, blind jurors are presumptively capable of performing two key responsibilities of jurors: assessing physical evidence and determining a witness' veracity or credibility.[9] Technology has revolutionized access for blind individuals. Since Susi, technological advancements have transformed blind individuals' access to information. Assistive technologies have proliferated, and today, blind individuals have a variety of options for receiving written communication. Most blind individuals access information electronically, using mobile devices and/or personal computers and screen access software, which vocalize textual information or display that information on a user-provided refreshable braille display.[10] Others use large print, audio, magnification devices, scanners, or human readers.[11] Some individuals take notes using a BrailleNote, a portable electronic notetaking device. These assistive technologies are widely available, often inexpensive, and already used and possessed by many blind individuals. Apple[12] and Microsoft Windows[13] operating systems include free built-in assistive technology. Blind jurors are presumptively capable of assessing physical evidence. This Court should hold that the presumption is that blind jurors can competently assess visual evidence, in some cases with modifications to ensure effective communication of the evidence. First, the introduction of visual evidence, such as photographs, videos, mechanical objects, diagrams and handwriting exhibits, requires a testimonial base. Thus, it is almost always accompanied by supplemental evidence in spoken or written form and interpretation by a lay or expert witness. As one blind juror noted, "[t]here is ample describing of the evidence and the particular aspect of the evidence the lawyers want to get across to the jurors . . . They don't just say here's a picture-figure it out for yourself." M. J. Crehan, Seating the Blind Juror, 81 Judicature 104, 107-08 (Nov./Dec. 1997). See also Caldwell, 603 N.Y.S.2d at 714 (holding that seating a blind juror did not deny the defendant due process despite the presence of photographic evidence, where the court described the photographs as they were introduced and oral testimony was presented on the same issues). The present case offers a useful example: While the blind juror at the center of this appeal was unable to view the two photographs of the victim's battered face, he could consider the victim's testimony about his internal permanent impairment and disfigured face, as depicted in the photographs, Tr. at 116, 119, 121, 122, and described by the medical treatment he later received, Tr. at 122, as well as the medical records from Norwood Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Tr. at 149. The totality of the evidence was sufficient for the blind juror to make a finding of disfigurement and loss of function. In addition to testimony provided about the visual evidence, the blind individual may choose to use a trained human reader or describer.[14] The use of a qualified reader does not implicate the defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. Readers function like interpreters, which courts have consistently allowed. See United States v. Dempsey, 830 F.2d 1084, 1087-88 (10th Cir. 1987); see also People v. Guzman, 556 555 N.E.2d 259, 263 (N.Y. 1990) (noting that interpreters are "neutral figures" and that the court "assume[s] that the jury can be trusted to follow . . . instructions" regarding the expected participation of such individuals). Trained describers serve a similar role, providing a narration to convey all the relevant characteristics of an object to the blind juror.[15] When the proceeding is in open court, the accuracy of description can be monitored easily and addressed by the parties. See Hayes, 923 P.2d at 225-26. Such a process was upheld in People v. Hayes, where a blind judge presided over a hearing that included video evidence. Id. at 226-27. In Hayes, the judge had a describer prepare a written report of the videotape and describe the contents of the video while it played during the hearing. Id. at 225. The defendant had the opportunity to object or add to the narration and to cross-examine the narrator. Id. Although the defendant claimed on appeal that the narration could not serve as a substitute for viewing relevant evidence, the court disagreed, finding it an "appropriate accommodation" that "ensured defendant of a fair hearing and of a decision based on a rational evaluation of the actual evidence presented." Id. at 226-27. Blind jurors are presumptively capable of making credibility determinations. The notion that a blind juror is unable to assess a witness's credibility is without merit.[16] In evaluating testimony, blind jurors can concentrate on verbal testimony while avoiding distractions like a witness's facial expressions, dress, appearance, and body movements. Crehan at 106. Even visual cues indicating deception, like nervous tics, darting glances and uneasy shifting, are nearly always accompanied by a corresponding audible cue such as throat-clearing, swallowing, voice quavering, or inaudibility. Kaiser at 200. As one blind juror described, "I've found that I've been pretty accurate-probably as, if not more accurate, than people who make eye contact, because people have gotten real good about fooling people on the visual level, but people often don't think about how they sound when they speak." Crehan at 106. Another blind juror, who served on a murder trial, observed that "[p]eople can control face muscles . . . Nobody thinks about the nuances of the human voice." Id. THIS COURT SHOULD PROVIDE ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ON HOW TRIAL COURTS CAN ACCOMMODATE BLIND JURORS. This Court has the opportunity to provide guidance to ensure that trial courts recognize the right of blind jurors to an equal opportunity to participate in jury service. Because trial courts may not appreciate their obligations under Title II of the ADA, guidance is necessary.[17] See Opinion, An Opportunity to Provide Guidance on Disabled Jurors, Mass. Law. Wkly., June 17, 2019, at 38. When a blind juror is present, the trial judge should be vigilant in monitoring counsel and witnesses to ensure they do not rely on gestures and other non-verbal cues without accompanying verbal explanation. When eliciting oral testimony, counsel should request accurate and complete descriptions of exhibits and clarifications for the record as needed, so that the trial content is accessible to the blind juror. See Dickhute at 872. For key evidence, the trial court should make readers and describers available to ensure unbiased transmission of information to the blind juror. Many states have developed court rules or policies addressing jurors and others with disabilities. See, e.g., Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rules 7.060; Maryland Rules of Procedure 1-332; California Rules of Court 1.100.[18] Amici suggest the following guidelines for ensuring that blind jurors receive effective communication and an equal opportunity to serve: Improving Information Available to the Public. A. Provide information on the court's website related to modifications available to ensure effective communication with blind jurors.[19] B. Provide all publicly available printed information concerning court policies, practices, and procedures in electronic format and large print. Ensure that all information provided in electronic format, including on the court's website, is fully accessible using screen reading software.[20] C. Provide basic training to court personnel on common issues related to making trial materials accessible to blind jurors, including use of screen reading software,[21] and the availability of professional readers and describers. Summons and Other Court Communications A. Provide to jurors the name, office address, telephone number, and email address of the designated ADA coordinator in the summons letter and all related communication. B. Develop written procedures for prospective jurors with disabilities on how to request and obtain modifications to court policies, practices, and procedures before the hearing date. These should include information on any assistive technology provided by the court.[22] C. Eliminate from forms any question that leads to an automatic self- exemption from jury service for people with disabilities. Day of Court A. Ensure that all information available at kiosks or posted signage in the courthouse is available in an audible format. B. Assure that the Jury Questionnaire or any other forms completed by members of the jury pool before or on the day of jury services are accessible. C. Adopt and publish a procedure providing for a confidential interview of all prospective jurors prior to jury selection, to determine if the juror anticipates a need for a modification should they be selected to serve on a panel. Analyzing the Case. A. When the judge learns that a member of the jury pool is blind, the judge should work with trial counsel and then with the potential juror at sidebar to identify: i) the extent to which the case hinges upon the interpretation of visual evidence; ii) how the juror can access that evidence, with or without modifications (e.g., through use of screen reading software, large font printing, readers, describers); and iii) the ability of the court and the parties to provide those modifications. Deciding Upon Modifications and Trial Procedures A. Evaluate the requested modification, and unless it is an undue burden or would fundamentally alter the proceeding, make provisions in the event the potential juror is chosen to serve. B. In considering requested modifications, give preference to the accessible format requested by the juror (e.g., braille, large print, reader, describer, accessible electronic document). C. The court should not grant hardship waivers in lieu of providing a modification. D. If the requested modification is not timely available, reschedule the prospective juror's service for another day when the modification can be arranged. E. The court should not modify jury service for persons with disabilities by shortening the time or terms of service. Finalizing the Composition of the Jury Pool A. When considering a challenge for cause, never grant a challenge against a blind person for cause without first fully considering the person's abilities in relation to the nature of the case and evidence to be presented, making a complete record of the voir dire examination, and putting the reasons for the ruling on the record. B. Consider whether jurors with disabilities are being stricken using peremptory challenges, without justification. During Trial A. Offer a change of seating where doing so would help a juror who is blind or visually impaired enter and exit the jury box or to see shapes or faces better. B. Remind witnesses to testify in detail when describing diagrams, photographs, documents, and visual aids. C. Allow the blind juror to touch exhibits during trial and to trace lines on diagrams and sketches. D. Instruct the jury that it is permissible for sighted jurors to discuss visual evidence with and read documents to the blind juror in deliberations. E. Through a trained describer, provide the blind juror a detailed description of any visual evidence sighted jurors are viewing. During Deliberations A. Allow a reader to assist the blind juror in accessing written documents admitted in evidence that have not been otherwise made accessible. B. Allow the blind juror, or any juror for that matter, to seek clarification on diagrams, sketches, photographs, and visual aids. CONCLUSION Blind Massachusetts citizens can competently and meaningfully contribute to juries and should be given the opportunity to do so. In the 34 years since this Court decided Susi, we have seen the passage of the ADA and a technological revolution. This Court now should state unequivocally that the use of visual evidence at trial does not by itself undermine blind jurors' presumption of competency. Such a holding would align Massachusetts courts with federal law, state law, and relevant case law recognizing the too-often ignored capabilities of blind Americans. ---------- Exhibitors' Showcase Review by Jessica McLeod and Mark Jones From the Editor: Each year the Braille Monitor sends a note to all divisions, committees, and groups that are a part of our national body. The request is simple and straightforward: tell us what you've done over the last year, and/or tell us what you did at the convention. Mark Jones and his colleague always come through, and the showcase he writes about is a tremendous benefit to our exhibitors and members. Here is what Mark and Jessica tell us about the showcase: On Sunday, July 7, 2019, the Exhibitors' Showcase took place at the National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Nearly thirty presentations were made before the standing-room-only crowd introducing new gadgets and software to the eager audience. Here are a few of the highlights from those presentations: WayAround enables your iPhone or Android phone through a free app to identify tags that you can place on anything from CDs to canned foods to clothing. Representatives from HIMS spoke about its Google-certified notetaker, the Polaris, and the recently released QBraille, a forty-cell Braille display with a combination of a Perkins-style keyboard and the special keys found on the QWERTY keyboard. Having these extra keys on a Braille display eliminates the need to memorize complex Braille key equivalents. HIMS also has released a Braille instructional system for young readers called LeapFrog for the blind. HumanWare representatives spoke about its new BrailleNote Touch Plus that uses a newer android platform and faster hardware. They said it would be much faster than the BrailleNote Touch. They also spoke of new things coming to the Victor Trek and its new Reveal 16 video magnifier. Duxbury Systems is now entering their forty-fourth year of doing Braille translation software. Its newest version, 12.5, has many new features for the Braille embosser. Its PerkyDuck freeware also turns your computer into a Perkins Braille writer. Duxbury is now handling a larger number of Braille math files as well. If you are looking for a very simple-to-use phone, BlindShell claims to have the most accessible phone for the blind. It features a full keypad with buttons and is fully vocalized with many smart phone features plus high contrast icons and large print for those with low vision. For Federationists who use Sprint, the company has developed special phone plans with great phone prices for NFB members. Representatives from Vispero, formerly Freedom Scientific, told us about its fifth generation Focus Blue Braille display and its newly released ElBraille 40. They also spoke about new features in JAWS and ZoomText. Amazon representatives spoke about its new accessible Fire TVs and its new speakers including the Echo and Alexa. It has improved verbosity features, new rapid shortcuts, and has improved its book reading voices. There is also a new Alexa-enabled microwave. Microsoft representatives talked about new features in its screen reader Narrator and about its Disability Answer Desk, which will answer questions for you for free anytime. There is also Be My Eyes Support and monthly webinars. Representatives from the American Printing House for the Blind talked about its new product Code Jumper, which takes computer coding and puts it into sound and moving objects. It also has a new fourteen-cell Braille display called the Braille Trail LE. Additionally there is the new BrailleBuzz, a toy that teaches phonics, keyboard positioning, and more for the new Braille reader. There is also the new Color-Star that can not only identify colors but can tell you the color of LED lights. In the area of wearable tech, eSight eyewear has electronic glasses for those with low vision that can detect changing colors, has built in OCR, can store PDF files, and can drastically increase the size of things that you are looking at. A personal coach will help you learn to use your glasses which they say is like a wearable CCTV. OrCam talked about its tiny wearable assistive technology device, the OrCam MyEye which now has facial recognition for both recognizable and nonrecognizable features. Sunu has a device that you wear like a watch that can detect nearby objects and vibrate to let you know where nearby obstructions may be when using your cane. A T Guys is in its tenth year at the convention. This year representatives demonstrated a new waterproof Bluetooth speaker and a pluggable, foldable Bluetooth keyboard that will connect to your phone. Its AfterShokz headphones keep getting better. It also has Micro-speak talking voice recorders. Another new product from them is a $10 USB sound card to make sure your speech synthesizer and music don't come through the same speaker. Independent Science representatives told about its new LabQuest 2 that enables a student to stick in their probes at the lab and test things like everyone else. With its Logger Pro product you can now print out your own graphs. Now the blind can do their own lab work. Envision Inc. has a podcast on using Uber with a guide dog. It also has a telephone and email service that hires the blind to work the phones and teach folks to use its AfterShokz and accessible microwaves. Representatives from Bookshare said that it now has over 700,000 titles to choose from and has audio in highlighted text. Now you can get more out of your iPhone with the new Rivo 2, a keypad that connects through Bluetooth and makes voicemail, phone banking, and Google assistant easier to use. The National Braille Press has been around ninety-two years developing Braille books, from print-Braille children's books to cookbooks and how-to books for technology written by blind authors. New this year are Drop into Dropbox and Dating in the Digital Age. The National Braille Press is always looking for new ideas of things to Braille. The San Francisco LightHouse provides tactile maps for your address anywhere in North America so you can really feel your surroundings. Curtis Chong told us about the new Eltrinex digital talking recorder. It produces stereo recordings and can copy files to a computer. With the Eltrinex V12 Pro, you can also plug in an external mike or use line-in. Representatives from Global Initiative Accessibility came to the convention to educate, advocate, promote, and enforce accessibility rights to websites. It will report accessibility issues to attorneys so that cases can be filed as soon as possible. Finally we heard from Bristol Braille Technology representatives and got to have hands-on reviews by our audience of the new Canute 360-cell, nine-line Braille display which can read a third of a Braille page. Just put in a memory stick with a file on it and read your file like a Braille printer would. It will be a big help with math and music. When released, it should be priced at around $2,000 according to its distributor. We would like to thank all who attended. Hopefully they learned a lot and were able to go into the exhibit hall informed and ready to ask more detailed questions of the vendors there. ---------- Recipes This month we're running another edition of Retro Recipes, pulled from the archives. We were reminded about some of the absolutely delicious recipes that have run in the past that deserved another look. Obviously, there are too many to reprint them all, but here's a small selection: Corrine Dunbar's Red Bean Soup This recipe first appeared in April 1991. Ingredients: 1/2 pound red kidney beans 1 small onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs thyme 1/4 stick butter 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 pound ham, ground fine water salt and pepper to taste Claret wine, sieved hard-boiled egg, 8 lemon slices (garnish) Method: Saut? onion in butter. Simmer beans for about three hours with onion, garlic, celery, thyme, and bay leaves in enough water to cover. Keep an eye on the beans as they cook; it's important that they not go dry, but equally important that there not be too much water. Press mixture through coarse strainer, using large spoon to force mixture through. Add ham, and correct seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Place one tablespoon claret wine in bottom of each bouillon cup. Pour soup. Garnish with sieved egg and lemon slice. Serves eight. ---------- Portuguese Chicken and Rice by Bill Bridgeman This recipe originally appeared in November 1999. Ingredients: 3/4 pound Polish sausage, kielbasa, or any other garlic smoked sausage (I like to use Mexican chorizo or medium-flavored Italian sausage) 2-1/2 pounds cut-up frying chicken 2 medium onions, chopped 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 cup long grain rice, uncooked 2 cups chicken broth 3-1/4 ounce can pitted ripe olives, well drained, and cut in half 2 tablespoons cider vinegar Method: Brown sausage in a little oil; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Brown the chicken in the same pan, adding more oil if necessary. Set aside. Stir in the chopped onions and continue cooking until the onions are softened. Add pepper flakes and rice, stirring until the rice is coated. Add the olives and return sausage to pan. Mix together. Add the chicken broth and arrange the chicken over top. Sprinkle with cider vinegar, bring to a boil, cover, and cook in 375-degree preheated oven for thirty minutes. Uncover and cook another five to ten minutes, or until the chicken is done. ---------- Potato Chip Cookies by Pat Robbins This recipe first appeared in June 2003. At that time Pat Robbins was a member of the Charlotte chapter and served on the chapter's board of directors. Ingredients: 1 pound margarine 1 cup sugar 2 egg yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla 3 cups flour 1 cup potato chips, crushed (1 snack pack) 1 cup chopped nuts Powdered sugar Method: Cream together margarine and sugar. Add vanilla and egg yolks. Work in flour. Add potato chips and nuts, stirring well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. These cookies rise very little, so you can place them close together. Bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Makes about four dozen cookies. ---------- Vanilla Flan by Lydia Usero-Quiones This recipe was originally introduced in February 1996 like this: Lydia Usero-Quiones has a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Puerto Rico. She plans to keep studying to obtain her master's degree in education. Presently she is working as an English teacher at Ramirez College of Business and Technology. She is a founding member and first elected president of the NFB of Puerto Rico. Currently she serves as first vice president of the affiliate. She is also the treasurer of the Society of Friends of the Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar for caramel glaze 3 cups milk 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar teaspoon salt 6 large eggs, plus 2 additional yolks 1-1/4 teaspoons vanilla flan mold, round, 8-inch by 2-inch larger mold for the bain-marie Method for Glazing Caramel: Put one cup sugar in the flan mold over low to moderate heat for eight minutes. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted. Keep over very low heat while glazing the mold. Using your hands and working rapidly, tilt the mold in a circular pattern to spread the syrup evenly over surface. You want the bottom and sides of the mold to be caramelized. Set aside to cool. Method for Making Flan: Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. Add enough water to the bain-marie mold to reach two thirds of the way up the flan mold and set water-filled mold in the oven. Mix well the milk, sugar, and salt without foaming and scald mixture in a saucepan. Don't let it come to a boil. Beat the eggs and additional yolks lightly, just enough to blend them. Don't let the eggs foam up because this will produce a grainy flan. Add the scalded milk slowly to the eggs and strain. The idea is to combine the mixtures without curdling the yolks. Add the vanilla, pour into caramelized mold, and set in the pan already in the oven. Bake for ninety minutes or until a cake tester inserted slightly off center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for two hours before refrigerating. Refrigerate covered. To serve, invert a platter with a rim, which will hold the liquified caramel. Note: This recipe is specially dedicated to Ollie Cantos, president of the National Association of Blind Students. During his visit to Puerto Rico in June, he ate tons of Vanilla Flan. Enjoy, Ollie! ---------- Easy-to-Make Brownie Blitz by Kathy Davis This recipe was originally introduced in December 2005 like this: This recipe should be made a day ahead of serving. Therefore, depending on the time available for cooling of the brownies, you may want to make the brownies two days in advance. Ingredients: 1 package brownie mix, baked, cooled, and broken into bite-sized pieces 1 large package instant chocolate pudding 1 12-ounce container Cool Whip 2 to 3 Butterfinger candy bars, sliced into very thin slivers (or 3 to 4 Heath bars broken into small pieces) Method: In a large fluted or glass salad bowl place approximately half of the crumbled brownies. Prepare pudding as directed. Add about half the pudding to the brownies and spread a layer of Cool Whip over the pudding. Then sprinkle with half the candy bar slivers. Repeat these layers in this order with other half of the ingredients. You will have to work quickly to prevent pudding from setting before layering is complete. Refrigerate overnight to allow the pudding to soak into the brownies and to set. Serve and bask in the compliments. ---------- Monitor Miniatures In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Ski for Light Makes Tracks for Wyoming: The 45th annual Ski for Light International Week will take place from February 9 through 16, 2020, in Casper, Wyoming. This is a new venue for the all-volunteer nonprofit's annual event where beginning blind and mobility-impaired skiers are taught the basics of cross-country skiing, while more experienced skiers further hone their skills. All enjoy a variety of apr?s ski activities. Casper is located in east-central Wyoming at the foot of Casper Mountain along the North Platte River. Participants will stay at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center and ski at the Casper Mountain Outdoor Center at McMurry Mountain Park. The Center has 42 kilometers of wide cross- country trails. The annual week-long event attracts more than 250 skiers, guides, and volunteers from throughout the United States, as well as international participants. During the Ski for Light week, each skier with a disability is paired with an experienced, sighted cross-country skier who acts as ski instructor and on-snow guide. Most blind and/or mobility-impaired adults leave Ski for Light with a sense of accomplishment and motivation that carries over to every aspect of their lives. Many volunteer guides return year after year and most discover that in the process of giving of themselves they get much more back in return. If you have never before attended what many have called "the experience of a lifetime," join us on an epic adventure in Wyoming. Additional information can be found at www.sfl.org, or you may contact Visually Impaired Participant Recruitment Chair Melinda Hollands at (231) 590-0986 or mlhollandstc at gmail.com. Come discover yourself and make new friends! State Resource Handbooks Available for Purchase: I have created forty-eight screen-reader-friendly resource handbooks containing resources for the blind and visually impaired. These are to assist consumers and professionals in finding information about employment, housing, transportation, and more. Handbooks are currently available for: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The Resource Handbooks are available in the following electronic formats Microsoft Word, PDF, HTML, and Rich Text Format. Since these are electronic formats the requested list will be sent to you by email with an attachment. If a large-print hardcopy is desired, please email me at insightfulpub at gmail.com and include in the email which state resource book you want so that I can give you the correct pricing information. For more information on pricing and formats please contact Insightful Publications by email at insightfulpub at gmail.com or by phone at 808-747- 1006. ---------- 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. ----------------------- [1] Used in this context, the term "blind persons" refers to the legal definition found in Mass. Gen. Laws ch 6, ? 133(1) and thus includes both individuals without eyesight and those with low vision. [2] According to the NFB, there are 129,800 non-institutionalized persons in Massachusetts, ages sixteen and older, with a visual disability. See Blindness Statistics, National Federation of the Blind, https://nfb.org/resources/blindness-statistics (last visited Aug. 13, 2019). [3] Arkansas became the last state to repeal such prohibitions in 1994, when it struck language disqualifying persons whose "senses of seeing or hearing are substantially impaired." Kristi Bleyer, Kathryn Shane McCarty, and Erica Wood, Access to Jury Service for Persons with Disabilities, 19 Mental & Physical Disability L. Rep. 249, 250 (1995) (quoting Ark. Code ? 16-31-102). The year prior, a federal court overturned an official policy in Washington D.C. Superior Court excluding all blind people from jury service. Galloway v. Superior Court of D.C., 816 F. Supp. 12, 20 (D.D.C. 1993). [4] Additional research indicates that the reliability of auditory memory of people who are blind from birth can only be matched by a subgroup of sighted people who had the highest memory performance. Brigitte R?der, Frank R?sler, Helen J. Neville, Auditory Memory in Congenitally Blind Adults: a Behavioral-Electrophysiological Investigation, Science Direct, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926641001000027 (2001). [5] While making accommodations to eliminate barriers to individuals with disabilities is a core concept to all sections of the ADA, Title II imposes a higher standard than Titles I and III to ensure proactively that public programs are accessible. It requires that a public entity conduct a review of its programs and facilities to ensure that it will provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, its service, program, or activity. 42 U.S.C. ? 12132; 28 C.F.R. ? 35.130. Where necessary, the public entity must make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures to avoid discrimination on the basis of disability, unless the public entity can demonstrate that making the modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity. Id. [6] Justice Richard Bernstein currently serves on the Michigan Supreme Court. Biography of Justice Richard Bernstein, Michigan Courts, https://courts.michigan.gov/Courts/MichiganSupremeCourt/justices/Pages/justi ce-richard-bernstein.aspx (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). Chief Justice Richard Teitelman of the Supreme Court of Missouri served until his death in 2016. David A. Lieb, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard Teitelman dies, Associated Press News, Nov. 29, 2016, https://apnews.com/95454042353c40f2bb11307450631362 (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [7] Judge David Tatel has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 1994. Barbara Slavin, A Judge of Character: although he's blind, David Tatel skis, runs and climbs mountains. By summer's end, he may be a top jurist too., Los Angeles Times, July 28, 1994, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-28-ls-21024- story.html (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [8] Judge Richard Casey served as a U.S. District Judge on the District Court for the Southern District of New York until his death in 2007. Richard Conway Casey, 74, Blind Federal Judge, Dies, March 24, 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/obituaries/24casey.html (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [9] Historically, skeptical courts raised concerns about blind jurors' abilities to perform these tasks. See Susi, 394 Mass. at 788; Lewinson v. Crews, 282 N.Y.S.2d 83, 85-86 (N.Y. App. Div. 1967); Black v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 9 S.W.2d 743, 744 (Tex. Civ. App. 1928). [10] See Assistive Technology Products, American Foundation for the Blind ("AFB"), https://www.afb.org/blindness-and-low-vision/using- technology/assistive-technology-products/screen-readers (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [11] There are many more assistive devices that blind people use to live independently-from a tactile meat thermometer to a talking color identifier. See Household, Personal and Other Independent Living Products, American Foundation for the Blind, https://www.afb.org/node/16207/independent-living-products (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); The Chicago Lighthouse, https://www.lighthousetoolsforliving.com/Colorino-Talking-Color- Reader.html?AffId=1(last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [12] Mac Accessibility, https://www.apple.com/accessibility/mac/vision/ (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); iPhone Accessibility, https://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision/ (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [13] Microsoft Accessibility, https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/accessibility/windows?activetab=pivot_1%3aprimaryr2 (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [14] In fact, qualified readers are specifically listed as auxiliary aids or services required by the ADA to ensure effective communication with blind individuals. 28 C.F.R. ? 35.104 (definition of Auxiliary Aids and Services). [15] For more information about the training and work of audio describers, used in both daily activities and in accessing media and the arts, see Audio Description Project, American Council of the Blind, https://www.acb.org/adp/ (last visited Aug. 12, 2019). The New Jersey Court system recommends that audio describers for the blind, along with readers, note taker, or real time transcribers, be administered an oath similar to that given to ASL interpreters. New Jersey Bench Manual on Jury Selection, 2014, at 32, https://www.njcourts.gov/pressrel/2014/Bench%20Manual%20on%20Jury%20Selectio n%20-%20promulgated%20Dec%204%202014.pdf (last visited Aug. 12, 2019). [16] This reasoning has now been almost uniformly rejected by statutes and case law. See People v. Pagan, 595 N.Y.S.2d 486, 487 (N.Y. App. Div. 1997); Caldwell, 603 N.Y.S.2d at 714. [17] Limited guidance is provided through the Massachusetts Court System's ADA Accessibility Policy (2018), https://www.mass.gov/policy-statement/ada- accessibility-policy (last visited Aug. 16, 2019) (noting that "[t]he Commonwealth's courts seek to provide appropriate aids and services to qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the services, programs, or activities of the Judiciary"); the Office of Jury Commissioner's webpage on jury duty accessibility, Office of Jury Commissioner, Learn About Jury Duty Accessibility, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-jury-duty- accessibility#jurors-with-vision-issues (last visited Aug. 16, 2019) (providing limited information about the available modifications). [18] State judiciaries have also issued guidance on accommodating individuals with disabilities through public-facing reports and pamphlets. See, e.g. Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), N.J. Courts, https://www.njcourts.gov/public/services/aocada.html (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); ADA Information, Fla. Courts, https://www.flcourts.org/Administration-Funding/Court-Administration-About- Us/ADA-Information (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); Hawaii ADA Accommodations, Haw. State Judiciary, https://www.courts.state.hi.us/services/ada/ada_accommodations (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); How Court Users Can Obtain Accommodations, N.Y. State Unified Court System, http://ww2.nycourts.gov/Accessibility/CourtUsers_Guidelines.shtml (last visited Aug. 16, 2019); Jud. Council of Ga., A Meaningful Opportunity to Participate: A Handbook for Georgia Court Officials on Courtroom Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities, Ga. Courts, http://ada.georgia.gov/document/publication/115096162adahandbkmay05800pdf/do wnload (last visited Aug. 16, 2019) ("Meaningful Opportunity"); Jud. Council of Cal., For People with Disabilities Requesting Accommodations, http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/access-fairness-QandA-for-persons-with- disabilities.pdf (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [19] Currently, the website lists only that the Trial Juror Handbook and Grand Juror Handbook are available in web versions and that the Trial Juror Handbook is available in a large print version. See Jurors with Vision Issues, Off. Jury Commissioner (Apr. 25, 2018), https://www.mass.gov/info- details/learn-about-jury-duty-accessibility#deaf-&-hard-of-hearing-jurors (last visited Aug. 16, 2019). [20] At the time of filing, many of the court system's electronic forms are inaccessible or difficult to navigate using screen readers, as described below: -- Juror Questionnaire, https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2017/11/06/Confidential_Juror_Questionn aire.pdf (last visited Aug. 13, 2019) (Required document provided in pdf format that is not JAWS compatible. Without pause, it reads the document in its entirety. As a result, a JAWS user would have to commit to memory the order in which the information is needed in order to fill it out correctly. The document also relies upon use of a mouse, a visual tool not used by JAWS users, who use keystrokes.). --ADA Complaint Form, https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2019/04/29(/jud- ac-ada-complaint-form-john-adams%202019--0419.pdf)(last visited Aug. 16, 2019) (similar issues); --Request for Accommodation, https://massdocs-digital-mass- gov.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2018/tc-request-for-reasonable- accomodation.pdf?Qw.nKhUppsmUWQ6KslERIdBDTLnjW90U (last visited Aug.16, 2019) (similar issues) --ADA Grievance Document, https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2019/06/19/jud-Complaint%20ADA-1.pdf (last visited Aug. 16, 2019) (PDF document that gives instructions on how to file a grievance, rather than an inaccessible form. The document is accessible in JAWS for the most part. However, the link in the document can only be accessed by mouse.). Each form should also be available online as an accessible Word document (which would not require use of a mouse), and available at the court in large print format. [21] From the colloquy between the trial judge and juror number six, it appeared that the trial judge may have believed that screen reading software could not be used by the juror because there was no internet in the courtroom. Tr. at 63. This belief is incorrect, as screen readers do not require internet access. [22] Ideally, every courthouse or Justice Center should have one laptop or tablet with screen reading software, which could be made available to the blind jury pool member as well as to any empaneled blind juror needing to access written exhibits during deliberations. To the extent the court relies on prospective blind jurors to bring their own devices, courthouse security policies should be amended. See Trial Court Policy on Possession & Use of Cameras & Personal Electronic Devices, https://www.mass.gov/location-details/trial-court-policy-on-possession-use- of-cameras-personal-electronic-devices (last visited Aug. 16, 2019) (addressing assisted listening devices as the only exception to the Massachusetts court system's electronic device security policy). From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Fri Nov 1 13:59:48 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2019 13:59:48 -0700 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, November 2019 Message-ID: <201911012059.xA1Kxmor013791@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 10 November 2019 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 ? 2019 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. 62, No. 10 November 2019 Contents Illustration: Show-Me Meet the Blind Month United States Supreme Court Denies Petition from Domino's Pizza by Chris Danielsen Expanding Opportunities, Protecting Rights, and Ensuring Accessibility: A Report from the Advocacy and Policy Department by John Par? and Gabe Cazares Eleven Years of BELL Academies: Gaining Skills, Enhancing Opportunities, and Building Relationships by Karen Anderson Mujeres of the Federation by Mary Fernandez Leadership, Partnership, and the Pursuit of Financial Accessibility by Doug Marshall Exploring the Layers: A Blind Researcher, Mom, and Federationist Enhancing the Understanding of Disability by Angela Frederick Philosophy in Practice by Angela Howard A Dream Come True by Leslie Hamric The Status of the Orbit Reader by Curtis Chong Keeping the Blind in Sheltered Workshops in the Afterlife by Justin Salisbury Meet the Sighted Month A Contest to Promote Literacy that is so Fun it Won't Seem Like Work............................... by Sandy Halverson The Continued Significance of the National Library Service for the Blind: Expanding Braille and Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty by Karen Keninger Electronic Braille Reimagined: The Revolution of the Canute 360 by Ed Rogers Message from Buna Dahal Regarding 2020 Washington Seminar Reservations Accelerating Accessible Content: Progress through the DAISY Consortium by Richard Orme The Future of Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: Stephanie, Jeff Griffen, and a friend from Kansas City finish up a walk around McKay Lake.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Melissa Smith chats with local Lions Club president Doreen Jackson and another Lions Club member.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Melissa Smith and Gary Wunder race along a rope.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Debbie Wunder shows off a toddler-sized white cane at a preschool visit.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Gary Wunder uses a Perkins Braillewriter to Braille a preschooler's name while he watches.] Show-Me Meet the Blind Month October was Meet the Blind Month, and across the country NFB affiliates, divisions, and chapters held events to introduce sighted people who might not know or meet a blind person in the normal course of their lives. In Missouri the Jefferson City Chapter held a walkathon talkathon on November 6. Friends from other cities visited, as well as members of the local Lions Club, and the weather cooperated in making it a wonderful day for fellowship and sharing our message. But it wasn't all tame walking. The Jefferson City Chapter had set up two guide ropes, and members of the Jefferson City and Columbia Chapters ran races, stamping out the idea that blind people can't run to any who watched. In Columbia, Gary and Debbie Wunder visited a local preschool. Debbie brought along the harness her now-retired guide dog wore at work, as well as the small white cane that would fit any in the audience who cared to use it. Gary demonstrated the use of his Perkins Braillewriter, embossing index cards with children's names so that they could see how blind people read. Then came the fun part for the students, approaching with their cards in hand to see if that code using dots really worked. Sometimes we wonder if people really want or need to meet the blind, but the enthusiasm of these children take the question off the table. They do, and we must. United States Supreme Court Denies Petition from Domino's Pizza by Chris Danielsen From the Editor: Chris Danielsen is our energetic director of public relations, and he writes this short follow-up to the article in the October issue entitled "Accessibility and Accountability: Drive-by Lawsuits Leave Pothole-size Problems." In that piece Chris mentioned the request by Domino's Pizza that the Supreme Court declare that the Americans with Disabilities Act did not apply to the internet. Here is his recounting of what just happened: In last month's Braille Monitor, we mentioned a petition pending before the United States Supreme Court brought by Domino's Pizza. Domino's had filed what is legally known as a petition for certiorari, or "cert petition," which is a legal document asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court's ruling. Each year the Supreme Court hears a select group of cases drawn from such petitions. Domino's wanted the Supreme Court to overrule a decision by the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, based in California. That ruling had affirmed the right of a blind man, Guillermo Robles, to sue the company under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because he couldn't use its website to order a pizza. Domino's argued that the Supreme Court should put an end to such lawsuits by ruling that the ADA does not apply to websites, or, if the court wasn't willing to go that far, to at least rule that it was unfair to allow such lawsuits in the absence of federal regulations setting accessibility standards. So far, the United States Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, has declined to issue such regulations. Obviously, any ruling along the lines Domino's wanted would have made it much harder, or perhaps impossible, for the National Federation of the Blind and others to bring ADA claims regarding inaccessible websites. The Monitor went to press before Monday, October 7, the "first Monday in October" that begins each Supreme Court term. Thus, it was unclear at the time whether the Supreme Court would take the case. On that exact first Monday, the Supreme Court issued an order denying the petition. This means that the ninth circuit's ruling stands and that Mr. Robles' case will go forward. More importantly, it means that for now the ability to bring website claims under the ADA remains intact. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: John Par?] Expanding Opportunities, Protecting Rights, and Ensuring Accessibility: A Report from the Advocacy and Policy Department by John Par? and Gabe Cazares From the Editor: The energy is always high at convention, and this presentation was certainly no exception to that. When introducing the two presenters, President Riccobono noted, "Together they represent the dynamics of what we do in our advocacy space in the National Federation of the Blind. They come from different backgrounds, from different generations, but they share many traits. Chief amongst them that they are tireless, thoughtful, and positive representatives for us in the halls of power in Washington, DC, and they bring those strengths to us in a strategic way. They help me to coordinate the tremendous amount of work that we get done on an annual basis, both with our members and our staff. Their talents and especially the heart that they bring to the work of this organization are critical in helping each and every one of us achieve success in our advocacy work in this organization. Their job is to put the National Federation of the Blind in the right place at the right point in every conversation that we need to be in in Washington, DC, and they're doing an awesome job." Here is what John and Gabe had to say: John Par?: Thank you, President Riccobono. E pluribus unum. As most of you probably know, this Latin phrase was the original motto of the United States. When translated it means "Out of many, one." The thought behind this phrase was that, through the union of the original thirteen colonies, a single nation was born. Out of many, one. I am in awe when I think about our nation's founders as they set about this grand experiment in self-government that we know today. I feel that same sense of awe when I stand up here in front of all of you and imagine the unlimited potential of what we might accomplish when we work together. To further illustrate this point, I'm going to go back even further in time, more than two thousand years to ancient Greece and the storyteller Aesop. One of Aesop's fables is about a father and his children. The father gives each of his children a twig and asks them to break it. The children are easily able to snap the twigs with their hands. The father then takes a bundle of twigs, ties them together, and asks his children to break the twigs now. Each child tries, but none succeed. The father tells his children, "When you stand alone, you are easily broken. But when you stand together as one, no one can break you." [applause] The moral behind this story is that union gives strength. When many stand together for a common cause, they become one, and that one is unstoppable. Aesop knew this immutable fact 2,500 years ago; the founders knew it in 1776; and I know it right now as I stand up here before all of you. It is no coincidence that the written history of the National Federation of the Blind is titled Walking Alone and Marching Together. It is this sense of teamwork that has resulted in our recent legislative successes: here are two examples. On June 28, 2018, the United States Senate passed the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act. The House passed it on September 25, and it was signed into law on October 9. The Marrakesh Treaty Resolution of Advice and Consent was also passed by the United States Senate on June 28. The treaty ratification paperwork was signed by the president on January 28, 2019, and deposited in Geneva on February 8. Both the law and the treaty were passed by unanimous consent. This is a perfect example of our teamwork. It was all of you working in every state, every county, every city which resulted in the ratification of the first multilateral treaty specifically intended to benefit blind people. [applause] At last year's convention I discussed and reported that the House and the Senate had included language in the National Defense Authorization Act to permit veterans with a service-connected permanent disability rated as "total" to participate in the space-available program, but there was a problem. The House and Senate language did not match, and we needed the House to agree to the Senate language. Again our advocacy paid off, and on July 23, the House agreed to the Senate language. The president signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law on August 13. In a congress divided by acrimony and turmoil, our teamwork gets things done. [applause] Turning to our current work, on March 14, 2019, Senator Boozman of Arkansas and Senator Cardin of Maryland introduced the Access Technology Affordability Act. This legislation would create a $2,000 refundable tax credit for use over a three-year period for the purchase of access technology. The bill currently has fourteen cosponsors including Senator Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. On April 4 Representative Mike Thompson of California, the chair of the House Select Revenue Subcommittee, and Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania introduced identical legislation in the House. The House bill has eighteen cosponsors. On January 29, 2019, Senator Casey of Pennsylvania introduced the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act. This legislation phases out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities over a six-year period and then sunsets section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [applause] It also authorizes $300 million in grants to facilitate the transformation from subminimum wages to competitive, integrated employment. The bill currently has seven cosponsors. On January 13, Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington introduced identical legislation in the House. The House bill has fifty cosponsors. We are working with Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois to introduce the Greater Accessibility and Independence through Nonvisual Technology Act. This bill would establish a minimum nonvisual access standard for home-use medical devices, home appliances, and fitness equipment. [applause] The National Federation of the Blind continues to promote the development of autonomous vehicles that are fully nonvisually accessible. We have participated in congressional policy briefings, presented at industry summits, and submitted regulatory feedback. We have also pivoted our excellent relationship with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers from the quiet car issue to autonomous vehicles. You will be hearing from Dave Schwietert tomorrow. Let's talk a little bit about NFB-NEWSLINE?. As President Riccobono announced, NFB-NEWSLINE now includes the core elements of KNFB Reader. [applause] You can now use NFB-NEWSLINE to read your newspaper, check the weather, look up your favorite television program, find a job, or use it to take a picture of almost any printed text and have it read back to you aloud. NFB-NEWSLINE is available in forty-five states plus the District of Columbia, with Maine scheduled to come online later this fall. It has 125,000 subscribers and more than five hundred publications. On average we receive 5,700 calls per day, and some portion of NEWSLINE is accessed every 1.8 seconds. The weather portion of the service includes detailed seven-day forecasts, emergency alerts, and other useful information such as air quality and heat index (it's about 106 right now). [laughter] The TV listings include content from every cable and broadcast provider, specific channel mappings for your cable and satellite provider, and information on video description. Our job listings include every job listed on CareerBuilder and USAJobs. Note that the iOS app now includes four pages or tabs. The first page is the Highlights page and provides quick access to announcements, your favorites, and the weather. The second page contains links to all of the major content categories. The third page now is KNFB Reader. [applause] The fourth page contains overall app settings. Late last year NFB-NEWSLINE was released as an Amazon Alexa skill. [applause] You can now access NFB-NEWSLINE hands-free on any of the Alexa family of products. To get started, just say, "Alexa, open National Federation," and the skill will walk you through the login process. As you can see, the past year has been incredibly successful for the Federation in terms of our advocacy. You-each of you, every one of you, all of you-you were the key to that success. But there is still much more work left to do. The demand is great, but we are equal to the challenge. It will take all of us working together as a team to achieve that success. When one of you calls your congressional representative, they take a note. When ten of you call, they pay attention. [applause] When a hundred of you call, they realize we mean business. And when all of the members of the National Federation of the Blind call, they understand that we cannot be stopped. They understand that we demand to be recognized. They understand that we demand for our voices to be heard. And they understand that we demand our civil rights. [applause, cheers] Our many voices together create a single unified voice that rises above the din of partisanship in Washington. Out of many, one. E pluribus unum. Through our union we become stronger, and that strength makes us, the National Federation of the Blind, unstoppable! [applause, cheers] Alright, turning to our next speaker. So much of what happens is a result of our entire team and our group in Baltimore, and the next gentleman does an incredible job leading that effort. His intelligence, his passion, his in-depth knowledge of education policy, the work he does to help organize and run our Washington Seminar, and most recently his incredibly effective testimony that he delivered to help ensure appropriate funding for the National Library Service, here is the manager of government affairs, Gabe Cazares. [PHOTO CAPTION: Gabe Cazares] Gabe Cazares: Howdy, my Federation family. It is a joy to be up here. I tweeted earlier this week that the energy is electrifying. You don't understand how powerful you are. In 1857 Frederick Douglass, the escaped Maryland slave turned abolitionist and orator wisely observed, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will." All of us gathered here in this room know all too well this to be true. Ten years ago an insecure, shy, closeted, Latinx blind kid stumbled upon a ragtag group of folks who called themselves the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. [loud cheering from Texans] Those folks were fiercely independent, committed to one another, and, more importantly, to a larger movement, the National Federation of the Blind. [applause] Fast forward five years from the initial interaction. Since May 18, 2019, I have had a front-row seat to the steely determination, collective power, and unwavering resolve of my Federation family from across the country. Over the last four years I have witnessed my Federation family spring into action to successfully advance a multilateral treaty many thought was dead, and simultaneously pass its implementing legislation. All of this we did while charging forward to tackle a broad policy agenda from the accessibility of electronic instructional materials in higher education to protecting our right to cast a private and independent ballot. [applause] From protecting the rights of blind parents to our continued push for the elimination of subminimum wages for blind and other workers with disabilities, the depth and breadth of our organization's policy agenda is the envy of many. And because John Par?, Kimie Eacobacci, Stephanie Flynt, and I are frequently on Capitol Hill wheeling and dealing, many get to thinking that we are the driving force behind our organization's policy success-and side note, here, we do have an excellent policy team-but boy do I enjoy telling them that they are wrong. Make no mistake: the only reason why John and I are able to stand before you today highlighting the policy successes we have achieved over the last year is due to President Riccobono's steadfast leadership and your relentless advocacy. You see, one of the many lessons I have learned from my Federation mentors is that even when the odds are against us, I will still bet on my Federation family every time, because I know my Federation family will always get the job done. After the famous (or infamous) 2016 presidential election, security and voter protection were thrust front-and-center into our national dialog. Politicians were tripping over themselves to be the first to call for securing the integrity of our electoral process. Over the subsequent two- and-a-half years, politicians and pundits alike have offered their "expert" opinion regarding election security. Often the discussion turns to the method by which ballots are cast. This inevitably leads to their foolproof solution: casting hand-marked paper ballots. When introducing the Protecting American Votes and Elections Act (or PAVE Act for short-DC loves its acronyms-Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon said, "The PAVE Act scraps insecure voting machines that are juicy targets for hackers and replaces them with reliably secure, hand-marked paper ballots." I know I don't need to point out to this crew the obvious problem with the Senator's observations, and to be completely honest, I didn't think I'd have to point out such a glaring discrepancy to congressional staff. These ballots would be so secure that they would deprive blind and other voters with disabilities from our right to cast our ballots privately and independently. We fought this battle during the consideration and passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2001, and we won. We have tasted freedom, and we will not go back. [applause] Now to Senator Wyden's credit, and thanks to the work of our Oregon affiliate, the Senator's staff attended an election security conference which was held at the Jernigan Institute in May of this year. As a follow- up to that conference, we met with Senator Wyden's staff and proposed major changes to the PAVE Act that balance the need to protect the integrity of our electoral processes and the necessity that we not compromise the privacy and independence of voters with disabilities. We fully expect these changes to be implemented. Although we may not always agree, when we are invited to the table, we endeavor to negotiate in good faith. But when we are excluded, my Federation family has no problem kicking down the door, pulling up our own chair, and inviting ourselves to the table. Power concedes nothing without a demand. [applause] For several years now our National Association of Blind Students has been leading the effort to pass our Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (AIM HIGH). First we were negotiating with the higher education lobby-and I've got the higher blood pressure to prove it. Then we were convincing congress to take our bill on. Now we have language, we have congress's support, and our bill will be reintroduced in the 116th Congress with the goal of having it included in the larger higher education package that is expected to move before this congress adjourns. [applause] And I'll tell you a secret, just for us in this room and everybody listening to the stream: the lawyers are going to love this. Our bill will be introduced without a safe harbor for institutions of higher education. [applause, cheers] My Federation family is not afraid of doing the hard work of negotiating, persuading, and mobilizing. I know that with the energy and enthusiasm of our students, we will get AIM HIGH across the finish line. [applause] Eighty-one years ago congress passed the Wagner-O'Day Act, and in doing so authorized the creation of the Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind. Amended in 1971 as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act and expanded to include nonprofits employing blind and other people with severe disabilities, the committee was also rebranded as the AbilityOne Commission. While the originally intended goals of the program are noble, the current structure falls short of those ideals by failing to equip workers with the necessary skillsets to compete in the twenty-first century workforce. Not to mention that the AbilityOne Commission's failure to adequately manage their own financial resources and display an appropriate level of transparency has eroded public confidence in the program. It's no secret that the American workforce is changing. Automation has transformed almost every industry. Yet many workers with disabilities employed under the AbilityOne program are assigned repetitive tasks which do nothing to equip them with the skills needed to succeed and advance in the modern workforce. However, the biggest failure in the AbilityOne program is not that it creates artificially inclusive work environments, nor that some of the specialized nonprofits participating in the AbilityOne program pay workers with disabilities subminimum wages, but rather that the founding statute of the program incentivizes the exclusion of blind people from advancing to administrative, supervisory, and managerial positions. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines us or our future. We have come to understand through our participation in the organized blind movement that society's low expectations are the true obstacle between us and our full potential. Together we will reform the AbilityOne program to reflect the changing workforce, to better prepare blind workers to meet the needs of the twenty-first century, and to ensure that blind employees are employed in all industries at every level, from the private to the public sector. [applause] No more will we settle for artificially integrated workplaces. No more will we allow contracts to prohibit blind people from climbing the ladder of opportunity. No more. Together we will advance the Disability Employment Act, which will allow for-profit as well as nonprofit entities to bid on contracts through a newly created commission. We will ensure that workers with disabilities have the same earning opportunities as their nondisabled colleagues by prohibiting the use of 14(c) certificates and by requiring employers to pay workers with disabilities at least the minimum wage, or, if greater, the prevailing wage. Oh, and by the way, we will protect our blind entrepreneurs by ensuring that the newly reimagined commission honors the Randolph-Sheppard priority for all military dining contracts including cafeterias. No more will we allow the AbilityOne Commission to ignore the Randolph-Sheppard Act and unilaterally threaten the livelihood of our blind merchants. No more. Our bill changes the composition of the commission, restructures the way contracts are awarded, and creates a trust fund to support the organic integration of workers with disabilities into the mainstream workforce. Revolutionizing this program won't be easy. In fact some folks have told us that we don't truly understand what we are attempting to do. My response is simple: you don't truly understand the members of the National Federation of the Blind. [applause, cheers] We will transform the AbilityOne program, and we won't rest until the job is done. My Federation family, I could spend more time telling you more about the countless ways your advocacy, your dedication, and your commitment to our movement continues positively to influence the reputation of our organization in the halls of power. I could talk more about how in January over five hundred of you stormed Capitol Hill bringing our priorities to congress at our Washington Seminar. Or that in May over one hundred blind merchants hiked The Hill to protect and expand employment opportunities under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. I could talk about the great strides we have made over the last twelve months to ensure that no blind parent is ever torn away from her child solely because of the low expectations and ignorance of a social worker. A dozen states have now enshrined permanent protections for blind and other parents with disabilities, with Alabama and Georgia passing such laws. There is no question in my mind that in the field of blindness, we are the only real game in town. But our policy successes are only possible because we are committed to our movement as well as to one another. Ten years ago the shy, awkward, Latinx blind kid would never have believed that he would be here today celebrating the policy successes of such a powerful movement. We are changing what it means to be blind through public policy, yes. But through our active participation in the movement we are also showing those who are newly blind as well as those who are losing vision as well as black and brown blind kids, kids who look like me, that we can live the lives we want. "Puedo vivir la vida que yo quiero. Mi ceguera no es que lo me impide." Blindness is not and will not hold us back. Together with love, hope, and determination, we are and will continue to transform our collective dreams into reality. [applause] So here's my invitation to you here today: join me, and together let's go build the National Federation of the Blind. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Karen Anderson] Eleven Years of BELL Academies: Gaining Skills, Enhancing Opportunities, and Building Relationships by Karen Anderson From the Editor: Our first BELL Academy was held in Maryland in 2008, and since then it has expanded to include almost every affiliate in the nation. It is a direct-service program that gives students ages four to twelve blind role models and helps move them from being spectators to players. Karen Anderson is the NFB director of education programs, and here is the article she has written to inform and inspire: On my clock at home I have a collection of bells, each signifying an experience in my life that allowed me to grow. The bell with the eagle on top is the one I received when I graduated from the Louisiana Center for the Blind. The one with the ship's wheel is the bell I got after running my first summer program for blind teens. And the bell with the plastic handle is the bell I took with me after running my first BELL Academy in Nebraska. That bell reminds me of how much my students grew in two weeks. I remember the six-year-old boy who learned to put on his seatbelt by himself, the eleven-year-old girl who was sure she couldn't do things without using her vision and ended up making a cake in a cup while wearing her learning shades, and the fourteen-year-old girl who's family traveled to Lincoln and stayed in a hotel so she could learn Braille because the school was not willing to teach her. At the end of the program I had the privilege of giving bells to each of these children who had come so far in such a short time. As I handed one to each student, I hoped that when they rang it throughout the year, they would remember how much I believed in them, and that they would continue to believe in themselves. These days my favorite bells are the BELL (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning) Academies we hold every summer. Started in Maryland in 2008 by Federationists who realized our blind children were not being exposed to nearly enough Braille, there are now more than twenty-five states holding BELL Academies each summer. Just like the bells that sit on my clock at home, each summer's BELL Academies signify opportunities for blind children to learn and grow. In 2019, we held thirty-five BELL Academies in twenty-six states. This means that more than 250 children between the ages of four and twelve were exposed to Braille in a way that made literacy fun. The New Jersey BELL Academy started each day by having each student read a joke that had been Brailled for them and matched their personality. By having fun with reading, students' confidence grew along with their knowledge of the Braille code. In New York, one nine-year-old boy began the program with very little knowledge of the code. Upon learning most of the letters, he was excited to be able to read and exclaimed, "I'm like a superhero. I can now read in the dark!" One parent from New Jersey said, "For nine years of my son's life it has been recommended that he lean on his vision. Attending Bell Academy, my son learned the complete Braille alphabet in a mere two weeks, something that eluded us for nine years. What sticks out is how simple it was to start Braille and the shame it is that the world resists." In each of our programs, children use learning shades so they can practice doing things without using their residual vision. This can be challenging for kids, and sometimes it takes a while for students to get comfortable with their learning shades. Jenny Carmack from Missouri sent us this story about a returning student: We do an activity for some of our children who are new to Braille, called Treasure Hunting. In this activity children must dig through dried pasta, beans, or rice to find what kind of treasure is in there such as bells, gems, or animal shaped beads. This is done with only their fingers, no vision. Last year one of our children did not like to do any activity in which he could not use his eyes. This year he was excited to turn off all of the lights and treasure hunt with his fingers. Additionally, other students can serve as great encouragers for their classmates. One little girl in New York made a switch to try and encourage her classmates. "Instead of shame on you, let's try shades on you." She even made a song out of it. Cooking and food are great motivators for many kids. In Utah, students got to make bread in a bag. They read a Braille recipe, measured and combined ingredients, and baked the loaves using nonvisual skills they had learned at the program. Other programs made playdough, banana animals, brownies, and even individual pizzas. One student in New Jersey took the skills he was learning at BELL home with him and came back the next day with cookies he had baked for everyone with very little help from his parents. Students also work on things that will help them be more independent at home. Stacie Gallegos from Texas sent us this story: During the 2019 BELL Academy, I had the opportunity to work with Randy, one of our veteran BELL students. One of Randy's long-term goals has been to learn how to tie his own shoes. Randy was able to complete the first two steps but had difficulty with mastering the task of the bunny ears. During the second week, we worked on shoe tying at the end of the day's lessons. By the end of the week, Randy was able to make bunny ears and, although they were really big, he managed to tie his own shoes. I had the opportunity to speak with a group of parents, including Randy's mother. I demonstrated to mom the steps Randy and I followed for shoe tying. I encouraged mother to work with Randy a little each day on this task. I feel confident that with practice and the opportunity to do so, Randy will be tying his own shoes next Summer. For years BELL Academies have offered students the opportunity to be artistic and creative. Students get to decorate their long white canes using things like multi-colored duct tape, yarn, beads, and bells. This makes the cane, which is often awkward for students, feel like their own and helps make it more fun to use. In addition to decorating, many academies find other ways to introduce students to tactile art. This year several of our academies partnered with local businesses that teach students to work with clay. In Baltimore, students worked on a mosaic that will be displayed at our Jernigan Institute, and in Mississippi students got to work on several clay projects including writing their names in Braille. This year, thanks to the generosity of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, each BELL participant was given an intact Sketchpad which helped them develop an understanding of tactile art and graphics. One child in Texas, who had previously only drawn using her limited vision, was able to create a fish with her hand, write her name and feel what the print letters look like, and draw several other shapes of her own choosing. One twelve-year-old student from New York has never liked drawing and was very resistant to drawing in the program. Once he learned to use the Sketchpad, he was ecstatic and exclaimed, "Yeah! I can play Pictionary with the family now!" In South Carolina, three students who loved art used the Sketchpads to draw their favorite Minecraft characters so the volunteers could feel what they looked like and gain a better understanding of one of their favorite games. In all these cases, students were developing tactile literacy skills. As is so often the case with kids, some of the most impactful lessons come through play. Briley O'Connor from Minnesota sent us this story: During recess one afternoon, we decided to go to the park across the street from BLIND, Inc. This park has no playground equipment, so I suggested the boys play a game of tag. Ben (age six) said he'd never played tag before. Silas (age four) said, 'How can he play tag? He can't see anything.' Challenge accepted. I told Silas he should be 'it' first and make a loud noise as he ran so that way Ben could chase him. Silas took to this suggestion immediately, taking off at the count of three yelling 'beep, beep, beep,' as loudly as possible. Ben took some time to get used to running without help outside, but after a round or two, they needed no assistance from me. One blind child learned that he could run freely, and another learned that you don't need any vision at all to enjoy a game of tag. As wonderful as all these activities are, it is the relationships that our teachers and volunteers form with students and parents that make the most difference. For some, we are the first successful blind people their family has ever met. One parent from Missouri posted on Facebook that her daughter, who has attended BELL for the past four years, looks forward to it every year. She went on to say that the best thing about the BELL Academy, in her opinion, is the fact that the staff who volunteer their time are blind and are great role models for the children. Other families are heartened to have found a group of people who believe in their children, have high expectations for them, and are willing to help the families fight for what is best for their kids. A mom from New Jersey said, "As parents who have recently found the NFB we are relieved to know that we are not alone and are fully supported moving forward." One grandmother in South Carolina plans to stay in touch with the Federation so she knows what she should ask in her grandchildren's IEP meetings. She wants to make sure they are being raised with high expectations. Then there are the families who are not new to the Federation. BELL gives their blind kids an opportunity to be around kids like them. This story comes from Briley O'Connor, who, in addition to being the Minnesota BELL coordinator, is also the mom of a blind son: As the coordinator, I knew this program would be great for my four-year-old son, Silas. I've done this before and have seen firsthand the positive impact BELL Academy can have on a child. What I did not anticipate was how dramatic a difference it would make in his understanding of himself and his identity as a blind person. Silas is in that tricky low-vision space where his parents refer to him as a blind person, his parents are blind, many of the people in his life are blind, but he still has a degree of useable vision which makes him feel like he can see. Convincing a kid at this age to eat his vegetables is hard enough, much less to understand the value of the alternative techniques of blindness, so the cane and Braille have been a bit of a hard sell for a while. Every day we would have him leave the house with the cane, and every day it'd be a battle of wills with the refrain of 'But I can see, I'm not blind like you,' echoing in our ears. After decorating his cane at BELL, being around other children who are using a cane like his, a positive blind instructor (Miss Michell) constantly reminding him to have it in his hand, and a curriculum that makes learning nonvisual skills fun, his attitude has improved significantly. He now refers to himself as 'mostly blind,' which is an enormous shift over such a short period of time. He will take the cane when we leave the house without an argument, and he uses it more effectively when we travel. Because I spent a lot of my career as a teacher and I'm a blind person, I assumed Silas would have an easier time than he has accepting his blindness. I'm grateful for the BELL Academy and for the National Federation of the Blind for making this possible. Parents are so important, but without this village, we'd still be fighting every day at the front door about the cane. These stories, and the hundreds like them, are the reason I choose to be so involved in the Federation. They are why members across the country volunteer hours of their time, talent, and creativity. We know that blindness does not have to hold these kids back, and programs like BELL help them and their families realize that, too. I love to imagine more than 250 blind kids across the country ringing their bells at the end of summer- a whole bell choir of freedom and independence. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Mary Fernandez] Mujeres of the Federation by Mary Fernandez From the Editor: Mary Fernandez is a woman who brings and shares with the world her intelligence, her passion, and most of all her honesty. As Monitor readers will remember from past articles that she has written, she goes where others dare not go, and she does not let blindness get in the way, even when people fear that her going into impoverished neighborhoods will expose her to unacceptable danger because she is blind. Here is a presentation that Mary gave at a seminar of the 2019 National Convention. It was advertised with these words: "This bilingual event features a keynote address from a dynamic Latina leader. It will provide inspiration and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of blind Latina trailblazers." Here is what she says: I spent much of my childhood in Cartagena, Columbia, where my story unfolded in binary terms: dos and don'ts. Like other kids, I did have chickens as pets. I did have room to be rambunctious-often, running around the house so fast that I crashed into a wall, denting the middle of my forehead. I did try to shave my imaginary beard with a real razor at the age of four. And then there were the things I was not allowed to do, most painfully, not attend school. I would wistfully watch my brother go off on the bus, books under his arm, and I'd just have my radio and chickens to pass the time. So how does a young uneducated girl from Colombia, whose only odd claim to sophistication was a love for classical music, grow up to have a successful career, attend two prestigious institutions of higher education, and walk into spaces where people like me aren't seen? There are three elements that have been essential to my success. My mother, who not only encouraged and inspired me to do my best, but who also made many sacrifices to insure I'd have a bright future, is central to my achievements. Second has been the role models and mentors who continue to demonstrate what is possible regardless of disability. Third, somewhere along the way I realized that vital to my success are authenticity, resilience, and gratitude. I'm going to share stories from my personal and professional lives that highlight these elements. In 2013 I applied for a position with a highly selective federal agency. To my utter amazement, a month after applying, I got a call to initiate the year-long, eight-step, grueling interview process. And guess what? I received a job offer! I quit my very safe job, signed everything, and enrolled at the Louisiana Center for the Blind to obtain blindness training while the security clearance process was underway. However, six months after leaving a perfectly secure job, I got a one-page letter withdrawing the job offer. I remember standing in Pam Allen's office, crushed and dumbstruck. I had no idea what to do or where to go. I went to the bathroom and ugly cried while I called my mom. Later, I went home to ugly cry again. Funny thing about life though, is that you may be going through the hardest part of your life, but the world doesn't stop, even when we think it should. So, I woke up the next day, and my stubborn streak kicked in. I had started this training program, and I was going to finish it. I was going to get a damn job too! I often think back to this time in my life and all the ways it could have gone differently if I had gotten what I thought was my dream job. I would have never set off on a path toward business school. After completing blindness training, I went back home to New Jersey and was hired as a youth transition program coordinator, creating something from the ground up. While fulfilling, a year-and-a-half later I left that safe job, knowing that there was something else out there for me. I did all the contract work that I could find. I even worked as a customer representative for a cottage cheese company. Never mind that I literally had never tasted cottage cheese in my life! Hustling helped me realize the value of my network. It enabled me to explore my interests and eventually brought into focus my next step. I woke up one day and thought, "I really need an MBA. Then people will take me seriously, and I'll have many more options. And this plan actually worked! Attending business school at Duke has tested my resilience like no other time in my life. I don't know many blind people, even in the NFB, who obtained an MBA. But I did know many blind pioneers, so I had no doubt I could do it. The journey has been challenging. First, you take all the classes that the world usually tells you blind people, particularly girls, aren't good at, like stats, and econ, accounting, and my absolute favorite, finance. Second, institutional bias in higher education means that students with disabilities are set up to fail. I went through my first two quarters essentially with no accessible materials. When I say none, I don't mean I was getting a bit of stats but not all of it-I mean none. Our quarters are only six weeks long, so falling behind even by a week means it's hopeless. Third, there is recruiting. Recruiting season is when about a hundred employers visit campus to present on their companies and to network with students. After full school days we switch into networking mode, hoping that insightful conversations and brilliant questions will translate into a summer internship opportunity. Standing out was the goal, and at least my being the only blind one helped me get that part down. I survived, and I pushed forward. It comes down to resilience, which is being able to persist even when you are bruised and battered. Resilience isn't lack of failure; it's being able to fail over and over and getting back up. Resilience doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when you are punched to the ground; it means you feel the hurt and make it back up. Resilience can't be taught; it is something we develop. And if I know one thing about immigrants, it is that we are damn resilient. We continue to work and succeed and contribute even when the message we are hearing is that we are not wanted. Three months after recruiting started, and a number of unsuccessful interviews later, I finally accepted a job offer with Cisco. Working at Cisco was a dream come true. I worked on the Global Talent Brand team-we do marketing for talent acquisition. The Cisco culture is truly inclusive, and the people are brilliant, welcoming, and warm, a combination that is hard to find anywhere. However, as we move into spaces that people like us-blind Latina women aren't usually seen, no matter the company culture, these characteristics become a focal point. Often, the curiosity grows from a desire to learn and understand our experience. For me, it quickly became exhausting being the new intern at this global corporation and the in-house accessibility and disability expert. In this instance I had to set boundaries. At the same time, it's important to leverage our lived experiences to influence inclusion at all levels whenever we can. That's what I did, resulting in guiding the team to create more accessible marketing materials. I've learned that in situations where my intersecting identities become a prominent feature, authenticity, boundaries, and using my lived experiences help me navigate. Authenticity is a strength. It is important to bring our true self, values, and integrity to work. If we do that, we will always find the best path forward. If we do not, we will not fail, but we will not grow; we may please others but not ourselves, and ultimately, we will stunt our personal growth. Do not ever allow anyone to make you the token x. I set limits around what I will and will not tolerate. At the same time, recognize and accept that you are representing others. This acceptance allows us to better control our narrative. If it's inevitable that a story will be told about us, then we should make sure we create that story. Leverage your knowledge and experiences to pave the path for those who will come after you. So, here is what I want you to remember. First, play to your strengths. Second, embrace failure, because failure leads to resilience. Third, live authentically, live your truth. And last, be grateful. I could not have gotten to where I am today without an army of supporters behind me and trailblazers before me. Gratitude engenders joy and confidence, so hold it close to you. When you play to your strengths, when you are authentic to your values and beliefs, when you are courageous, you will leave an indelible mark in the world and blaze a path for those who will follow. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Doug Marshall] Leadership, Partnership, and the Pursuit of Financial Accessibility by Doug Marshall From the Editor: Doug Marshall is the executive vice president and chief digital and product officer for BECU (the Boeing Employees' Credit Union) in Tukwila, Washington. As President Riccobono said during his introduction, "BECU is one of many organizations we are partnering with to further better accessibility. When we came to them with our concerns, they did not protest; they said yes, we need help, and it is on this foundation that we began to build a relationship. Here is what Doug Marshall had to say to the convention on Wednesday afternoon, July 10: Thank you, President Riccobono. It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon on behalf of BECU. We are one of those companies that Eve was referring to [Eve Hill proceeded Mr. Marshall's presentation.], so we're pleased to be here today to share our journey toward digital accessibility. Before I do that, I'd love to share just a few things about BECU because, other than our Washington contingent way in the back, my guess is that most of you don't know anything about us. As you know, we are based in Washington. We have about 1.2 million members. We have about $20 billion in assets, and that makes us about the fourth-largest credit union in the country. We have about 2,100 employees, and we're really pleased about our place in the market out there in Seattle. As I move into why we did this work, I think it's important for all of you to understand the why as well as the what, so first we will talk about the why, we'll talk about the how we did it, and then we'll talk about where we are right now so you can get some sense of how this journey unfolds. For us the why starts with our values, and probably a lot of the organizations you work with talk about having values. We do that, but the three that are most relevant to this discussion are these: we have a value called members first. Our customers are called members because we are a cooperative. We are owned by members, not by shareholders. Our second value is called people helping people, which seems very relevant to this discussion as well, because ultimately we're all just people. Finally, and maybe the most important one for this discussion, we have a deeply, deeply embedded sense of doing the right thing, and as President Riccobono alluded to, that's what really prompted us to move forward in doing the right thing. It started as a legal issue; it rapidly became a moral issue for us. So that is some context. [applause] Again, most organizations have values, so the second part of the why for us is the fact that we actually try to live those out. I could talk with you all day about examples where we try to live those values every single day with every single member, but I won't. Just trust that our culture has those values deeply embedded. The third thing that is behind the why is our history. Just to go back for a moment, we have a long history of solving problems. We were founded in 1935, so over eighty years ago, in the depths of the Depression. I think our founding story is relevant to this discussion. We were founded by eighteen machinists who pooled fifty cents each to raise nine dollars. We are worth $20 billion today, so we started with nine dollars. They then made a loan for $2.50 to a fellow machinist at Boeing because back then you had to buy your own tools. So in order to have your job, you had to buy tools, and in order to have tools you had to have money. Our members raised that money so that person could have a job. That's the very first problem we solved, and ever since we've been trying to solve problems, sometimes successfully, sometimes not as much. So with that history we thought it was important to listen when we heard from our members that we were having some problems around accessibility. It started in 2016 when we heard from some members directly in our call centers. They said they were having difficulty using our online banking tool. In 2017 we then made an enhancement or two or three to our mobile app. Most of you know what a mobile app is and how important it can be to people's lives. We made some fixes that helped some of our members, but inadvertently we made our mobile app much less accessible for our blind and sight-impaired members. That was a mistake. So we started to hear from some of our members, and in fact some of them are in the back of the room, so they can attest to this. Things weren't working. We were starting to take some action to address that, and then, as President Riccobono alluded to, we heard from him, Eve Hill, the attorney general, and at least as importantly, some of our members who were in the room that day. I'll never forget that day. It was in early 2018, and I had not had a lot of exposure to the blind community. Some of our members shared their stories. We didn't actually ask any questions because we knew it was important that we try to understand where we should start. They told us that, rather than being able to use our mobile app to make a check deposit, for them it would require a two-hour plus trip to get to one of our branches. They would get on one bus, get on another bus, and they would have to walk a ways and catch another bus. So as we heard that story, again it made it very, very clear to us that we did not have the time to wait to get this addressed. That's a little bit behind the why of why we tackled this. What you may be caring more about-I know I would-is how do we tackle this? We drove back down from Seattle to beautiful Tukwila, sat down right away, and began to plan how we were going to tackle this. Ultimately we ended up with six different things. Frankly it was a lot that we had to do. First of all we worked with our internal team and laid out a plan, and that plan included, first and foremost, how we would prioritize the work. I know you've talked a lot about websites, and they are critical. But in our case we had digital properties including our mobile app, our online banking-sort of our desktop experience-and then, of course, our site itself. We collectively agreed that it was important to tackle the mobile app first because that actually allows you to bank. Second would be the online banking experience for the same reason. Finally we would tackle the website itself. All of these other things were important, but we had to make some choices and prioritize. The second thing we did, and this was even without pressure, was to develop detailed plans. We ended up with eighteen different bodies of work that we identified, and each of those plans had committed dates and specific efforts to make sure we met those dates. The third thing we did was to invest resources. Again, you've heard that sometimes this work is not that expensive and that it doesn't have to be. In our case we had to invest significant resources. We added some user experience resources. In fact one of those resources is right here in the room today. We added some outside development teams. We have a development team who does that work, but we had to bring in outside help because again this is relatively new to us. I can go on, but basically we invested a lot to make this happen. We then engaged our vendors. What you may not know is that in many cases in addition to doing the work ourselves, we work with outside partners. I talked about our values earlier, and the great news for us is that when we vet our vendors before we select them, one of the things we look hard at is whether they share our values. So when we showed up and said that we have an issue here, that being to improve accessibility, and you need to help us, the response wasn't, "No we don't." The response was, "Well, of course we have to." They have been a really, really important part of this puzzle, and we'll talk about that in just a minute. Finally (almost), we developed policies and procedures to ensure that once we got this work done, it would be sustainable. The last thing we want to do is invest in this effort, get accessibility where it needs to be, and then go backwards. As you heard me say, we are a members-first organization, so along the way, as the sixth initiative, we had our members help us test. We worked with them to see if the changes we had made had in fact made things better or perhaps worse. This is very important because along the way we discovered that sometimes we got it right, but a couple of times we got it very, very wrong. So we had to go back and make a change, make a change, make a change. It was really important to have our members involved all along the way. That is the how, but many of you may be wondering (I know I would be) where are we: what did all of that work result in? I can start by saying that we're not done yet. I guess you're never ever done, but we're not quite where we want to be but thought it was important to come today and share at least where we are now. We've made great progress on those eighteen bodies of work. About three of those eighteen we're not quite done with, and again, thanks to the collaboration with Eve Hill and others, we know we have to get that work done, and we will. Second, we realized that as we add new features-for example there is a product called Zelle that is very similar to Venmo, which some of you may use. I believe it is an accessible product, but I'm not 100 percent sure. As we add those products, we want to make sure that they are also accessible, so that's the second thing we have embedded in our process and procedures so we don't go backwards. The next thing we are doing is that we are continuing to add resources. In fact, one of my colleagues is here today and attended the employment session. We're actively looking for two people to join BECU to do quality assurance testing. They need to be blind to do the work right, so if you know someone, send them our way. We'd love to hire them. [applause] We're continuing to lead our vendors. Our vendors are not done, and they've actually told us that our work with them has forced them to go and do an even better job with some of their other financial services partners. So we think we've raised the bar for our vendors, and we hope we've done the same thing for other financial institutions. We'll see. Finally, and this is probably the one that has been most personally gratifying, we started with digital accessibility, because that is vital in an increasingly digital world. But what I love about our organization is that we have this deep commitment to getting better. As we started to think about it, we realized that the kiosks in our branches that are used to check in to make an appointment with one of our consultants are digital, and they're not accessible. We've already realized that we need to get that fixed, and in fact we met someone today at the booth who is going to help us get that done. [applause] We have realized that even some of our marketing material-I mean who doesn't want to be marketed too-isn't compliant. So we have embedded closed captioning and textual descriptions of pictures. The last thing is the one that I'm most proud of. It's a very small one, but it means a lot to us. As we looked around, we realized that the checks we provide to all of our members-including a large-font check for members who have difficulty using checks with the standard font size-were more expensive than they needed to be and should be. We went back to our check vendor and said, "Explain to us why a check that has a large font is more expensive than a check that has a smaller font. Clearly the additional ink you need can't be that much more expensive." And they said that we were right. Now we are charged the very same price for small font checks as we are for large font checks. [applause] So again, we know that we are on a journey, but we feel like we have made tremendous progress and that we really embedded this more deeply in the organization. I've heard several of you today as I've spoken with you that it's all about culture, and it is. To wrap up, if I was thinking about tackling this issue from your perspective and I was going to approach an organization of any kind, I think I'd say this: First, enter into a dialogue: many of you have, and many of you will. Make sure you are involved in a conversation. Again, that first meeting we had was a conversation, and we are grateful for that. Don't be afraid to share your stories. The entire meeting was great, but that story was a very powerful part of the puzzle for all of us who were in that meeting. Second is that, when you work with that organization, make sure that you understand the organization, the environment that they work with, figuring out whether they have vendors, whether they have a complicated architecture. Don't let them off the hook, but do make sure that you understand. The third thing, as we did, is work together with that organization to help develop a plan. Make sure there are hard commitments, but work together with that organization. Don't leave it to them, and don't leave it to you. And then, make sure that plan is sustainable. Because, as you've heard throughout the afternoon, we can't stop doing this stuff. I want to offer just a couple of thank you's. First, thank you again for the opportunity to be here on behalf of BECU to share this. We know we're not done, but we wanted to share some thoughts along the way. I'd like to thank my colleagues who are here: Jessica Schultz, Mike Ryan, and Obaid Khan, who are a big part of why I am up here talking. They made it happen, so thank you to each of you. Thank you again to Eve and President Riccobono for being the prompt that got us to get this done, and we appreciate that prompting. Last, thank you to our blind members way in the back. On a personal level they made us a better organization, and we always strive to be better, so thank you for that. I will end on a personal note. I've been at this a while. If you could see me, you would know that I am old. I love what I do, but I'm always trying to learn. This experience, on a personal and professional level, has been one of the most interesting and engaging. Thank you for helping me stay young at this late time in my career. [applause] ---------- [PHTOO CAPTION: Angela Frederick] Exploring the Layers: A Blind Researcher, Mom, and Federationist Enhancing the Understanding of Disability by Angela Frederick From the Editor: When most of us first met Angela when she was a national scholarship winner, we knew her as Angela Howard. Now she is married and has a child who seems to be as inquisitive, friendly, and socially aware as her mom and dad. On Friday morning Dr. Angela Frederick gave one of the most moving presentations of the 2019 National Convention. In it she talks about her personal journey to become a professor and what she has learned about intersectionality and her life. Her remarks make an incredibly moving case for strengthening our diversity and understanding of one another. Here is what she said: Good morning, Federationists. Good morning Texas. [cheers] People are complaining about this microphone being too tall, but this entire podium is too tall for me. In her classic essay, "The Outsider Within," sociologist Patricia Hill Collins urged scholars from underrepresented groups to embrace the creative potential of our biographies. Documenting the contribution of black women intellectuals, Hill Collins employed sociologists to tap into the unique insights we bring as outsiders working within a traditional academic field. I will share a difficult truth with you. During my doctoral training in sociology, I wanted nothing of the creative potential offered by my outsider status. I did not want to research disability. I wanted to be an insider. I wanted to be respected as a good teacher and researcher. I planned to land a tenure-track position as a professor. Disability had no place in my plan. I was terrified of being pigeonholed as someone who worked in a dusty, unrecognized corner of sociology. I knew I would be competing in an impossibly difficult job market. I wanted my identity as a blind person to be invisible, to just go away. In April 2012 I received a call from the chair of a faculty search committee at a college in Memphis. He called to invite me to their campus for an interview. I was overly prepared for the moment. I took a deep breath and then cheerfully shared the news that I am blind. I was met with a long moment of silence. "I'm so shocked," he finally replied. "Your research, your teaching-how?" I quickly decided that I should also let him decide that I am having a baby in three months when he picks me up from the airport next week. [laughter] I knew that what I had to overcome in that daylong interview was tremendous. There has always been a unique kind of comfort I feel with other Federationists. We so deeply understand one another's struggles to obtain employment and to overcome the social distance sighted people often put between us, and we enjoy the camaraderie of shared laughter over those absurd moments that only another blind person can understand. Yet, blindness never exists in isolation. It exists in interaction with other aspects of our identities and experiences. I did not go on the job market for my first professor position as a blind person. I went on the job market as an expecting blind mother. In sociology we call this dynamic intersectionality. Developed by legal scholar Kimberly Crenshaw, intersectionality is an approach that considers forms of inequity not as separate but as intertwined. The heart of this approach is that we cannot add up people's hardships and privileges as if they are points on the scoreboard. Instead we can think of each aspect of our identity as interacting with the others. To put this simply, I am not a blind person on Mondays, a white person on Tuesdays, a woman on Wednesdays, or a highly educated professional on Thursdays. I experience all of these aspects of my identity every day. They shade one another, sometimes in unique and surprising ways. This is the case for all of us. I did receive that job offer in 2012. [applause] My daughter had been home from the hospital for just ten days when we moved from Austin to Memphis, and I started my first job as a professor the following week. To make our transition easier, my husband became a stay-at-home dad. [applause] I'll let him know he got applause from you. Yet, even with his unwavering support, it was a grueling year of firsts for me. By day I wore the hat of bewildered new professor; by night I wore the hat of bewildered and sleep-deprived new mom. Maybe it was the freedom I felt from finally holding that title of professor. Maybe it was just the chronic lack of sleep. But that year I finally felt ready to embrace my outsider within. After publishing my dissertation research, I began brainstorming what my next project might be. Even though I had not been trained as a disability scholar, I felt more and more strongly that sharing the story of disabled mothers was an important contribution I was uniquely poised to make. So I set to work. Over a fifteen-month period I interviewed forty-two mothers with physical and sensory disabilities. I also conducted three focus groups with blind moms right here at one of our national conventions. I would like to share a few of my findings today. In one article I published titled "Between Stigma and Mother Blame," I explore blind mothers' experiences in hospital postpartum care. I found this moment was in an acute time when blind mothers in particular face high levels of scrutiny and misunderstanding. At this time these new moms need to be able to engage in trial and error, to figure out how best to perform the tasks of mothering without sight. Yet, in the same moment, they are under the gaze of medical professionals who are now trained to watch mothers closely for risks they may pose to their children. I also took up social class as a part of this project. I found that social class privilege did not entirely shield the middle-class women I interviewed from being unjustly portrayed as inadequate mothers. Disability brings with it such profound forms of prejudice that it is not erased by being middle-class. But I also found that, when a problem arose, the middle- class mothers I interviewed were able to lean in on their social class status to successfully navigate the threat. Their social capital mattered. They were more likely to be networked in with advocates and professionals who helped them. Their cultural capital mattered. They knew how to speak the language of dominant institutions. As one mother put it, "You have to know lawyer speak." These mothers were generally able to garner their resources and present themselves in ways that were favorable to those in power. I remain deeply grateful to these mothers for sharing their powerful stories of grit, hardship, and triumph with me. My research on mothers with disabilities has been the recipient of two outstanding publication awards and an honorable mention from various sections of the American Sociological Association. [applause] Most meaningful to me, I was the recipient of the 2015 outstanding faculty award, selected by students on my campus. [applause] These recognitions have given me the confidence to know that I no longer need to fear being pigeonholed into a dusty, unrecognized corner of my discipline. Disability is an exciting and critical topic of inquiry. It belongs at the center of sociology and in the center of our classrooms. My daughter turns seven years old next week. She has spent much of her life on the college campuses where I have worked: practicing piano, having family picnics, balancing along retaining walls, and receiving much adoration from students. Her favorite new campus activity is to sit in my office chair and teach first grade math to her pretend college students. We have traveled as a family to attend what she refers to as "mommie's boring conferences," and she knows some of my colleagues to be her aunts and uncles. Just as my daughter has grown and changed over the last seven years, so too has my research trajectory. I want to take you now to a recent article I published along with my colleague Dara Shifrer. The article is titled, "Race and Disability: from Analogy to Intersectionality." In this article we document the ways both race and disability have been used as analogy in American social movements. Disability rights activists have long drawn parallels between disability injustice and racial injustice to legitimate disability as a significant category of inequality. In fact we have often done this analogy work in our own organization. My colleague and I do not argue this analogy work is always harmful. It is common for social movements to draw from the successful frames of movements that have gone before them, and it can be an important first moment of connection to draw such parallels. We do argue, however, that important histories and important people are missed when we do this analogy work to the exclusion of intersectionality. Moving beyond analogy brings into focus important parts of our history as blind people, including the mistreatment of European immigrants with visual impairments as they entered our country through Ellis Island in the early 1900s, or our painful history of eugenics, or the long legacy of blind African-American musicians throughout American history which Terry Rowden has so eloquently documented in his book "Songs of Blind Folk." Indeed, the histories of disability, race, and immigration do not happen to have similarities as analogies would suggest. They are inextricably intertwined. I am passionate about being a sociologist. I love understanding patterns in our social world. I love deepening my students' empathy by introducing them to the stories of others and by encouraging them to share their own. In many respects I have you, the Federation, to thank for the career I love so much. [starts to tear up] [applause] In my younger years it was you who taught me how to be a storyteller. Giving testimony is such an important part of the work we do in the Federation. It was you who taught me how to be a story receiver, to meet people where they are in their journeys, to gently accompany them in their next steps, and to allow others to shape my next steps in turn. These are the great lessons from the Federation I bring to my teaching and research. I also bring the Federation spirit to motherhood. My daughter is biracial, bicultural, and she has a mom who is blind on top of it all. [applause] I work every day to help her develop a strong sense of self. I know she will need to thrive in a world that isn't always going to nurture her unique identity. I feel well- equipped to give her this gift because, in the moment in my life when I needed it the most, the Federation gave that gift to me. [applause] I also want my daughter to know the joy that comes from being part of a force for good that is bigger than herself. I feel well-equipped to give her this gift because you gave that gift to me. My husband often marvels at our daughter's industrious spirit. She can find a solution to any problem, he says. He thinks she inherited that spirit from me. I know she inherited that spirit from you. [applause] Becoming an outsider within sociology has deepened my appreciation for what a unique and special community we are in the Federation. Social science research overwhelmingly demonstrates that Americans remain segregated in nearly every aspect of our lives. Most of us live in neighborhoods segregated by race and social class. We are largely educated in segregated schools. We worship in segregated spaces, and even our volunteer and advocacy work does not often put us in contact with people of different political perspectives. And here we sit; we are without a doubt one of the most diverse communities in our country. We are diverse not only by our racial and ethnic and social class backgrounds, but by our religious and political beliefs and by our gender and sexual identities and family configurations. We are even diverse along disability, as many among us manage more than one disability. Our diversity is our greatest asset. [applause] I believe using intersectionality in our work only deepens our collective power. Working at the intersection helps us to frame our message in ways that resonate across cultural and community boundaries. Working at the intersection allows us to reclaim aspects of our own histories that might otherwise be forgotten. Working at the intersections gives us the tools to create space for us to honor the stories of those among us who contend with more than one form of inequity. We will inevitably experience tension as we work at the intersections. We all have a lot to learn. We are all going to mess up, and we are all going to be asked to give others grace when they mess up. This is the good work! Intersectionality need never be a threat to our unity. Our diversity is the glue that binds our solidarity. Thank you. ---------- Philosophy in Practice by Angela Howard From the Editor: As part of transcribing the address given by Angela Frederick at the 2019 National Convention, I looked for other things she has written and found one splendid offering about her work with homeless people in Atlanta, Georgia. It first appeared in The Student Slate and was published in the Fall/Winter issue in 1999. Angela is a fantastic writer, but it is the experience she details as much as the writing that persuades me that this article should be in the November issue. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do: When Martin Luther King, Jr. was growing up in Atlanta, he rode the public bus across town to school every day. Segregation laws forced him to take a seat in the back of the bus, even if the seats in the front were vacant. Unable to do anything about the situation at the time, Dr. King decided to leave his mind in the front seat and promised himself that one day he would put his body where his mind sat. Years later, Dr. King led African Americans in a movement to put an end to segregation. The blind do not endure the segregation laws that once confined African Americans to the back of the bus. But, due to negative attitudes about blindness, we continue to endure a kind of spirit-squelching segregation that has threatened to confine us to a world of high unemployment and social isolation. Members of the National Federation of the Blind have developed a philosophy that has directed us to move toward a life of complete integration and full participation in society. Our movement for equality at one time demanded that we march and campaign in order to be heard, and this is still sometimes necessary. But, more often today, our struggle takes place in the work and play of our everyday lives. As Federationists, we struggle to put our bodies where the Federation has led us. We struggle for the opportunity to participate fully in our homes, schools, and communities. Recently, my Federationism led me to a most special place. I spent the summer living with the homeless of Atlanta. The Open Door is a community of religious leaders and former homeless people who live together in service to those who are on the streets. I took part in this community as a resident intern. In the Federation, we like to say that blind people possess the same range of personalities that any cross-section of society would produce. I have become convinced that this holds true for every other group in society as well. I faced the same struggles against negative attitudes living with homeless people that I do in any new community in which I become a part. Most assumed that I would hold a marginal position in the community, and in the beginning, none expected from me what I was capable of producing. It was up to me to break down those walls that threaten to steal our right to full participation. My struggle against negative attitudes began the first night I moved into the house. The woman assigned to be my spiritual advisor reviewed with me the general rules of the house. She then suggested, "We thought you would be good at handing out hard-boiled eggs to the homeless people at breakfast." When I learned what my schedule was to be for the following week, it became clear to me that passing out eggs during breakfast was the only job they thought I could handle. After three days of handing out eggs from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. and having nothing else to do for the rest of the day, I decided that things were going to have to change. I began to voice my belief that I could do much more than hand out eggs. I also developed another strategy for solving this dilemma. I was beginning to get to know many of the people living in the house and could sense which ones had the most faith in my ability. When I noticed that one of them was doing a certain job, I would sneak over and ask them to show me exactly how the task was performed. I even got them to let me try. Then during breakfast and lunch circles when certain jobs were delegated, I would raise my hand. "Are you sure you can do that, Angela?" they would ask. "I've done it before," I would say. My strategy worked. I found my schedule for the following week to be much more promising. Phone and door duty is one job that is frequently delegated to resident interns. The responsibilities of this assignment include answering phones, answering the door, and supervising our homeless friends as they pick out t-shirts and socks from the sorting room. As you can guess, the leaders of the community did not consider the possibility that a blind person might be capable of meeting this challenge. By the end of my first week, they decided that I might be able to answer the phones. I assured them that I could write out the important phone numbers in Braille and deliver messages personally rather than writing them out. They agreed to let me give it a try. By the end of my second week, they trusted me to answer the phones, but fulfilling the other responsibilities of phone and door duty was out of the question. Another helper was always assigned to answer the door for me. I am not proud to admit this, but even I was not sure that I could handle the responsibility of managing a room of people who are often under the influence of drugs and who are known to try to get out of the house with as many things as they can. Pretty soon, however, all of us in the house learned a valuable lesson about blindness. Phone and door duty is often a demanding job. I found myself quite naturally falling into the role of assisting the person in charge of managing the folks coming in and out. This gave me the opportunity to develop some alternative techniques for getting the job done. For example, I learned very early on, because it was not possible for me to describe someone visually, I needed to have another method of identifying the people I was letting in. When a homeless person would come to the door and ask to be let in to grab a t-shirt, I would ask for his or her name. This practice also helped me to develop good relationships with the regulars who came through our doors. I found that people appreciate being called by name rather than being directed by a finger. Developing relationships of mutual respect with many of the regulars put both them and me at ease. Soon, supervising the sorting room no longer seemed like an impossible feat. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to keep people from taking more items than they were permitted. When people are struggling to meet their most basic needs, they are often forced to try to survive by manipulating others. Some of our homeless friends have been known to get out of the door with eight pairs of socks instead of one. I found that since I couldn't monitor with my eyes how many pairs of socks someone was taking, it was easier for me to hand them the socks myself. I also learned to listen for clues that would tell me if someone were trying to get out with an extra shirt or two, such as a bag rustling too long or too many coat hangers being moved. I do not think that these alternative techniques were entirely theft proof. I am sure that some of our homeless friends snuck out with an extra shirt or two. But, it is an understood rule at the Open Door that our friends will leave the house with extra things. The key is to not let it be excessive. My alternative techniques worked, and after a few weeks, I was entrusted with all of the responsibilities of phone and door duty. Phone and door duty was a most unpopular job among the resident interns. I hated doing it as much as anyone else. But, being expected to do the job gave me a sense of satisfaction that ran much deeper than my hatred of performing the task. Being assigned to phone and door duty meant that I was needed. It meant that expectations of me were as high as they were for any other resident intern. And, perhaps most important, it meant that I got the chance to complain how grueling the job was right along with my peers. Creating allies in our friends and associates is an essential component of achieving full participation. Befriending the other residents of the Open Door, as well as many of the homeless people we served, helped me in my struggle for equality. Many volunteers stopped by the Open Door at random to help us out. Coping with the negative attitudes of new people day in and day out was a difficult challenge for me this summer. My roommates and I used to joke that we had to hear the amazing blind person speech every time someone new walked through the door. On several occasions, a new volunteer assumed that I was one of the people she was supposed to help. I found, however, that as those living in the house began to understand my struggle, they participated in helping me to educate the new folks. Every morning after we served breakfast to the homeless, we would sit down with our own breakfast and reflect together on how the morning had gone. We learned many lessons about blindness during these reflection times. One morning I had been assigned to hand out tickets in the yard to those who wanted to come in for breakfast. A volunteer, who had just arrived the night before, shared in her reflection time that she was amazed that I could go out into the yard and hand out tickets. She said, "I am afraid to go out there, and I can see." We in the Federation know that the "even I" compliment is no compliment at all, and I was preparing to give a little speech on the subject. Much to my surprise and delight, however, my housemates in the group picked up on the fallacy of her logic and called her on it. One man said, "It ain't got nothin' to do with sight. You're just scared of homeless people, and we've gotta help you with that." At that moment, I felt like a teacher whose student won the national spelling bee. Not only did my friends inside the house help me to educate people about blindness, but I found that my homeless friends also helped me to educate others in the neighborhood. I had one friend on the street who was particularly special to me. His street name is Bear. Bear is a crack addict and the most widely respected and feared person in the community. As one man put it, "Every homeless person and policeman in the city of Atlanta knows Bear." Bear has a gift for being brutally honest and is a champion for justice in his own way. Once a man who had a reputation for paying homeless workers illegal wages came into the yard and asked who wanted a job. Many of the men began begging him to let them work, and it was Bear who said, "Don't let that man take your dignity." It came as no surprise to me that Bear would help me in my struggle for equality. Bear became my good friend and helped me to educate others. When someone would make a nuisance of himself by trying to help me too much, I would politely try to manage the situation. But Bear did not believe in sugarcoating words. He would say in his gruff voice, "Shut up, she don't need no help." Bear disappeared for several weeks in July, and when I saw him again, he was excited to inform me that he had seen people from our national convention downtown. I had told them all about the National Federation of the Blind and about our convention. "I saw all them people you were talking about downtown last week," he told me with glee. Bear and the other homeless people I befriended at the Open Door made this a summer I will cherish for years to come. I am grateful to all of my friends in the Federation who continue to push me to put our philosophy into daily practice. Let us continue to put our hands and feet where the Federation has taken our minds. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Leslie Hamric] A Dream Come True by Leslie Hamric From the Editor: This article has been gratefully taken from the summer 2018 issue of the Illinois Independent, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois: On a Friday night in May 1985, excitement twirled inside me. I walked to my chair using human guide with my stand partner, sat down, and got my cello into position. I was in third grade. I had started taking cello lessons in October 1984, and this was my first orchestra concert. I had memorized all four pieces from audio recordings made by the conductor weeks ago, and I felt well prepared. This was it. A hush fell over the audience, and I knew the lights had dimmed; then there was silence. Before I knew it, we were playing the first notes of "French Folk Song." Enthusiastic applause followed. We played our other three pieces: "Long, Long Ago," "Chorale," and "Ready, Steady, Go." It was pure heaven playing these pieces with the group. I felt that my cello and I were one. As the last piece came to a close, my stand partner gave me the verbal cue to rise. I stood up for the applause with the biggest smile on my face. We all sat down and stood up a few more times before the clapping faded. At last I put my cello down next to me, put in the endpin, and laid the bow on top as I was taught. We in the beginner orchestra had completed our performance with flying colors. I was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Since I was the first blind person in the school district's orchestra program, I felt that I had set a new trend. Proving to myself and my orchestra conductor that I could play in an orchestra like any other musician meant the world to me. With a little planning and teamwork, it could be done. As I sat listening to the performances of the other two orchestras, I knew that I wanted to continue with orchestral playing. In fact, performing in my first concert had gone so well that now I had a dream to pursue: that of participating in a professional symphony orchestra someday. My orchestral studies continued from elementary school through college. I played with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) District and All-State Orchestras, Northern Illinois University Philharmonic, Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the New Eastman Symphony. While attending the Meadowmount School of Music in the summer of 2000, I fell in love with playing in a string quartet. In addition, I made sure to nurture my love of playing chamber music in graduate school and beyond. After graduate school and completing coursework in music therapy in 2004, I decided it was time to start looking for a job. I started my first full-time job in 2004, but it was totally unrelated to music. Part of me was okay with having a job in a new field, because I felt that getting work experience was so important. However, another part of me felt unfulfilled, and I persuaded myself that I could both work and keep music as an important part of my life. How wrong I was! With commuting and working full- time, my days were long and busy. Practicing put me on such a high that afterward I couldn't fall asleep. I felt that music as I knew it was slipping away from me. In March 2004 I auditioned for an orchestra, thinking that my talent would keep me afloat. Instead, I totally messed up on the audition. The conductor's comment that stood out most for me was that I was not dedicated enough to music. On that day my dream of playing professionally in an orchestra was shattered, and my life in music seemed to come to a devastating end. When I got home from that audition, I wanted to run and hide. I was so distraught that I put my cello away for nine months and tried to block music from my life. However, I know now that I simply needed a break to reorganize. Slowly I got back into music, and it became a big part of my life again. In 2005 I started singing with my church choir. I played for as many church services as I could. However, the missing part remained. After a couple of years I thought I'd audition for another community orchestra. However, as soon as I informed the principal cellist that I am blind, that was it. She was convinced that things would not work and absolutely refused to be educated about the alternative techniques I would use. In a way I was not surprised, but still, I was hurt and angry. I resigned myself to the fact that my professional orchestra dream was over. When my son was born in 2010, I had no time for music for the next year-and-a-half. Yet I did a lot of soul searching to figure out what my next purpose would be. Through it all I still kept teaching. Teaching gave me hope and kept me going. In 2015 I started getting a few gigs through the Chicago Cello Society and felt the familiar excitement returning. In 2017 I even had a gig with Eclectic Choral Artists and performed the "Holocaust Cantata." As I was playing these gigs, I began to ask myself what would happen if I auditioned for our local orchestra, the Elmhurst Symphony. I consulted with a couple of contacts there and scheduled an audition for September 12, 2017. I got some excerpts transcribed into Braille and started practicing like crazy. I called the conductor of the Elmhurst Symphony, Stephen Alltop, to inquire about sight reading. I mentioned that since I am totally blind and need both hands to read Braille music, sight reading while playing my cello is not possible. However, I explained that I have had experience sight reading in ear training and music theory classes in college. I waited to hear what would come next. To my relief Stephen seemed very calm about my blindness and started asking questions. I felt that he was quite interested and wanted to know more. For once I did not feel that I had to be defensive. Before the audition I did some role playing with a fellow Federationist, and we went through every kind of question I might be asked. My goal was to respond to each one calmly and directly. The most helpful advice I received was to let my cello playing speak for itself. I decided to play my audition pieces at Oktoberfest, an annual fundraiser for the NFB of Illinois that draws a good-sized crowd. That was the weekend before my audition, and I figured Oktoberfest would be a good opportunity for me to get some feedback. I received positive comments from everyone who heard me play. The day of the audition finally came, and I was nervous and excited, but I felt that I was ready. I had the most liberating feeling as my guide dog Gerry and I walked onto the stage and found the chair with minimal assistance. Stephen and I met in person for the first time, and then my audition began. Once again I felt that I was one with my cello, and I had the sense that the audition had gone well. After I played, Stephen had a bunch of questions for me. They were all good questions, and I was able to answer them calmly and directly, just as I had practiced. I knew this was a time for me to explain how I could be an asset to the orchestra. It was also a time for Stephen to find out how I would learn my music and keep up with the ensemble. Apparently my approach was successful, because Stephen told me he would like to give me a chance. I was shocked and excited. Here was someone who was willing to take on a new challenge with dignity and grace. Stephen acknowledged that this was new territory for him; he never had a blind person in his orchestra before. I responded that this was new territory for me, too. It was the first time I would be learning the material exclusively through the use of Braille music. We would be pioneering together. The next day I went on some blindness listservs and asked questions about which alternative techniques I could use. Although I felt ready from a blindness standpoint, I had plenty of work cut out for me. I had to get my music transcribed, and then I had to memorize it. Due to some health issues I couldn't attend my first rehearsal until February, and the first concert was scheduled for March. I was a little anxious about the first rehearsal, but once I was in that musical moment with the other cellists, with my guide dog asleep next to my chair, all nervousness disappeared. I was one of the group. I felt that way during every rehearsal after that. The first concert I played in was performed twice, on March 10 and 11, 2018. The piece was Verdi's "Requiem," the longest work I had ever memorized. Both performances went well. As soon as the March concert was over, it was time to get cracking for the May concert. The second piece I was to play, Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis," scared me to death. There were so many notes, and I had trouble keeping everything straight. At one point I thought I was going to have to back out and not play in the concert at all. However, persistence and determination prevailed. I contacted another Federationist who plays classical music. I asked him if he had ever memorized a crazy twentieth-century piece and how he went about it. He advised me to memorize no more than four measures at a time and to put the sections together as I went along. I did a lot of listening and playing along with the recording. Little by little the Hindemith started to come together. I played in the last concert of the season, which took place on May 5, 2018. I am looking forward to next season, which starts in September. Stephen and I are in the process of getting next season's music so I can have it transcribed into Braille. So far I've written about playing in an orchestra from my perspective. I want to take things a step farther by sharing the conductor's viewpoint. Here is what Stephen Alltop had to say: Leslie Hamric auditioned for the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra in September of 2017 and showed fine skills and training as a cellist. She had studied with acclaimed teachers at excellent schools, and her playing reflects it. Leslie provided me with the names of two conductors who had worked with her in ensembles. Both of them gave rave reviews concerning her abilities to perform in a musical group. The first work we performed together was Verdi's "Requiem." Leslie had memorized the cello part of this eighty-minute work, an incredible feat. There is no doubt that she came to the first rehearsal the best prepared member of the orchestra. In rehearsals I found myself trying to indicate starting places not just by measure numbers but by notes and harmonies so Leslie could also know where we were. As I had been told, she does a great job of taking cues from my breathing and the breaths of her section mates, and she seems to play as well with her section as anyone. Leslie has invested so much in the art of music. I am so happy that she has found a fine orchestra in which she can have a challenging and rewarding experience. I am delighted that I have found an awesome orchestra and a conductor who challenges me all the time. After thirteen years, my dream of performing in a professional orchestra has finally come true. This time I feel it will stick around. Before I close I would like to acknowledge the things for which I am grateful. First, I will always be grateful to my first orchestra conductor back in third grade, who inspired me to love music and gave me such a moving first opportunity. Second, I am grateful to those who supported me through all the years in between. Third, I am grateful to the two church choir directors who gave me the chance to participate in their groups. Finally, I am forever grateful to have found the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. My advice to other aspiring blind musicians is this: as early as you can, learn and use Braille music, develop strong self-advocacy skills, decide on a goal, and prepare a game plan to get there. Then, go for it! You absolutely can play or sing in a musical group of your choice. You can even take things a step farther and have music be your career. All it takes is some planning, teamwork, alternative techniques, and the willingness to take on something new. I can happily say that today I am living the life I want. I am doing what I love: enjoying the art of being a musician and taking advantage of all the musical opportunities that come my way. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Curtis Chong] The Status of the Orbit Reader by Curtis Chong From the Editor: Curtis Chong loves Braille and technology, so when they come together, you can bet he is going to put himself right in the middle of them. So it is that he writes this article about the Orbit Reader, the first-of-its-kind reader for less than six hundred dollars. This product was the first to come from the Transforming Braille Group, one in which the National Federation of the Blind was a founding member and has been very active both with ideas and the money to finance them. Here is what he says: The Orbit Reader 20 was intended to be an attempt by the Transforming Braille Group to radically reduce the cost of refreshable Braille technology. When this device first came on the market back in 2017, it was the least expensive refreshable Braille display/note-taker, being priced at $449 and sold in the United States by the American Printing House for the Blind. At that time, there were both supply problems (there were not enough Orbit Readers available) and manufacturing issues (which showed up as Braille defects in the early units). I was among the small handful of enthusiastic buyers who jumped at the chance to purchase an Orbit Reader 20 for $449. Since my initial purchase, I have had to send my unit in twice. The first problem was that, after a few months, some dots in the display simply did not come up. The second problem (which occurred early this year) was that my charging port stopped working. Both of my issues were resolved within a matter of weeks, and both issues required me to send my unit to Orbit Research. For people who would say that this reflects badly on the Orbit Reader, I would point out that refreshable Braille technology is, by its nature, extremely fragile because of the many small parts needed to move the Braille dots. It is often the case that Braille displays need to be sent in for cleaning or repair, and the Orbit Reader is no exception. The American Printing House for the Blind seems to have been the only organization in the United States selling Orbit Readers. Two years ago, when I purchased my unit, there were not enough of them to meet the demand. Customers were often told that the Printing House did not have any Orbit Readers in stock, and when units did become available, they were sold out within a matter of days. Another issue with the Orbit Reader was that its firmware could not be updated unless a person was able to run an update utility on a Windows computer. This was not a problem for those of us who used Windows on a regular basis. However, there was a strong sentiment expressed within the community of Orbit Reader users that firmware updates needed to be available to people who did not have ready access to a Windows machine. After all, other popular blindness products could be updated simply by copying the update to an SD card. Why not the Orbit Reader? It has been two years since the Orbit Reader hit the market. Since that time, two notable events have occurred. First, in April of this year, the American Printing House for the Blind announced that it was removing the Orbit Reader from its catalog pending further negotiations with Orbit Research. Secondly, on June 6, Orbit Research announced a new bootloader program which would enable the Orbit Reader to be updated from a binary file copied to an SD card. On the plus side, there does not seem to be a problem with supply; it took about a week for an Orbit Reader that I ordered to reach me. As for the bootloader update which enables the Orbit Reader firmware to be updated from the SD card, units purchased from this point forward will have the bootloader update installed; future firmware updates can be installed directly from an SD card onto which the update has been copied. For Orbit Readers already sold, the process of updating the bootloader requires both a Windows computer and a firmware version that is at least at level B0.00.00.55r02. In the United States, the Orbit Reader can be purchased directly from the manufacturer, Orbit Research, for $599. Orbit Reader 20's can once again be purchased from the American Printing House for the Blind for $699, and during this year's convention of the National Federation of the Blind (and some time thereafter) Orbit Reader 20 units were available for $549 (you can now purchase Orbit Reader 20's from our Independence Market for the retail price of $599)-as long as there are units available. While the Orbit Reader has had its share of difficulties, it is today a robust refreshable Braille technology with very good Braille. It is disappointing that more organizations are not selling and supporting this viable product. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Justin Salisbury] Keeping the Blind in Sheltered Workshops in the Afterlife by Justin Salisbury From the Editor: Justin Salisbury is a frequent contributor to the pages of this magazine. He works in Hawaii and is an instructor, an active advocate, and a man who is committed to thinking a lot about what it means to be blind both for those who have not had training and opportunity and for those who may benefit significantly from it. As this article is being edited, we are approaching the Halloween season, so perhaps, after spending some time contemplating the spirits, this will be a great way to conclude your Halloween festivities while at the same time thinking about how you will continue to enhance opportunities for blind people. Here is what Justin says: When I was a student at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, I remember all the tension and nervousness as we prepared for Mardi Gras. I just got the feeling from my classmates. I did not know what exactly we should be nervous about, but many of them were, so I was, too. That nervousness can be healthy in the right doses. It can help a person to focus on what they're doing and to feel empowered when they realize that they were able to manage that stress. We stayed on our game that week, and it was exhilarating. Side note: I wish we could take our students there from Hawaii every year. While at Mardi Gras, students and staff choose the kinds of activities that they want to do. One of the activities that I chose was a ghost tour of New Orleans. We learned stories of old hospitals with amputee veterans, quadroon ballrooms, slave children who fell to their death while fleeing a beating, priest burials, a young orphan who grew up in a brothel with a sailor boyfriend, and so many other stories. The tour guide told us stories of love, loss, grief, fear, and untapped potential. So far as I can tell, it is still an inexact science to determine if the spirit of a person will remain in this world as a ghost. I do not say that to disrespect anyone's spiritual beliefs, but I think it is safe to say that spirits exist and that something involving a strong emotion is commonly what tethers them to the location that their spirit occupies. When I had my first experience with a residential center for the blind, it was in a really nice suburb of a large city in the northeastern part of the United States. It was founded by a Catholic priest, and I remember seeing a portrait of him hanging on a wall somewhere in the center, maybe the dormitory or the main building. I was told early on that his ghost was known to appear around the center campus. Sometimes, a sink would turn on while nobody was near it, or a light might be on after everyone was sure that they had turned it off. I was told that his ghost was there to continue looking after the center and, most importantly, the blind people in the center. This priest really cared about blind people, and he wanted to make sure that we were taken care of. When I began my current job at the state-run vocational rehabilitation agency in Hawaii, which is called "Ho`opono," as a nickname, I learned that there were also spirits in that building. The original administrator from many decades ago, Ms. Morrison, was known to still walk the halls of Ho`opono with her high-heeled shoes. I heard that there were many ghosts, or spirits, around the building, and I was advised that I might encounter them, especially if I was ever alone in the building. These spirits were never known to be malicious, and I resolved myself to be spiritually diligent with my spiritual practices. In Native American contexts, this means using sage, sweetgrass, and tobacco, and staying focused on my purpose for being there, at least for my nations. I have realized that Hawaiian spirits function differently, but I think they respect me. The agency serving the blind in Hawaii has not always understood blindness the way that it does today. In recent years, even times that current staff can remember, we were a subminimum-wage sheltered workshop. We still have the unused stack of broom handles to show the people who come for tours, and then we point to the signs on the wall where the workers were directed to stack boxes of forks, knives, and spoons. Our agency used to be the only supplier for all the mops and brooms used by the state of Hawaii. In other words, if a mop was used on any island in Hawaii by a state worker, blind people made that mop in the subminimum wage sheltered workshop in the basement of the agency serving the blind. One of our vans is called "the Beast" because it is the biggest in our fleet. We sometimes use the Beast to drop students on drop routes or to carry the luggage when we go camping. The Beast used to be the delivery van that delivered furniture and other products made by the blind in our workshop. We still have showers in the locker rooms downstairs, but the large lockers have been moved upstairs to a hallway, where they replaced the smaller lockers that the sighted people used to use. Those larger lockers are now used by students in our residential adjustment to blindness program. The work benches from the workshop are now the work benches for our industrial arts class in our training program. We have repurposed the resources of our training center to fundamentally change what the agency does. Many of us encounter spirits around the building, and it is believed that many of those spirits are those of workers from the subminimum-wage sheltered workshop. The old workshop has more spirits than any other place I know in Hawaii, and it is certainly highlighted as a hub for spiritual activity by the blind people I know. We often experience those spirits when we are alone. I distinctly remember being in the bathroom in the old locker room and hearing the sound of someone using a metal file. I walked out toward the industrial arts classroom to look for the sound, thinking I could compliment a student's nifty idea on a project. It turned out that there was nobody there in the flesh. Some worker's spirit, however, was still working in the workshop. Maybe that person was crafting a piece of furniture. I don't know what exactly he/she was doing, but his/her spirit was still there, working in the workshop. Sheltered workshops were once considered a viable opportunity for blind people to achieve employment and earn some money to supplement what they received in welfare programs. Eventually, we started to look at futures beyond the sheltered workshops, and so the sheltered workshops became framed as "stepping-stones," to help them transition into competitive, integrated employment. Perhaps this is because people are afraid to deviate too far from the old status-quo, low-expectation model that leads people into the sheltered workshop, or perhaps it is because they are afraid to render the sheltered workshops irrelevant. For far too many blind people and people with other disabilities, the promise of the sheltered workshop has been a false promise, and we have been living in The Grapes of Wrath. Far too many of us have thought that we were on our way to prosperity but landed in a trap, where we are stuck in poverty, dependent on the charity of others for survival, and never really finding a way out. The spirits can linger in the sheltered workshops, especially if that is the only connection with the outside world that they really know. Human beings in our settler society want to be industrious and useful. We want to make meaningful contributions to the world and create some value to the society around us. For some blind people in the sheltered workshops, especially those who were never introduced to the philosophy and blind role models like the ones available through the National Federation of the Blind, they may only feel connected through the workshop. They may not belong to community organizations. They may not engage with their sighted neighbors. They may live a highly segregated existence. Throughout history, there have been some little blind ghettos, where blind people were housed by some charitable agency in a group setting, which also got them away from the sighted. For some, their existence was merely being shuttled back and forth between the workshop and the happy home for the blind. Perhaps a family member would come to visit on Christmas and Easter, but that would be their lives. Some of the sighted people working in those establishments could have very sincerely believed in their hearts that they were doing something good for the blind by "giving us a place to go." The workers died with so much potential that they never showed the world, and so many dreams that they never pursued. Maybe the spirits are still seeking that fulfillment. Some people who hear our plight will speak from their position of sighted privilege and say, "If you don't like it, then leave." For us, it is often not that simple. We often have fewer options after we went into the sheltered workshops than we did before we started there. What makes this possible is partly a deterioration of a person's confidence and self- esteem, but it is also a deterioration of their work habits. In sheltered workshops, specifically unproductive behaviors are often encouraged, such as sitting around and waiting to be cued because the sighted supervisor does not have work for you in that moment. In sheltered workshops, employees are required to attend but only "work" when there is an order of widgets to be produced. If I got into a habit of loafing around, it would make me less employable for my next opportunity. The status quo bias can burn a blind person who is trying to transition out of a sheltered workshop. Some employers may not even know about sheltered workshops. Then, when they learn that the applicant has been working in a workshop for people with disabilities, they often start to think things like, "That is a good place for a worker with a disability," and, subsequently, "I don't think this job is a good job for a worker with a disability." There is a tendency to think that, if those workshops are set up to give us jobs, that is where we should be working. It becomes the status quo that blind people will work in workshops for the blind, so it is more difficult for them to imagine us doing anything else. Some administrators of sheltered workshops genuinely believe that they are doing a good thing for the blind by putting us in sheltered workshops. Others know exactly what they are doing to us. When exposed to respectful requests from members of the National Federation of the Blind, some of them use open minds to examine their practices and even migrate away from them. Others often resist and make every effort to suffocate the voices of the organized blind because we threaten the system that is so profitable to them financially and egotistically, and possibly because change requires mental effort. No matter where these administrators fall, if they can find it in their hearts to change their practices-and hopefully the beliefs that undergird them-I will eagerly become their friend and sing their praises. If not, then I will act however the Federation calls upon me to act as we work to liberate the blind from low expectations. With the homes and the sheltered workshops, even if it is well intended, blind people literally remain there forever, even in the afterlife. It does not create opportunity; it gouges a hole in the hull of the ship that was heading toward opportunity. I know that there are spiritual interventions where I could hire someone to come into the old workshop and try to chase off the spirits, but I don't want to do that. I don't have a way to work with those spirits to improve their understanding of blindness and the opportunities that they could have had in life. I can make a difference, however, with the blind people who are alive today and who will live in the future. There are some little girls growing up in the Hawaii affiliate, and I am glad that they have the National Federation of the Blind. I want to be absolutely sure that those little girls never work in a subminimum wage sheltered workshop, but that still would not be good enough. I want the opportunity to be the one who teaches them about what subminimum wages used to be and what sheltered workshops used to be. Then, when they learn about the spirits at the old workshop, they will understand that they deserve a life full of opportunities and that they need not spend the rest of eternity in the workshop with a metal file. ---------- Meet the Sighted Month From the Editor: This little gem was making the rounds on Facebook, and we felt that Monitor readers who might not be on that social media platform also deserved to see it. October is officially Meet the Blind Month, but while the sighted meet the blind, the blind meet the sighted. And that's where this little guide comes in handy to help the blind understand the limitations that the sighted labor under as they move through the world: October is Meet the Sighted Month. Throughout the month, sighted people will hold events where we can mix and mingle and learn about the special equipment and techniques they use to cope with the presence of eyesight. Also, many sighted people will post invitations on Facebook encouraging us to ask them questions, any questions we want, about their sightedness. To kick off Meet the Sighted Month, I have put together this list of things to keep in mind when interacting with the sighted. 1. Sighted people are often incapable of traveling, cooking, or doing much of anything without the aid of light. While we use our other senses to enable us to function perfectly well in the dark, sighted people have great difficulty developing these skills. When you welcome the sighted into your home, don't forget to turn on the lights. 2. Sighted people often cannot understand synthesized speech, and the text on a Braille display is almost always unreadable to them. They must depend on special equipment such as computer monitors and phone and tablet screens to use their electronic devices. If you let a sighted person use your phone or computer and forget to turn the screen on, they will be very confused. 3. Sighted people have difficulty learning from textual and verbal explanations or tactile models. They often must be presented with pictures. A good rule of thumb, when writing instructions for the sighted, is to include a picture with each step. 4. Sighted people have great difficulty distinguishing auditory cues in their environment. While we can tell when to cross a street by the sound of traffic or where an entrance is by the sounds of people entering and exiting, sighted people often must rely on visual information alone. 5. Sighted people rely heavily on an inaudible code called color. They use color to safely navigate by car and perform countless other tasks we can perform using auditory and tactile cues. Also, they are often quick to judge us based on what colors we present to the world. It is important to gain at least a working knowledge of color, so they don't think we're weird. 6. Sighted people often communicate displeasure using a secret signal called a dirty look. I'll admit, I'm not exactly sure what this entails, except that it sometimes causes sighted people to behave in ways which seem inappropriate to the situation, i.e. telling someone off for no apparent reason. As blind people immune to the effects of the dirty look, we can only try to teach the sighted to use their words when communicating displeasure with us. So, there you have it. Keep these points in mind, and your next encounter with a sighted person should be as smooth as a brand new NFB cane tip. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Sandy Halverson] A Contest to Promote Literacy that is so Fun it Won't Seem Like Work by Sandy Halverson From the Editor: Sandy Halverson is in charge of the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest sponsored by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (AAF). This contest was initially run by our national body, migrated to Illinois, and is now a project of the AAF. Here is what Sandy, whose skill in reading Braille is second to none and has served her well in her many careers, has to say: Readers of the August-September 2019 Braille Monitor and 2019 National Convention attendees had an opportunity to learn about the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults century celebration. The American Action Fund Braille literacy programs have grown from the production and distribution of Twin Vision books with print and Braille text on facing pages with picture captions in parentheses to free slates and styluses and the Free Braille Books Program enabling blind children to build their own book collections. Before we get into contest specifics, I want to thank our Illinois affiliate for its commitment to Braille literacy and organizing the Great Lakes Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest for the past three years. The number of states that participated in the 2018-2019 contest shows that our blind students are motivated to read recreational materials for seven weeks and challenge others to do likewise. In the past, participating affiliates made a $100 contribution to cover contest-related expenses. While the Action Fund is making this contest available to all of our affiliates, donations are always welcome to help with those expenses which include things like the cash prizes awarded for first, second, and third place winners in each category and the Braille-related prizes each participant receives. This year we are promoting Braille literacy to children from K-12 grades and blind adults to encourage not only our NFB center students who are learning Braille, but others who might be motivated by a little cash and other Braille-related prizes, to participate in a contest. Teachers, parents, and adults may register for the contest from Friday, November 1, 2019, through Saturday, January 18, 2020-but you have to do a little more than just register. Each participant must keep a log with the book title, author, and number of pages read, which may not be the entire book or article. The actual reading period begins Sunday, December 1, 2019, and ends Saturday, January 18, 2020, but that is not a concern for today! By November 1, all contest-related documents will be available from our website (actionfund.org) and will be widely distributed by email and social media. The full text of these materials will be included in the December Braille Monitor. Now is the perfect time to begin gathering books, magazines, and anything that is not a textbook that you've always wanted to read. You will have seven weeks in which to get it done. ShareBraille is an excellent resource in addition to Bookshare and the Braille lending library in your state. You can help us by spreading the word to blind children and adults you know who want to improve their Braille efficiency. So on November 1, registration starts the fun! ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Karen Keninger] The Continued Significance of the National Library Service for the Blind: Expanding Braille and Implementing the Marrakesh Treaty by Karen Keninger From the Editor: Karen Keninger is the director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), soon to be renamed as you will see from the article. Ms. Keninger clearly defines the role that the library plays and makes it clear that even with all of the other sources we have for material, nothing replaces our library. She also outlines what the library is doing to take advantage of new changes in technology and the work we must all do together to fully reap the benefits of the Marrakesh Treaty. Here's what she said: Good afternoon. I am delighted to be here. It's a real honor and a privilege to stand here and tell you about the things that are happening in our library. NLS and its network form a free public library service for people who can't read print. There was a time when it was the only source of accessible reading material that we had, but today that has changed. We have access to Audible, to Bookshare, to Learning Ally, to the internet. We have options, including an expanding trove of commercially available and pretty-well-narrated books. And we can read print titles with a whole bunch of different apps. So ladies and gentlemen, why is NLS still relevant today? I submit that the reason is precisely because it is our free public library. [applause] Nearly every town in America has a free public library. Why? Why do cities and counties and states and the nation spend tax dollars on the library instead of, say, roads? Well, Franklin Roosevelt put it this way: To bring together the records of the past and to house them in buildings where they will be preserved for the use of men and women in the future, a nation must believe in three things: it must believe in the past, it must believe in the future, and above all it must believe in the capacity of its own people to learn from the past so that they can gain in judgment in creating their own future. Among democracies through all of the ages and the history of the world, building these permanent institutions such as libraries and museums for the use of all the people-all the people-flourishes. And that is especially true in our own land, because we believe that people ought to work out for themselves and through their own study the determination of their own best interest rather than accept such so-called information as may be handed out by certain types of self-constituted leaders who decide what is best for them. Libraries are critical to our way of life, and NLS is our free public library. [applause] And it's accessible. You don't have to drive to it; you don't have to have technical skills to use it; you don't have to pay for it, and you don't have to go it alone- we have professionals to help you find anything you're looking for. With over 110,000 titles and counting on BARD, and about 20,000 magazine issues, it holds the content comparable to a mid-sized public library in a community. NLS is relevant because we as blind people have a right and a need for full accessibility to free library services, every bit as much as our neighbors and friends. We have a right to information, and we have a right to self-determination. [cheers, applause] So what is our free public library system doing today? Let me talk about a couple of things. First of all, we are working on providing a Braille e-reader to the NLS program. [applause] Braille is our literacy medium, just as print is for the sighted. As print has moved into the digital realm, so has Braille, and I believe that every blind person should have access to digital Braille. [applause] So for the past seven years, with tremendous support from NFB and other partners, I have been working to make Braille e-readers part of the NLS program, and we're on our way. As of today, we have two contracts in place to develop and distribute Braille e- reader technology to our program. [applause] Those contracts are currently under review by the Government Accountability Office, which will be completed later this month. We expect to do the development in the next several months, and by next spring we will be piloting these devices through our network libraries. I've been talking about this a long time folks, and this really is happening. We'll have a limited number of devices and a limited number of libraries to start with because the purpose of the pilot is to refine the machine, make sure it's what we need. It's to refine the distribution, the training, the tech support, the maintenance processes, and all the other things that surround this project. We'll be starting out with 2,000 machines, and we will be selecting a few Braille lending libraries based on their capacities to actually participate in the project. I know that people are interested in whether or not they can sign up to be pilot testers, and the answer is that that will probably be done through the network libraries. We will be providing some of these devices to NFB headquarters for them to give us their feedback as well. [applause] So we're going to have 2,000 devices to start with, and we are requesting funding from Congress from 2020 through 2024 at this point for additional funding to continue to add to the project. We have a long way to go, so we're going to need a fair amount of funding. But we've already had tremendous support on this particular piece of it from NFB, and I know you will continue to help us. I know that Congress is ready to give us the money, so I'm very excited about that. So what is it going to look like? Initially it's intended to read NLS books. That's its goal. It will render BRF files and TXT files (and there might be some others; I'm not quite sure where we landed on that.) It will have software that can be updated as time goes on. It's going to have twenty cells, and they're going to be eight-dot cells. It will have a Perkins-style keyboard, and it will have search functions: bookshelf, bookmarking, all the things you need to read library books. It will have Bluetooth for connectivity to Bluetooth devices. It will have internal storage for standalone functionality and wireless capability so that you could go directly to BARD to download. [applause] If you don't feel comfortable or don't have the access to do that, books will also be distributed from the regional libraries on cartridges that will connect to the device, so you'll have both options. It will not have a notetaking capability, and it will not have onboard text-to-speech. We expect that hard-copy Braille will continue for the near future, until we get these devices in place. We expect that we will continue to update the project as we go forward, and eventually we anticipate having hard copy Braille on demand, but we are a long way out from that. So that's where we are with the Braille e-reader; thank you so much for all of your support as we move forward with this project. [applause] As you know, the Marrakesh Treaty was ratified, and we are now full members of the Marrakesh Treaty. I wanted to talk a little bit about what impact that's going to have on NLS and the United States. The first thing that happened was that, as part of the ratification process, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act was passed last October. That act changed the Chafee Amendment, which we have been using since 1996 to bypass having to ask for permission to create books. It also changed several things. It broadened the type of works we can do to include musical scores without having to ask for permission. It changed the eligibility issue-eligibility used to be dependent on whatever NLS said, but they've taken that away from the NLS program to say, "This is who an eligible person is under this amendment in the United States: a person who is blind, a person who has a visual impairment or a perceptual or reading disability that cannot be corrected, or a person who has a physical disability that keeps them from either managing a book or moving their eyes well enough to actually read the book." So the definition is a little bit bigger, and one of the impacts that I think that's going to have is that we will have more people with reading disabilities entering the NLS program. [applause] It has also changed the terminology from "specialized format," which we considered to be Braille or talking books, to "accessible format," which broadens the possibilities for the formats we can use. And it has added a separate paragraph that allows for import and export. But the NLS program itself has another law; that law is our funding legislation, and it tells us how we can spend our money. Really, it often comes down to money, so we need to get our law to conform to the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act and the new Chafee Amendment so that we will be able to participate fully in the Marrakesh Treaty. At this point NLS has submitted legislation which is right now in the Senate Rules Committee undergoing a standard process, and we are hoping to get it out and get a bill number so that we can really start advocating for it. That law that we're hoping to get changed will give us permission to participate. It will conform our definitions to the definitions in the Marrakesh Treaty, and it will do some other things, one of which is to preserve priority for the blind and for veterans. If we have a lot more people coming into the program, we want to make sure that those of us who are the basic owners of the program will have priority. [applause] There are some other things that it does, but, as we said, we will be hoping to move this forward as soon as we can get the bill number and get it moving forward. We'll also be changing our regulations to conform to the new laws, so there's many things going on there. NLS has been a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization's project-which started out being called TIGAR, but now it's called the Global Book Service-which has allowed some exchange of materials. We've gained a lot of information through that process, and we are still part of that process. We will be able to continue that on a limited basis. Basically what we are contending is that a one-for-one swap is not abusing our funding legislation, so we'll be continuing that until we can broaden it. We know that we have need for Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, and a whole lot of different languages. We also know there's broad interest in our own collection, but for now, as it affects us as patrons of the National Library Service, we will be adding what we can through the Global Book Service, and we will also attempt to fulfill requests specifically from patrons. If you take your requests to your network library and ask them to forward them to us, we will try to find the book for you. So where do we go from here? Well, the legislation change needs your support. I know that we will have that support. I am very grateful for that. [applause] Our funding requests are still on the table and will also need continued support. We have two funding requests. We have the one for the Braille e-readers, and we also have one to build out our IT infrastructure so that we can support more people. I know that we can count on all of your support for that as well. In closing, I want to thank you again and again for your ongoing and proactive support of our free library services. So let us all, through the work of the NFB-and through our own individual efforts-let us all continue to work out for ourselves and through our own study the determination of our own best interests through our public library system. Thank you very much. [applause] [She starts to leave the stage, exchanges a few words with President Riccobono, then returns to the microphone] Oops, I forgot something else. We are going to be changing the NLS's name. I have talked with President Riccobono about this. We are changing it sort-of subtly. We are going to be calling it the National Library Service for the Blind and Print-Disabled. [applause, cheers] We hope to make that official in October. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ed Rogers] Electronic Braille Reimagined: The Revolution of the Canute 360 by Ed Rogers From the Editor: Ed Rogers is the founder and managing director of Bristol Braille Technology. Mr. Rogers lives in the United Kingdom and has been working with the National Federation of the Blind and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults for quite some time. His device is truly revolutionary and a dream come true for many of us who have wanted a multiline Braille display. Here is what he said to the 2019 National Convention on Friday afternoon: Thank you, Mark. We've been told by all sorts of people that they've been waiting for decades, so we have built, as you have heard, a multiline Braille e-reader. It has nine lines, forty cells each. That is 360 cells of refreshable Braille. And the cost: well, it is on sale in the UK at the moment for just over $2,000. It's called the Canute 360. This has been in development for seven years. We are a not-for-profit company from Bristol in England. The Canute project has been an open and collaborative effort with associations of Braillists across the US, the UK, and across the rest of the world. Our common goal for all of us involved has been to make an affordable machine to increase the use of Braille everywhere. The Canute 360 has hard Braille. It's like signage Braille. It's easy to feel, even for some people with neuropathy who might find soft Braille more difficult. It has quite wide line spacing, again making it easy for learners to keep tracking on their line. It reads BRF files from an SD card or USB stick. It will handle anything that you would send to an embosser or through your normal transcription software. There is even a preset now in Duxbury for the Canute, and we are very pleased about this. The Canute is a drop-in replacement for stacks of paper Braille when you don't have the space for that. We know that not everyone has an entire room available for paper Braille. When using the reader, you can insert bookmarks and navigate by page number. In other words, it is an e-book reader. It's a very stripped down playing device for reading high-quality Braille files. How many people here use Braille music, may I ask? [Cheers in the audience] You can read the left hand and the right hand of a piano piece without having to shuffle up and down and without having to carry three cubic feet of paper with you everywhere you go if you're a traveling musician. We are happy to now be working with Dancing Dots and hope you will see something in the very near future. Multiline Braille is also critical for technical subjects as I'm sure most of you know. How about generating a complex equation in Nemeth Code and viewing it on one display? You can track up and down the columns and see how they add up. How about generating two complex equations and putting them next to each other, still on the same display? We are just beginning to find out how useful multiline Braille- refreshable Braille-will be in those subjects. One of the best uses for a 360-cell display is tables. When you've got forty cells in a line and nine lines, you can present times tables, spreadsheets, or from your favorite transcription software. You can present sports results for a whole league on one screen or a whole month of a calendar on one screen. Back in Britain there is a friend of mine who is a programmer. She's going to be using it to review log files. That might sound like a mundane usage, but it's actually critical how much faster that can make someone's job as a professional programmer and being able to scroll down a log file. But we haven't even begun to see how powerful this can be for coding with all the correct whitespace and indentation. Think about using it for the creation of Python or something like that. This is just the beginning. What about graphs and charts and vectors? This isn't what the Canute was designed for; it was designed for Braille. But when you've got spatial Braille, you can start experimenting with bar graphs, showing route maps, and how about floor plans? Now you can really start experimenting with these things. Finally, I would just like to ask how many people here read Braille for pleasure? [loud cheers and applause] Well, not everyone likes to read quadratic equations, and not everyone can read music Braille, but I think everyone can appreciate that it's kind of nice to have a digital display that shows whole paragraphs. You can feel the shape of a paragraph. You can feel bullet points, and you can compare between them by running your hand up and down, and it keeps all the formatting. It will show a block quotation with all of the formatting that you would expect. In other words, you will get all the things you expect and now get from paper Braille. [applause] But to get to this stage has been quite a marathon. I mentioned earlier the support we received from the National Federation of the Blind and the American Action Fund in order to get this far. All of that is essentially being honored, and we are therefore very honored by receiving the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award today. It means an awful lot to our entire team and the hundreds of people in Britain, America, and other places around the world who have been testing this and proving where we went right and where we went wrong. I can't help but remember all of those times when we made a prototype and had to drive it two hundred miles to somewhere for testing. When we got there, it didn't work, so we had to drive it two hundred miles back in the rain on a motorcycle. We had to drive it all the way back again after we fixed it. So those sorts of things really come together when you receive recognition like this, and earlier this year we were very pleased to receive the Touch of Genius Award from the National Braille Press at CSUN. I wasn't expecting when I first went to see a Touch of Genius Award presentation in 2016 that I would pick that up, just as I wasn't expecting when I first came to this convention three years ago that I would be standing up here getting frightened. In fact we have been very lucky with our partners. We are very proud to be working in the United States with the Federation, with the Action Fund, and with the American Printing House for the Blind, which has the Canute on its stand and also sponsored us to go through this complex prototyping process. They'll hopefully be selling this soon, so watch this space. Outside America, we've been working with and helped found the Braillists Foundation. Now this may be unfamiliar to many of you, but this is an organization founded and very much inspired by the work that the NFB does. This is a mostly British organization which realized that there weren't that many people in Britain who were trying to really promote new Braille projects and technologies and to support those inventors. We've now got 500 members, and we'd like to thank them for all that they've put in. Techno-Vision, in the UK, is a distributor who has recently taken on the Canute 360. The CNIB in Canada is making great strides in testing how multiline Braille will work in Braille libraries. Many others are just starting their trials now. As Mark said, we've been coming for several years now. It's always been extremely educational, so we owe a great deal to the critique and the feedback we received over those years. In particular I'm going to name a few, but there have been more: the Office of the President, the Technology Evaluation Committee, the Research and Development Committee, the National Organization to Promote the Use of Braille, the Braille music committee, and of course the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults all get credit for helping us. Not least I want to thank all of the members in the room today who have come along after meetings and have given us valuable advice. Some of you stayed for up to an hour telling us what was going wrong in our presentation. If that hadn't happened, we wouldn't be here now, and the machine would not work. So thank you very much. [applause] So far, we've run trials in eighty schools in England, Scotland, and Ireland. We have also worked with individuals and organizations. We've been running trials in Europe, in Zambia, in parts of India, and of course in Canada like I just mentioned. We've also run trials in Kentucky, in Boston, in Ohio, and in Baltimore. But now we need to know more about how we will all use multiline refreshable Braille. The Canute 360 is just the start of multiline refreshable Braille, and there's a lot that everyone needs to know about how it will impact Braille production and the use of Braille. So any organization out there-be it a college, a center, or printing house-we think that their work or their pleasure reading will be improved by multiline Braille. We want to hear from you, and we want to run those proposed trials together. We want to know what impact this is going to have, what needs to happen, and what standards need to be set, so please talk to us. I leave you with this then: whether you are an organization or an individual, please get in contact with us. Visit our website bristolbraille.co.uk. You can call or email us because we want you to tell us what you have been waiting to do on multiline Braille displays as you have dreamed about them over all of these years. Now it's probably possible with the Canute 360. Oh yes, when is it available in the US? We hope that it will be available this year. Thank you. ---------- Message from Buna Dahal regarding 2020 Washington Seminar Reservations This message is to advise you that Washington Seminar will be held February 9 to February 13, 2020, with the Great Gathering In taking place on Monday February 10. The firm deadline date to make a reservation is Wednesday, January 8. Reservation requests received after the deadline date will be subject to availability and prevailing rate. You can reserve a room at the Holiday Inn Capitol (550 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20024) for Washington Seminar for check-in beginning Friday, February 7, and check-out Thursday, February 13. The rate is $198.00 per night. This rate does not include DC sales tax, currently 14.95 percent. You may begin booking reservations directly online by clicking on the weblink below. You may also make reservations by calling 1-877-572-6951 and referencing booking code N2F. Credit card information is needed at time of reservation. Individual cancellation policy is seventy-two hours prior to date of arrival to avoid one night's room plus tax cancellation charge on credit card provided. If your departure date changes, you must inform the hotel seventy-two hours in advance of departure to avoid a $100 fee. Please call 1-877-572-6951 and reference your confirmation number. Please obtain a cancellation number when cancelling a reservation. The direct link to book is: https://tinyurl.com/y5vebu73. If you would like to hold a special meeting during the Washington Seminar, please email Lisa Bonderson at lbonderson at cocenter.org just as you have done in past years. She and I will work with the hotel on the assignment of those meeting rooms. To ensure that you get the space you need, please let us know of your meeting space needs by December 10, 2019. Lisa and I will always be available to help you with any problems you might experience with the booking of your hotel reservations. We have worked closely with the hotel staff, and they are looking forward to working with each affiliate or group wanting to make reservations. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Richard Orme] Accelerating Accessible Content: Progress through the DAISY Consortium by Richard Orme From the Editor: There was a lot of energy in the room as President Riccobono introduced the following presentation: "This is continuing our theme to talk about accessible books and the Marrakesh Treaty. I believe the National Federation of the Blind has been an official member of the DAISY Consortium since about 2012. We have had a number of presentations at these conventions about accessible books, and we've heard about the work of the DAISY Consortium and the work that we've been doing. Our next speaker has a vast amount of experience in the blindness field. A bunch of it he worked at RNIB in the United Kingdom for over twenty years, but he's got many other things on his resum?. He has been serving as the CEO of DAISY since 2015. His experience and leadership are critical components in our work to ensure that the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty is most effective for us as blind people. We're pleased to have him here with us at this convention. Here's Richard Orme:" ["Book of Love" by the Monotones plays as he walks up to the microphone.] I was wondering what kind of theme I'd walk up to here. [laughter] President Riccobono, thank you for the introduction and to all the members of NFB gathered here in Las Vegas for having me on your amazing convention. [applause] I presented on the main stage a few years ago on the topic of access to television equipment and to television programs. It's great to be back; it's been far too long. Now accessible television, that's essential in today's world. But as Mark said in his amazing, barnstorming presidential report, literacy is a prerequisite to independence. He's in good company; Groucho Marx said, "I found television very educating. Every time someone switches it on, I go into another room and read a book." [laughter] I'm speaking to you today on the amazing progress to solve the longstanding issue of inequality of inaccessible books. Books are so important. As young children we are read to by our parents and our carers. We learn with textbooks at school. As young adults we follow our interests and learn about the world through books. When we go to college or university, we rely on textbooks and scholarly works for our learning. And as adults we enjoy the latest thriller, classics, self-improvement books, romance. Books can help us to be more employable and to progress in our chosen career. Books help us to learn about different cultures, other periods in history, to be better parents, to be better people. But since the invention of the printing press, people with print disabilities such as blindness have been disadvantaged. Our vision at the DAISY Consortium is that books, journals, magazines, newspapers, all published information is accessible to everyone irrespective of disability. [applause] Because in the information age access to information is a human right. [applause] Now the DAISY Consortium was formed over twenty years ago in Stockholm, Sweden. Our association started with six members, a mix of organizations representing blind people and specialist libraries. Now in our DAISY family we have over 150 organizations in sixty-six countries. The NFB is a treasured member of the DAISY Consortium, and Scott LaBarre serves on the board of directors. As you can imagine, he admirably represents the interests of Federationists there. Guided by our board, there are three main pillars to our work: 1) support the special libraries, 2) extend the DAISY family, and 3) bring about accessible mainstream publishing. So let me unpack each of these in turn. I guess some of you here have heard of DAISY books, let me hear you. [cheers] So DAISY is a technical standard for accessible books used all around the world. If you've read books from NLS, from Bookshare, or Learning Ally, you'll have read DAISY format books. And in developing the DAISY format we developed the first standards for digital books and digital talking books. Blind people were listening to digital audio books and reading e-books twenty years ago. So to the typewriter, the fountain pen, and cruise control, we can add e-books and audio books as inventions by blind people that have later been adopted by everyone. [applause] And friends of the DAISY Consortium, commercial partners making hardware and software, make great products for reading these books, and it's good some of them are here at the convention. These include HumanWare, that has built DAISY reading capabilities into its excellent audio and Braille products. Our first pillar is to support special libraries and accessible reading services with the technical standards and tools for accessible content. The second pillar is extending the DAISY family. Many countries just don't have special libraries converting books into accessible formats, or they may be using rudimentary and inefficient approaches. Our vision is to ensure that everyone with a print disability has access to publications wherever in the world they happen to live. By enabling organizations to efficiently produce accessible books-including textbooks in local languages- we extend accessible reading more widely. Our capacity-building program is led by DAISY Consortium team members who are themselves blind and from developing countries. They provide training to blind persons' organizations, other nongovernmental organizations, and ministries of education. This year we've been working in India, Mongolia, Indonesia, Botswana, Nigeria, Argentina, and Uruguay; and next month we'll be working in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. There are blind people in every country in the world, but in fact most of the world's blind people live in developing nations, countries with low resources and certainly very few accessible books in the hands of blind children and adults. Our work in extending the DAISY family provides essential tools, know-how, and ongoing support to create and distribute books to change this inequitable situation. In the next presentation you'll learn more about the Marrakesh Treaty, but I just want to say that to efficiently exchange books across boarders it is critical that they are produced to internationally-adopted open standards. There are blind Americans who want to read or study in French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or any other language. And with books created to a common accessible this will be possible. [applause] Now let me turn to the third pillar of our work at the DAISY Consortium. For more than twenty years I worked, as Mark mentioned, at the organization in Great Britain, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, and actually I still volunteer for them-so I work for them, but I just don't get paid. Our talking book and Braille library is one of the flagship services, and we were proud to be adding more than 2,000 books to the collection every year. And yet every year in the UK more than 200,000 new print books are published. In the US that number is something in the region of 600,000. So despite all the hard work of the special libraries, the number of books that blind people cannot read is getting bigger every year; the injustice is getting worse. Our mission in the DAISY Consortium is to take what we have learned about accessible books over more than two decades and help the international industry of mainstream publishing to reach a point where accessibility is part of their business. This is possible in the new world of digital publishing-when books are born digital, they can be born accessible. When books are born digital, they should be born accessible. [applause] When books are born digital, they must be born accessible. Over the last few years we have been building the best bits of the DAISY format into the publishers' own standard for publishing e-books, which is called EPUB. We have just concluded a three-year project thanks to a generous grant from the Google Foundation. The outcomes of this initiative are transforming the publishing industry internationally and will increase the number of books available to you and to blind people around the world. The first thing we did in this project was to define a baseline for accessibility for EPUB. We got this agreed as a recommendation with the publishers. Once we had an accessibility specification, we developed a wonderful tool that checks EPUB books for accessibility. We call this tool ACE, or the Accessibility Checker for EPUB. The adoption of this tool has been beyond our wildest dreams. Not only is it used by publishers and their suppliers all around the world, but several large publishers and distributors will only accept books if they pass through error-free through ACE. [applause] And once they see and measure the accessibility of their books, publishers are now enthusiastically improving their new titles: they're fixing accessibility issues, they're adding descriptions to images, they're adding extended descriptions. And some of these publishers, including Pearson and Wiley and others, have been here at the convention talking with you in the exhibit hall or conducting user research. One of the requirements of this accessibility specification is that the book should contain information about the accessibility of the title, information such as: can you make the text bigger, can you change the font, does it contain images with descriptions? Does it have proper structure, and has it been certified as accessible by a third party such as Benetech? Now this is really important. How frustrating it is to find a book in an online store, buy it, download it, only to find it isn't accessible. By providing information about the accessibility features in the catalog or in the store, including an easy-to-read summary, you can decide whether the book is for you. A professor can decide which book to adopt for a course based on the accessibility information. A university can decide to purchase only books that are accessible. [applause, cheers] The first distributor to provide the accessibility information in its bookstore is a company called VitalSource. It is one of the leading textbook suppliers in college and higher education in the US. You may have met them at the convention in the exhibit area. We applaud their leadership in this space, and I know that other distributors are working on their catalogs so that before long information about which e-books are accessible and which are not should be transparent and a competitive advantage. Ladies and gentlemen, these pieces are only just coming together now, and there's much more to do. But these developments in accessibility in mainstream publishing are already changing the experience of blind students in the US. Last year blind students would have had to buy the print book, take the receipt to the disability service office, and ask them to source a digital version and then wait. And then the university would start the work of remediating the book chapter by chapter in order to provide the student with something they could use. This year the student is able to search for the accessible title in the electronic bookstore; download the book; read it on their smartphone, tablet, or computer with their screenreader; and some students have told the disability services, "Thanks, but I don't need you to start getting the books for me this year. I'm already reading them." [applause, cheers] If you or someone you know is a student, you should start asking for accessible EPUB. You're going to love it. There are literally millions of EPUB e-books out there; that should keep you pretty busy. Karen's session just before me was entitled "The Continued Significance of the National Library Service," and I agree strongly that specialized library services will continue to be really significant. The longstanding inequality of access to books will not be solved for everyone overnight. For the reasons mentioned by Karen, special library services should continue to be supported, and the DAISY Consortium will continue to provide technology solutions and standards as we have done for the last twenty years. Through our capacity-building program I've described to you, we will extend information about accessible reading solutions to new parts of the world, supporting the practical implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. By our leadership in the publishing industry we are ensuring that the books that are published today are accessible as they should be. There has never been a more exciting opportunity in history than right now. DAISY is your organization, delivering the technical solutions to end the book famine, working at a global level, punching above our weight, and together with the powerful voice of the NFB in challenging injustice, we're going to get this done. Happy reading. [applause] ---------- The Future of Recipes Recipes have been a regular feature in the Braille Monitor for nearly fifty years. It began in November 1971 with a single "Recipe of the Month." In December of 1991 it changed to showcase multiple recipes provided by each state affiliate in turn. The original purpose of this change was to increase the opportunity to get to know the Federationists contributing the recipes and widen the variety of culinary offerings. The recipes shared have brought a lot of joy and connection. Sharing recipes is a traditional method of welcoming new members into the family, whether by marriage or membership. It can strengthen bonds and offer a touch a familiarity when someone has had to move to a new town or state. That said, this is a feature that is nearly fifty years old. That doesn't mean it needs to be discarded as out-of-date, but it does mean we need to take a serious look at it and decide whether to continue. Are the recipes something that are still eagerly anticipated, or with the rise of recipe websites is it unnecessary? Is it something state affiliates take pride and joy in contributing, or is it a chore that distracts a busy affiliate while organizing programming? Do we keep going as is, freshen it up with a change of format, or with love and regret decide that the time for it to retire has come? We at the Monitor want to hear from our readers about this. We want to know what you think about it, and how you'd like to see the Monitor move forward with this feature. Please email gwunder at nfb.org and let your voice be heard as we consider the shape of the Monitor going forward. ---------- Monitor Miniatures In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Mike Robinson Joins Xavier Society for the Blind Board of Directors: Xavier Society for the Blind is pleased to announce that Mike Robinson has joined its Board of Directors. Mr. Robinson is currently the president of the National Federation of the Blind of New York. His interest in working with the NFB stems from his own personal journey as a legally blind individual. Mike was diagnosed with myopic degeneration and cone-rod dystrophy at birth. Born and raised in Tonawanda, New York, he is a graduate of SUNY Delhi, where he received an associate degree in restaurant management. After graduation, Mike worked in the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program, managing stands in the Buffalo and Rochester areas. He also worked in the technical support field as a call center technician, and for the Internal Revenue Service. Mike's passion for working with the NFB began in 1988, after attending his first convention. Since then, Mike has been an active, involved member of the National Federation of the Blind. He served as second vice president of NYS for ten years and president of the Buffalo Chapter for eighteen years. Also during that time he was active in the Tonawanda Lions Club, the Knights of Columbus, and served two terms as Faithful Navigator for the Nelson-Baker Assembly. He constantly works to educate the public about blindness and strives to empower all blind persons with the tools and attitudes necessary to "Live the Lives They Want." Mike is married to Angie, his wife of thirty years, with whom he shares two sons. He supports the work of Xavier Society for the Blind and its essential purpose of helping those living with blindness and visual impairment to integrate religion and spirituality into their lives. [PHOTO/Description: National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled logo] NLS Remains NLS but with a Name Change: President Riccobono received this letter from Karen Keninger, the director of NLS. Here is what she said: Dear President Riccobono, Earlier this year, NLS received approval from the Librarian of Congress to change our name. NLS and the Library of Congress sought input on this change from stakeholder groups and gathered data through various public channels when considering our new moniker. We have been considering a change for some time, and we're very pleased to see this day arrive. As of today, October 1, 2019, our name will officially become "National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled," though we will continue to be referred to by the abbreviation NLS. We are also introducing our new logo, which is in keeping with the new graphic identity the Library of Congress implemented in late 2018. With this name change, we intend to address the use of outdated language in our old name and more clearly communicate the breadth of those we serve. In addition, our name emphasizes the patron-centric perspective that is central to the library's strategic plan. We are proud to share our new name and graphic identity with you as we feel that the new name, as with all of NLS's work, rightly puts the emphasis on the people we serve. Touch of Genius Prize Seeking Applications: National Braille Press's Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation is quickly approaching, on January 10th! Please help us spread the word. The Touch of Genius Prize was developed to inspire entrepreneurs, educators, or inventors to continue the promotion of Braille and tactile literacy for blind and deafblind people worldwide. This prize can be granted for innovative and accessible computer software applications, tactile hardware, or curriculum that promotes Braille and/or tactile literacy. NBP encourages all applicants to think outside the box to what can be used to help improve the lives of blind people. The winner of this prize will receive up to $10,000, which will help them to continue to innovate in the fields of technology and education for blind people. Frank Gibney and the Gibney Family Foundation helped fund and establish this award in 2007, inspiring people to go beyond what was thought possible. Full application details and more information can be found at www.touchofgeniusprize.org. All questions can be directed to my email, tmcbride at nbp.org. Thank you for your support! Monitor Mart The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for sale. Windows Power User Guide Available: Windows Keyboard Power User Guide is a new book which will make users more proficient in Windows, JAWS, and Word. MP3 and Word versions are available for $15 each, or both for $25. For more information and to order, visit https://techforblind.us. We also want to make sure you know about "Top Tech Tidbits for Thursday," a free blindness-oriented adaptive technology newsletter that has been published using email since 2004. If you'd like to join the other 6,000 people who receive it early Thursday mornings, visit http://flying- blind.com and click on the link that says Sign-Up Here to Receive Flying Blind, LLC Publications. For assistance signing up for the newsletter, questions, or welcome feedback, please email Dean at topdot at gmail.com. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Wed Nov 27 20:44:10 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 20:44:10 -0800 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, december 2019 Message-ID: <201911280444.xAS4iAE5019436@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 62, No. 11 December 2019 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 [HYPERLINK: mailto:nfb at nfb.org] website address: http://www.nfb.org NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org NFB-NEWSLINE(R) 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. 20574000 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 (C) 2019 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. 62, No. 11 December 2019 Contents Illustration: Making Our Presence Known during Meet the Blind Month Convention Bulletin 2020 by John Berggren A Giant in Federation History is Now at Rest by Daniel Frye, Parnell Diggs, and Mark Riccobono A Christmas Story for All Seasons by Donald Capps Celebrate the National Federation of the Blind by Patty Chang Cochlear Implant: A Brief Introduction and My Experience by Chris Westbrook Always Early: Find Your People by Richard Early Seeing that the Federal Communications Commission Ensures Accessible Broadcasting for the Blind by Everette Bacon Dr. Jonathan Lazar Receives the Inaugural Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award by Hayleigh Moore Social Security Facts for 2020 by Stephanie Flynt The Journey by Sean Malone National Federation of the Blind 2020 Scholarship Program The 2020 Blind Educator of the Year Award by Robin House The 2020 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards by James Gashel Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship by Tracy Soforenko The 2020 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students by Carla McQuillan Reindeer Cheer by Regina A. Root Am I Really that Special? by Cheryl Wade Aurora Chapter Holds Successful Meet the Blind Luncheon by Dale Holden and Curtis Chong Message from Buna Dahal Regarding 2020 Washington Seminar Reservations Division Elections and Convention Updates Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: The official proclamation of White Cane Safety Day from the Montgomery County Council] [PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the Capital Chapter discuss the tools they use for reading at the story time reading at Barnes and Noble.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Carole reads a poem aloud during story time reading.] [PHOTO CAPTION: Blindness information table at the Capital Chapter set up at its Meet the Blind event at Barnes and Noble.] Making our Presence Known during Meet the Blind Month Every day we are ambassadors, taking a message of confidence and competence to people who know little or nothing about being blind. But in October of each year we make a special effort as we celebrate Meet the Blind Month. In this issue we highlight two chapters that took the time to send us photographs. Thank you to the Sligo Creek Chapter, which meets in Montgomery and Prince George Counties in Maryland, and the Capital Chapter, which meets in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Sligo Creek Chapter obtained a White Cane Safety Day proclamation from the Montgomery County Council. In the Capital Chapter we see a Meet the Blind Month Event held at Barnes and Noble, where the chapter did a story time reading for young children. Both of these events demonstrate the value of reaching out to tell our neighbors, one on one, that we are blind, but we are just like you. [PHOTO CAPTION: Hilton Americas-Houston Convention Center Hotel] Convention Bulletin 2020 by John Berggren From the Editor: John Berggren serves in many capacities for the National Federation of the Blind, and what a wonderful mix of gentleness, competence, patience, and decisiveness. In this article he writes in his capacity as the chairman of convention organization and activities. Here is his exciting news: As hard as it may be to believe, in just a few short weeks the world will celebrate the arrival of a new year. Many will gather to enjoy fireworks, raise a toast to family and friends, and realize that they have still not learned all the words to "Auld Lang Syne." Some of us will turn our attention to the task of setting New Year's resolutions. Whether you plan to eat more green vegetables or to visit the gym beyond the month of January, there is one goal that must be on your list. Resolve to be in Houston this July for the National Federation of the Blind's 2020 National Convention. It has been nearly fifty years since the largest gathering of the organized blind has convened in Houston, Texas, and our return in 2020 will be an event not to be missed. The Hilton Americas-Houston hotel (1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010) will serve as our convention headquarters hotel. Situated in the heart of downtown Houston across the street from the beautiful twelve-acre Discovery Green park, the Hilton Americas is an ideal location for our annual event. Ballrooms, breakout space, and sleeping rooms are all stacked in the same tower housed on a single city block, simplifying navigation and minimizing travel distances. In-room internet is complimentary to all attendees as is access to the health club and swimming pool on the 23[rd] floor. There is an array of dining options on the hotel's lobby level (including a Starbucks for those of you requiring a caffeine fix) and many more choices within easy walking distance from the Hilton's front door. The nightly rate at the Hilton Americas-Houston is $105 for singles, doubles, triples, and quads. In addition, the sales tax rate is 8.25 percent, and the hotel occupancy tax rate is 17 percent. To book your room for the 2020 convention, call 1-800-236-2905 after January 1. For each room, the hotel will take a deposit of the first night's room rate and taxes and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Monday, June 1, 2020, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. We have also secured overflow space at the wonderful Marriott Marquis Houston. The Marriott is only a three-block walk directly across Discovery Green, or attendees can walk entirely indoors through the George R. Brown convention center, connecting both hotels on the second level. You will find many of the same amenities at the Marriott as well as a Texas-shaped lazy river pool. The room rate at the Marriott Marquis is a slightly higher $119 per night for singles, doubles, triples, and quads. To book a room, call 1-877-688-4323 after January 1. The same deposit and cancellation policies apply. The 2020 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will be a truly exciting and memorable event, with an unparalleled program and rededication to the goals and work of our movement. Please note that the convention dates, July 14 through July 19, are later than those originally announced this past summer in Las Vegas. Preconvention seminars for parents of blind children and other groups and set-up of the exhibit hall will take place on Tuesday, July 14, and adjournment will be Sunday, July 19, following the banquet. Convention registration and registration packet pick-up will begin on Wednesday, July 15, and both Wednesday and Thursday will be filled with meetings of divisions and committees, including Thursday morning's annual meeting, open to all, of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. General convention sessions will begin on Friday, July 17, and continue through the banquet on Sunday, July 19. Remember that as usual we need door prizes from state affiliates, local chapters, and individuals. Once again prizes should be small in size but large in value. Cash, of course, is always appropriate and welcome. As a rule, we ask that prizes of all kinds have a value of at least $25 and not include alcohol. Drawings will occur steadily throughout the convention sessions, and you can anticipate a grand prize of truly impressive proportions to be drawn at the banquet. You may bring door prizes with you to convention or send them in advance to the National Federation of the Blind of Texas at 1600 E Highway 6, Suite 215, Alvin, TX 77511. The best collection of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our special interest groups, committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and provocative program items of any meeting of the blind in the world; the chance to renew friendships in our Federation family; and the unparalleled opportunity to be where the real action is and where decisions are being made -- all of these mean you will not want to miss being a part of the 2020 National Convention. To assure yourself a room in the headquarters hotel at convention rates, make your reservations early. We plan to see you in Houston in July. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Donald Capps, August 30, 1928 - November 6, 2019] A Giant in Federation History is Now at Rest by Daniel Frye, Parnell Diggs, and Mark Riccobono From the Editor: I suspect one would have to be fairly new to the Federation if he or she didn't know the name Donald Capps or that Southern gentleman's voice. Until I saw his name in the pages of the Braille Monitor in the early 1970s, I had no idea that a blind person could be a vice president at a major insurance company. Dr. Capps was living a life I dreamed of living, not so much insurance, but excelling at something. I hadn't yet committed myself to going beyond the dream, really embracing it as a possibility, and staking my honor on the fact that it would happen. His success made it clear to me that blind people could do something outside the blindness field, rising to significant leadership and responsibility. I might not have his talent, but it was clear to me that I had some of my own, and his example suggested to me that there might be a career out there for me if I would only believe and try. One of the things I most admired about our longtime national first vice president and president of the South Carolina affiliate was that he didn't decide he was too busy to help his blind brothers and sisters. He assumed leadership, but he took much more than a ceremonial title. He took responsibility for growing his affiliate so that it now stands as one of the largest in the country and has more chapters than any other state in the nation. He did not say, "South Carolina is my kingdom. Let the national body do the best it can for itself." He realized that the Federation must be strong at the chapter and affiliate levels, and he knew that to exert nationwide influence, we must be strong nationally as well. For this reason he headed our national membership committee and traveled extensively throughout the country to build the Federation. Dan Frye hails from South Carolina, and like so many others from the state, he gives tremendous credit to Dr. Capps for shaping his character and helping when he was most in need. Dan attended the funeral for Dr. Capps at the request of President Riccobono. Parnell Diggs wrote remarks for an issue of Positive Note 1736, a weekly memo generated by the president of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. President Riccobono, of course, wrote his own moving tribute. All three are printed here together in loving memory of this most extraordinary man: Dan Frye's Remarks Donald Capps cared. He cared for me. He cared for the blindness community: from the members of his local chapter, to the development of a framework of services and opportunities for the blind of South Carolina, for the championship of civil rights for the blind of America and for the concerns of the blind across the world. He cared and served with an old-world dignity that reflected a love and loyalty for the South, which was his home. Donald Capps was powerful, pioneering, and progressive when called to public service, but soft-spoken and charming when engaging with individuals. Donald Capps lived through dramatically changing times, and he demonstrated an extraordinary ability to evolve, remain current, and be effective. I want today, however, to publicly acknowledge and show gratitude to Donald Capps, the man and leader, who took a personal interest in me -- an interest, I think, which demonstrates the best of humanity. I came to South Carolina upon the death of my parents and lived with my paternal grandparents on a small tobacco farm in Horry County. My grandparents loved me but had no real sense of what I could become as a blind person. Somehow, Donald Capps found me, introduced me to the National Federation of the Blind, and helped extricate me from an environment that would have limited my opportunities. Dr. Capps knew that I came from the poorest of roots; he saw that I never had to experience the disadvantages of poverty while attending school as a student at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind. He quietly kept tabs on my academic progress, my social development, and my ambition. When the time was right, he reached out to me, inviting me to assume a young leadership role in the Federation. And by granting me that opportunity he taught me humility, how to see things in shades of gray instead of in the black and white of youthful exuberance, to understand the value of public service, to undertake commitment through the lens of compassion and principle, and to aspire to make a difference. I was, on occasion, a tremendous disappointment to Dr. Capps, but he was patient and unrelenting in his effort to guide me. He coached, cajoled, mentored, and molded me. He helped me to become a well-rounded, fairly polished, self-confident human being. Dr. Capps and his wife Betty regularly had me to their home to teach me the skills of growing up to be a decent person. You wouldn't necessarily think that our mutual membership in the Federation would have imposed such an obligation on him, but it is often said that we in the NFB are a family, and Dr. Capps exhibited this truth for me in ways that will forever influence who I am, what I'll do, and who I may become. In the absence of a family able to help me flourish, this influential man -- both gently and roughly -- stepped in and played a vital role in my maturation. If he did this for me, I suspect that he did it for thousands. To Dr. Capps's son and extended family, on behalf of the blindness community and the members of the National Federation of the Blind, thank you for sharing Dr. Capps with us. Parnell Diggs' Remarks from Positive Note 1736 This week's spotlight falls on perhaps the most distinguished Federation leader South Carolina has ever produced, Dr. Donald C. Capps. But this is not to tell the story of his long life of ninety-one years in sequence of events from start to finish. Instead, I will use this opportunity to convey a few thoughts about Dr. Capps, the man in retrospect in 2019. Our dear friend absolutely, dearly loved the National Federation of the Blind. It was so connected with his life that it could not be separated from his being. He first came to the Federation in the mid-1950s when he was in his twenties. He attended his first chapter meeting at about the age of twenty-five and his first national convention at the age of twenty-seven. He attended his last meeting in October of 2019. In recent years it had been increasingly difficult for Dr. Capps to attend Federation meetings due to a number of health issues. For him to get out of the house and get to the Federation Center required tremendous exertion and effort on his part. We now know that the October meeting was to be his last, as he passed away some twenty-seven days later. It was not always physically difficult for Dr. Capps to attend meetings. At the age of twenty-seven, he and Mrs. Capps traveled cross-country by car to attend the San Francisco convention in 1956. There he met Dr. tenBroek (then president and founder of the NFB) and Kenneth Jernigan, who would become one of Dr. Capps' best friends until Dr. Jernigan's death in 1998. Within ten years of attending his first national convention, Dr. Capps had begun working on initiatives that many of us now take for granted. For example, the Federation Center was dedicated in 1961, when Dr. Capps was thirty-three years old. He saw the need to improve programs for the blind in South Carolina. The person who was running the Division for the Blind, which was in the South Carolina Department of Public Welfare, said "That young Don Capps had better watch his step." But our most treasured advocate was not to be deterred. Along with his brother-in-law Gene Rogers, Dr. Capps wrote the legislation creating the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, which was established in May of 1966. At that time our leader was thirty-seven years old. Over the next five decades he continued to work tirelessly on initiatives that would improve the quality of life for blind people across the nation and around the world. You do not have to be a longtime member of the Federation to know of the dozens of bills enacted in South Carolina in which he played an essential part. Dr. Capps was about fifty years of age when we established what was then Rocky Bottom Camp of the Blind (later Rocky Bottom Retreat and Conference Center of the Blind). He was about fifty-five when, in his wisdom, he was responsible for hiring a young aspiring professional, David Houck, and these two gentlemen worked closely together for the next thirty-six years. I could easily work this into a book, but there will be other opportunities to talk about the life of this most special of men, so I will end my remarks by telling you one more thing that you should know about him. He believed in young people and the importance of bringing youth into the Federation. At the funeral, Dan Frye articulately shared memories of his own childhood, having met Dr. Capps when Dan was about thirteen. While attending a Columbia Chapter membership banquet in April of 1989, Dr. Capps was the first person to approach me, shake my hand, and welcome me to the Federation Center on that fateful evening. I was a twenty-year-old student at the University of South Carolina, and this man (at the age of sixty) had already enjoyed a successful career of nearly four decades at Colonial Life and Accident Insurance Company. He had retired from Colonial Life just a few years before. He was involved in the work of the Federation on a full-time basis, spending many hours each day working to improve the quality of life of his blind brothers and sisters. He never missed an opportunity to lead a blind person to the Federation, but this was especially true when it came to young blind people. There are Federation leaders in South Carolina and across the nation who came to be part of the Federation after being recruited by Dr. Capps. He will be remembered as one of the greatest chapter organizers and membership recruiters that the Federation has ever known. From the age of twenty-five to the age of ninety-one, Dr. Capps gave every ounce of energy he could muster to the work of the National Federation of the Blind. I hope that others will follow the example set by Donald Capps on giving of our time, energy, and talent to this big program of work with the blind. But the bar set by Dr. Capps is very high, since sixty-six years of dedicated service is a long time to spend in the furtherance of any cause. But from what I have learned from this beloved Federationist in my thirty years of working with him, I think it would be safe to make the following estimation. Dr. Capps would be pleased with those who commit to work with the National Federation of the Blind if they would simply do their fair share and then some. Remarks from President Mark Riccobono The National Federation of the Blind would like to express its deepest appreciation and warmest sympathies to the friends and family of Dr. Donald Capps. Dr. Capps touched the lives of so many, and his lifelong contribution can never be adequately recounted for the blindness civil rights movement of the United States. Dr. Capps provided stability, foundational principles, and continuity for the rest of the world. He generously shared his understanding and experience in order to spark the development of movements organized by the blind in other nations. He served with honor and distinction in so many ways, but he always did so with a sense of purpose and humility. He is the only individual that served and supported the first seven presidents of the National Federation of the Blind. I, as our eighth and current president, was mentored by Dr. Capps at a critical time in my leadership development. This likely means that almost all of the first hundred years of the National Federation of the Blind will have been influenced directly by the Capps personality and spirit. With certainty, his indirect influence will echo into the next century of the organized blind movement. That demonstrates the power of life and commitment, the same qualities he shared with his wife and family, setting an example that service and family go together. Dr. Capps always made sure that he had a watch that was in good working order. I had the opportunity to help get him one when he needed it. Upon reflection, it is clear why it was so important to him. He knew that every minute counted, and he did more with his time than probably anyone else I have ever known. As we go forward with the memories of both Don and Betty in our hearts, I urge us to value and use those minutes as effectively as they did to share life around the world. If we do that even half as well as they did, our time will have been well spent. The blind of America and the world salute this great man, who gave his time and his heart to raising expectations for the blind. Our future achievements will be built upon the strength, value, and spirit that he gave in service to us. Be well, my friend. And thank you. ---------- A Christmas Story for All Seasons by Donald Capps From the Editor: As a further tribute to Dr. Capps and in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, we thought it a good idea to run an article written by him. It was first published in December of 1992, and here is the way it was introduced to Monitor readers: From the Associate Editor: The following article appeared in the November 1991 issue of the Palmetto Blind, the publication of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. It is a wonderful illustration of the deep and selfless brotherly love that we think of at this season. When the world seems filled to the breaking point with suffering and tragedy, it is well to remember that people like John Fling are living and serving in our midst. As Monitor readers know, Don Capps is the senior member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. He and his wife Betty now fully dedicate their time to doing good in the world, chiefly by working tirelessly to strengthen the NFB in South Carolina and around the country. Here is what Don has to say: It was Thursday morning when a phone call came which brought me overwhelming joy and gratitude. It was my longtime friend, John Fling, who until recent years was very much involved in helping the Columbia Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. In more recent times John has broadened his unselfish service to include many other groups and individuals, and therefore I had not heard from him in some time. However, I had been able to keep up with the charitable activities of this very special person since he is frequently featured in the news media. I also knew that John Fling had become a national and international celebrity, having received many high honors -- including one bestowed upon him at the White House by the President of the United States. Knowing that he had once worked almost exclusively for the blind through the Federation, I was especially proud of John Fling, recognizing that he truly puts service above self. But getting back to that Thursday morning call on January 16, I heard a familiar voice: "Don, this is John Fling, and I happen to have some funds left over from Christmas and was wondering if you would accept a little contribution to the Federation?" In a split second I assured my longtime friend that the Federation would be most grateful for any contribution, especially at this time. He said that he would stop by my house that afternoon, and true to his word he drove into our driveway at about 3 o'clock. After a most enjoyable visit during which we brought each other up-to-date on our activities, John handed me a check with instructions to use it any way I wanted to, just so that the Federation would be helped. He then departed without fanfare; got into his truck, clearly marked "John Fling Ministries"; and continued on his way to assist someone else. After John's departure, Betty looked at the check and said, "Don, this check is in the amount of $10,000." Both of us were absolutely overwhelmed. Never had I received a Federation contribution for such a substantial sum without having solicited it. As a matter of fact, I was so overwhelmed that I needed time to think about the real significance of what this wonderful man had just done and how this substantial gift to the Columbia Chapter of the NFB of South Carolina could best be used to assist blind people. I wanted to share the good news with fellow Federationists but felt that I needed time to think and ponder about what we might do to justify this generous gift and how it should be used to meet a special need. It was the next day before I shared the wonderful news with the chapter president, Mike Sutton, and the Federation Center's chairman, Frank Coppel, because I felt as if I should sleep on this matter before making any recommendations. Mike and Frank were just as excited and overwhelmed as I was. Something led me to call John Fling that evening. I clearly remembered his stating that I was to use the money to do the greatest good for the largest number of blind people. I knew that the Columbia Chapter desperately needed a new van since its ten-year-old vehicle had served the chapter well but was probably no longer road-worthy without considerable repairs. Additionally, I knew that President Sutton had appointed a search committee to acquire another van. During my telephone conversation with John on Friday evening, I discussed our need for a new van, and he readily volunteered to donate an additional five thousand dollars in order to purchase one. John said that he was well connected with the Addy Dodge dealership in Lexington, and would I meet him there the following morning at 11:00 a.m. In the twinkling of an eye I answered in the affirmative. At two minutes before eleven o'clock Saturday, Betty and I arrived at Addy Dodge, and John rushed out to greet us. So did Tim and John Addy, owners of the dealership. As it happened, we parked next to a beautiful, brand new 1992 fifteen-passenger white Dodge van with maroon interior, and John asked me to check the van over. He said that this was the van that he had picked out because he understood from our Friday-evening conversation that we wanted a white one. After talking with John, I had called President Mike Sutton that same evening to inquire whether he would trust me with the details of purchasing a van. Mike replied that of course he would. The sticker price on this beautiful van was in excess of $22,000, and I immediately wondered how we would swing it, but John had already worked it out. We were ushered into the office, where all the paperwork had already been done. Because of their respect for John Fling and a desire to help the Federation, the Addy brothers had reduced the price of the van by nearly $5,000. However, I knew that the initial gift of $10,000 plus the promise of an additional $5,000 would not cover even the reduced price for the van. But before I had time to become concerned, John pulled out a pen and began writing a check for the remaining cost, about $8,500. Thus, in the end John Fling Ministries gave a total of about $18,500 to the Federation to cover the total cost of this beautiful new van. But this is not the end of the story. Mr. Addy checked the Blue Book and advised us that we could sell our old van for about $3,500, which could be used for insurance or other expenses. Mr. Addy said that there is a great need among churches and day-care centers for previously owned vans. As I said earlier, John Fling has been honored at the highest levels for his benevolence and good deeds. On September 30, 1991, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall in Washington, D.C., John Fling participated in America's awards honoring unsung heroes who personify the American character and spirit. In a special publication entitled "America's Awards," a program of the Positive Thinking Foundation, the following article is dedicated to John Fling: You're Never Too Old to Do Good At age seventy, John Fling does every day what he has done every day for forty-five years -- spends most of his waking hours helping those in need. One of nineteen children, John Fling grew up in Gabbetville, Georgia, (population forty-six). His parents were so poor they weren't even sharecroppers; they were sharecroppers' helpers. What family members ate, they had to catch out of the water, dig out of the ground, or shake out of a tree. At age twelve, John quit school to work in the cotton fields, where he labored for six more years. At age twenty-five, after a six-year stint in the US Army, John settled with his wife in Columbia, South Carolina, landing a job as supervisor to one hundred boys who delivered newspapers. He began providing them and their families with food, clothing, and school supplies. Helping others became his personal mission. One night in 1951, John accompanied the police to settle a domestic dispute. The couple had a small baby, but apparently the boy wasn't fathered by the woman's husband. John asked if it would solve the problem if he took the baby. The couple readily agreed, signing a scrap of paper that gave John all rights to the baby. John and his wife Jane raised the child along with their natural son. John and his wife have never owned a home. They live on Social Security, in a rent-free cottage behind his mother-in-law's house. Though he has worked all his life -- sometimes several jobs at once -- John is almost without material possessions. Before he retired as a parts delivery man, John's employer, Love Chevrolet, gave him clothes to wear and a truck to drive -- and lots of time to serve. The clothing John gives away is often better than what he wears. He hasn't bought clothes, except underwear, for twenty years. He doesn't have a television or the time to look at one. Only recently did John get a telephone -- to better serve those who depend on him. He has never owned a car, but he has bought cars for five others. For forty-five years John Fling has spent most of his waking hours driving the streets of Columbia, looking for someone he can help. There has not been a single day that he hasn't done something to help the poor. He delivers food, medicine, and laundry; helps with bills; repairs screen doors; mows lawns; unstops sinks; and transports the needy to appointments -- for an extended family that includes forty blind people, two hundred seniors, and four hundred children. Having lost sight in one eye in a boyhood hunting accident, John shows a special interest in the blind. He gives them rides and takes them to the beach or fishing. He drives his more adventurous blind friends out to a cow pasture, settles them into a go-cart, places earphones on their heads, sits on his truck, and -- using a two-way radio -- tells them to go left or right. Some of them are hot rods. John is caring, selfless, and limitless in energy. He is unincorporated and refuses to become a nonprofit organization. There are no boards to direct him and no committees to support his activities. Most of the money he hands out is donated by local businessmen and by friends around the country. He often takes the last dime out of his pocket to help someone. Once, while visiting a nursing home with two deacons from his church, John met an elderly woman who said she didn't know what time to take her medicine because she didn't have a watch. John pulled the watch from his own wrist, handed it to the woman, and walked on. As the three men left the nursing home, John met a one-legged man on the street who said he needed a raincoat. John took off his own coat and gave it to the man. One of the deacons said to John, "Let's get back in the truck before you give away your pants." John's first love is still the children. As he drives through Columbia's back alleys, kids emerge from the shadows and rush the truck. Embracing as many as he can, John asks them how they are, and what they need and gives them what he can. As he leaves, John comments to a visitor, "Even more than money, what they need is love." And John gives them lots of love. At 5:30 a.m. every Sunday, John starts driving a donated van for three hours to go to the Baptist Church next door, collecting as many as seventy-nine children as he travels a fifty-five-mile circuit. On the way home he stops at a restaurant and treats each of the children to a meal. Every Christmas John provides the kids he cares for with a shopping spree at one of the local department stores. Last year he took 1,216 to K-Mart, providing them each with a $50 gift certificate. To encourage kids to take their education seriously, he offers $20 to students making B's and higher on their report cards. Grades have soared. Over the years, John's generosity has become known throughout the world. When a man in India writes to a man he knows only as "John Fling, USA," to request help in obtaining a prosthesis, and the letter somehow arrives, John's response is equally characteristic. Somehow he finds the money to buy and send the needed prosthesis. Now seventy years old, John continues to have a tremendous impact in his role as a one-man social-service agency. Few people in South Carolina are as well known, and few people in the world are as well loved. When you ask about John Fling, the first thing people say, more often than not, is, "That man is a living saint." ---------- Celebrate the National Federation of the Blind by Patty Chang The holiday season is coming upon us. It is a time to celebrate, and we ought to reflect on how the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has affected blind people's lives. In thinking about the gifts the NFB gives, these stories tell it well: Attending the NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning Academy (BELL Academy), my son learned the complete Braille alphabet in a mere two weeks, something that eluded us for nine years. What stuck out for us was how simple it was to start Braille and the shame is it that the world resists. As parents who have found the NFB, we are relieved to know that we are not alone and are fully supported. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I cannot say enough about how amazing the NFB BELL Academy was for my son. He continues to practice Braille and cane use. Most importantly, he formed great bonds from the academy -- not only with his peers, but with his instructors as well. I truly believe BELL instilled the confidence he needed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I love the National Federation of the Blind because it is not only an advocacy organization but is a support network for blind people. If I have any questions about being a blind parent, I have access to several blind parents who can give me guidance and provide answers to my questions. I thank the NFB for instilling in me the confidence to be a blind parent. Those testimonials and many more show why and how the National Federation of the Blind helps blind people live the lives we want. However, we need your contribution to continue making a difference and changing lives. With a $50 donation, the National Federation of the Blind can send a long white cane -- free of charge -- to a blind recipient and give back mobility. With the same amount, the Federation can provide early literacy materials to families including a book with both Braille and print, which empower parents to help their blind child get an early start to Braille literacy. With a larger donation, we can train our Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning Academy teachers, show blind youngsters that they can do science too, and so much more. Be a part of these gifts and everything the Federation does with love, hope, and determination. We can't change lives without you. Please help by making an end-of-year gift -- and it's easy to do. You can mail a donation or give online. To mail your donation, simply make out your check to the National Federation of the Blind and send it to: National Federation of the Blind Attention: Outreach 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place Baltimore, MD 21230 To give online visit our web page, https://nfb.org/donate. We all know that the Federation affects blind people's lives every day. You or someone you know aspires to greater things because of our philosophy. It is time to give back. Please be a part of our movement with an end-of-year donation. We can't build the Federation without financial resources. Every gift helps. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Chris Westbrook] Cochlear Implant: A Brief Introduction and My Experience by Chris Westbrook From the Editor: Chris Westbrook is a member who lives in Pennsylvania and serves as the vice president of the Jigsaw Chapter, the at-large chapter in Pennsylvania. He works as a computer programmer, and I find him to be a most delightful person. Many of us who are blind rely heavily on our hearing, and in this article Chris talks about the struggle in deciding whether to get a cochlear implant and the results he has had with it. Here is what he says: Before I share my cochlear implant journey, I'd like to say a few things. First, your experiences may vary. I am by no means holding myself up as the only or even most typical experience regarding cochlear implant surgery. Everyone's experience is different and should be respected. Second, the journey is not over yet. I have been "activated" (meaning I have worn the cochlear implant) for almost three months. I expect things to keep getting better over time, so my story is far from over. Having said this, I think it is complete enough that I can provide some perspective on the surgery with some degree of clarity. Third, you may be wondering why I am sharing this in a blindness publication. You may think that this better belongs in a hearing impairment journal of some kind. My answer to this point is that the senses of blindness and hearing are not separable, but one sense feeds off the other. I believe there are experiences that I have as a blind person using a cochlear implant that a sighted person would not. I think it is good for all our members to be educated on how cochlear implantation works. You never know when you or a chapter member may need one. With that out of the way, let me start from the beginning. I would like to first briefly describe what a cochlear implant is so that we are all on the same page. A cochlear implant assists someone with severe hearing loss in improving his/her hearing. In most cases, when a cochlear implant is placed, all natural hearing on the affected side is erased. It consists of two parts: an internal part that is placed during surgery, and an external part that you wear which connects to the internal part by a magnet under the skin and transmits the sound to the implant. I realize this may sound painful and uncomfortable; I can assure you it is neither. While cochlear implant surgery is relatively minor outpatient surgery, it is still surgery. Because of this, and because of the drastic affect it will have on peoples' hearing, there is a qualification process. Not everyone will qualify for a cochlear implant. Hearing tests are done, and your scores are calculated and discussed. Never get a cochlear implant just because a doctor or family member says you should. It is a big decision which should not be taken lightly. Once you get a cochlear implant, there is no going back so to speak. This is what kept me from getting a cochlear implant for a long time. I knew I didn't have much hearing to lose, but I was not psychologically ready to part with what little natural hearing I had in that ear, even if it meant potentially better hearing down the road. Talk with your doctor. Talk with others who have gone through the process, blind or sighted. Also try to find those with similar hearing histories to yours if possible but know that everyone's experiences may vary. I would say that overall, most people who are willing to put in the necessary work have had a positive outcome. If your hearing qualifies you for a cochlear implant and you would like to move forward, you will most likely have a CT scan to ensure that your anatomy will tolerate the surgery and implant. You will also have to choose a brand of implant. I won't say much about that here, as all major brands are good. Which one you choose will depend on your lifestyle and which brands your surgeon/cochlear implant center is experienced with. If all tests come back normal and you still wish to continue, you will be scheduled for surgery. This will be outpatient surgery, and you will most likely be home the same day unless there are complications. Some have reported dizziness and/or a loss of taste, but I didn't experience either of these symptoms. The pain was very mild; I was prescribed opioids but took very little of them. I was back to work in a few days, once the bandages were removed. I was fortunate to have someone stay with me for a while. If you live alone, it might not be a bad idea to have someone stay with you for a week or so just to make sure everything is going well. After that, it is time for the incision to heal as you patiently await activation day. Usually about a month after surgery, you will go back to your implant center to receive your external processor and have it turned on for the first time. This is usually called activation or activation day. While this day can be full of anticipation and excitement, it is best to not expect much the first day. Everyone's experiences vary, but I was not able to understand speech at all for the first few days. Remember your brain is having to relearn how to hear. It is not like simply adding another hearing aid to the mix. It is a totally different way of hearing. This is where blindness can compound things and make things particularly challenging. We do not have the benefit of lip reading, for example. You will need to be patient with yourself, and others will need to be patient with you. You will be going through a process that is starting now and will last for some time. Now is not the time to plan that solo cross-country trip you've been dreaming of. Seriously, you may need more help than you would at other times, and that is OK. Be kind to yourself and give your brain time to adjust. Plan to go back to your audiologist often, weekly at first, then gradually becoming less and less frequent. They will test you and adjust your implant as necessary. You will be told to listen to as much as possible with only the implant. This is hard at first, but it gets easier over time as your comprehension improves. Again, this is a journey. You will most likely see huge gains at first, and while these gains taper off over time, improvements are still made long after initial activation as I can personally attest. I just went to my first NFB state convention post-implant and, while I didn't do everything I wanted to do and things were a bit overwhelming at times, I still managed. It is both challenging and thrilling to learn to hear in an entirely new way. I hope this article has been helpful. If you or someone in your affiliate is going through a cochlear implant, know that it is a process. Be patient and help them when necessary. If you are the implant recipient, don't be afraid to ask for help when necessary. If you work hard and are patient, you will be rewarded with better, richer hearing. ---------- Always Early: Find Your People by Richard Early From the Editor: Richard Early is relatively new to the Federation, but enthusiastic. He is nearly fifty years old, has owned a comic book store in Fargo, North Dakota, for twenty-six years, and is enjoying the transformation that finding self-acceptance and a supporting community can be. Here's what Richard had to say in his blog, originally posted at https://alwaysearly360949548.wordpress.com/2019/11/05/always-early-find-your-people/. The article was entitled "They are out there but they aren't sending a search committee looking for you..." I was about forty-four years old when I went kicking and screaming to my first blind support meeting. It took a panic attack and three years of therapy and a lifetime of denial, but it finally happened. My therapist kept saying gently that I should do this. She gave me contact info, meeting times -- the whole works. I wasn't having any of it. I was with that therapist for about three years before she finally convinced me to try. She brought it up gently early on and kept coming back to it from time to time. She did great. I was seeing her in the aftermath of a panic attack that led to an anxiety diagnosis and medication along with those visits to her office. I've learned we pretty much all deal with some kind of emotional or psychological issues, and they are unique to who we are and our history. Mine were, in no particular order: self-loathing, shame, anxiety, and depression. If that's how you feel about yourself, if you are ashamed of who you are deep down to the core, why in the hell would you want to be around other people like you? In my case, that meant blind people. The stem of my shame and self-loathing was that very deep belief that I was worthless because I was blind. I used to deny this, I used to try to ignore my blindness, I tried to pretend it was not a problem and do whatever I could to get by in the sighted world. My memories of dealing with other blind people were not good and of course clearly colored by my own self-loathing. I'll get to that later, but put yourselves in the shoes of a young person in denial of who they are and trying to hide who they are from everyone. I was also trapped between two worlds, not really understanding either one in my early teenage years to early twenties. Everyone around me was operating in a sighted world, and I could mostly do that, so I just covered up when I couldn't and suffered quietly. I didn't want to be part of the blind world because of my shame, and in many ways that world wasn't right for me either since I didn't need Braille or a cane yet. The first thing I think about when I look back is how I was handled in the school system. I had to leave regular classes and go to a resource teacher. I had to ride the short bus. These were huge stigmas. You knew there was something wrong with you and the others who had to do these things, and you didn't want to be there. That's what society told you. Being partly sighted and pretty independent, it was easy to recognize those with a lot more need and to either associate yourself with them or not want to be around them. God bless them all, and I hope you understand what I'm writing here and that you don't think less of me. I wanted to be with friends and family. I wanted to play video games and read comic books and watch tv. My family would get approached by a group trying to get me to go to blind camp or the school for the blind or blind bowling or blind skiing. We did go to blind bowling a few times, but mostly I just remember recoiling at all those kindhearted offers. I had one friend who was blind. He was a few years older than me, and he was a huge Muppets fan. I am sure someone was trying to get us to be friends or to get him to mentor me. I liked him, but I didn't like his blindness. I can remember thinking that I wasn't like him so clearly. I remember getting out of high school and going to vocational rehabilitation. I was not ready for college; I was not ready to take care of myself on my own; and now here was the weird place that normal people did not have to go, and it pushed all those self-loathing buttons. Good things came from there as I got a year of college paid by the state of North Dakota, but I strongly remember feeling hopeless there. The jobs that were suggested were sweeping and cleaning and other menial tasks. There was talk of the school for the blind training as well, but mostly there were really low expectations from the voc rehab people and from myself. Those were all the outside factors. The strongest memories are of my family. Let me just say something to be clear: everyone in my family loved me. Everyone wanted only the best for me, and the things I write here are not criticisms. They acted from total love and a desire to protect me and help me have the best life I could have. Sleepless nights, endless trips to doctors, terror over the next surgery, and so, so much more made life a seemingly endless trauma. What I am writing next shows that even with love, the mind can take away such dark stories. My grandparents, especially my grandmother on my dad's side, gave me an overwhelming sense that appearance was critical. It wasn't just that I wanted to be sighted, it was that they wanted me to pass as sighted to meet societal expectations. Another example is that I would occasionally knock over milk glasses or other things, and I would be told often in joking ways that I was stupid for doing it. I developed an underlying belief that eyesight was tied to intelligence, so I knew on some level I could not be smart or expect to be. We eventually went to a practitioner who fitted prosthetic eye coverings over dead eyes. My left eye is my blind eye, but it has never been removed, so the goal was to create a second eye that looked like my right eye to help pass as sighted. This one is very delicate because on many levels this is actually a very kind idea, but at the end of the day it's just another way of saying that I shouldn't let people see who I really am, which only further feeds self-shame. I can't imagine the burden of a blind child on my parents and family. I got incredible love and care, but this feeling of denying who I am came from being shown that people would think badly of me, so it was wrong to be who I was. It's very complex and confusing and not something a young kid, let alone young parents, is going to figure out. With all that shaping who I was, why would I want to go to a support group with other blind people? I believed blindness was shameful and needed to be hidden and that anyone who was blind was not someone you wanted to be around. I didn't want to be around myself when it came to blindness. This feeling was so strong that it even led to avoiding taking care of myself by not following through on doctor's appointments once I was an adult and responsible to do that myself. There was a long period when my sight was pretty good from my early twenties into my thirties. I stopped going to check-ups and lost my regular doctors; when things started to go downhill, I found myself deep in a hole, not knowing who to turn to. I finally decided to check out a local support group. I couldn't tell you what tipped me to do it, but it happened. The meetings were held at a nursing/retirement home, and at first glance they were mostly what I expected. The group seemed to have eight or ten regular attendees who were mostly older than I was. Several of them seemed at least as unhappy to be there as I was or maybe just unhappy with life in general. The group was welcoming and offered information and had speakers. I went to several of these, but I felt very out of place and was not finding what I was looking for. What was I looking for? Now that's a real good question that I had no answer to. I suppose common experience, sharing difficulties, advice; I'm not sure entirely -- but I knew I wasn't finding it. Part of it may have been that I was much younger than most attendees. I want to make it clear that everyone there was very kind to me, and there were a lot of good people. If they read this, I hope I can make that point very, very clear. A lot of those early days were all about my own resistance and not about them at all. I began to realize that I was out of my element due to a lot of factors. Life experience with blindness and how others had handled it was a big one. There were a lot of folks with lifelong skills and training I did not have, and I believed I did not need. There were a lot of folks with a lot less income than I had at the time, which is absolutely fine, except that it made it hard to relate over things like new cell phones or other technology. Those were big factors, but not the bottom line. The truth is that all of it, from the beginning, was colored by my own mistaken beliefs. I hated myself for being blind, thought it was a terrible thing, and had set extremely low expectations for myself and my life. Everything I encountered was colored by this simple fact. I could have made the most of those bus rides and probably helped those around me do the same. I could have brought self-confidence to voc rehab and seen it as a pathway to better things. I could have gone looking for my people decades before I did. My beliefs were shaped by all kinds of experiences, almost all of which were unintentional consequences of people who were trying to help me and those tendrils of darkness we call depression. I started finding my people just five years ago after forty-four years of denial. In that time, I have gone from being terrified to even set foot at a group meeting, to all kinds of accomplishments. I am a board member of the National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota. I've been asked to come speak at the NFB state convention in New Mexico. I'm writing a blog about my experiences. As a board member I've taken on roles as a communication coordinator and a fundraiser. That's after only five years. I don't regret a single moment of time up until that day I walked in. That part of my life is my story and I own it, and better yet I get to share it. It only matters now as a set of lessons about how to get to live the life you want. Finding my people gave me a whole new perspective shaped from common experience; it changed my perspective on what had come before, and it gave me a belief in myself that I had lacked. I've got lots of other people as well. I've got a beautiful wife, a brilliant stepdaughter, and hilarious dogs. I've got fellow comic fans, fantasy football players, board gamers, business partners, retailers, and so much more. Some of them were easy to find, and some were not. I got married at forty-nine years old, and I wonder if that would ever have happened without the self-recognition that has come with finding my people. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon] Seeing that the Federal Communications Commission Ensures Accessible Broadcasting for the Blind by Everette Bacon From the Editor: Everette Bacon is a member of the board of directors of the National Federation of the Blind and the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah. He serves as our representative before the Federal Communications Commission, and here is a report he offers to Monitor readers about his work for descriptive audio services: Audio Description (AD) has been a passion of mine for many years. My first exposure to AD came in 1997 when I was running my first Blockbuster Video store in Irving, Texas. VHS tapes were still very popular, and Blockbuster Video thought it would be a novel idea to increase its public awareness regarding accessibility, resulting in an audio description category for select stores. When I heard about this opportunity, I petitioned to have my store be one of the chosen locations to offer AD videos. I still have some of the VHS tapes with AD in my movie collection. Upon moving to Salt Lake City, I became involved in the Salt Lake City Chapter of the NFB of Utah. AD was not offered anywhere in Utah, and so myself, David Sarle, and Nick Schmittroth met with the leadership of the largest movie theater chain in Utah, Megaplex Theaters. Megaplex is a local Utah company owned by the Larry H. Miller Group that also own the Utah Jazz. In spring 2006, Megaplex Theaters held a viewing of its first movie with AD, and over fifty members of the NFB of Utah attended. In 2015 President Riccobono recommended me to represent the NFB on the newly formed Disability Advisory Committee for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC oversees all audio description regulations for all television and movie theaters. Other areas the FCC oversees include accessible set-top boxes, the I Can Connect Program, and everything related to the Twenty-First Century Communications Act passed in 2011. The committee has over thirty members representing industry and consumers. Some industry representation includes Apple, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Comcast, and many more. On the consumer side, besides NFB, the American Council of the Blind and many more advocates are represented. Serving on this committee, I have the opportunity to work on many challenging policy items. One I am very proud of is a negotiation with the USA Network on how AD is being offered and monitored on its network. USA is a subsidiary of NBC Universal, and the network is among the top five in viewership according to the FCC. Because of this, it is required to meet standards concerning how much AD is broadcast on its network. USA has original programming such as Suits, where all episodes are described, and it offers numerous syndicated programs such as Law & Order, which are also offered with AD. Due to the numerous hours of syndicated programming available on USA, it is difficult for it to meet the strict FCC guidelines for being a top five network. The NFB and USA Network were able to come up with a suitable alternative that the FCC allowed. USA would guarantee, at a minimum, one-thousand hours of audio-described television between the primetime hours of six p.m. and midnight each quarter and that 75 percent of all new programs would require AD. To have a network television agree to make AD a priority for its blind viewers is a testament to how much value it places on blind viewership. It is an absolute honor to serve and represent the NFB on this important committee. I appreciate the trust President Riccobono has in me, and I update him regularly. I am also grateful to John Par?? and Kyle Walls from the Government Affairs team for their assistance with policy review. Below, I am adding some additional links if you should want to review some of the rulings regarding AD from the FCC. Please feel free to reach out to me with any comments or questions. Ruling regarding the USA Network: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-1019A1.docx. Ruling regarding a waiver granted to Google Fiber. The NFB provided public comment on this waiver: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-916A1.docx 2019 FCC report to Congress regarding video description: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-1023A1.docx ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Lazar accepts the Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award.] Dr. Jonathan Lazar Receives the Inaugural Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award by Hayleigh Moore ??? From the Editor: This article is reprinted with the kind permission of the communications department at the University of Maryland's College of Information Studies. It appeared on Friday, November 15, 2019, and its talented author is a graduate student at this institution. Dr. Jonathan Lazar is no stranger to members of the National Federation of the Blind. He understands the difficulty presented to a blind person when a piece of software cannot be used with a screen reader. He not only understands but has gotten actively involved both in spotlighting the problems and in providing instruction at the university level that includes programming techniques that lead to accessible technology. The University of Maryland has not only recognized Jonathan Lazar; it has also recognized our departed colleague Rachel Olivero, a person who was intrigued by technology and a staunch advocate for making it usable by blind people. Here is the article: Dr. Jonathan Lazar, professor in the College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool) at the University of Maryland, is the recipient of the inaugural Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award, presented by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of Maryland during its annual state convention on November 9th. Lazar was honored with this award for his contributions in ICT accessibility research, practice, education, and policy, and for his leadership in moving accessibility innovations from research to practice. The award was named in honor of the late Rachel Olivero who served many roles over the years at the NFB's headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, most recently as director of organizational technology. For years, she was instrumental in developing access technology innovations and worked closely with Drupal to modernize NFB's website. The NFB is the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans, providing programs, services, and resources to defend the rights of blind Americans, and is prominent in the disability rights and civil rights world. Its mission is to ensure that blind people have the right to independence, as well as equal opportunities to access information, education, and employment. Lazar has a long history of working on ensuring that digital technologies and content are accessible for people with disabilities. Prior to his arrival at the UMD iSchool, Lazar taught at Towson University for nineteen years as a professor of computer and information sciences, served as director of the Information Systems program, and founded the Universal Usability Laboratory. While at Towson University, he authored or edited twelve books and published over 140 refereed articles. He is probably best known for his books Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction, Ensuring Digital Accessibility Through Process and Policy, and Disability, Human Rights, and Information Technology. But he has also had a major impact on policy and law. He served as an expert consultant in the landmark NFB v. Target case in 2007 and 2008, was the accessibility advisor to the US Federal Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board in 2009 and 2010, and multiple Federal regulations (such as Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Accessibility of Web Sites and Automated Kiosks at U.S. Airports) cite his research. His dedication to the rights of people with disabilities is so deep that he even took a leave of absence from his professorship in 2017-2018 to go back and be a graduate student again, earning an LLM degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where his studies focused on disability rights law. [PHOTO CAPTION: Dr. Lazar and his students at the Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.] At the UMD iSchool, Lazar has made significant contributions to the college's research and teaching through his wealth of expertise in ICT accessibility and legal frameworks, assistive technologies, and human-computer interaction. He is the Associate Director of UMD's Trace Center, the nation's oldest research center on technology and disability. He is also an active faculty member in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. He is passionate about providing his students with hands-on learning experiences with organizations involved in accessibility, including organizing trips for the students to Gallaudet University, the Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, among other places. Even before he came to the University of Maryland, he was well-known for his accessibility work in the University System of Maryland (USM), having been named a recipient of the 2017 USM Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Research and the 2011 USM Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Public Service. [PHOTO CAPTION: ???Dr. Lazar presenting about segregated ballots for blind voters at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.] "We established the Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award to memorialize Rachel Olivero's legacy of ensuring equal access to information through creative, innovative, and accessible technology and other means," said Ronza Othman, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. "Jonathan Lazar embodies the characteristics that made Rachel such a vital and successful advocate and expert. Jonathan is the perfect person to receive this award in its inaugural year." Lazar is a passionate champion for accessibility innovation -- and is honored to be the first ever recipient of the NFB Rachel Olivero Accessibility Innovation Award. The UMD iSchool is proud to have Lazar as a faculty member and grateful to be associated with the legacy of Rachel Olivero. ---------- Join our Dream Makers Circle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Often the simplest and most significant way to make a charitable gift is to plan to give a legacy gift. It is easier than you think. You can plan to give all or part of a bank account, insurance proceeds, investment assets, real estate, or a retirement account. You can even give a required minimum distribution from your IRA directly to charity and avoid taxes on that money. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Federation of the Blind Legacy Society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the generosity and the vision of members and special friends of the National Federation of the Blind who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to give part or all of an account, simply fill out a P.O.D. (Payable On Death) or T.O.D. (Transfer On Death) form. For pensions and insurance assets, simply designate a charity as a beneficiary. If you would like to leave a legacy to the National Federation of the Blind in your will, simply include the following language: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I give, devise, and bequeath unto the National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a Maryland nonprofit corporation, the sum of $______________ (or) _________ percent of my net estate" or "the following stocks and bonds: ____________________, to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Patti Chang at 410-659-9314, extension 2422. If you have included the National Federation of the Blind in your will or have made some other provision for a future gift to us and would like to tell us about it, please call Patti Chang. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our Dream Makers Circle to help turn dreams into reality for generations to come. With love, hope, and determination, we will make it happen. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Stephanie Flynt] Social Security Facts for 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Stephanie Flynt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Around this time each year we provide you with information regarding annual adjustments to the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. In 2020, approximately 67 million Americans will see a slight cost-of-living (COLA) increase (1.6 percent) in their benefit amounts. Thus, come January, monthly checks will be a few dollars higher. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2020 amounts appear below along with some general concepts pertaining to the Social Security and Medicare programs, in case you want to better understand or refresh yourself about your rights. The COLA adjustment (if any) is based on the consumer price index (CPI-W), which measures the rate of inflation against the wages earned by the approximately 173 million workers across the nation over the previous four quarters starting with the third quarter of the previous year. Okay, here are the numbers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tax Rates -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FICA and Self-Employment Tax Rates: If you are employed, you know that you do not bring home everything you earn. 7.65 percent of your pay, for example, is deducted to cover your contribution to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund and the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund. 6.20 percent covers OASDI, and 1.45 percent is contributed to the HI Trust Fund. Additionally, your employer is required to match this 7.65 percent for a total of 15.30 percent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those who are self-employed, there is no "employer" to match the 7.65 percent, which means a self-employed individual pays the entire 15.30 percent of their income. These numbers will not change in 2020 regardless if an individual is employed or self-employed. As of January 2013, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly) pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes; this does not include the above amounts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maximum Taxable Earnings -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a ceiling on taxable earnings for the OASDI Trust Fund which was $132,900 per year in 2019 and will jump to $137,700 in 2020. Thus, for earnings above $137,700, there is no 6.20 percent deducted for OASDI. As for Medicare, there is no limit on taxable earnings for the HI Trust Fund. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Quarters of Coverage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The OASDI Trust Fund is kind of like an insurance policy. You have to pay a premium to participate. Therefore, to qualify for Retirement, Survivors, or Disability Insurance benefits, an individual must pay a minimum amount of FICA taxes into the OASDI Trust Fund by earning a sufficient number of calendar quarters to become fully insured for Social Security benefits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 2019, credit for one quarter of coverage was awarded for any individual who earned at least $1,320 during the year, which means that an individual would need to earn at least $5,280 to be credited with four quarters of coverage. In 2020 the amount increases to $1,410 for one calendar quarter or $5,640 to earn four quarters of coverage for the year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A maximum of four quarters can be awarded for any calendar year, and it makes no difference when the income is earned during that year. Basically, the taxes you pay into the OASDI and HI Trust Funds are your premiums to take part in the Social Security and Medicare programs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The total number of quarters required to be eligible for benefits depends on the individual's age. The older the individual, the more quarters are required. Furthermore, a higher average income during an individual's lifetime means a higher Social Security or SSDI check when benefits start. Remember the above quoted numbers for quarters of coverage to become fully insured are only minimum amounts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trial Work Period (TWP) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This concept is often misunderstood. The amount of earnings required to use a trial work month is not based on the earnings limit for blind beneficiaries, but rather upon the national average wage index. In 2019 the amount required to use a TWP month was only $880, and this amount will increase to $910 in 2020. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you are self-employed, you can also use a trial work month if you work more than eighty hours in your business, and this limitation will not change unless expressly adjusted. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The earnings limit for a blind beneficiary in 2019 was $2,040 per month and will rise to $2,110 in 2020. Remember this is not the TWP amount. This is to say that the TWP can be exhausted even if your income is well below $2,110 per month. See the above information about the TWP. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 2020 a blind SSDI beneficiary who earns $2,111 or more in a month (before taxes but after subtracting unincurred business expenses for the self-employed, subsidized income for the employed, and impairment-related work expenses) will be deemed to have exceeded SGA and will likely no longer be eligible for SSDI benefits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Supplemental Security Income (SSI) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The federal payment amount for individuals receiving SSI in 2019 was $771 and will increase to $783 in 2020, and the federal monthly payment amount of SSI received by couples will rise from $1,157 to $1,175. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Student Earned Income Exclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 2019, the monthly amount was $1,870 and will increase to $1,900 in 2020. The annual amount was $7,550 and will be $7,670 in 2020. The asset limits under the SSI program will remain unchanged at $2,000 per individual and $3,000 per couple. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABLE Act -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Signed on December 19, 2014, the ABLE Act has a significant impact on resource limits associated with the SSI and Medicaid programs for those who were blind or disabled by the age of twenty-six. Traditionally, SSI beneficiaries have been required to adhere to strict resource limits: such as a maximum of $2,000 in the bank for an individual receiving SSI benefits. Under the ABLE Act, however, the amount on deposit in an ABLE Account can be much higher. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABLE Account contributions must be designated specifically for purposes such as education, housing (with a cautionary warning to follow), employment training and support, assistive technology, health, prevention and wellness, financial management, legal fees, and funeral and burial expenses. The required implementing regulations are being enacted in most states. Check with your financial institution of choice for a status of ABLE Act regulations in a specific state. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As to the warning about ABLE Account contributions for housing, it is important to note that SSI beneficiaries may still face the traditional $2,000 resource limit for ABLE Account funds designated for housing. Thus, SSI beneficiaries should consider the many other purposes not subject to the traditional resource limits when making ABLE Account contributions. Because there are also tax advantages associated with ABLE accounts, both SSDI and SSI beneficiaries should consult a financial advisor about establishing an ABLE Account. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In previous years, this article has featured information pertaining to Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs. As of the date of publication, the updated adjustments have not been announced by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services. You can rest insured that we will cover this topic further in January's issue of the Braille Monitor. ---------- The Journey by Sean Malone From the Editor: This article is taken from Gem State Milestones, the newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho. The transition to blindness can pose significant challenges, but those are much more difficult when we have to deal with conditions that sometimes cause the blindness. Here is Sean's experience through challenge and success: I could say my journey in my life begins on June 12, 1968 -- which it does -- but I will fast forward, skipping the normal childhood and adulthood years. My story is about after I was diagnosed with diabetes twenty-one years ago; that's when this journey began in which I adopted the lifestyle that would lead me into a different world, a world in which not knowing what would happen to me was my reality. I started losing my eyesight in April 2009, not knowing that everything that I had known being a sighted person would change. I believed I had suddenly lost my independence -- which I came to know is not true -- but the journey of opening doors and avenues for me that I would never believe had begun. Then eight years ago my kidneys started failing, and I soon began dialysis while still grieving for the changes the loss of eyesight had presented. After a long bout with depression and weight gain, I was approached by a social worker who started talking about a kidney transplant. Now the journey was trying and hoping that one day it would happen. Though accepting everything that was going on was not easy, and at times I felt hopeless and lost, I never stopped believing in trying and stayed hungry and strong. My hope was that the day would come when I would not need to be attached to the machine that was keeping me alive three days a week. I had to undergo a colonoscopy, and they found a mass growing. Although benign, it still had to be removed because I had to have a clean bill of health for a transplant -- another trial along the way but still never giving up hope. In January I had a successful removal of the part of my colon that needed to come out, and I healed quickly. In early April I received a call that I had waited so long to hear. I had gone active on the kidney transplant list, being told it could be anywhere from ten weeks to six months. It was actually only three weeks, which is the quickest they said they had ever seen. On April 18 I got another call and traveled to Salt Lake City from Idaho Falls, Idaho, for a skirt surgery scheduled April 19. After all the years of hoping and waiting and preparing myself, it finally was happening; many prayers and hopes and dreams were finally answered. And I'm now on the road to recovery. I would like to encourage all out there struggling with the same disease who are exhausted by not knowing, being scared, and growing tired and weary by all of this to never give up believing because brighter days are ahead. Everything that I have gone through and you are going through is so worth it. To be given the gift of life from somebody who loves theirs is truly a lovely experience. The passion in me is to help you never give up hope and believing. And what really helped me and can also help you is a strong belief in God. I have been truly shown that God is love, kindness, and patience -- miracles truly do happen. The pleading I did many times on my knees in prayer with tears was finally answered, and it can be the same for you. We can truly live the life we want. ---------- NFB 2020 Scholarship Program The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce our 2020 scholarship program. We offer thirty scholarships to blind students from across the United States and Puerto Rico who will be enrolled in full-time post-secondary degree programs during the 2020-2021 school year. These scholarships range in value from $3,000 to $12,000 and will be awarded at our 2020 national convention in Houston, Texas. The application period began November 1, 2019, and closes at midnight EST on March 31, 2020. Go to www.nfb.org/scholarships [HYPERLINK: http://www.nfb.org/scholarships]. To apply during the five-month open period: read the rules and the submission checklist, complete the official 2020 scholarship application form (online or in print), supply all required documents, and request and complete an interview by an NFB affiliate president. Remember, the only way to win is to apply! ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Robin House] The 2020 Blind Educator of the Year Award by Robin House From the Editor: Robin House is an experienced educator in her own right, with many titles to her name: MEd, LPC, RPT. She was named Blind Educator of the Year in 2018. She chairs the 2020 Blind Educator of the Year Award Selection Committee, and she holds a master of education, is a licensed professional counselor, and is a registered physical therapist. This is what she says: A number of years ago the Blind Educator of the Year Award was established by the National Organization of Blind Educators (the educators division of the National Federation of the Blind) to pay tribute to a blind teacher whose exceptional classroom performance, notable community service, and uncommon commitment to the NFB merit national recognition. Beginning with the 1991 presentation, this award became an honor bestowed by our entire movement. This change reflects our recognition of the importance of good teaching and the affect an outstanding blind teacher has on students, faculty, community, and all blind Americans. This award is presented in the spirit of the outstanding educators who founded and have continued to nurture the National Federation of the Blind and who, by example, have imparted knowledge of our strengths to us and raised our expectations. We have learned from Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Marc Maurer, and our current President Mark Riccobono that a teacher not only provides a student with information but also provides guidance, advocacy, and love. The recipient of the Blind Educator of the Year Award must exhibit all of these traits and must advance the cause of blind people in the spirit and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind. The Blind Educator of the Year Award is presented at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Honorees must be present to receive an appropriately inscribed plaque and a check for $1,000. Nominations should be sent to Ms. Robin House by email to robin.house at slps.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:robin.house at slps.org] or by mail to Stix ECC, 647 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Letters of nomination must be accompanied by a copy of the nominee's current r??sum?? and supporting documentation of community and Federation activity. All nomination materials must be in the hands of the committee chairperson by May 1, 2020, to be considered for this year's award. For further information contact Robin House at 314-265-6852, or robin.house at slps.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:robin.house at slps.org]. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: James Gashel] The 2020 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards by James Gashel From the Editor: James Gashel is secretary of the National Federation of the Blind and chairs the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee. Here is his announcement about the 2020 Bolotin Awards program: The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards. These prestigious awards, granted each year as funds permit, seek to honor initiatives, innovations, and individuals that are an exemplary positive force in the lives of blind people and advance the ultimate goal of helping them to live the lives they want. Award winners will be publicly recognized during the 2020 annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Houston, Texas. Each recipient will receive a cash award determined by the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee and will also be honored with an engraved medallion and plaque. Dr. Jacob W. Bolotin (1888-1924) was a pioneering blind physician, the first in history who achieved that goal despite the tremendous challenges faced by blind people in his time. Not only did he realize his own dream, he went on to support and inspire many others in making their own dreams a reality. The awards which bear his name are supported in part by the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust, left as a bequest by Dr. Bolotin's late nephew and niece to the Santa Barbara Foundation and the National Federation of the Blind to present the annual cash awards. As chronicled in his biography, The Blind Doctor by Rosalind Perlman, Dr. Bolotin fought ignorance and prejudice to gain entrance to medical school and the medical profession. He became one of the most respected physicians in Chicago during his career, which spanned the period from 1912 until his death in 1924. He was particularly known for his expertise in diseases of the heart and lungs. During his successful career Dr. Bolotin used his many public speaking engagements to advocate for employment of the blind and the full integration of the blind into society. Interested in young people in general and blind youth in particular, Dr. Bolotin established the first Boy Scout troop consisting entirely of blind boys and served as its leader. Jacob Bolotin's wife Helen had a sister whose husband died suddenly, leaving her to raise a son, Alfred Perlman. The Perlmans moved in with the Bolotins when Alfred was eleven, and for four years (until Jacob Bolotin's untimely death at age thirty-six), "Uncle Jake" became Alfred's surrogate father. Alfred later married Rosalind, and the couple worked on a book about Dr. Bolotin's life. After Alfred's death in 2001, Rosalind dedicated the rest of her life to completing and publishing the book, The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story, published by Blue Point Books, http://www.west.net/~bpbooks/mhp.html, with standard inkprint and large type editions available, and also available in digital audio format from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) program. Past award winners have: * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Broken down barriers facing blind people in innovative ways. * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changed negative perceptions of blindness and blind people. * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pushed past existing boundaries to inspire blind people to achieve new heights. Award Description In 2020 the National Federation of the Blind will again recognize individuals and organizations that have distinguished themselves in accordance with the criteria established to receive a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award. The committee will determine both the number of awards and the value of each cash award presented. The Federation determines the total amount to be distributed each year based on income received from the trust supporting the award program. The award categories for each year are blind individuals, sighted individuals, and organizations, corporations, or other entities. Individuals may apply on their own behalf or may submit a third-party nomination, or the committee may also consider other individual or organizational candidates. Who Should Apply? Individuals: Only individuals over eighteen years of age may be considered for a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award. Applicants must demonstrate that they have shown substantial initiative and leadership in improving the lives of the blind. Examples of such initiative include but are not limited to developing products, technologies, or techniques that increase the independence of the blind; directing quality programs or agencies for the blind; or mentoring other blind people. All individual applicants or third-party applicants nominating other individuals must demonstrate that the work to be recognized has been conducted within the twelve months preceding the application and/or that the work is continuing. Applications by or on behalf of individuals must include at least one letter of recommendation from a person familiar with or directly affected by the work to be recognized. Organizations: Organizations may apply for a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award in order to further programs, services, technology, or techniques of unique and outstanding merit that have assisted and will continue to assist the blind. Applications from third parties nominating an organization will also be considered. The organization category includes for-profit or nonprofit corporations or organizations, or other entities, such as a specific division within an organization. Organizations or third-party applicants must demonstrate that the programs or services to be recognized include substantial participation by blind people as developers, mentors, administrators, or executives, and not merely as clients, consumers, or beneficiaries. For example, an organization operating a program for blind youth might demonstrate that a substantial number of the counselors, teachers, or mentors involved in the program are blind. The organization or third-party applicant must demonstrate that it has substantially aided blind people within the twelve months prior to application and that an award would support efforts to build on previous successes. The application must also include at least one testimonial from a blind person who has benefited substantially from the programs or services. To qualify for an award both individuals and organizations must provide programs, services, or benefits to blind people in the United States of America. Procedures More information, including an online application, can be found on the National Federation of the Blind website at https://nfb.org/bolotin. Online submission of nominations, letters of support, and other relevant materials is strongly encouraged, but applications sent by mail and postmarked by the deadline will also be accepted. The 2020 deadline for application submission is April 15, and recipients chosen by the committee will be individually notified of their selection no later than May 15. Receipt of all complete applications will be acknowledged, but only those applicants chosen to receive an award will be notified of their selection. All decisions of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee are final. The awards will be presented in July during the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind. Individuals selected to receive an award must appear in person, not send a representative. Organizations may send an individual representative, preferably their chief executive officer. Recipient candidates must confirm that they will appear in person to accept the award at the National Federation of the Blind annual convention. Failure to confirm attendance for the award presentation by June 1 will result in forfeiture of the award. Ineligible Persons Those employed full-time by the National Federation of the Blind may not apply for a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award for work performed within the scope of their employment. Students may not apply for both a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award and a National Federation of the Blind Scholarship in the same year. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Tracy Soforenko] Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship by Tracy Soforenko From the Editor: Tracy Soforenko is the newly appointed chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund and is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund plays a big role in helping first-timers attend the national convention, and here is what he has to say: Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston, Texas, enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest and most important yearly convention of blind people in the world. The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB national convention are the roundtrip transportation, the hotel room for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won't pay all the costs. Most years the grants were in the range of $400 to $500 per individual. In 2019, ninety grants were offered. We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the amazing experience that is convention week. Who is eligible? Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an NFB national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply. How do I apply for funding assistance? This year, we will be accepting applications online. Since applications must be completed in a single session online, we strongly recommend you prepare your responses in a document, then cut and paste your responses into the application form. The application form does not support complex formatting, so we recommend avoiding formatting such as bullet points and fonts/styles. Effective, January 1, 2020, the application form can be found at the following link: https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scholarship The application will ask for the following information: Contact information: Include your full name and both your primary phone where you can be contacted by your state president and your mobile phone you might use at convention, if available. Please include your mailing address and, if you have one, your email address. If you don't have an email address, please consider if there is a friend or chapter member who might be able to assist with email correspondence. State affiliate/chapter information: Include your state affiliate, your state president, chapter, and chapter president, if you attend a chapter. Mentor information: Include your personal convention mentor and provide that person's phone number. Funding request: Include your specific request and explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for yourself. Essay questions to explain why this is a good investment for the NFB: How do you currently participate in the Federation? Why do you want to attend a national convention? What would you receive? What can you share or give? Provide any special circumstances you hope the committee will take into consideration. If you cannot apply online, you can still apply by writing a letter to your state affiliate president answering the above questions. This letter should be emailed to your state affiliate president. Once you have decided you will apply, please contact your state president in person or by phone to request his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell the state affiliate president when to expect that your application will be submitted and mention the deadline. Once your online application has been submitted, your application will be provided to your state president via email. It is still your responsibility to contact your affiliate president. He or she must email a president's recommendation directly to the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee at kjscholarships at nfb.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:kjscholarships at nfb.org]. Your president must email the recommendation no later than the deadline of April 15, 2020. If you have applied outside of the online form, the state affiliate president must email both the recommendation and the application letter. Notification of Award If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter with convention details that should answer most of your questions. The committee makes every effort to notify winners by May 15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are chosen: :: Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for roommates of your own to reduce the cost.) :: Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet, by May 31. :: Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and mentor. If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win a scholarship this year. Receiving the Award At the convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card will be listed in the letter we send you. The committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you win a scholarship, and to pay your treasury back after you receive your debit or credit card. More Information For additional information, please contact the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee, Tracy Soforenko, at kjscholarships at nfb.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:kjscholarships at nfb.org] or 410-659-9314, extension 2415. Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists in the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to see you in Houston. ---------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Carla McQuillan] The 2020 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Carla McQuillan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From the Editor: Carla McQuillan is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, a member of the national board of directors, and the owner and executive director of Main Street Montessori Association, operating two Montessori schools. She is the chairman of the Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award Committee, and she has written this announcement seeking applications for the 2020 award: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher of blind students at our 2020 annual convention, July 14 through July 19th, 2020 in Houston, Texas. The winner of this award will receive the following: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An expense-paid trip to attend the convention * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A check for $1,000 * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A commemorative plaque * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A place on the agenda of the annual meeting of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children to make a presentation regarding the education of blind children, and * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The opportunity to attend seminars and workshops that address the current state of education of blind students, as well as a chance to meet and network with hundreds of blind individuals, teachers, parents, and other professionals in the field. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The education of blind children is one of the National Federation of the Blind's highest priorities. We are committed to offering and supporting programs that enhance educational opportunities for this group. Please help us recognize dedicated and innovative teachers who provide quality education and meaningful experiences and opportunities for their blind students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Who is eligible for this award? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A: Anyone who is currently a teacher, counselor, or the administrator of programs for blind students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Does an applicant have to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A: No, but attending the national convention in Houston is required. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Can I nominate someone else for this award? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A: Yes. Applicants can be nominated by colleagues, parents, supervisors, or friends who have first-hand knowledge of the individual's work with blind students. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How would I apply? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A: You can fill out the application at the end of this article or find it on our website at https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What is the deadline to submit an application or make a nomination? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A: All applications must be received no later than May 1, 2020. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please complete the application and attach the required documents specified in the application. If you are submitting a nomination for someone other than yourself, please answer the questions to the best of your ability. Your experience and observations of the nominee will assist the selection committee in their decision. Questions? Contact Carla McQuillan at 541-653-9153, or by email at: president at nfb-oregon.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:president at nfb-oregon.org]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Federation of the Blind -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020 Application -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deadline: May 1, 2020 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: _______________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Address: _________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phone: (H) ____________________ (W) ____________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email: ______________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- School: ______________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Address: _____________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- City, State, Zip: _________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please list any awards or commendations you have received. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How long and in what programs have you worked with blind children? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In what setting do you currently work? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Briefly describe your current job and teaching responsibilities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How would you describe your philosophy of blindness as it relates to the education of blind students? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What are your thoughts on teaching Braille and cane travel? When and at what age would you begin? How do you determine whether to teach print or Braille? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What was your most memorable experience working with blind students? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why should you be selected to receive this award? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Email is strongly encouraged for transmitting nominations; letters of support and other relevant materials should be included as attachments. Applications sent by mail and postmarked by the deadline will also be accepted. Send all material by May 1, 2020, to Carla McQuillan, chairperson, Teacher Award Committee, president at nfb-oregon.org or by mail to 522 65th Street, Springfield, OR 97478; 541-653-9153. ---------- Reindeer Cheer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Regina A. Root -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Editor: Regina Root is a professor of Modern Languages and Literatures at William & Mary. She is the subject of a medical documentary on the intersections between faith and science titled Regina's Gift, available in its entirety on YouTube. Four years ago I had emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor. Although the procedure gave me my life, it also left me with impaired vision that has required me to use a foldable white guide cane. I'm a university professor and, as I transitioned back into my job, I found that my vision and mobility impairment made it difficult to get from one building to the next on a vast campus. I worried that in the event of rain, it might not be possible to carry the cane, my things, and an umbrella at the same time. As I searched for a solution to my dilemma, I was hopeful, knowing that universities (compared to several other employers) are more welcoming of difference and that my employer in particular already had a golf cart program for students needing assistance. I called accessibility services, the office that at the time oversaw the golf cart program. The voice on the other line was empathetic. She explained that golf carts were only for students with disabilities, not faculty, staff, or community members. The university could, however, issue me a golf cart to drive on my own. I paused. "But I have a white guide cane," I reminded her. What if I got lost or flipped the cart by mistake? Would people understand that I can't see? Now the voice on the other line paused. "That's right," she said, then, silence. "Have you considered a guide dog?" Frankly, I was amused. "I'm pretty tall," I explained, "so it would probably have to be a Great Dane. A Great Dane is not going to fit in my office." More silence, an indication that my request was well beyond what was usual, even though it was reasonable. "I would vote for the Great Dane." Hanging up, I knew that wasn't a good option. With the semester quickly approaching, I didn't have the several months needed to train my guide dog. While at a conference on disabilities and higher education, I shared my frustration with those present. A representative for the Office for Civil Rights mused, "You should have asked for a herd of Great Danes to pull the cart." Yes, I thought humorously, those dogs are probably smart enough to pull or even drive a golf cart. Armed with this renewed sense of humor, I continued working with my employer and am happy to report that my university has begun a limited mobility transportation service for all people with disabilities. I recognize that not all faculty and staff with disabilities (not to mention employees in other fields) are this fortunate. In retrospect, as Christmas nears, I understand the importance of good humor when seeking disability accommodations, a process that author Jay Timothy Dolmage reminds us in his book Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education can be exhausting and complicated. It might just as well be called a tireless form of "strategic thinking." With this in mind, the next time my university's transport system fails, perhaps I'll ask for a reindeer and sleigh. And some hot cocoa. Editor's Note: Continuing in this Christmas spirit, here is one more from Regina: I am new to the experience of blindness and vision impairment. One ray of sunshine in this otherwise challenging adjustment has been reading the Braille Monitor. I love the variety of articles and live for each issue, to learn through the experiences of others and chart new paths in my academic and home life. What sometimes gets me through a tough day is good humor and fun. On that note, thinking of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and all we do during a work week, please join me in singing: On the twelfth day of Christmas, my employer gave to me 12 lawyers judging 11 ramps to access 10 colleagues fussing 9 parking passes 8 schedule changes 7 workshop topics 6 librarians searching 5 golf cart rides 4 office colors 3 travel vouchers 2 class assistants and assistive technology. Happy holidays everyone! You all make a big difference, and I'm so glad to be in touch with all of you. Bibliography Jay Timothy Dolmage. Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2017. This book is available in an accessible format at bookshare.org ---------- Am I Really That Special? by Cheryl Wade From the Editor: Cheryl Wade is a writer and a certified rehabilitation counselor. She lives in Midland, Michigan, with her guide dog Selene and her tabby cat Sam-Sam. As people with disabilities, many of us grew up listening to friends and family members marveling at us: we went to school, we actually worked, we had computers. Some of us might have come away with the feeling that we were pretty special. After all, we have led busy lives from wheelchairs, with hearing aids or -- in my case -- without any vision. We dated, married, earned degrees, perhaps had children and bought homes. How did we do that, for crying out loud! People asked me how I cooked meatloaf or stir-fry when I couldn't see what I was doing. The idea of having to see what I was doing seemed preposterous to me. Seeing what I am doing is not a requisite for doing, or being, or creating. It seemed an insult to have people tell me that, because I could not see, I could not do. My personal specialness has dogged me for much of my life. I believe that, growing up as a "blind kid," I was inculcated with my own sense of it. Someone told my mother I had a "photographic memory," that I could remember anything people said to me. I could sing on key, was learning tap dance in school, and could write my childish opinion on anything that suited my fancy. I must be a prodigy -- maybe even a genius! My maternal grandma often reminded me how blessed I was because I couldn't see all the bad things in the world. (Funny; I still knew all about them and was enthralled with them.) This produced some behaviors that truly were in tension with each other. I would sing and dance and spell my head off to receive a little gift from my grandma. I wondered why I didn't have the energy or organizational skills to write a sonata or a poetic legend -- after all, I might be a genius! When I visited my parents' friends, I developed an uncanny ability to ask if I could have things the people allowed me to play with -- usually dolls -- and I often ended up taking them home. My parents would scold me for this behavior, but it still was fun, and I knew I was so cute! I was in special education because I needed to learn Braille and typing. I had occupational therapy -- which students in regular education didn't have -- presumably to teach me how to use my sense of touch to make simple crafts and sign my name. I disliked OT because it was not "normal," and the only other kids who were given OT were the "crippled kids" in my school special-education department. Crippled kids also were not quite "normal" because they, too, were in special education. I wondered why: they didn't need to learn Braille, and presumably they could do the same work any neighborhood kid in the regular classroom could. Another situation at school fueled my specialness. The "room for the blind" included children with all degrees of cognition, intelligence, and ability. One of my classmates was a boy who was a year younger than I but beat me in math every time. Another child expressed no verbal communication in class, screamed, spat out her food in the cafeteria, and once laid on the floor in the hall. I tripped over her. Another child spent a good deal of his time echoing things the other students said and imitating commercials he'd heard on television. How could I be in school with these kids? I hoped no one would consider me like them! These experiences in school made me desperate to be "special" in a "good" way, especially after a neighborhood kid asked my friend if I was "retarded." I must, I somehow must, prove that I was not retarded! I had to distinguish myself from some of these classmates, and I constantly (theoretically) looked over my shoulder to make sure, double sure, I was "normal." I had lousy cane skills; did that mean I might be retarded? No, probably not. After all, I could read Braille and use a keyboard like a whiz. All this need to prove my OK-ness caused me to worry constantly about my clothes, my jewelry, even the perfume I wore. I wanted a really short miniskirt, feeling it might make me popular. But in the end I ditched the thing because I felt so uncomfortable showing half my thigh. My neighbor had three daughters, and my mom altered all the clothes those girls gave me. I had a seemingly endless wardrobe. Maybe my classmates would think I had money! I discovered that trying to be cool didn't make me cool or uncool. I had several good friends, and we liked each other and had fun together in junior high. But once again, while in high school I struggled to feel equal despite being unable to drive and living outside my local school district. (My district paid a larger district to admit me so that I could learn Braille and have a teacher-consultant.) I cried on Saturday afternoons if I weren't shopping at the mall, ice skating, or watching a movie with someone. The issue came up yet again when, in my fifties, I lurked around blindness-related websites to get an idea of whether to leave my newspaper job and earn a master's degree in disability studies. One blind man, a longtime advocate for blind people in Michigan, opined about the need for more available services in areas such as employment. "Our people have a lot of baggage," he told me. I agreed that we needed to have people see our employability. But the free-market side of me winced. So, people who are having some kind of hard time in the world should have more access to costly yet free specialized services because of what they've been through? I wasn't sure about all that! When are these services helpful; when are they just more and more support that we might well provide for ourselves instead? And how, statistically, might we prove that we have "a lot of baggage," as compared to others who have, maybe, only "some baggage?" Why was the baggage of my blindness worse than that of my friend, who was a single dad with two jobs and four kids and who lived fifteen miles outside town? Now that I'm in my sixties and retooling myself as some sort of an "older worker," I get stuck in pity parties. Why aren't there lots of people, here in my adopted hometown, reading my LinkedIn page and hiring me? I should get way more respect! I'm -- uh oh, there's that word -- special! I have two degrees, am a writer, and know a lot of cool stuff. What's a girl to do? In a way, this discussion is a bunch of navel gazing. We either are "good" special -- we can sing and dance and play the harmonica -- or we are bad special: odd and burdened and somehow to be pitied. My Christian faith helped me put these thoughts into perspective. There really was a God who loved me, who made me "special," not because I could or could not see, but because I was a unique person with unique gifts. I could trust God to help me live day by day, dealing with one joy or crisis or piece of silliness after the other. I can trust other people to walk through their unique lives and interact, perhaps with me. But going back to the temporal, I believe it's a good idea for parents to keep their disabled children from being unnecessarily doted on or catered to. It's important that, if their blind son gets presents and privilege from Auntie or Grandpa, the daughter without a disability should be recognized in the same way for her uniqueness. It's also important to treat children as much alike as possible when it comes to household chores, homework, and fair play with others. And it's a good idea to help your child with a disability to find workarounds for tasks that are difficult or impossible to do. We all might live with our particular brands of specialness, but we don't have to let it hurt or segregate or spoil us. We can choose to heal from it, in it, through it. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Curtis Chong] Aurora Chapter Holds Successful Meet the Blind Luncheon by Dale Holden and Curtis Chong From the Editor: Dale is the president of the Aurora Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. To celebrate Meet the Blind Month the chapter got a White Cane Awareness Day proclamation from the mayor, conducted a number of public education events at the public library, and held the Meet the Blind luncheon referred to in this article. The chapter made over $800 in terms of net profit for this luncheon, largely due to the generous pricing provided by the Rendezvous Restaurant at Heather Gardens. Here is what Dale and Curtis tell us about that event: For many years in the National Federation of the Blind, we have celebrated October as Meet the Blind Month. We find opportunities and hold events to put the public in contact with real live blind people. We want our sighted friends and neighbors to know that blindness does not need to be a tragedy and that blind people can contribute to the community and live productive lives. On October 12, 2019, the Aurora Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado hosted a Meet the Blind luncheon at the Rendezvous Restaurant at Heather Gardens (a community for active seniors). We partnered with the Rendezvous Restaurant, secured the support and sponsorship of the Heather Gardens Civic Affairs Committee, and invited lots of people to come and learn about blindness and the National Federation of the Blind. Our chapter secretary, Curtis Chong, served as our master of ceremonies. He proudly announced that Bob LeGare, Mayor of Aurora, had declared October 15, 2019, to be White Cane Awareness Day in the city of Aurora. He then read the full text of the proclamation to the audience. We were privileged to have as our keynote speaker Mr. Scott LaBarre, blind attorney and president of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. [PHOTO CAPTION: Scott LaBarre] Scott talked about October being Meet the Blind month across the country and October 15 being White Cane Awareness Day. He joked about how we who are blind were glad to allow light-dependent sighted folks to use lights, windows, and the other fringe benefits that come with sight. Scott's presentation was very informative to people who knew nothing about blind people. Thank you, Scott. [PHOTO CAPTION: Edith and Dale Holden] Dale Holden, our chapter president, talked about "denial" and "acceptance," explaining that he had lived most of his life with poor vision and did not become totally blind until he was sixty-five. Dale's talk was informative and moving. Peggy Chong, otherwise known as the Blind History Lady, talked briefly about the importance of blind people learning from the successes and failures of blind people who had come before them. We next heard about the Low Vision Support Group that exists at Heather Gardens for seniors who encounter blindness or poor vision later in life. Finally, Anahit LaBarre explained how seniors losing vision can obtain positive and meaningful support and information about blindness by contacting our Colorado Center for the Blind. We extend our thanks to the Rendezvous Restaurant and the Heather Gardens Civic Affairs Committee for partnering with the Aurora Chapter to make this public education and fundraising event truly successful. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Buna Dahal] Message from Buna Dahal regarding 2020 Washington Seminar Reservations This message is to advise you all that Washington Seminar will be held February 9 to February 13, 2020, with the Great Gathering-In taking place on Monday, February 10. The firm deadline date to make a reservation is Wednesday, January 8. You can now reserve a room at the Holiday Inn Capitol (550 C Street, SW Washington, DC 20024) for Washington Seminar for check-in beginning Friday, February 7, and check-out Thursday, February 13. The rate is $198.00 per night. This rate does not include DC sales tax, currently 14.95 percent. You may begin booking reservations directly online by clicking on the weblink below. You may also make reservations by calling 1-877-572-6951 and referencing booking code N2F. Credit card information is needed at time of reservation. Individual cancellation policy is 72 hours prior to date of arrival to avoid one night's room plus tax cancellation charge on credit card provided. If your departure date changes, you must inform the hotel 72 hours in advance of departure to avoid a $100 fee. Please call 1-877-572-6951 and reference your confirmation number. Please obtain a cancellation number when cancelling a reservation. Reservation requests received after the deadline date will be subject to availability and prevailing rate. The direct link to book is: https://tinyurl.com/y5vebu73. If you would like to hold a special meeting during the Washington Seminar, please email Lisa Bonderson at lbonderson at cocenter.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:lbonderson at cocenter.org] just as you have done in past years. She and I will work with the hotel on the assignment of those meeting rooms. To ensure that you get the space you need, please let us know of your meeting space needs by December 10, 2019. Lisa and I will always be available to help you with any problems you might experience with the booking of your hotel reservations. We have worked closely with the hotel staff, and they are looking forward to working with each affiliate or group wanting to make reservations. ---------- Division Elections and Convention Updates From the Editor: Every year at convention many of the national divisions have their in-person meetings and elections. Here are election results and updates from many of the divisions from this year. Spellings of names are as they appear on the notices we have received unless we detected an incorrect one: Amateur Radio Division: The Amateur Radio Division held elections on July 12. Results are as follows: president, Karen Anderson; vice president, David Chan; secretary, Corbb O'Connor; and treasurer, Scott Vangorp. National Organization of Blind Educators: The elected board officers and members are as follows: president, Cayte Mendez; first vice president, Angela Wolf; second vice president, Harriet Go; secretary, Valeria Jacobs; treasurer, Kaden Colton; and board members Kayleigh Joiner and Sara LaRose. Communities of Faith: President, Tom Anderson; vice president, Rehnee Aikens; secretary, Linda Mentink; and treasurer, Rev. Dr. Carolyn Peters. Community Service Division: Elections were conducted on July 9, with the board as follows: president, Jeanetta Price; vice president, Goddest Johnson; secretary, Kelly Joseph; treasurer, Natalie Segura; and board members Lashawna Fant, Hattie Harmason, and Tyron Bratcher. Deaf-Blind Division Board: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- President, Alice Eaddy, New Jersey; first vice president, Marsha Drenth, Pennsylvania; second vice president, Janice Toothman, Maryland; secretary, Danielle Burton, Kentucky; treasurer, John L. Williams, Florida; board members Brian Norton, Florida; Mark Gasaway, Georgia; Dana Tarter, Georgia; and Robert Stigile, California. Human Services Division: President, Candice Chapman; first vice president, Bre Ausbun; second vice president, Sarah Patnaude; secretary, Jessica Snyder; treasurer, Merry Schoch; and board members Dezman Jackson, and Lashawna Fant. Krafters Division: President, Tammy Freitag, first vice president, Jill Rossiter; second vice president, Joyce Kane; treasurer Cathy Flesher; secretary, Dixie Sanderson; and board members Jennette Kutash and Terry Powers. Merchant's Division: President, Nicky Gacos; first vice president, Harold Wilson; second vice president, Edward Birmingham; secretary, Sharon Treadway; treasurer, Pam Schnurr; and board members Barbara Manuel, Melissa Smith, Zachary Snow, Melba J. Taylor, Michael Colbrum, Gary Grassman, John Fritz, Lewanda Miranda, Joe Higdon, and Debra Smith. National Association of Blind Rehabilitation Professionals: President, Amy Porterfield; first vice president, Pam Allen; second vice president, Daniel Winsel; secretary, Jennifer Kennedy; treasurer, Amy Buresh; and board members Nikki Jackson, Shirley Robinson, Julie Deden, and Everette Bacon. National Association of Blind Students: This is a current listing of all board members as of the close of the national convention: president, Kathryn Webster; first vice president, Syed Rizvi; second vice president, Kenia Flores; secretary, Mausam Mehta; treasurer, Dustin Cather; and board members Trisha Kulkarni, Johna Wright, Elizabeth Rouse, and Justin Salisbury. National Association of Blind Veterans: Board members 2019-2021 are as follows: president, Vernon F. Humphrey; first vice president, Douglas Ingram; second vice president, Roy Stinson; secretary, David Hutchins; treasurer, Dwight Sayer; and board members Mark Erickson, Wayne Field, Nancy Hester, Jim Jonas, Brad Loos, and Chaplain Jeff Bradshaw. National Association of Guide Dog Users: The following is the list of the National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU) Board of Directors for 2019: president, Marion Gwizdala (FL); vice president, Raul Gallegos (TX); secretary, Sherrill O'Brien (FL); treasurer, Jessica Snyder (OH); and board members Aleeha Dudley (TX), Paul Sandoval (CO), and Heather Bird (NY). National Organization of Blind Parents: President, Carlton Walker; first vice president, Penny Duffy; second vice president, Kimberly Banks; secretary, Carol Castellano; treasurer, Sandra Oliver; and board members Jackie Anderson, Sarah Erb, Jean Fultz, Pamela Gebert, Carla Keirns, Tabby Mitchell, Michelle Murphy, Corbb O'Connor, Melissa Riccobono, and Casey West. Performing Arts Division: President, Julie McGinnity; vice president Katelyn MacIntyre; secretary, Lizzy Muhammad; treasurer, LaKeisha Holms; and board members Precious Perez, Leslie Hamrick, and Christina Jones. Professionals in Blindness Education: The board of PIBE as of July 9 is as follows: president, Eric Guillory; first vice president, Denise Mackenstadt; second vice president, Jackie Anderson; secretary, Deja Powell; treasurer, Krystal Guillory; and board members Jennifer Bazer, Michell Gip, Casey Robertson, and Carlton Walker. Science and Engineering Division: President, John Miller; vice president, Ashley Neybert; secretary, Louis Maher; treasurer, Alfred Maneki; and board members Purvi Contractor and David Hertweck. Seniors Division Update and Board Members: At this year's business meeting of the NFB Seniors Division, we had several speakers: Peggy Chong describing how she researches and writes about little-known ordinary blind people that we should know more about as "The Blind History Lady;" Dan Frye, speaking about AIRA; several division leaders speaking about what is happening in their states; and Dale Holden from Colorado and Dr. Brian Dulude from Minnesota speaking about their senior programs. Ms. Ricky Enger from Hadley Institute came to share with us the new offerings and ways blind people can now access information from Hadley. After elections, our officers are as follows for a two-year term: president Ruth Sager; first vice president, Judy Sanders; second vice president, Robert Leslie Newman; secretary, Shelley Coppel; treasurer, Diane McGeorge assisted by Duncan Larsen; and board members Jane Degenshein and Glenn Crosby. Writers' Division: Our officers for July 2020 are as follows: president, Shelley Alongi; first vice president, April Enderton; second vice president, Chelsea Cook; treasurer, Shawn Jacobson; and board members Myrna Badgerow and Barbara Hammel. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month were provided by the National Federation of the Blind of New Hampshire. Memmaw Soup by Cassandra McKinney President Cassandra McKinney often makes this homemade soup on the cold nights of winter as a reminder of the wonderful home feeling that she remembers from her childhood at her grandmother's house. She lovingly calls her grandmother "Memmaw," hence the reason for the name of the soup.Ingredients:1 box of pasta1/2 pound of ground beef1 large can of tomato juice (can also be a bottle of juice) Method: Place water in a medium sauce pan and bring water to a boil. Add the pasta to boiling water. Let it cook until the pasta is soft. Drain the water from the pan. At the same time, in a medium skillet brown the ground beef. Once it is done, drain the grease from the meat. Combine the meat and the pasta in the saucepan. Add the tomato juice, and bring the soup to a boil. Let simmer on low until ready to serve. This soup is best served with a sandwich of one's choice or with grilled cheese. Please note that this is also very good as a leftover meal and only takes about thirty minutes to prepare. ---------- Southern Chicken 'n Dumplings by Cassandra McKinney This is a favorite of the husband of the president of the National Federation of the Blind of New Hampshire. This dish is sure to warm you up on those cold New England evenings. Ingredients: 1 package of boneless chicken breast ?? 5 cups of self-rising flour 1/2 cup of milk 1/2 cup of oil Method: Place the chicken into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer on low for two to three hours. You can add salt, pepper, and other spices desired. Once the chicken falls apart when you touch it with a spoon, it is ready to be taken from the pot. Set aside. Mix the flour, milk, and oil in a large bowl. Keep some of the flour to the side to make sure that you are able to handle the batter with your hands. Once the mixture is able to be handled without it sticking to your fingers you are ready to start bringing the broth in the pot to a medium boil. Drop small pieces of the dough into the broth and stir often with a wooden spoon. Cover the pot once all of the dough has been added. Once the dumplings all float on the top of the broth, add the chicken that you had set aside. Stir it in, and then it is ready to serve. This dish is best served in a bowl and with a green vegetable. ---------- Maple Pecan Cookies by Carolyn Corrigan Carolyn Corrigan is the secretary of the National Federation of the Blind of New Hampshire. This family recipe makes the best-selling cookies at Monadnock Chapter bake sales and just so happens to be the favorite of President McKinney. Ingredients:3 cups of old fashioned oats1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut2 and 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon cinnamon2 cups packed light brown sugar1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter1/2 cup maple syrup2 tablespoons light corn syrup2 teaspoons baking soda1/4 cup boiling water1 teaspoon maple or vanilla extract2 cups chopped toasted pecans Method: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, except for the baking soda. Mix the wet ingredients in a medium pan and heat until the butter melts. Remove from heat. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water. Add all of the wet and dry ingredients together. Roll the mixture in the small balls. Place them on the baking sheets and bake for nineteen to twenty minutes. Let them cool once done and then eat them. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gratitude for Pedro and the Octopus: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently this note of gratitude was sent to the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Patricia Maurer, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We received this book, and I gave it to my granddaughter at our October NFB walk-a-thon. Not only did she very much enjoy the book and its illustrations, but she was able to share it with other blind adults that day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There was a sighted couple at the park there with their sighted daughter about seven. Shianne was reading the book and showed it to the girl who was fascinated with it. Shianne also took the book home to read to her little brothers. A great book all around! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you so much for making it possible for my granddaughter to have a copy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sincerely, -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kathy Hurley In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Career Launch @ Perkins: Perkins School for the Blind developed Career Launch @ Perkins [HYPERLINK: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/s0IZCxk7QpIjB69u8UcmD?domain=perkins.org] with one goal: help blind and visually impaired young adults successfully navigate the path to full-time professional work. The innovative job training, internship, and career services program [HYPERLINK: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/P-GICyPJRqh3Jv0TM52S8?domain=perkins.org] is helping high school and college graduates, ages eighteen to twenty-nine, land their first career-track job. The curriculum is designed specifically to provide the hands-on training and experience necessary to build a sustainable career in professional fields where exceptional customer engagement is key to business success. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career Launch comprises an eight-week training program -- focused on customer success skills, foundational working skills, and assistive technology -- followed by a two-month internship in the Boston area, and then a year of support from Perkins-based career services team once the graduate returns to his/her hometown. Equipped with the latest skills and experience gained through working with a strong network of employer partners [HYPERLINK: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/JWqHCzpx0rsznlxHg1j3U?domain=perkins.org] -- some of the leading companies across industries such as healthcare, hospitality, telecom, retail, financial services, higher education and e-commerce -- each graduate will leave Career Launch as a well-rounded problem-solver with transferable skills in many areas including sales and marketing, transaction management, recruiting, client services, and more. Perkins is currently accepting applications [HYPERLINK: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/0B6lCAD9yRI5VynIYcCIO?domain=perkins.org] for the January 2020 session. To learn more, visit Perkins.Org/CareerLaunch [HYPERLINK: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/s0IZCxk7QpIjB69u8UcmD?domain=perkins.org]. ---------- 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. From buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org Tue Dec 31 09:46:00 2019 From: buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org (Brian Buhrow) Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2019 09:46:00 -0800 Subject: [Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, January 2020 Message-ID: <201912311746.xBVHk0bl012688@lothlorien.nfbcal.org> BRAILLE MONITOR Vol. 63, No. 1 January 2020 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 ? 2020 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. Houston Site of 2020 NFB Convention The 2020 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in Houston, Texas, July 14 to July 19, at the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, 1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010. Make your room reservation as soon as possible with the Hilton Americas-Houston. Call 1-800-236-2905 to reserve your room in the main hotel. If you wish to stay in our overflow hotel, the Marriott Marquis Houston, the number to call is 1-877-688-4323. The 2020 room rate at our main hotel is $105 per night and applies to singles and doubles as well as triples and quads. Hotel and sales taxes in Houston are 13.38 percent and 8.25 percent, respectively. The rate for the overflow Marriott Marquis is slightly higher at $119. As with our main hotel, hotel and sales taxes are additional, and the nightly rate covers up to four in a room. Both hotels will take a deposit of the first night's room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Friday, June 1, 2020, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made before June 1, 2020, assuming that rooms are still available. After that time the hotels will not hold our room block for the convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon. Both hotels offer complimentary in-room wireless internet (though the Marriott requires a free-to-establish Marriott Bonvoy account) and fitness center access for all guests. All rooms are furnished with mini refrigerators along with many of the usual amenities such as in-room safes, irons and ironing boards, and hair dryers. After the day's events, you can get your swim on at either hotel. The Hilton has an indoor pool on the 23rd floor, while the Marriott features an outdoor pool adjacent to its Texas- shaped lazy river pool. Both hotels have several on-premise dining outlets with a broad range of additional options within a short walk from the front door. The schedule for the 2020 convention is: Tuesday, July 14 Seminar Day Wednesday, July 15 Registration and Resolutions Day Thursday, July 16 Board Meeting and Division Day Friday, July 17 Opening Session Saturday, July 18 Business Session Sunday, July 19 Banquet Day and Adjournment Vol. 63, No. 1 January 2020 Contents Illustration: New Federation Presidential Portrait Unveiled Time for Action for Blind Students by Kathryn Webster Screening Out Blind Applicants because Software is Deemed Inaccessible by Valerie Yingling Creating a Beautiful Space Where Work is Done A Mountain, a Waterfall, a Cracked Pool, and a Christmas Tree Color Wheel by Ray McGeorge Vote by Mail Ballot Now Accessible to Blind Coloradans by Curtis Chong Voting Letter to Secretaries of State by Lou Ann Blake Anger or Righteous Indignation by Maurice Peret Submissions Open for San Francisco LightHouse's Holman Prize by Christina Daniels Trying to Get Honest with the Hope of Becoming Involved by Katrina Wright Recipes Monitor Miniatures [PHOTO CAPTION: A Federation flag hangs to hide the new portrait before its unveiling] [PHOTO CAPTION: The crowd gathered for the unveiling of the portrait] [PHOTO CAPTION: Barbara Loos prepares to unveil the portrait] [PHOTO CAPTION: The new portrait of President Riccobono unveiled] New Federation Presidential Portrait Unveiled On the fourth floor of the Jernigan Institute hang three portraits of the National Federation of the Blind's longest serving presidents and most influential leaders-Jacobus tenBroek, Kenneth Jernigan, and Marc Maurer. You can find these portraits at the left end of hall leading east from the atrium to the lunchroom. On the opposite wall from these three framed portraits now hangs a portrait of our current (and fourth longest serving) president, Mark Riccobono. Rendered in oil on canvas, the portrait captures a smiling President Riccobono from chest up in his office at the Jernigan Institute. He is wearing a dark suit coat with a white shirt and crimson necktie. In the background is a view of the outdoors through the presidential office windows. Visible amidst the foliage across Wells Street is a couple of the 101 Wells converted apartment buildings with the Patapsco River in the background. Above the horizon is a soft blue sky with light scattered clouds. The twenty-inch-by-twenty-six-inch portrait hangs in a muted gold frame. Artist Gavin Glakas has painted governors, senators, and congressmen with works hanging in such places as the United States Capitol and Georgetown University. Mr. Glakas spent time chatting with and photographing President Riccobono before beginning his work on the portrait. [PHOTO CAPTION: Kathryn Webster] Time for Action for Blind Students by Kathryn Webster From the Editor: Kathryn Webster is the latest in a long line of young men and women who have been chosen by students to head the Federation's student division, the National Association of Blind Students (NABS). Kathryn is intelligent, motivated, poised, friendly, and welcoming. She is everything we could want in a Federation leader, and here is her most recent contribution to our magazine: On Friday, December 6, 2019, blind students across the United States of America marveled at the great news of the introduction of the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (HR 5312.) To parents, this will encourage their blind children to shoot for the stars because they would be welcomed with open arms in higher education. To educators, this would provide mentorship and support because, let's face it, we all don't have the answers but want to accommodate our students. To leaders in the disability community, this would be paramount because the push for accessible and inclusive education is top of mind, as it very well should be. Most significantly, for blind students this monumental piece of legislation would level the playing field so we have equivalent opportunities to our sighted counterparts in the classroom and beyond. As president of one of the most proud, determined, and mighty divisions of the National Federation of the Blind-the National Association of Blind Students-I applaud Congressman Phil Roe (R-TN) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) for harnessing the value of this legislation and introducing it to the House of Representatives in hopes of driving it to majority support, and ultimately, implementation for the benefit of our students. We are eager to push efforts forward to ensure all students, who are blind or otherwise print-disabled, have full and equal access to university course materials such as textbooks, research equipment, and online learning platforms. I'd like to share one small example in an attempt to illustrate moments where accessibility would have furthered one's reach in attaining aspirations. In my pursuit to attain a bachelor of science in Data Analytics and Statistics, I struggled to comprehend concepts covered in a high-level statistics course during my time at Wake Forest University because of the lack of accessible materials. The inability to grasp visual topics had nothing to do with my mind and brainpower; instead, it had everything to do with inaccessible textbooks and graphical measuring tools. Blind students are forced to push courses to the following semesters; encouraged to take other, more text-heavy classes; asked to do less than our peers, simply because accessibility is not advertised as a possibility when it truly is an option, and a needed one. This bill would limit those barriers, while making sure colleges and universities had somewhere to turn in exploring solutions to create inclusion in the classroom. The National Association of Blind Students leadership and membership vehemently applauds the introduction of this bill, and we will put forth all efforts to educate, spread awareness, and broaden understanding of our capabilities as contributing and active members of society. It is our time to take action! I am leaning on our communities to push this bill forward. 1. If you are a blind student: write a paragraph about your experience in the classroom, whether an access barrier or one of those rare and fortunate encounters with positive accessibility, and share your remarks with board member Trisha Kulkarni by emailing trishak.nfb at gmail.com. 2. If you are an educator, parent, or ally: contact President Kathryn Webster at nabs.president at gmail.com to learn more about how you can support this effort. 3. If you are a congressman: we need your voice to ensure our students receive equal and adequate education, allowing them to shine and contribute as we all eagerly desire to do. We are beyond excited to witness an initiative that could change the landscape for blind students for years to come, and we deeply appreciate any support and assistance in making this possible. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Ronit Mazzoni and her kids, Alex and Elena] Screening out Blind Applicants because Software is Deemed Inaccessible by Valerie Yingling From the Editor: Valerie Yingling works for us as our legal program coordinator. She has good name recognition within the National Federation of the Blind because reports given at state conventions strongly encourage contacting her about legal matters in which we are involved or those in which a member believes we should be. Here is what Valerie writes about a most troubling trend that is emerging as an impediment to blind people finding employment: Last summer, with support from the National Federation of the Blind, Ronit Mazzoni filed a disability discrimination suit against her prospective employer Myriad Genetics. In her lawsuit, Ronit asserted that Myriad refused to hire her because she is blind and requires the use of screen access software. Myriad had determined that its proprietary software was inaccessible with JAWS screen reading software and based its decision to not hire Ronit on this factor alone. Too often, the National Federation of the Blind receives reports from members regarding employers who make job offers contingent on whether their software is compatible with JAWS or other screen access software. As in Ronit's experience, blind applicants must often unfairly wait for a job offer or assigned start date while the employer purports to evaluate its software for accessibility. Employers that require applicants with disabilities to be able to use designated workplace software without any accommodations do so in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and many other laws. The ADA prohibits employers from denying employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities when the denial is based on the need to provide reasonable accommodations.[1] The ADA similarly prohibits employers from applying selection criteria that screens out individuals with disabilities unless such criteria are job-related.[2] As Ronit's complaint notes, though "software may be job-related, the inaccessibility of such software certainly is not job-related, nor can it be consistent with business necessity."[3] CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and other prevalent workplace software can be built to be accessible. In situations where it is not accessible, the software can almost always be scripted so that it is compatible with JAWS or other screen access software. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides guidance regarding the interactive dialogue that should occur between an employer and job applicant when accommodations are needed. Ronit knew all of this when she applied for the TeleGenetics counselor position with Myriad Genetics in May 2017. As a TeleGenetics counselor, Ronit would provide remote genetic counseling services for clients. Ronit was excited about the position with Myriad because it would offer her the opportunity to work from home and allow her to spend more time with her husband and young children. Ronit is a qualified and experienced genetics counselor, having obtained her master of science in Genetic Counseling and having already worked for nine years in the field. Ronit had previously encountered accessibility barriers in her field and was undeterred. When she was first expected to draw a pedigree, a visual representation of her patients' family medical history, she asked her husband, a software developer, to write a program that she could use instead of the traditional paper version. In her current job, when she encounters a patient's hand-written family health history, she asks a reader to provide her with the inaccessible information. Ronit has long believed that the most difficult part of being a blind genetics counselor is not performing the job itself, instead it is convincing others that she is capable.[4] Ronit approached her interview with Myriad confidently. She disclosed her blindness and participated in subsequent videoconference with the interviewers to discuss accommodations and demonstrate how she uses JAWS. Myriad expressed concerns about Ronit's ability to perform the TeleGenetics counselor position, given her need for screen access software. Ronit said she was willing to be flexible about her work methods, but Myriad said it would not be as flexible. Though Myriad's hiring staff repeatedly told Ronit that she was qualified for the position and would be great at the job she sought, Myriad was resolute that it would not hire her without first ensuring that there would be no technology barriers that could affect her work. Ronit encouraged Myriad to engage an accessibility expert to evaluate the software's interoperability, and Myriad did, though the individual was not familiar with Java software and in the end was unable to determine whether anything could be done to resolve the access barriers. Ronit persisted and offered to pay for a consultant who was qualified to evaluate Myriad's software with JAWS. Myriad agreed, and this consultant determined that with the correct configurations, the CRM software was generally accessible with JAWS. Only a few features would require remediation. Myriad, however, decided that it was unwilling to remediate its CRM software and unwilling to provide JAWS scripting or other accommodations, even though Myriad's software was designed and built in- house, and Myriad has on staff a robust IT team that makes regular updates to the software. Myriad's hiring manager told Ronit that Myriad would have loved to hire her but was unwilling to change policies and procedures to accommodate her. But for her blindness, Myriad would have hired Ronit. Ronit's case is ongoing. She and her attorney, Tim Elder, continue to fight, knowing that a successful resolution could help to improve employment opportunities for other members of the National Federation of the Blind. With this lawsuit, Ronit is hoping to effect systemic change. Among other things, she has asked the court to rule that Myriad: . Must make its software accessible to the blind . Must implement policies, practices, and programs that provide equal access for qualified individuals with disabilities . Must pay Ronit back pay, including wages, salary, and employment benefits, and must pay Ronit damages for emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, and humiliation, and . Must reimburse all of Ronit's attorney's fees Ronit is not alone in her experience. If you, like Ronit, encounter an employer who makes a job offer contingent upon whether your screen access software is compatible with the employer's software, please consider taking the following actions: . Alert the NFB-contact Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator, at vyingling at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2440, so that we can monitor your matter. . Familiarize yourself with your rights under Title 1 of the ADA and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. . Recommend that the employer engage an accessibility expert to assess how the company's software can work with screen access software. . Prepare a timeline of events and gather together documentation that evidences the discrimination. . Determine whether you want to file a complaint and if so, with which entity-the EEOC or a state or local agency. File within your designated statute of limitations. You do not need to have an attorney to file a charge of employment discrimination. For more information about Ronit's lawsuit or your rights as a job applicant with disabilities, please contact Valerie Yingling, legal program coordinator, at vyingling at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2440. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: The foyer, including the fireplace seating area, and the Diane and Ray McGeorge Living Room.] [PHOTO CAPTION: John Fritz touching The Kindling Point Sustained. ] [PHOTO CAPTION: President Mark Riccobono lights the fireplace] [PHOTO CAPTION: The NFB logo mosaic] [PHOTO CAPTION: The McGeorge Living Room] [PHOTO CAPTION: The Maryland sandstone fountain] [PHOTO CAPTION: The family room and kitchen] [PHOTO CAPTION: Terri Rupp checks out the Braille messages wall.] [PHOTO CAPTION: The fitness room] The hang out Creating a Beautiful Space Where Beautiful Work is Done From the Editor: Recently we have made major improvements to what was formerly known as the east mall, the west mall, black cabinet hall, and the dining room. These improvements were made by the owner of the city block complex owned by the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund and which houses the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. The Grand Opening of this splendid edition was held on Thursday evening, December 5, 2019. It was attended by the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors and the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund Board of Directors. Here is a description of our newly renovated space and the way it is now being used: National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute Barney Street Wing Remodel 2019 Overview In 1981 sleeping rooms were first built into the National Center for the Blind (now the NFB Jernigan Institute) complex. Those rooms allowed for seminars and training events to be held at the building in a cost-effective manner. Over the years, the scope of our training programs has expanded, expectations for space have changed, and increasingly more attention has been paid to making our physical space match our brand values. As a result, the National Federation of the Blind collaborated with the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund to envision the future of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute property. Phase one of the tenBroek Fund's work was to perform a full examination of the use of the space at the property and then streamline the use and reduce unwanted clutter. The second phase was to develop a new visitor space intended to enhance the event experience of the dining room at the northwest corner of the building and provide sleeping and casual spaces that bring a sense of home within the property. This remodeling project-costing more than $4 million-is the most extensive project undertaken since the new construction on the southwest corner of the property (ground broke for that project in October 2001). As a result of the continued leadership of the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund Board of Directors and their commitment to use every dollar wisely, this project has been conducted without any debt financing, as was the work in 2001. With strong fiscal management and support from partner organizations like the National Federation of the Blind and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (two of the primary tenants of the building), investments in the property in South Baltimore continue to ensure that this one-of-a-kind property serves as a base for advancing the full participation of the blind in society on terms of equality. This remodeled space, like other parts of the building, has been built to last to serve our needs into the future, to be the pride of blind people who share ownership in the property, and to welcome our sighted visitors who experience it. Space Overview You can think of the Barney Street wing of the fourth floor as having four sections: . Dining room . Foyer and living room . Casual space, including the fitness room . Sleeping rooms The wing is named after Barney Street, which borders the property on the north side. From west (Byrd Street) to east (Johnson Street) the entire wing of the original building (circa early 1900s) is 21,000 square feet. Farthest to the west is an outdoor deck that was added in the early 2000s when the new building was built. (The wing is 23,600 square feet with the deck.) To the east of the deck is the dining room, which measures forty- nine by fifty-seven feet. Immediately south of the dining room is the kitchen. Immediately to the east of the dining room is the living room and foyer space. At the north end of this space overlooking Barney Street is the Diane and Ray McGeorge Living Room. South of the living room but contiguous to it is the foyer. The casual spaces are accessed through a set of glass doors in the east side of the foyer. Wrapping around the north and far east sides of the casual spaces are the twenty-one bedrooms. These rooms overlook either Barney Street (to the north) or Johnson Street (to the east). Dining Room Upgrades to the dining room are intended to improve the functionality of the space and to create a more open atmosphere. Most notably the doors have been removed and two entrances now lead into the dining room through its east wall. The entrance to the south-accessible from the foyer-is the entrance that previous visitors will be familiar with using. Another entrance at the north end of the east wall leads from the living room into the dining room. The serving line that has been at the south side of the dining room has been moved north about four feet and refaced. The counter now extends all the way to the east wall of the room. A wall that used to be the west end of the serving line has been removed along with the refrigerator that was there. This reduces the noise in the room and makes the serving area longer. Behind the serving counter, large cabinets have been installed. Along the west wall of the dining room running from the south to the middle of the room, where double doors lead to the outdoor deck, a new drink station has been installed. Between the two entrances on the east wall, there are two new bus stations for dishes and garbage. There is a recycling container between the two bus stations. The new additions to the room are faced with a glossy white finish to add contrast to the space and to connect it with the adjacent spaces in the wing. A new HVAC system and ceiling round out the changes to the dining room. The piano, which used to be in the northwest corner, has been moved to the living room, opening up some space for functions in the dining room. Foyer The foyer is the first space that most visitors will encounter when coming into this wing of the building. The double doors that lead to the foyer are accessible from the north end of the Jernigan Institute building. These doors are at the end of a hallway that runs from the approximate center of Members Hall north to the Barney Street wing. Stepping through the doors into the foyer, you are looking north. You are greeted with a transition from the carpet of the meeting and office space to a luxury vinyl tile that runs through the remodeled spaces. Immediately to your right is a utility closet. The foyer is open and bright and has thirteen- foot ceilings. The space features white painted walls, light oak-colored floors, and natural light that comes from three brand new windows in the living room at the far north end. No walls separate the foyer from the living room. The space does include three of the building's original columns that have been painted to match each space. The columns run in a line from south to north and are eighteen feet east of the west wall of the space. Visually your attention is drawn to a forty-eight-inch diameter fireplace that sits on a seven-foot square base that is approximately twenty-five feet north and a few feet east of the doors to enter the foyer. Stepping a few feet into the space and taking a right turn around the corner of the utility closet, you now have a long wall to your right (south). There is a steel beam running about twelve feet to the north along the ceiling. This beam was used in the building when it was a light manufacturing facility. A piece of the beam used to stick out into the courtyard, but that external piece was removed in 2002 to make room for the new building. This piece of the beam had been hidden in the ceiling, and we chose to leave it exposed (although with new paint) as a symbol of the history of the building. If it looks like it does not serve any purpose in this space, well, it doesn't. It is just a symbol of where the building has been. In front of you (to the east about fifteen feet) are two glass doors that will take you east into the casual space. The keycard reader is on the wall to the right of the doors about four feet back from the door. If you went about half of the way east to the glass doors and turned left (to the north), you would find two single restrooms immediately in front of you. These are the closest restrooms to the dining room. Now, let's go back to when you turned the corner of the utility closet and had the wall on your right side. Turn to face the wall on your right (south). The Kindling Point Sustained This wall includes a large piece of art measuring eight feet by nine feet. Touch it; that is why it is there. This art celebrates the patterns of thought that have been cultivated within the organized blind movement. The art also pays tribute to the Federation's longest-serving President, Dr. Marc Maurer, by incorporating lines of his 1991 banquet address, Reflecting the Flame. The art also honors the stability of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute property while acknowledging that the goal is to influence the surrounding community, state, nation, and world by sharing our pattern of thought. Marc Maurer's leadership in expanding our property and the reach of our organization are symbolized in this art that includes readable Braille. The appearance of the piece gives the impression of logs in a fire. The way we sustain our organization is by constantly building leaders, and we hope this art and the space around it inspires the development of a new core of long-time leaders of our movement. Here is how the artist commissioned to create this piece, Kenn Kotara, described The Kindling Point Sustained: The large piece is made up of five separate panels that hang together as one. Each of the wooden-framed panels are covered with thin sheets of clear-coated copper. The horizontal panel at the bottom suggests a log while the four irregularly-shaped vertical pieces invoke the impression of flames. A map of Baltimore is the background of the entire piece. Each street on the map is made up of a line of Braille from Marc Maurer's speech, Reflecting the Flame. Verdigris surfaces may interfere with the readability in certain areas due to build-up of patina, a tactile experience that will change over time as more fingertips read the Braille. The location of the NFB offices and the title of the speech are in the lower right of the piece. The Fireplace While facing the art on the south wall, if you turn back to the north and walk forward, you will find carpet. When you reach the south edge of the carpet, if you were to follow the carpet east, you would find the corner of a wall that borders the east side of the foyer and runs north to serve as the eastern border for the living room. If you followed the corner of that wall to the east, you would be back at the entrances to the restrooms. If you were to follow the south edge of the carpet to the west, you would find one of the columns (this is the southernmost exposed column in this space). This column creates a natural corner for the west end of the carpet. This carpeted area includes seating for relaxing and socializing. At the north end of this carpeted space is the wood-burning fireplace. The fireplace sits on a seven-foot square platform that has Pennsylvania bluestone in it. This bluestone was taken out of the house that Dr. Jernigan owned in West Baltimore for many decades. The stone was removed during a remodeling project at the house and has been waiting patiently for a place where a touch of Dr. Jernigan was needed. As the leading civil rights leader of the blind of the twentieth century, Kenneth Jernigan gave us strength and a foundation to build upon. When you sit on this base and feel the stone, think of the teaching that Dr. Jernigan gave to us. He recognized that civil rights movements were not adequately sustained because they did not cultivate the next generation of leaders. He taught us to plan for the future and to provide a base for our next leaders to stand upon. Dr. Jacobus tenBroek's fireplace tools are located nearby, providing the opportunity to "tend the fire" to pass on to the newer Federation leaders. The fireplace in the center of this base is our active contribution to reflecting the flame together. The fireplace is comprised of a metal pendant that hangs from the ceiling and a glass enclosure that sits immediately on top of the base. Here fires can be burned, while Federationists sit on all sides sharing stories and building relationships. NFB Logo Art On the wall to the east of the carpet in the foyer is a mosaic of the National Federation of the Blind logo including our symbol, our name, and our tagline. This mosaic was made by Mary Degnan, an artist who happens to be deafblind. Here is a full description of the mosaic: A three-foot square mosaic features our orange, green, and blue logo, accented with white glass rods used for the canes. The symbol is set against a black stained-glass background that acts as a shimmering lake of color as the light reflects the iridescence of the dark glass. The name of the organization is three feet by four feet and has the same iridescent, black stained-glass background while the letters are done in a matte soft white for optimum contrast and visibility. The italicized tagline "Live the Life You Want" is done in mirror shards. The Living Room The Diane and Ray McGeorge Living Room is named for the dynamic couple that established and grew the Colorado Center for the Blind. Through the personal commitment of these two loving mentors and tough advocates, the lives of thousands of blind people have been influenced. The living room is north of the foyer. There is not a clear transition between the two spaces. However, the furniture cluster in the living room sits on a separate square of carpet from the fireplace carpet, and this area is intended to feel a little more like home than the grand openness of the foyer. The walls, millwork, and nine-foot-six-inch ceiling are black in color, known as Cyberspace, to suggest a more intimate environment. The north wall of the living room has three brand new windows-as the original window openings had been boarded up since we secured the property in 1978. In the northeast corner of the space is the piano that was previously located in the dining room. On the west wall, between the two openings to the dining room, is a large countertop with a tiled wall behind it. On the east wall is shelving for Braille books and other artifacts of the organized blind movement. On the east wall between the mosaic in the foyer and the shelving in the living room is an emergency exit door (leading to the casual space). Fountain In the middle of the living room shelving is a fountain creating the sound of gently running water. This fountain symbolizes the fountain that was in the backyard of Diane and Ray McGeorge. Many Federationists sat out on the McGeorge deck and received the teaching and mentoring of these two leaders while listening to their fountain. By including a fountain in this space, we hope that another generation of leaders will share in intergenerational conversations with this auditory backdrop. Calder Brannock, the artist from the District of Columbia who created the fountain, describes it this way: This triangular boulder, measuring fifty inches tall, gained its reddish hue from the iron in the riverbed from which it was pulled, and its surface smoothed for centuries by the flowing water. Placed upright over a basin, the stone will continue to shift and develop as water again flows across it in its new home. The artist spent weeks visiting quarries to find the perfect piece of Maryland sandstone. The stone is raised off the floor of the fountain's basin by twelve inches, making the whole structure five feet tall. The stone is cut with a flat base for stability and drilled so the tube for the water will travel up the center of the stone. The pump for the fountain is submerged in the water, limiting/eliminating its noise. The basin is filled halfway with water to amplify the noise and catch any splash. The fountain fits into the surrounding bookshelves and disappears into the room's architecture. Casual Space When you came east through the foyer, you found two glass doors. When you go through those doors, you are transitioning from the foyer to the sleeping rooms and casual spaces. Immediately in front of you is a tiled wall. This is the backside of the entertainment wall for the family room. If you turned left (north) and followed this short hallway, you would come to the carpet that designates the corridor for the sleeping rooms. If you turn right (south) and make your way around the wall in front of you, you will enter the open family room. Family Room This large open area provides a relaxing space for Federationists to gather in a more casual setting. At the south end is a brick wall that was exposed as part of the remodeling. The exposed brick wall runs seventy feet long. From west to east (right to left) along this brick wall, you will find the emergency exit door, a utility closet, the Barney Street elevator (which provides access to the courtyard rooms), and then a restroom. At the far west end of the corridor that runs along the brick wall is a storage closet, and at the far east end is the west entrance to the fitness room. Another memento of the building's history is the "fire escape" sign currently hanging next to the emergency exit door in the brick wall. When the ceiling over the dining room was opened for the first time in many decades, this sign was discovered-pointing the way to what would have been the fire escape when the building was first constructed. The center of the family room includes fourteen-foot ceilings, an entertainment wall with seating on a carpeted area, and a number of tables and chairs. There are two exposed columns in this space. The family room has a natural transition to the east to a kitchen and counter space. The entire family room and kitchen is nearly 2,200 square feet. At the north end of this space is the carpeted corridor for the sleeping rooms. The family room/kitchen space is separated from the corridor by vertical metal panels that have a series of holes punched out. These holes are in sets of six to match oversized Braille cells. Hundreds of racquetballs are available for visitors to insert into the holes to make Braille messages in the wall. There are a number of breaks between the panels so that the sleeping room corridor can be easily accessed. Kitchen The kitchen is intended to be used for training or by visitors during their stay. The west side of the kitchen features a seventeen-foot-long, high-top counter that runs from north to south. The counter accommodates twelve people on barstools. The countertop is equipped with electrical outlets. Above the countertop are pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. The east side of the kitchen includes appliances, a sink, and cabinets. A Keurig coffee maker is available on this counter. Fitness Room At the far south end of the kitchen wall (east side of the family room/kitchen) is one entrance to the fitness room. If you enter the fitness room at this point, you are facing east. If you travel straight ahead, you will come to the other entrance for the fitness room. Along the wall on your right side, you will find some storage spaces for visitors to keep things while they are using the fitness room. During the remodeling, we discovered a rainbow painted on the masonry wall that is now covered by new drywall. An envelope containing a letter in Braille and print has been affixed to the masonry wall to be discovered in the future when the wall is redone. The letter was written by Mark Riccobono who served as President of the National Federation of the Blind and President of the Jacobus tenBroek Memorial Fund during the time of the remodeling project. Immediately on your left are two single-user shower rooms separated by a water fountain (that includes a spout for filling water bottles). To the east of the shower rooms, the fitness area opens into a thirty-foot by forty-foot fitness area including a variety of exercise equipment. The flooring in this space is a dense rubber floor typically found in spaces like this. If you exit the fitness room through the door at the east end, you come to a carpeted corridor. Following the carpet in front of you will lead you to the sleeping rooms (room 20 is in front of you). Immediately to your left is an entrance to the hang out (this room does not have a door). Immediately to your right is a set of double doors that lead into the Johnson Street wing offices. If you go through those doors and follow the wall around to the left and go to the end of the hall, you will find the emergency exit to the Johnson Street stairwell (this doorway was for many years the primary entrance to our offices). The Johnson Street stairwell leads to an exit onto Johnson Street, accessible by taking the stairs or elevator to the second floor. Hang Out This brightly decorated room measures twenty-five by nineteen feet and is intended to be a quieter space for working or, well, just hanging out. In contrast to the family room and kitchen spaces, which are very public and open, the hang out is intended to be a smaller, quieter, public space. Along the west wall of the room is a long desk space and cabinetry. Come here to sit with your laptop, use the Braille embosser, or take a phone call. Also along this wall is an amateur radio station. This station was designed by the National Federation of the Blind Amateur Radio Division. It has been dedicated to Rachel Olivero (AD9O) who served as president of the division as well as the Federation's director of organizational technology until her passing in February 2019. While Rachel was only thirty-six years old, her love for and impact on the members of the organized blind movement was significant. It was her dream to have this station that helped bring it into reality. The east side of this room includes a variety of comfortable seating and eclectic lighting. The walls of the room include felt panels to give it a bright look and to absorb sound. Sleeping Rooms Surrounding the casual areas is a carpeted hallway that runs along the north and east sides with a small wraparound at the south leading to the east entrance of the fitness room. There are twenty-one sleeping rooms along the north and east walls. The rooms begin with number one at the far west end of the north wall, incrementing in order to the east and continuing to the south along the east wall. For reference, when you come into the casual space from the foyer and turn to the north, you are walking towards room 2. When you come to the carpet, you would turn left to get to room number 1 and right to get to the higher number rooms. Rooms 1 to 14 run along the north. They each include an entry space with a couch that converts to a full-size bed when needed, and a bedroom space with two twin- size beds past the bathroom. Rooms 16 to 20 are found along the east wall. These smaller rooms include two beds. Rooms 6 and 12 are the largest rooms and are ADA-accessible. Rooms 5 and 6 are designed to be hypoallergenic. Room 15 is a two-bedroom suite with a shared bathroom. This room includes 15A and 15B to designate the two separate bedrooms. Every room includes at least one large window measuring roughly six feet square. The rooms have been designed to minimize noise. The hallway walls in the sleeping room area are painted a sandy color called Intellectual Gray, while the walls around the doors are light blue (AquaSphere). The changes in hallway color are demarcated by a "reveal," a metal floor-to-ceiling accent molding. The sleeping room doors and frames are a bright cobalt blue (Oceanside). Rooms include motion-sensing LED lights with push button controls and climate control panels. The goal is to eventually give each sleeping room a theme related to the history and advancement of the organized blind movement. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Julie Deden standing next to the fountain] A Mountain, a Waterfall, a Cracked Pool, and a Christmas Tree Color Wheel by Ray McGeorge From the Editor: This article was originally published in the February 2006 issue of the Braille Monitor. In honor of our new fountain, we reprint it here, along with the original editor's note: Editor's Note: Ray McGeorge is the first vice president of the National Organization of the Senior Blind. He has been a leader in the National Federation of the Blind for several decades. He is also one of those guys we would all love to have living near us; he does plumbing, electrical work, and machine design and building. He is also an amateur architect. Here is his account of creating a backyard fountain: More than four decades ago, my wife Diane and I were visiting her family. One member had a patio. When I stepped out the door, I could hear the sound of water and a motor. I was told that the motor was powering a pump that forced water up so that it could then fall into the pool below. I got down on my hands and knees and examined the pool and the rocks which served as a backdrop for the waterfall. I really liked the whole setup except for one thing. I am convinced that most sighted folks simply look at things without noticing the racket they add to the environment. The pump on that patio was noisy. As a blind person I found that the noise detracted from the beauty of the falling water. I was beginning to form a plan in my mind. I really liked everything about that waterfall except that pump motor noise. At this point I must mention that my wife and I own two apartments. We live in one of them; the other has been rented to the same woman for many years. I found a big fish tank in our basement, so I asked our tenant whether the previous owners had had fish. She said they had and that they had also had several ponds in the backyard. She also told me that at some point they had filled the ponds in with dirt and old cement from the pond sides. Since I had been thinking about how much I wanted a pool with a waterfall, I went out in the yard with a heavy, sharp tool and began to search for the sound of cement. It took a lot of heavy banging and clanging. The neighbors probably thought I had lost my mind, but I was not deterred. Finally I located a pond that was almost ten feet square and about two feet deep. It took a lot of work, but I dug out all the dirt and broken concrete. I decided to use debris to create the little mountain I wanted to build on two sides of the pool. In my mind I pictured the peak of the mountain at one corner. However, the building material I had at hand was insufficient for my purposes. Let me digress for a minute to tell you about my next-door neighbors. They were young and managed the apartments in which they lived. But they had no yard. Diane and I began inviting them to bring over their food and share our patio at dinnertime. The couple became interested in my pool project, which was visible from where we sat. They had an old truck. Being blind, I asked them for help with transportation. They said they would be glad to drive me to the nearby mountains so I could examine boulders to use to form the base of my mountain. I found some as big as three feet in diameter; it took two of us to lift them into the truck. I also made sure that the boulders were interesting colors. Since the peak of my mountain was to be in one corner, I wanted the mountain rounded, jutting out into the pool. My neighbors helped me place the rocks where I wanted them. This was a long, backbreaking project, but we all survived with our backs still functioning. As a machinist by trade, I already had some of the skills I needed. One of my neighbors was a steam fitter. He became very interested in the project and donated a lot of one-inch pipe, which I badly needed. I was not rich in those days. However, I still had to purchase a goodly amount of plastic pipe to carry the water across the yard and into the basement to an old coal bin. I wanted that noisy pump far from my waterfall. I had to drill two holes through my house foundation, one to take the water from the pool, the other to pump it back out for the waterfall-about one hundred feet. Remember, the pipe for the waterfall was on the inside of the little mountain. At the very peak I worked on the pipe with a file until I had a fan-shaped opening for the waterfall. I worked on the opening until the waterfall was about three feet wide. I finally controlled the water flow so it made a gentle sound as the water hit the pool, but it took a lot of work. The first time I turned on the waterfall, the water shot out with such force that it watered the entire yard. After many adjustments and tests, I found the flow level I wanted. I was simply overjoyed when I walked over to my patio and could hear the water clearly but not the pump motor. Boy, was I happy! After I had all the rocks, dirt, driftwood, and plants in place, I installed a thirty-inch-high chain-link fence. We had two young children, so I did not want any accidents with the pool. As the children grew, they learned to climb over the fence, but by then they understood water safety. You may think this is the end of this story, but not yet. My wife and I are blind, but we entertain sighted guests on our patio during the summer, so one evening, when we were sitting out there with the water splashing, it occurred to me that lighting for the waterfall might be nice. I hunted around and finally found a Christmas color wheel. I decided to build a small rock garden in the pool corner, diagonally across from the waterfall. I built a form to house the color wheel and then cemented rocks around it. For twenty seconds one sees blue, then green, and so on. Our guests say that they like the colored lights. To complete the job, I put two switches inside the patio door: one for the waterfall and the other for the lights. Then the job was complete. Well, almost. I did have to build a fence behind the mountain so that the shed could not be seen. I then painted it green and trained a pretty vine with red berries to cover the fence. Imagine how much we enjoyed this backyard beauty for thirty years. But after three decades I began to notice that the waterfall was not flowing at full force. I knew that the problem was that plastic pipe was supposed to last only a couple of decades. So there I was, digging a trench instead of rocking in my retirement chair. I had never thought I would be working so hard, but what choice did I have? I forgot to say that the pool was painted a pretty blue. Please notice that I used the verb was, for there is one more segment to this tale. When the water level in the pool began dropping, I knew what was wrong. The old pool was leaking. I refused to do any more work. I simply drained the pool and hired a company to come and apply a plastic layer to the interior. The coming of the halfway mark of fall last weekend brought the end of listening to the waterfall for another year because the pipes must be drained for winter. We enjoyed our last supper on the patio listening to the music of the falling water. But, when spring comes around next year, we will have the joy of hearing our longtime project come to life once again. With my wife's and my NFB philosophy, we knew we could design, build, and ultimately enjoy bringing a mountain and a waterfall into our backyard. Perhaps the day will come when we cannot physically do the repairs needed. Then we will hire workers to do the job under our direction. Yes, I do believe that at our house we have truly changed what it means to be blind. We recruited and organized sighted people to help with the driving, lifting, and so on, but we were the bosses, and the sighted were the helpers. Blind people love beauty, and we know how to create it. ---------- 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 2422, for more information. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality. Invest in Opportunity The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. A donation to the National Federation of the Blind allows you to invest in a movement that removes the fear from blindness. Your investment is your vote of confidence in the value and capacity of blind people and reflects the high expectations we have for all blind Americans, combating the low expectations that create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. In 2018 the NFB: . Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities. . Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs, which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United States. . Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable. . Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers, providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international publications. . In the third year of the program, over three hundred fifty Braille- writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind users. Just imagine what we'll do next year, and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind. Vehicle Donation Program The NFB now accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation-it doesn't have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have. General Donation General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit www.nfb.org/make-gift for more information. Bequests Even if you can't afford a gift right now, including the National Federation of the Blind in your will enables you to contribute by expressing your commitment to the organization and promises support for future generations of blind people across the country. Visit www.nfb.org/planned-giving or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information. Pre-Authorized Contribution Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdraw of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, visit www.nfb.org/make- gift, and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and return it to the address listed on the form. ---------- Vote by Mail Ballot Now Accessible to Blind Coloradans by Curtis Chong From the Editor: when many of us think of Curtis Chong, we think of his stellar work as the director of technology at the National Federation of the Blind and his longtime leadership of the National Federation of the Blind Computer Science Division. But Curtis cannot be pigeonholed by technology. He is a Federationist who participates in every aspect of the organization, and here is what he has to say about voting in Colorado: There are four states in this country where elections are held entirely by mail. These include Oregon (2000), Washington (2011), Colorado (2013), and Hawaii (2019). Every registered voter receives a ballot in the mail. The voter marks the ballot, puts it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve and then into a separate mailing envelope, signs an affidavit on the exterior of the mailing envelope, and returns the package via mail or by dropping the package off at an authorized location or drop box. Think of this as an absentee ballot for everyone. A blind Coloradan who cannot see the printed mail ballot must either find someone to help mark the ballot (hardly a secret ballot in this case) or travel to a polling facility where the accessible equipment might or might not work. Even if the equipment at the polling facility does work, most of us are nowhere as familiar with the voting system's nonvisual access technology as we are with the technology we use on our smart phones and computers. Following on the heels of Maryland and New Mexico, the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado determined that the time had come for the printed mail ballot to be accessible to the blind and other voters with disabilities. With the incredible help and support of our good friend Senator Jessie Danielson, SB19-202 was adopted by the Colorado General Assembly without any opposition, $50,000 was appropriated, and on May 29, the bill was signed into law by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. SB19-202 states, in relevant part: "The secretary of state shall establish procedures to enable a voter with a disability to independently and privately mark a ballot or use an electronic voting device that produces a paper record using nonvisual access, low-vision access, or other assistive technology in order for the voter to vote in a mail ballot election...The procedures shall include a method, to be determined by the secretary of state, by which a voter with a disability may request such a ballot...A voter with a disability who receives a ballot pursuant to this subsection...must print the ballot sent by electronic transmission and such ballot must be received by the election official in the applicable jurisdiction before the close of polls on the day of the election." As any blind person who has worked with websites knows, it is not a given that a particular site will work well with our screen reading and magnification technology. Hence, we determined early on that we should prevail upon the Colorado Secretary of State to involve our members in the testing of the system before it was rolled out to the public. A number of our members had a chance to test the system. We identified a few problems, and most of them were addressed in time for the statewide coordinated election held on November 5. We are confident that by the time of the primary election on March 3, 2020, all of the issues we have identified will be fixed. Unlike the online ballot-marking tools in Maryland and New Mexico, the Colorado system gives voters with disabilities immediate access to the ballot as soon as printed ballots are sent out in the mail. The voter goes to a specific website, provides verifying credentials, and is presented with the online ballot. There is no waiting for a link to the ballot to be emailed. Once the ballot has been marked and reviewed, the voter prints both the ballot and the ballot application. While the ballot application is filled out by the online system, the voter still has to sign it. Some voters might need help with the signing process, but the secrecy of the ballot is still maintained. For those people who say that there is a problem for anyone who doesn't have access to a printer, I have found that (at least in Windows) the printing of the ballot and accompanying ballot application can be saved as two separate PDF files. These files can then be copied to a flash drive. You can take the flash drive to a facility with a computer and a printer. In conclusion, I would be pleased to share any and all information with anyone who wants to make the printed mail or absentee ballot accessible in his/her state. There are financial and technical considerations involved in doing this, but the overall impact to a state's budget is, as I see it, negligible. The important principle to keep in mind is prior testing before implementation. Be sure that real live blind voters have an opportunity to try the system before it goes live and work actively with the people who are involved with the design, development, and support of this new system. In this way, you can ensure that whatever is rolled out will be both accessible and usable. ---------- Voting Letter to Secretaries of State by Lou Ann Blake From the Editor: Lou Ann Blake is the very active and visible person at our national headquarters who monitors the enforcement of the Help America Vote Act. From other articles that have appeared here, you will remember that she is a person with tremendous knowledge about voting options for blind people and a very passionate advocate to see that we can vote privately, independently, and anonymously. Here is what she says: Currently, the majority of states do not provide blind and low-vision voters with an accessible way to mark an absentee ballot. As an activity under our Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services, we recently sent a letter to the secretary of state for these states to remind them of their obligation to provide accessible absentee voting as required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and recent court decisions in cases brought by the NFB in Maryland and Ohio. The letter is printed here for your information. If you receive any feedback from your secretary of state or state elections officials in response to this letter, or if you have questions about accessible absentee voting, please contact Lou Ann Blake, deputy director of Blindness Initiatives at lblake at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2221. September 27, 2019 Dear Secretary: The National Federation of the Blind seeks to protect the rights of blind and low-vision voters, both at the polls and when absentee voting. It is vital to our democracy that all citizens are able to exercise the right to cast a secret ballot independently. Unfortunately, the right of many absentee voters with disabilities to mark their ballots privately and independently continues to be denied due to the implementation of inaccessible systems that require them to depend on others to assist them in the ballot-marking process. In advance of the 2020 elections, I am writing to remind you of your obligation, as required by federal law and recent court decisions, to provide voters with print disabilities an accessible way to privately and independently mark an absentee ballot. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires states to ensure that voters with disabilities are offered an opportunity to vote- whether in person or by absentee ballot-that is equal to the opportunity offered to voters without disabilities. Thus, if all other voters can vote absentee privately and independently, voters with disabilities must be offered the same opportunity. Furthermore, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states that public entities that receive federal financial assistance may not discriminate against people with disabilities in their programs, services, or activities. The law on this issue, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, is quite clear. In National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Maryland State Board of Elections violated Title II of the ADA and Section 504 by providing only a paper absentee ballot that was inaccessible to people with print and dexterity disabilities, while refusing to allow access to a ballot marking tool that would grant them the same opportunity provided to voters without disabilities to mark their absentee ballot independently (see the attached opinion). Ballot-marking tools allow voters to mark an electronic version of the absentee ballot on devices such as computers, tablets, or smartphones. No votes are cast electronically; voters must still print and mail in their ballots to have their votes counted. The Fourth Circuit explained that the opportunity to mark an absentee ballot privately and independently was a benefit that the Maryland State Board of Elections provided to voters without disabilities but denied voters with disabilities on the basis of their disability. It was of no consequence that Maryland made other methods of voting, like in-person voting, available to voters with disabilities on an equal basis. The right to vote absentee privately and independently was a distinct benefit, and the denial of this opportunity was "precisely the sort of harm the ADA seeks to prevent." Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind v. Lamone, 813 F.3d 494, 506 (4th Cir. 2016). The opinion further states "that by effectively requiring disabled individuals to rely on the assistance of others to vote absentee, defendants have not provided plaintiffs with meaningful access to Maryland's absentee voting program." Id. at 507. The Fourth Circuit also noted that state law, such as a requirement that voting systems be certified, does not exempt "public entities from making otherwise reasonable modifications to prevent disability discrimination" because the "Constitution's Supremacy Clause establishes that valid federal legislation can pre-empt state laws." Id. at 508. The Sixth Circuit in the recent case, Hindel v. Husted, also found that certification procedures required by state law could not block enforcement of the ADA when it comes to the right to vote absentee on an equal basis. See Hindel v. Husted, 875 F.3d 344, 349 (6th Cir. 2017). Currently, there are a number of accessible absentee ballot-marking systems available for use in US elections. The Maryland State Board of Elections makes its accessible ballot-marking tool available at no charge. Five Cedars, Democracy Live, Dominion Voting, and Prime III are examples of vendors that can also provide absentee ballot-marking systems. Many of these systems have now met Ohio and California's certification requirements for election technology. Given the requirements of the ADA and Section 504, as well as the wide availability of accessible ballot marking systems, I strongly encourage you to implement such a system for use in the 2020 elections, and all subsequent federal, state, and local elections in which absentee voting is available. The National Federation of the Blind will be monitoring the availability of accessible absentee voting through our 2020 national blind voter survey, and subsequent surveys following each presidential general election. Voters with disabilities must be considered as you design and plan your absentee voting process. Providing an accessible ballot-marking tool will guarantee that people with disabilities have an opportunity to cast their ballots privately and independently that is equal to the opportunity provided to voters without disabilities, as required by the ADA. The National Federation of the Blind is available as you consider the accessibility of your current absentee voting system. We welcome an opportunity to advise you on the development, or in the procurement process, of an accessible ballot-marking tool. Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions, or if you need assistance with the implementation of accessible absentee voting. Sincerely, Mark A. Riccobono, President National Federation of the Blind ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Maurice Peret] Anger or Righteous Indignation by Maurice Peret From the Editor: Maurice Peret is an active member of our organization, serving as a staff member of the Blind Initiatives Team and chairing the Committee on Automobile and Pedestrian Safety. What Maurice writes about in this article is timely, and I hope it encourages each of us to express our political opinions while at the same time placing uppermost in our Federation activity the importance of working in harmony to advance the integration of the blind. Here's what he says: As a member of the National Federation of the Blind for approaching thirty years now, I came to the organized blind movement already with a developing set of values and beliefs which shaped my character as an activist as well as my intellectual worldview. I have enjoyed a profound sense of freedom of expression through the well-established democratic structure and process of our Federation. I relish the fellowship in common cause with intelligent colleagues with whom, under any other circumstances, I would find little in common due to our divergent views. I marvel at the example which stands in contrast to the current toxic social atmosphere afoot in our nation. It is by now almost a clich? to the point of being platitudinal to reference the present era of discourse in which we find ourselves. The adjectives that come to mind include coarse, vitriolic, divisive, and partisan, particularly in the realm of government and popular media. One resulting manifestation of this era of rhetoric is punctuated by anger. The online www.dictionary.com defines anger as a noun meaning "a strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire." As I recall my childhood, I had a rather allusive relationship with anger, repressed in the form of passive aggressive rebellion. I attribute this, at least in part, to a prevalent misunderstanding about my blindness. My parents were divorced when I was eight years old, and I grew up with many of the challenges that one might expect from being raised in a single parent home. I got into trouble just as much-well, maybe more-than other kids my age. Living in the suburban Washington, DC, Northern Virginia area, I was the only blind student, so far as I was aware, in each of the public schools that I attended. None of the adults around me ever seemed to use the term "blind." Instead, I was always referred to as "partially sighted." This impresses upon me now the conviction that this was a psychological trick. I actually thought I was nearer to sighted than blind, and I was not discouraged from reliance upon visual methods to accomplish tasks when perfectly viable nonvisual alternative techniques would have better served me. I had no adult blind role models to look up to or emulate back then. There were plenty of anecdotes about popular blind celebrities, but I found them and their accomplishments far beyond my reach. I wrestled with the inequality of expectations between me and my peers. When I would get into mischief for which there were consequences to face, for example, I was often "let off," or excused out of misplaced sympathy. In my adolescent rebellious mind, I grew outraged and even resentful at not being allowed to fail in the same way that my peers around me were. They were not always so fastidious in reminding me of this fact from time to time. But for another parallel development in my life to counterbalance the anger was a growing sense of righteous indignation which would eventually save me from a potentially reckless and destructive dead-end path of an angry young man. Wikipedia defines righteous indignation as "typically a reactive emotion of anger over mistreatment, insult, or malice of another. It is akin to what is called the sense of injustice. In some Christian doctrines, righteous indignation is considered the only form of anger which is not sinful, e.g., when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple (Gospel of Matthew 21)." My earliest memory is of a keen interest in biographies. I read a book at the age of eight years old about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This would have been just five years after his assassination on April 4, 1968, at the age of thirty-nine in Memphis. Until shortly before that time, I had lived with my family on the military base at Ft. Myer, Virginia. It is worth recalling that it was the United States Military, following World War II, in 1948 in an executive order signed by President Harry S. Truman that established the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, becoming the first American institution to integrate men and women of all racial backgrounds. I was therefore shocked to learn that kids like the young MLK were summarily exposed to such terrible treatment simply on the arbitrary basis of their skin color. A few years later I read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which was heartbreaking in its depiction of the well- documented genocidal warfare against the indigenous peoples of this land. What I found even more disturbing was the discovery that the struggles of native, African American, and Latin American peoples continued to the present day. When I read the classic The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, published in 1906, I was captivated by the backdrop of rising political movements of the time and the establishment of labor organizations in response to horrific working and living conditions of the early twentieth century Chicago stockyards. Here's the thing: If we can just get to a place beyond ideology where views can be shared civilly without venom or vitriol, perhaps we might come to some better understanding about where we are as a society, at least for those of us who occupy our mental energy with such things. There are a couple of main factors that lead me to increasingly conclude that capitalism, as a dominant world system, is beginning to show signs of serious decay. To my way of thinking, a historic precedence was established in the aftermath of the great worldwide depression in the 1930s. President Franklin Roosevelt confronted a tremendous dilemma in the land. In the wake of a gilded class of robber barons, there was a strong and growing social and progressive political movement in the country, based on organizations of labor, academic and intellectual communities, a substantial number and powerful portion of whom were avowed socialists and communists. Records of personal correspondence between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his associates of the time revealed open concerns about a pre-revolutionary environment. Himself a secure member of the gilded elite, Roosevelt opted, against great political opposition, to offer massive concessions to the working poor and comparatively small middle classes. It amounted to a massive political and economic reform of capitalism, assisted in no small portion by the great carnage of World War II. Divisions among progressives lead to capitulation to the New Deal and ultimately a route of the most left elements of these progressives, paving the way for reactionary and destructive McCarthyism, from which we have, in my opinion, never since recovered. These historic concessions taxed the income of the wealthiest in our nation during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration at a whopping rate of-wait for it-91 percent. It's true, you can look it up. What was accomplished was the purchase of a nearly half century of social peace that led to growing prosperity and collective bargaining power of a working class made up of women who found themselves working, for the first time in the nation's history, outside the home, as well as combat veterans, among them, newly integrated black soldiers coming home to old Jim Crow; this is where the true civil rights movement began. In the emergence of a new Gilded Age, not of industrial capitalists but this time of finance speculators (read the great world recession of 2008), wherein many of the regulatory building blocks of the New Deal reforms were systematically dismantled replaced by a new form of social control and revenue generating exploitation through the mass incarceration of overwhelmingly black and brown people, thanks to the war on drugs. The Trump administration is openly challenging the limits of checks and balances in our democracy and threatening the social peace won by the New Deal. More Americans are aware of problems with our electoral process that many consider voter repression of mostly minority communities. Meanwhile we hear more and more from some among the billionaire one percenters that the way things are going, with out-of-control economic inequality and complete tax exemption providing corporations a virtual free ride, is unsustainable. The point is that the way we are headed is not sustainable, and a possible outcome could again present a historic choice: reform or revolution. Given what we know about the nation's path, what will it look like for the next generation? It should come as no surprise, then, that I should have become an activist early on in my life. While attending Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, in the mid-1980s, I met a group of young socialist organizers, and I quickly got involved. As a union and political activist after leaving college, I fought and campaigned to get jobs in union- organized factories where blind workers were virtually unheard of. Inspired by the chronicled history of the first fifty years of the organized blind movement in the book entitled Walking Alone and Marching Together, I hungrily read about the organizing drives of blind workers in sheltered workshops from Cincinnati, Houston, and Chicago. I learned about Federation leaders like machinists Dick Edlund, Ray McGeorge, and Ted Hart who retired from the John Deere Corporation. My restless sense of adventure led me to many interesting places from the coal mining town of Morgantown, West Virginia, where I worked for an hourly piece rate as a pressor and union member in a shirt factory, to the farming and meat-packing region of Des Moines, Iowa, where I worked as an assembler in a vending machine factory that was organized by a United Automobile Workers union local. I came into contact with so many extremely interesting people. For example, through my work in the US based anti-Apartheid movement in collaboration with exiled members of the African National Congress, I stood just twenty feet from the recently released twenty-seven-year imprisoned Nelson Mandela and his delegation at the Washington, DC, AFL-CIO headquarters. Mandela would become South Africa's first popularly elected black president. I fondly recall the only face-to-face meeting I ever had with the late Dr. Kenneth Jernigan in 1993. Living in Des Moines, Iowa, at the time, I was visiting the DC and Baltimore area and decided to drop in, unannounced, to meet Dr. Jernigan with a specific purpose in mind. Astonishingly, Dr. Jernigan agreed to meet with me. I explained that there was a newspaper that I supported and read with the help of a few volunteers who recorded it on cassette tape every week, and I wanted to publicize the availability of this resource in the Braille Monitor. After a lengthy discussion about editorial policies and procedures as they had to do with the NFB, and once I made my pitch, I well remember Dr. Jernigan's question to me in response. He asked me who I thought made the editorial decisions about the Monitor. I answered that I knew that Barbara Pierce was the editor and that I had been in discussions with her about the matter. Dr. Jernigan said that this was not his question. Catching his drift, I sheepishly answered that I supposed that it was he, Dr. Jernigan, who made those decisions. The conversation went on for an hour and covered many other topics and ended with what I received as a high compliment. Despite openly representing my political views, which it is quite safe to say differed considerably from his own, Dr. Jernigan asked me why I was not more visible at the national convention of the NFB. The fact was that I had not yet attended my first convention, which would not occur sadly until after his untimely passing in 1998. I subsequently attended the 1999 annual convention in Atlanta, deeply and sadly conscious of his absence. I will always cherish my one and only memory of the charismatic Dr. Jernigan and have strived to affirmatively answer his question put to me ever since. Before leaving Dr. Jernigan's office that fateful day back in 1993 and making sure he did not forget my request to have the announcement of the weekly volunteer recording of the newspaper I supported, I asked one final time whether he would allow it. In yet another test of my capacity to communicate as a blind person, Dr. Jernigan answered that I should leave the text at the front desk in Braille and he would see. I took out my seldom used slate and stylus and scribed the text of what I wanted the announcement to read. You might be as curious as I was for weeks thereafter. In a subsequent issue of the Braille Monitor, there was my announcement just as I had left it for him, errors and all. In 2020 I will attend my twenty-second consecutive convention. Through my well-cultivated job search experiences, I derived a great deal of skill and confidence in pursuing jobs and adapting to varied work environments. During one period of unemployment while living in West Virginia, I learned firsthand what it was like to work for subminimum wages in a sheltered workshop. There was an outfit nestled in the coal mining mountains. Unemployment was quite high there, even compared to the above national average rate of joblessness across the state. There were several menial tasks that were set up for the two dozen or so workers employed there. One of the main jobs included making roof bolts that were used to secure the ceiling in underground mines. This involved using a mallet to hammer in dowels into steel bolts which sat in a vat of oily soup. The hourly piece rate was calculated supposedly according to what an "able bodied" individual was capable of producing in an hour. It is important to bear in mind that I had accumulated several years of experience working in private competitive industrial settings by then, so when I was timed at $1.53, I was quietly outraged. I held my tongue about it, though, because after all, a job was a job, and this was certainly not a union outfit. Some of those who were employed there had intellectual or developmental disabilities. Others, I discovered, including a worker with no apparent disability, had been employed in a foundry for nearly twenty years. The company had since been shuttered and had numerous cases of asbestos poisoning lawsuits pending against them, this gentleman among the plaintiffs. To add insult to injury, after a few weeks working there, I was laid off. I also experienced employment discrimination when I applied to work as a packager at a local pharmaceutical plant well-known for its production of generic drugs. After going through two consecutive interviews, widely considered a virtual shoe-in around the area, I was explicitly denied employment in writing solely on the basis of being blind. In retrospect, I sometimes wish I had pursued the offer of legal assistance from the National Federation of the Blind. My primary focus at the time was to get a job, however, and I was not prepared to commit the time it would surely require to bring such an action, even if successful, to fruition. As a student of history and an observer of social and political movements, I am extremely proud of the National Federation of the Blind's place in the history of the civil rights movement in our nation. This includes the many contributions of our founding President, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, forever changing equal protection of citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court. I am proud of our determinant fight against the mistreatment and injustice of all people with disabilities by the exploitive and immoral practice of payment of subminimum wages and subhuman treatment. I am proud of our continuity of powerful leadership through Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Dr. Marc Maurer, and our current talented President, Mark Riccobono. Woven into the rich history of our yet young nation is a legacy of resistance to injustices of all kinds. Despite derailing philosophies that erupted from McCarthyism, which all but erased the public knowledge of popular resistance movements to present-day conspiracy theories designed to detract from the real issues that face us all, I am proud to stand strong with tens of thousands of my brothers and sisters in the Federation who are willing and able to make the necessary changes to empower us to live the lives we want. I recognize and appreciate that my views on such matters are not widely shared by everyone in our movement nor in our society. I acknowledge that there are many traditions in our society which reflect different experiences and perspectives than my own. All the same, I am proud to be guided by a strong code of conduct that embraces diversity with respect for divergent differences of opinion, beliefs, identities, and other characteristics. What we stand for demonstrates that we who are blind are a diverse cross section of society. I am excited by the prospect of establishing new methods of membership and leadership development, reflecting the diversity of our entire blind community. In promoting a diverse and growing organization, we have come to expect integrity and honesty in our relationships with each other and openness to learning about and experiencing social, cultural, faith, and political diversity. I share in the belief that these qualities are crucial to fostering social and intellectual maturity. Intellectual maturity also requires individual struggle with unfamiliar or unpopular ideas. I not only recognize but embrace that our diverse views and convictions will and should be challenged and expect this challenge to take place in a climate of tolerance and mutual respect in order to maintain a united organization. I believe that this is what makes the National Federation of the Blind powerfully and uniquely effective and exists as a model to be emulated throughout our society. What other entity can claim credit for passage of monumental legislation such as the Pedestrian Enhancement Safety Act or navigating the elaborately complex labyrinth of legal acrobatics to see through to ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty that will allow access to Braille materials across borders? These are just a couple of examples of what is possible through the power of collective action. ---------- [PHOTO CAPTION: Christina Daniels] Submissions Open for San Francisco LightHouse's Holman Prize by Christina Daniels From the Editor: Improving the world for the blind is assisted by awards that offer both recognition and money. The NFB gives several of them, and so too do other organizations. The Holman Prize has certainly made substantial awards to people we know as Federationists, but beyond this, they have included a number of our members to help in the selection process. Christina Daniels is an officer in our San Francisco Chapter and an active member of the California Affiliate. She works for San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind, and one of her jobs is advertising the Holman Prize. For the fourth straight year, the LightHouse for the Blind in San Francisco presents the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition. The Holman Prize is an international competition that offers up to $25,000 each to three blind individuals to carry out ambitious ideas that push the winners to challenge themselves and shatter misconceptions about blindness around the world. The Holman Prize is named after nineteenth century explorer James Holman. Holman was a member of the Royal British Navy. In 1810, while on duty in the Americas, he contracted an illness and became blind. He was given a lifetime of free room and board at Windsor Castle, and the only requirement was to attend church twice a day. Dissatisfied with this uneventful life, Holman left to study medicine and literature at the University of Edinburgh. He would leave again to take a grand tour of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany and write his first book, The Narrative of a Journey through France, etc. in 1822. He became the first blind person to circumnavigate the globe in 1832. Holman would eventually travel to six continents and continued to chronicle his travels in writing. James Holman is the most prolific private traveler of anyone before the era of modern transportation. The nine winners of LightHouse for the Blind's Holman Prize so far represent five countries across four continents. They embody the spirit of James Holman, who was not content to conform to expectations and to live a life that did not satisfy or challenge him. Three of the winners have been active in the NFB: . 2018 winner Stacy Cervenka is the founder of the Blind Travelers' Network, an online community for blind travelers of all experience levels. The website includes a discussion forum, reviews of different attractions from blind users, a place where users can submit their events, and a blog where blind travelers give advice on everything from navigating airports to traveling with just a backpack on an international trip. For more information, visit blindtravelersnetwork.org. . Conchita Hern?ndez, who also won the Holman Prize in 2018, convened the first-ever blindness conference in Mexico led by blind people. Conchita, who is a doctoral student, and a team of fellow blind educators, presented topics such as daily living skills, low cost technology, employment and more to 120 conference attendees. Conchita's wish is for the conference to happen again, but this time run by the people who live in Mexico. . Dr. Mona Minkara, one of the 2019 winners, will soon be releasing her documentary series "Planes, Trains and Canes." In the closing months of 2019, Mona traveled to five different cities: Johannesburg, London, Istanbul, Singapore, and Tokyo. She independently navigated the local public transportation in each city and visited local attractions. Her documentary series chronicles her adventures in each city. All the Holman Prize winners have embodied the concept of blind ambition; that is, choosing to fulfill a dream on their own terms, regardless of the negative perceptions some have about blindness. Penny Melville-Brown of the United Kingdom taught people to cook across six continents; Ojok Simon of Uganda taught other blind Ugandans how to be beekeepers; Ahmet Ustunel of the United States kayaked solo across the Bosphorus Strait; and Red Szell of the United Kingdom completed an extreme triathlon, culminating in summiting Am Buachaille, a 213-foot sea stack. Mona's fellow 2019 winners, like her, are in the midst of their adventures. Yuma Decaux of Australia is traveling the world to interview STEM professionals and creating an online community to make astronomy more accessible to blind people, and Alieu Jaiteh of The Gambia is bringing blindness skills training to rural Gambians. The Holman Prize has funded blind adventurers, athletes, entrepreneurs and educators, and three more winners will be chosen this year. The application period is January 15 to February 29. Applicants must be blind and 18 years old by October 1, 2020. To apply, applicants will need to upload a 90-second video with their pitch to YouTube and fill out an application. The winners are picked by an international team of blind leaders who work in a variety of backgrounds from STEM to liberal arts to education to the nonprofit sector. Are you a blind person with an ambitious idea? Start planning your pitch, and apply for the Holman Prize beginning January 15. For more information visit www.holmanprize.org. ---------- Trying to Get Honest with the Hope of Becoming Involved by Katrina Wright From the Editor: Sometimes what we carry in the Braille Monitor are statements clearly articulating what we believe and why. Sometimes the articles we run do not involve policy positions but reflect the challenge we all have to explore and think about difficult issues. The author of this article submitted it to me with the hope that it would generate discussion. I hope that it does. Here is what she says: I'm an educated woman who's been hovering around the periphery of the Federation for years in places as varied as Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Kansas. The thing that's kept me from throwing my considerable weight behind the organization is that I've felt unable to express honestly some of the biggest concerns about stuff going on in the blind community that I've witnessed firsthand. This being the start of a brand new year, I've decided to just put it all out there. If nothing else, it may get people talking. We're at a place when more is possible than ever before; sometimes a reality check is necessary to clear things in preparation for the next step. First, no person has the right to inappropriately touch, grope, or feel any other person without invitation, particularly if both people are blind. I have had countless experiences in work-related conditions with a blind man where our need to move in close quarters is taken as a kind of tacit agreement that any unsolicited touching is acceptable. Often none is necessary, which is exactly why certain instances stand out. Although chances to engage in "adult" behaviors may be a little harder to come by for some blind people-when compared to the sighted population-it's exploitative for anyone to just physically impose those needs on anyone else. We have to get comfortable enough with exercising the right to be frank about it to allow for meaningful suggestions and opportunities for improvement. Second, being a blind person with a job doesn't mean you automatically incur some kind of elite status. I for one have often found that those of us with jobs keep them forever, never striking out to either explore or cultivate new opportunities for employment growth. The trend in many cases is to just stay put, never testing one's chops but instead becoming more and more complacent. Those who push, especially in ways that make it easier for the ones coming after, are the real winners. Next, those of us who have people we can rely upon for active assistance with most things are blessed, which is why it's unfair to undervalue the real effort it takes for those with less help to get things done. Here too-as with the work thing-the sense is that there's almost a kind of competition. Some of us take pride in our ability to do things which would be virtually impossible without sighted help. If one has consistent aid, I'd say that's wonderful. You can have that; I handle my own business with much less involvement from others and still manage to get a lot accomplished. I think that is the mature way to look at it. We need to get to a point where we genuinely respect each other. Empowering ourselves at the expense of our differences clearly marks us as a disenfranchised group with very little hope of joining the greater community in an irrevocable way. I enjoy outdoor activities and have found that the best way to gain solid access to them is through visiting camps established and maintained for the blind. Something I encounter a lot, which constitutes a major challenge, has to do with the fact that many of the other campers have mental impairments in addition to blindness. This often means they require extra help. Volunteers linked to these kinds of experiences seem to have trouble seeing the blind as individuals. Many resent the notion that it's essential to treat each camper in response to his or her own capabilities. Considering the number of us who financially support camps for the blind, there should be ways we can have a say. I don't appreciate all the patronizing and handholding, but some may really need it. Accordingly, I don't think there's anything wrong with being of the opinion that sometimes it makes more sense to just serve groups with dissimilar requirements separately. It would be no different from separating those participating in a yoga session from those participating in choir practice. Reasonable divisions actually offer more chances for the many types of us that there are to live the lives we really want. I truly believe all entities, agencies, etc. that claim to serve the blind must be accountable-first and foremost-to the blind. It's no more than would be expected for any other business or applicable situation. The pizza shop had better serve good pizza, there'd be no sense in a place calling itself a bar if it only sold chocolate milk, and no outfit serving the blind should have goals more concerned with looking good on the tax- exempt paperwork than doing just that. I'm reminded of the staff at a blindness training center I attended some years ago refusing to post a Braille sign on the door of a laundry room detailing what its hours of operation were. There was a large-print notice but no Braille, not even when I volunteered to gather the intel and create one myself. It's a complete disgrace that so many individuals, agencies, etc. bill themselves as providers of services to the blind that are failing utterly yet still cashing in. I can certainly appreciate that what I'm saying here encompasses quite a lot. Some of it might not even be germane to the Federation's direct mission, but I'd like to get a dialogue going at the least. We all deserve the best, from each other as well as the sighted community. No child born blind today in America should have it nearly as hard as we do right now. Nor should that child's life be seen-by others or himself-as a kind of judgment or misfortune. I challenge all Federationists who read this to think ahead; we can't lose track of the parts of ourselves that are at the heart of the matter and thus the root of everything the Federation will ever be. ---------- Recipes Recipes this month were contributed by members of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey. Ruffs Puffs by Joe Ruffalo Joe, president of the NFBNJ since 1993, owned and operated a baking business for seven years. Here is one of his (and many others) favorite recipes, Ruffs Puffs. This recipe makes a dozen large cream puffs. Double the ingredients for double the pleasure. Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 stick butter or margarine 4 large eggs 1 cup of water 1 box of instant pudding 1-1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup sour cream Method: In a one-quart saucepan combine one cup water and one stick butter. Place saucepan on low heat, bringing the water and butter to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and add one cup flour, stirring with wooden spoon until the mixture is thick and there are no lumps (approximately three to five minutes). When the batter is perfect, the wooden spoon will stand straight up in it. Place batter in a large mixing bowl. Add four large eggs, one at a time, stirring constantly to insure that the batter remains stiff. When all four eggs have been worked in and you are satisfied with the stiffness of the batter, you are ready to make the Ruff's puff shells. You may want to grease the cookie sheets you use for baking the puffs if they do not have a nonstick surface or are not already well seasoned. Use a quarter-cup to measure the batter. Be sure to pack the batter into the cup so that you have no air pockets. Smooth the surface of the batter with the reverse side of a butter knife, allowing excess batter to fall back into the mixing bowl. Place the batter on the cookie sheet by sliding the butter knife around the inside of the measuring cup to loosen it. If the resulting puff is not round, shape it with your hands. Leave one to two inches of space around each puff. Place sheet in preheated 375-degree oven for thirty-five to forty minutes or until the smell of the puffs tells you that they are golden brown. Half-way through the cooking process, rotate the cookie sheet 180 degrees to insure even baking. Be very certain that the puffs are done; they will fall when removed from the pans if they are not thoroughly done and a bit crisp to the touch. When done, gently remove puffs from cookie sheet and allow cooling on a rack or plate. Do not cut puffs until they are room temperature. While puffs are cooling, in a large metal mixing bowl make the cream filling. Use one package vanilla or chocolate instant pudding. Once the instant pudding is in the mixing bowl, add one and a half cups milk, any kind--whole milk adds a calorie or two but makes the filling noticeably richer. Then add a half cup of sour cream. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix filling for approximately two minutes, then increase speed to high for about thirty seconds. Allow to stand at room temperature for approximately ten minutes. If you prefer to mix the cream by hand, use an eggbeater for about three to five minutes or until the cream thickens. Use a sharp knife to cut puffs before filling them. I cut puffs horizontally about three-quarters of the way through, approximately in the middle. This should expose a hollow space in the center. If not, pull out enough of the soft center to make your own hollow for filling. Using a tablespoon, begin filling the puffs with the cream and then close them again. Place in the refrigerator and enjoy the cleanup. Double the recipe and you will double the calories. Enjoy the Ruff's Puffs and watch your waistline grow. ---------- Healthy Snack Choices by Jerilyn Higgins Jerilyn Higgins, a member in the NFBNJ for over thirty years, has provided some healthy snack ideas for the upcoming BELL Academy. Joe Ruffalo's favorite is number thirteen. 1. Fruit and cheese skewer using any fruit like grapes, watermelon, tangerine, blueberries, and strawberries and layering it with mozzarella string cheese cut into four chunks. 2. Homemade granola or trail mix using nuts, dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, and pretzels 3. Carrot and celery sticks with pre-made hummus or homemade ranch dressing using yogurt 4. Peanut butter on celery or apple slices with raisins or chia seeds on top (can even use apple slices to make a sandwich) 5. Pinwheels using small whole wheat wrap, peanut butter, bananas, and chia seeds 6. Cucumber cups using one-inch rounds that you scoop out the flesh with a melon baller. Fill with yogurt or tzatziki or hummus 7. Caprese skewers using grape tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil 8. Fruit smoothie using yogurt, almond milk, and any kind of fruit 9. Banana chocolate ice cream using frozen bananas and cocoa powder 10. Homemade pickle chips using cucumber slices and a pre-made pickling liquid using some honey to offset the sour 11. Yogurt parfait using fruit, granola or oats, nuts, seeds, and shredded coconut 12. Air-popped popcorn using a brown bag in the microwave. Can top with parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast if you want to try it 13. Watermelon pizza using triangular sliced watermelon wedges, topped with feta and mint, or yogurt, berries, and chia seeds 14. Guacamole or hummus with whole wheat pita chips 15. Grilled chicken nuggets with a homemade honey mustard sauce using honey, mustard, and plain fat-free yogurt 16. Pineapple cut outs using fun shaped cookie cutters 17. Melon balls with fresh mint. Kids use a melon baller to form the balls from honeydew, cantaloupe, or watermelon (or all three!) ---------- Multi-Bean Veg Chili by Annemarie Cooke Annemarie Cooke is an NFBNJ state affiliate board member, vice president of the NFBNJ Sports and Recreation Division, treasurer of the NFBNJ technology division, and board member for the Garden State Chapter. She adapted this recipe from Rachael Ray's Veg-Head Three Bean Chili. The blind high school transition students here in NJ enjoy making this meatless dish. It travels well, accommodates most dietary restrictions, and can be spiced up or down depending on personal preference. Serves six or more depending on portion size. Ingredients: 1 can black beans, rinsed in colander with cold water 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed in colander with cold water 1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed in colander with cold water 1 large onion, diced 2 bell peppers, red or green 1 can vegetarian refried beans 6 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped, or use garlic powder to taste 2 fresh poblano chili peppers or a jar of pickled jalape?o peppers 1 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes 1 can diced tomatoes 1 box vegetable stock Extra virgin olive oil Cumin Chili powder Kosher salt Black pepper Method: Chop bell peppers and onions into small dice; set aside. Roast poblano chilis over open flame on stove or under broiler, turning frequently until skin is blistered and charred. Place peppers in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel for about ten minutes, then scrape char off skin, slice off top, and rinse out seeds. Dry with paper towels and chop into small dice. Drizzle about two or three tablespoons of the oil into a Dutch oven or large pot. When oil is hot, add bell peppers, onions, and poblanos along with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Saut? about eight minutes until soft. Add garlic. Deglaze pan with a half cup of vegetable stock, then add crushed and diced tomatoes. Add about a tablespoon of cumin and chili powder in the palm of your hand, then stir into vegetable mixture. Bring to simmer and add all beans except for refried beans. Add vegetable stock to hydrate the chili and cook for about twenty minutes. Thicken by adding refried beans and cook another fifteen minutes. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper and hot sauce of your choice. Serve with tortilla chips, rice, and corn bread-whatever you like. Keeps in the freezer up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. ---------- Healthy Green Smoothie by Linda Melendez Linda is a National Federation of the Blind Sports and Recreation Division board member, NFBNJ first vice president, and president of the NFBNJ Sports and Recreation Division. Ingredients: 8 ounces coconut water (not sweetened cream of coconut) 4 strawberries (I prefer frozen because they make the drink colder) 1/2 of a small banana 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of each: flax, chia, and hemp seeds combined A healthy handful of baby spinach A few pieces of kale Method: Blend all ingredients thoroughly into a liquid. Chill and enjoy! Please note that too much spinach and kale will make the smoothie too thick. ---------- Ada's Sweet Potato Special by Ellen Sullivan Ellen Sullivan is the affiliate secretary of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey and also serves as chair of the Fundraising Committee. Ellen joined the NFB in 2017 while she was living in Delaware, and in 2018 she moved back to her home state of New Jersey and became a very active member of the New Jersey Affiliate. This recipe is from a dear blind woman in Ellen's Delaware book club. Ingredients: 3 pounds of sweet potatoes diced (approximately four cups) 1 stick of butter 1/2 cup of maple syrup Zest of 2 medium-size oranges and squeeze out the juice Method: Add all ingredients to a crock pot and cook on low for four hours. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg at the end. ---------- Monitor Miniatures News from the Federation Family Elected: The following officers were elected at the November meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona East Valley Chapter: president, Megan Homrighausen; first vice president, Ammar Tarin; second vice president, Samaya Tarin; secretary, Tony Sohl; treasurer, Jennifer Kasl; board member one, Mark Feliz and board member two, Heather Bowes. Blind Cruising 2020: The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland will be hosting a cruise fundraiser from September 27 to October 4, 2020. The affiliate will receive a portion of the cost of each cabin that is booked. All are welcome, including members of the NFBMD, other affiliates, families, colleagues, and friends. For additional information or to reserve your cabin, please email NFBMD.outreach at gmail.com. Details are as follows: Ship: Carnival Pride Date: September 27 to October 4, 2020 Port of departure: Baltimore, Maryland Number of nights: seven Ports visited: Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; and Freeport, Bahamas Key dates: First deposit due: January 10, 2020, $25 per person Second deposit due: April 15, 2020, $250 per person plus full names of sailors Final payment due: June 15, 2020 Types and prices of cabins (this is a per person price based on double occupancy and includes cabin fee, port charges, and taxes) Balcony cabin (extended balcony) = $951.64 per person Balcony cabin (standard balcony) = $928.64 per person Balcony cabin (obstructed view) = $885.64 per person Ocean View cabin = $835.64 per person Interior cabin = $770.64 per person If anyone needs a triple or quad cabin, they should let us know. Blind Intelligence Analyst Sues FBI and Department of Justice: Lawsuit Says FBI Technology is Inaccessible Joe Orozco, a blind intelligence analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 2012, is suing the FBI and the United States Department of Justice for violating his civil rights under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The lawsuit alleges that technology Mr. Orozco is required to use in his job, some of which is proprietary, is inaccessible to him and to other blind employees and that the FBI has offered no alternative means for him to access the information, data, and services available through this technology. Like many other blind people, Mr. Orozco uses screen reader technology. It converts digital information into synthesized speech and uses keystrokes to execute many functions, to read and interact with computer software, Internet and intranet websites, and mobile apps. When not properly coded, however, these technologies can present barriers so that screen readers cannot interpret them or access their functions. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the FBI, like other federal agencies, to ensure that the information technology it develops, procures, maintains, or uses allows all federal employees, with or without disabilities, to have access to, and use of, information and data. The law's implementing regulations contain specific guidelines for creating and procuring accessible technology. Mr. Orozco's lawsuit, brought with the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind, alleges that the FBI and Justice Department have failed to follow or deliberately ignored these guidelines. "It is nothing short of shameful that two of our nation's top law enforcement agencies are flouting a federal civil rights law and failing to value the contributions of Mr. Orozco and other blind people who are helping to protect all Americans," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "America's civil rights organization of the blind is proud to stand up for the right of blind people to play an equal role in our nation's security." Mr. Orozco is represented by Timothy Elder and Albert Elia of the TRE Legal Practice. In Brief Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity. Touch History, The Library of Congress' Verbal Description Tour Visitors with visual impairment are invited to experience a walking tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building. The Touch History tour is led by a specially trained docent who uses vivid language and original building materials to describe and interact with the building. Tours will be held by advance request and last about one hour. Please contact the visitor engagement office at VEO at loc.gov or 202-707- 9779 to secure your reservation. It is recommended that you reserve your spot about two weeks prior to the tour date. Groups interested in visiting should contact Cathy at grouptours at loc.gov. If ADA accommodations are needed, please make requests five business days in advance at 202-707-6362 or ADA at loc.gov. ---------- 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. ----------------------- [1] 42 U.S.C. ? 12112(b)(5)(B); 29 C.F.R. ? 1630.9(b). [2] 42 U.S.C. ?? 12112(b)(6), 12113(a); 29 C.F.R. ?? 1630.10(a), 1630.15(b)(1). [3] Mazzoni v. Myriad Genetics, Inc, 5:19-cv-03884. Link to lawsuit on NFB website is still pending. [4] Ronit Ovadia-Mazzoni, My Journey to Genetics: Changing What it Means to Be a Blind Genetic Counselor, Braille Monitor, Nov. 2012, https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm12/ bm1210/bm121004.htm.