<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta
http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> <meta name="generator"
content="pandoc" /> <title>The Braille Monitor, January 2022 – The Braille
Monitor, January 2022</title> <style type="text/css">
code{white-space: pre-wrap;} span.smallcaps{font-variant: small-caps;}
span.underline{text-decoration: underline;} div.column{display: inline-block;
vertical-align: top; width: 50%;} div.hanging-indent{margin-left: 1.5em;
text-indent: -1.5em;} ul.task-list{list-style: none;} </style> </head> <body>
<div id="header"> <h1 class="title">The Braille Monitor, January 2022</h1> </div>
<h1 id="braille-monitor">BRAILLE MONITOR</h1> <p>Vol. 65, No. 1 January 2022</p>
<p>Gary Wunder, Editor</p> <p>Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and
on USB flash drive, by the</p> <p>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND</p> <p>Mark
Riccobono, President</p> <p>telephone: 410-659-9314</p> <p>email address: <a
href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org">nfb@nfb.org</a></p> <p>website address: <a
href="http://www.nfb.org">http://www.nfb.org</a></p> <p>NFBnet.org: <a
href="http://www.nfbnet.org">http://www.nfbnet.org</a></p> <p>NFB-NEWSLINE®
information: 866-504-7300</p> <p>Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</p>
<p>Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice</p> <p>Watch and share our videos: <a
href="http://www.YouTube.com/NationsBlind">YouTube.com/NationsBlind</a></p>
<p>Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, and orders
for NFB literature should be sent to the national office. Articles for the
<em>Monitor</em> and letters to the editor may also be sent to the national office
or may be emailed to <a href="mailto:gwunder@nfb.org">gwunder@nfb.org</a>.</p>
<p><em>Monitor</em> 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 <strong>National Federation of the
Blind</strong> and sent to:</p> <p>National Federation of the Blind</p> <p>200
East Wells Street <em>at Jernigan Place</em><br /> Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998</p>
<p>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.
<strong>THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR
THE BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.<br /> </strong></p>
<p>ISSN 0006-8829</p> <p>© 2021 by the National Federation of the Blind</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p> <p>Vol. 65, No. 1 January 2022</p> <h2 id="contents">Contents</h2>
<p>Illustration: Thanking the Builders Who Give Us the Tools</p> <p>New Orleans
Site of 2022 Convention</p> <p>by John Berggren</p> <p>Voting is a Blindness
Issue</p> <p>by Lou Ann Blake</p> <p>The Myth of Functionality: Disability Rights
and the Limits of Common Sense</p> <p>by George Stern</p> <p>Access Tech, Medical
Devices, Websites, and Subminimum Wages</p> <p>by John Paré</p> <p>Life
Lessons at the Turkey Trot</p> <p>by Jo Elizabeth Pinto</p> <p>A Case for Why We
Should Not Do Visual Descriptions of Ourselves</p> <p>by Mark Lasser</p> <p>Bringing
a Closing to Disclosing the Clothing</p> <p>by Jack Bernard</p> <p>Just What the
Doctor Ordered</p> <p>by Tatyana Haykin</p> <p>Making the Kitchen Your Friend</p>
<p>by Regina Mitchell</p> <p>Conventions Are for All of Us</p> <p>by Chris
Westbrook</p> <p>National Federation of the Blind 2022 Scholarship Program</p>
<p>by Cayte Mendez</p> <p>Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship</p> <p>by Tracy
Soforenko</p> <p>The 2022 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards</p> <p>by Everette Bacon</p>
<p>Getting the Straight Scoop from Our Mentees</p> <p>by Maurice Peret</p> <p>A
Tribute from a Friend</p> <p>by Donna Wood</p> <p>Are Conservatives Welcome in
the National Federation of the Blind?</p> <p>by Colleen Roth</p> <p>Independence
Market Corner</p> <p>I Am Not My Blindness: What the Blind Community Wishes You
Knew</p> <p>by David Oliver</p> <p>Jason Broughton has a mission at the Library
of Congress: “Expand and be Inclusive”</p> <p>by Chris Cioffi</p>
<p><em>Monitor</em> Miniatures</p> <p>[PHOTO/CAPTION: A view of the crowded room
with Christmas decorations in the background.</p> <p>[PHOTO/CAPTION: Patti Chang
speaks with several supporters around a high top table.</p> <p>[PHOTO/CAPTION:
Mark Riccobono wearing a Santa’s beard addresses the crowd.</p> <p>[PHOTO/CAPTION:
Pam Allen and Mark Riccobono smile together on stage a pair of decorated canes
lean in front of the table between them.</p> <h2
id="thanking-the-builders-who-give-us-the-tools">Thanking the Builders Who Give
Us the Tools</h2> <p>In the National Federation of the Blind, we are blessed with
many volunteers and a dedicated staff who work tirelessly to build the Federation
because it is the way we change the world and build it so that blind people live
quality lives. But builders need tools, and a big part of our toolbox must have
money inside it. Our many supporters make this possible, and, for every gift, we
want to acknowledge and thank our donors. We want them to understand that they
have not just given a donation; they have given an opportunity that didn’t
previously exist.</p> <p>On December 1, 2021, we held our 2021 Supporter Celebration.
Guests were treated to appetizers and beverages, some wonderful hospitality, and
a chance for our supporters and members of the National Federation of the Blind
Board of Directors to meet, renew friendships, and conclude the evening by being
a part of the live <em>Presidential Release</em> for December, 2021. This was
<em>Presidential Release 511</em>, and in addition to the release, the questions,
and the live feedback, two drawings were held. One was to give away a cane decorated
by President Riccobono; the second was to give away a cane decorated by First Vice
President and the Chairman of the Board Pam Allen. Those who missed it can listen
by going to:</p> <p><a
href="https://zoom.us/rec/share/N1wIG8RB62BwDAUsZK8WzWX6EpfIbPGw6D95Dbc7qXolQ3ZwFAZBbnsMt3UI9gKe.p1hoz7dEMpUHizOT">https://zoom.us/rec/share/N1wIG8RB62BwDAUsZK8WzWX6EpfIbPGw6D95Dbc7qXolQ3ZwFAZBbnsMt3UI9gKe.p1hoz7dEMpUHizOT</a></p>
<p>[PHOTO/CAPTION: An aerial view of the New Orleans Marriott]</p> <h2
id="new-orleans-site-of-2022-convention">New Orleans Site of 2022 Convention</h2>
<p><strong>by John Berggren</strong></p> <p>The 2022 Convention of the National
Federation of the Blind will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 5 to July
10, at the New Orleans Marriott at 555 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130.
You can reserve a room now at the Marriott by calling 800-654-3990 ensuring
you’ll be in our headquarters hotel. If you wish to stay in our overflow
hotel directly across Canal Street, call 855-516-1090 to book a room at the Sheraton
New Orleans.</p> <p>The nightly rate for both the Marriott and the Sheraton is
$109 for singles and doubles. Triples and quads can be booked for $119 per night.
You should also anticipate the combined sales tax and tourism support rate of 16.2
percent, and note there is a hotel occupancy fee of $3.00 per night.</p> <p>Both
hotels will take a deposit of the first night’s room rate, taxes, and fees
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, 2022, half of the deposit will be returned. Refunds will
not be issued for cancellations made beyond that date.</p> <p>The hotels sit
astride the storied Canal Street at 555 and 500 Canal Street respectively, only
blocks from the mighty Mississippi River and even closer to the historic French
Quarter. Both hotels offer a range of dining options as well as twenty-four-hour
fitness centers. You’ll find a rooftop pool at the Marriott while the
Sheraton features a Starbucks in its atrium lobby.</p> <p>The schedule for the
2022 convention is:</p> <p>Tuesday, July 5 Seminar Day<br /> Wednesday, July 6
Registration and Resolutions Day<br /> Thursday, July 7 Board Meeting and Division
Day<br /> Friday, July 8 Opening Session<br /> Saturday, July 9 Business Session<br
/> Sunday, July 10 Banquet Day and Adjournment</p> <p>The health of our members
is of paramount importance as we plan for our first in-person convention in three
years. Both of our convention hotels are committed to ensuring the safety of guests
and have implemented cleaning protocols and elevated practices to deliver on this
commitment. The National Federation of the Blind will continually monitor masking
policies, vaccination requirements, and other health guidelines that may apply to
our convention. Updates will be shared with members throughout the months leading
up to convention, so members can plan accordingly.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Lou Ann Blake]</p> <h2 id="voting-is-a-blindness-issue">Voting is a
Blindness Issue</h2> <p><strong>by Lou Ann Blake</strong></p> <p><strong>From the
Editor: Lou Ann Blake is a talented member of the Federation who also works on
our national staff. Her jobs could fill an article, but what we want to focus on
here is her work on seeing that the blind have equal rights in voting.</strong></p>
<p><strong>At the 2021 National Convention, we passed a resolution on this subject,
and parts of it have brought about spirited discussion specifically about the
requirement for a photo ID. To discuss that resolution and the reasons why this
and other requirements are burdensome for some blind people, she has written this
article. Here is what she says:</strong></p> <p>Following the 2020 general election,
a number of state legislatures passed legislation that require a voter to show a
state-issued photo identification card to poll workers, obtain medical certification
of disability in order to vote absentee, and to limit the number of early voting
centers, Election Day polling places, and ballot drop boxes. In response to this
legislation and at the urging of the Resolutions Committee chair, Sharon Maneki,
my colleague Jeff Kaloc and I co-authored Resolution 2021-02, Regarding Suppression
of the Rights of Voters with Disabilities that was adopted during our 2021 National
Convention. This resolution condemns and deplores these laws for creating barriers
that make it difficult for voters with disabilities to exercise their constitutional
right to vote. To my surprise, this resolution generated some controversy.</p>
<p>The primary focus of the opposition to the resolution was over the assertion
that requiring a blind voter to have a state-issued photo ID creates a barrier
for voters with disabilities due to the time and expense needed to obtain such an
ID. Many who opposed the resolution stated that this assertion was contrary to
our NFB philosophy of high expectations and that the requirement to produce a
state-issued photo ID to exercise the right to vote is not a blindness issue. I
would argue, however, that what is at stake here is not our philosophy but our
participatory democracy.</p> <p>Any American citizen who meets the voting eligibility
requirements established by the state in which they reside should be able to
exercise our <em>Constitutional</em> right to vote. We should be able to exercise
this right whether we live in a rural area or an urban area, whether we have a
job or are unemployed, whether we have a disability or not, and we should be able
to exercise this right regardless of our socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity,
gender, or gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. Similarly, when members of
the National Federation of the Blind meet their state's voting eligibility
requirements, our opportunity to exercise the right to vote should not be dependent
on our ability to travel to a remote state ID agency. Neither should our right to
vote depend on our ability to pay for that travel or the required ID. This is
particularly true for blind Americans who have not yet connected with the National
Federation of the Blind and our positive philosophy of blindness.</p> <p>Our
organization is a large, diverse family that accepts new members into the fold
regardless of their level of blindness skill or their philosophy. We meet these
members where they are and then teach them our NFB philosophy that they can live
the lives they want. Learning this philosophy and the alternative techniques of
blindness is a journey that takes some longer to travel than others. Just like we
do not exclude people from joining our family because of where they are in this
journey, the exercise of the fundamental right to vote must not be denied an
eligible blind citizen simply because they have not yet gained the skills and
confidence in their personal journey of adjustment to blindness to accomplish
tasks, such as obtaining a photo ID, that have no relevance to their eligibility
to vote.</p> <p>The justification that many state legislators and other politicians
use in supporting photo ID laws is election security and to instill confidence in
the election process. As evidenced by the many hand counts and audits that followed
the 2020 general election, in-person voting fraud is rare in the United States.
If legislators are sincere in their belief that requiring voters to show a photo
ID at their polling place makes elections more secure, then they should make the
process of obtaining a photo ID easier. Requiring voters to show a photo ID at
their polling place, requiring a doctor's certification of disability to vote by
mail, and forcing voters who want to vote in person to travel further because
their local polling place has been closed does not make elections more secure,
but it does inconvenience the vast majority of law-abiding citizens who merely
want to exercise our fundamental right to vote. Requiring an audit of every election
when ballots are tabulated electronically is the best practice for ensuring that
election results are accurate, that the election system is secure, and to instill
voter confidence.</p> <p>Another argument that many have made in opposition to
the resolution is that it is not about a blindness issue. The exercise of our
fundamental right to vote is how we, as members of the blind civil rights movement,
elect government leaders who will adopt policies and pass legislation that may
improve the ability of blind children to receive a free and appropriate public
education, improve the ability of blind adults to receive training in the alternative
techniques of blindness, improve the ability of a blind employee to receive
accommodations in the workplace, and improve the ability of a newly blind senior
to receive books and newspapers in audio format. Any legislation that could
adversely affect our ability to exercise our fundamental right to vote is absolutely
a blindness issue because it may impede our ability to elect government leaders
who support legislation that will improve the lives of blind Americans.</p>
<p>Voters with disabilities represent a significant portion of the voting population
in the United States since, according to the Center for Disease Control, one in
four American adults have a disability that affects major life activities.
Historically, turnout of voters with disabilities has been lower than for voters
without disabilities, and according to Rutgers University professors Lisa Schur
and Douglas Kruse, the turnout for voters with disabilities for the 2020 general
election was 5.7 percentage points lower than for voters without disabilities.
Our democracy and its citizens cannot thrive when state legislators pass laws that
disincentivize voters with disabilities to exercise their right to vote, further
diminishing our voice in determining how our country is governed. As members of
the nation's leading disability rights organization, we cannot stand by and let
state legislators minimize our voice in the process of electing government leaders
who will implement policies and legislation that will affect us all.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: George Stern]</p> <h2
id="the-myth-of-functionality-disability-rights-and-the-limits-of-common-sense">The
Myth of Functionality: Disability Rights and the Limits of Common Sense</h2>
<p><strong>by George Stern</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: George Stern
is a twenty-nine-year-old deafblind food writer, linguist, and disability rights
advocate currently residing in Lubbock, Texas. He holds a BA in French from Texas
Tech University. He has served as president of the Texas Tech Judo and Brazilian
Jiu-jitsu club, second vice president of Deafblind Citizens in Action, board member
for the CAT-SI (Collaboration and Assistive Technology for Students with Sensory
Impairments) program through TTU’s Sowell Center, and is, by his own
affirmation and likely many others, seriously one of the better cooks in the
country!</strong></p> <p><strong>George was born in Jamaica, a land of many
wonderful things but not of opportunity, especially for people with disabilities.
He left Jamaica when he was two years old after an initial misdiagnosis for pinkeye
was revised to be bilateral retinal blastoma, a cancer beyond the capacity of
George’s home country to treat. The operation to remove the cancer was
successfully completed at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of Miami, Florida,
leaving George blind and alive. George’s bilateral hearing loss, which
doctors think stems from a chromosomal abnormality, did not manifest until he
started pre-K, which is when he first wore hearing aids.</strong></p> <p><strong>In
this article George challenges the idea that we who are blind must regard ourselves
and be regarded by others as broken human beings, a harsh reality based on our
functionality. This concept of functionality is also one that he questions. Enjoy
the read, and thank you, George:</strong></p> <p>"It was the best of times; it
was the worst of times." The Dickensian obituary of an era—heard in the
richly textured voice of Maya Angelou's Mrs. Flowers—seems so apt for our
time. I hope the historians and archaeologists responsible for parsing our ruins
still have access to him.</p> <p>It is the best of times because the bald eagle
population is on the rebound, dolphins are swimming in the canals of Venice, a
plastic-eating enzyme is possibly on its way to mass-production, and, just in
general, it's never been clearer that we have many of the solutions to our thorniest
problems well in hand if we'd just get out of our own way.</p> <p>It is the worst
of times because institutions, societies, and the planet itself are under incredible
stress from the cross-purposing actions of a humankind whose good sense and
discernment are being eroded by the sheer volume of information we have available
to us.</p> <p>It is the best of times because old conversations used to churning
over the same hypothetical grounds have been shocked out of their complacency by
the rude, honest answers of a hitherto inconceivable reality. Thus, as Americans,
we now know that neither Black or blue nor all lives matter; it's the economy,
stupid. We also know that the presumed superiority of nondisabled minds, bodies,
and ways of being and doing, along with the rhetorical cudgel of "functionality"
that defends it, are both figments of a fickle context.</p> <p>One such presumptuous
cudgeller is my friend Bruce. Bruce is one of those <em>doing people,</em> forever
posting on Facebook about some from-scratch or jury-rigging project or other, or
running a comprehension experiment with his guide dog, Fleming. He's also one of
those with a sizzling hot take on seemingly everything under the sun, which would
be more annoying were he not such a natural storyteller, every sound-off savored
in a rich butter of much-examined life experiences and salted with New York
bluntness. In another time, a more communally minded place, Bruce would be welcomed
as an oracle among oracles, pounding his dominos or mahjong tiles down on a table
his life experience and rich voice had earned him a seat at, hearing aids, blindness,
and all. But here, where the GDP is G-O-D, his sixty-something years, veteran's
status, and encroaching disabilities are a liability, a begrudged public charge
on a society that would really prefer he stop fighting the good fight against
isolation and accept his irrelevance in the all-important production schema. Life
experiences? What percentage of GDP are they again?</p> <p>Thankfully for us, his
friends, Bruce has not acquiesced to this sidelining—at least not completely.
But when he wades into the discursive fray around disability rights wielding the
cudgel of functionality, I can see that even this Bernie-Sanders-loving,
George-Carlin-channeling, born-again-Socialist has swallowed the GDP worshipers'
most insidious argument hook, line, and sinker: a person is worth only as much as
they can do.</p> <p>The exchanges tend to go like this: Someone—usually a
younger, longer-term disabled person—will put up a post decrying the
continued unequal treatment of disabled people by society, with one or several
sample incidents appended: the rideshare refusal, a job offer denied on some
transparently discriminatory basis, Amtrak trying to charge wheelchair users
$25,000 for an in-state, intercity trip. Bruce will show up, sympathetic to the
specific plight, but leaning hard into the commonsense and New York straight-talk
to assert that, for the disabled, equality is a non sequitur, a wishful pipe dream
we'd do well to stop chasing because we're Just Not Equal. It's in the word: "dis"
abled, less-than able, not equal to able. Like any good storyteller, he has parables
ready to mobilize to his point: A wheelchair user and an able-bodied person apply
for the same roofing job. Which one do you expect the contractor to hire? Or: You
go to a car lot to buy a car. Your choice is between one with all four wheels and
another with one wheel missing. Which do you choose?</p> <p>The answers here are
presumed to be painfully obvious: the roofing company boss and the car buyer
will—(must!)—select the least impaired, most functional, most able
body; any attempt to frame the two candidates in either scenario as inherently
equal (on the basis of humanity or caring) is a patently ridiculous philosophical
exercise divorced from reality. Thus, since inequality is just the natural
consequence of our impaired functionality, disabled people should defer the
impossibility of equality for the more realistic goal of dignity, viz., the right
of a person to be valued and respected for their own sake and treated ethically.</p>
<p>The thing to realize about common sense and straight talk is that they proscribe
a self-limiting world dependent on unquestioned assumptions, a world in which what
goes up must come down. On the other hand, only ceaseless, irreverent questioning
of assumptions and an Ender-esque foray into the nonsense of imagination permits
us to leave Earth and reach for the stars: what goes up will come down only if it
has insufficient velocity to escape Earth’s gravitational pull. Bruce’s
parables are bursting at the seams with such unquestioned givens: The human body
is reducible to a machine and analogous to a car, though the latter (as yet) lacks
the sentient capacity to modify either its functions or situation; the three-wheeled
car is summarily dismissed as functionally unequal to the four-wheeled one based
on assumed performance in one context, driving, with no inkling that in other
contexts, e.g. lighting a nighttime soccer game, facilitating a clandestine
sexcapade, or providing a home for woodchucks, the two are effectively equal. The
argumentative force of the roofing company hypothetical hinges on our uncritical
acceptance of the assumption that being a wheelchair user means you can’t
fulfill the functions of a roofer as well as an able-bodied person can, despite
the fact that neither the presence nor absence of a wheelchair conveys information
that would be truly useful in screening for the position: i.e., can you or an
effective agent controlled by you get to the roof? Do you have the experience to
know what you or others are doing once up there? Are you afraid of heights? Indeed,
the sheer disconnect between this scenario’s assumptions and reality (or
even job relevance) illustrates perfectly how common sense and straight talk often
veer away from “telling it like it is” into “telling it like
I expect it to be.”</p> <p>The most sweeping assumption of all, though,
tacitly underpinning both Bruce’s hypotheticals and much of the pushback
against the disability rights equality contention, is this idea of functionality
as an immutable, nonnegotiable, objective criterion, always and forever best
satisfied by the nondisabled, neuro-and-physio typical human organism. The Breakfast
Club Morning Show host, Charlemagne the God, suggests as much in his shutdown of
Chelsie Reid, the blind college student who called in to vent about not getting
an equal shot at the practical childcare opportunities required for her degree,
rebuking her with the “unassailable” logic, “You can’t
watch if you can’t see.”</p> <p>Up until 1990, the State Department
refused to even consider hiring blind people, no matter how otherwise qualified,
on the basis that, like bus drivers or bank tellers, a foreign officer’s
efficacy was supposedly too dependent on visual information to be suitable for
the blind. And a deaf person with multiple degrees can file a thousand job
applications per day for years to no avail, simply because the person on the other
end of the hiring process equates deaf with dumb, different with inferior, and
alternative with inefficient or costly.</p> <p>Yet, a critical look at the historical
arc of human endeavor, or robotic design theory, or just everyday life presents
a very different reality: functionality is highly mutable, infinitely negotiable,
and profoundly context-dependent. Our frail, oxygen-reliant bodies are patently
dysfunctional in the crushing depths of the ocean or the vacuum of outer space;
but through the cyborg magic of submarines and spacesuits, humans have negotiated
functionality for ourselves in even these inimical circumstances. In the intellectual
echelons of robotics, preoccupation with the human-shaped, human-presenting machine
is yielding to an appreciation of the stranger forms robots can take, and the very
different (but often more effective) means they have for being and doing. But the
surest proof is in the conceptual pudding the coronavirus has made of everyday
life. Its fundamental redefinition of norms has made involuntary, frantic negotiators
of those who were hitherto functionality’s default poster children, a
transformation that a sizable segment of the population finds discomfiting if the
virulence of anti-lockdown protests are any indication.</p> <p>An NPR report tells
of seasoned lawyers flustered by the Supreme Court’s transition of oral
arguments to a group phone call format, unsure how to gauge their efficacy absent
the nonverbal cues of an in-person situation. Social media is awash in secondhand
accounts of people feeling anonymous and conversationally unmoored in our new,
perpetual masked ball. The grocery and food delivery apps once derided as first-world
frivolities for the lazy, the coddled, and the needy disabled are suddenly in
mainstream use, more functional in the pandemic context than all the luxury cars
in your driveway. People who never invoked the phrase “mental health”
save as a scapegoat for mass shootings have attained an impressive overnight
fluency in the language of isolation, mental health, and self-harm, as they question
(and protest) everything from the real intent to the necessity to the efficacy of
the measures ostensibly implemented to keep them and others safe.</p> <p>And just
like that, with a cough and a sneeze, we’ve entered a reality where the
nondisabled population finds itself checking many of the same boxes we disabled
people have been doing since forever. Your access to everything and quality-of-life
activities constrained by someone else’s assessment of risk? Check.
Incredulous that an employer would rather fire and rehire than figure out how to
go remote? Check. Frustrated and overwhelmed by the steep learning curve inherent
in online learning everything under the sun in our new physical-distancing reality?
Check. Shamed for being where supposedly well-intentioned people insist you have
no business being, looked at askance for an involuntary bodily reaction, bored
and depressed by your isolation from community? Check, check, and infinite checks.
Welcome to the fullest, loneliest club on Earth.</p> <p>Which returns us to the
point of difference between Bruce and me. His justification for dignity-over-equality
presupposes that equality should be predicated on an immutable, nonnegotiable,
objective criterion of functionality, which I hope the preceding arguments have
clearly demonstrated doesn’t—cannot—exist. Further, it
presupposes mutual exclusivity between dignity—which must work because it
demands the possible—and equality, which demonstrably isn’t working
because it asserts the impossible. This is actually a lively conversation within
the human rights and civil rights communities, which I cannot do justice to here,
but let me leave you with a hot take of my own:</p> <p>Dignity, etymologically
linked to the inherently social concept of <em>dignitas,</em> concerns the personal
and interpersonal and should be negotiated at that level. Equality, as a legal
concept, has to be impersonal (because personal law is by definition partial law).
The two aren’t mutually exclusive by default, can indeed even be symbiotic:
the impersonal equality mandated by law creating the environment (and setting the
expectations) conducive to personal and interpersonal negotiations around dignity,
said negotiations in turn developing the relationships essential to sustaining
and expanding the impersonal equality and impartiality of the law.</p> <p>The
problem with bringing dignity into the purview of the law is, quite simply, that
what law giveth it can take away; the self-same law that confers personhood on a
child at conception can reduce a person’s worth to a convenient fraction
out of political expediency.</p> <p>So when and if Corona passes, and the myth of
functionality reasserts itself, let us disabled people pursue both dignity and
equality, each at its level, and fight the shortness of historical memory to remind
our nondisabled fellow citizens where they’re coming from.</p> <h3
id="works-cited">Works Cited </h3> <p>Dickens, Charles. “A Tale of Two
Cities.” November, 1775.</p> <p>Morris, Amanda. “Deaf and Unemployed:
1000+ Applications But Still No Full-time Job.” NPR.org. January 12, 2019,
5:01 AM ET.
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/12/662925592/deaf-and-unemployed-1-000-applications-but-still-no-full-time-job</p>
<p>Shapiro, Joseph. “2 Wheelchair Users Face A $25,000 Fee To Travel On
Amtrak.” All Things Considered, NPR.org. January 17, 2020, 4:13 PM ET.
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/797410325/amtrak-charged-25-000-to-travel-with-a-wheelchair</p>
<p>Totenberg, Nina. “Supreme Court Arguments Resume—But With A
Twist.” Morning Edition, NPR.org. May 4, 2020, 5:01 AM ET. <a
href="https://www.npr.org/2020/05/04/847785015/supreme-court-arguments-resume-but-with-a-twist">https://www.npr.org/2020/05/04/847785015/supreme-court-arguments-resume-but-with-a-twist</a></p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: John Paré]</p> <h2
id="access-tech-medical-devices-websites-and-subminimum-wages">Access Tech, Medical
Devices, Websites, and Subminimum Wages</h2> <p><strong>by John Paré</strong></p>
<p>January can mean many things for many people. For most, it marks the opportunity
to look back on the previous year and have a fresh start for the coming year. In
fact, it’s no coincidence that the month is named after the Roman god Janus,
who possessed two faces: one for looking toward the past, and the other for looking
toward the future. For me, January means that Washington Seminar, an event I look
forward to every year, is just around the corner, and this year, because we’re
doing things a little differently, we thought we would take this opportunity to
tell you about the plans for the 2022 Washington Seminar.</p> <h3
id="dates-and-logistics">Dates and Logistics</h3> <p>Let’s start with the
basics. The 2022 Washington Seminar will take place from Monday, February 7,
through Thursday, February 10, 2022. As is tradition, the Great Gathering-In will
take place that Monday, February 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. EST, and meetings with
your members of Congress will take place the following Tuesday, Wednesday, and
for the states with more Representatives, Thursday.</p> <p>For the 2022 Washington
Seminar, we are back at the Holiday Inn Washington Capitol–National Mall.
This is the same, familiar location at 550 C St., SW, Washington, DC, that
we’ve been going to for decades. This year, due to social distancing
requirements, we are allotting only a limited number of participants from each
state affiliate, so please speak with your affiliate president regarding your
attendance at the 2022 Washington Seminar.</p> <p>On that topic, this year’s
Washington Seminar will be a little different from what veterans of previous
Washington Seminars are used to. For 2022, we will be conducting a hybrid Washington
Seminar.</p> <p>Here is how it will work. We recommend that you have two sets of
teams: an in-person team and a virtual team. The in-person team or teams would
travel to Washington, DC, and conduct the in-person meetings. The virtual team or
teams would conduct meetings over Zoom similar to the 2021 Washington Seminar.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, we will be asking affiliates to limit the number of
people that they send to Washington DC. We are asking most affiliates to limit
their in-person delegation to two people.</p> <p>Under the current Congressional
rules, visitors must have an appointment to enter any of the Capitol office
buildings. Someone from the office you are visiting must escort you from the
building entrance to the meeting. After the meeting, you will be escorted out of
the building or to another office that is willing to accept the transfer.
Congressional rules limit the size of the meeting to a maximum of five visitors,
but we are recommending that we limit the size to two people. Of course, virtual
meetings can be much larger.</p> <p>When making appointments, it will be important
to keep the escort rules in mind. If you are unable to chain two meetings together
(i.e. have one Congressional office escort you to another Congressional office
that is willing to accept the transfer), you will have to leave the building and
will most likely need to return to the hotel.</p> <p>Please note: We are not
recommending that individual Congressional meetings be conducted as hybrid meetings.
By this, I mean that you should not plan to conduct any Congressional meetings
where both in-person and virtual attendees are at the same meeting. Whether
in-person or virtual, the way you meet with your member of Congress is equally
important, and we are not valuing any method above the other. This plan will allow
us to benefit from in-person meetings when appropriate and at the same time provide
for the safety and flexibility to have virtual meetings when necessary.</p> <h3
id="the-issues">The Issues</h3> <p>For the 2022 Washington Seminar, we are taking
four issues to Capitol Hill:</p> <p>Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R.
431/S. 212)</p> <p>Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act (H.R. 4853)</p>
<p>Twenty-First Century Website and Application Accessibility Act</p> <p>Transformation
to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (H.R. 2373/S. 3238)</p> <p>Just because
we have determined that these will be the 2022 Washington Seminar issues does not
mean that you should stop advocating for them until February. On the contrary, it
is essential that we continue to build cosponsor support for all of our bills,
especially the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA). The more cosponsors
ATAA has, the greater the likelihood that it will be included in one of the larger
vehicles that are currently moving through Congress.</p> <p>That’s all we
have for now, but please continue to monitor the Washington Seminar page on our
website to ensure you remain up-to-date with any developments. We know this year
will be a little different, but we are still looking forward to seeing all of you
(either in person or virtually) next month.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Jo Elizabeth Pinto walks down the sidewalk with her guide dog.]</p> <h2
id="life-lessons-at-the-turkey-trot">Life Lessons at the Turkey Trot</h2>
<p><strong>by Jo Elizabeth Pinto</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Jo
Elizabeth Pinto was one of the ever-increasing number of blind students to integrate
the public schools in the 1970’s. In 1992 she received a degree in human
services from the University of Northern Colorado. While teaching students how to
use adaptive technology, she earned a second degree in 2004 from the Metropolitan
State College of Denver in nonprofit management. She freelances as an editor and
a Braille proofreader.</strong></p> <p><strong>Here is what she has to say about
her most important role as the mother of a persevering daughter. This is reprinted
in large part from the <em>Blind Coloradan</em>, the blog of the National Federation
of the Blind of Colorado. Here is that she says:</strong></p> <p>Pinto lives in
Colorado with her husband, her preteen daughter, and their pets. To find out more
about her, including her award-winning novel and her two memoir collections, please
visit her website at <a
href="https://www.brightsideauthor.com">https://www.brightsideauthor.com</a>.</p>
<p>My eight-year-old daughter Sarah inspired my socks off yesterday. Actually, I
was wearing fur-lined snow boots, but she inspired me just the same. I went to
watch her participate in her school’s annual Turkey Trot with the rest of
her third grade class.</p> <p>Fortunately, the storm from the day before had
subsided. It was still nippy out, and the ground was slippery with slightly melting
snow, but the sun shone brightly.</p> <p>“I won’t win, Mom,”
Sarah had predicted glumly that morning. “I’m the slowest girl in
the third grade.”</p> <p>“Just have fun and try your best,”
I had encouraged her as she left for school.</p> <p>The race started, and my
daughter was soon well behind the pack. She had left the winter jacket she usually
wore at a friend’s house. The one she had on was a hand-me-down from an
older cousin. It was too big for her, and the hood wouldn’t quit flopping
over her eyes. She had also forgotten to put on gloves that morning. I had let
her borrow mine before the race. They were too large for her hands, so she kept
pushing the hood out of her face with these hopelessly floppy leather gloves that
fit her like swim flippers.</p> <p>I stood at the finish line as the runners came
in. Soon, my daughter was left on the racecourse--alone. My heart sank as the
seconds ticked by, lengthening into a minute, then two. A teacher went out to walk
the last of the course with Sarah. I could have hugged that woman. At least my
baby wouldn’t have to cross the finish line all by herself under the stares
of her classmates.</p> <p>Finally, the dean said, “We have one more friend
to cheer on.”</p> <p>The entire third grade began to chant in unison,
“Sarah! Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!”</p> <p>I held out my arms, and my
little girl rushed into them, burying her face in my purple coat to hide her
humiliation.</p> <p>“They’re all cheering for you!” I told
her.</p> <p>“Because I came in last,” she whispered.</p>
<p>“No!” I turned her around to face the other students.
“They’re cheering for you because you kept on walking. You could
have given up. You could have quit, but you didn’t. You kept right on
walking. That means a lot.”</p> <p>I gave my little girl one more bear hug,
and sent her off with the rest of her class to finish the school day. No more
fuss. She inspired the socks off me. But at the same time, I hope she learned some
valuable lessons about perseverance, about tenacity, about acting with dignity
when victory doesn’t come her way. Because, to tell the truth, life will
hand her more opportunities to practice perseverance than to take victory laps.
She’ll need to remember how to keep on walking when she’s the only
one left on the course, when the ground is slippery and her hood is falling in
her eyes, when the way is long and lonely. As her blind mom, I know a thing or
two about that. But blindness doesn’t give me a corner on that market.
Tenacity and fortitude are life skills any mom should be more than ready to pass
along to her daughter when the chance arises.</p> <p><strong>Editor’s Note:
For those interested in reading more, Jo writes: This story appears in my mothering
memoir, “Daddy Won’t Let Mom Drive the Car: True Tales of Parenting
in the Dark.” The book, full of similar lighthearted vignettes and a few
more serious ones, is designed to show that while blindness might alter a few
everyday logistics of parenthood, it doesn’t change what it means to be a
family. It’s available in audio, Kindle, and paperback formats on Amazon
or by visiting my website at <a
href="https://www.brightsideauthor.com">https://www.brightsideauthor.com</a>.</strong></p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Mark Lasser]</p> <h2
id="a-case-for-why-we-should-not-do-visual-descriptions-of-ourselves">A Case for
Why We Should Not Do Visual Descriptions of Ourselves</h2> <p><strong>by Mark
Lasser</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: A topic that has gained a lot of
currency in the last few months is whether people who are speaking should give
visual descriptions of themselves before their presentations. The articles that
have been written and submitted to the <em>Monitor</em> argue that it is unfair
to expect people to describe themselves, that it takes time away from more meaningful
information that can be exchanged, and that blind people are probably better served
by relying on a third party for any descriptions that they want. Obviously, there
is another side to this argument, and the <em>Braille Monitor</em> is interested
in covering that side as well.</strong></p> <p><strong>Mark lives in New York City
and is a member of the New York City Chapter. He also founded the American
Association of Blind Theatergoers. He has degrees aplenty and is able to articulate
very well changes he believes we should make in society and in organizations that
work with the blind. In his six years as a blind person, he has made a tremendous
transition. His résumé includes working for Starbucks and other high-profile
companies. Mark currently works as a senior accessibility consultant for Deque
Systems. Here is what he has to say:</strong></p> <p>Hello. I’m Barbara.
I’m a White woman in my forties with brown hair and eyes. I’m wearing
a green shirt and jeans.</p> <p>I’m Tony. I’m a twenty-year-old
African American man with a shaved head and long beard. I’m wearing a black
suit, and there’s a poster of <em>Star Wars</em> in the background behind
me.</p> <p>I’m Brenda. I’m a very overweight woman. I’m
wearing a leather vest that is barely concealing my body, and I have numerous
piercings in my eyes, eyebrows, and nose.</p> <p>I’m Chris. I’m a
trans person and have an androgenous appearance. My hair is cut high and tight.
I’m Asian and am in a home office. I have posters for Picasso on my walls
behind me, and I’m not wearing any clothing.</p> <p>I’m Henry.
I’m wearing a MAGA hat, and I’m a Hispanic male in my forties. I
have severe acne, and there is a general mess of food wrappers on my desk.</p>
<p>Increasingly, we are all likely running into meetings where participants,
understanding that there are blind folks on the call, are opting for a moment of
visual description. There has been debate around this practice, and it seems to
me that most of the consensus has been positive. I’d like to offer another
view as to why this practice is a bad idea with potentially worse outcomes.</p>
<p>The examples above are, of course, meant to be provocative. Typically, people
offering to describe themselves to us, including at NFB meetings here in New York
City, describe themselves by age, race, gender, and some elements of clothing and
maybe their background if visible or virtual. It can take up considerable time if
twenty people each take a minute to describe themselves. I have been in a two-hour
meeting where almost thirty minutes was taken up by this practice. And what exactly
was the benefit? I still don’t know. Had we all been on a conference call,
no one would have done this, and I don’t think we’d have been any
worse off.</p> <p>The first conclusion for ending this practice is that it is
inefficient and time consuming, with minimal benefit to anyone. However, there
are more reasons for discontinuing this practice. We are creating messages that
some visual information is more important than other information. Why do we describe
gender and age and skin color but not physical fitness, weight, or skin condition?
A sighted person would know that a participant has a large mole on their cheek
while blind people would not? Would a person who has a large visible scar be likely
to describe it to us? Should a particularly attractive man or woman be appropriate
in telling us that they are often found to be the subject of attention for people
with sexual interests? Is it dishonest or excluding in nature to not describe a
rainbow flag in the background? What about describing the book titles on a shelf
behind a participant? Don’t these tell sighted people a lot about how the
participant wants to be seen since these books are essential set dressing? It is
not viable to really describe ourselves to each other in every Zoom or Teams
meeting, so we are elevating race, gender, and age, and ignoring what sighted
folks often notice such as physical attractiveness, unusual or unconventional
surroundings or clothing, blemishes, weight, or things that might be paramount to
a sighted user and pointedly avoided in someone providing self-description.</p>
<p>My point is that the exercise is actually depriving us of information while
creating a false sense of inclusion. It’s not entirely honest to describe
ourselves by the color of our clothes, the amount of pigment in our skin, and our
age. Therefore, we are not getting the equivalent descriptions that sighted people
get. We don’t know if someone on the call has pancaked makeup on their
face, if they are breathtakingly handsome, or if there are visible clues to their
sexual orientation. Instead we accept the most superficial and arguably useless
details while what we might really want to know is excluded from the visual
description.</p> <p>If we are told someone is fifty, is that a visual description
if they happen to look thirty? What if they look eighty? Is the color of one’s
hair important or only if it is green or purple? Should we be told if someone has
a wart on their eyebrow or a sore on their lip? What if someone is not obviously
of a certain race? Are we pressuring people to disclose their race if it is not
visually apparent? Should it be required that a meeting participant disclose their
religion if it is apparent from visual indicators like a cross necklace or a Star
of David?</p> <p>To be clear, I am a serious advocate for audio description in
film, television, and theater. The description is usually created by trained
professionals who take many factors into consideration, and this too is an evolving
art form. It is an important distinction that audio description is generally
written and spoken by objective third-party professionals, which makes it a very
different situation from self-describing visual descriptions.</p> <p>As blind
people, we depend on audio description in media to understand context that is
otherwise not obvious. Do we really need this in our meetings or in our day-to-day
personal encounters? I don’t think so. There is room for disagreement on
this subject, and I hope to, at least, provoke some introspection and questions
about these practices before they become so standardized that we cannot go back
to a time where they did not exist.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jack
Bernard]</p> <h2 id="bringing-a-closing-to-disclosing-the-clothing">Bringing a
Closing to Disclosing the Clothing</h2> <p><strong>by Jack Bernard</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Jack Bernard works at a large research university,
where he is a lawyer and teaches in its schools of law, education, public policy,
and information. The views in this piece are his own and do not necessarily reflect
the perspectives of any organizations or individuals with whom he associates or
has associated.</strong></p> <p><strong>As noted in the previous article, the
<em>Monitor</em> is open to other perspectives; this is a discussion in which we
are glad to hear all points of view. Here is what Jack has to say:</strong></p>
<p>I have noticed a growing trend. Some people are adopting the practice of giving
physical descriptions of themselves at the beginning of meetings or presentations.
This practice, I am told, is intended to support and welcome people who are blind
or visually impaired. While this practice is not yet a dominant norm, it appears
to be burgeoning. We should nip this well-meaning effort in the bud because it is
unhelpful and begets other problems. In this essay I will unpack for you why I
think we should not encourage this practice and, instead, should actively discourage
it.</p> <h3 id="this-practice-is-not-helpful">This Practice Is Not Helpful</h3>
<p>I first encountered this practice about three years ago at the start of a
twelve-person meeting. The host asked a participant to begin a round of introductions.
The first person offered a three-minute description of herself, including two
minutes of details about her face, hair, body, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and
tattoos, among other things. Each person, in turn, followed with a similar
descriptive introduction. Thirty minutes into our hour-long meeting, it was my
turn, and I asked why we were describing ourselves with all these details. I had
assumed it was an ice-breaker activity, and I wanted to get a better sense of what
I should share. I was told that expressing physical descriptions was “an
important courtesy for the visually impaired.” As the only person in that
room for whom this “courtesy” was intended, I was perplexed.</p>
<p>Since then, I have witnessed over thirty meetings and presentations where people
have introduced themselves with detailed visual descriptions. The trend appears
to be increasing in both frequency and diversity of description. For instance,
last summer I attended a copyright symposium where the four panelists, after being
prompted by the moderator, described their appearance and dress for a couple of
minutes each. More recently, I participated in a Zoom meeting where attendees not
only added all sorts of information about their looks and clothing but also relayed
what the camera was showing behind them. One man debated with himself for twenty
seconds about the precise color of the walls in his living room. At another Zoom
meeting, people described the coloration, size, and body characteristics of their
pets who wandered into view during the meeting. As a newer facet in the practice,
some people also take the time to describe the colors and shapes of their masks
and facial coverings.</p> <p>There are many things that could make the meetings
and presentations I attend more accessible to me, but none of those things include
physical descriptions of the participants. The gesture reminds me of the countless
times that well-intentioned people have begun speaking to me loudly and slowly
upon learning about my eyesight. Even though they are going to great efforts to
be helpful, sluggish shouting doesn’t address real barriers for me. Neither
does the practice of introductory physical descriptions.</p> <p>Because I am
confident that my own experiences may not be the experiences of others, I have
scoured the literature on accommodations for research, observations, or recommendations
that would support this practice. I have found none. I have also reviewed guidance
from organizations for people who are blind and/or visually impaired, centers for
independent living, the federal government, public goods (such as colleges,
universities, libraries, museums, and archives), and organizations that help people
learn how to run meetings or make public presentations. I have found no entities
recommending this practice. Moreover, throughout my lifetime, I have attended
dozens of meetings stewarded by organizations for the blind, and I have never
encountered this practice in those settings, nor have I heard people who are blind
clamoring for it.</p> <p>During the past three years, I have also spoken with over
150 people from all over the country and world about this practice, most of whom
are people who have limited, low, or no vision. I have not found a person who felt
that this practice of self-description meaningfully improved the accessibility of
meetings and speeches. Most people did not understand the utility of this practice.
Admittedly, a few people told me that they appreciated the idea that accessibility
or blindness was being acknowledged. One disability-rights leader told me that a
few people had explicitly thanked him for engaging in the practice. My suspicion,
I reflected to him, is that, in a world where accessibility is so often an
afterthought, people can be grateful when someone is making any effort. But even
he did not identify a substantive benefit to the practice.</p> <p>I am not saying
that it is never appropriate for people to describe how they appear at a meeting
or presentation. In a meeting about fashion, it may be crucial for people in the
room to have a sense of what others are wearing in order to be able to participate
equitably in the discussion. If a panel were presenting about beard styles, it
would seem highly pertinent to describe the beards on the stage. When appearance
or clothing (or walls or pets) are salient to the work or subject at hand, it may
be necessary to inspire or require introductions with vivid descriptions. But I
contend that this is not most meetings and presentations. So, we should not
encourage perfunctory practices, especially when they are unhelpful. And I believe
that there are real downsides to promulgating this practice as a rote routine.</p>
<h3 id="this-practice-is-detrimental">This Practice Is Detrimental</h3> <p>It is
difficult enough to inspire society to make accommodations that are unequivocally
helpful. However, allowing practices like these to take up the little bandwidth
we get does a disservice to all the accommodations we need but do not receive.
Even people of good will have only so much energy and attention; if we squander
it on unhelpful practices, we risk not only opportunities for real progress but
also the trust people have in us to ask for what we genuinely need.</p>
<p>People’s time is valuable, and it is disrespectful for us to avert our
sensibilities while they are using their time (and ours) under the mistaken
impression that we typically need to know how they look and what they are wearing
to participate in a meeting. Blind and sighted people alike expressed dismay at
how much time this practice takes. Because they felt the practice was not conferring
a genuine accommodation, most of the people I spoke with felt it was a waste of
everyone’s time to go through the motions of self-description.</p> <p>Many
people with whom I spoke about the practice also felt that it made them or others
uncomfortable. I heard perspectives like the following:</p> <p>“I’ve
been blind my whole life. I have never seen any of the colors or what anyone looks
like, including myself. I don’t want or need to know this stuff.”</p>
<p>“It must be strange for those people to have to describe themselves like
that. It’s just weird.”</p> <p>“I have no idea what to say
about myself. Am I supposed to talk about my shoes, or do I only do that if the
person in front of me did? Is there a list of dos and don’ts?”</p>
<p>“I know that I don’t have to describe myself, but I worry that
if I don’t that people will think that I am a mean person or that I
don’t care about my colleagues who have disabilities.”</p> <p>“My
wife picks out my clothes for me, but she doesn’t usually tell me about
what they look like. So, when it’s my turn, I don’t give much of a
description because I really can’t. It’s awkward to say, ‘I’m
wearing regular clothes and have a white cane’ and leaving it at
that.”</p> <p>“I had no idea that panelists were going to have to
describe themselves. I kept wishing I’d dressed better.”</p>
<p>“I feel a little ashamed that people think what they are doing is helping
me, when it isn’t.”</p> <p>“I’m overweight; am I
supposed to announce that? It feels so awkward because I know that that is the
first thing that many people notice about me. Is everyone else in the room just
thinking ‘It’s funny how she isn’t saying the most obvious
thing about herself?’ I feel embarrassed every time I’ve been asked
to describe myself.”</p> <p>“The one time I had to do this, I kept
obsessing about what the men in the room were thinking as the women described
themselves.”</p> <p>“I am blind, and at this point in my life I
don’t usually care what other people look like, and I definitely don’t
care about their fashion choices.”</p> <p>“It feels ridiculous for
me to tell a bunch of sighted people at the meeting what they can see for
themselves.”</p> <p>“The last thing I want to do in a meeting is
talk; but describing myself with everyone looking at me is even worse.”</p>
<p>“I really hope this doesn’t become a thing. I can’t imagine
anything sillier than a bunch of blind people starting our meetings by describing
what we think we look like to each other.”</p> <p>“To be clear,
sometimes, to provide accommodations or to make society more equitable, people
may have to endure some discomfort or inconvenience. But it does not help us to
make people, including our own constituency, uncomfortable for no measurable
benefit. Asking people to make sacrifices is perfectly acceptable to make meetings
and presentations more accessible. But taxing people's time, energy, and attention
for empty accommodations is self-defeating. Because most people do not really know
what we need, they count on us to point the way.”</p> <h3
id="what-we-can-and-should-do-when-we-encounter-this-practice">What We Can and
Should Do When We Encounter This Practice </h3> <p>First, it is important to
remember that most people endorsing or engaging in this practice are simply trying
to make meetings or presentations more equitable and accessible. They are striving
to be inclusive. At the very least, they are going with the flow, after having
noticed someone else model the practice. These are our allies, and we should work
hard not to alienate them. Therefore, we should go out of our way to be appreciative
of the gesture and good intentions, while at the same time shepherding them toward
more productive efforts.</p> <p>I encourage you to speak out when you encounter
this physical description practice. Depending upon the context, I have discouraged
the practice just as it commenced, when it came my turn to introduce myself, after
the meeting to the speaker or chair, or even later in writing to an individual or
group. Sincere, noncombative engagement goes a long way. For instance, I have said
things like this, "I know that others have been giving detailed descriptions of
how they appear in order to make the meeting more accessible for legally blind
people like me. And I really appreciate the effort to put accessibility front and
center; it makes meetings like this especially welcoming. If we are doing these
descriptions to make the meetings more accessible, it's only fair for me to say
that these descriptions are less helpful to me than they might appear. But there
are some things we could do that would save time and really make a difference for
my participation...."</p> <p>There are many better, more useful alternatives we
can encourage that will actually make meetings and presentations more meaningfully
accessible. Most people do want to promote a more equitable environment and
appreciate knowing how they can effectively remove barriers and promote access.
Here are some alternatives that I recommend offering in place of asking people to
give physical descriptions. Of course, these are important steps regardless of
whether a community has been using the physical descriptions practice.</p> <p>When
scheduling a meeting or announcing an event, prominently describe the accommodations
that are already in place, and invite attendees to apprise organizers of accommodations
they may need. For instance, here is language I used for a recent meeting: "We
have accessible seating and parking on-site. We have ASL interpreters on-call;
please let us know if it would help you to have them available to sign at the
meeting. If you have questions or if there are other accommodations we can provide
to facilitate your full participation, please contact us at…" This kind of
language welcomes people to come forward and underscores that the event organizers
want to prioritize equitable participation and access.</p> <p>In preparation for
a meeting or event, make sure participants can access and/or remediate materials
ahead of time. For most blind people, handouts and on-screen presentations are
largely inaccessible. For myself, I have found this to be the most common barrier
to my full participation. I often ask meeting organizers to send materials in
advance. This accommodation not only helps me participate, but it also helps
everyone prepare, which, typically, improves the meeting for all.</p> <p>At the
beginning of a meeting or event, invite participants to let organizers know, now
or at any time during or after the activity, if there is anything that can be done
to make the activity more accessible. This kind of short announcement will not
only inspire people who need accommodations to come forward, but it will put all
participants in mind of the notion that people who have disabilities and accessibility
are a part of society. This kind of announcement addresses the acknowledgement of
what some people want, and it does so more efficiently than the mechanical practice
of self-description.</p> <p>Encourage speakers to use narrative rather than
demonstrative approaches to presenting. For instance, presenters who gesture at
their slides with laser pointers and say things like, "we are trying to do this
and not that" are being demonstrative for only those who can see what the presenters
are doing. If the same presenters used a narrative style and said, "We are trying
to present narratively and not demonstratively," it would be more accessible for
people who can't see the slides and/or the laser pointer.</p> <p>There are doubtless
many other approaches, both general and more targeted, that people and institutions
can take to make meetings and presentations more accessible. We should have no
compunction about letting people know what we need to be able to equitably
participate. At the same time, we should not sit idly by, letting people go through
a performative process that they think we need or want. There are better approaches
than the unhelpful, box-checking practice of self-description; let's inspire people
to use those that actually serve us.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="just-what-the-doctor-ordered">Just What the Doctor Ordered</h2> <p><strong>by
Tatyana Haykin</strong></p> <p><em>Reprinted with permission from the Technion
Israel Institute of Technology.</em></p> <p>Keren Amiel has always wanted to become
a doctor; against all odds, the visually impaired young woman is now officially
an MD.</p> <p>Among the 241 new MDs who received their Technion diplomas this past
June, visually impaired Dr. Keren Amiel stands out for overcoming unusual
challenges.</p> <p>“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor, ever since
I was a child,” Dr. Amiel says. “I knew it was going to be a challenge,
so initially I was apprehensive, but I decided to try.”</p> <p>Amiel suffers
from congenital nystagmus, a condition she inherited from her father, which causes
her eyes to “dance” uncontrollably, resulting in significant visual
impairment.</p> <p>Last month, 241 Technion graduates of the Ruth and Bruce
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine received their Doctor of Medicine diplomas. Technion
President Prof. Uri Sivan spoke at the graduation ceremony; the daughters of Ruth
and Bruce, Dr. Vered Drenger-Rappaport and Ms. Irith Rappaport, congratulated the
new doctors. For half of them, the ceremony comes two years after their graduation,
as no ceremonies were held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>For Dr.
Amiel, the apprehensions were over when she finally held her MD diploma. Not only
that, but over the past year, she completed her internship at the Tel Aviv Sourasky
Medical Center, and started residency in child and adolescent psychiatry at
Schneider Children’s Medical Center.</p> <h3
id="excelling-while-thinking-outside-the-box">Excelling while thinking outside
the box </h3> <p>The chief challenge, Amiel says, was being the first, blazing
the trail. “The faculty was very supportive and willing to make the necessary
adjustments,” she says. “But we had to figure out together what
these adjustments were – identify the problems, and figure out how to
overcome them. It took some out-of-the-box thinking.”</p> <p>For example,
in anatomy classes, where one has to recognize structures in the human body, she
used surgical loupes like surgeons use when performing delicate operations. On
one thing, she agreed with the faculty from the start: in no way would her education
be compromised; there would be no lowering the bar.</p> <p>“The Technion
encourages one to excel,” she says. “It poses a challenge, and an
opportunity to learn from the very best. That’s why I wanted to study
here.”</p> <p>Currently, in her work with young patients, Dr. Amiel’s
disability offers an unexpected advantage: it helps her to connect with patients.
A doctor can be quite intimidating, but a doctor who is also a human being –
less so. “I often ask children what they want to be when they grow up,”
Dr. Amiel says. “If a child is afraid he or she won’t be able to
achieve their dreams, I can encourage them through telling them about the challenges
I’ve overcome.”</p> <h3 id="paving-the-way-for-more-people-with-disabilities">Paving
the way for more people with disabilities </h3> <p>Commenting on integration of
people with disabilities, Dr. Amiel says: “I think visibility is important.
The first time my colleagues in the hospital saw me with my nose glued to the
computer screen, I suppose it looked weird. But the more common it is, the less
weird it becomes, and that opens the way for more people with disabilities.”</p>
<p>While Dr. Amiel is the first visually impaired doctor in Israel, a few have
passed this hurdle previously around the world. The first was Jacob Bolotin, who
graduated from the Chicago Medical School in 1912. In more recent times, David
Hartman earned his medical degree at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1975,
followed by Tim Cordes graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in
2005. The knowledge that she might be the first in Israel, but others around the
world have succeeded before her, helped Amiel persevere, and find the way to
achieve the goal she had set for herself.</p> <p>---------</p> <h2
id="you-can-make-a-difference">You Can Make a Difference </h2> <p>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.</p>
<p>With your help, the NFB will continue to:</p> <ul> <li><p>Give blind children
the gift of literacy through Braille;</p></li> <li><p>Promote the independent
travel of the blind by providing free, long white canes to blind people in
need;</p></li> <li><p>Develop dynamic educational projects and programs that show
blind youth that science and math are within their reach;</p></li> <li><p>Deliver
hundreds of accessible newspapers and magazines to provide blind people the
essential information necessary to be actively involved in their communities;</p></li>
<li><p>Offer aids and appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain their
independence; and</p></li> <li><p>Fund scholarship programs so that blind people
can achieve their dreams.</p></li> </ul> <h3 id="plan-to-leave-a-legacy">Plan to
Leave a Legacy<br /> </h3> <p>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 <a
href="http://www.nfb.org/planned-giving">www.nfb.org/planned-giving</a> 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.</p> <h3 id="invest-in-opportunity">Invest in Opportunity<br /> </h3>
<p>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.</p> <p>In 2019, the
NFB:</p> <ul> <li><p>Distributed over seven thousand canes to blind people across
the United States, empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout
their communities.</p></li> <li><p>Hosted forty-eight NFB BELL Academy programs,
which served more than three hundred and fifty blind students throughout the United
States.</p></li> <li><p>Provided over one hundred thousand dollars in scholarships
to blind students, making a post-secondary education affordable and attainable.</p></li>
<li><p>Delivered audio newspaper and magazine services to 118,900 subscribers,
providing free access to over four hundred local, national, and international
publications.</p></li> <li><p>In the third year of the program, over three hundred
fifty Braille-writing slates and styluses were given free of charge to blind
users.</p></li> </ul> <p>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.</p> <h3 id="vehicle-donation-program">Vehicle Donation
Program<br /> </h3> <p>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 arrange to pick up your donation—it
doesn’t have to be working. We can also answer any questions you have.</p>
<h3 id="general-donation">General Donation<br /> </h3> <p>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 <a href="http://www.nfb.org/make-gift">www.nfb.org/make-gift</a>
for more information.</p> <h3 id="bequests">Bequests </h3> <p>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 <a href="http://www.nfb.org/planned-giving">www.nfb.org/planned-giving</a>
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.</p> <h3
id="pre-authorized-contribution">Pre-Authorized Contribution </h3> <p>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 <a href="http://www.nfb.org/make-gift">www.nfb.org/make-gift</a><span
class="underline">,</span> and complete the Pre-Authorized Contribution form, and
return it to the address listed on the form.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Regina Mitchell]</p> <h2 id="making-the-kitchen-your-friend">Making the
Kitchen Your Friend</h2> <p><strong>by Regina Mitchell</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Regina is a scholarship winner who walked across the stage in 2017.
She has been married to her husband Stan for thirty-six years and serves on the
National Federation of the Blind of Nevada Board of Directors. She also serves as
the affiliate’s scholarship chair. Her newest assignment is what moves her
to write, and here is what she says:</strong></p> <p>A time, a season, and a
purpose.</p> <p>“My heart sang when I saw <em>Exploring in the Kitchen</em>
on the [NFB National Convention] agenda, and I’m excited to get involved,”
says a food blogger.</p> <p>A man wrote, “I am interested in how to read
labels, [learning] macro and micronutrients and their impact on blood sugar and
the science behind cooking!”</p> <p>A student attending the Louisiana Center
for the Blind wrote, “I want to learn everything under the sun!”</p>
<p>A mom writes, “I am a busy mom. My challenges in the kitchen: time
management, kid-friendly recipes for Instapot and coming up with quick and healthy
options!”</p> <p>Another woman writes, “I’m a home cook, who
has fun in the kitchen. I am transitioning to a plant-based diet, and I love to
bake!”</p> <p>A dietician wrote, “If there is anything I can do to
help, I would be more than happy to. This is a great thing, and I hope it gets
more of us comfortable cooking.”</p> <p>These, along with hundreds of other
comments, are the feedback received following the presentation of <em>‘Exploring
NFB In the Kitchen Group</em>.’ The presentation took place at the 2021
National Convention of the NFB, Stronger Together.</p> <p>My name is Regina
Mitchell, and I am a classically trained chef. I began cooking as a teenager after
tragedy struck our family. Cooking wasn't a challenge for me due to a heritage of
talented home cooks featuring French Creole, Native American and African American
cuisines. The first dinner I prepared was chicken enchiladas, a dinner salad, and
iced cold Tang for my family of six at thirteen years of age.</p> <p>I graduated
with high honors from Seattle Culinary Academy and was awarded a British Fellowship
to work overseas and to be mentored under the tutelage of master chefs. Returning
to the United States nearly two years later, I was privileged to work in five-star
restaurants with renowned chefs and as an entrepreneur with Fortune Five Hundred
corporate executives. I later entered the hospitality industry in Las Vegas,
Nevada, providing elite personalized services to global guests at the MGM Hotel
and Resorts.</p> <p>In 2012 I lost most of my sight due to a rare eye condition
and was later diagnosed with Bilateral Panuveitis coupled with Sarcoidosis. Within
thirty days, I lost my sight.</p> <p>The career I had trained for as well as the
culture in which I was immersed in, both culinary and hospitality, were suddenly
gone. I was ravaged by grief, having known no one with blindness at this point
nor having any idea of what it would look like nor what it would mean for my
family, my future, nor myself.</p> <p>I had no time to sit and consider any of
the above questions. Years prior, I made a promise to my husband to complete
university and what a perfect segue. In the spring of 2013, I became a full-time
returning student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During my junior year,
I discovered the National Federation of the Blind through the National Scholarship
Program. I was honored to be selected as a finalist, attending my first NFB National
Convention in Orlando, Florida, receiving the STEM Oracle scholarship as a 2017
Cohort. I graduated in 2018 with high honors, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree
in psychology and neuroscience.</p> <p>Through a turn of events and a step of
faith, I stepped back into the kitchen as a chef instructor teaching blind and
low-vision individuals. Then in March of 2020, the pandemic hit us all hard,
leaving us isolated and sheltered in place. Slowly programming resumed, and we
all entered the virtual world of connectivity, through learning and receiving
education. But what about cooking? Let’s take cooking virtual!</p> <p>So,
(comma added) with lots of research and huge support from the Blindconnect Mobility
Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, a virtual pilot cooking series for blind
people began. It became a great success. The virtual classes are centered on
teaching the art of cooking to students, using their other four senses.</p> <p>I
realized I had to go beyond just cooking and teaching by hearing, listening,
touching, and smelling. I had to also use descriptive language and follow my
instincts to develop a new way of cooking and teaching which I call “Intuitive
Cooking.” Necessity is the mother of invention, and this is a skill I never
thought to use as a sighted chef whose eyes were always in charge.</p> <p>I
discovered that if I allowed my mind and body to actually function as one whole,
syncing my body with my mind during the cooking process rather than my eyes being
in charge, my brain would be in charge, and my natural intuition would begin to
orchestrate a culinary symphony. For me the result of this mind and body interaction
was magnificent.</p> <p>Due to the forward thinking and innovative approach to
cooking with blindness, I’ve been featured as an Influencer, both nationally
and globally. Most recently, I have been appointed chair of the new national group,
NFB in the Kitchen for Food Enthusiasts: Resources and Advocacy to Advance the
Accessibility of Online Cooking, Independence, and Self-reliance in the Kitchen.</p>
<h3 id="why-the-passion">Why the passion? </h3> <p>The passion is for the love of
cooking and the feeling cooking gives me. My joy, even when life has placed upon
us tremendous pain, has often been found in the kitchen.</p> <p>The reason for
the NFB in the Kitchen Group is to pull like-minded people together for the purposes
of learning to cook with blindness, overcoming real fears, and creating healthy
meals independently.</p> <p>NFB in the Kitchen is a group that aspires to:</p>
<ul> <li><p><strong>Inspire,</strong> connect, and challenge</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Inspire</strong> you to try something new and show how food brings
us together in the kitchen or at the table.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Explore</strong>
different cultures, cuisines, and ideas.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Promote</strong>
conversations and dialogues by sharing members' stories, processes, and progress
through our virtual space.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Connect</strong> and draw upon
the expertise and wisdom of our community partners in the culinary and hospitality
field.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Draw</strong> upon the expertise in home management
and resources from LCB, CCB, Blind Inc., and Blindconnect.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Bring</strong> into the mix the health, fitness, and well-being
professionals.</p></li> <li><p><strong>Participate</strong> in community-centered,
virtual events focused on new trends and innovative ideas in food, health and
fitness, accessible kitchen tools and appliances.</p></li> </ul> <p>I am enthusiastic
about getting people into the kitchen. I want to stir up that desire and address
the fears and obstacles and open up culinary conversations about food, culture,
and lifestyle—about eating, cooking, and gathering multicultural snapshots
of our food world.</p> <p>Let’s talk about what you can’t do, what
you’re afraid to do, and why we don’t have time to do it. Let’s
crack the code to seemingly impossible recipes, food apps, and non-accessible
equipment. We are tens of thousands strong, and now we have a safe space to share
our food journey no matter our skillset. Let’s step into a brave, new world
and make the kitchen our friend again.</p> <p>For everything there is a time, a
season, and, a purpose. Now is the time for NFB in the Kitchen Group. Come and
join us. Follow the link below to sign up as a subscriber.</p> <p>To post to this
list, send your message to:</p> <p><a href="mailto:nfb-inthekitchen@nfbnet.org"><span
class="underline">nfb-inthekitchen@nfbnet.org</span></a></p> <p>To contact Regina
Mitchell, write to <a href="mailto:Inthekitchen.nfb@gmail.com"><span
class="underline">Inthekitchen.nfb@gmail.com</span></a></p> <p>Instagram
@ReginaDMitchell</p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reginadmitchel"><span
class="underline">https://www.instagram.com/reginadmitchel</span></a></p> <p>Facebook:
@ReginaMitchell</p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/tabitha.rumjungle"><span
class="underline">https://www.facebook.com/tabitha.rumjungle</span></a></p>
<p><em>CNN</em> The Human Factor Dr. Sanja Gupta</p> <p><a
href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUrAxdvAd13/?utm_medium=copy_link"><span
class="underline">https://www.instagram.com/tv/CUrAxdvAd13/?utm_medium=copy_link</span></a></p>
<p><em>LOS ANGELES TIMES</em> Sunday Food Edition</p> <p><a
href="https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2021-04-09/cooking-with-disabilities-accessibility?_amp=true">https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2021-04-09/cooking-with-disabilities-accessibility?_amp=true</a></p>
<p><em>Las Vegas Sun</em></p> <p><a
href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/may/04/tragedies-las-vegas-chef-new-challenges-go-blind/"><span
class="underline">https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/may/04/tragedies-las-vegas-chef-new-challenges-go-blind/</span></a></p>
<p><em>Hadley Podcast</em> - Conversation with the Experts</p> <p><a
href="https://hadley.edu/podcasts/hadley-presents-conversation-experts"><span
class="underline">https://hadley.edu/podcasts/hadley-presents-conversation-experts</span></a></p>
<p>ADNA Audio Description Narrators of America with Roy Samuelson</p> <p><a
href="https://theadna.libsyn.com/the-adna-presents-know-your-narrator-series-bonus-regina-mitchell">https://theadna.libsyn.com/the-adna-presents-know-your-narrator-series-bonus-regina-mitchell</a></p>
<p>Tim Black on Air - Blind Like Me</p> <p><a
href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LGdYvEksJKrkaZ1qmHJ9h?si=sMRlmHtyRaeICgEmd9bViQ"><span
class="underline">https://open.spotify.com/episode/5LGdYvEksJKrkaZ1qmHJ9h?si=sMRlmHtyRaeICgEmd9bViQ</span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.timblackonair.com"><span
class="underline">www.timblackonair.com</span></a></p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Chris Westbrook]</p> <h2 id="conventions-are-for-all-of-us">Conventions
Are for All of Us </h2> <p><strong>by Chris Westbrook</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Chris is a frequent contributor, and for that we are all benefited
significantly. He lives in Pennsylvania, and in this short article he encourages
people to attend both state and national conventions of the Federation. So many
people decide the Federation promises are for real when they attend state and
national gatherings. Until then they assume what we have is good reading, but the
convention experience says that these Federationists and their claim of what can
be done are for real. Here is what Chris has to say:</strong></p> <p>As some of
you may know from my previous <em>Braille Monitor</em> entries, I am deafblind.
I wear a hearing aid in one ear and a cochlear implant in the other. I also must
use a quad cane in addition to the white cane. A quad cane is a cane with four
feet at the bottom that assists with balance. Despite these challenges, I have
been able to enjoy myself at many state conventions, particularly the one I just
returned from. I always found a helping hand whether it was from hotel staff or
other Federationists, blind or sighted. I much prefer to go with a human guide
where I can because I can only be on my feet so long before they start hurting,
and I found this choice met with no judgment and real understanding by all
Federationists I met. Whether it was attending our deafblind division meeting or
a talent show, there was plenty to do.</p> <p>I would really encourage any
Federationist to come to a state convention, even if you think national convention
is beyond your abilities. The state convention is a great way to get involved in
the Federation and see firsthand how the organization works. I hope all Federationists
can experience the nonjudgmental, helping attitude that I experience over and over
again here in Pennsylvania. May we all help each other live the lives we want.</p>
<p>---------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Cayte Mendez]</p> <h2
id="national-federation-of-the-blind-2022-scholarship-program">National Federation
of the Blind 2022 Scholarship Program</h2> <p><strong>by Cayte Mendez</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Cayte Mendez chairs the National Federation of the
Blind Scholarship Committee. She is a full-time elementary school teacher in the
New York City public schools and serves as president of the National Organization
of Blind Educators as well as second vice president of the NFB of NY.</strong></p>
<p>Blind and low-vision high school seniors through grad school students ages
eighteen and older! Apply today!</p> <p>Application Window: December 1, 2021, to
midnight, Eastern, March 31, 2022</p> <p>Thirty Scholarships, $8,000 each</p>
<p>Plus more gifts and opportunities to our scholarship finalists!</p> <p><strong>Apply
Today!</strong></p> <p>If you are a long-time reader of the <em>Braille Monitor</em>,
you will notice that the above announcement appears somewhat differently from the
way it has in the past. As the world moves forward, so must we all. As we in the
NFB continue evolving our work on behalf of the nation's blind, we always seek to
reflect on and to evaluate our current practices and make any changes necessary
to ensure that we are achieving outcomes that further our movement and strengthen
our organization. Toward that end, President Riccobono asked a committee of current
and former scholarship chairs, committee members, and previous scholarship recipients
to make recommendations about the structure of this highly successful program.
The Federation's Board of Directors has taken those recommendations even further
by proposing a significant increase to what was already the largest scholarship
program in the nation for blind people. Be sure to read carefully what appears
here.</p> <p>Most of the core components we have come to recognize as hallmarks
of the NFB Scholarship Program have remained unaltered. The application window is
a month shorter, running from December 1 through the end of March, but the
application itself is still demanding and rigorous, in order to highlight the best
qualities of our several hundred applicants. Each student must demonstrate scholastic
excellence as well as individual leadership qualities. Applicants are also expected
to reflect on their own sense of themselves as blind people and their effect on
the world as they complete the application's accompanying essay and undertake
interviews with their state affiliate presidents. Each year our committee receives
hundreds of applications, therefore, in order to be selected for one of the thirty
scholarships, students must clearly demonstrate the exceptional qualities that
set them apart.</p> <p>Furthermore, once the thirty finalists have been selected,
they will still be expected to attend our National Convention in its entirety and
to fulfill rigorous participation requirements. In order to receive a scholarship
on banquet night, each member of the class will have the daily opportunity to
engage with their assigned scholarship committee mentors, as they think deeply
about, discuss, and learn from the many and varied convention events and presentations.
Finalists will continue to be expected to attend and fully engage in events such
as the Board of Directors meeting, the Resolutions Committee meeting, Division
Day, NABS, and all general sessions, in addition to several events designed
specifically for the scholarship class.</p> <p>On banquet night, just as it has
been for some forty years, the presentation of the thirty scholarships will still
be a culminating celebration of the convention. Each student will be recognized
for their outstanding academic performance and demonstrable leadership qualities
as they receive their scholarship. State delegations will still have the opportunity
to cheer and celebrate as their finalists officially become scholarship winners,
and the sense of excitement and accomplishment will continue to lift the spirits
of the crowd.</p> <p>While nearly all of the essential components of the program
remain unchanged, we have made a few updates to the scholarships themselves. First,
the base amount of the scholarship values will increase significantly from the
$3,000 it has been for decades. With a few exceptions, the amounts for our
scholarships have remained relatively static, as the cost of education has
skyrocketed over time. In order to carry the weight we want in today's economy,
larger scholarships are necessary. Consequently, the Board has determined that
each winner will receive $8,000. This amount will include any funds donated by
supporters and partners of the Federation.</p> <p>Instead of a tiered system of
monetary amounts, individual awards may be given to winners who stand out in
specific areas of scholarship or leadership. Although the cash value of each award
will be the same, this will allow our organization to spotlight excellence, while
evolving the program to emphasize mentorship, leadership, engagement, scholarship,
and participation over competition for higher dollar amounts. The scholarship
committee will still maintain the responsibility for determining which candidates
receive these specialized awards, but the value of each award will derive more
from who or what it represents than from the first digit on the check.</p> <p>We
are also excited to announce that the members of the class will select one of the
thirty scholarships themselves. While this award will be financially equivalent
to the others, it will give the members of the scholarship class the opportunity
to select the person among their ranks who they feel exemplifies the highest
qualities of leadership such as inclusion, ingenuity, and the ability to motivate
others. This individual will have the opportunity to address the convention on
behalf of the class, bringing our banquet presentation to a close on a note of
celebration.</p> <p>The NFB Scholarship Program has two long-time, overarching
goals that continue to guide our work. First, the program seeks to support and
promote the academic and career success of blind students nationwide by rewarding
scholastic excellence. Second, the program serves as an opportunity to grow
potential leaders within our organization by selecting applicants who exhibit
ingenuity, creativity, and the ability to motivate others and giving them access
to Federation leadership at the highest levels through the convention mentoring
process. In undertaking the changes outlined here, we continue to further these
goals, while at the same time allowing our process to evolve in ways that create
an even stronger sense of inclusion, agency, and responsibility among our winners.</p>
<p>Are you a legally blind student? Do you reside in one of the fifty states, the
District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico? Will you be pursuing a full-time post-secondary
course of study in a degree program at an accredited United States institution in
the fall of the 2022-2023 academic year? Will you be eighteen years of age by July
5, 2022, and will you be able to participate in the entire NFB National Convention
and in all scheduled scholarship activities from July 5 through July 10 if chosen
as a finalist? If you answered yes to all these questions, please visit
www.nfb.org/scholarships to begin the online application today!</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Tracy Soforenko]</p> <h2 id="kenneth-jernigan-convention-scholarship">Kenneth
Jernigan Convention Scholarship</h2> <p><strong>by Tracy Soforenko</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Tracy is a member of our national board of directors
and is the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. He is
also the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund, and it is
in this capacity that he writes:</strong></p> <p>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 Marriott New
Orleans enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at the largest and
most important yearly convention of blind people in the world.</p> <p>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 have
been in the range of $400 to $500 per individual.</p> <p>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.</p> <h2
id="section"></h2> <h3 id="who-is-eligible"><strong>Who is eligible?</strong></h3>
<p>Active NFB members blind or sighted who have not yet attended an in-person NFB
national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply. If you have
attended the 2020 or 2021 virtual conventions but have never attended an in-person
convention, you are still eligible to apply.</p> <h2 id="section-1"></h2> <h3
id="how-do-i-apply-for-funding-assistance"><strong>How do I apply for funding
assistance?</strong></h3> <p>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, and 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.</p> <p>Effective January 1, 2022, the application form can be found
at the following link: <a
href="https://nfb.org/form/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scho?q=form%2Fkenneth-jernigan-convention-scho">https://nfb.org/form/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scho?q=form%2Fkenneth-jernigan-convention-scho</a></p>
<p>The application will ask for the following information:</p> <ul> <li><blockquote>
<p>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.</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>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.</p> </blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote> <p>State Affiliate/chapter information: Include your state
affiliate, your state president, chapter, and chapter president, if you attend a
chapter.</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Mentor information: Include
your personal convention mentor and provide that person’s phone
number.</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>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.</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Essay
questions to explain why this is a good investment for the NFB: </p>
</blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>How do you currently participate in the
Federation?</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Why do you want to attend
a national convention?</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>What would you
receive?</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>What can you share or give?</p>
</blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Any special circumstances you hope the
committee will take into consideration.</p> </blockquote></li> </ul> <p>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.</p> <p>Once your 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 <a href="mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org"><span
class="underline">kjscholarships@nfb.org</span></a>. Your president must email
the recommendation no later than the deadline of April 15, 2022. If you have
applied outside of the online form, the state affiliate president must email both
the recommendation and the application letter.</p> <h3 id="notification-of-award">Notification
of Award</h3> <p>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:</p> <ul> <li><p>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.)</p></li> <li><p>Register online for the entire convention, including
the banquet, by May 31.</p></li> <li><p>Find someone in your chapter or affiliate
who has been to many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and
mentor.</p></li> <li><p>If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you
did not win a scholarship this year.</p></li> </ul> <h3 id="receiving-the-award">Receiving
the Award</h3> <p>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.</p>
<h3 id="more-information">More Information</h3> <p>For additional information,
please contact the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund
Committee, Tracy Soforenko, at <a href="mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org"><span
class="underline">kjscholarships@nfb.org</span></a> or 410-659-9314, extension
2020.</p> <p>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 New Orleans.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Everette Bacon]</p> <h2
id="the-2022-dr.-jacob-bolotin-awards">The 2022 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards</h2>
<p><strong>by Everette Bacon</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Everette
Bacon is a member of the national board of directors and the affiliate president
in Utah. He also chairs the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee. Here is his
announcement about the 2022 Bolotin Awards program:</strong></p> <p>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 who
are an exemplary and 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 2022 annual convention of the National Federation
of the Blind in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>As
chronicled in his biography, <em>The Blind Doctor</em> 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.</p> <p>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, <em>The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story,</em> published by Blue
Point Books, <a
href="http://www.west.net/~bpbooks/mhp.html">http://www.west.net/~bpbooks/mhp.html</a>,
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.</p> <p>Past award winners have:</p> <ol style="list-style-type:
decimal"> <li><p>Broken down barriers facing blind people in innovative ways.</p></li>
<li><p>Changed negative perceptions of blindness and blind people.</p></li>
<li><p>Pushed past existing boundaries to inspire blind people to achieve new
heights.</p></li> </ol> <h3 id="award-description">Award Description</h3> <p>In
2022 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.</p> <h3 id="who-should-apply">Who Should Apply?</h3>
<p><strong>Individuals:</strong> 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.</p> <p><strong>Organizations:</strong> 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.</p> <p>To qualify for an award, both individuals
and organizations must provide programs, services, or benefits to blind people in
the United States of America.</p> <h3 id="procedures">Procedures</h3> <p>More
information, including an online application, can be found on the National Federation
of the Blind website at <a href="https://nfb.org/bolotin">https://nfb.org/bolotin</a>.</p>
<p>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 2022 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.</p> <p>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.</p>
<h3 id="ineligible-persons">Ineligible Persons</h3> <p>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.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Maurice
Peret]</p> <h2 id="getting-the-straight-scoop-from-our-mentees">Getting the Straight
Scoop from Our Mentees</h2> <p><strong>by Maurice Peret</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Maurice is in charge of our mentoring program, so those who have seen
his articles about language, politics, and economic systems are in for a different
kind of treat. This article reveals the perspective of mentors as they describe
the value of our program. Here is what Maurice has compiled:</strong></p> <p>By
now, <em>Monitor</em> readers will have heard about the National Federation of
the Blind’s Career Mentoring Program. If I assume too much then perhaps as
a review you can read more about it on our website at <a
href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/career-mentoring">https://nfb.org/programs-services/career-mentoring</a>.</p>
<p>As I look back on the couple of articles I contributed on it in past issues,
however, I must admit that they sound rather dry. It strikes me that the best
spokespersons for our program are the mentees themselves. Let me step back, then,
and let them tell their own stories:</p> <p>“My name is Julia Holdcroft,
and I am a freshman at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where I am double
majoring in journalism and English. I have been part of the NFB Career Mentoring
Program since November 2019 when I was a junior in high school.” Julia has
been a lifelong Braille user and an aspiring novelist. She likes science fiction
and horror. Julia also enjoys painting with acrylics. She currently works for the
Love Library Information desk on campus, checking books out for people and providing
general information and direction. When asked how she landed this work-study
opportunity, Julia said, “I noticed a flier, and I went for it.”
She mentioned that she did not choose to disclose her visual impairment on her
application. Her academic advisor is also visually impaired.</p> <p>Julia participated
in two prior in-person NFB Career Quest retreats supported by the Nebraska Commission
for the Blind & Visually Impaired and especially remembers working on her
elevator pitch and participating in a work-based experience at a property management
facility in Omaha. “I think the mentoring program gave me an opportunity
to really gain a deeper understanding of what an informational interview entails
and how it can be useful as a job exploration tool,” she said. In describing
her participation in a popular discussion about setting SMART goals in school and
the workplace, Julia explained that she really enjoyed being able to have a
guideline by which to make goals without them becoming too vague or too much to
handle at one time. In reference to another virtual session on volunteering and
giving back, Julia explained that she had been able to gain a lot of support from
her entire community, which instilled in her a strong sense of needing to give
back. Julia further stated, “It also provided me options that I had never
before considered.” Julia acknowledged contributions she was able to provide
her peers. As an example, she discussed scholarship opportunities since she had
been through this rigorous process before. In reference to another of these virtual
modules, “I hope my contributions helped other people better understand
how to succeed in standardized testing. I enjoyed being able to help others,”
Julia said. “The NFB Career Mentoring Program,” Julia stated,
“provided me with lots of information that I am almost sure I would not
have had otherwise and probably to which most of my peers did not have
access.”</p> <p>In her overall assessment of the NFB Career Mentoring
Program, Julia said, “I would definitely recommend this program because
you will not find a program quite like it anywhere else to serve people who are
blind or have low vision.”</p> <p>“My name is Maxine Gretchokoff,
though some might know me as Michael. I am twenty years old, and I am from Ridgland,
Mississippi. I have been a part of the NFB's Career Mentoring Program since 2019.
Currently I am enrolled at Hinds Community College pursuing degrees in criminal
justice, law, and music. When I first started in the program many, many moons ago,
I was a junior at the Mississippi School for the Blind, freshly blind with total
loss of vision, and uneducated about what I could truly do as a blind individual.
Today I am a sophomore in college, a national scholarship winner, motivated with
a plan for my life, and a staff officer in the US Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air
Patrol. I can confidently say without a doubt that I would not have been able to
write that last sentence without the Career Mentoring Program.”</p>
<p>“Very obviously the scholarship opportunities module,” said
Gretchokoff, “presented by Cricket X. Bidleman, Logan Stenzel, and Justin
Salisbury, was pretty important. I would have never gained the knowledge and
motivation to complete my application, nor would I have met amazing friends and
mentors at the national convention if I did not attend that module and become a
national scholarship winner. The self-advocacy module that included a recorded
speech from Dr. Kenneth Jernigan entitled ‘The Nature of Independence’
was also really impactful in helping me not be so frustrated at myself for being
blind. Independence is a difficult concept to truly embrace, and for a long time
I hated myself for well, disabled. That speech helped me see clearly for the first
time in a long time. The job search module presented by Pam Goodman was also nice
since by that point I had built up so many life skills that I felt confident in
speaking with her, learning from her, getting the most I could from the resources
presented, and learning how to form professional relationships—not to
mention I found out job searching is not as intimidating as it seems. I know for
a fact I can compete against sighted peers with the knowledge learned from that
module."</p> <p>Maxine went on to explain that “The one in-person Career
Quest weekend retreat that I participated in, back before COVID-19, is a really
good memory for me. I was a little embarrassed about being so maladjusted to a
setting outside a classroom. I was ashamed of fumbling my way through social
interactions, such as something as simple as chatting with folks in a buffet line,
and struggled being, well, a socially awkward, freshly blind person who did not
have a shred of love for myself. I look back on it though, and I can see how much
I have learned, matured, and grown as a responsible citizen. Existing as I do in
a purely sighted world and functioning as a key staff officer in my squadron, if
I’m not mistaken I serve as the only fully blind person in an air force
auxiliary position in Mississippi. I enjoy chatting with any person regardless of
ability, and I'm not afraid of buffet lines. I'm also not afraid to ask for help
when needed or learn from my mistakes. I have confidence and independence because
of putting myself out there with the help of the NFB Career Mentoring Program.”</p>
<p>Taiye Akanni is a twenty-year-old second-year student at Prince George’s
Community College in Largo, Maryland. He joined the NFB Career Mentoring Program
in August 2021, and soon thereafter he and his twin brother Kenny jumped in with
both feet in a Career Quest Saturday Seminar at the NFB Jernigan Institute in
Baltimore. In fact, this was the first in-person event held after a long COVID-19
imposed moratorium. During this day-long interactive event, ten mentees:</p> <ul>
<li><blockquote> <p>Participated in a team-building engineering exercise</p>
</blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Collaborated on career branding and marketing
projects</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Obtained a practical knowledge
of how to create a resume</p> </blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Explored
potential careers with a panel of blind professionals</p> </blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote> <p>Engaged in collaborative recreational activities</p>
</blockquote></li> <li><blockquote> <p>Developed an individualized access technology
plan.</p> </blockquote></li> </ul> <p>Taiye, who is of Yoruba heritage, one of
the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, dreams of becoming a physical education
teacher. “Just because I have a disability does not mean I cannot perform
a job that is usually thought of as a visual job,” said Akanni. Taiye uses
a white cane during the day for identification purposes and uses it at night when
his vision is less functional.</p> <p>“Sometimes people don’t think
I’m looking at them when talking because of my visual condition,”
Akanni said, “I just assure them that I am indeed looking at them.”
He was greatly inspired by his PE teacher and goalball coach, Athletic Director
Matt Mescall at the Maryland School for the Blind (MSB), where he attended since
fifth grade. Taiye served as captain of several sports teams and played goalball
in high school. He was impressed by Mescall’s patience in working with
individual students to meet their personal objectives and facilitate problem-solving.
Taiye learned about the NFB Career Mentoring Program from his friend, Qualik Ford,
a graduate of MSB and a recent graduate of the Louisiana Center for the Blind,
one of the Federation’s Structured Discovery training centers. Ford also
currently serves as president of the Maryland Association of Blind Students and
is a Career Mentoring Program alumnus.</p> <p>Among the virtual pre-employment
transition sessions that he attended, Taiye expressed his appreciation for the
detailed approach to navigating the online job application presentation by James
Gagnier. In this learning module, he gained a better understanding about how to
apply for a job online, create a job account, and became familiar with the specific
documents and other information needed to complete a job application. Taiye also
learned how to request and obtain professional recommendations and appropriate
steps for following up after submitting a job application, as well as effective
ways to highlight his talents during a job interview as aptly described by Amy
Porterfield. Taiye found the session on self-advocacy in the workplace presented
by Jedi Moerke to be most helpful in implementing effective strategies for requesting
accommodations from an employer, becoming confident and comfortable enough with
his disability to blend into the corporate culture and thrive in the work environment.
He took away from another module on notetaking fundamentals presented by Nancy
Coffman that notetaking methods vary almost as widely as the unique individuals
who employ them. He also grew in his awareness of effective ways of taking control
of his access to the print universe in school and at work using human readers.</p>
<p>In answer to the question about what he would say to young people thinking
about the NFB Career Mentoring Program, Taiye’s advice to other students
is to “shoot for your goals, and don’t let anybody stop you just
because you have a disability. Your disability isn’t going to hold you back
in anything you want to do. Although it will be challenging, there’s always
ways around anything in life. Talk with a favorite teacher or faculty member.
Although I had a direction in mind for my future, I found that many high school
seniors did not seem to know what their next steps would be. It is important to
realize that there will not be anyone out there to hold your hand.”</p>
<p>“My name is Tasabih Elfaki, but I am mostly known as Abbu. I am a
seventeen-year-old senior at Sycamore High School in Sycamore, Illinois, and I
have been part of the NFB Career Mentoring Program since July 2021. I am originally
from Khartoum, Sudan. When I lost my vision as a young child living in Saudi
Arabia, where my family relocated and where I felt my disability was neither
welcome nor accommodated, I developed a keen understanding of the importance of
advocating for myself in every part of my life. Thanks to my mom, I grew up learning
that I should never allow people to set limits for me.” Tasabih learned
Arabic Braille while living abroad and has since mastered Unified English Braille
and uses it all the time. “The module Self-Advocacy in the Workplace,
presented by Jedi Moerke, really struck a chord with me and equipped me with
various strategies to effectively advocate for accommodations during the job search
process, during the actual job interview, and on the job itself. I also learned
strategies to advocate for promotion and how to look for other advancement
opportunities.” Tasabih explained that the session on Getting the Most Out
of Your Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in High School “gave me a
newfound confidence in being able to walk into that meeting with a sense of
empowerment to advocate for what I knew I needed, rather than simply listening
and accepting without question what the team proposed for me.”</p>
<p>“When I joined the NFB Career Mentoring Program in the summer leading
into my high school senior year, I was looking for programs and experiences that
would give me the knowledge and confidence to approach my future goals and dreams.
I always try to involve myself in experiences and programs that would help me get
out of my comfort zone and be the person I hope to become. As a way of expanding
my horizons of new experiences, I went downhill skiing, joined my school track
and field team, and became a club president.” During a discussion about
setting Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART) Goals in
School and in the Workplace, Tasabih described how she used this simple formula
to successfully campaign and ultimately become elected as senior class vice
president. “Without a doubt the NFB Mentoring Program was one of those
experiences that affected my life in a beautiful way,” Tasabih said.</p>
<p>The NFB Career Mentoring Program is an important and powerful component of our
Blindness Initiatives Department Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) because
we recognize that unemployment and underemployment is among the most stubborn
obstacles to achieving social equality, equity of opportunity, and financial
security for those of us who are blind or have low vision. Leaders of our organization
have placed a premium priority on developing programs and strategies to empower
blind people to become equipped with the tools to compete in the job market. In
an ever-evolving labor environment, we must be more innovative and creative in
implementing these strategies. The young blind and low-vision individuals we have
met in this article represent and exemplify a generation better prepared than
their predecessors to take on the considerable challenges they face. By being
provided with a vast network of positive blind adult role models, they will be
able to leverage their gifts and talents to compete equally with their non-blind
peers.</p> <p>If you are a student between the ages of fourteen and twenty-two in
Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, or Nebraska, talk with your state vocational
rehabilitation counselor about becoming a mentee in the NFB Career Mentoring
Program. Complete our online mentee application at <a
href="https://nfb.org/menteeapplication">https://nfb.org/menteeapplication</a>.</p>
<p>You don’t have to take my word for it; consider the stories of the young
women and men who have benefited from connecting with other blind and low vision
people. For more information about the NFB Career Mentoring Program, contact
Maurice Peret, coordinator of Career Mentoring & Employment Programs, National
Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, at 410-659-9314, extension 2350, or
<a href="mailto:mperet@nfb.org">mperet@nfb.org</a>.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Donna Wood]</p> <h2 id="a-tribute-from-a-friend">A Tribute from a
Friend</h2> <p><strong>by Donna Wood</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Donna Wood is a person who not only feels gratitude but also takes the time to
express it publicly. She writes here about a friend and a too often unsung member
of her affiliate whom she believes should be recognized. Here is what she has to
say about a valuable friend, mother, and colleague who has given decades to the
cause we share:</strong></p> <p>Susan L. Stanzel has been a member of the National
Federation of the Blind of Kansas since 1971. She was not a founding member, but
she joined a few years after the Kansas affiliate was formed. She joined early
enough that she knew the founders personally.</p> <p>Over the years Susie has held
just about every position in a chapter and on the board of directors. Her most
notables are her positions as Johnson County chapter president and the long-time
president of the National Federation of the Blind of Kansas. She demonstrated that
one could work a full-time job, advance in it, and work lots of overtime when her
programming was required, and still be the mother of three wonderful children.
She knows how to love, how to work, and how to share, and instead of feeling put
upon, she feels grateful that life has placed her on a path of giving that she
feared might never be hers.</p> <p>Susie is one who came before us and allows us
to stand on her shoulders so that we may achieve our goals. She sold nuts to raise
money for scholarships; she marched on Washington year after year and continued
to go after we started calling it the Washington Seminar. She actively served on
more committees and task forces, and boards than she can count, and contributed
hundreds of hours to these in the service of the Federation. She has heard more
times than she can count that she can’t do this or that because she is
blind. None of this has stopped her. She keeps fighting, working, and building
the NFB. Thank you, Susie, for all that you have done and all that you will do.
We are all the better for being a part of the National Federation of the Blind of
Kansas that you helped build.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Colleen
Roth]</p> <h2 id="are-conservatives-welcome-in-the-national-federation-of-the-blind">Are
Conservatives Welcome in the National Federation of the Blind?</h2> <p><strong>by
Colleen Roth</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Colleen Roth has been a
member of this organization for more than half a century and now serves of the
president of our at-large chapter in Ohio. Although she has been active at all
levels, her primary interest and focus has been in helping people with multiple
handicaps. She once headed a group specifically designated for this purpose, and
she has adopted and acted as a foster parent for many significantly disabled
people. The words she says are backed up by acts of her heart, and her profession
of faith is matched by deed.</strong></p> <p><strong>Throughout history the pendulum
always swings, and when it is at either extreme, those who lurk somewhere in the
middle or at the opposite end of the range can feel unheard if not outright
excluded. This is the concern that Colleen addresses, and reading her views may
require as much tolerance from those who hold different ones as she has tried to
demonstrate in reading recent items we have published. Here is what she
says:</strong></p> <p>I feel some concern that those of us who are conservative
may be asked to leave the NFB. I joined in 1972. I believed then and believe now
that blind people are a cross-section of society. I believe we should all treat
each other with respect and welcome those who join with us.</p> <p>Personally, I
am a very traditional Roman Catholic. I do not feel the need to know someone's
sexual orientation or gender identity. When I read a book from NLS [The National
Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled], I skip "descriptions of sex or
profanity." I know that some people are comfortable talking about sex. I am not
one of them. I believe that intimacy should be used primarily for procreation,
but I also know that many people feel differently. We must remember that we all
have different experiences and upbringings.</p> <p>I believe that our blindness
is something we share. I respect everyone's right to express their opinions about
who they are and what they want, but I would like the same respect without being
considered uncaring, narrow-minded, insensitive, or politically incorrect.</p>
<p>In 1972 in Ohio, there were two chapters in many cities. One would be predominantly
White, and the other predominantly Black. I was one of the people who worked to
get one integrated chapter in each city. I understand that many Black people still
do not feel welcome in some chapters, and I presume the same to be true for people
of other races, including those who are White. While every characteristic we have
is a part of our identity, none should be more important in our Federation activities
than our shared blindness. It is our focus. Other characteristics that are important
to us are those we should embrace with others who share our challenges and goals.
In our meetings we should not hide them, but neither should we try to make them
the focus of our Federation activity.</p> <p>The NFB has no room for bigotry. God
made all of us, and we are created equal. I believe our motto: security, equality,
and opportunity.</p> <p>I do not want anyone to be unwelcome. I do not care what
race you are. Though I am a Catholic, I understand and have tolerance for those
who believe in God differently from me. I was astonished when the president of
the Maryland Affiliate said she was blindsided when a prayer was said at a chapter
meeting she attended. The majority of people in the United States are Judeo-Christian.
If you desire a different kind of prayer, you might volunteer to lead it periodically.
I can honor that prayer, substituting the God I understand and the trinity in
which I believe, and I can do this without in any way disrespecting or disrupting
your genuinely offered prayer on behalf of all of us.</p> <p>Currently, our at-large
chapter meets on Zoom. People come in and out; therefore, we do not have a prayer.
For over fifty years, our local chapter had prayer, and the Pledge of Allegiance
included the phrase “under God” before every meeting. You could
choose to participate if you wished, and I regret that President Othman was ever
pressured to be a part of something that made her uncomfortable in one of our
meetings.</p> <p>We have freedom of religion in the United States. You can practice
any religion though, sadly, not everyone will react with the tolerance and respect
we all want in our country. If I lived in some Muslim countries, I would not be
able to practice my Catholic faith and might endure torture or death. Praise be
to God and our founders for making this a country in which persons of any spiritual
belief may worship as called upon by their head, heart, and faith. Even those
without a professed faith are free to believe as they believe, and although my
soul would rest easier for them if they shared my faith, I’m not called on
to force my Catholicism on anyone. Some people participate in communities of faith
to learn about other religions and work together so that blind people may be
included in their faith community.</p> <p>My husband and I had several Black foster
children with special needs. We also adopted a profoundly disabled child whom we
loved very much. She was a gift from God, and we were truly blessed to have her.</p>
<p>We can all learn from each other and should be willing to do so. I believe that
we should be treated “equally.” I believe that our NFB Pledge should
continue to use the word “equality,” I believe that we should be
welcoming to each other and try to maintain good taste. Having said this, let me
be clear because this is not an easy path. I cannot in good conscience go against
the teachings of the Catholic Church. I can avoid expressing my opinions in a way
that could be hurtful to others, but there are limits beyond which my faith will
not let me go. It is legal for people of the same sex to marry. This is the law
of the land, but it is not in keeping with the scriptures I follow. For two people
to be introduced as a married couple at a Federation event, I understand, but if
called upon, I will politely ask someone else to do the introduction. My faith
recognizes male and female. If members of my Federation family believe differently,
I will use the name they prefer, but I cannot affirm the idea that one is born
into the wrong sex or that it is changeable. At the same time, I am not required
by my faith to publicly question or ask them to question who they are. My interest
is not in arguing; no doubt I hold views about things with which they would not
concur, but none of this is as important as being unified to fight what comes at
us as blind people to be discussed and resolved. I will focus on our similarities
and see that our differences don’t detract from the common goals we share.</p>
<p>Now comes what I ask of those who disagree with my faith: Please be sure that
the beliefs you or others may call progressive, liberal, or enlightened do not
exclude me. Please do not assume that my beliefs are already so well known that
for me to state them is an attempt to suppress the things you hold dear. I should
not dominate the space, but neither should I give up all rights to it. Tolerance
is an easy word to say, but it embodies a concept that is harder to live. For the
sake of blind people and our vehicle for action and change, let this be one of
our dearest creeds: I will honor the right of others to hold different views from
mine, and they will in turn honor mine. We will accept our differences and
concentrate our work on our similarities. I may not be able to agree with you,
but I will not be disagreeable in my conduct with you and about you. I will treat
you as I ask you to treat me, and I will keep first and foremost our common
commitment to help one another.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="independence-market-corner">Independence Market Corner</h2> <p><strong>by
Terry Boone</strong></p> <p>As a service to our members and the general public,
the National Federation of the Blind operates a blindness products store known as
the Independence Market, which sells mostly low-tech items, designed to enhance
the every-day independence of blind people. We will be highlighting a different
product every month and listing sale products from time to time.</p> <h3
id="products-of-the-month">PRODUCTS OF THE MONTH </h3> <p><strong>KENNETH JERNIGAN
MAP OF THE UNITED STATES</strong>: This colorful, take-apart, topographical puzzle
map makes it fun and interesting to learn about various geographical features of
the United States. Each state is a puzzle piece. The major rivers, mountain chains,
state capitals, and latitude and longitude lines are all indicated tactilely.
Underneath the puzzle pieces, the map shows the boundaries of all fifty states
with Braille state abbreviations. The map measures 32 12 x 18 inches and includes
both a Braille and a print reference guide that gives facts about each state.
AIG29M $250.00</p> <p><strong>MAGNETIC CHECKERS:</strong> This portable magnetic
checkers board makes it easy to play the game on the go. The magnetic board measures
10 34 x 8/34 inches and the actual playing area is approximately 6/12 inches on
each side. The white squares are raised, and the black ones are recessed. There
are fourteen each of the square (green) and round (yellow) game pieces, as well
as five each of the square (blue) and round (red) king pieces. The king pieces
are readily differentiated by touch as they feature a smaller square or circle,
respectively, on top.</p> <p>AIG17C $22.00</p> <p><strong>PHASE 10 CARDS
(BRAILLE):</strong> Be the first to complete all ten defined phases. This game
uses numbered cards in four colored suits with "Skip" and "Wild" cards. The game
is suitable for two to eight players, ages eight and up. Braille and print directions
are included. AIG82C $15.00</p> <p><strong>UNO CARDS (NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE
BLIND BRAILLE EDITION):</strong></p> <p>This is an easy multiplayer card game
using numbered cards in four colored suits. Change the flow of the game with Action
cards and Wild cards. Four print/Braille Quick-Play reference cards are included.
More detailed accessible instructions are available online either at Brailleuno.com
or via smart speaker. AIG09C $10.00</p> <h3 id="sale-and-close-out-products">SALE
AND CLOSE-OUT PRODUCTS </h3> <p>SHUT THE BOX MATH GAME AIG73S $10.00</p> <p>NINE
MEN MORRIS GAME AIG74G $10.00</p> <p>SOLITAIRE AND FOX AND GEESE AIG75G $10.00</p>
<p>CUBE CLOCK AIC01T $5.00</p> <p>CAMERA BAG AIA48B $1.00</p> <p>EGG SEPARATOR
AIK04E $1.00</p> <p>For more information about the products available from the
Independence Market, contact us by email at <a
href="mailto:independencemarket@nfb.org">independencemarket@nfb.org</a> or by
phone at (410) 659-9314, extension 2216, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. eastern time. Our staff will be happy to assist.</p> <p>----------</p>
<h2 id="i-am-not-my-blindness-what-the-blind-community-wishes-you-knew">I Am Not
My Blindness: What the Blind Community Wishes You Knew</h2> <p><strong>by David
Oliver</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: The following is reprinted courtesy
of <em>USA Today</em> and David Oliver. We appreciate their permission to share
this with our readers and have only changed what is necessary to conform to
<em>Monitor</em> style.</strong></p> <p>If you're a sighted person, you likely
have misconceptions about blind people. That you can close your eyes and suddenly
understand what it's like to be blind. That a blind person you see about to cross
the street needs your help doing so. That a blind person knows nothing but
darkness.</p> <p>Spoiler alert: None of the above are true for all people with
blindness.</p> <p>"Rather than making assumptions, engage with blind people like
you would anybody else," says Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation
of the Blind. "Show curiosity about them. And if you want to know if there's
something they need, ask them and don't assume."</p> <p>More than 3.4 million
Americans forty years and older are blind or visually impaired, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 21 million people have
other vision problems and eighty million have diseases that could blind them, such
as cataracts and glaucoma.</p> <p>Here's a look at what members of the blind
community wish you knew.</p> <p>Mark Riccobono</p> <p>Age: forty-five</p>
<p>Occupation: President of the National Federation of the Blind</p> <p>"A lot of
people think 'well, if I close my eyes, there's a whole bunch of things I don't
know how to do, that must be really hard for blind people.' But that's not how
blind people live," says Mark Riccobono, pictured.</p> <p>Is saying 'blind people'
OK? Or is 'visually impaired' better? "A lot of blind people say, 'Well, I'm not
impaired; I don't see myself as impaired' even though the term visually impaired
may be, in a technical sense, correct. Part of using the word blind is really
owning what blind means, and that blind doesn't have to have the negative connotations
that it does in society. Obviously, some people who do have some remaining vision
prefer to use other terms to help express that. But what I've found is that a lot
of blind people—most—have some remaining vision, even if it's just
light perception. By using the word blind, it's their way of owning that. The
amount of vision they do or don't have is not what defines them. It's just another
characteristic."</p> <p>What's a big misconception? "A lot of people think 'well,
if I close my eyes, there's a whole bunch of things I don't know how to do, that
must be really hard for blind people.' But that's not how blind people live. We've
learned to live without vision, we've learned the techniques that blind people
use to be successful. The things that people perceive as being really hard aren't
hard, because we're doing them on a daily basis. We're not newly blind people
traveling around the world."</p> <p>On accessibility efforts: "There's really not
many adaptations that we need in the world to be successful and to fully participate.
People have tried to invent special textured floors for blind people and textured
walls. If the medical websites were just accessible or the businesses we want to
attend, that would be a huge leap forward. We don't need textured walls. We use
a long white cane, which is a very simple piece of technology, but it does what
we need it to do. People try to make the world more complicated than it needs to
be."</p> <p>Keep this in mind: "Blindness can impact anyone of any gender or
nationality. Anybody can go blind. We often say if you live long enough, you will
be a blind person."</p> <p>Don't assume anything: "I encounter people in society
all the time, who just because I'm a blind person, they assume I need help. If
I'm standing at a street corner, trying to answer a call on my phone, invariably,
someone's gonna come up and try to drag me across the street. Even though I'm not
trying to cross the street. I'm trying to answer the phone. So I would say, be
naturally curious about blind people and feel comfortable talking to them about
their blindness, the things they may or may not need, but recognize that blind
people are interesting for many other reasons."</p> <p>Jocelyn Hunter</p> <p>Age:
forty-two</p> <p>Occupation: Senior Director of Communications at Columbia Lighthouse
for the Blind</p> <p>Location: Washington, DC</p> <p>"(Blindness is) very diverse,
it's very varied per individual," says Jocelyn Hunter, pictured.</p> <p>Familiarize
yourself with the terminology: "Low vision is a term that means even with conventional
methods, like contact lenses, or eyeglasses, LASIK surgery, your eyesight's not
corrected to 20/20. So for me, and for other people who have low vision, we might
choose to use different devices that enhance the remaining sight, such as a desktop
magnifier or magnification software that will magnify information on the computer
monitor, or perhaps using bold line paper or a permanent marker to bring us a
greater color contrast so that information is shared efficiently and correctly."</p>
<p>What's a big misconception? "Not everybody who's blind or visually impaired
will use a long cane for mobility. Some people might use dog guide, or they might
choose not to use a long cane or a dog guide, maybe they're using the support of
a human guide, or maybe they have enough usable vision where they are not using
a mobility device to travel."</p> <p>Not all blindness is the same: "It's very
diverse. It's very varied per individual. It depends on their genetics and the
eye disease or the eye condition that they have, it might allow for them to see
things differently, it might require that their accommodations be different than
their next door neighbor who is also visually impaired."</p> <p>You don't have to
watch all your words carefully: "Someone who's blind, you can still refer to,
'Hey, did you watch that football game last night?' or, 'Hey, you're going to
watch the Washington Wizards game tomorrow night or Thursday night?' Again, even
if that person has limited to no sight remaining, it's still socially acceptable
and encouraged that vision-oriented words are part of that communication."</p>
<p>Erin Daley</p> <p>Age: thirty-four</p> <p>Location: Denver</p> <p>"I wish people
knew that being blind is not your whole life," says Erin Daley, pictured.</p>
<p>Blind people don't always need to be taken care of: "I worked at a program at
the Colorado Center for the Blind as a counselor for blind teens and I met a
16-year-old who had never been allowed to even touch the oven or stove. Once I
found this out, we spent the next ten minutes touching the entire appliance and,
even though she was a long ways away from cooking a gourmet meal, it took away so
much of the fear that had been built into her and didn’t have to be."</p>
<p>Blindness does not define you: "I wish people knew that being blind is not your
whole life. Regardless of who I meet, it always seems to be the topic of conversation.
I am not my blindness. I work, get aggravated at the rising cost of housing, travel
to foreign countries, exercise, try recipes I found on Pinterest, and so much more
that has nothing to do with the fact that I am blind."</p> <p>What brings you joy?
"My favorite thing in the world is to travel, and I have a goal to visit every
country. What holds me back is what holds most people back—my wallet. I
have traveled solo to England, China, and Turkey, and my next trip is to the
Baltics. It’s definitely interesting to go to different countries and
experience their views on blindness.</p> <p>I also love running, and ran the NYC
Marathon in 2014. Other than that, my everyday joy comes from finding new shows
to stream and working on writing my novel—which I’ve been working
on for a decade. Proof that I can procrastinate with the best of them."</p>
<p>----------</p> <h2
id="jason-broughton-has-a-mission-at-the-library-of-congress-expand-and-be-inclusive">Jason
Broughton has a mission at the Library of Congress: “Expand and be
Inclusive”</h2> <p><strong>by Chris Cioffi</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: This article is reprinted from <em>Roll Call</em> with the kind
permission of the publisher. We have changed only those items needed to conform
to <em>Monitor</em> style.</strong></p> <p>It took Jason Broughton more than a
dozen years to find his calling. The then-Florida biology teacher left his job in
2008 to return to South Carolina to care for his ailing mother. He eventually got
a job as a workforce trainer for Charleston’s government, giving talks
across the city.</p> <p>Sometimes he would present at the library managed by
Cynthia Hurd, a respected longtime resident. One day she pulled him aside, saying,
“I’ve got to tell you something.”</p> <p>When a branch manager
demands your attention, that’s not typically a good thing. “I was
like, oh my goodness I must have done something wrong,” Broughton said.</p>
<p>But instead of a reprimand, she handed him a piece of paper.</p> <p>“I
found a job, and I think you'd be perfect for it,” he recalled Hurd saying,
as she shared a listing for a trainer at the South Carolina State Library. In
previous encounters, Hurd had told Broughton she thought he’d make a great
librarian.</p> <p>“So I applied, got the job, and then my trajectory
began,” he said.</p> <p>Hurd never got to see Broughton rise through the
field to become the state librarian of Vermont, and now the new director of the
National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, part of the Library of
Congress.</p> <p>She was one of nine people murdered by a white supremacist who
opened fire on a Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. Today,
the library Hurd managed bears her name, and her influence has stayed with Broughton
too.</p> <p>“She was really wanting to make sure all persons of that
community were going to have some form of connection to that library, and understand
… they were wanted,” he said.</p> <p>Broughton was appointed NLS
director in August. He took over from Karen Keninger, the first blind person to
lead the organization, who retired this year. With the motto “That All May
Read,” the service provides free Braille and audio materials to blind people
and others who can’t use standard print items.</p> <p>A lot has changed
since Congress established NLS in 1931. Broughton arrived at a pivotal time, as
the service tries to appeal to younger users and eases eligibility requirements
for people with reading disabilities like dyslexia, broadening its potential base.
He must balance the needs of people used to checking out physical items, like
cartridges for audiobook players, with those who want to download digital files.</p>
<p>Also on the horizon is the expiring lease on the NLS building in the Petworth
neighborhood of Washington, which has been a point of friction for advocates who
say the service has been “relegated” away from Capitol Hill.</p>
<p>“I’m in a learning mode right now,” Broughton said,
explaining that he hopes to spend the first part of his tenure just understanding
how the place and its more than 120 employees work.</p> <p>Broughton said that
though he is not blind himself, he believes he can be an advocate and empathetic
to NLS patrons’ needs.</p> <p>“I can only be the outsider, but I
can definitely take much wisdom and counsel and advice from our user groups,”
he said.</p> <h3 id="a-new-location">A new location</h3> <p>Broughton was born
and raised in South Carolina. His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father was
one of the first people of color to be a lieutenant sheriff in Berkeley County.
Growing up, libraries were always part of his world.</p> <p>“I love to
actually read,” he said. “I never thought I would see myself be a
librarian, because in elementary school I was terrified of the school
librarian.”</p> <p>After Broughton took that job with the South Carolina
libraries, he worked his way through a master’s in library and information
science. He made a stop in Savannah, Ga., libraries before heading to Vermont.</p>
<p>His first day in his new Washington office was several miles away from the
Capitol, in an 88,000-square-foot building on Taylor Street, where staff work,
store historic collections and Braille music materials, develop and test devices,
and record new audio books. The service also has two distribution centers, in
Cincinnati and Salt Lake City.</p> <p>Bringing the location closer to the Library
of Congress’ iconic main campus would “highlight the nation’s
commitment to equal access for all citizens,” according to the National
Federation of the Blind, a nonprofit group that has called on Congress to fund
the move.</p> <p>Broughton recently met with leaders of the group to hear their
hopes for the future, said its Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy, John
G. Paré, Jr., who described the meeting as a positive one.</p> <p>A site near
the Capitol would be prime real estate with good access to public transportation,
but Broughton does not believe the current spot is “an impediment”
to NLS’ mission, saying he “would be pleased, wherever Congress
would like to consider us to be, because it is their decision.”</p> <p>Both
Senate and House appropriators proposed fulfilling the Library of Congress’
fiscal 2022 request to boost NLS’ budget by about $1.7 million, to $61.2
million. Finding a suitable new site is an “ongoing discussion,”
said Library of Congress spokesperson María Peña.</p> <h3
id="planning-for-the-future">Planning for the future</h3> <p>For decades, NLS
patrons visited network libraries or got their reading materials delivered to
their doorsteps, in the form of Braille books or audio cartridges. Plenty of people
still use the service that way, receiving packages marked as “free matter
for the blind or handicapped,” which means the mail can travel postage-free
under a law dating back to the early 20th century.</p> <p>But the service has also
tried to keep up with the times, or at least stay a few steps behind. NLS now
offers more than 147,000 digital items through its online portal, and counted 4.4
million downloads in the 2020 fiscal year. It launched a mobile app in 2013,
designed to be off limits to the general public. (A special copyright exception
allows NLS to republish many authors’ works without their permission.)</p>
<p>As he enters his third month on the job, Broughton plans to draw on his experience
as state librarian in Vermont, where he was the first Black person to serve in
the post. “We had some communities that had very poor connectivity”
in the mostly rural state, he said. He recognizes that not everyone has reliable
internet, while others may not welcome new technologies.</p> <p>Next up is an
e-reader pilot program. So far NLS has loaned out about 4,500 devices capable of
auto-refreshing Braille, a number Broughton hopes will grow to over 9,000
“very, very soon,” as he told the Senate Rules and Administration
Committee in October.</p> <p>Paré said the e-reader deployment is “slower
than we would have preferred” and hopes Broughton can speed up the process.
“While hardcopy Braille is important in some situations, in many cases,
patrons will prefer the possibility to carry hundreds of books in Braille in their
backpack,” Paré said.</p> <p>Broughton said he isn’t the type
of boss to come in and begin changing things right away, but he plans to look for
ways to expand the service’s offerings for young adults and children and
to improve the sharing of materials between its nearly 100 partner libraries and
outreach centers, which form a network around the country.</p> <p>And growing the
collection has never been more important, Paré said. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention estimated in 2014 that the number of blind adults could
grow from 1.4 million to 2.2 million by 2032, the result of an aging population
and permanent vision impairment from chronic diseases like diabetes.</p> <p>Those
people will be NLS’ target audience, along with readers unable physically
to hold a book and now a wider range of users with perceptual or reading disabilities,
after recent tweaks to eligibility definitions. The tweaks brought NLS in line
with the Marrakesh Treaty, an international agreement ratified by the United States
in 2019 that aims to end a “book famine” for the print disabled.</p>
<p>Broughton said the importance of the service depends on its ability to grow
and change.</p> <p>It’s something that Cynthia Hurd was adept at in South
Carolina, he said. She knew not only the existing library services but also looked
for programming to draw in new patrons.</p> <p>“To gain in certain areas
is not going to be a loss in others,” Broughton said. “And so that
allows us this unique opportunity to expand without—hopefully, if I do this
right as a director—a loss. It will be to, wonderfully, expand and be
inclusive.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2 id="monitor-miniatures"><em>Monitor</em>
Miniatures </h2> <h3 id="in-brief">In Brief</h3> <p><strong>Notices and information
in this section may be of interest to <em>Monitor</em> readers. We are not
responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space
and clarity.</strong></p> <h4 id="td-bank-launches-aira-for-all-stores">TD Bank
Launches Aira for All Stores</h4> <p>TD Bank has announced the integration of Aira
technology into all TD Bank Stores, optimizing independence and accessibility for
all blind and low-vision people. Aira uses the latest, personalized technology to
connect customers and potential customers with highly trained, remotely located
visual interpreters and navigators, who use live-stream video to translate visual
information into descriptive audio at the touch of a button. TD Bank customers in
the United States will receive free access to Aira in stores effective November,
2021. Agents are bound by confidentiality and privacy agreements, so they can
assist TD customers (and non-customers) with their banking needs such as properly
lining up in a store, using our ATMs, or helping them navigate the TD mobile app
or website.</p> <p>TD is keenly focused on better understanding and improving
experiences for our customers with disabilities through innovative products and
services like Aira. With at least 2.2 billion people in the world with a vision
impairment, we know Aira can help TD deliver exceptional experiences to every
customer, every time with just a click of a button on their smart phone. Our own
research validates the need to bring more experiences that are inclusive to our
customers, and we’re among a short list of banks leading the way in the
US.</p> <p>----------</p> <h3 id="nfb-pledge">NFB Pledge</h3> <p>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.</p> </body>
</html>