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</style> </head> <body> <div id="header"> <h1 class="title">The Braille Monitor,
June 2025</h1> </div> <h1 id="braille-monitor">BRAILLE MONITOR</h1> <p>Vol. 68,
No. 6 June 2025</p> <p>Chris Danielsen, Editor</p> <p>Distributed by email, in
inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the<br /> NATIONAL FEDERATION OF
THE BLIND</p> <p>Mark Riccobono, President</p> <p>telephone: 410-659-9314<br />
email address: <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org">nfb@nfb.org</a><br /> website address:
<a href="http://www.nfb.org">http://www.nfb.org</a><br /> NFBnet.org: <a
href="http://www.nfbnet.org">http://www.nfbnet.org</a><br /> NFB-NEWSLINE®
information: 866-504-7300<br /> Like us on Facebook: <a
href="http://Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind">Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</a><br
/> Follow us on X: @NFB_Voice<br /> Follow us on Mastodon: @nationsblind@nfb.social<br
/> Watch and share our videos: <a
href="http://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:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@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<br /> 200 East Wells Street <em>at Jernigan
Place</em><br /> Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998</p> <p><strong>THE NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES
YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE
LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN
LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND
SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.</strong></p> <p>ISSN 0006-8829</p> <p>© 2025 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> <h2 id="contents">Contents</h2>
<p>Vol. 68, No. 6 June 2025</p> <p>Convention Bulletin 2025</p> <p>Welcome to New
Orleans</p> <p>A Handful of Blind Little Boys and Girls from Tennessee Just Beat
the Speaker of the House<br /> by James Brown</p> <p>My Kids Knew Their Dad Was
Enough<br /> by Bruce Sexton</p> <p>Blind Americans and the End of Paper Benefit
Checks: What You Need to Know<br /> by Jesse Shirek</p> <p>A Comparison of the
Brailliant BI 40X and Braille eMotion Smart Displays<br /> by Karl Belanger</p>
<p>What Is Your “Of”?<br /> by Shannon Cook</p> <p>Progress and
Peril: Developments in <em>Texas v. Kennedy</em><br /> by Chris Danielsen</p>
<p>My Antarctic Journey<br /> by Erin Daley</p> <p>Lead and Drive: Give $25 in
’25</p> <p>Staying True to Our Mission While Respecting Our Differences<br
/> by Gary Wunder</p> <p>Always Partisan for Blind People</p> <p>Striking the
Technology Balance<br /> by Jeff Altman</p> <p>A Tribute to Patricia Grebloski:
Founding Member of the Keystone Chapter, Philadelphia<br /> by Lisa Bryant</p>
<h2 id="convention-bulletin-2025">Convention Bulletin 2025</h2> <p>The 2025
convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take place in New Orleans,
Louisiana, this summer. Start planning your trip now.</p> <p>Tuesday, July 8
through Sunday, July 13<br /> The Marriott New Orleans and the Sheraton New
Orleans</p> <p>As our headquarters hotel, the Marriott will host convention
breakouts, general sessions, and the banquet. Right across Canal Street, the
Sheraton serves as our overflow hotel and will be home to the exhibit hall and
Independence Market.</p> <p>If this will be your first convention or if you need
a refresher, check out our First Timer’s Guide at <a
href="https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/first-timers-guide"><u>https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/first-timers-guide</u></a>.</p>
<h3 id="book-your-hotel">Book Your Hotel</h3> <p>There is still plenty of space
at the Sheraton New Orleans. Our members have had good success when booking rooms
by calling 504-525-2500. Ask for the “National Federation of the Blind 2025
Convention” block. You can also contact the Marriott with questions about
your existing reservation by calling 888-236-2427. Here are important things to
know about the rates and booking the room:</p> <h4 id="rates-and-taxes">Rates and
Taxes</h4> <p>The nightly rate for both the Sheraton and the Marriott is $119 for
singles and doubles, while triples and quads can be booked for $129 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> <h4
id="deposit-and-cancellation">Deposit and Cancellation</h4> <p>At the time you
make a reservation, a deposit of the first night’s stay is required for
each room reserved. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against
your card immediately, just as would be the case with a check. If a reservation
is cancelled before Sunday, June 1, 2025, half of the deposit will be returned.
Otherwise, refunds will not be made.</p> <h3 id="registration">Registration</h3>
<p>Registration for in-person convention attendees closes May 31. Onsite registration
will be $30 per person plus $85 per banquet ticket. Registration includes the
biggest event of the year, access to the event app, and communications on the
latest news and events. A virtual convention experience is available for a
registration fee of $10. Register and get more information here: <a
href="https://nfb.org/convention">https://nfb.org/convention</a>.</p> <h3
id="request-for-door-prizes">Request for Door Prizes</h3> <p>Remember that as
usual we need door prizes from state affiliates, local chapters, and individuals.
Prizes should be small in size but large in value. Cash, of course, is always
appropriate and welcome. We ask that prizes of all kinds have a value of at least
$25 and not include alcohol. Drawings will occur throughout the convention sessions,
and you can anticipate a grand prize of truly impressive proportions to be drawn
at the banquet.</p> <h3 id="volunteer">Volunteer</h3> <p>Thank you to the hundreds
of volunteers who help make national convention a big success. Please consider
signing up to be a Convention Ambassador to assist in making the national convention
a welcoming and empowering experience for all our attendees or for the Independence
Market to serve as a demonstrator, storekeeper, pay-station representative, or
line marshal during the days the market is open in the Exhibit Hall.</p> <p>More
details on shifts, schedules, and signups will be available soon. Those who are
registered will receive email updates, and the latest information is always
available at <a href="https://nfb.org/convention">https://nfb.org/convention</a>.</p>
<h3 id="countdown-to-new-orleans">Countdown to New Orleans</h3> <p>The best
collection of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our special interest
groups, committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and provocative program
items of any meeting of the blind in the world; the chance to renew friendships
in our Federation family; and the unparalleled opportunity to be where the real
action is and where decisions are being made—all of these mean you will
not want to miss being a part of the 2025 National Convention. We plan to see you
in New Orleans in July.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2 id="welcome-to-new-orleans">Welcome
to New Orleans</h2> <p><strong>From the Editor: The following is reprinted from
the June 2022 issue of the <em>Braille Monitor.</em> We have tried to update and
verify the information that we can, but you may want to double check the transportation
facts in the piece. Still, we hope it gives you a flavor of what to expect in New
Orleans. Here is what our Louisiana affiliate shared in 2022, the last time our
convention was in town:</strong></p> <p>We are delighted to welcome you to New
Orleans for the eighty-fifth National Convention of the National Federation of
the Blind. No matter your interests, our city has something to entertain and
inspire you. We are the home of delicious food, rich and diverse culture, famous
attractions, unparalleled music, and so much more. We hope you will take a little
time to enjoy all there is to offer.</p> <p>There are several ways to travel from
the Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) to the Marriott or Sheraton. The
approximately fourteen-mile trip takes twenty-five to forty minutes depending on
traffic. Taxis are readily available and have a thirty-six-dollar minimum fee for
two people. For three or more passengers, the cost is fifteen dollars per person.
Rideshare options are a convenient choice. The airport shuttle service that was
available in 2022 is no longer providing service for individual passengers, but
groups of ten or more may make reservations in advance. To learn more, visit <a
href="https://www.airportshuttleneworleans.com">https://www.airportshuttleneworleans.com</a>.</p>
<p>Once you have arrived and unpacked, it is time to experience our amazing city!
New Orleans was founded in 1718, so we have more than 304 years of rich history
and culture to share with you. New Orleans goes by many nicknames. We are The Big
Easy, because of our laid back and easy-going attitude. We are the Crescent City
because New Orleans was originally built on a bend in the Mississippi River that
looks like a crescent. We go by NOLA, short for New Orleans, Louisiana. We are
the City of Yes because of our positive attitudes. We have been dubbed Hollywood
South because of the vast entertainment opportunities and the movie boom in recent
years. Our nicknames give you a flavor of who we are and what you will experience
when you visit.</p> <p>You may be familiar with some of our famous festivals. We
celebrate Mardi Gras to kick off Lent, and we definitely know how to have fun!
The colorful and vibrant floats, the Mardi Gras beads, the energetic music, and
the costumes are unparalleled. We also host the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage
Festival, often called Jazz Fest, which celebrates the unique culture and heritage
of New Orleans. Jazz originated in NOLA in the 1800s. Each year, Southern Decadence
happens over Labor Day weekend and is filled with a host of parties, parades,
brunches, and events in celebration of the city’s LGBTQ+ community. For
more than forty years, this French Quarter-wide fest has been the perfect way to
close out summer in the Big Easy. We are also home to the ESSENCE Culture
Festival®. This is the largest African-American culture and music event in
America. It will take place July 3-6, so if you get to town early, please check
it out. These are just a few of our festivals. There’s always something
fun and interesting happening in New Orleans.</p> <p>We have many cultural venues
in our beautiful city. These include the National WWII Museum, which honors those
who courageously served and showcases America’s contribution to World War
II. We are also home of the Audubon Zoo, which houses alligators, bears, and other
rare animals and plant life right in the heart of New Orleans. The Audubon Aquarium
of the Americas is the home to 15,000 sea life creatures including a shark you
can pet and Zion the Penguin.</p> <p>New Orleans boasts a number of tours, including
walking tours to celebrate the city’s Black history, haunted history, music
history, and all of the histories that form its culture. Visitors may want to tour
one of our cemeteries, which solved the problem of how to bury the dead in a place
that is below sea level by creating elaborate marble chambers above ground.</p>
<p>Those interested in transportation may want to ride one of our historic
streetcars. In fact, the Canal line runs right in front of the convention hotels.
For information about the public transportation and paratransit services, please
visit <a
href="https://www.norta.com/ride-with-us/know-before-you-go/transit-accessibility/paratransit-service%20or%20call%20504-248-3900"><u>https://www.norta.com/ride-with-us/know-before-you-go/transit-accessibility/paratransit-service
or call 504-248-3900</u></a> for general info or 504-827-7433 for paratransit
reservations. We also have ferry boats and riverboats for those who want to cruise
the mighty Mississippi.</p> <p>The Marriott sits on the edge of the French Quarter
or Vieux Carré, the heart and soul of New Orleans history and culture.
Frequently called the “crown jewel,” you will love the charm and
welcoming vibe of one of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods and most iconic
areas. We have something for everyone and much to explore! It is the heart of the
city, and it is renowned for its French and Spanish Creole architecture, delicious
food from traditional Creole cuisine to contemporary American, and vibrant nightlife
along Bourbon Street. Tour the iconic St. Louis Cathedral, spend some time
people-watching or communing with the artists in Jackson Square, visit the many
galleries and antique shops on Royal Street, or enjoy some shopping at the French
Market. Be sure to grab some beignets (pronounced ben yays) and café au lait
at the world-famous Café Du Monde just blocks from the Marriott. For music
lovers, you will frequently hear live music and street performers wherever you
are.</p> <p>Speaking of food, New Orleans is the home of outstanding Creole and
other cuisines. Try a po’ boy, muffuletta, gumbo, turtle soup, red beans,
crawfish étouffée, oysters—fried, raw, or char-grilled—and
so much more. And don’t forget to enjoy a cocktail, like a Hurricane, if
you are inclined. In case you are wondering, a po’ boy is a sandwich on
flaky French bread stuffed with shrimp, oysters, catfish, roast beef, or whatever
you choose, “dressed” with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo. A
peacemaker po’ boy is half fried shrimp and half fried oysters. There are
many twists on the classic, but you will enjoy whichever combo you choose. And
beignets are square pieces of deep-fried dough topped with tons of powdered sugar
or a little piece of paradise as we like to say!<br />  <br /> New Orleans
is the home of many important individuals. These include the ornithologist John
James Audubon, writer Truman Capote, artist Edgar Degas, authors William Faulkner
and Anne Rice, and returning to the theme of food, the founder of Popeye’s
Chicken, Al Copeland. New Orleans is the home of Benjamin Button and Benjamin
Sisko from <em>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</em>. Famous entertainers from New
Orleans include Sandra Bullock, Donna Douglas (played Ellie Mae on <em>Beverly
Hillbillies</em>), Tyler Perry, Richard Simmons, Mahalia Jackson, Reese Witherspoon,
Louis Armstrong, Harry Connick, Jr., DJ Khalid, Aaron Neville, Lil Wayne, Branford
Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Randy Newman, Frank Ocean, Irma Thomas, and Fats Domino
to name a few. Prominent journalists include Hoda Kotb and Cokie Roberts. Prominent
political figures from New Orleans include Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett
and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. Famous sports
figures include NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning, and Audrey Patterson,
the first African American woman to win an Olympic medal. Both from New Orleans,
Ruth Benerito invented wrinkle-free cotton, and Levi Spear Parmley invented dental
floss. Ruby Bridges, at six years old, was the first African American child to
racially integrate the New Orleans public school system, which gained national
attention. Betty DeGeneres was a prominent LGBTQ+ civil rights activist. Chef Leah
Chase, the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” served as the inspiration for
Disney’s Princess Tiana. These are just some of the people who hail from
New Orleans, but they give you a flavor of our diverse and rich history and
culture.</p> <p>Regardless of your interests, we are sure you will find something
to enjoy and make many happy memories! Your Louisiana family can’t wait to
welcome you! <em>Laissez les bon temps rouler;</em> let the good times roll!</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: James Brown]</p> <h2
id="a-handful-of-blind-little-boys-and-girls-from-tennessee-just-beat-the-speaker-of-the-house">A
Handful of Blind Little Boys and Girls from Tennessee Just Beat the Speaker of
the House</h2> <p><strong>by James Brown</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
James Brown is president of the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee. He
is also known to Federationists for his composition and recording of some of our
newer movement songs, including “Live the Life You Want.” His day
job is as a Transportation Program Supervisor with the Tennessee Department of
Transportation. As you will read in this article, advocacy gives him great joy,
even or perhaps especially when the stakes are high, and he writes about it with
wit and verve. All too often, members of the public, including legislators, view
blind people as powerless children to be patronized or, worse, ignored. But we
are not children and we are not powerless, as James and his Tennessee Federation
family recently demonstrated. Here is how James tells the story:</strong></p> <h3
id="the-spark">The Spark</h3> <p>I still remember the first time I felt the
spark—that electric sense that maybe, just maybe, we really could change
things. It was 2009, and I had just landed in Washington, DC, to attend my very
first Washington Seminar with the National Federation of the Blind. There were
only three of us from Tennessee that year. We were small in number and passionate.
In fact, I was so green, I didn’t know the difference between a House
resolution and a Krispy Kreme doughnut.<br /> <br /> Thankfully, I was paired with
Joe Shaw, a seasoned legislative advocate and a blind vendor with a sharp wit and
a deep knowledge of the Hill. Within the first hour of our legislative meetings,
a legislative aide leaned across the table and asked, “Are you two professional
lobbyists?” I couldn’t believe it. I was a total rookie, and here
someone thought we were pros. Joe just laughed and said, “Well, we do know
our way around the issues.” Not bad for day one.<br /> <br /> That year,
we were promoting the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act—a piece of legislation
to make sure hybrid and electric vehicles made enough sound so blind pedestrians
like me didn’t end up playing real-life Frogger just trying to cross the
street. The bill passed less than two years later, and I was hooked.<br /> <br />
Since then, the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee has worked on state
legislation to protect the rights of blind parents, ensuring our kids don’t
get taken away just because we have a disability. We’ve helped pass a law
requiring Tennessee’s higher education system to follow accessibility
standards for digital content. We abolished subminimum wages for workers with
disabilities. We even got legislation passed to make prescription labels accessible
to blind and low-vision people. Most of our work has been about building
something—creating opportunity, removing barriers, opening doors.<br />
<br /> But every now and then, a bill comes along that doesn’t just block
the door—it threatens to bulldoze the whole building. And when that happens,
you don’t push forward. You dig in.<br /> <br /> That moment came in April
of 2025, when a poison-pill amendment to eliminate Tennessee’s
little-Randolph-Sheppard Act was proposed sixteen hours before the bill and
amendment were about to be heard on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Like the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, little-Randolph-Sheppard Acts in states
across our nation provide opportunities for blind people to operate small businesses
in state buildings. The amendment would have erased around 300 jobs, many of them
held by our blind brothers and sisters.</p> <h3 id="blind-but-not-backing-down">Blind
but Not Backing Down</h3> <p>Once we, in a frenzy, got the bill rolled for a
one-week delay, we hit the ground running—and we didn’t stop. Within
hours, Terry Smith from the National Association of Blind Merchants, a division
of the National Federation of the Blind, was drafting fact sheets and press
releases. I was fielding calls from vendors, lawmakers, and Federation members
across the state. The Tennessee Committee of Blind Vendors also jumped in with
both feet, and a statewide strategy started to take shape.<br /> <br /> We heard
from the political grapevine that the bill originally came from the Tennessee
Speaker of the House. The clock was ticking, and legislators would be leaving town
for the weekend before Easter, and by the time Monday morning rolled around,
we’d only have three real working days left to shift votes, secure media
coverage, and apply pressure. There was no time to waste.<br /> <br /> Funny how
life circles back sometimes. Joe Shaw—from back in 2009—was now
right back in the trenches with me. Only this time, it was our own backyard. Joe
and his wife Karen started early Monday morning, visiting all ninety-nine members
of the Tennessee House of Representatives. They handed out fact sheets, scheduled
meetings, and personally told our story—one lawmaker and staffer at a
time.<br /> <br /> While they canvassed the Capitol, we launched our media blitz.
By Sunday night, we’d let the proverbial cat out of the bag. Press releases
went out to every major outlet in Tennessee. And by Monday afternoon, our first
TV story hit the airwaves in Nashville, spotlighting the work of blind vendors
across the state and the devastating impact this bill would have.<br /> <br />
Then came Memphis. Then Chattanooga. Then Knoxville. Like dominos, one media market
after another picked up the story. Within just a few days, we were in every major
market in Tennessee.<br /> <br /> Inside the Capitol, we stuck to a simple but
powerful message. We told lawmakers we loved the Senate version of the bill, which
improved customer service and expanded opportunities for all people with disabilities.
But the House amendment? That was a poison pill. It didn’t expand
opportunity—it wiped it out. Of the roughly ninety blind vendors in Tennessee,
eighty would lose their jobs. That’s not policy. That’s carnage.<br
/> <br /> And it wasn’t just jobs. These vendors had invested their savings,
taken out loans, bought equipment, and built small businesses from the ground up.
One vendor in West Tennessee told me he had three box trucks tied to his business.
If this bill passed, he’d likely lose it all—his trucks, his business,
maybe even his house. He said he might have to go on Social Security and move in
with family. That’s not theoretical. That’s real life.<br /> <br />
By Tuesday night, we had already secured half of the twenty-six Republican votes
we needed to kill the amendment. And the pressure was starting to mount.</p> <h3
id="the-media-turns-up-the-heat">The Media Turns Up the Heat</h3> <p>By Wednesday,
April 16, the media machine was in full swing—and it was doing exactly what
we needed it to do. The pressure was no longer just coming from inside the Capitol;
it was coming from living rooms, smartphones, and kitchen tables across Tennessee.</p>
<p>Fox 13 Memphis had been digging into the story and, in their hunt for a quote,
they reached out to the sponsor of the House bill—the very one who’d
introduced the toxic amendment. But instead of reaching him, they accidentally
got his wife. And let’s just say, she wasn’t thrilled about how her
husband’s legislative season was going.<br /> <br /> The reporter told us
later that the representative might be sleeping on the couch for a while. Now, I
don’t know what kind of sofa he’s got at home, but I hope it’s
comfy, because the media wasn’t done yet.<br /> <br /> His wife ended up
giving the reporter his cell phone number, and to his credit, the representative
agreed to an interview. He tried to frame the amendment as a way to “expand
opportunities” for people with disabilities—but while he was talking,
the news station flashed the actual amendment text across the screen, highlighting
the part where blind vendors would be forced to compete with giant corporations.<br
/> <br /> Not exactly the best look.<br /> <br /> This aired Tuesday night, just
two days before the bill was scheduled for a vote. At the same time, our team of
advocates was still pounding the pavement inside the Capitol. Joe, Karen, members
of the blind vendor committee, and Randolph-Sheppard walking encyclopedia Terry
Smith were running from office to office, meeting with legislators, dropping off
packets, answering questions, and clarifying what this amendment would really
do.<br /> <br /> By Wednesday afternoon, we started hearing from legislative aides
that their representatives were texting them from the House floor: “I’ve
decided. I’m voting no if that amendment stays in.” Others said,
“I’m hearing it’s going to be pulled.”<br /> <br />
It was like watching a wave build—not a tidal wave of destruction, but one
of momentum, of clarity, of people standing up and doing the right thing.<br />
<br /> Still, we couldn’t relax. Politics can be a game of misdirection.
Until it was official, we had to assume the amendment was still alive and kicking.</p>
<h3 id="victory-in-the-eleventh-hour">Victory in the Eleventh Hour</h3> <p>Thursday
morning, April 17, arrived like the final lap of the New York City Marathon: hearts
racing, shoes worn down, and adrenaline doing all the work. We’d done
everything we could. We had flooded inboxes, knocked on doors, given interviews,
and practically worn tracks in the carpet of the Capitol. But there was still that
flicker of doubt. Was it enough?<br /> <br /> The bill was scheduled to be heard
that morning. We gathered in person on the floor of the House and around our cell
phones, our ears tuned to every word coming over the live feed. And then, just
like that, it happened.<br /> <br /> The representative stood up and pulled the
amendment.<br /> <br /> No debate. No vote. Just… gone.<br /> <br /> And
if that wasn’t enough, he followed it up with what may go down in history
as the most awkward half-apology in Tennessee legislative history. He said something
along the lines of, “This amendment probably wasn’t my best
idea.”<br /> <br /> Now, look—I don’t know what prompted his
change of heart. Maybe it was the outcry from blind vendors across the state.
Maybe it was the press coverage. Maybe it was the overwhelming number of
representatives who said they wouldn’t support the amendment. Or maybe…
just maybe… it was the fact that his wife gave his number to a reporter
and told him he’d better fix it before Easter weekend.<br /> <br /> Whatever
the reason, we had done it.<br /> <br /> We stopped a bill that would’ve
devastated an entire community of blind entrepreneurs in Tennessee. We stared down
one of the most powerful figures in state government and came out on top. And we
did it with facts, with unity, with persistence—and yeah, with a little
humor too.<br /> <br /> By Thursday afternoon, we were breathing for the first
time all week. Not celebrating exactly—because there’s always another
fight around the corner—but smiling. Laughing. Maybe even letting ourselves
feel proud.<br /> <br /> It wasn’t just a policy win. It was proof that
advocacy works, that blind people have power, and that a handful of blind little
boys and girls from Tennessee can still beat the Speaker of the House.</p> <h3
id="what-this-win-really-means">What This Win Really Means</h3> <p>This wasn’t
just about vending. It wasn’t just about a single amendment, or one bad
bill, or one week of frantic advocacy. This was about reminding ourselves—and
reminding the people in power—that blind people are not invisible, we are
not silent, and we are not weak.<br /> <br /> We are business owners, advocates,
parents, professionals, problem-solvers, and, when necessary, political warriors.
We know how to organize. We know how to mobilize. And when someone threatens our
livelihoods, our dignity, or our future, we show up.<br /> <br /> We show up with
facts.<br /> We show up with courage.<br /> We show up with unity.<br /> And
yes—we show up with press releases, TV spots, and the occasional well-timed
joke about sleeping on the couch.<br /> <br /> If you’re a Federation member
reading this, wondering if your voice matters—let me assure you, it does.
If you’ve ever questioned whether one letter, one phone call, or one office
visit can make a difference, let this be your proof. If you’ve ever been
discouraged by the political climate or worn down by how long change takes, take
heart. Because in one week, against long odds, a small team of determined blind
advocates in Tennessee protected the rights of eighty blind entrepreneurs and
pushed back against the Speaker of the House himself.<br /> <br /> I hope this
story makes you laugh. I hope it makes you think. But most of all, I hope it
reminds you that we still have power. The world doesn’t hand us
victories—we go out and win them with a smile on our face and a white cane
in our hand, or in my case, a solid Black German Shepherd named Zero by my side.<br
/> <br /> Because that’s who we are.<br /> We are the National Federation
of the Blind.<br /> And we will never stop fighting for each other.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Bruce Sexton]</p> <h2 id="my-kids-knew-their-dad-was-enough">My
Kids Knew Their Dad Was Enough</h2> <p><strong>by Bruce Sexton</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Bruce Sexton is a blind father, disability rights
advocate, and policy strategist. He holds a Juris Doctor degree and has worked
across education, technology, corporate, and government sectors to advance equity
and inclusion. Bruce has held multiple leadership roles within the National
Federation of the Blind, including service on the board of the National Association
of Blind Students and various state-level positions. He has also led large-scale
public engagement initiatives, supported the launch of a school for blind students
in India, and advised executive teams on systemic change. Bruce has written about
his role as a blind dad in our pages before. Here is his latest lovely
contribution:</strong></p> <p>I never had to tell my kids that I was enough. They
just knew.</p> <p>They knew it in the rhythm of my steps, pacing the same loop
through the house—kitchen to hallway, through the living room, and back
again. They knew it in the steady hum of my voice as I sang lullabies, my arms
burning from their weight, holding on until sleep finally won. And when I sat
down, finally ready for relief, only to hear them stir and start again, they knew
it in the way I stood back up without hesitation.</p> <p>They knew it in the
evenings as they got older, when I ran my fingers over Braille pages, working to
decode the dots and give them voice fast enough to keep the story flowing. It took
work—pulling meaning from the raised dots, turning it into speech in real
time, making sure the words held the same magic they would on any other page. Some
nights, my brain was taxed, my focus slipping, but I kept going because that’s
what you do when you want your kids to grow up with stories. Because that’s
what parenting is. Besides, <em>Library Lion</em> was one of their favorites, and
mine as well!</p> <p>They knew it when I read to their preschool classes, letting
tiny hands explore the Braille so they would understand it before they ever thought
to question it. They knew it when I sat in their grade schools, giving them and
their classmates the experience of having a blind parent in their world, just a
dad doing what dads do.</p> <p>They knew it when we walked through an airport or
down a busy street, moving together, my hand on their shoulder or theirs brushing
against mine. I was always the parent, leading in ways that had nothing to do with
sight.</p> <p>They knew it at restaurants when I handed them the menu and asked
them to decide not just what sounded good, but what they actually wanted. Not just
pointing to a picture but speaking up and ordering for themselves. Little things
that weren’t so little—the quiet practice of knowing their own minds,
of using their voices, of understanding that their choices mattered.</p> <p>And
that’s the thing—parenting is struggle. Sometimes it’s
exhaustion, sometimes it’s patience wearing thin, sometimes it’s
carrying more weight than you think you can hold. Some of that, for me, is because
I’m blind. But none of it has ever meant that my kids carry me.</p> <p>People
assume blind parents depend on their children, that our kids must fill in the
gaps, take on responsibilities they shouldn’t have to. But my kids don’t
exist to make my life easier. They aren’t my guides or my caretakers. They
are my children. And like any children, they are learning, growing, building their
own place in the world.</p> <p>I parent the way any father does—through
love, through effort, through showing up even when it’s hard. My blindness
doesn’t change that. It changes the way I do some things, sure. It forces
me to problem-solve in ways most parents don’t have to. But it does not
shift the weight of responsibility from me onto them.</p> <p>My children do not
carry me. They walk beside me. And if the world wants to keep telling stories
about us, let them. But let it be this one.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Jesse Shirek]</p> <h2
id="blind-americans-and-the-end-of-paper-benefit-checks-what-you-need-to-know">Blind
Americans and the End of Paper Benefit Checks: What You Need to Know</h2>
<p><strong>by Jesse Shirek</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Jesse Shirek
is one of the very smart and capable people on the Federation’s Advocacy
and Policy team. His specific portfolio includes answering questions and facilitating
solutions to problems related to Social Security benefits. Jesse is kind, friendly,
and approachable, so members who have concerns should never hesitate to reach out
to him. In this short article, he explains an important change that will affect
how blind people receive benefits like SSI and SSDI, as well as other payments
from the federal government. Here, in Jesse’s words, is the critical
information:</strong></p> <p>On March 25, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an
executive order titled Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank
Account. The goal is to phase out paper checks for all federal payments including
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI),
Social Security Retirement, and federal income tax refunds by September 30, 2025.
For many blind Americans, this is more than a shift in payment methods—it’s
a change that may impact our financial independence, privacy, and equal access.</p>
<p>The federal government processes millions of payments every year. According to
the executive order, paper checks are “16 times more likely to be reported
lost or stolen, returned undeliverable, or altered than an electronic funds transfer
(EFT).” There’s no question that updating the system is long
overdue—but the nation’s blind must not be left behind.</p> <p>If
you receive SSI, SSDI, or Social Security Retirement, and still get a paper benefits
check, this change directly affects you. You will be expected to switch to an
electronic payment method, such as direct deposit, prepaid debit card, digital
wallet, or real-time payments. Agencies are required to stop issuing paper checks
unless you qualify for a specific exemption. This includes all federal disbursements:
benefits, tax refunds, and even payments to government contractors and vendors.</p>
<p>The government has outlined important exemptions for individuals who cannot
access electronic payments. Section 4 of the Executive Order requires the Treasury
Department to revise procedures for those who qualify. Exemptions include individuals
who do not have access to banking services or electronic payment systems, certain
emergency payments where electronic disbursement would cause undue hardship, and
other circumstances as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. The order also
guarantees that individuals or entities qualifying for an exception shall be
provided alternative payment options. If you’re without a bank account,
experience hardship, or have a disability-related barrier to digital access, you
may still receive paper checks, or another form of payment that works better for
you.</p> <p>Technology offers tremendous opportunity, but also risk. Some banking
apps, digital wallets, and payment portals are not screen-reader accessible. Blind
people may face inaccessible verification methods, complex interfaces, or be forced
to rely on others to manage their money, which is something no one should be
required to do. That’s why Section 5 of the order is so critical. It mandates
a public awareness campaign to inform recipients about the transition, including
“guidance on accessing and setting up digital payment options.” It
also requires agencies to facilitate a smooth transition to digital payments,
ensuring that affected individuals and entities receive adequate support. Importantly,
agencies must work with financial institutions, consumer groups, and other
stakeholders to address financial access for unbanked and underbanked populations.
That means the government must engage with groups like the National Federation of
the Blind to ensure full accessibility for blind Americans.</p> <p>The National
Federation of the Blind is committed to ensuring equal access to financial systems
and services. We will be watching closely to make sure exemptions are accessible,
fair, and easy to request; all digital payment platforms meet accessibility
standards; public education materials are provided in Braille, audio, large print,
and screen-reader–friendly formats; and blind people receive direct support
to transition, if needed.</p> <p>If you already use direct deposit or a prepaid
card like Direct Express, no action may be needed. However, if you use paper
checks, now might be a good time to explore alternatives that are accessible and
fit your needs. If you believe you will need an exemption, keep a record of why
digital options don’t work for you. As previously mentioned, the National
Federation of the Blind will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates
and help as this transition moves forward.</p> <p>The federal government’s
move toward digital payments is a step into the future. But for blind Americans,
that future must be built on inclusion and accessibility. No one should be denied
their benefits or forced into dependency because of inaccessible technology. As
the Executive Order reminds us, “Nothing in this order shall be construed
to impair any right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity by any party.”
We are monitoring. We are advocating. And we are ready to ensure blind people have
full access to our benefits.</p> <p>If you need help with a Social Security related
concern, contact Jesse Shirek at the NFB Jernigan Institute at 410-659-9314,
extension 2348.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Karl Belanger]</p> <h2
id="a-comparison-of-the-brailliant-bi-40x-and-braille-emotion-smart-displays">A
Comparison of the Brailliant BI 40X and Braille eMotion Smart Displays</h2>
<p><strong>by Karl Belanger</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Karl Belanger
is a nonvisual accessibility analyst with the National Federation of the Blind
Center for Excellence in Nonvisual Accessibility (CENA). In addition to technology,
he is a fan of sports and video games (yes, some blind people play those, and Karl
can tell you all about how they do it). Many readers will have met Karl virtually
through CENA’s accessibility boutiques and seminars, if not in person at
convention or while visiting the NFB Jernigan Institute. In this article, he
provides an overview of two Braille displays that are packed with useful features
and produced by two reputable access technology companies. Pricing information is
not included; prices often change, and it’s even possible that one or both
of these vendors will have promotions available at the National Convention. Karl
assures me that the prices of these two units are comparable, which is to say that
there is not a dramatic price difference as the prices of Braille devices go. Here
is what he says about them:</strong></p> <p>Braille displays continue to play an
important role in the lives of many blind people. Recently, both HumanWare and
Selvas, formerly HIMS, have released their latest displays. These displays not
only provide output from a connected computer or smartphone but also have a fairly
robust suite of onboard applications. They are often referred to as smart displays,
since they are an intermediate point between traditional displays with no internal
features and full notetakers such as the BrailleNote. Both the Brailliant BI 40X
and the Braille eMotion are 40-cell displays with a Perkins-style keyboard and a
variety of navigation and function keys. Both displays have USB type C ports for
charging and connecting to devices via USB, plus USB type A ports for connecting
flash drives. The Braille eMotion also has a Micro SD card slot. They each also
have internal applications such as a text editor, file manager, calculator, and
the ability to download books from various sources. HumanWare offers two other
versions of the Brailliant: the Brailliant BI 20X, which has a 20-cell display,
and the Mantis Q40, which has the same 40-cell display with a regular computer
keyboard in place of the Perkins-style one. Both these displays have the same
software as the Brailliant discussed in this article. Selvas only has the one
40-cell version of the eMotion.</p> <h3 id="physical-descriptions">Physical
Descriptions</h3> <h4 id="brailliant-bi-40x">Brailliant BI 40X</h4> <p>The Brailliant
has the standard thumb key layout on the front edge that has been on HumanWare
devices for a while now. In the middle of the front panel is a Home button, which
is used to go back to the main menu or exit terminal mode. The right side contains
the Volume buttons and a headphone jack behind them, while the left side has a
USB A port, the Power button, and the USB C port from front to back. The back edge
of the device is empty. On the top of the Brailliant, the 40-cell display is along
the front edge. There are cursor routing keys above each cell, and three navigation
buttons arranged vertically at each end of the display. Behind the display is the
standard Perkins-style Braille keyboard, with two spacebars in front of the display.
Lastly, two small speakers are positioned behind and at each end of the keyboard.</p>
<h4 id="braille-emotion">Braille eMotion</h4> <p>The front edge of the Braille
eMotion has two panning keys at either end, with the F1 through F4 keys commonly
found on Selvas devices from left to right in between them. In the middle is a
Home button with two microphones on either side of it. All of the controls except
the Home button and microphones are slightly angled toward the rest of the display.
The right side includes the Volume buttons, plus a Mode button to change their
function. Behind those are the headphone jack and USB C port. The left edge has
the USB A port near the front and a Record button behind that. The top has the
Braille display along the front edge, with the Spacebar, Control, and Alt keys in
front of it. The display has cursor routing keys, and two capsule-shaped panning
buttons at either end of the display. This is actually the first Selvas display
to allow you to pan the display either with the panning buttons at the ends of
the display or with the keys on the front similar to the Brailliant. Behind the
display is the Perkins-style keyboard, with a center key between dots 1 and 4.
There are also two speakers at the back corners of the top, with the Power button
just to the left of the right speaker. Just to the right of the left speaker are
three small keys, labeled W, B, and C in Braille from left to right. These are
the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and connectivity keys. Press either the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
keys to toggle the feature on or off or hold each key down for a second to open
the relevant settings. Pressing the connectivity key will open the Connectivity
application allowing you to use the eMotion as a display with other devices, as
discussed later in this article. Holding it down will open a menu where you can
choose the type of connection you want.</p> <h3 id="the-interface">The Interface</h3>
<p>When turning either display on, they will go through a startup sequence and
display progress as they go. Both will then come up to the main menu by default.
Both take around twenty seconds to start, though the Brailliant finished loading
three or four seconds faster. The main menu for both devices contains the main
applications that each device has. These include the editor, called Notepad on
the eMotion; the app for connecting to other devices, called Terminal on the
Brailliant and Connectivity on the eMotion; and apps for accessing online books
and changing settings. If you have used a BrailleNote before, the Brailliant uses
many of the same interface conventions and status keys. This also holds true for
BrailleSense users with the Braille eMotion. In addition to the main apps, both
devices have other basic utilities, such as a clock and calculator, and the ability
to directly install software updates. Unique to the Brailliant are exam mode and
the ability to customize the main menu. In the Brailliant’s options menu,
you can enable or disable any of the apps from showing in the main menu. This
could be useful for newer users who find themselves getting lost or just to hide
applications you aren’t interested in. Exam mode locks down the display
for up to six hours. Only the terminal application functions, and you can only
connect to a computer via USB. This will prevent students from accessing notes or
other information to which they should not have access during tests.</p> <h3
id="the-editors">The Editors</h3> <p>Both devices have basic text editors, allowing
you to write documents, take notes, or do anything else with text. However, neither
of them offer any advanced formatting or other features of a full word processor.
The Brailliant can open PDF, Word, text, and Braille files, but will only save a
document as a text file. The Braille eMotion will open all the same formats as
the Brailliant, but can also open ePub books. The Braille eMotion can save files
in Word or RTF formats, but they will be unformatted. If you open a Word file with
formatting such as heading structure, you will lose the formatting if you save
the file. The eMotion will also save files as BRF from the notepad, while this
function is reserved for the separate Braille Editor application on the Brailliant.
They both have standard cut, copy, and paste commands, search and replace, and
the ability to insert the time and date. The eMotion also has a read menu for
reading different portions of a document and a layout menu for setting the paragraph
and page layout for embossing documents. Unique to the Brailliant is the ability
to search Wikipedia, Wictionary, or WordNet. Select a word in the document and
then use the menu option or shortcut key to perform a search with your desired
service.</p> <h4 id="the-brailliants-braille-editor">The Brailliant’s
Braille Editor</h4> <p>The Brailliant has a specialized Braille editor designed
for the opening, editing, and saving of BRFs. It has all the same functions of
the standard editor and adds the Format BRF option. This will allow you to specify
the desired number of characters per line and lines per page for the embossed
file. Once these values are set, it is possible to enter a mode in which the
Braille is displayed using these settings so you can get an accurate representation
of what the embossed file will look like.</p> <h3
id="searching-downloading-and-reading-books">Searching, Downloading and Reading
Books</h3> <p>Another major feature of both these displays is finding, downloading,
and reading books from multiple online services. You can access these services
from the Online Services menu on the Brailliant or the Library menu on the eMotion.
Both displays provide access to Online Daisy, Bookshare, NFB-NEWSLINE®, and
NLS Braille books. The eMotion also has a downloadable version of the BARD Mobile
Android app for listening to NLS audiobooks, as well as a Bible app. For most of
the services, you can log in, browse, or search for books, and download them.
Books will be in the Books folder on the Brailliant or the Downloads folder on
the eMotion. Once you have a book downloaded, you can read it in the appropriate
app: Victor Reader or the editor on the Brailliant or the DAISY player or document
reader on the eMotion. While both devices can read Braille books downloaded from
NLS, only the eMotion can play audiobooks, and only through the optional BARD
Mobile app, which is discussed next.</p> <h4 id="bard-mobile-emotion">BARD Mobile:
eMotion</h4> <p>The Braille eMotion has a version of the BARD Mobile app that can
be downloaded through the Optional Services option from the Library menu. Once
installed, opening it launches the standard BARD Mobile app for Android. After
logging in, you can browse and download audiobooks the same as you would on your
phone. These books are not stored in your normal books folder and cannot be played
outside the BARD Mobile app.</p> <h3 id="connecting-to-other-devices">Connecting
to Other Devices</h3> <p>Through the Terminal app on the Brailliant, or the
Connectivity app on the eMotion, you can connect to other devices via Bluetooth
or USB. Both displays support connecting to, and switching between, multiple
Bluetooth connections plus one USB connection. Both displays can connect to Windows,
Mac, iOS, or Android, though the Brailliant can only connect to Android devices
running Android version 15 or higher via Bluetooth. Android 15 was the first
release supporting Braille devices using the HID standard over Bluetooth. You can
connect an older Android device to the Brailliant via USB as long as it is running
a recent version of TalkBack. For both displays, you can be connected to up to
five Bluetooth devices and one USB device simultaneously.</p> <h4
id="brailliant-terminal">Brailliant: Terminal</h4> <p>Choosing the Terminal option
from the main menu opens a submenu where you can see the list of connected devices
or add a Bluetooth device. The connected device menu will always have the USB
connection first, followed by the list of Bluetooth devices you have paired.
Pressing Enter on a Bluetooth device will attempt to connect to it if it isn’t
already, or switch to the connection if it is already active. The last options in
this menu allow you to reconnect all devices and go back. The add device option
displays a prompt to select the Brailliant from the Bluetooth list on the device
you want to connect to and go through the pairing process. No matter how you
initially connect, once you’ve established the connection, you will see
the output from the connected device on the Braille display and can control the
device from the keyboard. Pressing the Home button will take you back to the
Terminal menu, where you can switch devices or go back to the internal applications.
In the Options menu, you can also enable “Start in Terminal” to have
the device always go into terminal mode when it starts. This could be useful if
you primarily use it as a display with other devices.</p> <h4
id="connectivity-emotion">Connectivity: eMotion</h4> <p>Choosing the Connectivity
option from the main menu, or pressing the Connectivity key, will open the
Connectivity application. By default, it will either reconnect to the last connection
or put you in pairing mode if that connection is unavailable. If you have no
Bluetooth devices saved, choosing Connectivity from the menu will also bring you
here. Once in Bluetooth pairing mode, you can pair to the eMotion from your other
device. Interestingly, the eMotion shows up as a BrailleEdge when pairing to other
devices. Once a device is connected, you will see the output on the display and
can control the device from the eMotion. The eMotion also has a terminal clipboard
that can be used to edit blocks of text before sending them to the connected device
all at once. This can be used to copy text from an internal file on the eMotion
or if you prefer editing on the eMotion rather than the device you’re
connected to.</p> <h3 id="other-features-of-the-braille-emotion">Other Features
of the Braille eMotion</h3> <p>The Braille eMotion has a few extra features that
are not present on the Brailliant that may be worth considering when deciding
which display to get.</p> <h4 id="media-player">Media Player</h4> <p>The eMotion
contains a basic media player. You can load a file or folder of files from either
internal storage or a USB drive and play them back. The player supports saving
the current files as an M3U playlist. You can navigate within files and set
bookmarks to return to a point in an audio track. The player does have a fairly
robust set of settings. You can adjust the equalizer, set repeat and shuffle
settings, change the minimum length of a file for the player to remember your
position, and more. The media player supports most common audio file formats, plus
it can play the audio from video files.</p> <h4 id="recorder">Recorder</h4>
<p>Pressing the Record button on the left side of the eMotion opens the voice
recorder. This app allows the user to record MP3 or WAV files at a variety of
sample rates, choose how files are named, and choose whether recordings are done
through the internal microphones or through a headset. This should be sufficient
for recording voice notes or possibly lectures or meetings, though external
microphones or headsets should be used for longer recordings since sounds from
handling or using the device will be picked up on its internal microphones.</p>
<h4 id="send-device-audio-bluetooth-speakerphone">Send Device Audio, (Bluetooth
Speakerphone)</h4> <p>When connecting to another device such as your phone, you
can play the device’s audio through the eMotion’s speakers. To do
this, enable Send Device Audio in the Options menu. Once you’ve connected
the devices, press the center key+enter+A to toggle whether the device audio is
played through the eMotion’s speakers. The speakers sound decent and should
be fine for playing music or listening to podcasts. The eMotion can also handle
calls, with your voice being picked up through the eMotion’s internal
microphones. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any noise canceling applied.
Any key presses, sounds from moving your hands on the device, or anything else in
the environment will be picked up clearly, so this is likely to be unusable for
calls unless the eMotion is sitting untouched on a desk in a quiet room.</p> <h4
id="text-to-speech-support">Text to Speech Support</h4> <p>Both displays support
Text to Speech (TTS) while navigating menus and for reading content. The Brailliant
uses Acapela voices, while the eMotion uses Vocalizer voices. Both displays have
options to set the Volume, Pitch, and Speed of each voice, as well as to download
other voices to use on the display. Both displays also support having two voices
installed simultaneously and using them for different purposes, such as one for
menus and the other for reading. Having speech capability is useful for when
you’d rather listen to a book and give your fingers a break, and it can
also be helpful for new users who may still be learning Braille.</p> <h3
id="final-thoughts">Final Thoughts</h3> <p>Both the Brailliant BI 40X and the
Braille eMotion are solid displays with a very similar feature set. Both allow
for basic notetaking and can download and read a variety of books from several
sources. The eMotion can handle audio playback and may be a better option if you
want to use a display with older devices or Android versions prior to 15 because
of its support for legacy Braille display drivers. The Brailliant contains a number
of options for customizing the interface and may be a better option for education
or corporate environments with limited internet access or where there is a need
to restrict access to certain applications, such as during educational testing.
In general, both of these displays are solid options, whether you want to download
and read books on the go or work in Braille with your smartphone or computer. The
right device for you will come down to the extra features you want and the online
libraries you access.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Shannon Cook]</p>
<h2 id="what-is-your-of">What Is Your “Of”?</h2> <p><strong>by
Shannon Cook</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Shannon Cook has been a
member of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina for over thirty
years; in fact, she and I came into the movement at about the same time and have
been friends for slightly longer. She is currently the affiliate secretary, NFB
of SC Scholarship Committee chair, Palmetto Convention Grant chair, and serves as
secretary for the boards of the Federation Center of the Blind, Rocky Bottom
Retreat and Conference Center for the Blind, South Carolina Association of Black
Leaders, SC Computer Science and Technology Division, and the SC Association of
Guide Dog Users, among other duties. I must remember to ask her if and when she
sleeps. She obtained her Master of Social Work from the University of South
Carolina. Shannon met her husband Steve through the Federation, where he is a
leader in his own right. They have been married for twenty-one years and have
three dogs. We often say that the word “of” is the most important
word in the name of our organization. When we talk about why, we usually say it
is because we are blind people speaking and acting on our own behalf, not others
speaking or doing good works for our benefit. But in this beautifully written
article, Shannon invites us to consider other aspects of the meaning of
“of,” particularly as it relates to fostering inclusion, which is
one of the Federation’s core values. Here are her thoughts:</strong></p>
<p>The word “of” is often seen as a small, almost unremarkable part
of our everyday language. Yet its role is far from insignificant, especially when
we examine it as it relates to our place in the National Federation of the Blind.
It is a term that links, connects, and defines relationships among people, things,
and ideas, and when placed within inclusive frameworks, it can carry powerful
connotations of unity, shared experiences, and collective belonging. In the
framework of the National Federation of the Blind, “of” is everything
we stand for. It connects each member to our collective experience of blindness.
It connects each member to the greater organization as an integral part of the
whole, no more or less important than the other members, but part of the entire
structure. The “of,” fittingly positioned smack-dab in the middle
of the name National Federation of the Blind, reflects that we, the blind, comprise
the voice of the organization through our expertise and firsthand knowledge of
blindness. We are the ultimate authority on blindness because of “of.”
We are not “for” in the sense that others decide for us; we are our
own leaders within our movement for equality, change, integrity, inclusiveness,
accessibility, growth, and success. “Of” means that we belong.</p>
<h3 id="the-linguistic-role-of-of">The Linguistic Role of “Of”</h3>
<p>For those of you who know the grammar nerd that I am, I could not skip this
bit of background. In its most basic sense, “of” is a preposition.
It serves as a connector between a noun and another part of the sentence. While
its primary function is to denote possession, origin, or association, it can also
show parts of a whole or define relationships. This seemingly small word, therefore,
acts as a bridge, linking individuals and groups to larger structures, whether in
the context of society, culture, or beliefs.</p> <p>For example, in the phrase
“members of the community,” the word “of” not only
connects the members to the community but suggests a shared identity or affiliation.
It is this use of “of” that holds relevance when discussing
inclusion—it implies belonging, being part of a collective, and establishing
connections among individuals and larger social systems.</p> <h3
id="of-and-the-concept-of-inclusion">“Of” and the Concept of
Inclusion</h3> <p>At its heart, inclusion is about recognizing, welcoming, and
valuing the diversity of people, ideas, and perspectives. It is about fostering
environments where everyone feels that they belong, regardless of their background,
identity, or abilities. When we use the word “of” in this context,
it can represent a powerful tool in shaping inclusive narratives and fostering
understanding.</p> <p>Consider the expression “a society of equals.”
Here, “of” does more than just indicate that equality is a feature
of society—it expresses that society is made up of equal individuals. The
use of “of” frames the concept of inclusion in a way that everyone,
regardless of their differences, is seen as an integral part of the whole. In this
way, the word becomes a building block for inclusive language, which seeks to
empower and unite rather than divide. In the National Federation of the Blind, we
often hear that we are an organization “of” the blind, not only
“for” the blind. A one-word change on the surface would seem barely
relevant to the meaning, but by using “of” we are all equal parts
of the whole as community members. We all have a seat at the table. No one’s
lived experience is more or less valuable than another’s.</p> <p>To put it
in a different frame, imagine that the National Federation of the Blind is a giant
puzzle. Each member is a piece. Without everyone, the puzzle is not complete. No
one piece is the same as the next. Some are shaped differently, have a combination
of colors, or have sharp edges rather than rounded. The intersectionality of
features is individual to each piece. In our movement, we are each a piece; no
one is more important than the next. Each piece is individual. Some are similar.
Maybe we have common family histories, home states, gender identities, etc., but
the unique combination of characteristics is what makes us an irreplaceable part
of the entire beautiful picture. The puzzle is not complete without all its pieces
in place.</p> <h3 id="how-do-you-envision-your-of">How Do You Envision Your
“Of”?</h3> <p>I have been a Federationist for most of my life,
thirty-four years to be exact. I identified with the Federation from day one
because the Federation philosophy gave me the language to articulate my belief
that blindness did not make me less than my sighted peers. When I first became a
member, I learned the structure, boards, and interplay among local, state, and
national levels of the organization. Shortly thereafter, I was asked to help
organize and lead one of the smaller chapters of our state. I joined and participated
in the Student Division. (We still refer to our student group this way rather than
adopting the “South Carolina Association of Blind Students” formulation,
because the acronym SCABS sounds gross!) The more involved I got, the more I wanted
to get involved. I was accepted in a way I never felt before in my life. Blindness
was the characteristic that gave us all a connection, but it became secondary in
our interpersonal relationships because we all shared it. No one was known as
“that blind person,” as we often are in other contexts. We had deep
discussions about music, books, politics, religion, myths of blindness, and our
own misconceptions. Because of our particular perspectives, we were stronger
together. Each member found their purpose and sought to fulfill it.</p> <p>The
question I pose to readers is, “What is your of?” What do you bring
to the Federation that excites you and keeps you invested in our future? You may
have a busy, overwhelming personal life, and attending monthly chapter meetings
is the maximum you can manage right now. If that is your Of, that is fantastic.
If you can plan speakers, chair committees, organize fundraisers, donate to the
cause, recruit new members, live by example, teach alternative techniques to newly
blind members, make reminder calls, solicit convention sponsors, or anything else,
that is wonderful. We can all do something. Your capacity to be involved can and
will likely change over time. The key is to realize what you can do. Often it is
more than you may imagine. If you do not see a niche for your talents, make one;
accept the challenge to develop a project or program where your skills will be
best used.</p> <p>Every one of us, by virtue of our membership, bears a responsibility
to further the aim of the National Federation of the Blind: to plan for the present,
appreciate and acknowledge the contributions of the past, and make provisions for
the future of the NFB. Membership and belonging also come with a collective
responsibility to carry us forward through trials, triumphs, stumbles, and
successes.</p> <p>Find your place; don’t be the missing piece.</p> <p>Take
your place in our big, beautiful “of.”</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="progress-and-peril-developments-in-texas-v.-kennedy">Progress and Peril:
Developments in <em>Texas v. Kennedy</em></h2> <p><strong>by Chris Danielsen</strong></p>
<p>As readers of the April 2025 <em>Braille Monitor</em> may recall, a lawsuit
known as <em>Texas v. Kennedy</em> (formerly <em>Texas v. Becerra</em>) was filed
by seventeen states against Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in his official capacity as
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the United States Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS). This lawsuit challenges HHS’s 2024 updates to
the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits
disability discrimination by recipients of federal funds. The updated regulations,
issued in May 2024, modernized rules that were fifty years old. They prohibit
discrimination in medical treatment and child welfare, require accessible websites
and medical equipment, and reinforce the right of disabled people to receive
services in the community, among other provisions. The states’ complaint
specifically challenged language in the preamble of the updated regulations
regarding gender dysphoria and the regulation on integration.</p> <p>In addition
to challenging specific aspects of the updated regulations, the states’
original complaint asked the court to declare Section 504 itself unconstitutional.
As our article explained, such a ruling would have jeopardized all of the civil
rights gains that blind and disabled Americans have accrued stemming from this
bedrock of disability law. For this reason, we and others have advocated for the
dismissal of the lawsuit, which still has not occurred. However, recent developments
indicate a change in the states’ position on this claim.</p> <p>In a Joint
Status Report to the federal district court in Texas that is hearing the case,
filed on April 11, 2025, the states explicitly clarified that they have never
moved—and do not plan to move—the court to declare or enjoin Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act as unconstitutional on its face. Furthermore, they
stated that nothing in their complaint seeks to restrain the disbursement of
federal funds or prevent the government from applying Section 504’s provisions
to recipients based on the statute’s unconstitutionality. This clarification
means that the court in this case will not rule on the fundamental constitutionality
of Section 504. Taken together with the strident denials of intent to kill Section
504 issued by some of the attorneys general involved in the case, it is clear that
advocacy and public pressure from the National Federation of the Blind and others
has affected the legal stance the states are taking.</p> <p>Despite this development,
the lawsuit remains a significant threat to the rights of the blind and other
people with disabilities. The seventeen states have not dropped the case. They
continue to challenge other important aspects of the 2024 Section 504 regulations.
These challenged provisions include:</p> <ul> <li><p>The requirement for states
to provide services in the most integrated setting, meaning the right to live in
the community rather than institutions.</p></li> <li><p>The ban on disability
discrimination in medical treatment decisions, covering essential care like
life-saving healthcare, organ transplants, and the allocation of scarce resources
such as ventilators.</p></li> <li><p>Requirements for accessible medical equipment,
websites, and kiosks.</p></li> <li><p>Provisions related to reasonable accommodations
and effective communication.</p></li> </ul> <p>Not only are the states still
challenging the regulation, but so far, HHS and Secretary Kennedy have not made
clear whether or not they will defend it. HHS issued a clarification on April 11
describing the preamble language about gender dysphoria as “unenforceable,”
which possibly makes part of the lawsuit moot. Beyond that, HHS has not signaled
one way or the other whether it will tell the court that it stands behind the
regulation aside from that preamble language.</p> <p>The case currently remains
stayed, or paused, at the request of both parties, who also proposed filing
subsequent Joint Status Reports every other month on the twenty-first day, with
the next report to come on June 21, 2025.</p> <p>Advocacy remains critical. The
Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund (DREDF) highlights that the ability
of disabled people to live in the community, a key right affirmed by Section 504
and challenged in this case, is heavily reliant on Medicaid funding for services
and supports. They urge those in the seventeen plaintiff states to continue
advocating for their attorneys general to withdraw from the lawsuit.</p> <p>The
provisions in the regulation regarding accessible medical equipment, kiosks, and
websites, as well as its effective communication and reasonable accommodation
requirements, bear directly on the ability of blind people to access our healthcare
information, check in for appointments, and receive accessible documents and other
communications from healthcare facilities. All Americans with disabilities face
the danger of medical professionals deciding that our quality of life is so
diminished that we are not a high priority for lifesaving medical care, as many
so-called medical ethicists have argued. Backtracking and clarifications are all
very well, but this lawsuit still represents a danger, and our continued monitoring
and advocacy is warranted.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Erin Daley
throws her arms up in celebration on Deception Island.]</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Erin Daley smiles on the Seventh Continent. Snow mountains and the ocean can be
seen behind her.]</p> <h2 id="my-antarctic-journey">My Antarctic Journey</h2>
<p><strong>by Erin Daley</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Erin Daley is
an active member of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado and secretary
of the Denver chapter. She was raised by a single blind father in Massachusetts,
where she was introduced to the Federation at the age of five. She currently works
full-time in the insurance industry but is also pursuing her masters in assistive
technology. Her passion is traveling the world to learn about new cultures, taste
new food, and share the unique obstacles and joys of traveling while blind. Here
is her fascinating and thrilling account of one of her travel adventures:</strong></p>
<p>It wasn’t until I was standing in my bathing suit ready to jump off the
edge of a ship navigating through rocks and icebergs that it really hit me that
traveling to Antarctica was much different than any trip I had ever taken. One of
the crew reached around to secure a belt to my waist to ensure that they could
pull me back in should there be any issues, and I was ushered to the edge. Another
crew member showed me where the ladder was and of course told me which way to turn
for the best photo op. I had this grand plan for an epic pose, but it went out of
my head as I leaped into the Southern Ocean.</p> <p>I have always felt that there
is nothing like the feeling you get before a trip you have been dreaming about,
saving for, and are finally ready to make a reality. As a blind traveler, there
is also an added layer of apprehension: will this trip be accessible? Will I
encounter any additional costs, be denied entry to a tourist site, or perhaps even
be denied on a trip or tour at all? I, like everyone else, go on vacation to get
away from the real world. Sometimes I go to relax, and sometimes I go to explore,
but I always go as a blind woman, and even at the bottom of the world, traveling
while blind was not without its unique challenges.</p> <p>My friend, a travel
blogger and YouTuber, started broaching the idea of a trip about three years before
I found myself on the seventh continent. The season to visit is only a few months
long for a variety of reasons. First, it must be summer in the southern hemisphere,
and then you want to go during peak wildlife months. Even though the season keeps
getting longer and longer, January and February are arguably the best months,
especially if you, like me, were dying to make friends with a penguin. My friend
researched different options, and we eventually put our deposit down about nineteen
months before the trip. It didn’t seem real, and I was just so excited to
be doing this with a few friends, as this always lowers my stress levels while
traveling. We designed a shirt for our group; talked endlessly about all the
whales, seals, and penguins we would see; and checked in on each other as different
milestones came and went.</p> <p>When we were a few months out, reality started
to hit me: would they have a problem with a blind person on the ship? Would they
let me off the ship onto the continent? I knew I wasn’t the first blind
person by far to make that journey to the bottom of the world, but this wouldn’t
be the first time I experienced some form of discrimination. When I landed for a
tour in China, I was informed I would need to pay for a sighted guide to accompany
me in every city or I would have to leave the tour and the country. When I traveled
to Turkey, one of my city guides told the group that we would not be visiting an
attraction, but when I left the van for my room, the rest of the group was then
taken to that site without me. When I asked about it, one of the people who went
said, “It was very hard to navigate; you wouldn’t have liked
it.” I have tried to avoid these and other similar experiences by informing
tour companies beforehand that I am blind. The majority outright said that they
would not be willing to accommodate me. The excuses ranged from locations not
being wheelchair accessible to they don’t have time to dedicate a tour to
me personally to, my favorite to date, they absolutely will not carry my bags.
Suffice it to say, when I filled out my medical forms for the company’s
review, I was not surprised when they came back and told me that blind people are
not allowed because “the ship was not designed for blind people.”
I asked what a ship designed for blind people would look like, exactly. I never
got an answer, but I think that would be a fun project! I reached out to my friend
who arranged and booked the trip, and she forwarded emails where she had inquired
about this in order to prevent this very problem. The company held to their current
stance, and I made a decision: I amended the form to say that I was not really
blind, just had vision issues. People asked me what I would do if they turned me
away when I flew down there, they saw my white cane, and realized that I was blind.
While I didn’t have a plan, I just told myself that once I got on the ship,
they couldn’t drag me off if they tried. A number of people have expressed
shock that I have experienced this kind of discrimination, but this is pretty
common, as most countries do not have ADA-like protections. Just as in China when
I was threatened unless I paid extra money, there is often no recourse.</p> <p>The
time came to fly to Punta Arenas, Chile, and I was riddled with anxiety about
being denied. The first step was to go through orientation, which included fitting
our boots, cleaning our outerwear of any biological matter, and learning about
everything we would experience in Antarctica. A member of staff asked me to show
him that I could get in and out of the Zodiac® safely, as we would be using
this inflatable boat with an outboard motor for our landings. It was fairly easy,
and that was the only pushback I got. I was elated that they did not appear
concerned with my blindness. I was officially going to Antarctica!</p> <p>Now, I
wish I could say that I was always a perfect traveler and kept my cool the whole
time, but the truth is if I don’t get my sleep, a six-foot radius around
me should probably be enforced. Our tour was different in that we would not be
sailing the notorious Drake Passage to Antarctica; we would be flying to King
George Island and board the ship there. Flying into Antarctica is entirely dependent
upon weather and visibility, so there are no scheduled flights. We were informed
at around 9 PM that we needed to get up at 3 AM because they just got clearance
from the airline. We rushed back to the hotel to pack and prepare. I tried to
catch some sleep at the airport and on the quick flight, but it was not helping.
By the time I was boarding my first Zodiac to the ship, I was panicking and
overwhelmed. It didn’t help that we learned the biocontainment
procedures—which included a boot-cleaning machine, standing in a box filled
with this foamy decontamination liquid, and then changing out of our outer items
and into our ship clothes and shoes—would be completed four times a day as
we stayed on the ship, once every time we left the ship and once when we returned.</p>
<p>Then, it was time to learn the layout. Everyone was excited and running around
checking out the lounge and the other rooms, but I had never felt so alone. For
the first time, I felt like all the people who thought me coming was crazy were
right. I had no business being here. I participated in the lifeboat drill and had
an anxiety attack. No one gave directions; hands would just come out of nowhere
and push me down a hallway or turn me in a different direction. It was all too
much, and I fought to control my tears. There are some times as Federationists
that we do not react how we think we would or want to in these situations, and
this is a hard moment for me to look back on. I wish I had spoken up for myself,
but I went back to my room and opened my BARD app. I checked how many books I had
and determined that I had enough for a few days. I intended to leave the room for
meals and just hide the rest of the time. My friend who arranged the trip noticed
that I was not my usual self, and announced that she was giving me a tour of the
ship. I thought some pretty unkind things, but anyone who knows me knows that I
have more stubbornness than sense. She showed me to the dining room, the espresso
machine, the bar, and the mudroom where we went through the decontamination process.
She helped me find tactile ways to tell which room was mine, and she had me lead
a route through the ship to ensure I knew my way. I am so blessed with friends
who are blind at heart, and I am filled with gratitude that when I gave up on
myself, she didn’t give up on me.</p> <p>I went to bed with glaciers outside
my window and my mind racing with everything that could go wrong tomorrow. When
I woke, I was a new woman. It was like all the anxiety had vanished, and I was
filled with pure anticipation for the first outing of the day—a Zodiac tour
through a bay full of whales, seals, and glaciers. The second expedition was a
landing on an island with a hike up a mountain—well, maybe a steep
foothill—with a penguin colony at the top. This was my first up-close
experience with the topography of Antarctica. There are no docks, no soft sand
beaches, and plenty of sharp slick rocks that you have to climb over to get to
the shore. The boots you wear are knee-high and waterproof for a reason. We jumped
off the side of a Zodiac into the frigid waters and picked our way to shore. Once
there, we were given hiking poles to help stabilize us on the feet of snow that
blanketed the slope we were to climb. This process was repeated at all of our
landings. I liked some more than others, but each was special in their own way.
I did get to meet penguins (and smell them) as well as humpback whales and leopard
seals. We passed through picturesque channels and took a Zodiac tour of an iceberg
graveyard. I learned about the history of the continent and all about the different
species of wildlife (the Adélie penguins were my favorite). I also can’t
forget to mention the crew and food, the first of which were so kind and always
helpful to everyone they met, and the second of which I wished I could bring home!
This was not your average cruise food!</p> <p>Without a doubt, the highlight for
me was our landing at Deception Island. I remember being about six years old
holding the globe in my hands and spinning it around and around to look at the
different parts of the world. At the very bottom was a tiny island with a big
name: Deception Island. I wish I could say that my secret dream to visit there
was because it is only one of two active volcanos in Antarctica, or that in order
to reach the island you sail into Port Foster, the harbor that is actually the
flooded caldera of the volcano. In all honesty, I was just a little girl who loved
the name, which was given because, as I just mentioned, the island is a volcano
with a flooded caldera, not a normal island.</p> <p>Because there are so many
factors that go into landing on Antarctica, there is never a set itinerary. Each
landing has to have paperwork completed, weather taken into account, and also
ensure that the limit on how many people can be on land at one time is met, among
other requirements. Because of this, you could go to Antarctica twice in the same
month and not have the same landings. We would find out the evening before what
the landings would be for the next day. We were sitting in the lounge waiting for
the announcement of the final day’s landings, and when I heard Deception
Island, I began to cry. I had obviously hoped we would land there, but I didn’t
want to get my hopes up. I was absolutely ecstatic when I boarded the Zodiac the
next day, and I did a little dance on the ash-covered island. While the island
definitely had snow, much of the land was barren rock reminiscent of Mordor, the
fictional wasteland in J.R.R. Tolkien’s <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>. We
were told to stay away from the various equipment around the island that monitored
the volcano, but also told not to worry because while the volcano is due to erupt
in 2025 based on its prior eruptions, the seismologists had checked before our
arrival and there were no indications it would blow that day. It’s always
an adventure in Antarctica.</p> <p>The polar plunge that I mentioned at the
beginning of this story was not only a photo-op, it was also the capstone of a
truly one-of-a-kind experience, and proof that I am not afraid to push myself out
of my comfort zone. When I hit the water of the Southern Ocean, my first thought
was “Wow, this is not that cold at all!” I barely had enough time
to wonder if a whale was swimming beneath me before I burst out of the water and
realized that, while the water was not as bad as I thought, the air was freezing,
and I almost seized in shivers. Climbing up the ladder felt impossible, but the
shot of vodka I was given at the top helped warm me up.</p> <p>My friend and I
got to talking, and maybe it was the vodka, but she told me that while we were
back in Chile getting our orientation, one of the cruise directors had approached
her and told her that I would not be able to do any of the landings or expeditions
because there was no way I could navigate the rocks on shore. I was surprised, as
nothing had been mentioned to me, but, then again, I have been ignored countless
times by servers and employees who attempt to locate any sighted person in the
vicinity who could be responsible for the blind person instead of speaking to me.
My friend told the director that I would be trying every single landing, as they
did not know what I was capable of. My friend apologized for not telling me, but
didn’t want to ruin my trip and regretted telling me now. I thanked her,
as I do like to know these things, but I also thanked her for what she said.
Knowing how sleep-deprived and emotionally unregulated I had been on that first
day, I do not know how that knowledge would have affected me. I would like to say
that I would have been my regular stubborn self and proven them wrong, just like
I had already been doing, but then again, I would have liked to educate the person
who had been pushing me to the lifeboat. Regardless, I was so grateful to have a
friend that understood the assignment and stood up for me. Without knowing it, I
had proven the director wrong: I had completed every landing, which is not something
that everyone on that ship could say.</p> <p>I think we all have dreams that we
wish we could accomplish but have given them up for one reason or another, and
maybe that reason is the little voice inside our head that says it is impossible
or that we are crazy. We often get treated as brave and inspirational for just
buying milk and bread at the grocery store, but we should never lose sight of the
fact that other people’s low expectations do not define what we are capable
of. Traveling the world was always my dream, and before I attended the Colorado
Center for the Blind and truly embraced the philosophy of the National Federation
of the Blind, my grief was not just over losing my vision, it was over losing my
dreams. Not everyone’s dream is to hike up Deception Island, but whatever
it is, you can accomplish anything with determination and a good night’s
sleep.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2 id="lead-and-drive-give-25-in-25">Lead and Drive:
Give $25 in ‘25</h2> <p>Each year, thousands of Federation members and
friends contribute before and during the National Convention to various funds that
support blind people. In 2025, generosity is still needed to fund our great
programs. When you give $25 or more between May 15 and July 11, 5:00 p.m. Central,
you will be entered into the <em>Lead and Drive: Give $25 Drawing</em>. Each $25
increment is a chance to win. Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous supporter,
each contribution will be matched up to $25,000.</p> <p>Why “Lead and
Drive?” The National Federation of the Blind continues to lead courageously
and drive lasting change in the lives of blind people across the country. Our 2024
Give $25 drawing winner, Ali Colak, shared:</p> <p>“This was my second time
entering, and I didn’t think I would win anything. Just participating in
helping the NFB in its cause was wonderful, but winning was a pleasant
surprise.”</p> <p>Your support helps fund life-changing programs that bring
blind people to National Convention, fuel innovation and education, and power
possibilities for the next generation.</p> <p>When you contribute to the Lead and
Drive: Give $25 Drawing, you’ll be entered to win the following:</p> <ul>
<li><p>Roundtrip transportation for two for the 2026 NFB National Convention</p></li>
<li><p>Hotel at the convention</p></li> <li><p>Registration and banquet tickets
for two</p></li> <li><p>$1,000 in walking-around cash</p></li> </ul> <p>Or</p>
<ul> <li><p>$2,025 cash!</p></li> </ul> <h3 id="give.-honor.-win">Give. Honor.
Win</h3> <p>Maybe you want to announce our winner at the banquet and help the
Federation but are not in a position to give financial support. You can ask friends
and family to contribute in your honor and indicate that you prompted their gift!
If they place your name and phone number or email into the field on our Give $25
Drive form, you will be credited as a Federation Challenger for that gift. There
will be a special drawing at convention for our Federation Challengers and, if
you are credited with prompting the most gifts, you can announce our Give $25
winner at the banquet! Remember, this year all contributions will be matched up
to $25,000 thanks to an anonymous donor.</p> <p>But that’s not all. Be one
of the first 100 people to give $100 or more and you will receive a pair of
AfterShokz wireless headphones.</p> <p>The campaign supports several important
funds:</p> <ul> <li><p>Kenneth Jernigan Fund: Used to bring attendees to their
first national convention and more. Named for Dr. Jernigan, who led convention
planning for more than forty years.</p></li> <li><p>SUN Fund: A “rainy
day” reserve for unforeseen needs.</p></li> <li><p>White Cane Fund: Supports
the general treasury of the Federation where funds are most needed.</p></li>
<li><p>tenBroek Fund: Supports the tenBroek Memorial Fund, which owns our national
headquarters property in Baltimore.</p></li> </ul> <h3 id="how-to-contribute-and-qualify">How
to contribute and qualify</h3> <p>You must specify a fund to enter the drawing.
You can do this multiple ways:</p> <ul> <li><p>Online: Use our Give $25 Drive
online form: <a href="https://nfb.org/give25donate">nfb.org/give25donate</a></p></li>
<li><p>Phone: Call 410-659-9314, extension 2430</p></li> <li><p>Mail: Send a check
to National Federation of the Blind, 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
and include #Give25 and your fund of choice in the memo</p></li> <li><p>Visit the
Give $25 Drive table outside of General Sessions at convention</p></li> </ul>
<p>Your donation will be counted for the drawing regardless of which fund you
choose. If you’re unsure, please select the White Cane Fund for maximum
flexibility.</p> <p>Please remember, the drawing is meant for individuals and is
not intended for contributions by divisions, affiliates, or chapters. The winner
will be announced July 13, 2025, at the banquet. Thank you for leading and driving
with us!</p> <p>----------</p> <h2 id="plan-for-the-future">Plan for the Future</h2>
<p>“What if I was never blind? In April 2013 I received a diagnosis of
Stargardt Disease. I often felt adrift, uncertain of how to chart a course towards
a fulfilling life. At that time, I was employed at McDonald’s and had
temporarily paused my undergraduate studies. If I hadn’t received that
diagnosis, my life might have followed a completely different trajectory. I would
have continued working at McDonald’s, feeling stuck and uncertain about my
future, but without the guidance and support that I found through the National
Federation of the Blind, I might have struggled to navigate the challenges of
vision loss. Instead, that diagnosis became a turning point for me by forcing me
to confront my circumstances and seek out resources and communities that could
help me thrive despite my blindness. The NFB helped me realize that my vision
loss didn’t have to define me or limit my aspirations. By believing in my
abilities, by entrusting me with leadership positions, and through intensive
mentorship, the Federation changed my life. My community helped me excel beyond
where I would be if I were sighted.</p> <p>Mentorship is what has brought me to
this point in life thus far. Without my mentors I am not sure where I would be
right now. I just hope I can pay it forward someday.” - Dustin</p> <p>Blind
children and adults are making powerful strides to live the lives we want every
day across the United States, but we need to continue helping blind people like
Dustin. For more than eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind has worked
to transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people into reality.
With support from individuals like you, we can continue to provide powerful programs
and critical resources now and for decades to come. We hope you will plan to be
a part of our enduring movement by including the National Federation of the Blind
in your charitable giving and in your estate planning. It is easier than you
think.</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>Mentor young
people like Dustin.</p></li> <li><p>Promote independent travel by providing free
long white canes to blind people in need.</p></li> <li><p>Develop dynamic educational
projects and programs to show blind youth that science and math careers 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
who are losing vision maintain their independence.</p></li> </ul> <p>Below are
just a few of the many tax-deductible ways you can show your support of the National
Federation of the Blind.</p> <h3 id="lyft-round-up">LYFT Round Up</h3> <p>By
visiting the menu, choosing Donate, and selecting the National Federation of the
Blind, you commit to giving to the National Federation of the Blind with each
ride.</p> <h3 id="vehicle-donation-program">Vehicle Donation Program</h3> <p>We
accept donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational
vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements
to pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you have.</p> <h3
id="general-donation">General Donation</h3> <p>General donations help support the
ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they
want. You can call 410-659-9314, extension 2430, to give by phone. Give online
with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit our online
contribution page at: <a href="https://nfb.org/donate"><u>https://nfb.org/donate</u></a>.</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 withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card.
To enroll, call 877-NFB-2PAC, or fill out our PAC Donation Form <a
href="https://www.nfb.org/pac"><u>https://www.nfb.org/pac</u></a>.</p> <h3
id="plan-to-leave-a-legacy">Plan to Leave a Legacy</h3> <p>The National Federation
of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the
generosity and imagination of members and special friends who have chosen to leave
a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join the Dream
Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.</p> <h4 id="percentage-or-fixed-sum-of-assets">Percentage
or Fixed Sum of Assets</h4> <p>You can specify that a percentage or a fixed sum
of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your
will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other
accounts.</p> <h4 id="payable-on-death-pod-account">Payable on Death (POD)
Account</h4> <p>You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary
on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking
or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to leave
a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime and you can
change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.</p> <h4 id="will-or-trust">Will
or Trust</h4> <p>If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the
National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.</p> <p>Visit our Planned
Giving webpage (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving"><u>https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving</u></a>)
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.</p> <h4
id="in-2024-our-supporters-helped-the-nfb">In 2024 our supporters helped the
NFB:</h4> <ul> <li><p>Host three career fairs connecting blind job seekers with
potential employers.</p></li> <li><p>Send 261 Braille Santa and Winter Celebration
letters to blind children, encouraging excitement for Braille literacy.</p></li>
<li><p>Distribute over six thousand canes to blind people across the United States,
empowering them to travel safely and independently throughout their communities.</p></li>
<li><p>Deliver more than five hundred newspapers and magazines to more than 130,000
subscribers with print disabilities free of charge.</p></li> <li><p>Give over
seven hundred fifty Braille-writing slates and styluses free of charge to blind
users.</p></li> <li><p>Mentor 222 blind youth during our NFB Braille Enrichment
for Literacy and Learning® Academy.</p></li> <li><p>Award thirty scholarships
each in the amount of $8,000 to blind students.</p></li> </ul> <p>Just imagine
what we will do this year and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years
to come. Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue
to transform dreams into reality.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Gary
Wunder]</p> <h2 id="staying-true-to-our-mission-while-respecting-our-differences">Staying
True to Our Mission While Respecting Our Differences</h2> <p><strong>by Gary
Wunder</strong></p> <p>The National Federation of the Blind is a diverse organization.
We are bound by our shared belief in the capacity of blind people to live the
lives we want, not by a shared political ideology. Among our members are Republicans,
Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, and those who would rather not affiliate
with any party at all. This ideological variety is not only expected—it is
healthy. But it also means we must walk a fine line between being respectful of
one another’s beliefs and being bold enough to speak when policies threaten
the programs we rely on.</p> <p>Some confusion arises when advocacy organizations
like ours criticize policies promoted by political parties or public figures. It
is not unusual for members to ask, “Are we attacking my party? Are we going
after someone I support? Is this a place where I still belong?”</p> <p>These
are fair questions, and they deserve thoughtful answers. But in many cases, what
may feel like an attack is actually a principled disagreement based on the
organization’s priorities—particularly those grounded in the needs
and rights of blind people.</p> <p>We must learn to differentiate between criticism
of a person or ideology and disagreement with a policy direction. If a proposed
budget slashes funding for rehabilitation training, we are duty-bound to speak
up. If Social Security is under administrative strain, making it harder for blind
people to get answers to our questions or appeal incorrect decisions, we must say
so. If key civil rights provisions of the Rehabilitation Act—protections
hard-won in the 1970s—are threatened, then silence is not an option.</p>
<p>None of this should be mistaken for personal condemnation of any politician or
supporter. Our role is to advocate. That means we have a responsibility to evaluate
proposed changes and their likely effects, regardless of where they come from. If
our advocacy seems pointed at times, it is because the stakes are high. The lives
of blind children in public schools, blind workers seeking job training, and blind
people navigating public systems hang in the balance.</p> <p>This does not mean
we throw respect and sensitivity out the window. On the contrary, we must be
especially mindful of how we speak and write. We should not demonize those who
disagree with us, nor should we reduce complex beliefs to slogans or caricatures.
Mutual respect strengthens our organization and enables deeper discussion. But
respect does not mean muting ourselves in the name of harmony.</p> <p>We cannot
allow fear of causing offense to paralyze our advocacy. If we believe a particular
program or law is essential to our well-being, we must say so. If we think a
proposed action—or inaction—will harm blind people, we must say
that, too. Silence born of excessive caution is not neutrality; it is complicity
in the erosion of hard-won rights and opportunities.</p> <p>Our movement was not
built on silence. It was built on a relentless push for recognition, fairness,
and opportunity. That work continues today, and it often requires us to speak
against the tide. We are seeing real and threatened cuts to library services that
provide accessible books and materials to blind readers. We have seen threatened
funding reductions in rehabilitation services on the grounds they lean toward
emphasizing diversity and equity over skill and competence. It is not partisan to
argue that these assumptions are not what our lives have shown us and that we
stand for programs and services which are critical for training blind adults to
live independently and enter the workforce. We have seen threats to the very civil
rights language in the Rehabilitation Act that once opened doors that had long
been locked.</p> <p>We cannot sit quietly while these gains are chipped away—not
for fear of offending a friend or fellow member, not because we happen to support
other policies advanced by the same people proposing the cuts. Supporting a party
or politician in a general sense does not require us to support every action they
take. And standing against a particular policy does not mean we reject everyone
who supports its authors. It means we are doing what we were formed to do: speak
up when blind people’s rights, opportunities, and access are at risk.</p>
<p>Advocacy requires courage. It also requires trust: trust that we can disagree
with one another in good faith, trust that we can examine policy proposals on
their merits, trust that our membership can tell the difference between a policy
critique and a personal attack, and trust that our common bond—the pursuit
of equality for blind people—will remain stronger than our differences.</p>
<p>We must continue to press for policies that support quality education, meaningful
rehabilitation, robust access to Social Security and other supports, and the
enforcement of civil rights. These are not partisan goals. They are the foundation
of a society in which blind people can thrive. Let us pursue them with all the
clarity and vigor they deserve—respectfully, thoughtfully, and without
apology.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Melissa Riccobono]</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Chris Danielsen]</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: President Riccobono]</p> <h2
id="always-partisan-for-blind-people-a-podcast-discussion-with-president-riccobono">Always
Partisan for Blind People: A Podcast Discussion with President Riccobono</h2>
<p><strong>From the Editor: The following is a lightly edited transcript of excerpts
from a recent episode of the <em>Nation’s Blind Podcast,</em> which is one
of two podcasts produced by the Federation at the national level. (The other is
<em>Access On</em>, which is hosted by Jonathan Mosen and is dedicated to access
technology and our work in that area.) Melissa Riccobono and Anil Lewis are the
usual co-hosts, but Anil was unavailable to record this episode, so I stepped in
for him. I am including this content here, however, not because I participated in
its creation but because President Riccobono did. He provided critical insights
into recent actions that we have taken that some have perceived as politically
partisan. I felt that these insights were important to share with <em>Monitor</em>
readers and that the content paired well with Gary Wunder’s piece also
appearing in this issue. I do urge those who can, to listen to the entire podcast.
The full transcript is also available on the podcast’s page on our website.
If you’ve never listened to the show before and like the episode, please
do subscribe to this podcast and to <em>Access On</em> as well. You can find them
both on the National Federation of the Blind website or by using the search function
of your podcast client of choice. Here is the excerpted conversation:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> Hello and welcome to the Nation’s
Blind Podcast. I’m Melissa Riccobono, and I am joined today by a gentleman
that we haven’t heard from in a little while, but he is not a stranger to
the podcast. Here is Chris Danielsen. How are you, Chris?</p> <p><strong>Chris
Danielsen:</strong> I’m doing great. It’s great to be back on the
podcast. I’ve shifted roles and I’m primarily working on the
<em>Braille Monitor</em> now, of course, but it’s fun to have a chance to
come back on the podcast, so it’s great to be here and great to talk with
you, Melissa. How are you?</p> <p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> I’m
doing well. I’m actually traveling in Wisconsin, so I have been enjoying
time with my family and I got a chance this morning to be with my great niece for
a little while, so that was very fun. She just turned a year old, so family time
is wonderful, but we’re not here to talk about family time, although
incidentally we do have a family member of mine on the podcast, so that actually
worked out really well. Not only are we joined by Chris Danielsen, but we are also
joined by the President of the National Federation of the Blind, Mark Riccobono.
I am going to just let him have the floor so that he can begin the discussion and
sort of frame what we’d like to share with you today.</p> <p><strong>President
Riccobono:</strong> Well, I appreciate that. In a time like this where there is,
I would say, a lot of political discourse happening, we have a challenge as the
National Federation of the Blind because we are America’s civil rights
membership organization of blind people, and people expect us to speak out on
issues related to programs and services that impact blind people. Our membership
is a very diverse cross section of blind people who come from all perspectives on
almost any issue you can think of, and it’s difficult in any environment
to advocate for something because generally someone else wants to make it about
something that it’s not. So a lot of times when we speak out as the blind
of America on an issue, there’s someone else who wants to make it about
something else. And for us it’s always about blind people. I like to say
we’re always partisan for blind people. We’re not particularly
interested in whether an issue is a conservative issue or liberal issue. For us,
it’s does the policy being considered, does the issue being considered have
a direct impact on blind people? And if so, what should it be? So that’s
the framing for why we’re here today to talk about that because especially
in today’s general political environment, I would say a lot of people tend
to make any kind of public statement a political statement, either for or against
somebody, and we wanted the opportunity to talk about the work that we do as a
diverse organization and how it is always driven by and intended to benefit blind
people.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong> Yeah, I think that’s a
really good framing. And it is difficult, right? Because people want to read into
any action that any organization takes, it seems like they want to read into it,
“Oh, well, you’re here or there on the political spectrum,”
and it’s not really about that for us. Now, obviously it may seem like that
because we may be responding to a particular thing that a particular political
entity has done or failed to do, but the reality is we’re just concerned
about the policy implications for blind people. So, let’s just dive right
into it and let’s just talk, for example, about how we have responded and
why we have responded to the, I guess what I’ll call it is the debate about
the future of the United States Department of Education.</p> <p><strong>President
Riccobono:</strong> Yeah, that’s a great place to start, Chris. And what
I would say is, just to put a fine point on what you said, it’s not as
simple as saying we’re not a partisan organization; we don’t get
into party politics in America. It has to be a conscious choice on our part, and
it has to mean that as elected leaders in the organized blind movement, we have
to listen to what the members of the Federation are saying, talking about, dealing
with, and then also make very conscious decisions about not just the policy, but
the actions to be taken. And we can talk a lot about historical examples of that.
So I don’t want to make it sound like it’s easy to not get dragged
into some things. As everyday Americans who happen to be blind, we have opinions
about many things. But as elected leaders of the organized blind movement, we have
a very specific responsibility to the organization and to its members to make sure
that our actions are always partisan for blind people and don’t get dragged
into what sometimes becomes political argument for the sake of that. So elimination
of the Department of Education is an interesting one because the fact of the matter
is there are a lot of important programs that impact blind people that are currently
housed at the Department of Education. So for historical context, of course, there
was a time when very important programs for blind people were not housed at the
Department of Education because it didn’t exist. And our concern is those
programs, and in fact, we came to our Washington Seminar in February—our
annual time of bringing our members together to do advocacy work in DC—and
we already knew that elimination of the Department of Education was going to be
a topic in Washington, DC. And so we at a leadership level talked about, well,
what is the Federation’s position on the Department of Education? Well,
organizationally, we don’t have a policy. We don’t really care how
government decides to organize itself. At least so far, the convention’s
never taken an opinion on that. But we do care about the programs. And so we
identified the key programs within the Department of Education and have said to
Congress and to the administration that those programs need to be protected. And
furthermore, we’d like to have a voice, a say in what the plan is, where
those programs land, what they look like, how they could be better, because we
always want to have the blind at the table in having a say like that. So I know
that one of the areas that we have been vocal about is that one of the first steps
was to dramatically reduce the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
We don’t have a particular opinion about how many offices there should be
and how many people there should be employed. But we do know that with respect to
violations of federal law as it relates to blind people that are enforced by the
Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education, that enforcement is already
dramatically slowed, dramatically underfunded, and to eliminate those offices will
further erode our ability to help blind students in higher education settings to
get their concerns heard when their universities implement an inaccessible learning
management system. And so we’ve spoken out quite vigorously that we’re
very concerned about it. Now, maybe there’s a better plan out there, and
we will praise that plan if it gets implemented. But since we don’t have
any idea what the plan is or where it’s going, all we can say as blind
people is that we are very concerned about what happens to the enforcement of our
rights.</p> <p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> Absolutely. And very similar
for Social Security, right? Do you want to talk a little bit about the lawsuit
that was just filed?</p> <p><strong>President Riccobono:</strong> To begin, let
me remind us that one of the principal motivating factors for the development of
the National Federation of the Blind, bringing together blind people from various
states, was having a voice in the national Social Security program, which was of
course developed in the 1930s. And we came together in 1940, and Social
Security—making sure that blind people and our interests were represented
and that those programs really created opportunity for us—was a very
important part of our organizing. So we’ve been giving opinions on what
Social Security and the agency should do since 1940. We also know that a lot of
blind people have difficulty with the Social Security rules. The Social Security
Administration often gets the rules wrong. There are very specific rules related
to blind people, for example, receiving Social Security Disability Income, and a
lot of times the wrong rules are provided. So the customer service element is
really important. Also, we’ve worked closely on making sure to eliminate
barriers in Social Security, whether it is making sure blind people can get
accessible documents, whether it’s your statement of your benefits or that
sort of thing. And then more recently we’ve worked to eliminate barriers,
especially during the pandemic where the only option for applying for benefits
was actually giving a physical—what they call a wet ink—signature,
and then taking your document and dropping it in the mail. And during the pandemic,
that was a disparity for blind people and other people with disabilities. We worked
to get really good changes at Social Security for verification of identity and
electronic signatures. And all of these things lead up to now, where the current
effort is to reduce the customer service function at the Social Security
Administration. And we already know this is going to have an impact on blind people
because blind people were having trouble before the reductions in staff. And we
know that the closure of offices is a problem for blind people because we face
transportation difficulties and disparities already. And so we looked hard at what
to do about that, and we decided to join in this case with other organizations
who have an interest in this issue, other disability organizations and also
organizations that deal primarily with senior citizens, because these really are
the populations of people who are going to be harmed by these reductions. And so
we joined together and we thought carefully about the right approach, but the
changes were so dramatic and so fast, and we were already hearing from blind people
who, I mean, we have people who have been waiting for a year or more to hear about
their application for Social Security Disability Income. So these are blind people
who have been in the workforce, they’ve paid into the workforce, they’re
now in a situation for whatever reason, they’re clearly eligible for Social
Security Disability Income, and they’ve been waiting a year. And that is
the exact kind of barrier that we’re concerned about. In this case, we felt
it was necessary to bring a case because swift action is needed. We don’t
have time for the standard advocacy work. In fact, we don’t even have a
disability point of contact at the White House at the moment, which we’ve
had in almost every administration going back many decades now. So we felt that
a lawsuit was needed, and fortunately, we’re already seeing—and
it’s not just because of our work, there’s a lot of activity around
Social Security around the country, but I think our lawsuit helps—we’re
seeing now the Social Security Administration saying they’re walking back
some of those cuts, and we’re going to hold their feet to the fire and make
sure that really happens.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong> Yeah, I think
that’s really important. And again, it’s because of the impact that
Social Security has on blind people, and Social Security has always been frustrating,
at least in my experience. But we don’t need it to become even more
frustrating and even less responsive. And another issue where we’ve weighed
in—and we talked about it at Washington Seminar and we are engaging about
it—is library services. And again, to me, that issue is not about the
structure of the government, because we talked at Washington Seminar about the
Institute for Museum and Library Services [IMLS], but that as an agency as such
hasn’t always existed—it was created in 1996—but there is
federal involvement in the provision of library services to blind people and to
others as a matter of fact. And we’re seeing, in the wake of the effort to
close the Institute for Museum and Library Services, we’re seeing reports
of libraries that are having to cut back staff and are having to shut down particular
programs. And they’re not all libraries for the blind, but some of them
are. So again, this is an issue where we needed to weigh in because whatever the
structure is behind it, we have to have the library services. And I believe in
that case, what we did was we reached out to the appropriators and basically said,
how are you planning to make sure that the funds are appropriated so that library
services continue?</p> <p><strong>President Riccobono:</strong> So one of the
things, and I think this came up in some of the Facebook comments with listeners,
and I think we’re going to get to some of those, is a concern that, well,
maybe the Federation’s not telling the whole story. So let’s make
sure that everybody who’s listening really understands that the National
Library Service for the Blind—which is actually part of the Library of
Congress, so it’s under the jurisdiction of Congress—is the library
entity that helps to produce Braille and audio books in an accessible format.
It’s not a library, in that it doesn’t lend books to anybody. The
National Library Service provides those materials at no charge to state libraries,
or they’re often called regional libraries. And so in Maryland, we have
the Maryland Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. Those entities exist
in states to the extent that the state has, through its government processes,
developed a library for the blind. There are states, take Wyoming for example,
which does not have a library for the blind and has contracted out its library
services to the Utah Library for the Blind. So Utah, thankfully, provides library
services to blind people in Wyoming. In many of these states, blind people have
advocated for state funding for the library, which is wonderful. In a lot of
states, there’s a lot of competing interests for library services. And so
in some places, Minnesota I believe is one, a hundred percent of the funding for
the Minnesota Library for the Blind comes from the federal dollars that flow from
IMLS. And so in some states, the impact might only be partial, maybe not at all,
because the state’s really fully funding the library for the blind. But in
a state like Minnesota, it’s a hundred percent. And the issue becomes,
it’s not like a blind person has the option to just go down to the local
library and get their Braille books and get accessible formats, because most public
libraries don’t offer that. We’d love it if every library did. So
we’re in a difficult position.</p> <p>We may or may not have an opinion
about IMLS, how it operates, but those dollars and the elimination of those dollars
without a plan are going to have real impact on blind people’s ability to
get information, books, resources. Think about if you’re a blind student
in one of these states and you need books from the library for the blind for your
schooling, an immediate shutdown is going to have really dramatic impacts. So
you’re right, Chris, in that case, we wrote directly to the appropriations
committees. Of course, they’re responsible for that anyway. The Federation,
we don’t care in one sense, if those dollars go directly to the states as
some sort of block grant program or whether they flow through an agency. But right
now, those states and those libraries are left not knowing what’s going to
happen. And that means blind people don’t know where they’re going
to get their books.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong> Exactly. And it’s
important to remember that really is the case, because some listeners might be
thinking, “Well, yeah, but the NLS has BARD and you can download the Braille
and audiobooks,” and that is true. And in that case, you are getting them
directly from NLS. But the fact is that depending on the technology that you have
available to you and the ability that you have with it, or just the other factors,
BARD may not be a resource. And not everything is on BARD. I mean, some
libraries—some state agencies that deal with blindness and sometimes they
are libraries—are also doing things like helping to provide school materials,
as you said, that aren’t necessarily going to be up on the BARD site, as
I understand it. So there’s lots of pieces to this, and because we’re
an organization that advances the lives of all blind people, we can’t have
blind people left behind. So we can’t just say, “Well, the NLS is
chugging along and it’s run by the Library of Congress and BARD is still
up, so we’re not going to worry about it.” We’re not in a
position where we can say that.</p> <p><strong>President Riccobono:</strong> But
as an organization, of course, we should think about, well, what kind of access
do we want blind people to have, and what do we want to advocate for? Is the system
we have through NLS the best one we could have? Do we want something different?
And what are the trade-offs for that? And I think the beauty of the National
Library Service System—and of course as blind people, as the organized
blind movement—we have significantly shaped it over the last fifty-plus
years, including the fact that when there are hearings about appropriations for
the National Library Service, we testify. And sometimes we bring many people to
those hearings, and often the committee staff say, “Oh, we never see citizens
come in interested in this particular appropriation.” But the point being,
we don’t have to settle for what we have today. We should always be thinking
about is there a better system that benefits blind people? And for that matter,
we’re for saving America money too. We don’t want to be a burden,
but we also believe that we contribute to America in a better way when we have
equal access. And knowing that we don’t have equal access, something like
the National Library Service is an amazing way to bring that to scale, and
it’s actually more efficient for the country overall. So really just wanted
to make the point, we can always change our mind about what the system should be,
and that’s what we should do as an organization.</p> <p><strong>Melissa
Riccobono:</strong> That’s a really good point. I was just going to say
really quickly that BARD, you don’t usually get your BARD account unless
your state library can verify that you are a member, and they often have to be
the ones to reset your password if you forget it, and all sorts of things. So even
if NLS is chugging along, people that want a new account or people that need help
with their account might have a lot of problems even with BARD chugging along. So
that’s definitely a problem. And I guess the other thing is you were talking
about people thinking that maybe we’re not telling the whole story. I just
want to point out that NFB-NEWSLINE® is a way to get lots of different sources
for news, different perspectives, different editorials. We have access to over
500 publications on NFB NEWSLINE. So that’s a really, really great resource
at any time to read local, national, international news and then figure out the
whole story, as much as you can piece it together, and do that research and not
just rely on one source or social media to get news stories. So I think that’s
really important.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong> It is really important.
And I think another thing that is important, and this goes back to President
Riccobono’s point, is that we do listen to our members. And so as we inform
ourselves, all of us, about what is going on, we do and should exchange ideas
about, well, is this the best system, and what do we want ultimately in this
environment of change? It can seem like there are not, but maybe there are
opportunities to increase efficiency and to make sure that services are delivered
in a better way to us. But we’re the ones who need to be engaged and talking
about that because as we always say, we are the nation’s blind. We are the
people that have the lived experience and the expertise to design these things.
So really being engaged is not optional. And we can express concern that things
are not being done or that we don’t know how they’re being done and
what the plan for them is. But we can also say, here’s an opportunity to
build an even better system and a system that uses our nation’s resources
wisely, but also benefits blind people and gets more of us into the mainstream of
society.</p> <p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> It reminds me a lot of the
Help America Vote Act that happened because the 2000 election had difficulties,
and we knew that election reform and ballot reform were going to be on the table.
And so we as the nation’s blind jumped in and said, when you’re
talking about this, don’t forget about the blind. We need a secret ballot
just like everybody else. We deserve that right as citizens. And so I think that
just over and over, this has really been what has helped us to make things better
for blind people over all the years that we’ve been here, really taking
advantages of those opportunities.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong>
You’re right about that, of course, Melissa, but we don’t even have
to just look to the past because we know right now that there is going to be a
discussion of taxes and tax reform on the table. And so we are trying, once again,
to get the Accessible Technology Affordability Act folded into that discussion
and say, hey, while we’re talking about how the tax system can work better
for everyone, let’s talk about making it easier for blind people to afford
our own technology so that we have more opportunity. So we’re always looking
for those synergies, and we’re hoping to see that legislation folded into
a tax package because we know that’s on the table.</p> <p><strong>President
Riccobono:</strong> So I want to bring us back to this idea of our organization
being steered by blind people. And I think what happens in today’s environment
is some people, they dip into Facebook and they figure if they comment on a post
that the Federation has put there, that they’re giving their feedback. And
of course, that’s not really engaging with the organized blind movement.
And this is why a lot of things that we do as an organization come up through our
local chapters and our affiliate conventions or happen through discussions at our
national convention. And a lot of these ideas are shaped over time. So I know
there was a comment about our statement of concern about the Office of Civil Rights
at the Department of Education, which said, “Well, what’s wrong with
education being managed by the states?” Our statement doesn’t say
anything about that. In fact, organizationally we don’t have an opinion.
If it’s going to be managed by the states, we’re still going to
require the same level of oversight and protection for blind students in those
schools.</p> <p>In the same way, we’re also very critical of the Department
of Education and have been for a long time on certain issues. The Department of
Education has responsibility for overseeing the Randolph-Sheppard Act, which
protects and creates business opportunities for blind people. Our organization,
our Association of Blind Merchants as part of the National Federation of the Blind,
has been exceedingly frustrated with the Department of Education for, I don’t
know, maybe decades now, and I would say rather weak enforcement of certain aspects
of the protections that we believe exist in the Randolph-Sheppard Act. And
there’s some great staff at the Department of Ed, but the department
structure as a whole has not viewed the Randolph-Sheppard priority as one of its
primary concerns, even though there’s great competent staff at Department
of Ed working on that program. So maybe it’d be better at Department of
Labor, maybe it’d be better in another agency where it’s not a
sideshow, but they really view it as an opportunity to create business opportunities
for blind people to contribute their time, talent, and taxes to the efforts of
America. …</p> <p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> … Well, I
think this has been an incredible podcast, lots of wonderful information shared.
And I guess before we go, President Riccobono or Chris, do either of you have
anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?</p> <p><strong>President
Riccobono:</strong> What I would say is that we live in a time where our country
is pretty much equally divided. And because that’s the environment,
it’s very difficult for the Federation not to get sucked into the current
political discourse of the time. We should remember, history will show that
we’ve always been partisan for blind people. We’ve criticized almost
every administration, I can’t think of one actually that we haven’t.
We’ve taken action and pushback against political leaders, commentary,
folks that make commentary, social media stars, all of the above from all walks
of life for using blind people as their tropes, as they’re examples of what
not to do. And we criticize all of those, whether you’re from one party or
the next, because it’s not helpful to blind people. And at the end of the
day, we shouldn’t get lost in the day-to-day political arguments. We should
stay focused on what are the policy implications for blind people and how do we
shape them?</p> <p>That feels increasingly difficult. But what gives me a lot of
hope is that we have an organization where we have real everyday blind people
living in local communities who all come together and we find a way, despite all
the noise, we find a way to sit down and have the conversation about what’s
good for blind people and trying to bring the focus to what can we do to advance
blind people. I think that gives us an opportunity to get out of the standard echo
chambers we might be in as individuals. I think the Federation offers us a really
amazing environment to speak to people from backgrounds that we might not otherwise
come across. You go to our national convention and there are people with backgrounds
that you may not have ever experienced but for the Federation, and I think if we
can lean into that, not get caught up in what’s happening in the day-to-day
news environment, and remember that we are all coming together to advance blind
people in society despite our own personal views, I think we’ll be able to
have some really amazing, sometimes difficult, conversations. But at the end of
the day, if we can still link arms and walk in the same direction, blind people
are going to be better off for it.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong> Well,
I got nothing after that [Chris and Melissa laugh]. I mean, I can’t really
think of a more inspiring, motivational way to end the podcast. That, and I feel
like the president should have the last word anyway, but I definitely think that
that’s where we need to be. That’s what we need to focus on. And so
there you go.</p> <p><strong>Melissa Riccobono:</strong> Absolutely. Well, thank
you all so much for listening to the Nation’s Blind Podcast. As always, if
you have things that you’d like to share with us, please be in touch via
social media or email or our phone number. We always love to hear from you. And
remember, you can live the life you want.</p> <p><strong>Chris Danielsen:</strong>
Blindness is not what holds you back.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Jeff Altman]</p> <h2 id="striking-the-technology-balance">Striking the Technology
Balance</h2> <p><strong>by Jeff Altman</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Jeff Altman has been teaching cane travel for thirty-six years. He graduated from
the Orientation and Mobility program at Louisiana Tech in 2001 and has long served
on the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB) and the NOMC
Trainers Committee. He has also served as vice president of the National Federation
of the Blind of Nebraska. In this article, Jeff applies his experience and intellect
to the question of how we as blind people might incorporate new technology into
our daily lives while still valuing our fundamental blindness skills. Although
much of what he has to say is directed to blindness skills instructors, it has
application to all of us. Readers who enjoy this article might also want to listen
to the Nation’s Blind Podcast episode on this topic, which was published
in May to coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Here is Jeff’s
article:</strong></p> <p>During the past thirty-five years, the rate of technological
change has been astounding. When I began working in the blindness rehabilitation
field, desktop computers were still very much in their infancy, cell phones were
rare and very expensive, and the idea of a “smart phone” was pure
science fiction. I point this out not because I’m just one of those
“boomers,” but to make clear that before the digital revolution,
blind people were independent, competent, and competitive members of their
communities. Before there was “keyboarding,” there was typing. Before
there was the electronic notetaker, there were the slate and stylus and the
Braillewriter. Before there was GPS, there were blind people getting around
independently by using the GPS between their ears. And that is my point: no matter
how advanced technology becomes, we still have to be skilled problem-solvers who
are fully engaged with our environment and prepared to adapt.</p> <p>As Curtis
Chong said: “As amazing and beneficial as technology can be in our lives,
it is worth pointing out that the blind, like everybody else, are being pushed by
societal forces that are often not in their control to work with digital technology
simply to survive. Needing to use an iPhone simply to unlock your apartment door
or to pay for operating your laundry-room washer and dryer are examples where
technology can, for some, create frustrations and challenges if not properly
introduced. Our centers are beginning to start their technology training with the
iPhone—not because it is better than the computer but because students
might need to use the iPhone simply to accomplish even the most basic of daily
living tasks.</p> <p>“As I have often said to people who would listen, the
iPhone and similar devices are computers in your pocket. And like computers, they
provide all of the benefits and the frustrations that pertain to using computer
technology. Recognizing when it is better to use a low-tech solution and having
the judgment to know when this is appropriate is a key ingredient of the training
our centers provide.”</p> <p>Without question, the digital revolution has
provided us with greater access than we have ever known before, even though we
have had to fight hard to make certain that we were included. These technologies
have made our daily lives easier and our working lives more efficient. And now,
with the growing role of artificial intelligence, the possibilities seem nearly
overwhelming. Yet these digital marvels are not perfect and simply do not hold
all the answers.</p> <p>As individuals, each of us must develop a range of skills,
beginning with the low-tech alternatives, along with developing the skills demanded
of the evolving high-tech environment to the best of our ability. As instructors
assisting blind students to develop these skills, we must not only keep up but
must also devise appropriate approaches to instruction to ensure that our students
are truly comprehending the proper role of digital technologies in their lives.</p>
<p>How we go about developing our own skills or those of our students must be
based upon individual experiences, abilities, and needs; it cannot be a “one
size fits all” approach. Nonetheless, there can be many benefits and
shortcomings to these evolving technologies, and we as instructors have to be
prepared to deliver the proper learning experience when the teaching moments that
these shortcomings create arise. Perhaps some examples will help to clarify this
point.</p> <p>A travel student some years ago was on a drop route. Students were
told not to use the GPS on their smart phones, but this particular student did
not follow this rule and experienced just how inaccurate GPS can be. She had a
pretty good idea where she was, but she decided that she needed to use the GPS on
her phone to help her locate the bus shelter she wanted to find as a landmark.
She was observed several times, and for more than half an hour she walked back
and forth checking her phone and looking for the bus shelter. She was unaware that
she had several times come within twenty feet of the shelter, only to turn around
and walk in the opposite direction. Finally, it was necessary to become involved.
She was asked what was happening and why she was using her GPS. She said that she
was using the GPS because she had become frustrated, but even though she now knew
she was on F Street, she couldn’t seem to find the bus shelter. She said
that the GPS kept telling her she needed to go west, but then it would tell her
she had gone too far, and she would then turn around. Based on the GPS, she just
couldn’t find the shelter. She was asked, “Since the GPS doesn’t
seem to be helping, what else could you try?” She thought about it for a
while, and then said, “I guess I could try walking further west.”
In a few minutes she discovered the bus shelter and was able to return to the
training center from there. Later, we debriefed, and she was better able to
understand the reasons for not using the GPS during travel classes and some of
the technology’s flaws.</p> <p>Another student was preparing his graduation
meal and decided to use the Seeing AI app to determine when his chocolate chip
cookies were done. Well, they were edible, but a bit crispy. He was frustrated
enough by this experience that he attempted to make the cookies again the next
day, but this time using a non-visual non-tech alternative, and the cookies came
out just right.</p> <p>Each of these examples led to a teachable moment that helped
the student involved to gain a better understanding of the limitations of the
technology they had relied upon and the benefits of having a set of alternatives
that are not dependent on digital technology. This also points to the need for
instructors to push themselves to understand these new technologies and to test
the abilities of Be My AI and similar applications. I tried out some of these apps
because I wanted to see just what they can do to assist with independent travel.
Be My AI provided a remarkable range of interesting but noncritical information,
including that there were cars parked in the parking lot, the sky was blue, and
there were shadows of tree branches on the ground. But it struggled to recognize
driveways, bus shelters, and intersections, all of which would be valuable pieces
of information in a real travel situation.</p> <p>Outside of the training environment,
there are similar situations that arise, and there is a need to consider how
students will handle real-world situations once they have completed their training
and new technologies have come into their lives. As an example, a friend was
presenting at a conference and had prepared the presentation on her notetaker
equipped with refreshable Braille. She did not have a hard copy, and of course,
midway into the speech, the problems began. First she lost her place, then the
notetaker started skipping lines. Finally, it quit altogether. She was able to
finish her presentation without her notes, but it was challenging. Naturally,
shortly after the end of her presentation, the notetaker started working again.
Presenting from hardcopy Braille may have its challenges as well, but it is not
likely to glitch.</p> <p>Clearly there is a need for us to provide our students
with a skill set that can transition from the training environment to the everyday
world and transfer from one situation or technology to another. Countless times
I have had a travel student sit in my office, tasked with planning a route to an
unfamiliar location, smart phone in hand, and express frustration that the needed
information doesn’t seem to be available using the internet. Yet, when
asked if there might be another way to obtain the necessary information, the idea
of making a simple phone call to the business in question to request directions
doesn’t enter the student’s mind.</p> <p>This points to the need
for a much deeper type of skill, and it is not something that we normally think
of as a skill. Students must develop a positive, deeply rooted philosophy of
blindness. This philosophy isn’t just about how we feel about being blind.
It isn’t just about internalizing the true meaning of blindness, and it
isn’t just about how we should interact with other people or stand up for
ourselves when confronting barriers, although it is certainly all of these things.
Our philosophy must be an internal set of principles and expectations that drives
us to explore the environment, gather information, draw on our resources,
problem-solve, and find solutions. It is through this philosophical paradigm that
our teaching philosophy has developed. As instructors, our most important job is
to model these core philosophical principles and to assist our students to develop
their own deeply rooted philosophy so that they become lifelong learners.</p>
<p>Our teaching philosophy is grounded in the well-founded belief that nonvisual
alternative techniques, when well developed and properly employed, allow blind
people to manage the environment on a level equal to their sighted counterparts.
We also recognize that proper skill development and gaining the knowledge of how
to effectively employ these skills takes time and requires students to be fully
immersed in a nonvisual learning environment. We have long held that proper
training—that which assists students to develop effective foundational
skills—cannot be blended with visually grounded techniques because of the
natural tendency to rely unnecessarily on one’s own diminishing eyesight
or the eyesight of others.</p> <p>Given this important foundation of the Structured
Discovery model of rehabilitation, we encourage our students to wait until after
their training is completed to acquire low-vision devices or to consider obtaining
a guide dog. We insist that such devices, or the use of a guide dog, not be
incorporated in the training. Low-vision devices are intended to enhance the
individual’s remaining eyesight, which can obviously be useful and desirable,
but it can also reinforce the belief that visually grounded techniques are always
superior to nonvisual ones, and we know that this is simply not correct. When
low-vision devices are introduced prior to nonvisual immersion training, there is
a relatively high probability that students will come to the conclusion that the
device will meet their needs and not be as open to the possibility of receiving
nonvisual training. As a result, the student may not explore the various other
alternatives, some of which might be more effective.</p> <p>The same rationale
applies to guide dogs. For some students, the use of a guide dog can prove to be
a very effective travel tool, but it too can reinforce the false notion that
visually-based techniques are always superior; after all, the blind person is
relying on the vision of another living being. Furthermore, guide dogs are trained
to perform many of the independent travel tasks that are a part of the foundational
skills students need to develop to reach a higher level of independence and
therefore can interfere with the student developing the information-gathering,
problem-solving, and orientation skills necessary for effective travel in more
demanding situations. Most good guide dog handlers have received good cane travel
instruction and have extensive cane travel experience. Indeed, most guide dog
schools require at least a basic level of cane travel skill before accepting an
applicant into their training programs.</p> <p>In the same way, the new high-tech
devices, especially those based on artificial intelligence, either enhance the
user’s existing vision or, like a guide dog or a human assistant, convert
visual information into either a tactile or verbal output. It is therefore tempting
to treat these emerging technologies as we would low-vision aids or the use of
guide dogs in the training setting. But we must also consider what is happening
in the world around us, which has gone digital. The majority of educational
settings, employment opportunities, and other aspects of daily life now require
high-tech skills. It is simply not a question of whether these technologies should
be introduced to rehabilitation students, but rather a question of when and how.</p>
<p>I believe that we can all agree that providing the basic instruction, introducing
an app or some other new technology, and then allowing the student to work with
this technology can be beneficial. That having been said, we arrive at the question
of when. One of the most important aspects of effective rehabilitation is
“informed choice,” based in the principle that when provided with
all the necessary information, consumers will make the best choice for themselves.
At the same time, it is recognized that without a complete understanding of the
possible alternatives, a consumer may be tempted to select the quickest solution
to the challenges of blindness, especially if those solutions are visually based
ones.</p> <p>Students tend to see familiar or easier-to-learn skills as superior,
especially when this view is reinforced by societal attitudes. As a result, if
nonvisual skills are not fully developed, students may prefer digital tools simply
because they are easier to use, without fully understanding their limitations. To
support informed decision-making, digital technologies should be introduced only
after students have gained sufficient proficiency in the equivalent non-digital
skills. For example, a student might first become skilled in using Braille before
being introduced to the use of a digital recorder for note-taking or develop
effective route-planning abilities before using navigation apps like Google Maps,
which often produce less efficient routes than those based on personal experience.
Another example is developing address location skills and knowledge of the local
address system before introducing a navigation app. Most certainly, it is important
to have students develop solid street-crossing skills before introducing an app
such as Oko that can tell the user that the walk sign is on, since there are many
other aspects to making a safe street crossing than knowing the status of the walk
signal.</p> <p>None of this is to say that these technologies are useless, not if
their capacities and purposes are properly understood. Considering them as a means
of enhancing existing skills or as a possible additional tool when conditions are
frustrating other nonvisual alternatives is a reasonable point of view. Presenting
these technologies within this frame of reference—as a potential enhancement
to existing skills and an additional tool in the toolbox—can prepare students
to make informed choices in the digital future.</p> <p>Determining when and how
to introduce these new digital aids will remain a matter of the instructor’s
professional judgment in working with a particular student. Such judgments should
be guided by the underlying philosophy of training centers, instructor preparation
programs, and the recommendations of the National Blindness Professional Certification
Board. Being open to these new technologies is important, but having a solid,
positive philosophy when evaluating their proper place in the training environment
will remain the most critical lens through which we can provide instruction.</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Patricia Grebloski]</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION:
Lisa Bryant]</p> <h2
id="a-tribute-to-patricia-grebloski-founding-member-of-the-keystone-chapter-philadelphia">A
Tribute to Patricia Grebloski: Founding Member of the Keystone Chapter,
Philadelphia</h2> <p><strong>by Lisa Bryant</strong></p> <p><strong>From the
Editor: Lisa Bryant currently serves as secretary of the Keystone Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. She is a freelance journalist
and also creator and cohost of <em>White Canes Connect</em>, the official podcast
of the affiliate. You can read more of her work at <a
href="https://bylisabryant.com/">bylisabryant.com</a>. Here is her loving tribute,
written on behalf of the affiliate, to a longtime leader who recently passed
away:</strong></p> <p>Our Federation has more than its share of heroes and sheroes
that paved the way and make our organization what it is today. Add Patricia (Pat)
Grebloski, founding member of the Keystone Chapter of Philadelphia, to the hall
of fame. Pat passed away at age eighty-two on February 18, 2025, but not before
leaving her mark in Federation history as well as loving memories and inspiration.</p>
<p>Originally from the small town of Girardville, Pennsylvania, Pat and her family
relocated to Philadelphia, where she attended Saint Lucy School for Children with
Visual Impairments. Pat went on to graduate from a mainstream high school and
later worked as a Dictaphone typist before completely losing her eyesight.</p>
<p>But for Pat, losing her sight only ignited the fighting spirit within. Her
sister Anne said Pat then fully devoted her life to fighting for equality for
blind people. Around 1990, she was one of a handful of founding members of the
Keystone Chapter. Pat held a few offices but served mainly as the chapter’s
treasurer for over twenty years.</p> <p>Jim Antonacci, past president of both the
Pennsylvania affiliate and the Keystone Chapter, who knew Pat for more than thirty
years, has tender memories of Pat, like how faithful she was to bring coffee and
donuts to every meeting, refusing to take a dime of reimbursement. But he also
recalls how she never hesitated to get on the front lines.</p> <p>With assistance
from the National Federation of the Blind, Pat and three other Federationists sued
the Free Library of Philadelphia for not providing accessible e-readers. In 2012,
they reached a settlement in which the library agreed to a short-term solution to
provide accessible readers. Further, the lawsuit completely altered its future
procurement of devices. The library committed to considering accessibility features
and compliance in its purchasing process.</p> <p>Antonacci also recalled Pat
protesting against negative stereotypes of the blind in entertainment, and for
guide dogs to be allowed on Amtrak. “Whatever the Federation needed, Pat
was there,” he said. “And she was a great Braille reader, loved the
<em>Monitor,</em> and was one of the most honest people I knew,” he added.</p>
<p>Lynn Heitz, president of the Pennsylvania affiliate, credits Pat for bringing
her into the Federation. “She would call me every month for about a year
to invite me to a chapter meeting. She never missed a month,” Heitz said.
In 1996, the affiliate granted Pat a lifetime membership, citing her decades of
dedication and service. “You could count on her to help with everything
from answering phones to outreach efforts and fundraising,” Heitz added.</p>
<p>In addition to supporting Federation efforts, Pat volunteered and helped
fundraise for her local Catholic Youth Organization. She also eagerly shared her
Braille skills at the chapter’s annual Louis Braille Day at her alma mater,
Saint Lucy.</p> <p>Her family recalls Pat’s ingenuity and being a terrific
problem solver. “We were avid pinochle players and so as not to be left
out, Pat Brailled not just one deck of cards but two. She brought those ‘cards
with the bumps’ to every family event,” said her sister Anne. Anne
added that Pat will be best remembered for “her courage and stick-to-itiveness.
Blindness was just another challenge that she would learn to live with.”</p>
<p>The Pennsylvania affiliate is grateful to Pat for her pioneering efforts and
unwavering service and has committed to honoring her legacy going forward.</p>
<p>----------</p> <h2 id="nfb-pledge">NFB Pledge</h2> <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>