[Brl-monitor] The Braille Monitor, March 2014
Brian Buhrow
buhrow at lothlorien.nfbcal.org
Wed Mar 12 00:02:13 PDT 2014
BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 57, No. 3 March 2014
Gary Wunder, Editor
Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive
(see reverse side) by
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Marc Maurer, President
telephone: (410) 659-9314
email address: nfb at nfb.org
website address: http://www.nfb.org
NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org
NFB-NEWSLINE® information: (866) 504-7300
Letters to the president, address changes,
subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature
should be sent to the national office.
Articles for the Monitor and letters to the editor may also
be sent to the national office or may be emailed to gwunder at nfb.org.
Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year.
Members are invited, and nonmembers are requested, to cover the
subscription cost. Donations should be made payable to National Federation
of the Blind and sent to:
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES.
ISSN 0006-8829
© 2014 by the National Federation of the Blind
Each issue is recorded on a thumb drive (also called a memory stick
or USB flash drive). You can read this audio edition using a computer or a
National Library Service digital player. The NLS machine has two slots--the
familiar book-cartridge slot just above the retractable carrying handle and
a second slot located on the right side near the headphone jack. This
smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective rubber pad
covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in one
position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again.
(Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive,
the digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is
inserted, the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital
materials. If you remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges,
when you insert it again, reading should resume at the point you stopped.
You can transfer the recording of each issue from the thumb drive to
your computer or preserve it on the thumb drive. However, because thumb
drives can be used hundreds of times, we would appreciate their return in
order to stretch our funding. Please use the return label enclosed with the
drive when you return the device.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Palm-lined drive leading to front entrance to Rosen Centre
Hotel]
Orlando Site of 2014 NFB Convention
The 2014 convention of the National Federation of the Blind will take
place in Orlando, Florida, July 1-6, at the Rosen Centre Hotel at 9840
International Drive, Orlando, Florida 32819. Make your room reservation as
soon as possible with the Rosen Centre staff only. Call (800) 204-7234.
The 2014 room rates are singles, doubles, and twins, $82; and triples
and quads, $88. In addition to the room rates there will be a tax, which at
present is 13.5 percent. No charge will be made for children under
seventeen in the room with parents as long as no extra bed is requested.
The hotel is accepting reservations now. A $95-per-room deposit is required
to make a reservation. Fifty percent of the deposit will be refunded if
notice is given to the hotel of a reservation cancellation before May 28,
2014. The other 50 percent is not refundable.
Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reservations may be made before June 1, 2014, assuming that rooms are still
available. After that time the hotel will not hold our room block for the
convention. In other words, you should get your reservation in soon.
Guest-room amenities include cable television; in-room safe;
coffeemaker; hairdryer; and, for a fee, high-speed Internet access. Guests
can also enjoy a swimming pool, fitness center, and on-site spa. The Rosen
Centre Hotel offers fine dining at Executive Chef Michael Rumplik's award-
winning Everglades Restaurant. In addition, there is an array of dining
options from sushi to tapas to a 24-hour deli. The hotel has first-rate
amenities and shuttle service to the Orlando airport.
The schedule for the 2014 convention is:
Tuesday, July 1 Seminar Day
Wednesday, July 2 Registration Day
Thursday, July 3 Board Meeting and Division Day
Friday, July 4 Opening Session
Saturday, July 5 Business Session
Sunday, July 6 Banquet Day and Adjournment
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
2014 National Convention Preregistration Form
Please register online at <www.nfb.org/registration> or use this mail-in
form. Print legibly, provide all requested information, and mail form and
payment to:
National Federation of the Blind
Attn: Convention Registration
200 East Wells Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
Please register only one person per registration form; however, one check
or money order may cover multiple registrations. Check or money order
(sorry, no credit cards) must be enclosed with registration(s).
Registrant Name ______________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________
City ______________________ State _____________ Zip ___________
Phone ____________ Email ____________________________________
___ I will pick up my registration packet at convention.
or
___ The following person will pick up my registration packet:
Pickup Name ______________________________________
Number of preregistrations x $25 = ____________
Number of pre-purchased banquet tickets x $55 = ____________
Total = ____________
PLEASE NOTE:
1. Preconvention registration and banquet sales are final (no refunds).
2. All preregistration mail-in forms must be postmarked by May 31.
Vol. 57, No. 3 March 2014
Contents
Illustration: Yesterday and Today
The 2014 Washington Seminar in Review
by Gary Wunder
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans: Priorities for the 113th Congress,
Second Session
The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 (HR 831)
Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher Education
Act (TEACH Act) HR 3505
Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act
The State of Our Union Grows Stronger
College Bound
by Meg Dowell
Blind in Wild Nature
by Geerat J. Vermeij
Standing on Their Shoulders
by Peggy Chong
As Seen on TV
by Grace Warn
Imagine a Future Full of Opportunities for the Blind
by Anil Lewis
Perspectives from a Student Musician
by Julie McGinnity
The Life of a Convention Chairman or Disneyland Visited
by Kenneth Jernigan
Bid for Equality
by Kevan Worley
The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund
by Allen Harris
Another Gifted Writer
Recipes
Monitor Miniatures
[PHOTO CAPTION: Tom Stevens and Marc Maurer at 1987 Washington Seminar]
[PHOTO CAPTION: President Marc Maurer brings the gavel down, opening the
2014 Washington Seminar.]
Yesterday and Today
President Maurer was elected in July of 1986, meaning that he first
presided over the Washington Seminar in 1987. Since he does not intend to
stand for reelection in 2014, the just concluded Washington Seminar is the
last one at which he will likely preside.
In 1987 the issues we took to Congress were "The Three Freedoms-
Freedom to Travel, Freedom to Work, and Freedom to Learn." Though the
legislation we were supporting in 1987 urged different actions from the
Congress than the proposals in 2014, the consistency of our message both
then and now is intriguing. Twenty-seven years ago we asked Congress to
make the airlines stop their discrimination against the blind, improve the
chances for the advancement of blind workers in the sheltered workshop
system, and give blind people a better shot at education through expanded
choice. The philosophical underpinnings and guiding principles are evident
in both legislative agendas, and so too is the steady, firm, and consistent
leadership which has characterized the tenure of Marc Maurer's presidency.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Members of the NFB of Arizona pose with Congressman Salmon
in his office.]
The 2014 Washington Seminar in Review
by Gary Wunder
The holidays are over, January finds everyone learning to write the
new year, and soon NFB listservs begin to buzz about what the issues will
be for the 2014 Washington Seminar. The pattern is familiar, and the
arrival of more than five hundred people is now a tradition. Many
Washington Seminar veterans are expected; no one is surprised to see Ron
Brown, a legislative activist in his state, the president of the National
Federation of the Blind of Indiana, and the second vice president of the
National Federation of the Blind. He, like Diane McGeorge, President
Maurer, and John Paré, are fixtures at this event, but for some it is new
and represents a challenge the likes of which they have never faced before.
Rosina Foster is a parent and a farm wife, who never envisioned
herself going to Washington and becoming an advocate. But, like the crops
on her farm, for her the secret is to blossom where one is planted. With
two blind children who have the drive and ability to succeed, Rosina knows
that, beyond motivation and intelligence, they will need opportunity, and
doing what she can to ensure they have it is what has brought her to the
nation's capital.
Mike Abel never expected to find himself in Washington DC in the midst
of the nation's second polar vortex. A year ago he was a passive,
overweight blind man, whose days consisted of little more than watching
television. When power to his home was interrupted, he realized that there
must be more to life than the daytime TV schedule that occupied his time
and that he wanted to change the course of his destiny. Accordingly, he
grabbed his cane, went out on the street, and did what he could to get back
in the game. Now he travels to Congress, a man on a mission-a big man, a
proud man, but a man who has shed 170 pounds, has spent the past twelve
months learning new skills by tapping into the support of his Federation
family, and now comes to speak to the Congress about what life for blind
people can be if we believe and are given a fighting chance.
On Saturday, January 25, legislative directors from throughout the
country began arriving at the Jernigan Institute for two days of
instruction. They reviewed our legislative accomplishments, learned about
the history of the Washington Seminar, learned how to track legislation
using publicly available tools, and learned to use social media both to
contact the Congress and to tell their friends and families about the
issues that are important to the blind. Seminarians participated in an in-
depth discussion of the three issues we would take to Congress, got
experience through role-playing, learned how to come up with arguments to
unexpected questions in debates, and discussed strategies that had been
successful or unproductive in their state legislatures. The most important
things they learned, however, were not the tools and techniques of
advocacy. The big takeaway was realizing that their participation makes a
difference and coming to understand the imperative to share this message
with our members who would join them in DC and the members who would be
working with us from home.
While the legislative directors were learning how to be more
effective, fellow Federationists at the Capitol Holiday Inn in DC were busy
hosting a parents' seminar, a students' seminar, a job fair, and yet
another legislative training for those who would soon be traveling to
Capitol Hill. Even as all of this was happening, a meeting of the national
board of directors was being conducted.
At five o'clock the Columbia and Discovery Rooms were filled with
Federationists ready for the Great Gathering In meeting. When the gavel
fell, both rooms erupted in cheers and the meeting was underway. President
Maurer began by saying: "About twenty-eight years ago at the Washington
Seminar, we got a law adopted by the United States Congress which said that
there shall be no discrimination in air travel. Now, twenty-eight years
later, the Department of Transportation has seen fit to write up some
regulations. The writers of these regulations say they agree with the law-
which is a good thing because they don't have any choice about it-they say
there should be no discrimination in air travel, and in the regulations
they say that the airlines have to make their kiosks-well, not all of their
kiosks, only 25 percent of them-accessible to blind travelers in ten years.
Ten years! So we are back once again to ask the Congress to declare that
what it said twenty-eight years ago it still means today. We come to these
seminars, you and I, and we bring our minds, our experience, our energy,
and our hearts, to tell the Congress what our lives are like and that we
know what we need in order to make them the beautiful lives we want them to
be. This message is the one we will deliver articulately and
enthusiastically to every member of the House and the Senate before we go
home."
He went on to say that, in addition to teaching the Congress about who
blind people are and what we need, we must also reach the general public.
Since many people now use smartphones to retrieve much of their
information, the National Federation of the Blind is going to develop an
app for iOS and Android. What it will do and how it will work is up to our
members to suggest. What do we want it to do for the public, and what do we
want it to give those of us who are blind? Suggestions should be sent to
Corbb O'Connor by writing to him at <mobileapp at nfb.org>.
The monthly presidential release is now available as a podcast and can
be retrieved by subscribing from iTunes by searching for "presidential
release." This will mean that subscribers will automatically have this
important message downloaded as soon as it becomes available and will not
need to check the web or wait for email reminders. The presidential release
is also available using the telephone by dialing (443) 341-4234. This
should be especially useful for making President Maurer's remarks a part of
our member-at-large chapter calls, and the system has been created and is
being tested by Tony Olivero.
For some time now the National Federation of the Blind has been giving
away a free white cane to blind people who ask for one. At the direction of
the national board of directors, we are expanding this program and are
giving away an aluminum, twenty-eight cell, four-line slate and stylus. To
take advantage of this opportunity, write to the National Federation of the
Blind, 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230. In your letter of
request please include your name, address, telephone number, and the fact
that you would like one of these slates.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Mehgan Sidhu]
President Maurer announced that we have filed a lawsuit against the
Department of Transportation because regulations to implement the law
saying there shall be no discrimination against the blind in air travel
should not allow air carriers to take up to ten years to make 25 percent of
their kiosks accessible. President Maurer next introduced Mehgan Sidhu, who
is general counsel for the National Federation of the Blind. She is
coordinating legal activity for this suit and several others we have filed
this year. To help bring about equality in educational testing, we are
suing PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and
Careers. This service has contracted with the United States Department of
Education to offer tests for K-12 students in eighteen states but has no
intention of making these tests available in a format the blind can take.
Rather than developing and implementing accommodations during their field
testing, they plan to exclude the blind from these and to worry about
accommodations only when these tests are being used in the states. We know
what happens when we are told we must patiently wait and that in good time
our needs will be addressed. We believe the failure to address
accessibility is a violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and are asking for a
preliminary injunction to stop field testing until provisions are made for
blind test takers.
We have several online surveys to gather information from blind people
who are having problems with educational accommodations or with taking pre-
employment tests. Participation in these surveys will give us invaluable
information as we work to remove the barriers that stand between blind
people seeking an education and employment. Valerie Yingling, who works as
part of the Federation's legal team, has written a piece requesting
participation in our surveys that appears elsewhere in this issue.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Nicky Gacos]
To recognize the commitment of the National Federation of the Blind to
increase business opportunities and the commitment of the National
Association of Blind Merchants to the full integration of the blind that is
supported by every program we undertake, Nicky Gacos presented President
Maurer with a check for $25,000 and promised two more to come. The
assembled expressed their appreciation for the financial support of this
division and the bond it represents.
Warmly greeted when he was introduced by President Maurer was
Congressman Gregg Harper of Mississippi, the sponsor of the Fair Wages for
Workers with Disabilities Act, HR 831. In his greeting Congressman Harper
built on the grammar of the South lesson he gave us last July. In addition
to reviewing the singular, plural, and plural possessive of the word
"y'all," the Congressman taught us how to pronounce "Mississippi"
correctly, which any self-respecting Southerner will pronounce Miss Sippy.
After this comedic introduction Congressman Harper said: "I can't think of
a group that inspires me more than you do, and I just want to say thank you
for what you mean to me and to my family. Those of you who were there in
Orlando know that I talked about my son, Livingston, who has Fragile X
syndrome. See, what you do to stand up, not only helps you, but it helps
everybody who has a struggle out there, whether they've got Fragile X,
Down's syndrome, autism, or mobility issues. We all have things we have to
work through-struggles of various kinds-but, here's the deal: we're all in
this together, okay! I want to say to you that the work we have been able
to do on HR 831, the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act, will
finally put an end to Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"So what do we know? We know that meaningful work deserves fair pay,
and we know we're not going to settle for less than that. Now I've had my
share of indirect threats, with people saying to me, `Well, you know that
you're going to wind up putting people out of work-they're not going to be
able to keep their jobs.' Now you can't tell me that somebody like Goodwill
that's making the money they're making and only has eight thousand people
who are paid under the wage certificate-you can't tell me that they can't
make it right!... There are some great people at Goodwill-you and I know
that-but we want to help the folks at Goodwill create some good will. They
need to be leading the way on this-this is an easy step for them ... Thank
you so much for your kindness, and may God bless each one of you. Thank
you." The ovation following these remarks was a testament to the
congressman's sincerity and our joint commitment to helping the disabled
earn at least the minimum wage.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Congressman Gregg Harper receives the National Federation
of the Blind Presidential Award for Congressional Courage from President
Maurer.]
President Maurer thanked Congressman Harper for his remarks and said:
"When you come to one of the houses of the Congress and you make a
suggestion for change, and when that change will alter a system that has
been in place for three-quarters of a century, this demands courage.
Consequently, Congressman Gregg Harper, the National Federation of the
Blind Presidential Award for Congressional Courage is hereby awarded to
you." After holding up his award, Congressman Harper said thank you in a
soft and gentle voice that communicated how moved he was by the recognition
of the Federation.
Next introduced was the representative from the Sixth District of
Wisconsin, who is serving his eighteenth term in the United States House of
Representatives, Congressman Tom Petri. Representative Petri is the sponsor
of the Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher
Education Act, HR 3505. He began by acknowledging how moved he is when he
sees groups like the National Federation of the Blind who are dedicated to
making the needs and abilities of their members known in the halls of
Congress. Because of our work and the relationships we build, he
understands the need that the blind have for access to information in order
to compete. For this reason he has worked hard to create a bill that can be
supported by educators, publishers, and those who manufacture the
electronic devices through which information is made available. The
challenge is to get decision-makers in these industries to realize that
they need not sacrifice innovation and competiveness in order to include
people who need Braille or audio information from their products. By
adopting clear guidelines that can be applied nationally, both publishers
and manufacturers of electronic devices will benefit, and so too will the
blind.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Congressman Tom Petri receives the National Federation of
the Blind Presidential Award for Congressional Courage from President
Maurer.]
At the conclusion of Congressman Petri's remarks, President Maurer
presented to him the National Federation of the Blind Presidential Award
for Congressional Courage, and the audience expressed its affection for the
congressman and its excitement at the recognition bestowed on him.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jennifer Dunnam]
Jennifer Dunnam, the president of the National Federation of the Blind
of Minnesota, presented President Maurer with a check for $25,000 which has
come from a bequest made by Jane Raademacher, a longtime supporter, who
learned about the NFB when we were working to reform the Minneapolis
Society for the Blind.
The smartphone has brought about many changes in the way Americans do
business, and one of these involves transportation. Hailing a taxi and
calling for a cab are being replaced by ride-sharing apps. Using one of
these, a person who wants a ride makes a request by pressing a button, and
the system gets the location for the pickup, finds the closest car, sends a
message to that car, and tells the person requesting the ride how far away
the car is and when it is expected to arrive. Getting the companies who
operate these services to make their apps work with access software is one
of our priorities. Sidecar, a nationwide service, has worked cooperatively
with us to improve the usability of its service, and during the Washington
Seminar it provided each person who signed up with them a twenty dollar
credit for transportation in DC. Tim Elder, Kyle Shachmut, and Mika
Pyyhkala deserve much of the credit for developing this relationship,
persuading the company to act, and giving counsel as the company sought to
improve its service to the blind.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Michael Yudin]
At our urging, last June the Department of Education sent a letter to
all school districts reaffirming the policy that, if a student or parent
wants Braille, it should be provided. The person responsible for crafting
the language and distributing that letter was Michael Yudin, the assistant
secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
He was accompanied by Janet LaBreck, the commissioner of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration. He said: "In this knowledge-based economy we need
to do everything we can to make sure that individuals with disabilities
have the opportunity to compete and be successful...Thirty years of
research tells us that kids with disabilities do better when they are held
to high standards and have access to the general curriculum. So everything
we do flows from that-inclusion, equity, and opportunity...Our kids cannot
learn the content if they don't have access to the content."
[PHOTO CAPTION: Janet LaBreck]
Following on this theme, Commissioner LaBreck emphasized the
importance of a good education in the rehabilitation process and the
necessity for education to focus on getting and holding jobs. She said
that, in 2012, 66 percent of clients who are blind or visually impaired
obtained employment and that 80 percent of these now earn a wage equal to
or exceeding the minimum wage. The average wage earned by people who are
legally blind was $13.79 per hour, and this exceeds by more than two
dollars an hour the wage of individuals with other disabilities. She said
that this is significant but that we can do better.
President Maurer thanked the secretary and the commissioner for their
remarks and said that we oppose the proposal to move the Rehabilitation
Services Administration from the Department of Education to the Department
of Labor and that we will do what we can to convince members of the Senate
that this is not a good idea. He further asked for the help of the
secretary in getting those who are contracted to provide common core
testing to make their tests accessible. Though their contract says they
must, we see little effort by the government to require accessibility, and
we would like the department to join us in making these tests available to
the blind. The secretary responded by saying that, since the second matter
raised was in litigation, he would refrain from commenting except to say he
appreciated our efforts. He characterized the proposal to move
rehabilitation services to another department as a challenge, but
emphasized that the job of the department was to continue to build and
strengthen the ties that will improve services to those needing
rehabilitation leading to employment.
Mark Riccobono addressed the crowd and said that the theme that
unifies all of what we do can be summed up in the phrase, "With love, hope,
and determination we transform dreams into reality." He reminded us that on
Thursday, January 30, the Jernigan Institute would celebrate its tenth
anniversary. He gave a brief review of the programs conducted in those ten
years, with special emphasis on those that are ongoing. There will be
twenty-six BELL programs this summer, and how wonderful it would be if soon
we will have at least one in every state. Our focus on educating and
involving young people has led to the creation of a new program that will
bring four people to the Jernigan Institute for a summer internship, and
those interested in being part of it should apply by going to
<https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/national-federation-blind-summer-internship-
opportunities>.
[PHOTO CAPTION: Jim Gashel]
Jim Gashel addressed the gathering by reminding us that the first
Washington Seminar was held in 1973 and briefly reviewed many of the issues
that have brought us to the nation's capital for more than forty years. He
was the face of the Federation to the nation's legislators for several
decades, but now he occupies a different role in his work with KNFB Reading
Technologies and as a volunteer in other arenas. Much of his focus is now
on bringing access to new and improved technology, and he said that we will
soon see the KNFB Reader on the iPhone. Because of our work with the
Transforming Braille initiative and the money we have put into that
organization, Jim fervently believes we will see the introduction of
technology that will reduce the cost of a Braille cell from eighty dollars
to twelve dollars. This will drastically reduce the cost of the Braille
displays we purchase and use to gain access to information for education,
work, and pleasure.
Jim concluded his remarks by talking about the Dr. Jacob Bolotin
Awards that will be presented in Orlando this summer. The awards are to
recognize individuals and organizations who have made and continue to make
significant contributions to the advancement of the blind. Applications
must be received by March 31, and the form is available at
<https://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>.
The Monday evening meeting concluded with each member of our
legislative team talking about the issues we would take to Capitol Hill.
These are covered in detail immediately following this article.
After a recap of our Preauthorized Contribution Program, Vehicle
Donation Program, and our thrift store effort with GreenDrop, the meeting
was adjourned, and those who filled the Columbia and Discovery Rooms at the
Holiday Inn Capitol took our dogs, our canes, our message, and our stories
to the leaders of our nation. We gained support in both the House of
Representatives and the Senate and, as you will see in another article in
this issue, helped to persuade the executive branch of government to
embrace one of our initiatives.
Changing how people think about blindness has been at the core of our
mission since our founding in 1940. We know that it takes time and energy
to alter the direction of programs and policies, but we who are blind have
as much or as little time as the rest of humanity, and our supply of energy
and commitment is limited only by the distance our dreams can take us,
which means that it is close to infinite. The beauty of what we do is
judged not only by the outcomes we see but by the transformative power that
love and shared commitment plant in our souls and in the souls of those who
observe us.
----------
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
Priorities for the 113th Congress, SECOND Session
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest and largest
nationwide organization of blind people. As the voice of the nation's
blind, we represent the collective views of the 1.3 million blind people
throughout the United States. All of our leaders and the vast majority of
our members are blind, but anyone can participate in our movement.
The NFB's three legislative initiatives for 2014 are:
. The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act (HR 831)
Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to pay
workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage because of the false
assumption that they are less productive than nondisabled workers. This
antiquated provision breeds low expectations and discourages disabled
Americans from reaching their full potential. HR 831 responsibly phases
out the use of the 14(c) Special Wage Certificates, ending the era of
segregated, subminimum wage work.
. The Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher
Education Act (TEACH) (HR 3505)
Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods of
learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority of e-
books, courseware, web content, and other technology are inaccessible to
students with print disabilities. The law mandates equal access in the
classroom but fails to provide a prescription to schools for how that
applies to technology. The TEACH Act creates accessibility guidelines for
electronic instructional materials that will guide the market, give
clarity to schools, and protect blind students' rights to critical course
material.
. The Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act (ACTA)
Passenger interaction with technology is a central component of air
travel. The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination on the basis
of disability by airlines, but it was written before the emergence of
websites, kiosks, and mobile apps. These tools are all inaccessible to
blind travelers despite readily-available solutions, resulting in
segregation and substandard service. ACTA calls for all technology-based
air travel services to be accessible to blind passengers.
The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight; it is the
misunderstanding and lack of information that exist. Given the proper
training and opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a physical nuisance.
Americans have a strong philosophy of equality, but there are profound
flaws in the application of our doctrine as it applies to people with
disabilities. These bills help close the gaps. We urge Congress to protect
our rights in the workplace, classroom, and air travel by supporting these
legislative initiatives.
----------
The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 (HR 831)
Current labor laws unjustly prohibit workers with disabilities
from reaching their full vocational and socioeconomic potential.
Written in 1938, Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
discriminates against people with disabilities. The provision allows the
Secretary of Labor to grant Special Wage Certificates to employers,
permitting them to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum
wage. This is based on the false assumption that disabled workers are less
productive than nondisabled workers, but successful employment models have
emerged in the last seventy-five years to assist people with significant
disabilities in acquiring the job skills needed for competitive work.
Section 14(c) sustains segregated subminimum wage workshops that exploit
disabled workers, paying some only pennies an hour for mundane, repetitive
tasks.
This discriminatory policy is not necessary for the successful
operation of a disability-training program. In reality the overwhelming
majority of Goodwill Industries affiliates and all but one of the National
Industries for the Blind (NIB) affiliates operates successfully without
paying subminimum wages. Countless entities have successfully transitioned
their subminimum wage business model of low expectations to an innovative
model of competitive integrated training and employment, meeting the
growing needs of mainstream employers with the proven talents of employees
with disabilities. Only outdated workshops argue that they will be unable
to manage worthwhile programs without the use of the Special Wage
Certificate.
The subminimum wage model fails to provide adequate training or
employment to disabled workers. Data show that fewer than 5 percent of the
400,000 workers with disabilities in segregated subminimum wage workshops
will transition into competitive integrated work. Moreover, research shows
that the subminimum wage model costs more but actually produces less! In
fact, workers must unlearn the useless skills they acquire in order to
obtain meaningful employment. It is poor policy to reward such failed
programs with wage exemptions, preferential federal contracts, and public
and charitable contributions.
After seventy-five years of demonstrated failure, it is time to
invest in proven, effective models for employment. This discriminatory
model sustains the same segregated subminimum wage environments that
existed in 1938. Section 14(c) has proven to be extremely ineffective and
offers no incentive for mainstream employers to hire people with
disabilities. The Employment First Movement promotes new concepts such as
"supported" or "customized" employment that are successful at producing
competitive integrated employment outcomes for individuals with significant
disabilities who were previously thought to be unemployable.
The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013:
Discontinues the issuance of new Special Wage Certificates. The
secretary of labor will no longer issue Special Wage Certificates to new
applicants.
Phases out the use of Special Wage Certificates over a three-year
period. Using the following schedule, entities will be able to transition
to the proven model of competitive integrated employment:
. Private for-profit entities will have one year to transition
. Public or governmental entities will have two years to transition
. Nonprofit entities will have three years to transition. (These
entities make up 95 percent of the Special Wage Certificate holders.)
Repeals Section 14(c) of the FLSA. Three years after the law is
enacted, this practice of paying disabled workers subminimum wages will be
officially abolished. This will result in *the elimination of segregated,
subminimum wage workshops and in *the development of integrated
environments that encourage people with disabilities to reach their full
vocational and socioeconomic potential.
PROTECT EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE.
Cosponsor HR 831: Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act.
For more information contact:
National Federation of the Blind
Anil Lewis, Director of Advocacy and Policy
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2374. Email: alewis at nfb.org
Rose Sloan, Government Affairs Specialist
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2441. Email: rsloan at nfb.org
To cosponsor, contact:
Scot Malvaney, Legislative Director
Congressman Gregg Harper (R-MS)
Phone: (202)-225-5031. Email: scot.malvaney at mail.house.gov
HR 831 is supported by over sixty organizations of people with disabilities
and employers of workers with disabilities. For more information visit:
<www.nfb.org/fair-wages>
----------
Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher Education
Act
(TEACH Act) HR 3505
Colleges and universities need an education about accessibility.
Students with disabilities need accessibility to get an education.
Technology has fundamentally changed the education system. The scope
of instructional materials used to facilitate the teaching and learning
process at institutions of higher education has expanded. Curricular
content comes in the form of digital books, PDFs, webpages, etc.; and most
of this content is delivered through digital databases, learning management
systems, and applications. Traditional print materials are inherently
inaccessible to disabled students, but technology creates opportunities to
expand the circle of participation. These opportunities are missed when the
majority of these materials are inaccessible to students with disabilities.
The use of inaccessible technology by institutions of higher
education is a violation of law. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and
Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibit
discrimination on the basis of disability, but these laws were written
before technology permeated the classroom. In 2010 the U.S. Departments of
Justice and Education issued guidance to institutions of higher education
clarifying that the use of inaccessible technology is a form of
discrimination. In the four years since, several of the country's leading
institutions have faced legal action for continuing to use inaccessible
technology.
Accessibility solutions are widely available, but schools and
manufacturers are resisting. A 2009 congressionally authorized study found
that, despite innovations in text-to-speech, refreshable Braille, and other
accessibility features that create promise for equal access, there is still
persistent unmet need. Developers claim there is not enough demand to
justify making accessible products, and schools claim to have limited
options and a lack of knowledge about accessibility to properly guide
procurement. Because of this blame game, developers are moving too slowly
and schools are openly violating the law.
Guidelines are sorely needed to guide the market and lift burdens off
disabled students. While schools and manufacturers are waiting for the
other to take action, blind students are facing insurmountable barriers to
their education. No student can be expected to succeed in college if he or
she is denied access to course material, yet the solutions available to
remedy this discrimination are ignored! Universally-accepted accessibility
guidelines will give direction to manufacturers, clarity to schools about
how to meet their legal obligations regarding technology, and long-overdue
equal access for disabled students.
Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher Education
Act:
Develops accessibility guidelines for instructional materials and
related information technology. The Access Board will consult experts and
stakeholders to develop functional performance criteria for electronic
instructional materials and related information technologies so that those
materials are usable by individuals with disabilities. The guidelines will
serve as a flexible prescription for accessibility for both developers and
institutions of higher education.
Provides incentive for institutions of higher education to follow the
guidelines. Institutions of higher education that use technology that
conforms with the guidelines will be deemed in compliance with the
provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Titles II and III
of the Americans with Disabilities Act that pertain to schools' use of
technology.
Establishes a minimum usability standard for all technology in the
classroom. Institutions of higher education may use materials that do not
conform to the guidelines only if that material allows disabled students to
enjoy the same educational benefits in an equally integrated and equally
effective manner, with ease of use substantially equivalent to that of
nondisabled students.
PROTECT EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM.
Cosponsor the Technology, Education, and Accessibility
in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH Act) HR 3505.
For more information contact:
Lauren McLarney, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the
Blind
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2207. Email: <lmclarney at nfb.org>
To cosponsor, contact:
Kevin James, Legislative Assistant, Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI)
Phone: (202) 225-2476. Email: <kevin.james at mail.house.gov>
The TEACH Act is the result of collaboration between the NFB and the
Association of American Publishers, the leading trade association of the
U.S. publishing industry.
----------
>From the Editor: Here is the third fact sheet taken to Congress in 2014.
Unlike the others it requires some comment. After its writing the National
Federation of the Blind discovered that Senate Bill 556 had been introduced
by Senator Harkin of Iowa. While it does not go as far as the proposal for
legislation in this fact sheet, it does acknowledge the problem the
Federation intends to address with a Senate bill, offers the chance of
adding friendly amendments, and shows potential sponsors in the House that
this issue has been acknowledged as important by the other chamber. Our
message then was this: Here is Senate Bill 556, a good bill, and a good
start on what we need in air travel. Here too is our fact sheet, a model
for what we would like to see in a House bill and for what we hope Senator
Harkin will fold into S 556. Here is the fact sheet:
Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act
To allow blind and low vision individuals equal access
to technology used in all phases of air travel.
Despite anti-discrimination laws airlines continue to deny access to
blind passengers. In 1986 Congress passed the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)
to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability during all phases of
air travel, including purchasing a ticket, checking in, boarding and
deplaning, receiving in-flight services, and assistance getting around the
airport. Air travel has changed significantly since 1986, and most services
now require interaction with technology; however, airlines have failed to
honor the ACAA by ensuring that those services are usable by blind
travelers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability in public transportation, but
because of unique security issues in air travel, airlines were explicitly
excluded from the law, compounding the problems facing blind air travelers.
Technology creates opportunity to expand the circle of participation, so
the law needs to be updated to capture the prospect and ensure equal
access.
Passenger interaction with technology is a fundamental requirement of
air travel. Passengers have multiple options of accessing flight
information that replace endless phone calls and check-in lines. For
booking and accessing boarding passes, fliers use websites, mobile apps, or
kiosks. Mobile apps provide real-time updates on departure and arrival
information and even make it possible to scan a digital boarding pass at
security check points. On board, passengers can make in-flight purchases of
movies, drinks, or Wi-Fi by using consoles on the seatback in front of
them. Technology enhances the flying experience, and who knows what
innovative tools might emerge in the future? Blind passengers pay the same
price to fly the friendly skies as everyone else, yet cannot use any of
these services.
Airlines should stop this discrimination by embracing readily
available solutions. Technical criteria for accessible web content and best
practices for mobile apps were released back in 2008, and accessibility
standards for ATMs and usable kiosks have been on the market for years.
Rather than utilize these options and deploy accessible technology,
airlines "meet the needs" of their disabled passengers by offering internet
rates over the phone to those who self-identify as blind and giving
priority access to blind fliers in line. Technology can meet the
unfulfilled promise of equal access, yet airlines choose to use an
ineffective method of access that relegates blind passengers to antiquated
methods of service.
The Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act:
Provides equal access throughout the air travel process by requiring
that all methods of booking flights, checking in, obtaining boarding
passes, and making in-flight purchases are accessible to blind passengers.
All newly created or purchased web content, airport kiosks, mobile apps,
and other technology-based services operated by air carriers will be usable
by the blind.
Establishes a complaint mechanism to resolve issues of noncompliance
with the Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act.
PROTECT EQUALITY IN AIR TRAVEL.
Sponsor the Air Carrier Technology Accessibility Act.
For more information contact:
Jesse Hartle
Government Affairs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
Phone: (410) 659-9314, Extension 2233. Email: <jhartle at nfb.org>
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Anil Lewis]
The State of Our Union Grows Stronger
by Anil Lewis
From the Editor: February 12 was Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and it
is special for blind people for yet another reason, which Anil Lewis will
explain. Anil wears many hats in the National Federation of the Blind, but
none of them is more important to him than the one he puts on each day as
he crusades for the elimination of the subminimum wage provisions found in
Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Here is what he says:
In his State of the Union Address, President Obama told the Congress
that he would be issuing an Executive Order to set a wage floor of $10.10
per hour for all federal contract employees.
"To every mayor, governor, state legislator in America, I say, you
don't have to wait for Congress to act; Americans will support you if you
take this on. And, as a chief executive, I intend to lead by example.
Profitable corporations like Costco see higher wages as the smart way to
boost productivity and reduce turnover. We should too. In the coming weeks
I will issue an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to pay their
federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour because
if you cook-(cheers, applause)-our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you
should not have to live in poverty. (sustained applause) Of course, to
reach millions more, Congress does need to get on board."
The president's address did not make it clear whether workers with
disabilities would be covered in the proposed Executive Order. We received
our answer on a subsequent telephone conference with Vice President Biden
and Department of Labor Secretary Perez the following day. It was reported
in an article in the Disability Scoop on January 30:
Workers With Disabilities Left Out Of Obama Wage Plan
by Michelle Diament
In a call this week with US Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Vice
President Joe Biden, disability advocates say they were told that the
Executive Order would not alter the ability of approved federal contractors
to continue paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage, though
such workers could see a slight uptick in pay. That's because subminimum
wage is often calculated as a percentage of the pay that a typical worker
would earn for the same job.
We recognized this as the administration's assertion that Section
14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act would prohibit workers with
disabilities under federal contracts from receiving the same wage
protections being offered to those without disabilities. The article goes
on to say, "White House officials declined to offer specifics about the
Executive Order Obama will issue, but said that any changes to the current
subminimum wage laws would require action from Congress. Further details
about the Executive Order will be released `in the near future,' an
administration spokesman said."
Unwilling to wait on further details, members of the NFB and other
organizations of people with disabilities mounted a letter-writing, email,
and social media campaign urging that the Executive Order include workers
with disabilities. The following letter was sent by President Maurer
pressing for the inclusion of disabled workers and also urging the
President to announce that he will sign the Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act, HR 831, when it reaches his desk. The reference to
Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who is a wounded warrior highlighted by
the president during the State of the Union address, is part of our
continuing effort to demonstrate that it is not the disability but the
perception of incapacity that presents the greatest challenge for workers
with disabilities to obtain competitive, integrated employment. Here is
President Maurer's letter:
February 3, 2014
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
In your January 28th State of the Union Address, and via a conference
call with Vice President Biden and Secretary of Labor Perez on January
29th, it was announced that all contractors would be required by Executive
Order to pay their federally funded workers at least $10.10 an hour under
any new contracts. The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and
largest nationwide organization of blind Americans, urges you to include
workers with disabilities in this Executive Order, affirmatively and
explicitly. We further urge you to announce that you will sign the Fair
Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act (HR 831) if and when that
legislation reaches your desk. With a Republican sponsor and substantial
Democratic cosponsorship, this nonpartisan piece of legislation will
responsibly phase out the discriminatory practice of paying workers with
disabilities less than the minimum wage.
Our respect and prayers go out to Americans like Sergeant First Class
Cory Remsburg, who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the
freedom and equality we seek to enjoy as American citizens. We are thankful
that Sergeant Remsburg is recovering from the wounds he suffered in service
to this great nation. But we must point out that his value to our society
is not a function of the restoration of his eyesight and ability to walk,
but of the simple fact that he is a human being with determination, belief
in himself, love for the United States, and aspirations for his future.
There are millions of others who actively seek to serve this nation we love
with our unique talents and strengths, whether or not we can benefit from
technology or medical intervention that will mitigate or eliminate our
disabilities. Some of us may be blind in both eyes; others may not be able
to hear; some may be unable to walk; some may have developmental
disabilities that require innovative interventions; and still others may
have other disabilities that require them to perform everyday tasks a
little differently. We seek to have our different characteristics embraced
as respected contributions to our nation's diversity, not as badges of
inferiority that condemn us to a life of low wages and low expectations. We
are no less valuable, we are no less capable, and we are no less American
than any other citizen.
We wholeheartedly agree with you when you say, "The America we want
for our kids--a rising America where honest work is plentiful and
communities are strong; where prosperity is widely shared and opportunity
for all lets us go as far as our dreams and toil will take us--none of it
is easy. But if we work together; if we summon what is best in us, the way
Cory summoned what is best in him, with our feet planted firmly in today
but our eyes cast towards tomorrow--I know it's within our reach." We
believe that this America includes people with disabilities, and we ask you
to demonstrate that you believe it as well.
Sincerely,
Marc Maurer, President
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
cc: Vice President Joseph R. Biden
The Honorable Thomas E. Perez
As a result of our discussion with the Obama Administration and the
work of other organizations representing the disabled, the following press
release came from the White House on February 12, 2014:
Opportunity for All: Rewarding Hard Work
Raising the Minimum Wage through Executive Order to $10.10 for Federal
Contract Workers
And Calling on Congress to Finish the Job for All Workers by Passing the
Harkin-Miller Bill
White House Press Release February 12, 2014
Today, continuing to fulfill his promise to make 2014 a year of
action, the President will sign an Executive Order to raise the minimum
wage to $10.10 for federal contract workers.
The Executive Order the President will sign today will benefit
hundreds of thousands of people working under contracts with the federal
government who are making less than $10.10 an hour. It will also improve
the value that taxpayers are getting from the federal government's
investment. Studies show that boosting low wages will reduce turnover and
absenteeism, while also boosting morale and improving the incentives for
workers, leading to higher productivity overall. These gains improve the
quality and efficiency of services provided to the government.
In his State of the Union Address, President Obama pledged both to
take executive action wherever he can and to work with Congress to increase
opportunity for all Americans. Consistent with that pledge, the President
will continue to work with Congress to finish the job to raise the minimum
wage for all Americans and pass the Harkin-Miller bill so that all workers
can be paid at least a $10.10 minimum wage.
Details of the Executive Order
The Executive Order will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 effective
for new contracts beginning January 1, 2015. The higher wage will apply to
new contracts and replacements for expiring contracts. Boosting wages will
lower turnover and absenteeism and increase morale and productivity
overall. Raising wages for those at the bottom will improve the quality and
efficiency of services provided to the government.
Benefits hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans. There are
hundreds of thousands of people working under contracts with the federal
government to provide services or construction who are currently making
less than $10.10 an hour. Some examples of the hardworking people who would
see their wages go up under this Executive Order include nursing assistants
providing care to our veterans at nursing homes, concessions workers in
National Parks, people serving food to our troops, and individuals with
disabilities working to maintain the grounds on military bases.
Includes an increase in the tipped minimum wage. This Executive Order
also includes provisions to make sure that tipped workers earn at least
$10.10 overall, through a combination of tips and an employer contribution.
Employers are currently required to pay a minimum base wage of $2.13 per
hour, a base that has remained unchanged for over twenty years, and, if a
worker's tips do not add up to the minimum wage, the employer must make up
the difference. Under the Executive Order employers are required to ensure
that tipped workers earn at least $10.10 an hour. The Executive Order
requires that employers pay a minimum base wage of $4.90 for new contracts
and replacements for expiring contracts put out for bid after January 1,
2015. That amount increases by 95 cents per year until it reaches 70
percent of the regular minimum wage, and, if a worker's tips do not add up
to at least $10.10, the employer will be required to pay the difference.
Covers individuals with disabilities. Under current law workers whose
productivity is affected because of their disabilities may be paid less
than the wage paid to others doing the same job under certain specialized
certificate programs. Under this Executive Order, all individuals working
under service or concessions contracts with the federal government will be
covered by the same $10.10 per hour minimum wage protections.
Improves value for the federal government and taxpayers. One study
showed that, when Maryland passed its living wage law for companies
contracting with the state, there was an increase in the number of
contractors bidding, and higher competition can help ensure better quality.
The increase will take effect for new contracts and replacements for
expiring contracts put out for bid after the effective date of the order,
so contractors will have time to prepare and price their bids accordingly.
Continuing to Work With Congress, States and Localities to Help All Workers
The President is using his executive authority to lead by example and
will continue to work with Congress to raise the minimum wage for all
Americans by passing the Harkin-Miller bill. The bill would raise the
federal minimum wage for working Americans in stages to $10.10 and index it
to inflation thereafter, while also raising the minimum wage for tipped
workers for the first time in over twenty years. The President will also
continue to support and encourage state, local, and private-sector efforts
to increase wages and help more working families.
Businesses like Costco have supported past increases to the minimum
wage because it helps build a strong workforce and profitability over the
long run. Low wages are also bad for business, since paying low wages
lowers employee morale, encourages low productivity, and leads to frequent
employee turnover-all of which impose costs.
Across the country Americans are saying it's time to raise the
minimum wage. The President believes that it's time for action, and people
across the country agree. Since the President called for an increase in the
minimum wage in last year's State of the Union, five states have passed
laws increasing their minimum wage. And many businesses, from small
businesses to large corporations, see higher wages as the right way to
boost productivity and reduce turnover and therefore boost their
profitability.
Raising the minimum wage is good for government and good for business
and workers and key to a stronger economy. A range of economic studies show
that modestly raising the minimum wage increases earnings and reduces
poverty without jeopardizing employment. Higher wages can also boost
productivity, increase morale, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.
Raising the minimum wage will make sure no family of four with a full-
time worker has to raise its children in poverty. It has been seven years
since Congress last acted to increase the minimum wage, and, adjusted for
inflation, today the real value of minimum wage is roughly the same as what
it was in the 1950s, despite the fact that the typical American family's
income has doubled since then. And right now a full-time minimum wage
worker makes $14,500 a year, which leaves too many families struggling to
make ends meet. Even after accounting for programs like the Earned Income
Tax Credit, a family of four supported by a minimum-wage worker still ends
up living below the poverty line.
Indexing the minimum wage to inflation would help lower-income
workers keep up in the future. Since it was first established in 1938, the
minimum wage has been increased twenty-two times, but was eroded
substantially over several prolonged periods between increases because of
inflation. Indexing would prevent a repeat of the 34 percent decline in the
real value of the minimum wage from 1978 to 1989 and the 19 percent decline
in real value from 1998 to 2006, as well as the 40 percent decline in the
real value of the base wage for tipped workers since it was last raised in
1991. Last year alone workers earning the minimum wage basically got the
equivalent of a $200 pay cut because the minimum wage stayed the same while
the cost of living went up. Democrats and Republicans agree that indexing
the minimum wage to inflation would ensure that working families can keep
up with expenses. Unfortunately, those families will continue to suffer if
Congress continues not to act.
Helping parents make ends meet. Around 60 percent of workers who
would benefit from a higher minimum wage are women. Less than 20 percent
are teenagers. Also those workers who would benefit from an increase in the
minimum wage brought home 46 percent of their household's total wage and
salary income in 2011. Raising the minimum wage directly helps parents make
ends meet and support their families.
Here is the press release that the National Federation of the Blind
circulated as soon as possible following receipt of the release from the
White House:
National Federation of the Blind Commends President Obama
for Executive Order on Wages
Order Ensures Economic Mobility for Federal Contract Employees with
Disabilities
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) commented today on
President Obama's Executive Order requiring a wage floor of $10.10 for
individuals employed under all new federal contracts, including workers
with disabilities who are currently excluded from minimum wage protections
under special certificate programs.
Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind,
said:
"President Obama's courageous action today is a tremendous victory for
federal contract workers with disabilities, and we wholeheartedly applaud
the spectacular step forward that this new Executive Order represents. The
National Federation of the Blind commends President Obama for recognizing
the value of workers with disabilities and ensuring that these workers can
take advantage of the same opportunity for economic mobility as their
nondisabled co-workers. We urge Congress to finish the work that President
Obama has begun by passing the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act
(HR 831) to ensure that all workers with disabilities, not just those
working under federal contracts, will no longer be subjected to the
antiquated and discriminatory practice of being paid less than the federal
minimum wage."
We thank and applaud the president for having the courage to make the
right decision to include workers with disabilities in his Executive Order.
However, we realize this is only one battle in our ongoing war to repeal
the unfair, discriminatory, and immoral subminimum wage practice made legal
by Section 14(c).
At the time of this writing the Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act, HR 831, sponsored by Congressman Gregg Harper of
Mississippi, has sixty-five cosponsors, with the recent addition of
Congressman George Miller of California, who is the ranking member of the
Education and Workforce Committee, to which HR 831 has been assigned.
The state of our union grows stronger as we are afforded the
opportunity to participate fully. We will celebrate yet another victory on
our path toward full inclusion, but we must systematically plan our next
steps. As I told President Maurer on our way back to Baltimore following
the signing of the Executive Order at the White House, "Days like today
make for difficult tomorrows. It just doesn't get any better."
----------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Meg Dowell]
College Bound
by Meg Dowell
From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the Fall 2013 edition
of the Braille Examiner. In it Meg Dowell demonstrates that she has grasped
at an early age what it takes many of us decades to understand about being
blind and coming to regard it as an important but by no means the most
significant of our many characteristics. Here is what she says:
At eighteen I did not want to go to college. I wanted the education,
the friends, the life experience-but I didn't feel ready to leave home. Not
even a semester at a community college seemed enough to prepare me for
moving away to start my education at a four-year university. I had been
accepted at my dream college, and I would have the chance to pursue the
major I'd picked out in high school. I should have been ecstatic.
Accommodations weren't the problem. I knew how to advocate for myself.
In fact, some college professors are more willing than high school teachers
to accommodate a student with a visual impairment. I wasn't worried about
making friends either. From the first day I could tell my roommate and I
were going to hit it off. So everything should have been fine. I was
enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The campus
isn't far from my home, and I had been there many times as I was growing
up. I was an Olivetian, born and raised. Surely I could figure out college
life.
"Mom!" I pressed the phone to my ear and looked around. "I think I'm
lost." Well, maybe not.
Mom verbally guided me back to my dorm (and no tears were shed during
that particular incident, thank you very much). It didn't take long for me
to figure out the relatively simple layout of my campus. Once I found where
all my classes were located, I stopped feeling like such a lost sheep.
The campus wasn't the source of my problems. What took me a long time
was coming to terms with my blindness. I've been legally blind since birth,
and I'd long ago made peace with my blindness in a physical sense. But I
still had some distance to go toward a deeper acceptance. College is the
place where you're supposed to find yourself, and, by the time I approached
my freshman year, I was growing tired of letting my disability define me.
Even though I insisted on calling it my "visual dilemma," it had a major
say in how I lived my life-and I wasn't okay with that.
Until I attended my first NFBI convention, I'd met only one other
visually impaired person in my life. I didn't know what I was stumbling
into that first convention weekend, but once I made it through, I knew I
would never be the same. Everyone I met taught me to embrace my physical
challenge and turn it into a massive strength. Though I'd never made my
blindness a weakness, I still let it speak for me-and that's not what being
blind is all about. It's about accepting every part of yourself, even the
parts that don't work the way they're supposed to.
For the longest time I had shied away from the thing I wanted the most-
to study dietetics. I kept my longing a secret; I thought no one would
support me if I decided to pursue a major so unsuitable for a blind girl.
Worse still, I'd somehow talked myself into believing I couldn't do it even
if I tried. But that same stubborn determination that convinced me to give
college a try finally won out. I was done letting my self-doubt run the
show. I took a chance and ignited a dream, and I haven't looked back since.
As I remember my first week living on my own, I realize I have nearly
an unlimited number of people to thank. They taught me that it's not about
being brave but about having faith. The fact that you can't see well
doesn't mean you have to wander around aimlessly or call Mom for help (even
though she's always there, just in case).
Being a college student with a disability has taught me never to let
my limitations stand in my way. People may not always understand our needs,
but that doesn't mean they're not willing to help. People may not always
accept us, but that doesn't mean they'll disrespect us. And, if they do,
well, that's their loss.
If you ever do get lost and aren't sure where to go next, the NFBI has
your back (and a handy set of directions, too). If you're about to go off
to college for the first time, don't ever forget what you're leaving behind-
a past that will eventually shape your future. If you let that past become
an obstacle, there won't be a future. Face your fears. Discover who you are
and love every piece of who you will become.
----------
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Geerat Vermeij on a rocky beach with seaweeds and
seagrasses at Misaki Marine Biological Station in Japan.]
Blind in Wild Nature
by Geerat J. Vermeij
From the Editor: Geerat Vermeij is distinguished professor of earth
and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis. As an
evolutionary biologist/paleobiologist, he has published more than 255
scientific papers and is the author of six books including, most recently,
The Evolutionary World: how Adaptation Explains Everything from Seashells
to Civilizations.
Offering a view that runs counter to several items we have printed
recently about blind people and independent exploration, Dr. Vermeij
reminds us that some information can be perceived only with sight and
explains how he has managed to get this information and build mutually
enriching relationships in the process. The professor is a frequent
contributor to the Braille Monitor, but he warned me that this article
might be controversial. I differ with him about this, considering it yet
another variant on the theme so popularly captured and remembered in the
1993 speech by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan on "The Nature of Independence." There
is more than one way to skin a cat (feline lovers forgive me), and Dr.
Vermeij reminds us of this in these thought-provoking remarks. He can be
reached at <gjvermeij at ucdavis.edu>, and here is what he has to say:
One of the many enriching dimensions of my life is the frequent
exposure to truly wild places away from the bustle of cities and the
familiarity of home and work. As a scientist I rely on these experiences
for inspiration and for clues about how nature works. As a naturalist I
crave the esthetics that total sensory immersion in the world's remaining
remote habitats permits. As a blind person I have been privileged to work
and share my enjoyment with colleagues and loved ones in spectacular
settings ranging from tropical rain forests in Panama, the coastal meadows
and redwood forests of California, the dunes and beaches of the Wadden
Islands in the Netherlands, the seaweed-choked rocky shores of Iceland and
New Zealand, the incomparable coral reefs of Palau, the mucky mangroves of
northwestern Madagascar and Ecuador, the truly barren deserts of the Sinai
Peninsula, and the alpine tundra of Colorado, to the razor-sharp limestone
cliffs of Jamaica. In all these wonderful places and many others, I have
learned that no amount of reading or armchair travel beats careful
observation with the brain in gear.
Sadly, such experiences have been closed to the vast majority of
blind people. Some time ago I was approached by a blind student who asked
me a simple question: how does someone who is blind do field work or, more
broadly, become a dedicated naturalist who goes off the beaten track? This
article is my perspective on this question.
Because of an all-consuming curiosity about and love for all things
nature has to offer, I have worked to create opportunities to go places. In
this pursuit I have relied on one overriding principle that on first blush
will seem contradictory to the aims of an independent blind person: I am in
the company of a like-minded sighted person, and I leave my cane at home.
Let me explain. First, anyone engaging with wild nature should go
with another person. Modern people have a romantic concept of nature as a
harmonious, benevolent refuge; but the reality is that, despite its obvious
appeal and beauty, unkempt nature is full of unpredictable dangers and
challenges, and accidents happen. It is therefore always better to be with
a partner.
Second, a sighted companion is essential for orienting a blind person
to what is inevitably a highly complex, unfamiliar environment, and for
efficiently guiding and directing a blind person's movements. Vision has
the extraordinary advantage that an effective route can be scanned from
afar and that hidden crevices, drop-offs, and other dangers can be
evaluated and avoided efficiently. I cannot imagine how I could have found
my way to remote areas without public transportation, much less walk with
reasonable speed from shore to the reef edge in Guam or safely negotiate a
narrow, cobble-strewn path alongside a precipitous canyon in remote Baja
California without sighted companions. If I were to do these things using a
cane, I would spend all my time painstakingly deciding where to take the
next step. With one hand clutching a cane, the ability to stay low and
crawl on all fours would be severely compromised. Besides, where would I
leave the cane when my hands are busily engaged under water, beneath
ledges, or delving into the undergrowth? In short, reliance on a cane would
require me to devote all my time and energy to the mechanics of locomotion
rather than to the tasks of observing and collecting. A cane is therefore
an impediment, a hindrance, and indeed a limitation in such circumstances,
rather than a key to independence.
Once at an interesting location, the blind naturalist can perfectly
well be left to observe and to move unaccompanied, as long as a companion
is within shouting distance. At this point, unencumbered by a cane, one's
full attention can be devoted to listening, smelling, feeling, tasting, and
thinking, all the while being aware of potential threats. Just as
important, a blind observer can contribute meaningfully to an enhanced
experience for his or her partner. Under the best circumstances-and in my
experience these are the rule rather than the exception-the outing is a
mutually beneficial event, in which the participants bring their own
diverse skills of observation to the enterprise.
There is a third, perhaps more intangible, benefit to this
arrangement. A shared interest in natural history cements friendships and,
for the blind partner, promotes integration into the world of the sighted.
In my student years I frequently went on field trips with sighted peers,
either as part of a course or, equally often, as impromptu excursions.
Willing colleagues would often arrange for complete strangers to accompany
me, invariably with good results. On a UNESCO-sponsored trip to Fiji, for
example, while everyone else in the visiting party went diving, the village
chief engaged a very capable fourteen-year-old boy to take me to shore
sites around the island of Dravuni. Early in our courtship, my wife Edith
and I explored volcanoes and rocky seashores in the eastern Caribbean, the
formal excuse being that I needed more data on the body temperatures of
snails in order to complete my PhD thesis. On a scientific cruise aboard a
research ship to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, I went ashore by small
boat on eleven islands with my trusted colleague, A. Richard Palmer, then
(and still) at the University of Alberta. On yet another expedition, this
time to the recently erupted volcanic island of Pagan in the Northern
Marianas, I had to launch myself from a small boat to a slippery boulder
shore the moment that one of my companions, a seasoned Vietnam veteran with
extensive field experience, gave me the go-ahead to jump. In all these
escapades and many more, I clearly benefited from the expertise and
competence of sighted companions. Meanwhile, my partners gained a new
appreciation for the capabilities of a blind naturalist and scientist.
Obviously, this kind of intense field exposure entails risks. Over
the years I have been stung by bees and sea urchins, bitten by crabs and
moray eels, impaled by sting rays, thrown off balance by incoming waves,
nearly tossed overboard on small boats, scraped by coral, and assaulted by
poison oak. These are the common experiences of everyone who ventures into
the wild. They come with the territory, and, although we do what we can to
be prudent, the benefits of learning first-hand about undomesticated nature
cannot be had without accepting some risks.
To some readers my perspective may seem to fly in the face of our
goal as blind people to be as independent as possible. I would argue,
however, that instead of conflicting with this goal, reliance on sighted
companions in the field substantially broadens our range of experience and
thus places us at a more equal footing with our sighted peers. There is an
apt analogy between our situation and that of any self-sufficient
individual in society. Many things can be done most effectively by
individuals acting alone, but there are other functions-education, food
production and distribution, and the provision of all manner of public
services-that are best done collectively, with the aid of others.
Independence, it turns out, is a desired state arising both from one's own
actions and from the cooperative efforts of others. By finding the right
balance, we can gain as individuals in our own capacities and experiences
while at the same time engage with the larger world-natural as well as
human-around us.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Peggy Chong]
Standing on Their Shoulders
by Peggy Chong
From the Editor: Peggy Chong is an amateur historian who loves
digging through boxes of old records and bringing to life the men and women
whose challenges and accomplishments have shaped and built the society we
have inherited. What you will read here has involved countless hours of
study, thought, and perseverance, and I hope you will enjoy reading it as
much as I enjoyed editing it. Here is a bit of Peggy's story, but, more
important, here are the stories of countless men and women who have helped
create the opportunities we have today.
I became involved with the National Federation of the Blind in
Minnesota at the age of fourteen. I was young and naive and felt that I
could change the world. By the time I reached thirty I felt that changing
even my own family's views on blindness was an impossible task. About this
time the NFB of Minnesota's offices were being remodeled, and we needed to
clean house and rid ourselves of some of the old stuff. I was put in charge
of this project. I went through old files and boxes, tossing old records
and such, but occasionally I stopped to read a few items. Some of these I
found myself reluctant to discard and returned them to the files.
When the NFB of Minnesota was beginning to think of what to do to
celebrate the organization's seventy-fifth anniversary in 1995, I thought I
would go through the records again and write a few articles about our long
and uninterrupted history as an organization of and for the blind. Over a
three-and-a-half year period many of the blind leaders from the past, who
died long before I was born, came to life for me through our records. They
gave me a different perspective on my views of blindness and the impact of
the organized blind. These men and women, through what they left behind,
showed me what a difference they had made in my life. With much less than
we have today, they lived lives that created so much for me, for my fellow
Minnesotans, and, in fact, for all blind Americans.
They had no financial assistance from the government, they had little
education, they did not have white canes or dogs when they traveled by
themselves. Yet some of Minnesota's blind men and women of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries lived successful lives by any
reasonable standard.
Since my courtship with those original records, I have made it my
special project to educate blind people about our rich history so that we
can learn and continue to build on the successes of earlier generations.
Because of the founders of the NFB of Minnesota, I have gained a new
outlook and have found new energy to work on issues affecting the blind of
our country. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the National Federation of
the Blind approaches, I stop to remember how far we have come and
reverently remember those who helped to start the organization we love and
value today. I also offer to them a silent prayer of thanks, for I know
they have made possible some of the wonderful opportunities I enjoy and all
too often take for granted.
One of the seven organizations that made up the newly-formed National
Federation of the Blind in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in November of 1940
was the Minnesota State Organization of the Blind, MSOB. Each of the
representatives at that meeting was there by design, since each established
organization represented there had already made a difference in their home
state.
Minnesota had already established itself as a hard-working
organization of the blind, with much progress to show on behalf of people
in its state. The Minnesota State Organization of the Blind was born in
December, 1919, with several blind businessmen who met in the back of
Charles T. Gleason's music store. By 1940 the MSOB had built a home and
center where blind people could live by themselves without restrictions.
They had passed welfare laws securing a minimal income for the blind in the
state. The MSOB was responsible for legislation that established the state
agency for the blind and statewide home teaching services. White cane
ordinances had already been passed in many communities, recognizing the
right of blind people to travel freely in the places where they lived.
The blind men and women in 1920 who created the MSOB were piano
tuners, weavers, and salesmen. They reached out to the many small groups of
the blind across the state, asking that they join in making life better for
the blind statewide. Unfortunately none of these small groups wanted to
band together to work on issues outside their social club or small
communities. Most of these groups were led by sighted people, but the MSOB
resolved that it was going to be led by the blind themselves.
Unlike many other states, by 1920 Minnesota had already elected a
blind man, Thomas Schall, to the US House of Representatives and would
later elect him to the US Senate. Senator Schall was the first blind person
in the state to use a dog as a travel tool. Blind children such as
Evangeline Larson were being taught in the St. Paul public school system.
The state legislature had already set money aside for scholarship funds for
blind college students if they studied law or music. Public libraries in
three of the larger cities had Braille collections. Adult rehabilitation
classes for older blind people started in 1907 and were being taught during
the summer at the school for the blind in Faribault. Those classes often
had thirty-five students, both men and women, attending. Many of those who
took the lead in the MSOB in the beginning were graduates from the school
for the blind, either as young people just starting out or from the summer
adult programs.
But much still needed to be done. Limited yet progressive efforts for
the blind were happening in Hennepin, Ramsey, and St. Louis counties, but
nothing was coordinated or consistent, nor did these efforts spread from
city to city or county to county. Many communities had rules that forbade a
blind person from living or traveling alone. If they could rent an
apartment, it had to be on the first floor of a building. Banks would not
give a home or business loan to a blind person, since bankers assumed that
a blind person would be unable to succeed at business and pay it back. Land
and building owners would not rent business space to a blind person, the
purported concern being they might burn down the building through their
ineptitude. Employers felt they had no jobs that a blind person could do
for a regular wage. Interestingly, however, they would hire blind people to
canvas neighborhoods and businesses, walking by themselves, carrying and
selling their pre-paid products on commission.
Families who had blind people were held financially responsible for
them. Those blind people whose families could not or would not help support
them found themselves cut off from family and friends and placed in county
poor farms, where they were often the victims of many crimes and scams. In
many ways adult blind men and women at the beginning of the twentieth
century had fewer rights than a sighted child in the family.
With so much to do to improve living conditions for the blind, the
MSOB created a long-term strategic plan. Their first priority was to build
the Industrial Home and Center for the Blind. Their second was to introduce
and support legislation that would improve the lives of blind people in
their own and future generations. Their third priority was to establish a
loan program for blind people who wanted to start their own businesses.
The Industrial Home for the Blind was opened in 1929. It provided
affordable living space and a workshop for blind people in the metro area.
It was located at 1605 Eustis Street in St. Paul. The sound fiscal
management of the property and organization allowed it to announce to its
members in 1935 that it was debt free. The addition of a building to
provide more living space, an auditorium, and more was completed in 1949.
The Building Committee was established at the first meeting of the
MSOB and began its work immediately. At the 1920 Minnesota State Fair the
MSOB members distributed fliers explaining the organization and the need
for a place where blind people could live and work. The fliers asked for
financial support to start the fund to purchase land and build the
Industrial Home and Center for the Blind.
In 1920 Frank Hall, the first chairman of the Welfare Committee,
began a nationwide investigation of legislation affecting the blind. His
committee also contacted the blind of every state where statutes had been
passed, to discuss how well the laws served their needs. Were these laws
practical and effective, or did they limit the options of those they were
meant to serve? Learning from others, they adopted a statewide legislative
strategy that they hoped would advance the cause of the blind without
repeating the mistakes that had been made in other states.
As mentioned earlier, a loan committee was quickly established with
funds being provided by blind members of the organization. Money was given
to Frank Jordan, who established his rug and mat-making business. Frank
hired many blind people. William Schmidt also received money from the
organization to start a business. The contract did not specify a monthly
amount to be paid but obligated him to pay a percentage of his gross sales.
His idea to put vending machines in more than office buildings was such a
success that he contributed many times the amount loaned to him by the
organization.
When we look at the people who made up the Minnesota State
Organization of the Blind, it is easy to see why they were eager to build a
national organization of the blind and how much they contributed to it.
Here are some brief snapshots of the pioneers from Minnesota who helped
build the organization we have today:
Charles Gleason (1866-1932), known as C. T. Gleason, was a blind
chiropractor, piano tuner, and business owner. C. T. lost his wife of
eleven years in 1919 and was forced to give up custody of his children to
his in-laws. He became the organization's first vice president at the first
convention of the MSOB on May 27, 1920. Piano tuning was a very profitable
profession for him. Around 1914 C. T. got a contract with the school for
the blind in Faribault to work with its graduates and adults who became
blind later in life. His job was to train them to be successful piano
tuners. Gleason, a successful blind piano tuner himself, had established a
successful enough business to have his own store on University Avenue in
the Midway area of the city. He was so well known in the Minneapolis-St.
Paul area that, when people learned of a person who had gone blind, they
would reach out to Mr. Gleason to help the newly blinded person. His
contacts with students from Faribault gave him a unique look at the plight
of the blind across the state. Charles felt that the blind themselves were
much more likely to address the real issues of blindness than the well-
meaning sighted people leading the mutual aid societies and service-
providing agencies across the state.
By 1919 he had found many other successful blind businessmen who felt
as he did. They, too, had experienced the discrimination and stigmas facing
the blind of Minnesota. He proposed an organization of the blind, providing
it office space and all of his contacts for the first decade of its
existence, laying the foundation for the MSOB.
Frank Finsterbach (1854-1937) was the first president of the MSOB. A
father of three children, none of whom made it past their seventh birthday,
he and his wife Anna had the necessary time to devote to the new
organization. He was the driving force behind the building of the
Industrial Center and was central to making it a residence as well.
Blind from his early childhood, in 1880 Frank was teaching music at a
school in Red Wing. He married Anna Smith, an artist with her own shop on
Portland Avenue in Minneapolis. After they married, the couple moved to
Minneapolis, and by 1886 he began teaching music from their home. Frank was
an accomplished musician and would play organ or piano for private parties
and in eateries around town. Frank was also a published poet.
Besides his interest in building the Industrial Home, Frank worked
hard on a national effort to bring the Robins bill to a vote. If passed, it
would set up a bureau to oversee vending stands and snack bars for blind
people.
Carl A. Ianora (1886-1943) was an immigrant from Italy. He earned
money as a musician. In the mid-1920s he got a job as a door-to-door
envelope salesman for the Northern States Envelope Company. Carl was at the
first meetings of the MSOB. He and his wife Mary had an apartment at the
Piedmont in St. Paul for many years. Not only did he sell envelopes, but he
also tuned pianos on the side. While Carl was not prominent as an
organizational leader, his involvement is evidenced by his service on many
committees and by the investment of his own money nurturing the fledgling
organization.
Frank Hall (1888-1971) was elected to the MSOB board of directors in
1920. He too was a successful piano tuner. After marrying in 1913, he was
able to buy a home on Xerxes Avenue South in Minneapolis, where they raised
their three children-quite an accomplishment at that time. He led a protest
at the State Capitol in 1939, where over sixty blind people waved placards
protesting the cut in welfare payments to the needy blind of the state, a
young program that the MSOB helped to start. He had a comfortable life and
could have stayed at home raising his family, but he and his sighted wife
both knew that their success was not based on Frank's efforts alone. They
felt that it was their duty not only to be an inspiration to other blind
people, but also to use his position to educate the public and the social
workers about the abilities of the blind when given an opportunity. At the
1940 founding meeting of the National Federation of the Blind, Frank was
the delegate from the MSOB.
Otto Gray (1868-1950) was born in Germany and blinded later in life.
He became a broom salesman in Minneapolis and was another of the founding
members of the MSOB in 1919. He and his wife Mary owned a modest home on
Blaisdell Avenue in Minneapolis. He was president of the MSOB in the 1930s
and held other offices in the organization over the decades. In 1935 he had
the new Talking Books and the record player demonstrated to the state
convention and at several meetings of the MSOB. He felt the members should
know about this new way of reading but felt strongly that it was just a fad
and would die off soon.
Torger Lien (1899-1988) graduated from the school for the blind in
1917. He and his brother Peder, although not members until the late 1920s,
held offices and served on many committees in the MSOB. After high school
Torger went to the Twin Cities and worked as a peddler or salesman for many
years. After his years of selling and traveling independently, Torger went
back to the school for the blind during the 1930s and taught the students
how to travel independently. As an independent traveler he served as a
positive role model for the students. Torger, who had been traveling with a
cane before there were professional travel teachers, instructed students in
the art of crossing the street with the cane down on the ground, while the
professionals were telling their blind clients that they should hold the
cane straight out in front of them to let drivers know they were blind.
Torger had no certification, but he was one of the first blind people to
teach travel to blind students, a concept some still find controversial
today. One of Torger's favorite pastimes was the identification of birds,
and he taught many blind children how to listen and identify the calls of
the many birds that live in Minnesota.
Walter E. Maine (1892-1956) had been adopted by a distant family
member as a very small child. He was educated at the school for the blind
and began his piano-tuning days under the tutelage of C. T. Gleason at his
piano store. Walter was at the first meeting to form the MSOB. He went on
to be elected to the board of directors of the National Federation of the
Blind in 1950, but from 1941 on he was active on the national level,
attending almost every national convention, bringing back information and
new ideas to better the blind in Minnesota. Walter Maine was traveling
alone by bus to San Francisco, California, in June of 1956 on his way to
the national convention when he became ill. He made it only as far as Salt
Lake City, Utah, where he was hospitalized and died ten days later.
Lillian Frendin (1892-1954) was the daughter of Swedish immigrants
who divorced when she was a baby. Her mother, who was a hairdresser, made a
comfortable living for the family that included Lillian's grandmother. By
the time she was in her early twenties, Lillian's mother and grandmother
had passed away, and Lillian was on her own. She worked as a masseuse for
over thirty years. At the time of her death she left over $2,000 to the
MSOB. She was the first woman elected to the board of directors in 1924 and
was president from 1928 to 1930.
In other states white canes were being used to allow blind people to
travel on the streets without sighted guides. In 1926 Lillian brought one
of these canes to the board of directors. They were all so impressed with
the device and technique that she spearheaded the crafting of language to
create the white cane ordinances in Minnesota. She promoted the use of the
much-longer white cane (extending to the sternum) among the members of the
MSOB. Travel was important to Lillian. For years she would gather groups of
blind members and travel on the busses and trains to many communities
across Minnesota to raise funds and promote the organization. When a bill
was introduced nationally that would allow a blind person to travel with
the assistance of a sighted person for the cost of one fare, she spoke out
against supporting such a bill, since she felt that this would lead to
blind people being refused travel if they did not have a sighted person
accompanying them. Whatever short-term financial benefit there might have
been to this well-intentioned legislation, her concerns were proven
correct. Future generations would find themselves fighting for the right to
ride by themselves, with bus drivers and station attendants declaring they
must be accompanied by a sighted person.
Theodore Hohs (1887-1956) grew up in Minnesota. By age seventeen he
was out on his own, working as a machinist. In 1905 he was a barber. He
married Clara Hagel and the couple started housekeeping and had a daughter
in 1914. Not long after Theo became blind, he lost his business, his home,
and his wife. He reached out to C. T. Gleason, who helped him transition
from the sighted world to the blind world. Theo moved just down the street
from the Gleason music store and began work as a door-to-door salesman for
any place that would give him the opportunity. He was one of the founding
members of the MSOB who wanted to improve the opportunities for those
blinded later in life. Sadly, he was never able to recover financially
after becoming blind, and was barely able to support himself on his own. He
worked through the 1940s as a canvasser or salesman, selling brooms and
other items made by the workshop at the Minneapolis Society for the Blind.
He also sold products made by the blind at the Industrial Home for the
Blind. This made him enough money to afford to rent a room in someone's
home.
Edwin Anderson (1902-1951) was an older graduate from the school for
the blind in Faribault, who owned and operated a furniture repair shop in
his hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota. This was a skill he learned while
attending the school. Edwin was not an official leader in the MSOB per se,
but frequently when blind people came to the MSOB saying they didn't know
how to handle keeping accounts, they were sent to work with Edwin at his
store.
Eleanor Bentzine Harrison (1897-1984) served on the national board of
directors of the National Federation of the Blind from 1955 to 1959. Born
blind and educated at the school for the blind in Wisconsin, she was the
wife of MSOB founding member Paul Harrison (1892-1982), a successful piano
tuner.
Paul and Eleanor lived a comfortable life, owning their own home on
Washburn Avenue South in Minneapolis. They could have been content to sit
back and enjoy their success, yet for more than four decades, they served
on committees, held many offices, and did the work that needed to be done
in the organization. The couple retired to Wisconsin.
Christopher Easton (1878-1958) was born in Persia to a New York
missionary and graduated from Princeton College with honors and a degree in
sociology. He was a sighted man with drive. He was employed as the director
of the New York Metropolitan Hospital's Tuberculosis Infirmary on
Blackwell's Island. He was well known and successful in his field, honored
for his research and the programs he introduced for the containment and
elimination of tuberculosis in the United States. He was the superintendent
at Randall's Island Sanitarium in Pittsburgh and then became the director
of tuberculosis education work in Minnesota by 1908, overseeing its growth
and influence.
Christopher was appointed to the Federal Board of Vocational
Rehabilitation. He had offices at the state capitol in order to have close
contact and influence with lawmakers who would determine the funding
priorities and legislation for those afflicted with TB. In 1927 Christopher
lost his sight and some of his hearing in an accident. Almost immediately
he lost his job, his prestige, and his usefulness in the eyes of his
friends, employers, and those colleagues he had worked with over the past
thirty years. Now he found himself treated like the tuberculosis patients
he had once served. This was a major change in his life. His wife, a nurse,
was now the breadwinner for him and their two children.
Christopher joined the MSOB soon after the onset of blindness and was
elected to the board of directors. He brought his expertise in public
health laws and policies to the organization. For several years he wrote
letters for the organization to state officials and participated in state
conventions, helping to direct the resolutions of the organization and the
crafting of language in its legislative proposals. He secured the privilege
of using Free Matter for the Blind when shipping materials in Braille, and
this was a tremendous benefit for the MSOB and its home for the blind.
He was appointed to the Washington County Welfare Board in the summer
of 1937 as a representative of the MSOB. When the Minnesota welfare
legislation was declared invalid by Social Security in 1938, Chris, as part
of the legislative committee that worked hard on the welfare legislation,
took it personally. He wrote lengthy letters that were printed in the
Minnesota Bulletin of the MSOB to defend the work that had been done by the
legislative committee.
These are some of the historic figures who have provided me with a
model for how to live my life and who have given me inspiration. I write
this to show my gratitude and to say a word of thanks to these and so many
others who brought wisdom, energy, talent, and foresight in forming the
Minnesota State Organization of the Blind and the National Federation of
the Blind.
----------
Consider a Charitable Gift
Making a charitable gift can be one of the most satisfying
experiences in life. Each year millions of people contribute their time,
talent, and treasure to charitable organizations. When you plan for a gift
to the National Federation of the Blind, you are not just making a
donation; you are leaving a legacy that insures a future for blind people
throughout the country. Special giving programs are available through the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB).
Points to Consider When Making a Gift to the National Federation of the
Blind
. Will my gift serve to advance the mission of the NFB?
. Am I giving the most appropriate asset?
. Have I selected the best way to make my gift?
. Have I considered the tax consequences of my gift?
. Have I sought counsel from a competent advisor?
. Have I talked to the NFB planned giving officer about my gift?
Benefits of Making a Gift to the NFB
. Helping the NFB fulfill its mission
. Receiving income tax savings through a charitable deduction
. Making capital gain tax savings on contribution of some appreciated
gifts
. Providing retained payments for the life of a donor or other
beneficiaries
. Eliminating federal estate tax in certain situations
. Reducing estate settlement cost
Your Gift Will Help Us
. Make the study of science and math a real possibility for blind
children
. Provide hope and training for seniors losing vision
. Promote state and chapter programs and provide information that will
educate blind people
. Advance technology helpful to the blind
. Create a state-of-the-art library on blindness
. Train and inspire professionals working with the blind
. Provide critical information to parents of blind children
. Mentor blind people trying to find jobs
Your gift makes you a part of the NFB dream!
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[PHOTO CAPTION: Grace Warn]
As Seen on TV
by Grace Warn
From the Editor: Grace Warn works with me as an assistant in
preparing each issue of the Braille Monitor. She is an English major who is
using this job and several others to make a living while she looks for the
job of her dreams. She has more than a little interest in the subject of
blindness, for one of her best friends is the chapter president of the
National Federation of the Blind of Columbia, Missouri.
Grace is a television aficionado. She also likes to do research. Here
are some interesting observations about television shows featuring blind
people over the last forty years. While her review is certainly not
exhaustive, it does represent the gamut of how blind people are portrayed
on television. Here is what she says:
The National Federation of the Blind's philosophy is that "the
problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real problem is the
misunderstanding and lack of information that exist." These days one of the
greatest sources of misinformation is television. Ask any cop or person
working in a hospital, and they will agree. Shows like CSI, House, or
Grey's Anatomy take extreme liberty with the realities of policy and
procedure in the name of drama and ratings. As a result there are millions
of people who believe a murder investigation is finished within days, that
as long as the patient does not outright die or suffer long-term effects,
malpractice is not a concern, and other such blatantly untrue myths. Where
I'm going with all this is that, to know what kind of misinformation and
stereotypes the NFB will be fighting today, in 2014, you have to look at
the blind characters the sighted public know, especially if they've never
personally met a blind person. You have to look at what TV teaches about
blindness and blind people.
On TV there are two forms of blindness and blind characters:
Temporary Blindness and the Blind Character. Temporary Blindness is a plot
device, more often used in an action or drama series but occasionally in
comedies. This blindness affects a main character, but the cause of the
blindness is usually cured by the end of the episode. In the comedies the
writers are going for the opportunities for humorously mistaken identities
and physical comedy bits, but dramas go a different direction with the plot
device. In dramas the writers use temporary blindness to show how a beloved
character, usually a character known for his physical abilities and general
invincibility, handles being physically compromised. Deafness has been used
instead several times, but deafness does not portray itself as easily in
the visual medium of television. If blindness is used, you change how the
character walks into a room, how he or she interacts with friends and
strangers, etc. Temporary blindness has been used on a number of shows in
multiple genres, including but not limited to M*A*S*H; Hawaii 5-0 (the
original series); The Untouchables; The Simpsons; Dynasty; Melrose Place;
Futurama; Star Trek (original series); Happy Days; The Incredible Hulk;
Family Guy; Walker, Texas Ranger; and King of the Hill.
Bombs tend to be involved in causing temporary blindness, either
flash burns that must be allowed to heal before the characters know if the
retinas were badly damaged or blunt force trauma, causing the character to
lose his vision. In all cases the character afflicted must wait a few weeks
to find out if he'll be permanently blind. The audience watches as these
strong, independent men struggle a bit with performing a few basic tasks
without vision, but our hero is undaunted. And, while the hero is blinded
and supposedly an easy target, the villain decides to do him in. Of course,
the hero manages to fight the villain off despite being blinded, without
taking grievous injury in the process. Then the bandages come off, and he
can see again-cue happy tears from the hero's love interest and/or best
friend; tune in next week for more adventures.
It's the little things that add up to everything wrong in these
scenarios. Sudden loss of vision would be hard to cope with, and learning
nonvisual skills takes time. Orientation and mobility skills, even in the
smaller and more familiar setting of a person's own home, would likely take
more time than the TV shows imply, considering that, at most, these
characters are blinded for a matter of two or three weeks tops.
Believability is further eroded when these characters are shown being
acclimated enough to their blindness to do things such as fight off
criminals attempting to finish them off while they are handicapped.
But showing that these characters are still capable is good, right?
It shows people that losing vision doesn't mean losing life as you know it,
right? I'd say no, not really-because it gives false expectations about the
transition from navigating the world using sight to using nonvisual
techniques. Coming to terms with losing vision, much less getting training
organized and begun, is not something that happens overnight. Seeing a
character adjust so quickly gives a false impression about the reality of
such a transition.
The blind character who is not miraculously cured is a completely
different matter. Some of these characters are blind before the audience
meets them, and others become blind during the show's run, but either way
their blindness is an element of their character. And before I go any
farther, I will say that Geordi LaForge from Star Trek: the Next Generation
is on neither list. By strict technicalities, Geordi isn't blind. With the
use of his VISOR, Geordi has vision. The VISOR scans the electromagnetic
spectrum and creates visual input, and, in the movies, Geordi gets
cybernetic eyes. If anything, I would lump him in with those on television
who experience temporary blindness, since there is only one episode where
his ability to continue to use the visor comes into question. Though there
are probably other blind characters on TV, there are six I'd like to talk
about here: two that I consider negative examples and four that I would
call positive examples.
I'll start with the negative example. Long-time Monitor readers may
recall, in the December 1991 issue, an article titled "No Good for the
Blind in Good and Evil" by Barbara Pierce. Good and Evil was a short-lived
ABC comedy series that was cancelled before it even finished a single
season. In fact, at the time of its cancellation, eleven full episodes had
been produced, but the last five remained unaired. The reaction to George,
the blind psychiatrist, was just that strong and negative.
I have to admit here that I'm writing about this character (forgive
the pun) blindly. I would have been about seven when the show aired, and
this type of comedy never appealed to my mother. I have to rely on written
reviews. Aside from the article in the Monitor (really, go read it; it was
a wonderful article that articulated in exquisite detail what was wrong
with George and how the NFB reacted to his existence), there are two
websites I trust to give me information about this sort of thing: IMDB and
Wikipedia. If these sites don't have information on it, the show wasn't
good enough to waste time on. IMDB stands for Internet Movie Data Base, and
it is a great tool to use in finding a show, movie, or actor's filmography.
Using the service, participants can also leave reviews about movies or
television series and rate them. As you can imagine, the number of reviews
or users who rate the series is a good indicator of popularity and/or
quality.
Only eight users have taken the time to write reviews of this show,
and only three of them make mention of George. Most of these reviews sing
Terri Garr's praises for her role and praise the "non-politically-correct
physical humor" or describe it in terms like "irreverent, zany, madcap, and
hilarious." In other words, these reviews loved one actress out of the
entire cast and enjoyed the most ridiculous, stupid, slapstick humor. The
low number of reviews, combined with the complete absence of any reviews
that either hate or thought the show was only okay, says a lot about how
many people still remember or care about this show. A glance at Wikipedia
confirms it: this show didn't and still doesn't have a lot of fans. While
there's a decent synopsis, there's nothing in the section about the cast
and no episode list. There's a three-sentence discussion of the unaired
episodes, mostly summarizing the ending of plot arcs begun in the episodes
that did air. Tellingly, the Wikipedia entry does include this, "The
ineptitude that blind George demonstrated in attempting to navigate his
surroundings, frequently demolishing everything in sight with his red-
tipped white cane, led to the picketing of ABC's offices by members of the
National Federation of the Blind." In other words, George was the walking
embodiment of just about every negative stereotype of the blind, wrapped in
an extra-klutzy package for maximum laughs and excused as "parody done to
the extremes." It might be worthwhile to note that Mark Blankfield, the
actor who played George, went on to portray another "comically" blind man.
Two years after Good and Evil, Mark played Blinkin in the Mel Brooks film,
Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
Let me talk now about Mary Ingalls. Others may disagree with me in
labeling her as a negative example of a blind character, but this was the
reaction I had to her as a kid when I watched the show, and it's the
impression of her that has lingered on in the years since. I will say she's
light-years better than George, but I still can't bring myself to call Mary
Ingalls as portrayed in the Little House on the Prairie series a really
good example of a blind character. And let me be clear on this point: I'm
not talking about the actual woman, and I'm not talking about Mary as her
sister Laura portrayed her in the Little House books either. I'm talking
about the character played by Melissa Sue Anderson on the long-running TV
series with Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert. In fact, I liked Mary in
the books, and that's probably the primary reason why I don't like her in
the TV series.
In the books Mary leaves her family to attend the Iowa College for
the Blind. Unlike any of the rest of the Ingalls girls, Mary goes to live
four hundred miles away from her family and stays there for a year. Even
Laura doesn't spend as much time away from the family as Mary; she comes
home most weekends to visit from her teaching jobs. And in the decades
since I first read them, there are a few lines from These Happy Golden
Years when Mary comes back from Vinton for a visit that have stayed in my
memory and sum up to me exactly who Mary became at the Iowa College for the
Blind. When she first arrives from the train station, Carrie asks her
sister if she had been afraid to come by herself on the train. "'Oh, no,'
Mary smiled. 'I had no trouble. We like to do things by ourselves, at
college. It is part of our education.' She did seem much more sure of
herself, and she moved easily around the house, instead of sitting immobile
in her chair." (page 124) That confidence, both in traveling independently
across two states and in navigating her own home, was an element of Mary's
character from the beginning. While Mary might never have been as impulsive
or wild as Laura, she'd always been confident and sure in what she did.
Adding to the feeling that the college was giving Mary back her confidence
is another comment from two pages further on: "Mary had often smiled, but
it was a long time since they had heard her laugh out, as she used to when
she was a little girl. All that it had cost to send Mary to college was
more than repaid by seeing her so gay and confident." She moves around the
house, she laughs, she writes Braille with a slate and stylus with ease and
speed, and she plays the organ for the family. Mary comes home from college
a poised, polished young lady with a number of skills she is confident and
eager to display as she is portrayed in the original books.
When I watched the TV series as a child, I didn't see that poise and
confidence. Yes, Mary went off to the school for the blind. Yes, Mary went
on to become a teacher and then head of that school with her husband. Yes,
Mary got married and had a child on the TV series. And, when ruffians came
to the school during the night, or Mary had to walk to find help after a
stagecoach accident, she managed to cope with events and find her inner
strength. But for every moment we see her being strong and coping, there
were long moments of Mary standing around in or near tears, wringing her
hands saying, "I can't." As an adult I can look at this and recognize that
some of this is to create drama. Some of it is the real loss of confidence
a young woman might feel after losing her vision. But I still hate to see a
girl who was the confident, determined, voice-of-reason older sister turn
periodically into a weepy, wishy-washy wife. I really don't think it gives
a good impression about how vision loss will shape and determine the rest
of a person's life or that her blindness explains why she is so often
afraid to take action.
Moving on to the more positive portrayals, there is a comedy series
that didn't use the blind guy as an excuse for crude slapstick comedy. The
CBS series Becker featured the character Jake Malinak in the main ensemble.
Jake was blinded in a car accident several years before the events
portrayed in the series. Jake's accident and resulting blindness are never
really a major topic in the show, except in an episode in season two,
"Blind Curve," when Jake's former best friend and driver in the accident
that blinded him comes back to town looking for Jake's forgiveness. There
are relatively few references to the fact that Jake was born with vision.
Instead, Jake is a fixture in the neighborhood and the diner. He owns and
operates a small stand inside the diner that sells gum, candy, and
newspapers, and he seems to be a fairly well-known and well-liked guy.
Jake is played by actor Alex Désert, who does a good job of playing a
man who is blind. While frequently wearing sunglasses (easy trick to hide
that the actor's eyes are tracking when the character's wouldn't), in
scenes without them he does a good job of keeping his gaze unfocused but
close enough to whomever he is speaking to make it clear they are the
object of his conversation. Désert also uses body language well, moving
more like a blind man, moving his hands and head in ways that a person with
sight usually doesn't. Jake uses a cane to navigate, and either Désert
observed actual blind people or spoke to a mobility and orientation
teacher, because he uses the cane and sighted guide in a fairly realistic
and proper manner.
One of the best parts of Jake, to me, is that he is an equal in the
show. He's sarcastic, he has a smart answer for a dumb question, and he is
in no way exempt from the diatribes and misanthropy of the title character.
He may try to keep a positive outlook, but he's not Pollyanna. And, best of
all, none of the other characters avoid his blindness. If the setup is
good, they make the joke about him, and Jake jokes about it himself. When
another character is trying to get reparations for being 1/64 Native
American and says the rest of the main characters don't know what it's like
being discriminated against, Jake's response is, "Yeah, I'm a blind black
man, we just sail through life." In other words, Jake is a normal guy in
the world of this sitcom, no different from any other character, no better
or worse because of his blindness.
Moving from comedy to action/adventure, NBC's Covert Affairs gives us
another strong, blind character: Auggie Anderson. Auggie is a young man,
former special forces, who was blinded some years previous to the series
start on an op in Iraq. He is sometimes still bitter about the fact that he
is no longer in the field, but it's done very realistically. Auggie has had
several years to come to terms with the changes in his life, but
occasionally events will remind him what he can no longer do, and that loss
is still fresh enough to sting. Auggie uses a cane and exhibits mostly
proper technique with both the cane and a sighted guide. The only thing my
blind friends and I don't really care for is the fact that he uses a short
cane. His cane comes up only to the middle of his chest when held upright,
which is a shorter cane than any of the blind people I know use. But
considering that Auggie works in a demanding job and mentors young agents
and is shown as incredibly capable and independent, I'll call that a minor
quirk.
In a case of fiction following life, there's the character of Pete
Thornton in MacGyver. The actor who played him, Dana Elcar, began losing
his vision during the third season. His daughter convinced him to speak to
the producers, because he could not continue to do some of the stunt work
he'd done before. The producers came back to him saying that this was
natural so they were going to have Pete go blind on the show, too. In 1991
Dana Elcar even spoke at the National Federation of the Blind's national
convention about his experiences, and his speech was printed in the October
1991 issue of the Monitor.
Despite losing his vision, Pete didn't lose his place in the show,
remaining the only regular character other than MacGyver himself. He might
not have jumped out of helicopters or run around the woods quite as often,
but Pete didn't disappear from Mac's life, either. Pete kept his position
as director of operations at the Phoenix Foundation. Pete does use a guide
dog to navigate, but in many ways that is the largest change for his
character that the audience sees after the onset of glaucoma.
Surprisingly, one of the best, most realistic blind characters has to
be Mike Longstreet in the show Longstreet, which aired in 1971, more than
forty years ago. An insurance investigator is blinded by a bomb blast at
the beginning of the pilot, and the majority of the first episode describes
his adjustment to blindness as he lives at a residential facility called
Oakhurst. Much of the pilot episode deals with Mike as he works with a
doctor who helps him learn to function as a blind man. His training doesn't
begin with instruction in using a cane or a dog. First a doctor walks
around with him, making Longstreet learn to pay attention to sounds and
teaching him to interpret what the sounds mean. The show frequently makes a
special effort to highlight cues that Longstreet would pay attention to,
playing what would normally be quiet background noises much louder so that
the audience pays attention to the fact that he's hearing a man walking
through the grass or the panting of a guide dog walking with an older woman
on another path.
Students at this facility are shown learning archery, playing
horseshoes, running relays along guide ropes, and keeping active. When
Longstreet begins to learn Braille, he doesn't start with the kiddie books
the doctor intends to use. Instead, he has police reports transcribed into
Braille so that he can read them and participate in the investigation of
the crime that cost him his sight. He receives a cane that uses a laser
that measures distance and gives it in an electronic pulse. The cane was
indeed marketed when the show ran, and, although it never gained widespread
acceptance, it represented the mobility options of the time.
Longstreet eventually gets a dog. He goes back to work as an
insurance investigator, and he manages quite well. But it isn't that he's
magically independent and adjusted. While the series doesn't play up these
issues in the name of drama, the fact that Longstreet was blinded
relatively recently isn't ignored. His friends question whether he's taking
stupid risks to prove that he isn't afraid of life. Longstreet finds
someone to teach him Jeet Kune Do so that he can defend himself, and the
instructor is played by no less than Bruce Lee. Longstreet is even
confronted by small things, such as his long-time secretary not
understanding why you can't rearrange a blind man's furniture on a whim. To
me it's one of the most authentic portrayals of the process of adapting to
a suddenly-acquired disability that I've seen come out of Hollywood,
because Longstreet isn't magically able to cope. He stands for long periods
of time in front of the mirror "looking at himself." He gets frustrated
with people trying to help him (whether or not the help is necessary in the
situation). The friends who worked with him in the past and continue to
work with him after the explosion struggle to figure out how to respond to
the new Longstreet, and they read his behavior to know how he's doing. And
all of it is on a believable scale. Longstreet isn't magically able to cope
with his blindness and survivor's guilt. His friends are similarly
realistic in that they do not magically know how to deal with the changes
blindness brings, nor are they ridiculously uncomfortable interacting with
him as a blind man.
After going back to watch these shows so that I could write about
them, what I take away from this is that there's no consistency to
blindness on TV. Time has not helped the writers in creating authentic
blind characters; at best they've maintained a low standard and a high
unbelievability quotient. Using blindness as a temporary affliction for
drama hasn't changed much either. The same sorts of shows still use it, and
they use it the same way they always have-with about the same level of
believability.
A question that my blind friends and I ask ourselves and one another
is what we have the right to expect of television and whether our
expectations should depend on the kind of series we're watching. In the
shows that are primarily satirical, none of the characters are realistic,
and no segment of society is immune from their abuse. On the other hand, I
think we have the right to expect those television shows which feature what
we are asked to believe to be true-to-life human beings to pay attention to
what it really means to be blind and to show their sighted viewers what I
see in the lives of my blind friends. I know that fiction and drama will
sometimes require that the people on screen be faster, smarter, or
different in some way that makes them stand out, but I don't think it's too
much to ask that, when I see a blind character appear on the screen, I
don't have to flinch or swear or wonder how much harder it will be for my
friends to function as normal people in the eyes of those who've watched
the show.
----------
Imagine Creating a Future Full of Opportunities for the Blind
by Anil Lewis
From the Editor: Anil Lewis is the director of advocacy and policy
for the National Federation of the Blind. Recently much of his energy has
been concentrated on moving forward legislation to phase out the payment of
subminimum wages to blind and disabled workers, but like the rest of us he
wears multiple hats in the Federation. He is the chairman of the NFB
Imagination Fund Committee, and here is what he has to say about how we are
going to build and strengthen our organization by helping to fund it:
At the 2013 National Federation of the Blind board meeting, as the
chairperson of the NFB Imagination Fund Committee I asked the members in
attendance to imagine what our world would be like without the National
Federation of the Blind. There was an eerie hush across the room, with many
of us undoubtedly reflecting on what our lives would have been like without
the NFB. Thankfully we will never have to worry about that circumstance
because the National Federation of the Blind is a dedicated volunteer
organization of blind people committed to changing the lives of all blind
people for the better.
Over the years we have primarily built this organization with our own
personal finances. Many of us have also encouraged family members, friends,
and associates to help. More people would like to help us in our mission to
change the world, but we need to identify them and spread the good news of
the NFB. I am searching for an army of committed, passionate Federationists
willing to help raise $300,000 in three months.
I realize how difficult the task of fundraising can be to those who
have not tried it. Believe me, it becomes an easier task when you realize
that the work we do is unique, necessary, and fun. You will find that, as
you talk to people about our work, many are excited about supporting our
efforts through a financial contribution. I also understand that some
people are confused about what may seem to be competing fundraising efforts
to raise money for the NFB. But, if we are to continue to fund a movement
that changes what it means to be blind, we must offer a variety of
opportunities for people to participate financially in it.
We start by recognizing that every day the things we do in the
National Federation of the Blind change people's lives, and, by changing
the lives of individuals, we change the world. As an active member of the
NFB, I have served as a chapter president, as an affiliate president, and
as a member of the national board of directors. In each role and in my
current role as director of advocacy and policy for the NFB, through
example and action I know that what I do makes a difference in the lives of
other blind people. Thousands of other Federationists wake up every morning
with the same joy of anticipation and belief. We can do more together than
we can do alone, and we do more when we have the fiscal wherewithal to
multiply our own efforts. We must continue enhancing our fundraising
efforts to ensure that all blind people can live the lives they dream of.
As the president of the Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter, I encouraged my
chapter members to raise money for the chapter. We conducted raffles, candy
sales, and fundraising dinners. We used these funds to conduct chapter
meetings and local outreach activities and to assist members to attend
state and national conventions. Once I became the president of the Georgia
affiliate, I then encouraged the membership to support the state affiliate
as well as each local chapter. So we conducted more raffles, candy sales,
and fundraising dinners. We also solicited state convention sponsors,
secured small grants, and set up fee-for-service opportunities. We used
these funds to host affiliate board meetings and state conventions, to
conduct statewide programs, and to assist members to attend national
conventions. We even had the pleasure of hosting several national
conventions ourselves. At each level I expanded my tunnel-vision view of
the NFB and of my responsibility for raising funds for the organization. As
a member of the national board I finally understood the big picture.
Although each level and aspect of our organization is stronger when it is
able to secure the funding to expand, support, promote, and grow the
Federation in a specific area, we are only as strong as the whole
organization. We are truly one big family in which each chapter, affiliate,
and division is interdependent. Now I actively encourage every member to
support the whole organization through the variety of fundraising avenues
that exist.
There are opportunities to make general donations to the National
Federation of the Blind at any time. Donations to the White Cane Fund are
deposited into the general fund of the NFB. The Shares Unlimited in NFB
(SUN) Fund donations are stored in a rainy day fund for emergencies.
Donations to the tenBroek Fund support the foundation that owns and
maintains the physical property used to house the National Federation of
the Blind.
Other fundraising options have specific methods of participation. You
can become a member of the Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society when you make
provision for a financial donation from your estate to be made to the NFB.
The Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship Fund is the fund that allows us to assist
members to attend their first NFB national convention. Two drawings raise
money for this fund. Individuals, chapters, and affiliates are encouraged
to sell the $10 Jernigan Fund drawing tickets distributed to each affiliate
prior to our national convention. The winner will receive round-trip
airfare and hotel accommodation for two at the following year's convention
plus $1,000 to cover meals and incidentals. Individual Federationists are
also encouraged to buy the $5 Jernigan Fund drawing tickets while attending
the national convention. The winner of this drawing receives $2,500. The
winning tickets for both drawings are selected at the banquet of the
national convention.
The simplest, most effective method members of the NFB can use to make
regular contributions to the organization is the Pre-Authorized
Contribution (PAC) Plan. The PAC plan allows members to make automatic
monthly donations to the NFB from their checking or savings accounts. (The
ability to make automatic donations through credit and debit cards is
coming soon.) You can join the PAC Plan with a minimum donation of $5 per
month. Every member should be a part of the PAC Plan.
Many of you are already soldiers in our effort to fund our movement as
monthly contributors through the NFB PAC Plan. The NFB Imagination Fund is
an opportunity for you to raise your rank to Imaginator by engaging
nonmembers and encouraging them to assist us to fund our NFB Jernigan
Institute and our affiliate programs. Countless individuals would love to
be a part of the social change we create, but they have not been educated
about what we do. This is why we need an army of Imaginators to help us
spread the word about the NFB and ask potential partners to fund our
movement.
Half of the funds raised through the Imagination Fund Campaign support
the development of projects and programs at our NFB Jernigan Institute. The
other half is available to support the innovative projects and programs of
our state affiliates. Our Jernigan Institute programs, like the NFB BELL,
Early Explorers, and STEM programs, are creating opportunities for blind
youth to participate in their educations in new and exciting ways that will
allow them to achieve goals they have yet to imagine. We must continue to
use our imaginations to dream of additional innovative strategies and
programs that challenge the systems currently being used to educate,
rehabilitate, and employ blind youth, adults, and seniors. In order for us
to transform these dreams into reality, we must continue to raise the funds
required to develop, implement, and replicate these strategies and programs
across the country.
We are currently recruiting Imaginators to serve actively in our army
of fundraisers for the National Federation of the Blind. We will be
launching a three-month-long Imagination Fund Campaign from March 1 through
May 31, 2014. We will be working together in concert to achieve a
fundraising goal of $300,000. Individuals who would like to participate
actively as Imaginators for this campaign should email Anil Lewis at
<imaginationfund at nfb.org>. You will then need to complete a form with
information that will be used to set up your personal Mobile Giving page.
This is one of the tools we will employ to help us reach our goal.
We will work together throughout the campaign to motivate and support
one another as one unit working to fund our movement. Do you have what it
takes to be an Imaginator? If so, Uncle Whozit needs you! Imagine what we
could do. Now imagine yourself doing it. Imagine the future full of
opportunities we will create together.
----------
Perspectives from a Student Musician
by Julie McGinnity
From the Editor: Julie McGinnity has twice been the winner of a
National Federation of the Blind scholarship, which made her a tenBroek
Scholar in 2013. She is active in the Missouri affiliate as the recording
secretary, as the chairman of the state dog guide division, and as a member
of her chapter. Here is what she has to say about the challenges involved
in becoming a blind performer:
It's the beginning of my second semester of grad school. I have been
consulting with my university's office of disability services, my Braille
music transcriber, and my professors in order to make the transition into a
new semester as seamless as possible. Thankfully, our efforts have been
successful. My professors and I are discussing strategies for teaching me
performance skills, coordinating the transcription of music for classes
into Braille, and working with me to ensure that I have the same access to
materials as my fellow students.
After four and a half years, I may have finally found a successful
method for acquiring the accommodations I need as a blind music major. But
I won't lie; it can be a complicated and difficult process. I certainly
have made mistakes along the way and had to work even harder to keep myself
on the right track.
Here I bring you some important things to ponder if you are
considering a degree in music or may simply wish to take music classes
during your time in college. Keep in mind that these ideas and suggestions
stem from my own experience as a music major, though much that I have found
has been confirmed by other blind musicians.
The first thing I am always asked by sighted musicians is, "How do
you read music?" My answer to this question has changed over the years.
Although I learned Braille music as a teenager, I was deceived into
thinking that I would not be able to acquire it easily or learn it well
enough to keep up with my colleagues. I was also deceived by the common
stereotype that blind musicians all have exceptional (some would say
magical) musical skills and could learn anything by ear. For me this proved
false, as I discovered in my first semester of music school. In order to
save my grades and my dignity, I chose to fight for Braille music and
eventually began to use it in all my classes.
Looking back, I believe that I should never have had an excuse to
leave myself out of learning how to read music. I was musically illiterate,
which is not a choice for sighted musicians. They all began learning how to
sight read on the first day of classes, but I had to memorize and learn by
ear. This is no substitute for learning how to read the notes on the page,
whether they are in Braille or print. I have heard of those students who
have graduated successfully without learning how to read music, and I am
amazed at their musical ability. I would not, however, recommend this
method for anyone. We should not be accepted into music school as blind
students if we do not learn all that our sighted colleagues do; we should
be accepted as equals with equal rights and responsibilities.
Braille music is no more difficult, tedious, or irritating than print
music. Many people will tell you that it is nearly impossible to learn, but
many blind musicians conquer this task successfully. There are
instructional books and tutors available to teach Braille music to those
who wish to learn it. Additionally, a wealth of Braille music scores is
available from the Library of Congress, and Braille music transcribers
exist all over the country. These transcribers can be costly, but, if
Braille music materials are required for a class, you will be able to
receive them with the assistance of your university.
Another important aspect of our lives as musicians is performing.
Whether you are in marching band, the top choir or orchestra, or wish to be
a solo performer, performance skills are a must. You need to learn how to
interact graciously with those who think that walking across a stage is too
difficult for you, while at the same time strategizing with those you trust
and using your own experiences to develop a repertoire of alternative
techniques for the stage and in other performance settings. Here are two
life rules that might be helpful when working in your performance classes:
Honesty is your friend. You need to have a few trusted teachers,
friends, and/or colleagues to tell you what you look like. I was surprised
to learn that even sighted people need to do this. Yes, they look
ridiculous on occasion, and they don't see it. The truth is that not
everyone will be honest with you. Some teachers and friends won't want to
hurt your feelings, so develop an honest relationship with those who will
give you constructive feedback. Each person has to develop his or her own
repertoire of gestures. Don't let this frighten you. We all have gestures
that we use every day. Learning how to manipulate these gestures and
movements on stage is simply a matter of molding them into the right
contexts and learning what they might convey to an audience member. Sighted
people benefit from videos, mirrors, and pictures, but we need another pair
of eyes as well as our own intuition and knowledge of ourselves to learn
these skills.
Know your own strengths, weaknesses, and limits. Stage work can
involve anything from climbing on platforms to dancing around the stage.
Therefore, it is important to know where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
For example, I can tell you that I feel safe climbing on platforms if I get
a chance to navigate them ahead of time with my cane, but, if I were asked
to dance around the stage, I would feel very uncomfortable because my dance
experience is zero. Again, sighted people deal with this in performing as
well. But it is particularly important that we as blind musicians know
ourselves as performers for two reasons.
First, we need to be clear about what we can do. If the professor
says that I cannot be on the top level of the risers in a choir concert, I
can honestly say that I am personally comfortable with this limit for me.
It would be wrong if the professor set this limit based solely on my
blindness, without taking my actual abilities into account. But, on the
other hand, it would be irresponsible of me to claim that I could do
anything and everything he could ask of me in a performance. We need to be
responsible. Claiming that we can do any stunt and act as super blind
performers is not honest and negates any responsible, truthful advocating
that could be done. College should be a safe place where we can express our
worries and fears. If we have not learned how to navigate platforms of
different lengths, lead a marching band, or work on stage without our canes
or dogs, we should learn how to do so in our classes. It may sound like a
lot of extra time will need to be devoted to developing some of these
skills, but with the right teachers, some motivation, and connections to
some fellow blind performers, it is possible to learn and be successful.
One of the greatest concerns for blind and sighted musicians alike is
the ability to secure a career after graduation. This is uncertain for the
fine arts more than most other fields, since much of the work performing
and teaching we musicians encounter is unsteady. In many cases musicians
move from performance to performance, and students come and go in our
studios. Full-time jobs are particularly difficult to obtain these days,
and we all know about the unemployment rate among the blind.
Sighted musicians augment their musical careers by doing things like
retail work and food service. Unfortunately, I do not know many local blind
store clerks or waitresses. But there are many different options to give us
better marketability and career possibilities. For those of you who may be
interested in majoring in a topic besides music, this is a great way to
gain experience in another field. You can also apply for jobs as a student
at which you can learn particular skills. For example, I currently have a
position at my university testing websites and technology for
accessibility. I would encourage any blind student to gain job experience
in college to boost your resume and give you work experience, but for
musicians it might be even more important for us to look outside our field.
Think about possible volunteer opportunities, on-campus jobs, such as
tutoring or receptionist work, and taking classes outside of the music
department to widen your interests and knowledge.
A large network of blind and sighted musicians who have experience in
many career paths are willing to mentor current students. From opera
singers to music therapists, a wide range of careers is represented by
members of the blind community. I am willing to answer any questions about
being a music major and to help those who are interested to connect with
other musicians.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan]
The Life of a Convention Chairman or Disneyland Visited
by Kenneth Jernigan
From the Editor: In the November 2013 issue we ran an extensive
article about the adventures of members of the Travel and Tourism
Division's experience with Disney World. I liked that article, but it made
me wonder about other experiences we have had there. I hope Monitor readers
have as much fun reading this as I had, both because of its content and
because of the familiar voice that comes through the writing, one I
frequently find myself missing, and one I find myself grateful for having
when I go to the trouble of finding some of his gems. This article appeared
in the February 1967 issue of the Braille Monitor:
From long experience I have learned that it behooves the NFB
convention chairman to do a good deal of personal investigating-sampling,
testing, poking, and prodding. When, for instance, (late in the summer of
1963) the 1964 convention at Phoenix was still on the drawing boards, we
were considering a trip to Legend City as a part of the package.
Accordingly, one hot summer day the sweating convention chairman betook
himself to Legend City and commenced a minute inspection.
He was told that the food at the Mexican restaurant was good and
would be enjoyed by the delegates. To make sure, he tried it. He was told
that the "Wild Mouse" was an unforgettable ride, which would disarrange
human bones even more efficiently than a roller coaster. It was, and it
did. Toward the end of that hot afternoon he was told that the delegates
would enjoy riding on the backs of the burros who trudged dutifully around
the park in a pack train. With memories of the "Wild Mouse" still fresh in
his bones, the Chairman decided to forego the delights of the burro
experience in favor of verbal inquiry. Yes, he was assured, any and all of
the delegates would be welcome to ride when the great day of the tour
should come. Tired but happy, the convention chairman retreated to his
hotel room, soothed by the comforts of air conditioning and a sense of a
job well done.
When the hosts assembled at Phoenix and went forth to tour, the
chairman, remembering the vicissitudes of the "Wild Mouse," besought his
room for a nap-only to be roused in a few hours by returning mobs who beat
on his door with threats of lynch and similar pleasantries. Why? It seems
that the burros had a notion that they should not carry anyone who weighed
more than 165 pounds, and NFB convention goers are notably well fed. The
moral to the story (and it is only illustrative. I could give numerous
other unhappy examples) is simply this: don't take it on faith! Ride the
burro, even if it follows the "Wild Mouse."
With thoughts of the burro fresh in mind, I went to Los Angeles last
October and headed for Disneyland. My activities may be divided into two
categories-bargaining for price and testing the quality of the wares. The
story of the first of these activities is soon told. The businesslike lady
in the businesslike office said: "We will be glad to have you if you want
to come at the rate we propose, but if you don't six million others will.
When may we sign you up?" And that was that for point number one. Point
number two was another matter, however.
With thoughts of the burros still in mind, I returned to my hotel
room, rested for the remainder of the day, rose early the following
morning, put on the most informal clothes I possessed, and headed for
Disneyland--accompanied, I might add, by Mrs. Jean Dyon Norris, who does
such an excellent job with the Twin-Vision Books for the American
Brotherhood for the Blind, and who deserves a medal for bravery and
endurance.
When I had talked with the businesslike lady in the businesslike
office the day before, the question had arisen as to whether our delegates
should go around the park on their own or follow a guided tour. The guided
tour is a standard feature of Disneyland, one tour guide handling about
twenty persons. Not forgetting the burro, I decided to try it both ways.
I started with the tour. Half of our twenty tourists got on the
Jungle Cruise, but the other half had to wait. Being enterprising and still
unweary, Mrs. Norris and I made the first section. However, we profited
little by the effort, for we simply had to wait on the bank while the other
half had their turn. It was only fifteen or twenty minutes of wasted time,
but it pointed the way for what was to come. Our tour next went down what
is called "Main Street USA," a carry-back to the turn of the century. Each
time we passed a store or shop, the guide paused briefly and said something
to this effect: "Here is a perfume shop. They have many different
fragrances inside, and you may want to come back when you finish your tour
to go in and look around. These are basic fragrances and you can smell and
order your own combination mixed." It was the same sort of thing at the
glassblower's shop, the general store, the penny arcade, and the place with
the party telephone line.
After two hours I had had enough. Just as the tour rounded a corner,
Mrs. Norris and I ducked down another street and started out on our own.
The rest of the day was absolutely delightful. We went back to that perfume
shop, and I personally sniffed all of the basic fragrances. They have
twelve, and you can make and order any combination of perfume you like.
It's great fun. I went to the glassblower's shop and felt of his wares.
Again, delightful. You can buy the perfumes or the glassware and take them
with you. In the penny arcade I stood on the old-fashioned vibrating
exerciser, squeezed the grip-testing machine to see if I could ring the
bell, played old-fashioned, coin-operated musical instruments, and tried
the various games of chance. In the country store I picked up the party
telephone and was treated to a wonderful gossip session.
Leaving Main Street USA, Mrs. Norris and I explored the tree house of
the Swiss Family Robinson. No, the convention chairman did not content
himself with verbal explanation. He climbed to the top of the tree house
and personally examined every object he could reach. Later it was the South
Sea Island Restaurant on the water, complete with excellent coconut and
fruit ice cream, personally tasted by the chairman. There was the ride in
the horse-drawn surrey-experienced firsthand, no verbal inquiry.
There are other things in the park-the monorail, running to the
fabulous Disneyland Hotel and all around the park, the old-fashioned Choo
Choo Train and train station; the "Land of Tomorrow," with rides that put
the "Wild Mouse" to shame. If I told you about the Bobsleds of the
Matterhorn, you wouldn't believe it. Disneyland is all that it is cracked
up to be and then some.
Now comes the sad conclusion to this story of adventure-the straw as
you might say, which broke the burro's back. At the very end of this varied
day, when the chairman and Mrs. Norris were heading down the homestretch
toward the exit gate, the chairman discovered that Disneyland has mules
upon which visitors are urged to ride. The chairman remembered Phoenix and
the burros, the muttered threats of lynch, the pounding at his door in the
late hours. Even fresher in his memory, was the long day just behind him.
He debated between duty and desire, and once again, just as at Phoenix, he
went the way of verbal inquiry.
"Could everyone ride?" he asked.
"Yes," the answer came back immediately.
"But are you sure?" he asked. "Is there any weight limit?"
"No," he was told. "Our mules are strong and sturdy. Anyone who
weighs no more than 195 pounds may ride. And even that weight is not
strictly observed but is only imposed to keep circus fat men and similar
undesirables from killing the beasts altogether."
Back in his hotel room, bathed in the comforts of air conditioning,
the chairman debated the right and wrong of his ways. He can only say this:
Disneyland is a fabulous place. There's something for everybody, and you
won't want to miss it. In order to be sure that you don't, you should write
immediately to the Statler-Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles for reservations. If
we want good rooms, we must get reservations in quickly.
As to burros and mules, the chairman saith not.
----------
Bid for Equality
by Kevan Worley
From the Editor: To keep the promises we have made to ourselves
requires hard work and imagination and asking others to help us. One of the
innovative ways we are raising the funds necessary to our work is our Bid
for Equality, and here is what Kevan has to say about our efforts:
"Next up for bid is an opportunity to help support the National
Federation of the Blind. We are going to be bidding for equality. The
bidding will start off at $300. Do I hear $300? $300! Come on, you can't
let this value go at only $300. We are bidding for equality here! Do I hear
$400? $400! I heard $400; who's gonna give $450? $450! Do I hear $500?
$500! I heard $500; do I hear $550? What'll ya bid to build the future of
the National Federation of the Blind? $550! I have $550, looking for
$600...$550 going once, $550 going twice...$3,000! I heard $3,000! Thank
you very much, sir. Do I hear $3,500? Online! Online! I have $3,500,
looking for $4,000. Remember, your participation in the Bid for Equality
will help provide blind kids with Braille. Bid it up, my friends. Do you
want Braille? Do you want Braille? Who'll give of their time, energy, and
imagination to make our next Bid for Equality the best online auction yet?
Do you want to end the scourge of subminimum wages being paid to more than
300,000 people with disabilities? End injustice; end injustice! $4,000. I
have $4,000, looking for $4,500...$4,000 going once, $4,000 going twice,
sold for $4,000!"
We hope you enjoyed reading the above dramatization, and we hope you
are excited for our next Bid for Equality online auction. Last year's
package with the highest bid of $1,105 was Texas's two music badges to the
South by Southwest Music Festival, including hotel accommodations, which
was followed by Indiana's pearl necklace and earring set and New York's
weekend getaway. With fifty-two packages last year, we raised over $10,000.
If we have one hundred percent affiliate participation, we would be
swimming in donations. Imagine how much money we could raise.
We invite every member, friend, supporter, and local merchant to
participate and make a Bid for Equality. If you were not involved with last
year's auction, jump on the bandwagon and don't miss out this year.
Do you frequent a local business that might have a valuable item to
donate? Do you patronize or have a relationship with a local jeweler,
travel agency, lawyer, or music store owner whom you could approach for a
donation? We are seeking items and packages with minimum bids of $300. It's
never too early to start dreaming up the perfect package.
What's the first step in getting involved? Designate your affiliate's
auction coordinator, also known as the Equality Auctioneer. Your Equality
Auctioneer has the honor of coordinating a magnificent donation package to
be displayed in the auction with the National Center and Equality
Auctioneer Committee's guidance and resources, including attending an
informational session during national convention.
For more information about whom to designate as your Equality
Auctioneer or about this year's Bid for Equality auction, contact Ilana
Posner at (410) 659-9314, extension 2283, or through email at
<iposner at nfb.org> and visit the auction's table during general session.
----------
The Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund
by Allen Harris
From the Editor: Allen Harris is the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan
Fund Committee and was one of the people who came up with the idea of
honoring our former president and longtime leader by establishing a program
to promote attendance at the national convention, where so much inspiration
and learning occur. Here is Allen's announcement about the 2014 Kenneth
Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Program:
Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention but have
not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan Convention
Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a scholarship
grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Rosen Centre Hotel in
Orlando, Florida, enjoying the many pleasures and learning opportunities at
the largest and most important yearly convention of blind people in the
world.
The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an
NFB national convention are the round-trip transportation, the hotel room
for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We
attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an
individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won't pay
all the costs. Last year most of the sixty grants were in the range of $400
to $500 per individual.
We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention
mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to
share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive
agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the
amazing experience that is convention week.
Who is eligible?
Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an
NFB national convention because of lack of funding are eligible to apply.
How do I apply for funding assistance?
1. You write a letter giving your contact information, and your local
NFB information, your specific amount requested, and then explain why
this is a good investment for the NFB. The points to cover are listed
below.
2. You contact your state president in person or by phone to request
his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell the president
when to expect your request letter by email, and mention the deadline.
3. You (or a friend) send your letter by email to your state
president. He or she must add a president's recommendation and then
email both letters directly to the Kenneth Jernigan Convention
Scholarship Fund Committee. Your president must forward the two
letters no later than April 15, 2014.
Your letter to Chairperson Allen Harris must cover these points:
. Your full name, and all your telephone numbers and label them--cell
phone, home, office, other person (if any).
. Your mailing address and, if you have one, your email address.
. Your state affiliate and state president; your chapter and chapter
president, if you attend a chapter.
. Your personal convention mentor and provide that person's phone
number.
. Your specific request:
Explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip
possible for you. We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough
budget for yourself.
The body of your letter should answer these questions:
How do you currently participate in the Federation? Why do you want
to attend a national convention? What would you receive; what can you share
or give? You can include in your letter to the committee any special
circumstances you hope they will take into consideration.
When will I be notified that I am a winner?
If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter
with convention details which should answer most of your questions. The
committee makes every effort to notify scholarship winners by May 15, but
you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are
chosen.
1. Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from
attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for
roommates of your own to reduce the cost.)
2. Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet,
by May 31.
3. Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many
conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and advisor.
4. If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not
win a grant this year.
How will I receive my convention scholarship?
At convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded
with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card
will be listed in the letter we sent you. The committee is not able to
provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state
affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you
win a scholarship and to pay your treasury back after you receive your
debit or credit card.
What if I have more questions?
For additional information email the chairman, Allen Harris, at
<kjscholarships at nfb.org> or call his Baltimore, Maryland, office at (410)
659-9314, x2415.
Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first convention
on the national level and join several thousand active Federationists in
the most important meeting of the blind in the world. We hope to see you in
Orlando.
----------
[PHOTO CAPTION: Donald Capps]
Another Gifted Writer
From the Editor: In January of 1958 a letter was published from an up
and coming leader in the National Federation of the Blind. We thought
Monitor readers would be interested in this correspondence and that it will
remind us how important it is to make the case for joining the National
Federation of the Blind while reaffirming our own choice to give so much to
the movement. Here is what the January 1958 issue of this magazine had to
say about Donald Capps:
It has lately become evident that we now have another most outstanding
wielder of the eloquent pen, in the person of Donald Capps, president of
our South Carolina affiliate. Here is a fine sample of his work--a letter
written to a prominent blind lawyer in his state:
....[R]ecall that you told me, when asked if you would participate in
the work the Aurora Club and the NFB is doing, that you needed more time to
think about the matter and that you also wanted to secure the impressions
of impartial parties concerning the NFB. Certainly no one can be criticized
for investigating before assuming responsibilities, and I for one did
exactly this before entering into this work. As a young man with eleven
years' experience in the insurance industry and apparently with prospects
for a reasonably bright future and career, it would have been foolish for
me to assume responsibilities and enter into any phase of activity that
would jeopardize my future welfare.
There are, of course, hundreds of institutions and agencies doing work
with and for the blind. These include state agencies, schools for the
blind, sheltered workshops, guide dog establishments, and Braille magazine
publications, etc. Each in its own field should be recognized for its
actual contribution to the life of the blind. However, the National
Federation of the Blind is unique in that it is a national organization of
the blind themselves with organizations in forty-three states and members
in all the states, and the leadership of the national organization as well
as the state organization is in the hands of successful blind people. While
each state organization may vary in its structure and scope, it is the
ultimate aim of the state and national organization to abolish
misconceptions about blindness through public education and to promote job
opportunity in accordance with a blind individual's capabilities. We are
especially interested in blind persons assuming jobs in private industry
beside their sighted fellow workers and in other fields. We believe it is
harmful to the blind to colonize or segregate them into a special type of
sheltered work which focuses public attention on this special treatment.
Improving the public's attitude concerning blindness is, in my opinion, of
extreme importance, and, once blindness is fully accepted by the public,
then many or most of our problems will no longer be.
The forty thousand blind men and women who make up the National
Federation of the Blind are engaged in all fields of endeavor, and it
probably will be interesting to you to know that many of the directors of
the NFB are successful attorneys. As a matter of fact, there must have been
some fifty lawyers present at the convention in New Orleans in July, and at
that time this group organized some type of lawyers' guild. Not being in
the legal profession, I did not attend this meeting and therefore do not
know exactly what they discussed or plan to do, but one thing is certain,
and that is that they will exchange ideas and do those things that will
result in mutual good. Two of the directors of the NFB whom you might
happen to know are Walter McDonald, a lawyer and chairman of the Georgia
Public Service Commission, and Dr. Munford Boyd, professor of law at the
University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
One of the most discouraging aspects of working in any organization is
that of getting those persons who can make a substantial contribution to
the cause to participate but who fail to do so for one reason or another.
All of us have philosophical differences, which we will agree is human
nature, but for the life of me I cannot see why anyone who has experienced
blindness and its problems would fail to participate in a program designed
to benefit the blind....
It is recognized that this letter is lengthy, but I hope that you will
seriously consider my request that you join in and work with us as I
sincerely and earnestly feel that you should not deprive our organization,
which you will recall was recently honored by a concurrent resolution
introduced by Rep. Burnett R. Maybank, Jr., of your talents and the
contributions which you could undoubtedly make...I urge you to become
active in our state organization which will provide you with a real
opportunity to contribute to the improvement of the lot of the blind, and I
assure you that we are making progress, and you may also be assured I shall
continue to use all of my energy and resources to further this progress.
Once you have become active in this work, you will be pleasantly surprised
at how beneficial it will be to you and at how much personal satisfaction
will be yours from helping others....
----------
Recipes
This month's recipes have been provided by members of the National
Federation of the Blind of New York.
[CAPTION/PHOTO: Margo Downey]
Sheet Cake
by Margo Downey
Margo Downey has been a member of the NFB since 1979. She serves on
the boards of the Buffalo Chapter, the National Association of Guide Dog
Users, the Travel and Tourism Division, and the Seniors Division.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened powdered cocoa
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9-inch cake pan
with non-stick cooking spray and shake flour onto pan, coating all sides.
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and
stir to mix thoroughly. Combine water, butter, and cocoa in a saucepan and
bring to a boil, stirring to prevent lumping. Remove from heat and pour
into flour mixture. Beat with mixer until blended and then add vanilla,
buttermilk, and eggs and beat until smooth. Pour batter into pan and bake
for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Allow cake to cool before frosting with
the following icing:
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Method: In a saucepan combine sugar, milk, and butter and bring to a
boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips
until melted. Spread over cake and allow to cool for at least one hour
before cutting.
----------
Best Apple Crisp Ever
by Margo Downey
Ingredients:
4 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9-inch square baking pan mix
sliced apples with brown sugar. In a large bowl mix together flour, white
sugar, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl beat together egg and cooled
melted butter. Stir into flour mixture. Spread this batter evenly over
apples. Bake in preheated oven for thirty to forty minutes or until topping
is golden and crisp. Serve warm with ice cream.
----------
Super Fudge Brownies
by Margo Downey
Ingredients:
5 large eggs
3½ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 8-ounce box unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set rack in upper third of oven.
Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a large sheet of foil, pressing foil so
that it fits into the pan. Lightly butter foil. In large bowl with electric
mixer on high speed beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla for ten minutes, until
blended. Meanwhile, in a glass measuring cup microwave butter and chocolate
until almost melted. Stir in espresso powder until combined. Reduce mixer
speed to low and add chocolate mixture until blended. Mix in flour and salt
until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for twenty-five
minutes, until top is shiny and slightly cracked along the edges. Brownies
will still be soft and gooey in the middle. Do not over bake. Transfer to
wire rack to cool. When completely cool, use foil edges to lift brownies
out of pan. Cover and let sit at least four hours before cutting.
Tip: Lining the pan with foil makes for easy cleanup. Just lift the
entire cooled brownie block out of the pan, then cut into twenty-four
individual brownies.
----------
[CAPTION/PHOTO: Nelson and Cheryl Echevarria]
Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)
by Cheryl Echevarria
Cheryl Echevarria is vice president of the Greater Long Island Chapter
of the NFB of New York and president of the Travel and Tourism Division.
She says that this is the first thing her husband Nelson taught her to make
when they first met. This is an old recipe, but each family makes it a
little differently. This version makes enough for five to six people and
can be used for leftovers.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup sofrito, see below
1 handful of alcaparado olives in jar, not the ones in a can (Find them in
the Spanish section of the supermarket.)
1 tablespoon cumin or cumino powder
2 cups rice, uncooked
Gandules (available in all grocery stores, or ask for pigeon peas if you
cannot pronounce the Spanish name) If you are using the can, rinse them
first; if you are using frozen peas, use 1 bag.
4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
Method: Turn stove burner to medium high, place a large pot with a
fitted lid on stove with the olive oil in it. Add the sofrito, alcaparado
olives, and cumin and stir all together. Add tomato sauce and the rice and
stir thoroughly. Then add the gandules and stir again. Add the water and
raise the heat to high. Once everything starts to boil, put the lid on and
lower heat to low. Cook for twenty-five minutes. Do not lift the lid to
stir until time is up.
Sofrito Ingredients:
3 large onions, any type
1 full head of garlic
5 to 6 plum tomatoes or 1 large can of chopped or diced tomatoes
2 green bell peppers, seeded
1 red bell pepper, seeded
10 ajies dulces peppers, tops removed (If you cannot pronounce the name,
just bring this recipe to the grocery store and ask for them. They are tiny
green peppers, but remember to ask for the sweet ones. They look like
Scotch bonnet peppers, and they are hot.)
A bunch of cilantro leaves with the stems still on
A bunch of recao or culantro leaves
Method: In no particular order place everything in the food processor
or a heavy-duty blender like a Vitamix. You might have to purée in batches
and then mix all together when done. I do this all the time. This can be
added to soups, stews, tomato sauce, or anything else hot that you are
cooking. This recipe makes a good deal, so have a large storage container
ready.
----------
[CAPTION/PHOTO: Angie Robinson]
Angie's Peanut Butter Pie
by Angie Robinson
Angie Robinson is the first lady of the Buffalo Chapter of the NFB of
New York.
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectionery sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
2 graham cracker crusts
1 container Cool Whip
Method: Cream together cream cheese, peanut butter, and confectionery
sugar. Add milk and mix well. Fill the two pie crusts, place in freezer,
and let freeze for several hours or until firm. Top with Cool Whip and
garnish with chocolate chips or shaved chocolate. Refreeze. To serve,
remove from freezer about twenty minutes beforehand or in Florida about ten
minutes.
----------
[CAPTION/PHOTO: Michael Robinson]
Butterscotch Brownies
by Mike Robinson
Mike Robinson is president of the Buffalo Chapter and second vice
president of the NFB of New York.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup nuts, chopped
Method: Melt butter and stir in brown sugar. Then beat in the egg and
vanilla extract. Combine dry ingredients and stir in. Add nuts and stir.
Pour batter into a greased 9-by-9-inch baking pan and bake in a preheated
350-degree oven for thirty minutes. Cut while still warm.
----------
Monitor Miniatures
News from the Federation Family
Requests for Accommodations Based on Disability:
The convention of the National Federation of the Blind is designed to
be accessible especially to blind people in that materials are offered in
accessible formats and other nonvisual aids are provided. Therefore special
requests for these items are not required. If you require specific
accommodations based on your disability other than the blindness-related
accommodations mentioned above in order to participate fully and equally in
the convention, we urge you to let us know as soon as possible. Specific
accommodations for which requests are required include requests for deaf or
deaf-blind interpreters.
Due to the size and complexity of this convention, as well as the need
to plan for additional human and other resources appropriately, requests
for specific accommodations must be submitted no later than May 31, 2014.
In order to make a request, 1) preregister for the convention by visiting
<https://www.nfb.org/registration>; and 2) send your specific request for
accommodations in writing to the NFB Jernigan Institute using email at
<jerniganinstitute at nfb.org> with the subject "convention request for
specific accommodations." Please include your name, the dates you plan to
be at the convention, information on the best way to follow up with you,
and your specific request.
Convention Tidbit from a Grateful Parent:
David Ticchi has been a family friend, great help, and mentor for my
daughter. He suggested that I share with you the feelings that I had and
discussed with him at the convention. My daughter, Lindsey Shapiro, is
fifteen years old and will be a sophomore in high school. This was our
second convention experience. The complete acceptance and understanding
from fellow Federationists is such a good feeling. In my multiple roles as
mother/teacher/advocate, I often feel like I am swimming upstream. I have
to constantly explain, discuss, highlight, and fight for what my daughter
needs. You cannot help second-guessing yourself and the decisions that you
make when you are constantly questioned by the experts in the sighted world
and the school. The experience of just being at the convention, witnessing
the skillful alternative techniques of other blind people, listening to
real experts-the blind themselves-validate all the explanations and fights
that I endure all throughout the year. My daughter is more confident
because of the positive attitudes and influences that are apparent at the
convention. I am so grateful that we were able to attend the convention and
feel that the experience is unparalleled.
Marlene Shapiro
Your Experience Needed:
In an effort to gather critical accessibility information, the NFB
Legal Department is requesting that members email Valerie Yingling,
paralegal, at <Vyingling at nfb.org> or call her at (410) 659-9314, ext. 2440,
if they have experienced or been affected by any of the following:
o Electronic Health Records
. We are seeking information from employees and students
required to use electronic health record systems on the job
or for school purposes.
o Pre-employment Testing
. We are seeking information from anyone who has attempted to
fill out an online job application or take an online
employment test with screen access software or expects to
do so in the near future. If the test you have taken or
plan to take was developed by Kenexa, or if the job you
have applied for or will be applying for is with a federal
government contractor, we would be especially interested in
speaking with you.
o Online and Mobile Banking
. We are gathering information pertaining to account
management and other features.
o Technology in Higher Education
. We are gathering information from college and university
students regarding Web applications for assignment
collaboration and other technologies. See, also,
<https://nfb.org/digital-tech-access>. Common Core State
Standard Assessment Field Tests: We are seeking information
regarding K-12 students who will be taking a field test or
have been excluded from taking the test due to blindness,
see <https://nfb.org/common-core-state-standards-testing-
accessibility>.
Elected:
At its fall convention the National Federation of the Blind of
California elected two new members to the board of directors: Tim Elder and
Rick Watson. Joe Retherford was elected president of the California
Association of Blind Students, and Tina Thomas was elected as the president
of the California Association of Guide Dog Users.
Announcing the 2014 California Chemistry Camp for Blind and Visually
Impaired High School Students:
Would you like to learn how blind people tackle the very visual
subject of organic chemistry successfully? Do you have a general love for
science? Do you want to learn how you can do chemistry as a blind person
just as successfully as your sighted peers? Are you interested in how blind
professionals use science in their careers every day? Then the 2014
California Chemistry Camp is for you. Come join Accessible Science for an
educational, exciting, and fun-filled weekend of hands-on science.
Camp will take place at Enchanted Hills Camp near Napa, California,
Friday, May 2, 2014, through Sunday, May 4, 2014. Up to fifteen blind high
school students ages fourteen to eighteen will be selected to participate.
There is no cost to apply for the program. Accessible Science is a 501(c)3
organization that exists to provide accessible educational opportunities.
However, participants are encouraged to make a tax-deductible donation to
support current and future programs of Accessible Science, because it is
only through the generosity of our supporters that we can provide our
programs at no cost.
During this exciting and busy three-day experience, students will
learn how blind and visually impaired people use chemistry in their
careers, explore techniques used by blind people to make chemistry
accessible, perform hands-on accessible chemistry experiments, apply the
chemistry they learned to some basic cooking and to olive oil, see the
chemistry they learned turned into action with an exhilarating magic show,
and talk with blind and sighted scientists who use chemistry as a mainstay
of their careers. The students will also participate in recreational
activities, and exciting evening activities are planned. Note that students
need not love science to apply. This will be a learning experience for
everyone.
Throughout the weekend students will have quality time to socialize
with each other and with blind mentors and instructors. Students will be
put into groups of three, and each group will work with a blind mentor. The
blind mentor will act as a role model for the students during the course of
the weekend and participate in all activities with them. To apply, fill out
the preliminary application by visiting
<http://www.accessiblescience.org/node/5>.
We hope to see you this spring at Enchanted Hills. If you have any
questions, contact Angela Fowler, Director of Planning, Accessible Science
by email at <fowlers at syix.com> or by phone at (530) 902-0987.
Elected:
The Colorado Springs Chapter of the NFB of Colorado held its 2014
election with the following results: president, Jeanette Fortin; vice
president, Brian Smith; treasurer, Bridget Worley; secretary, Lisa Gavel;
board members, Kevan Worley, Gina Bullard, Jim Beal, Jillian O'Connor, and
Zaina Braddy. We have a wonderful board and anticipate more involvement and
growth of our chapter in 2014.
Student Connect 2014:
The Colorado Association of Blind Students and the Colorado Center
for the Blind are pleased to announce Student Connect 2014, our dynamic and
energetic student seminar. It will be held from April 10 to 13, so please
apply immediately if you wish to attend. This seminar will be a great way
for students to network, gain information, learn about scholarships,
experience Colorado, and have fun. For more information contact Antonio
Rozier at <arozier at cocenter.org>.
Elected:
The Ann Arbor Chapter of the NFB of Michigan voted on its 2014 slate
of officers January 11. Elected were president, Terri Wilcox; vice
president, Nick Wilcox; secretary, Amy Shepherd, and treasurer, Larry
Keeler. The Ann Arbor executive board is excited for the new year and for
the opportunity to serve and to represent the National Federation of the
Blind.
Blind Entrepreneurs: Earn an Entrepreneur of Excellence Certificate While
Building Your Business:
The Hadley School for the Blind and the NFB's National Association of
Blind Merchants together with the National Federation of the Blind's
Entrepreneurs Initiative (NABM/NFBEI) are partnering to offer free online
business education. Enroll now to complete a two-part series of Hadley
courses without taking time away from your business, and NABM will award
you with an Entrepreneur of Excellence Certificate. Individuals who earn
the certificate will be recognized at NABM's Business Leadership and
Superior Training (BLAST) Conference or at its annual meeting held in
conjunction with the convention of the National Federation of the Blind.
Attendance at these events will not be a requirement for certification.
NABM and Hadley will also offer "Randolph-Sheppard on the Web."
"Randolph-Sheppard on the Web" consists of regularly scheduled webinars
focusing on business trends and challenges pertinent to all blind
operators. These live online discussions will enable you to work with other
merchants and Business Enterprise Program (BEP) professionals to solve the
pressing concerns that affect your business. If you don't have time to
participate live, the seminars will be archived on the web so you can
listen at your convenience.
The courses, modules, and webinars offered through this partnership
are part of Hadley's Forsythe Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship
(FCE). The goal of this initiative described at <www.hadley.edu/business>,
is to provide individuals who are blind or visually impaired with the
knowledge, resources, and networking opportunities to enable them
successfully to launch and grow their own businesses.
Courses and modules are online only and are practical, relevant, and
interactive. The FCE also includes live and recorded online lectures
available through <Seminars at Hadley>; interactive group discussions; access
to an online resource center; and a directory of visually impaired business
owners.
"Entrepreneurs of Excellence set the tone for their businesses by
modeling the way and continually investing in their own personal growth,"
says Hadley President Chuck Young. "These self-employed leaders know that
the business is only as good as their ability to manage and become
profitable. This is an incredible opportunity for vendors to affordably
invest in themselves, their business, and their future."
Nicky Gacos, president, National Association of Blind Merchants,
adds, "We are excited and proud to collaborate with the Hadley School for
the Blind. They are a world leader in quality correspondence and online
learning for the blind. This is no-cost, highly accessible, flexible, user-
friendly training for twenty-first century business people. This will be in-
the-trenches, where-the-rubber-meets-the-road, practical education you can
apply now. It is for the blind manager who is truly committed to increased
professionalism and profit. Most states will be accepting these courses and
webinars to meet upward mobility requirements. I can't wait to begin
awarding certificates of excellence and seeing profits rise."
To learn more about how you can earn your certificate and keep current
in your industry, visit <www.hadley.edu/nabm> and enroll today.
2014 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium:
The 2014 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium will be held on
April 24 and 25, 2014, at the Jernigan Institute on the topic "Disability
Rights in the 21st Century: Creative Solutions for Achieving the Right to
Live in the World." The symposium will consist of plenary sessions and
workshops facilitated by distinguished law professors, practitioners, and
advocates who will discuss topics such as disability discrimination in the
criminal and juvenile justice systems, next steps in Olmstead litigation,
rights of parents with disabilities, supported decision- making as an
alternative to guardianship, and how to work with the media to get the
disability rights message across.
The registration fee for the symposium will be $175 for professionals
and $25 for students. To learn more about the symposium and symposium
sponsorship opportunities, view the agenda, and register online, please
visit <https://nfb.org/law-symposium>. You may download a registration form
to mail or fax. Hotel information is also available on the symposium
website.
For additional information, contact Lou Ann Blake, JD, Law Symposium
Coordinator, Jernigan Institute, National Federation of the Blind, 200 East
Wells Street, at Jernigan Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21230 or call (410)
659-9314, ext. 2221. You may email <lblake at nfb.org>.
In Brief
Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor
readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we
have edited only for space and clarity.
IRS Provides Online Services for People with Disabilities:
People who are blind or visually impaired can download hundreds of
the most popular federal tax forms and publications at the IRS
accessibility page <http://www.IRS.gov/Accessibility>. You can choose from
accessible PDFs to e-Braille and HTML formats that use screen-reading
software and refreshable Braille displays. Watch a video introducing you to
products and services available for people with disabilities, and browse
the American Sign Language videos with the latest federal tax information
for disabled veterans, and more.
People who are unable to complete their tax return because of a
physical disability may get assistance through a Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance or Tax Counseling for the Elderly site. You can find a nearby
VITA or TCE location by calling 1-800-906-9887. Publication 907, Tax
Highlights for Persons with Disabilities, explains the tax implications of
certain disability benefits and other issues and is available at
<http://www.IRS.gov/publications/p907/index.html>.
Visit <www.IRS.gov> and enter "accessibility" in the Search box for
more information.
Microsoft Announces Scholarship for Students with Disabilities:
Microsoft is pleased to announce the launch of the Microsoft
DisAbility Scholarship intended to empower and enable high school students
with disabilities to (a) go to college, (b) realize the impact technology
has on the world, and (c) target a career in the technology industry. The
scholarship was launched on Friday, January 17, 2014, and includes a goal
to increase enrollment of persons living with a disability in higher
education and in the long term decrease the unemployment bias for disabled
persons.
This new program was started and is supported by Microsoft employees,
who will select promising high school seniors who require financial
assistance in order to enter and successfully complete a vocational or
academic college program. This non-renewable $5,000 scholarship will be
paid to the recipient's Financial Aid Office by the Seattle Foundation on
behalf of the DisAbility Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Microsoft.
Eligibility
All candidates must be high school students living with a disability
who plan to attend a two- to four-year university or college program,
maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA or equivalent, and have declared a major from
the approved list (see scholarship guidelines on application).
Requirements
To apply for the Microsoft DisAbility Scholarship, the student must
meet the following guidelines:
1. Be a current high school senior living with a disability (as defined by
the World Health Organization, whether that be visual, hearing, mobility,
cognitive, or speech).
2. Plan to attend an undergraduate program in a two- or four-year
university/college or technical college in the fall of the academic year
following high-school graduation. Schools must be in the USA or have a USA
affiliate for financial transactions (contact Seattle Foundation to verify
non-USA school's eligibility).
3. Declare a major in engineering, computer science, computer information
systems, legal, or in business that are approved (i.e., paralegal, pre-law,
finance, business administration, or marketing).
4. Demonstrate a passion for technology.
5. Demonstrate leadership at school and/or in the community.
6. Have a high school cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
7. Require financial assistance to attend college.
8. Enrollment status must be full-time or half-time.
To Apply
To apply for the scholarship, print and fill out the application,
available for download at <www.microsoft.com/en-
us/diversity/programs/microsoftdisabilityscholarship.aspx>, and enclose it
in an envelope with the following items:
1. Résumé including extracurricular activities (school- and community-
related), honors and awards you have received, and work experience.
2. Photo of yourself
3. An official "sealed" copy of your transcript
4. Three essays
. In five hundred words or less, describe how you plan to be engaged
in the technology industry in your career
. In five hundred words or less, share your vision of how Microsoft
can innovate its future and services solutions creatively and
successfully to support those living with disabilities in the
workplace and in daily life to reach their potential.
. In 250 words or less, demonstrate your financial need for this
scholarship
5. Two letters of recommendation, one from a faculty or staff member at
your school. These letters should be original, not duplicates of college
recommendation letters, and on letterhead.
Completed applications should be mailed by March 15 to the Seattle
Foundation, c/o Microsoft DisAbility Scholarship, 1200 5th Avenue, Suite
1300, Seattle, WA 98101. Selection will be completed, and those selected to
receive the Microsoft DisAbility Scholarship will be notified by April 15.
If you have questions, email <scholarships at seattlefoundation.org>.
Bring Your Perkins Brailler Back to Life:
The Selective Doctor, Inc., was established in March 1992 by Joe and
Barbara Staniewski. Joe retired from IBM Corporation in January 1992 and
has been repairing Perkins Braillers ever since. He has repaired over 6,600
Braillers from forty-four different states, along with Puerto Rico, Guam,
and England. We currently repair Braillers for five different blind schools
in the United States, along with the Division of Rehabilitation Services,
Veterans Administration, NYC Department of Education, Blind Industries, and
many other organizations.
We charge a flat rate for labor of $60 for a manual Perkins Brailler,
plus parts and postal insurance, and $70 for an electric Brailler, plus
parts. The Braillers are mailed back to you using Free Matter for the
Blind. Currently we do not repair Next Generation (plastic) Perkins
Braillers. Our turn-around time is approximately one week. Please call
(410) 668-1143 or email us at <braillerrepair at yahoo.com> for further
information.
Monitor Mart
The notices in this section have been edited for clarity, but we can
pass along only the information we were given. We are not responsible for
the accuracy of the statements made or the quality of the products for
sale.
For Sale:
I am selling a gently used Optelec ClearView+ in great working
condition. It is very user friendly and has several viewing options: color,
black text on white background, white text on black background, etc. Also
has zoom capability and a movable reading table that can be locked in any
position. User manual is available. I am asking $1,000 firm, cash only.
Call Jacquie at (573) 701-1698.
----------
NFB Pledge
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for
the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to
abide by its constitution.
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