THE BRAILLE MONITOR September-October, 1988 Kenneth Jernigan, Editor Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, and cassette by THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT National Office 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 * * * * Letters to the President, address changes, subscription requests, orders for NFB literature, articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor should be sent to the National Office. * * * * Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members 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 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 * * * * THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES ISSN 0006-8829 NFB NET BBS: (612) 696-1975 WorldWide Web: http://www.nfb.org THE BRAILLE MONITOR PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND CONTENTS September-October, 1988 CONVENTION ROUNDUP 1988 by Barbara Pierce PRESIDENTIAL REPORT NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND DISTINGUISHED TEACHER OF BLIND CHILDREN AWARD JACOBUS tenBROEK AWARD 1988 SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS PREPARATION AND THE CRITICAL NUDGE An Address Delivered by MARC MAURER President, National Federation of the Blind At the Banquet of the Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois, July 7, 1988 BLIND EDUCATORS RECEIVE AWARDS BRAILLE AS I FEEL IT by T. V. (Tim) Cranmer WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BREAK EVERYTHING by Charlene Groves OF ADMINISTRATORS, ETHICS, AND THE NATURE OF SCHOOLS FOR THE BLIND by Barbara Cheadle OF ELEVATORS, McDONALD'S, AND THE SPEED OF BRAILLE BLINDNESS: THE MEANING OF THE METAPHOR by Zach Shore AIRLINES, FAA ARE BLIND TO DISCRIMINATORY RULES by Mike Deupree I AM BLIND AND A GENUINE HORSE TRADER by Dan Crawford DIABETES WITHOUT HIGH BLOOD SUGAR by Robert C. Dinwiddie, M.D. CLAUDELL STOCKER TO HEAD BRAILLE DEVELOPMENT SECTION AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE FOR THE BLIND AND PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN, OR IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CANNOT... by W. Harold Bleakley A THOUGHT-PROVOKING RESOLUTION AND AN ISSUE WHICH IS NOT YET SETTLED GINGER BEEF AND OTHER THINGS by Kenneth Jernigan Monitor Miniatures RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND JULY, 1988 Copyright (c) 1988 National Federation of the Blind CONVENTION ROUNDUP 1988 by Barbara Pierce For several years Steve Benson, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, predicted that the 1988 National Federation of the Blind Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago would break all records for attendance and set new standards for fun, fellowship, and breadth of dining and recreational opportunity. He made promises and took bets. By July 9 it was clear that he had made a clean sweep. The largest, most exciting, and most profoundly satisfying convention the Federation has ever had was history and had become a part of the heritage of the movement. Well over 3,000 conventioneers filled three hotels, and just under 2,500 of them went through the lines to register as convention attendees. Approximately 2,000 shared the excitement and fun of the banquet emceed by Dr. Jernigan. And bus loads and boat loads of Federationists sallied forth on tours and theater expeditions Wednesday afternoon and evening. Yet, behind the drama (and underlying the fascinating substance of all the activity) the Convention was at its heart once again what it always is for each of us: the inspiration and challenge that strengthen us for the year ahead and the embodiment of the love and support that give us the courage to stand together in the name of justice and truth in the year ahead. The Hyatt Regency was a beautiful and formidably large headquarters hotel for the forty-eighth annual convention. Fountains splashed into a lagoon on the plaza level, and at almost every hour of the day or night chamber groups or a pianist provided music for diners, strollers, and those standing in the lines at the hotel registration desk. By two days before the beginning of the convention these hotel registration lines had become so dense that Hyatt officials were circulating among the throngs of cheerful Federationists to offer champagne. Outside, Chicago was celebrating its ethnic diversity with A Taste of Chicago, an unbelievable array of foods from every corner of the world. Hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans came to sample, and Federationists swelled their ranks at least, before the Convention actually went into session. It has become traditional for parents and educators of blind children, as well as hundreds of other interested blind adults, to gather all day Saturday of convention week for a seminar. This year's theme was On the Road to Independence: What Parents and Children Need to Know About Blindness and Independence. More parents and teachers than ever before gathered to learn from professionals and experienced blind people so that they can guide their blind children toward productive and independent lives. That evening the Illinois affiliate kicked off the week's hospitality with a sock hop, which shook the Hyatt to its considerable foundations. Brian Johnson acted as the disk jockey, and he saw to it that everyone present would not soon forget this form of fun, resurrected from the Fifties. Sunday was filled with registration, exhibits, and committee and division meetings. At the end of the first hour, nearly 500 people had registered and by two o'clock Sunday afternoon more people had passed through the lines than had ever before registered during an entire Sunday. The final number for that day was 1,824. The figures continued to break records throughout the week. Illinois registered 193 members as part of its delegation. The first five states all had more than 120 delegates in attendance, and the top ten each had more than 75 people registered. The exhibit hall this year had a particularly fine range of products, literature, and food. Nowhere in the country can a blind person learn so much so quickly about so many aids and appliances as in this week-long extravaganza. The tenBroek Fund's Elegant Elephant Sale netted more than $1,200 this year, and many affiliates and chapters raised funds with the help of eager Federationists. One of the most novel items for sale was a baseball cap bearing the NFB logo and playing the chorus to Glory, Glory Federation. Everyone was grateful to discover that the purchasers were never able to organize themselves so as to burst into song simultaneously. The most welcome new item for sale in the Federation section of the exhibit hall was our new post card. With a very attractive line drawing of the National Center for the Blind pictured on the front, this standard-sized card is available in unlimited quantities at twenty-five cents apiece from the National Office. Using these cards is an excellent way to spread the word about the National Federation of the Blind. Fourteen committees and divisions conducted meetings on Sunday. The Dog Guide Committee took the necessary steps to become the National Association of Dog Guide Users, National Federation of the Blind our newest division. The Resolutions Committee debated a number of resolutions, twenty of which reached the floor of the convention. In addition, one resolution (88-101) came to the convention floor through the Board of Directors. As always with Sunday afternoon and evening, the frustration lay in having to choose which meetings to attend. The annual pre-convention Board of Directors meeting took place this year on Independence Day, a fitting time for the week's activities to move into high gear. The Board meeting began with the pledge to the flag, followed by the unison reading of the NFB Pledge. The text of this pledge is found on the reverse of the NFB membership card and is an important summary of the duty, commitment, and pride of every Federationist. It reads: I pledge to participate actively in the effort 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. Steve Benson welcomed everyone to Chicago at the beginning of the Board meeting and noted that members of the Illinois convention committee were all wearing white hats for easy identification. He presented hats to Mr. and Mrs. Maurer and Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan. He then read a document from Governor James Thompson proclaiming July as National Federation of the Blind Month in Illinois. Mr. Maurer then presented a red, white, and blue Associate ribbon to each Federationist who had recruited fifty or more members-at-large (Associates) during the past year. In ascending order, the winners of the red, white, and blue ribbons were: 11. Patricia Munson, California, 55 Associates; 10. Michael Floyd, Minnesota, 56 Associates; 9. Mary Ellen Jernigan, Maryland, 58 Associates; 8. Verla Kirsh, Iowa, 64 Associates; 7. Norman Gardner, from Idaho most of the year and now from Arizona, 89 Associates; 6. Karen Mayry, South Dakota, 106 Associates; 5. Marc Maurer, Maryland, 135 Associates; 4. Tom Stevens, Missouri, 152 Associates; 3. Frank Lee, Alabama, 160 Associates; 2. Kenneth Jernigan, Maryland, 161 Associates; 1. Bill Isaacs, Illinois, 187 Associates. We have a long way to go in this program, but it was gratifying to see that the top six recruiters had all found more than one hundred people to become our Associates in this movement. The desire to increase the number of those next year wearing red, white, and blue ribbons next year burned even brighter in the crowd as the eight $100, one $400, and one $600 prizes were drawn and presented. Each recruiter had one chance to win a prize for each Associate he or she had recruited. The results of the drawing illustrate that there are many reasons to recruit Associates, and not all of them altruistic. The winners of the $100 prizes were: Rubin Salato, Arizona, 3 Associates; Verla Kirsh, Iowa, 64 Associates; Betty Hendricks, California, 18 Associates; Peg Benson, Illinois, 4 Associates; and Al Maneki, Maryland, 14 Associates. Three of the $100 prizes were won by Frank Lee of Alabama, who had recruited 160 Associates. The $400 prize was won by Tom Stevens of Missouri, with 152 Associates; and the $600 prize was won by JoAnn Becker of Massachusetts, with 43 Associates. The Board of Directors then voted to conduct a similar contest in the coming year with one notable change. Each recruiter's name will go into the box for the drawing as many times as he or she has Associate dollars divided by ten. This means that everyone will have the maximum number of chances to win, so there will be no advantage in recruiting three $10 Associates, for example, instead of one $30 Associate. Monday afternoon and evening eighteen committees and divisions conducted meetings and seminars. Hospitality that night was enlivened by the annual Celebrity Auction, sponsored by the Merchants Division. Again this year the lightning-tongued Duane Gerstenberger acted as auctioneer. On Tuesday morning the Honorable Eugene Sawyer, Mayor of Chicago, welcomed the delegates and presented the key to the city to President Maurer. Dr. Jernigan then introduced Euclid Herie, Managing Director of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and Vice President of the North America Region of the World Blind Union. His address, Children of Minor Wives, was an eloquent plea to the blind everywhere to struggle for first-class citizenship. Again this year the roll call included every state in the nation and the District of Columbia. As always, the afternoon session began with the Presidential Report. All of us look forward to this moment in the Convention because, after a year of patrolling our own sector of the barricades, this report reviews, however briefly, the entire battle during the preceding year. Encouragement and rededication surged through the audience as President Maurer reminded us all of what we have accomplished this year and pointed to the road ahead. His report is reprinted elsewhere in this issue. Following the Presidential Report, three members of the Illinois delegation to Congress addressed the Convention. They were Representative Lane Evans, Freedom for the Blind: Let's Make It Happen ; Representative Charles A. Hayes, Equality for the Blind: The Future Is Now ; and Representative John Edward Porter, A Message of Hope: A Platform of Opportunity for the Blind. While he was at the podium, Congressman Porter (after an exchange with Dr. Jernigan) promised to cosponsor H.R. 3883, the Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act. Within forty-eight hours the Congressman had delivered on his promise. This, too, is what happens at Federation conventions. Next, Gary Wunder, President of the Missouri affiliate and member of the NFB Board of Directors, addressed the Convention. He works as a computer analyst, and his topic was The Blind Analyst and the World of Computers. Federationists never tire of hearing the stories of our members who have been given a chance, often grudgingly, and have demonstrated again that the blind can and do succeed as working, tax-paying citizens. The final agenda item Tuesday afternoon was: The Blind of the World in Collective Action. Several distinguished guests from around the world addressed the convention. David Blyth from Melbourne, Australia, (Chairman of the East-Asia Pacific Region of the World Blind Union) outlined briefly the conditions facing the blind in Australia. Wimon Org-Amporn, Consultant to the Foundation for the Blind of Thailand, spoke movingly of the efforts of his group to win services and rights for the blind of Thailand, where less than four percent of blind children can be educated. Mrs. Geraldine Braak, President of the Canadian Council of the Blind, arrived that evening and spoke to the convention later in the week. Tuesday evening saw the now traditional reception, during which Federationists had an opportunity to meet members of the Board of Directors and this year's class of scholarship winners. The evening ended with a spectacular dance, complete with a sixteen-piece big band that provided three hours of unforgettable dance music. The Wednesday morning session opened with the report of the Nominating Committee and the election. Earlier in the week Richard Edlund (President of the NFB of Kansas) had announced that he would not stand again for election as Treasurer, ending a distinguished and colorful term of fourteen years as a national officer. Mr. Edlund's work, especially in helping to organize sheltered shop workers, has been vitally important, and all of us are grateful for his contributions through the years and his continuing dedication to the movement. Those elected as national officers (terms are for two years) were: Marc Maurer, President, Maryland; Diane McGeorge, First Vice President, Colorado; Peggy Pinder, Second Vice President, Iowa; Joyce Scanlan, Secretary, Minnesota; and Allen Harris, Treasurer, Michigan. Elected to the Board (also for two-year terms) were: Steve Benson, Illinois; Charles Brown, Virginia; Glenn Crosby, Texas; Bob Eschbach, Ohio; Frank Lee, Alabama; and Ramona Walhof, Idaho. Mrs. Walhof (one of the long-time leaders of the movement) is new to the Board. She now serves as President of the NFB of Idahom and before that, she was the Assistant Director of Job Opportunities for the Blind Program. Six Directors (Donald Capps, South Carolina; Joanne Fernandes, Louisiana; Priscilla Ferris, Massachusetts; Betty Nicely, Kentucky; Fred Schroeder, New Mexico; and Gary Wunder, Missouri) were not up for election since their terms do not expire until 1989. Dr. Geerat Vermeij is a nationally renowned marine biologist teaching at the University of Maryland at College Park. His address, To Sea with a Blind Scientist, was an inspiration to each of his listeners. He described graphically how he has met the various challenges facing him, and he underlined the importance for all blind people of learning and depending upon Braille. The convention devoted the remainder of Wednesday morning to the ever more critical issue of air travel and the blind. Dr. Jernigan began the presentation with a rousing statement of the Federation's position. Neil F. Hartigan, Attorney General of Illinois, next reviewed his state's efforts to insure the rights of disabled people. He has written to Illinois airport personnel and police to warn that there is no state or federal law limiting the seating of blind passengers. He has also urged all of the other states' Attorneys General to take like action. Finally, Matthew Scocozza, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs of the federal Department of Transportation (DOT), outlined his department's proposed rules for implementing the Air Carrier Access Act. The audience was courteous, but tough questioning followed his address. It was clear to all that DOT has ducked the underlying question in the exit-row seating struggle namely, that it is a question of civil rights, not safety. As Mr. Scocozza spoke, Federationists who have been arrested on airplanes filed across the stage and stood behind him, each wearing a card stating the date of arrest, just as is done in police mug shots. Mr. Scocozza's speech and the questions that followed will be reprinted later. The blind in the lineup were not down-and-outers or radicals but substantial citizens and community leaders a deputy mayor; several executives; attorneys; a college administrator; professors; a congressional assistant; students, homemakers, and business people in fact, a complete cross section of the social and community leadership of the nation. In Mr. Scocozza's speech and the discussion which followed, it was clear (as is so often the case) that the federal Department of Transportation was attempting to play games and practice deceit. Mr. Scocozza kept telling us that he was in our corner and that we were preaching to the choir, but he was unwilling to give a straight answer to questions concerning the right of the blind to sit in exit rows in planes. The audience was not impressed with the sophistry that the new DOT rules would prohibit discrimination by saying that no blind person could be denied the right to sit in an exit row but that, purely as a matter of safety, no person who was unable to see could sit there. There was an overwhelming sentiment that if the blind are to be barred from such seats, it would be more honest and more palatable if the Department of Transportation would just say so in straightforward language. Finally, Mr. Scocozza sought to avoid responsibility by this statement: I would mention that I am a politician; and as you know, on January 20th, 1989, I'm out of here if not sooner. Any particular rule with exit row seating is going to take a long time to promulgate probably a year or so, two years at a minimum, because of the amount of attention and comments that are going to be submitted. I encourage you all to stay as active as you are and to make sure that all good guidance that you can give the Department and the FAA continues. The audience did not appreciate the attempted flim-flam or the condescending advice to keep up the good work. Indeed, the truthfulness of Mr. Scocozza's assurances can be measured by the fact that even as this is being written (less than two months after the convention) the FAA has already submitted for approval proposed rules to the Office of Management and Budget rules which would bar the blind (no, not the blind but just those who cannot see) from exit row seats on airplanes. Thursday morning, July 7, began with a panel discussion entitled Developments and Trends in Programs and Opportunities for the Deaf-Blind. The participants were Martin Adler, President of Helen Keller Services for the Blind; Boyd Wolfe, Chairman of the NFB Committee on the Deaf-Blind; and Mary Ellen Reihing, Assistant Director of Job Opportunities for the Blind. Mr. Adler reviewed the history and programs of the Helen Keller National Center. Mr. Wolfe made an impassioned plea for everyone (but particularly the professionals) to consult the deaf-blind before formulating policies concerning them, and Miss Reihing underscored Mr. Wolfe's remarks by describing her own experiences in making friends and working with many deaf-blind people. Frank Kurt Cylke, Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, summarized the activities of NLS during the past year. He called special attention to the collections of Braille music and Braille maps, which are both as nearly complete as NLS can make them. He also announced that NLS, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory will produce a bird song tutorial next year. This will be available to borrow or to purchase. It is always a pleasure to hear from Mr. Cylke and to reaffirm his healthy working relationship and friendship with the organized blind movement. One of the liveliest program items of the Convention was the address of Tom Deniston, Acting Director of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. As an experienced military pilot for many years before being injured in Vietnam, Mr. Deniston stated categorically that in the exit row controversy, The issue is not safety; the issue is stereotypes. Following Mr. Deniston's presentation was a discussion of Policies and Trends in Rehabilitation: a Report from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Sue Suter, Acting Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the federal Department of Education, told the audience (with typical federal optimism) that the RSA is working to increase the options and opportunities for training and advancement for disabled people; and although no one doubted her good intentions, it is equally true that nobody expressed any great hope that rehab's performance will make any dramatic improvements. Regardless of who is in power (Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative) the massive flood of paperwork and promises seems to flow majestically on. James Gashel, NFB Director of Governmental Affairs, next spoke about Rehabilitation from the Consumer Point of View, and as usual, his views were straightforward and devoid of nonsense as he analyzed such jargonized federal rehabilitation concepts as similar benefits, eligibility, and means tests in the world of rehabilitation service delivery, or lack thereof. The final program item of the morning addressed one of the most pressing and disturbing problems facing the blind today. Its title was Literacy for the Blind at School and Work. Barbara Cheadle, President of the Parents of Blind Children Division, and Ruby Ryles, teacher of visually impaired youngsters and mother of a blind son, emphatically expressed the views of the audience with their condemnation of the way reading is taught (or not taught) to blind and partially sighted children today. Their articulate presentations clearly impressed the third member of the panel (Dr. G. Thomas Bellamy), Director of Special Education Programs of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services of the United States Department of Education. In his remarks, Dr. Bellamy proposed that (by focusing on the quality of special education, analyzing what happens to the disabled after they leave school, and trying to build a consensus across the entire special education community) we will achieve improved literacy for the children we are concerned about. Many in the audience thought that increasing the literacy of the blind might be a better way to improve the quality of their education than the procedure outlined by Dr. Bellamy, but everybody agreed that the discussion and exchange of ideas had been useful. The Thursday afternoon session opened with Disability Insurance and SSI: Programs, Trends, and the Future, which was presented by Michael Carozza, Deputy Commissioner for Policy and External Affairs, Social Security Administration. Mr. Carozza agreed with the Federation's conviction that rehabilitation today is not working for blind SSI and SSDI recipients, and he said that the Social Security Administration is working to find ways of enabling blind recipients to return to the work force in significant jobs. In recent years the National Federation of the Blind has sought ways to illustrate our conviction that our philosophy (coupled with dedicated, talented leadership) will result in successful rehabilitation. Dr. Jernigan demonstrated the truth of this belief over a period of twenty years as Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. Today three state affiliates of the Federation have established rehabilitation centers, and one state has enabled a skilled Federationist to revolutionize its commission for the blind programs. Four panelists described their programs Joanne Fernandes, Director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind; Joyce Scanlan, President of BLIND, Inc. in Minneapolis; Diane McGeorge, Director of the Colorado Center for the Blind; and Fred Schroeder, Director of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. Several students from these programs also spoke. Just to know that somewhere in the country today at least some students are receiving the training that all of us should have had uplifted the spirits of everybody who heard this thrilling panel. Perhaps the single most influential commentator on radio today is Paul Harvey. At times in the past he has questioned the capacity and abilities of the blind, but when he accepted our invitation to address the National Convention, he carefully read and studied our literature and performance. He listened with great attention to the remarks of the panel concerning training centers for the blind, working to rehabilitate blind people effectively, and he came to the podium and demonstrated that he had understood what he had read and observed. Particularly, he demonstrated that he has come to respect the National Federation of the Blind and what we stand for. His words were stirring and his presence powerful. Hearing him address the convention was an unforgettable experience. A few days later he devoted a considerable segment of his nationwide broadcast to a commentary on our organization and its goals and accomplishments. The afternoon session ended with an address by Candace Von Salzen, head of the Philanthropic Advisory Service and Vice President, Council of Better Business Bureaus. She reviewed the role of the CBBB and PAS in providing information to potential donors to charities, and she commended the Federation for its effective work to improve the lives of blind people. Again this year the banquet (held on Thursday evening) was the high point of the entire convention. The food was delicious; the crowd was spirited, and the program was electric. Dr. Jernigan acted as master of ceremonies, and it was clear that he enjoyed the job as much as the audience enjoyed his chairing. He had not emceed a Banquet since he assumed the presidency in 1968, so most of us had only heard recordings of his wit and masterful control of this exciting event. It was memorable to watch him at work and share in the fun of the occasion. Twenty-six scholarships were presented, and Mildred Rivera, a third-year law student at the University of Pennsylvania, received the $10,000 Ezra B. Davis Memorial Scholarship presented by the American Brotherhood for the Blind. Her moving remarks are reprinted elsewhere in this issue. The Jacobus tenBroek Award is not presented every year, but in 1988 the organization did bestow its highest tribute upon Jacquilyn Billey, President of the NFB of Connecticut. She received a standing ovation and an out- pouring of joyful recognition for her contributions. For the second year we presented the National Federation of the Blind Distinguished Teacher Award for outstanding instruction of blind children. The recipient was Evelyn Riggan, who works with blind children who are six and under, in the Portland, Oregon, public schools. The moment for which we had all been waiting finally arrived, and President Maurer came to the podium to make the 1988 banquet address, Preparation and the Critical Nudge. We have come to expect that the banquet address will (by turns) amuse, anger, sadden, and challenge us. President Maurer's speech did all these things, and more. It placed our ongoing struggle for justice, respect, and equality in the context of social and historical perspective. We who are blind, organized throughout the land, have the strength and purpose to change the course of history, President Maurer said, at least our own history. We believe that it is our responsibility to make it happen, and we accept the challenge with the full knowledge that the moving force is and must necessarily be the National Federation of the Blind. The banquet address is printed in full elsewhere in this issue. The Friday program is traditionally the business session of the Convention. Dr. Jernigan made the financial report, and delegates looked hard at the funding challenges we face. Allen Harris, Chairman of the PAC (Pre-Authorized Check) Plan Committee, announced that as of the close of the convention, 1,201 people had joined the Pre-authorized Check Plan, an increase of 145. During the Convention fifty-one people signed up for the Deferred Insurance Giving (DIG) Program, bringing the value of those insurance policies to just under six and a half million dollars. James Gashel, NFB Director of Governmental Affairs, reviewed legislative activity of interest to the blind during the past year and looked ahead to coming matters of importance. The remainder of the Friday session was devoted to consideration of resolutions and other business. On Saturday morning, July 9, the convention concluded with the Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) seminar. And so the 1988 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind came to a close. The magic of the experience is still strong in those of us who were there. Truly it was the biggest and best Convention we have ever had. Many who came to Chicago, expecting to miss Denver next year because of expense, distance, conflicting schedules, or some other unimportant peripheral left vowing to be there even if they had to walk. If you have never attended an NFB Convention, you may not understand this attitude. If you have attended one, you do not need an explanation. So it is on to Denver a new year of challenge and hope; twelve months of opportunity to live our Federationism on a daily basis and make life better for the blind; and a Rocky Mountain, mile-high convention in 1989. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND CHICAGO, ILLINOIS July 5, 1988 The past year has been one of astonishing growth and tremendous unity. Twelve months ago (at the time of my first report to you), I observed that the spirit of commitment and the harmony in the National Federation of the Blind had created a close-knit, powerful, effective force. Today, it seems to me that the dedication of our members and the determination we share are even greater. We have often said that if the public understood the real meaning of blindness, much of the discrimination we face would be solved. However, public education (capturing the attention of over two hundred million people in America and raising their consciousness so that we as blind people are recognized as normal, productive, active, independent human beings) is no small task. Shortly after our last convention, the address delivered there by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan entitled Air Travel and the Blind: What is the Problem, What is the Solution was published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and USA Today. With this one article, we reached over five million people. The text of Dr. Jernigan's remarks occupied at least a full page in each of these newspapers, and our message was not cut, rewritten, or edited to suit somebody's mythological image of what we as blind people are like. Rather, Dr. Jernigan's powerful and incisive commentary, charging the airlines with violations of federal law and discrimination against blind passengers, was carried without modification. The reaction was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Hundreds of letters and phone calls came in response. There were a few (a very few) hostile reactions primarily from the airlines themselves. But the vast majority of those who responded are with us. Perhaps the best way to capsulize the reaction is by telling you about a telephone conversation I had with a lady in Oregon. She told me that she had not been aware that blind people faced discrimination. She thought the behavior of the airlines was completely irrational, and she wanted to know how to help. She said something to this effect: If I had only known about this, I would have been prepared to do my part. But I had no idea. This lady's comments show that one of the principal tools of the airlines (the scare tactic) can only work if the public is prevented from having the facts. The more we write, the more we speak, and the more we act to bring this problem into the open, the greater will be our progress. Once the public understands, much of the discrimination we face will be solved. And, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and USA Today are only the beginning. After this wide-spread publicity, dozens of newspapers and magazines and a number of interview programs sought information about blindness from the Federation. These requests continued to come in a growing crescendo. In May of this year one of the featured segments on the Travel Channel, a syndicated television production, was an extensive interview dealing with problems faced by the blind in air travel. I went to New York for the program. The person interviewing me was knowledgeable about the Federation and the irrational behavior of the airlines toward blind passengers. Our message of ability and independence the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind was carried nationwide to an estimated fourteen million homes. Last December I was invited to make a presentation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. I addressed faculty and students about the most serious problems faced by the blind. The remarks made by those who participated in the symposium were recorded for later broadcast on National Public Radio. Then, there is the University of Chicago Law School. In March of this year that institution, well-known for its legal scholarship, hosted a presentation about blindness and the law. I carried the message of our Federation to that meeting a message of ability and independence. The response at Harvard and the University of Chicago was good. With every public service announcement on radio and television, with every newspaper article, and with every seminar and public appearance a few more individuals understand our situation a little better; and the discrimination which might have occurred will either not happen at all or at least be diminished. The influence of the National Federation of the Blind, along with our reputation for getting things done, has spread not only to every corner of this country but to other lands as well. During the past year we have had visitors at the National Center for the Blind from many parts of the world, including: Canada, Wales, Japan, Korea, Australia, and Spain. The president of the Swedish Federation of the Blind, accompanied by nine other members, stayed at the Center for two days. After examining the programs and philosophy of the Federation at our headquarters, these Swedish representatives of the blind traveled to Louisiana, where they met with leaders of the National Federation of the Blind of Louisiana who are operating a center for the blind there. The beliefs of the Federation are not just theory or half-formed hopes. They work. They are practical. The National Center for the Blind in Baltimore and the Federation affiliates throughout the country are the tangible embodiment of the philosophy we preach and the progress we are making. Those who have come to visit during the past year have received not only a visible demonstration of our tangible accomplishments, but also a healthy dose of Federation spirit and philosophy as well. And it is not just at the National Center for the Blind that things are happening, but everywhere in the land. Federationism is a living force, which is changing what it means to be blind. During the past year there have been seminars in state affiliates throughout the country, and we are also establishing an increasing number of training centers for the blind. Since our convention last year in Phoenix, we have started training centers in both Colorado and Minnesota. When these are added to the programs which we were already operating in Louisiana, New Mexico, and elsewhere; the impact is more than visible. It is decisive. Later in this convention these training programs will be discussed, but for the present let me only say that this is one more illustration of Federationism in action, of the quality of life for the blind being made better because of the National Federation of the Blind. A few weeks before Thanksgiving Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan traveled to London to attend meetings of the officers and Executive Committee of the World Blind Union. As president of the North America Region, Dr. Jernigan serves as an officer of the world organization. From that meeting we learned about legal complications which threaten to retard the development of computer technology incorporating a Braille keyboard. Furthermore, Dr. Jernigan was informed that there are those who propose substantial revisions in the Braille code. If some of their proposals were adopted, the current system of Braille would become obsolete. We cannot permit Braille to be redesigned out of existence, and we cannot allow spurious claims to stand in the way of inventors who are creating Braille keyboard computer devices. The National Federation of the Blind has taken steps to ensure that Braille is not killed in the name of progress, and we will not tolerate retarded development of Braille keyboard computer devices because of some legal sleight-of-hand. Of course, the major question considered at the London meeting was the future of the World Blind Union. What will that organization be? How much participation should the National Federation of the Blind have in it? Will the World Blind Union be dominated by unrepresentative minority groups, and what will this mean to the whole organization? The World Blind Union meets this fall in Spain. Dr. Jernigan will lead our delegation. After the meeting, we will be able more precisely to decide how much participation will be beneficial to our movement. We have been as active this year in dealing with civil rights matters in the courts as we have ever been. Douglas Lee is a resident of Springfield, Illinois. Last September he was beginning his third year at the University of Illinois as a computer engineering major. Doug received one of our Merit Scholarships in 1986. He thought he would use this scholarship, in the amount of eighteen hundred dollars, to buy a computer, which he needed for his studies. When rehabilitation officials in Illinois learned about the scholarship, they told Doug that he could not spend it as he wished. The counselor said that the money must be used for tuition and fees. Even though he needed the computer, agency officials told him that he couldn't spend his own scholarship money for it. Instead, they said he had to pay it to the college so that charges to the agency for the blind would not be as high. Doug's gross income for 1986 was twenty-nine hundred dollars less than two hundred fifty per month. If he could not get the computer, Doug would likely remain untrained and unemployed. We helped him with an appeal, and I doubt that I need to tell you the result. Douglas Lee kept his eighteen hundred dollars, and he was not deprived of rehabilitation services because of it. If you consider the responsibility of the rehabilitation agency, and the massive amounts of money that are provided each year by the federal government and the states, you will easily understand why cases of this kind should never have to be brought. Those in rehabilitation are expected to find a way to help get people into school not keep them out of it. The purpose is to assist blind people to find employment not prevent them from having it. If Doug Lee had been fighting this battle on his own, the outcome would most certainly have been different. However, we will not tolerate shoddiness, covetousness, or bureaucratic Mickey Mouse. We believe that blind people should have an opportunity for a decent education, and we will not let the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services keep us from having the chance. That is why we have the National Federation of the Blind. Earlene Hughes is a blind mother, living in Delaware, with three small children. She asked for our help recently during a child custody dispute with her former husband. He was preparing to demand custody of the children because he is sighted and Earlene is blind. We got involved when a local social services agency began to insist that Earlene's fitness as a parent should be reviewed by counselors from the state agency for the blind. Working with Earlene's attorney, we convinced the social worker that relying upon a qualified expert (a professional who has been involved with blind people throughout the country) would be better. The social worker agreed, and the president of the Human Services Division of the National Federation of the Blind reviewed Earlene's situation and prepared a report for the court. The president of that division, Betsy Zaborowski, (incidentally a blind person) is a licensed clinical psychologist. The report we supplied to the court and the work we did with Earlene and her lawyer have been effective. The arguments about blindness did not work. Custody was not awarded on the basis of vision or the lack of it. Earlene's three children still live with her, and they will continue to do so one more reason for the National Federation of the Blind. Kristen Knouse is a totally blind champion equestrian competitor. She is a student at Rutgers University and a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Last spring Kristen took first place in her region and was slated to go to the national championship competition at Singing Wood Farm near Laurinberg, North Carolina. Only hours before she had planned to leave for the national tournament, Kristen was notified that the owner of the farm, where the competition would be held, was absolutely opposed to having a blind person participate. The Board of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association had been persuaded to agree. They said that Kristen could not ride. With the backing of the Federation (and because she is a spunky lady), Kristen went anyway. Hazel Staley, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina, is a person to be reckoned with. When she learned that quick action was needed, Hazel picked up the phone and called Shelby French, the owner of the Singing Wood Farm. It was he who had persuaded Association officials to black ball Kristen on grounds of blindness. The conversation between Hazel Staley and Shelby French settled matters Kristen would be back in the saddle. She took fourth place in the national event. As parents have grown to expect quality education for blind children, the problems in obtaining it in the public schools have increased. One example is the case of Darrell Shandrow in Tucson, Arizona. Darrell's mother Betty came to last year's convention on very short notice and learned that her son (who is blind) has certain rights guaranteed by law. Darrell was being educated at the Arizona State School for the Blind. Neither he nor his parents were happy with this placement. The educational opportunities at the school for the blind are simply not as great as those available elsewhere. So, he wanted to attend public school. Inasmuch as Darrell is an honor roll student, he felt certain that there would be no problem. But the school system made it clear that a blind student would not be welcome. The school for the blind is there for the education of blind children, they seem to say, so why should we bother? At the time of our last convention, there had been a hearing and two appeals. At each stage of the proceedings the decision had been unfavorable. We told Betty we would help her with further action. So we went to court. A suit was filed in the United States District Court for Arizona. That litigation has now been concluded. Beginning in September, Darrell Shandrow will be attending the public schools near Tucson. The school district (which had earlier refused to educate him) will be paying all of his transportation and education costs. Although it has been delayed, Darrell Shandrow will have an opportunity for a better education because of the work we have done. Another blind student is Charles Cheadle. His parents are known to Federationists throughout the country. Barbara Cheadle is the President of our Parents of Blind Children Division, and she edits Future Reflections, our magazine for parents and educators of blind children. John Cheadle works at the National Center for the Blind, in Baltimore. Their son Charles is ten years old. The public school system for Baltimore County has refused to teach Charles Braille. Furthermore, officials at the school not only refused to teach it, but even refused to discuss the matter. They reacted as though the thought of teaching Braille to a blind student with a little remaining vision was almost immoral. The philosophy of these officials, in the Baltimore County Public School System, is representative of the most negative beliefs about blindness. Of course, Baltimore County is not unique. This negative philosophy can be found in many school districts, and it is all too often evident in gatherings of professionals who are supposedly teaching the blind. They believe that Braille should be taught only as a last resort. They believe it even when print is clearly not working. And very often, they are not willing to be shown that their beliefs are inaccurate especially when those doing the showing are blind. An appeal to obtain Braille instruction and materials for Charles Cheadle is now being taken through the due process procedures available under Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. We intend to win that appeal, even if it means carrying the matter into the courts. We simply cannot continue to allow the schools in this country to deny literacy to our children. Sometimes the question is employment. Sometimes it is training. In this case, it is the right to read read which encompasses both and more. Although school officials would not verbalize it exactly this way, their argument is at the basic level. They don't think blind people are able to do anything worthwhile, so they believe that education for the blind is irrelevant. If they were honest enough to admit it, they think that blind people can't amount to anything anyway. Therefore, it is a waste of time to try to teach them. But of course, their understanding is completely at variance with the truth. Blind children are as bright, as capable of learning, and as productive as any other students. In the case of Charles Cheadle, we intend to make this clear. Those officials in the Baltimore County school system have something to learn, and we of the National Federation of the Blind intend to do the teaching. The power of the Federation, and the positive influence it has had in the lives of individual blind people is exemplified in our work on matters involving Social Security. Consider the broad picture. The Social Security Act has several unique provisions in both the Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs that apply only to the blind. They reflect the particular circumstances faced by those who become blind. These special rules have not been adopted by accident. Someone had to bring them to the attention of Congress and officials in the Social Security Administration. This task has been done (and done effectively) by members of the National Federation of the Blind. Blind persons receiving Disability Insurance can earn up to seven hundred dollars per month (after allowed deductions) before their benefits are terminated or suspended. This earnings ceiling increases with the cost of living. Disabled persons who are not blind are limited to monthly earnings of no more than three hundred dollars. That amount has not increased in several years. Seven hundred dollars a month in earnings is not very much, but it certainly beats three hundred. Now we face a challenge. A report by a Social Security Disability Advisory Council has recommended that the earnings ceiling for disabled persons be raised to $490 per month and that the earnings ceiling for blind persons be lowered (that's right, lowered ) to the same figure. The idea, they say, is to achieve equity. We have opposed the recommendation to lower the earnings ceiling for the blind. On May 26th, I appeared before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. Among other things, I explained that the work incentives in Social Security should be increased, not lowered. Consider the blind who are age sixty-nine or older. For them there is no earnings limitation. This should be the case for all blind people. The restriction on earnings should be removed altogether. That would encourage blind people to work. The ceiling on earnings has the opposite effect. Those who are afraid that they might lose benefits stay home. This deprives them of income and prevents the employer from receiving the services of a productive worker. Seven hundred dollars a month in earnings is not much, and the Disability Advisory Council wants to cut it even further and they do it in the name of equity. However, the National Federation of the Blind is alert and ready to resist this recommendation. Our proposal would put blind people to work. That result is far more desirable than the situation which now exists, and it embodies a much more even-handed equity. On another front involving Social Security, we have now formally proposed legislation to allow blind persons a choice of rehabilitation programs. By law Social Security pays for rehabilitation services provided to Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. However, payments can only be made to state rehabilitation agencies. If you want Social Security help, your only choice is the state agency. Congressman Harold Ford of Tennessee is the sponsor of a bill which would change all that. He will be speaking at this convention later in the week. His bill is H.R. 4273. In that legislation we are proposing that blind people be allowed to choose public or private rehabilitation agencies. Each blind person would be free to design and pursue an individually chosen course of rehabilitation. There would no longer be a take-it-or- leave-it plan dictated by a rehabilitation counselor. With enactment of this proposal by Congress, we would be able to create the kind of client-centered rehabilitation service program which is most likely to be responsive to the needs of the blind. If we do our work well, we can make it happen. And when rehabilitation has changed, the reason for the alteration will be the National Federation of the Blind. As usual, we continue to have our normal complement of Social Security cases involving overpayments, back payments, and the like. Joe Byard, a leader of our Maryland affiliate, was charged with an overpayment exceeding thirteen thousand dollars. Our research shows that he does not owe the money. We are helping with an appeal. The special provisions of law that apply to the blind and the expertise of the Federation will be present to assist in the proceedings. Deborah Strother lives in Ruston, Louisiana. She filed a claim for Supplemental Security Income benefits in April, 1986. Included in the claim was a request for a plan to achieve self-support. The Social Security Administration ruled against her without considering her self-support plan. A hearing was held, and her claim was denied. That's when the Federation got involved. Our contacts with the Social Security Administration, in Baltimore, were instrumental in this case. Deborah's circumstances had changed. She was clearly eligible for Supplemental Security Income even while she was appealing the denial of her prior claim. But Social Security would not accept a new application as long as she was appealing. We intervened, and Deborah got her checks. Then we went on to press the Social Security Appeals Council to order another hearing so that the plan to achieve self-support might be considered. We won that round, too. Deborah has now had her second hearing, this time with assistance from the National Federation of the Blind. Suzanne Bridges, in Louisiana, and Jim Gashel, in Baltimore, have worked together on this case. The decision should be issued shortly, and we expect it to be favorable. Deborah Strother should be paid the Supplemental Security Income benefits to which she is entitled back to the date of her original application. In this case (as in so many others like it) the outcome would clearly have been different had it not been for the existence, support, and involvement of the National Federation of the Blind. Then there is the case of Jimmie Myers. He lives in North Carolina. We started helping with his Social Security claim about two years ago. Jimmie was not receiving Disability Insurance benefits at that time even though he was blind, not working, and fully insured. In other words, he met all of the requirements for a blind person to receive Disability Insurance checks. But the money was not coming. The Social Security Administration was not paying Jimmie because they said he had become ineligible several years earlier. They asked him to repay an alleged overpayment of fifty-four thousand dollars. First, we went to work to get his Social Security checks reinstated. When this was done, we started on the problem of the alleged overpayment. This part of the case is still pending, but we expect a favorable outcome there, too. In case anyone doubts the value of our organizing and working together, perhaps the following facts about a Social Security case will help to put things in perspective. Because of the size of the monetary award in this instance, I will not disclose the name of the individual. However, the person who sought our help was a blind vendor. There are some special disability insurance provisions that apply to blind vendors. They have been described most recently in the May-June Braille Monitor . It pays to read the Monitor. In this case the Social Security Administration alleged that there had been an overpayment of benefits in the neighborhood of six thousand dollars. Because of the alleged overpayment, checks had been stopped. When we looked at the case, we determined that the individual was still eligible and had been eligible for several years. We took an appeal, and we won. When people ask you what the National Federation of the Blind does, tell them about this blind vendor. The money that had been withheld by the Social Security Administration came earlier this year. The total amount is over one hundred fifteen thousand dollars. Steve Fort is a blind person living in California. He began receiving adult disabled dependent child's benefits from the Social Security Administration in August of 1971. In 1985 he was informed that, because of his work activity, entitlement to benefits had ceased in 1983 and that he had received overpayments in the amount of nine thousand one hundred ninety-two dollars, which he must now give back. In the initial hearings Fort was not represented by legal counsel or otherwise so he did not contest the fact of the alleged overpayments. Then, Sharon Gold (President of the National Federation of the Blind of California and of our lawyers division) became involved. As might have been expected, the judge has now ruled that there is good reason to believe that Fort was not overpaid, that he may still be entitled to payments, and that the matter must be reconsidered by the Social Security Administration. This case illustrates again the value of our collective action, joint effort, and specialized administrative and legal expertise. It was Jim Gashel's research and writings, coupled with Sharon Gold's courtroom ability and determined work, which tipped the scales in Fort's favor. The case is not finished, but it will be. We will follow it through to a successful conclusion, and the reason for the success will be the shared know-how and continuing work of the National Federation of the Blind. Justice for the blind is not simply a matter of getting the right laws passed or the proper amount of public good will. It requires constant work, collective action, a caring spirit, and a knowledge of when and how to do what. In short, it requires the National Federation of the Blind. We continue to work on vending cases. The arbitration hearing in the case involving Melvin Barrineau and the South Carolina Commission for the Blind has now been completed. Don Capps (our formidable president in South Carolina) has been instrumental in this case from the beginning and now serves on the arbitration panel. Peggy Pinder is the lawyer on the case. The South Carolina Commission for the Blind is requiring all of the road-side vendors (but nobody else) to sell the specific brand of soft drinks that the Commission dictates. Melvin believes that this policy violates the Randolph-Sheppard Act and is just plain wrong. We agree, and we expect a decision from the arbitration panel vindicating the right of blind vendors to operate their businesses independently and without arbitrary rules, restrictions, or limitations. Dennis Groshel is a blind vendor in Minnesota. He operates vending machines at the Veterans Administration hospital in St. Cloud. Last year the Veterans Administration threatened to terminate the vending facility contract that it had with the Minnesota state agency. This would have put Dennis out on the street with no business to run. We helped the Minnesota Attorney General's office bring a suit in the federal courts. Our efforts were successful. Almost exactly a year ago, an injunction was granted, and Dennis was protected. During the past year we have continued to participate in proceedings this time before an arbitration panel. Jim Gashel is serving as one of the members. The Veterans Administration is claiming that all veterans hospitals (more than one hundred and fifty of them) are exempt by law from the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Therefore, the outcome of this case will have national significance. If we had not been organized to meet the challenge, the opportunities for blind vendors in veterans hospitals (opportunities worth several million dollars) would have been eliminated. But we are organized, we are knowledgeable about the rights of the blind, and we know how to take action. We will not let the rights of Dennis Groshel (or other blind people like him) be trampled or ignored. That is why we have the National Federation of the Blind. There has been a great deal of activity relating to the airlines during the last year. At this convention there will be an extensive discussion of the rights of blind people to fair and equal treatment on the airlines. Because we will be covering it thoroughly later in the week, I will not review the details of our airline battle with you. However, I should note that federal officials, airline personnel, and many others are finally learning that the blind will not go away; and we will not be treated as second-class citizens. Although the battle has been hard, we do not stand alone. There are hundreds who have offered their support from airline pilots, to business executives, to members of Congress and senators, and to state attorneys general. The airlines have been big enough and brutish enough to have it their own way much of the time, but they have not understood clearly what we are or what we mean to do. The organized blind movement is absolutely steadfast and rock-solid determined. We welcome those who have come to stand with us in this fight for rationality and freedom. And we invite the airlines to do the same. If they refuse, they must be brought to recognize the equality of the blind. There is simply no other choice. Airline officials will deal with us on terms of equality. We have asked for no more, and we will accept no less. One of our characteristics as a federation is that we never become discouraged, and we never give up. The Laurie Eckery case demonstrates exactly what this means. Laurie Eckery is one of our leaders in Nebraska. In 1977, (eleven years ago) Laurie applied for a job at the Bishop Clarkson Hospital in Omaha. Officials at the hospital wouldn't consider her because of blindness. So, Laurie filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights. It took the Civil Rights people several years to investigate and make an initial ruling. However, that decision was finally made. The letter of findings said that Bishop Clarkson Hospital had violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. But this decision was only the first step. The hospital said Section 504 did not apply to employment. When officials at Bishop Clarkson Hospital learned that they were wrong about this, they tried something else. Even if employment discrimination is prohibited by this law (they said), 504 is not applicable in this particular case. That argument too was settled early in 1988. After all of these delays, the case of Laurie Eckery is back on track. Recently the Office for Civil Rights declared that the hospital owes Laurie back pay. The hospital wants to settle for two thousand five hundred dollars. In view of the ruling of the Office for Civil Rights, this offer is ridiculous. We intend to try to recover the full amount owed, and we will take the matter to court if necessary. The decision of the Office for Civil Rights is that the full amount of damage for the discrimination practiced in 1977 should be paid. The amount due is over one hundred thousand dollars. The growth of the Federation can be seen not only in our activities throughout the nation but also at the National Center for the Blind. Our organization is large and complex. Despite our growth (perhaps because of it) most of our work is done by volunteers some of them at our headquarters, in Baltimore, and many more throughout the country. In order to accomplish all that we do, we must rely on volunteer help and the use of technology. There is an example of this in my own family. My wife Patricia is now spending almost full time at the National Center for the Blind on a volunteer basis, and much of her work involves the operation of a computer. We are heavily computerized with over thirty Leading Edge computers in use. They may be operated independently or combined to form a computer network. The network is jam-packed with centralized memory, high- performance printers, and other devices of the modern era. Approximately three-quarters of a mile of computer cable is used to connect the pieces. Without this machinery, and without the dedication of those who serve the Federation at our National Office and around the nation, we would not be able to produce the amount of work we have come to expect from the National Federation of the Blind. Last year I reported to you that the volume of material we were handling had been increasing at a tremendous rate. Circulation of aids, appliances, and materials was up more than twenty percent over what it had been the previous year. During the past twelve months our growth has been at an even faster rate. Last year we circulated (for the first time) over a million items through our aids, appliances, and materials program. This year the number is over a million and a half. The remodeling at the National Center, which we discussed last year, to establish a substantial kitchen and dining facility, a Braille and Technology Room, a Records Management Center, and recording studios has been completed. Renovations are now being made to replace the elevators and upgrade the second floor. This work, along with other repairs, should be completed sometime before the end of the year. The facilities at the National Center for the Blind are already superior to any others available in work with the blind anywhere in the nation. When the elevators have been replaced and the second floor put into shape, we will have completed renovation of all the space in the main building at the Center. Because of the dramatic expansion of our programs, part of the space on the second floor will no longer be rented. Instead, we will use it ourselves. Last year we remodeled much of the area on the fourth floor of our building. Fifteen new offices were constructed. However, the challenges we face and the work we are constantly called upon to do has grown at least as fast as the physical facilities we occupy. Therefore, we must build at least some more office space in our building. For the first time the Braille Monitor is being recorded in our own studios. As I consider the Monitor, I am astonished at our progress as a movement. The Monitor continues to grow along with the Federation. In 1985 we were producing approximately eighteen thousand copies of our magazine each month. Today the number is approaching thirty thousand. Even with all of the legal cases I have outlined today, there are still others which should be brought. Which of the airline cases will break the pattern and signal the beginning of the end of discrimination against blind passengers? A few years ago the Albanese case shifted the balances for blind vendors throughout the nation. The lawyer handling that case was Bill Gleisner. Not only is his legal training very good, but his commitment to the movement comes from the heart. I am pleased to tell you that during the next year Mr. Gleisner will be handling legal matters at our national office. The rate of our expansion is evident in all of the statistics (and in dozens of other ways). We have added more staff, built new offices, and expanded our programs with such rapidity that the rate of our growth is a source of real pride. The satisfaction we feel in our accomplishments means commitment. The National Federation of the Blind is the organization we make it. If we intend to multiply services and broaden our influence, we must be prepared to find the resources to meet the demand. Not only do we have an increased Monitor circulation, more aids and appliances, dozens of legal cases, and more technology available to the blind; but we also have all of the other programs we have come to expect as a matter of course. During the past year over seven thousand five hundred presidential releases have been distributed, and the Job Opportunities for the Blind program has issued more than twelve thousand JOB Bulletins. The Voice of the Diabetic, the publication of our Diabetics Division, has been sent to more than twenty-five thousand people. The American Bar Association Journal has been distributed through our national office by the National Association of Blind Lawyers. More than twenty-one thousand radio and television spots have been circulated for broadcast. Over ten thousand copies of Future Reflections, our magazine for parents and educators of blind children, are published for each issue of the magazine. And of course, there are newsletters from other divisions and affiliates throughout the country. Thousands of students have received the newsletter of our Student Division. Our scholarship program has reached more people than ever before; and the activities of our student members at Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago Law School, Michigan State, and dozens of other institutions show the effectiveness of this program. Then, there is our work with members of Congress, our activities with the Social Security Administration, and our cooperative relationship with the Library of Congress. All of this and more makes up the daily program of the National Federation of the Blind. Ours is truly a large and complex organization, and we achieve astonishing results. However, as our activities become more diverse, we must not lose contact with the essentials. We are a people's movement. Our building, our computers, our expanded office space, and the rest of it are an indication of a trust. We must use that which has been given to us to make the lives of blind people better. And our activities must bring results. Last March a call came to the National Office. It was reported that a woman, Betty Moore, who is eighty-three years old, had recently become blind. While she was in the hospital, her daughter came and asked Betty to sign a paper. The paper was a power of attorney. For some time Mrs. Moore remained completely unaware of nature of the paper she had signed. Only later did she learn that her own daughter had withdrawn all the money from her bank accounts and had put her house up for sale. When Mrs. Moore went to the courts of Ohio to seek retribution, the judge said that she was blind. He insisted that a guardian be appointed to take charge of her affairs, and he scheduled an examination to determine whether somebody should be put in charge of her. I was asked if the National Federation of the Blind could help. We could, and we did. The perceived image of blind people as incompetents was there in the courtroom. The result of this erroneous perception was that Mrs. Moore lost many thousands of dollars and almost lost her home. It was only saved at the last minute. However, the view of blind people as helpless wards is demonstrably wrong. Our experience shows it, and our innermost beliefs about ourselves proclaim it. At my request Peggy Pinder began immediately with an investigation. Then we assisted in preparing for the legal battles. Already, a great deal of progress has been made. The tentative decision of the trial court judge that Betty Moore requires a guardian (not only for her property but also for herself) has been reversed. The misappropriated property must still be recovered, but there is no longer any danger that a misguided judge will authorize both the property and the person of Betty Moore to be handed over to the custody of a court-appointed guardian. Blindness may not be used as the means for somebody else to control our possessions and our lives. There has never been a time when this should have been permitted, and we will certainly not let it begin in 1988. As I consider our progress during the past twelve months, I am proud of what we have done and how we have behaved. We have kept faith with the traditions of those who founded and built our movement with Dr. tenBroek, who brought the Federation into being; with Dr. Jernigan, whose wisdom and leadership continue to guide and strengthen us today as they have for almost forty years; and with all the others who have put their hearts into making the Federation the caring, determined, gentle, tough-minded organization it is. In my work I have felt the warmth and trust you have given me, and I have tried to behave in such a way that you would be glad you gave it. Sometimes my efforts have failed to bring the results that I hoped to achieve. But I have always tried to keep our mission and our goal clearly in mind. We in this organization have made a promise you as members, and I as President. No matter what comes, we will meet it with firmness and determination. We are stronger today, better organized, and more deeply committed than we have ever been. This strength and dedication is testimony to our members who have given whatever was needed and served whenever called. As I look ahead, I know that we will face challenges which will demand from us all the faith and judgment that we possess. However, I feel genuine security and peace, for I have come to know the members of our movement. We will not lose heart, and we will not fail. Finally, let me say only this: I am deeply grateful for your goodwill and support. I need them. For my part, I will work as hard as I know how with all the resources that I have to ensure that our promise is fulfilled. That is my commitment and my report. DISTINGUISHED TEACHER OF BLIND CHILDREN AWARD In 1988 the National Federation of the Blind established the Distinguished Teacher of Blind Children award. Mrs. Ramona Walhof, who chaired the selection committee, made the presentation at the convention banquet on Thursday evening, July 7. She said: We have talked a lot about the education of blind children at this convention. We have talked about the problems and there are problems. But there are also teachers who are working to solve the problems. It seems appropriate for the National Federation of the Blind to recognize those teachers of blind children who are doing good jobs. For the first time this year the National Federation of the Blind has selected from all the teachers throughout the country one distinguished teacher of the blind. This is our way of recognizing and congratulating this teacher for optimistic expectation and tough instruction of blind students. In our culture teachers of blind children are still the role models for both the children and their families. The teachers have tremendous influence (whether for better or worse) on young children. As we do with scholarship winners, we bestow upon this teacher not only an award but also our greatest gift, ourselves and our Federation. We advertised for nominations and applications, and we received many. Some of you have heard from the woman we chose. She made a presentation earlier in the week at the meeting of the Parents Division, a presentation which was well received. She has attended as many of our meetings as she could this week. Sitting with the Oregon delegation, she has shared with us this convention. I urge you to get acquainted with our Distinguished Teacher. Evelyn Riggan works with children six and under, primarily in the Portland, Oregon, public schools. She has taught at three schools for the blind Utah, New Mexico, and Oregon. She has also taught in an itinerant program in eastern Oregon as well, and she is building a very strong program in Portland. The Distinguished Teacher of Blind Children Award includes a check for $500 and a plaque. The plaque reads: `Distinguished Teacher of Blind Children Award, presented to Evelyn Riggan for her outstanding dedication, service, and talent from the National Federation of the Blind, July 7, 1988.' Following this presentation by Mrs. Walhof, Evelyn Riggan spoke: It is indeed a pleasure for me to be with you. When I was contacted if my name could be placed in nomination for this award, I was told that I would need to share something about my philosophy of education, and I would like to comment very briefly on that to you. I wrote something like this. The following are attitudes that I carry into my work with adults, with children, with the blind, and with the sighted. I believe that everyone has the right to be respected, to be curious and explore, to make mistakes, to laugh and have fun, to live independently, and to make choices. And along with rights come responsibilities. Everyone has the responsibility to take care of one's own self, family, belongings, and world to take the consequences of one's own actions and inactions to respect other persons' property and rights. It is the teacher's role, along with the family, to facilitate experiences, mold self-discipline, stimulate thinking, build a sense of self-worth, promote common sense, and provide instruction and skills to gain independence and self-sufficiency. It was twenty-nine years ago that I met my first blind child when I was a regular classroom teacher in a fourth grade public school class. I think I had only seen two blind people before that time in my whole life. Jannie, who was my fourth-grade student, was expected to do everything that all the other kids do. She had already had Braille instruction. This was the fourth grade, period. She had her books, and she did very well. I have, of course, worked with many blind children since that time and my aims and my objectives are still the same. It is with honor that I accept this award as a representative of all of the teachers who are committed to having our blind children become self-sufficient, socially assured, well-functioning adults in our community. Thank you all. JACOBUS tenBROEK AWARD One of the high points of the 1988 convention of the National Federation of the Blind was the presentation of the Jacobus tenBroek Award, which occurred at the banquet on Thursday evening, July 7. Steve Benson, who is President of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois and who chaired the selection committee, said: The Jacobus tenBroek Award is the highest honor which the National Federation of the Blind can bestow upon one of its members. It is presented only occasionally. Its recipients must demonstrate outstanding character. They must exhibit extraordinary leadership. They must be dedicated to our philosophy and to carrying out our mission the achievement of equality, security, and opportunity for all blind people. The recipient of this year's award must (as Dr. Jacobus tenBroek did) extend himself or herself beyond the routine and do those things that in the long haul make a significant difference in the lives of blind people. Beyond that, the recipient of this award must love his or her fellow blind people. The Jacobus tenBroek Award Committee for 1988 has selected a person who meets these standards. This year's recipient is a leader a person who has earned national respect. This person has worked hard to carry our message to the public and to blind people. The 1988 recipient has been involved in the growth and development of local chapters and state affiliates all across the nation. Her (it is a woman) sensitivity, patience, quick wit, and aptness of thought are extraordinary. She is one of us who was recruited in the 1970's. She takes seriously what she does within and for the NFB. She knows that what happens to blind people in California affects people in Louisiana, Minnesota, Florida, and Maine. Tonight's recipient of the Jacobus tenBroek Award sees her work in the Federation with a national perspective. I am speaking about a woman whose background is in education, vocationally and avocationally. College students acclaim her. State presidents revere her. Members cite her as an example of what a Federationist should aspire to become. The Jacobus tenBroek Award Committee for 1988 has selected as this year's award recipient a person who lives east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line whose spirit and work on behalf of all of us transcend political and geographical boundaries. Tonight I am pleased and privileged to present the 1988 Jacobus tenBroek Award to Jacquilyn Billey, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut. The inscription on the plaque reads : National Federation of the Blind Jacobus tenBroek Award - Presented to Jacquilyn Billey for your dedication, commitment, and sacrifice on behalf of the blind of this nation. Your contributions must be measured not in steps but by miles, not by individual experiences but by your impact on the lives of the blind of this nation.Whenever we have asked, you have answered. We call you our colleague with respect. We call you our friend with love. - July 7, 1988 Jackie, it's yours! Jacquilyn Billey, who was taken completely by surprise, responded as follows: Thank you so much, fellow Federationists. I had as much fun as everyone else trying to guess who they were talking about east of the River. I came to my first convention a few years ago, and I have been given many things by this organization. I have come to a place in my life where I can start to give back some of the things that have been given to me from the Federation. The time is right in my life to work harder than I have ever worked before. Thank you so much. Dr. Jernigan, who was master of ceremonies at the banquet, concluded the presentation by saying: Jacquilyn, if anybody ever deserved that award, you do. 1988 SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS The 1988 convention marks the fifth year in the expanded scholarship program of the National Federation of the Blind. Since 1984 the Federation has been awarding twenty or more scholarships each year to outstanding blind students throughout the nation. Each winner has received both a cash grant and a convention scholarship, enabling him or her to attend the NFB convention and learn first-hand about the Federation. Our 1988 convention in Chicago was by far the largest gathering of blind people ever to be held anywhere in the world. One of its most distinctive features was the high proportion of young people in attendance. Children, students, young professionals, and young men and women seeking work and ideas for careers all came in large numbers, plunged into convention activities, and added a zestful enthusiasm to the mix that was this year's convention. The scholarship chairman started counting. By the end of the week, she had found in attendance at the convention at least forty-four scholarship winners from the previous four years. These men and women are now moving into leadership positions in their local chapters, their state affiliates, and the national movement. Scholarship winners serve as chapter presidents; as state officers; as important organizers of affiliate seminars; as presenters at many division and committee meetings at the national convention; in leadership positions in the National Association of Blind Students; in innumerable jobs in the exhibit hall, the registration line, and the convention hall itself; as organizers of parties and fundraisers at state and national conventions; as associate recruiters, PAC contributors, and DIG policyholders; and in all the other roles necessary to make a grassroots organization staffed by volunteers from its own membership work smoothly, continuously and nationally. Part of our history of the last four years has been written in the names of those forty-four men and women who are former scholarship winners. Some now work. Many continue their studies. All have committed themselves to making opportunity for their fellow blind men and women through the Federation. They stand for achievement. They stand for hard work. They stand with us in our march to the future that we will fashion for ourselves. Again this year the Federation presented a broad array of valuable scholarships. Here, in the words of its participants, is the presentation ceremony which occurred at the 1988 banquet: Dr. Jernigan: One of the important things we do in the National Federation of the Blind is to present scholarships. The people who have received our scholarships in the past have gone on not only to make distinguished records for themselves but, as a group, they have also distinguished themselves in working in this movement and with their fellow blind. We have a good group of scholarship winners this year. Peggy Pinder: Tonight it is my privilege once again to introduce to you the 1988 class of scholarship winners. This year's class, as Dr. Jernigan says, is an especially fine one. Their youth, both in age and spirit, are invigorating and exciting. Their questions, their commentary, and their reactions during this week have been enlightening and will serve as a spur to even higher achievement to all of us in the National Federation of the Blind. But, most of all, these twenty-six scholarship winners their aspirations and their firm intention to succeed stand for something fundamental to the National Federation of the Blind: the quality of hope. Today, in convention session, we discussed illiteracy and unemployment, the twin shackles that the blind are trying to loose. Those shackles symbolize our past, but this convention and these winners symbolize our future and the real hope for blind people in this country. These twenty-six men and women, taken as a group, stand out as achievers, as successes in their chosen fields of study, and predictably as successes in their chosen careers. It gives me great pleasure this year to introduce to you these twenty-six scholarship winners. I will begin with the first class of scholarships, National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships. There are eight of these scholarships, each in the amount of $1800. Brian Mark Buhrow - California. Brian will be a freshman in the fall at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he intends to study toward a degree in computer science. Brian intends to become a computer programmer. Cara Ann Dunne - Illinois. Cara will be a freshman in the fall at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she intends to study foreign languages and international business, first at the bachelor's and later at the graduate level. Dorothy Nani Fife - Hawaii. Dorothy will be a second-year graduate student at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. She is taking a graduate degree in special education and will teach special education children. Claudette Fletcher - New Mexico. Claudette is currently in a master's degree program at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, where she plans to write a thesis on the subject of why counselors helping the blind never seem to get us jobs. After earning her master's degree, she intends to earn a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. Carmen V. Necega - Florida. In the fall, Carmen will be completing her senior year at Florida International University in Miami, where she is earning a degree in social work, after which she intends to seek employment in the field of social work. Michael J. Riley - Indiana. Michael will be a sophomore in the fall at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana, where he is taking a bachelor's degree in mathematics and business. Michael intends to be an accountant. Darryl L. Thomas - Oklahoma. Darryl will be a senior in the fall at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he is studying criminal justice and journalism. Darryl is also considering a career in law or law enforcement. Beth Watson - Maine. Beth will be an entering freshman in the fall at the University of Maine at Orono, Maine, where she intends to take a degree in biochemistry. Before announcing the next award, I should remind you that we of the Federation are all collectively the donors of many of these awards, the ones entitled National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships. We are privileged to have in the audience with us tonight the donor of the Francis Urbanek Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is in the amount of $1800 and is restricted to a high school senior entering college in the fall. As a scholarship committee tonight, we are especially proud to give this award to a South Carolinian, also the home state of the donor. April Jeffcoat - South Carolina. April will be a freshman in the fall at Newbury College in South Carolina. Her interests are many including the studying of education, the studying of journalism, the study of English, and the study of Spanish. The next scholarship is the Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1800. This scholarship is restricted to undergraduate students. Heidi Michelle Sherman - Minnesota. Heidi will be a Sophomore in the fall at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where she is studying Russian area studies and German. Heidi will be leaving shortly in about a week for a trip to Yugoslavia, where she will be serving as a guide and interpreter. We are also privileged this evening to have with us (and have had with us for the entire week) the donor of the next scholarship, the Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. This scholarship is endowed by Cathy Randall's mother and stepfather in honor of Cathy's father, and we are especially honored to have those with us this evening who remember and honor his name through this scholarship. Cathy serves as First Vice President of the NFB of Illinois. The donors request that the scholarship be given, if possible, to someone interested in architecture or engineering. Darren J. Haddeland - North Dakota. Darren will be a sophomore in the fall at the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks, where he is studying geological engineering. We are also privileged to have with us (and have had with us for the entire week) the donor of the Ellen Setterfield Memorial Scholarship, a new scholarship this year, given by Roy Landstrom of Renaissance Agencies, Inc. This donor has restricted the Setterfield Scholarship to students at the graduate level in the social sciences. The Setterfield Scholarship is in the amount of $2,000. John T. Bundy - Oregon. John is currently a candidate for his Ph.D. degree at the University of Oregon in Eugene, after which he intends to be employed as a clinical psychologist in a hospital or university setting. The next seven scholarships are also entitled National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships. Each of these is in the amount of $2,500. Linda Goodspeed - Massachusetts. Linda is currently in the master's degree program in the College of Communications at Boston University, where she is studying medicine journalism. Linda has recently received a promotion in her employment to the position of senior editor at the magazine for which she works. Kimberlie Fae Hoffman - South Dakota. Kim will be a sophomore in the fall at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, North Dakota, where she is studying elementary education. Sue Ellyn Premo - Wisconsin. Sue will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, in the fall, where she will be a first-year student in the graduate program studying toward a master's degree in public administration. Esther Alexandra Rhee - Indiana. Alex will be a sophomore in the fall at the University of Chicago, where she is studying towards a degree in economics. She may then take a master's degree in business administration or possibly a law degree. Victoria Renee Vaughan - Pennsylvania. In the fall, Vickie will be a first-year law student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Rosalind Wilcox - Iowa. Rosalind will be a first-year graduate student in the fall right here at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she intends to study toward a degree and later work in the field of art therapy. Barbara (Bonnie) M. Zoladz - New York. Bonnie is a graduate student and intends to earn her Master's degree in clinical nutrition at Cornell University and then to earn a certificate as a registered dietitian. She intends to teach and counsel diabetic children and their parents in the management of the disease of diabetes. The next two scholarships are both entitled Howard Brown Rickard Scholarships. Each of these two scholarships is in the amount of $2,500. The donor of these scholarships asked that they be given to persons studying in the fields of law, engineering, or the natural sciences in order to encourage blind people to go into areas that are not always thought of by the blind. I must say that, in the years I have been in the Federation, there didn't used to be a lot of us, but there are getting to be more and more and more. Ralph Charles Brian Imlay - Missouri. Ralph will be entering his third year as a medical student at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Kansas City, Kansas. His particular interests include organ donor programs and treatment of the victims of child abuse. Eileen M. Murray - Virginia. Eileen will be a junior in the fall at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Richlands, Virginia, where she is studying toward a degree in animal science. Eileen intends to be and you can count on it a veterinarian. The next scholarship is the Hermione Grant Calhoun Memorial Scholarship, also in the amount of $2,500. This scholarship is restricted to female students only, and its donor (the late Dr. Isabelle Grant, who was a long-time member of this organization) is still remembered and beloved by many of us. The scholarship goes this year to: Melissa A. LaGroue - Alabama. Melissa will be a freshman in the fall at Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. She intends to study for a B.A. and then a master's degree in education. She hopes to work in special education and also has an interest in music therapy. Again, I would remind you that the donors of the next three scholarships are in this room. They are three scholarships entitled National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships, each in the amount of $4,000. John A. Miller - Nebraska. John will be a freshman in the fall at Stanford University in California, where he intends to take a degree in electrical engineering. Jennine M. O'Reilly - New York. Jennine will be a second- semester senior at the State University of New York at Albany in the fall, where she intends to earn a bachelor's degree in business and marketing. She intends to earn a master's degree in business administration and work in the field of marketing. Annee Worsham - Washington State. Annee will be a freshman in the fall at Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington. She intends to study languages and hopes to become an interpreter. I understand she is thinking of studying Spanish and maybe Japanese. She also indicates that she'd like to be an ambassador one day, and you can count on that, too. Our final scholarship this evening is in the amount of $10,000. The scholarship is entitled American Brotherhood for the Blind Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship and, again, many of the donors of this scholarship from the American Brotherhood for the Blind are here in this room this evening. I will first announce the name of the winner and as she comes forward, tell you a little about her. Keep in mind that this winner, the $10,000 scholarship winner, has also earned the privilege of speaking briefly to the entire convention. Mildred Rivera - Pennsylvania. Mildred earned her bachelor's degree at Cornell University and is about to enter her third year of law school at the University of Pennsylvania. She is working this summer as an intern for a law firm in Los Angeles, and you can tell that they count on her. They keep calling, trying to find her here. But despite their calls, I can tell you that Mildred has been paying attention and actively participating in our convention this week. It is a great pleasure and a personal privilege for me to be able to introduce to you for a few words our Brotherhood scholarship winner of 1988, Mildred Rivera: It is a great honor and a privilege to address the convention, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer. I think the one thing I can tell everyone here is what the Federation means to me. I can sum it up in one word. It means freedom freedom from oppression, freedom from prejudice, and freedom from our own fears. What Dr. Jernigan and President Maurer and all the Federationists in this room have done for all of us is to create a better country to live in, where we will have more opportunity. I knew that before I came here; I knew it. But I learned it in a different way as I came to the convention and met all of you wonderful people that live the Federation and the philosophy that we teach. I just want to thank you for teaching me that the philosophy is a reality. I especially would like to thank my state president from Pennsylvania, Terry McManus, and I want again to thank all of you wonderful people. And, Mr. President, I'd like to say to you that you have my commitment and my word that this investment that you have placed in me will not be wasted, that I will do anything in my power to let the philosophy live and let freedom ring for the blind people of the United States of America. Peggy Pinder: There you have them, ladies and gentlemen, our twenty-six scholarship winners. Scholarship winners, I have a few words to say to you. We have honored you this evening, and we have given each of you a cash scholarship. We have also given each of you a scholarship to come to this convention and the opportunity to get to know the Federation. I have something I want to say to you in closing our 1988 scholarship program. We have given you something much more than money. We have given you something far more valuable to us, something far more precious, something that took far longer to get, something we give, with free will and delight, to each and every one of you. We have given you our organization. This week we have given you our time. We have talked with you; we have worked beside you; we have laughed with you and partied with you. This week we have given you our knowledge about blindness and the way that this country can be made better for all blind people through the Federation. We have given you for forty-eight years our efforts to improve the lives of all blind people in this country. We have given you this week a treasure that we have treasured ourselves and hope that you also will treasure. Like you, the National Federation of the Blind works hard. Like you, the National Federation of the Blind achieves its goals. Like you, the National Federation of the Blind simply doesn't give up until we succeed. And like you, we are building for tomorrow. We have built the Federation with each other, and we have built it with hope. We look forward now to building not only for you, but with you. We have built well. We are proud of the gift we give you. We offer you our organization with pride. Take it with pride. We offer it to you with love. Take it with love. We look forward with pride in our organization and you, and with love for all blind people, to building that future together that we are destined to share. Building it with you will make us all stronger. Congratulations, scholarship winners, and we'll see you next year in Denver. Dr. Jernigan concluded the ceremony by saying: Congratulations to all of you scholarship winners. Both you and we are winners as a result of this day's activities. PREPARATION AND THE CRITICAL NUDGE An Address Delivered by MARC MAURER President, National Federation of the Blind At the Banquet of the Annual Convention Chicago, Illinois, July 7, 1988 Lord Bolingbroke once said that history is the teaching of philosophy by examples. Each historical figure is remembered for expressing in action a certain philosophy. The important moments in time have become significant because of actions taken by individuals which have represented specific points of view. However, those events which have helped shape the course of history have had more than one element. There are competing philosophies each seeking ascendancy. The educator Lewis Mumford wrote that in human experience there are singular moments when the merest nudge can move mountains and change the course of history. These points in time are critical, because it is only then that the balances between compelling, competing ideas alternate philosophies can be changed by concerted effort or individual acts of courage. At such times, as Andrew Jackson observed, one human being with courage makes a majority. These critical points in history do not occur by happenstance. They must be created deliberately, and with strenuous effort. A philosophy which has guided a government or shaped the mental processes of a social order cannot be fundamentally altered easily or simply. Regardless of the seeming spontaneity and suddenness of an event, no philosophy which competes with the established norm can be fixed in the hearts and minds of a society without an accumulation of advance preparation. Only with such preconditioning can a new social balance be reached. But after the old order has been sufficiently challenged that a new equilibrium has almost been achieved, a small choice (a simple decision or the lack of it) may determine the course of a life or the destiny of a people. Change ordinarily evolves over hundreds of years, but when a fundamental difference in the way we view the world comes quickly (even though necessarily with a considerable amount of advance preparation), the shift in our thinking is called revolution. These principles apply not only to societies and governments but also to individuals and social movements as well. A change in direction often takes place not because the governing institutions have had a change of heart, but because the pressure brought to bear by individuals organized for collective action has added the necessary impetus. The critical point for the reordering of basic values is (regardless of appearances) never reached individually or spontaneously. The times are right for revolution only when individuals have organized to create the social climate which will permit it. Even when events follow one another with such rapidity that a fundamental alteration is made in a relatively short time, the causes can be found much earlier. Slavery was legal in the United States in 1861. Four years later, after a war had been fought, the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting slavery) had been ratified. However, the seeds of the change are discernible almost a hundred years earlier in the slavery provisions of the Constitution, adopted in 1787. We express (each and every one of us) our philosophy in the actions of our daily lives. As a movement we declare our principles not only in the words we use but also in the steps we take to put those words into practice. The individual act contributes to the totality. The philosophy of a movement is a composite. It is the combined hopes and dreams of thousands of individuals but it is more than that. It is a shared ambition, a collective determination. The philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind is simple and (at least we are sometimes told) revolutionary. We believe that blind people, organized throughout the land, have the strength and purpose to change the course of history at least their own history. We believe it is our responsibility to make it happen and we accept the challenge, with the full knowledge that the moving force is, and must necessarily be, the National Federation of the Blind. The conviction that we the blind have not only the ability to determine our own future but also the right to do it the right to be the principal architects of the programs and activities which affect our lives is the very essence of our movement. It is the central thread which has run through the Federation from the day of its beginning. When the National Federation of the Blind came into being in 1940 under the leadership of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the doctrine of self-determination was an unquestioned given. This same spirit of independence has been the prime factor in the building of the Federation from the forties to the present. The faith (in fact, the certainty) that our own actions can dramatically change the opportunities available to us a faith and a certainty so eloquently proclaimed in the speeches of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan originally brought us together, sustains us today as a movement, and will give us the strength we need for the battles of the future. Without this unshakable core of belief and knowledge, we would cease to be the powerful movement which we are and simply become one among the many who attempt in this way or that to assist the blind. As it is, we are unique the strongest force in the affairs of the blind today. We are the National Federation of the Blind. Implied in the thesis that we are responsible for our own destiny is an alteration in the traditional role of the blind. All segments of society the blind, agencies serving the blind, and the public as a whole are involved; and when we have completed our work, each of us (and each component of the social order) will be different. Some time ago I received a letter from a disabled graduate student who asked that I provide him with incidents involving disability and humor for a college research paper. His request said in part: ____________________ I am a graduate student at Arizona State University. At present I am involved in a research project and would appreciate your assistance. I am looking at the dynamics involved in humor and disability. I am seeking jokes, cartoons, or personal accounts about the experience of being disabled. Part of my interest in humor and disability stems from the fact that I have been disabled for twelve years. During this time I have found numerous situations in which humor has turned possible disaster into something I could put behind me. I feel that I cannot be the only one to use humor in such a manner and am asking others to share their experiences with me. ____________________ Perhaps the writer of this letter does not believe that the blind are a minority. One phenomenon associated with many minority groups is that the individuals comprising those groups often become the objects of humor. There are ethnic stories and racial slurs. There are also jokes about the blind. However, the humor is not really humor, and it demeans both the teller and the listener both the majority and the minority. It is always a put-down, and often an excuse. There are some who will argue that raising an objection to a little humor is overreacting. Surely, they will say, you would not want to be oversensitive. Those who are unable to find humor in a situation take themselves too seriously. Being able to laugh at yourself demonstrates a sense of inner security. Those who cannot do this are touchy, insecure, and without a sense of humor. To which I say, nonsense! Let those who say that a little innocent fun at the expense of the blind is harmless (and perhaps even admirable) consider the program Saturday Night Live. On March 5th, 1988, this comedy show carried a skit depicting a blind man being interviewed about his blindness on a television talk show. This ostensibly humorous routine contains one of the most dismal and dreary accounts of blindness I have ever heard. Blindness is the overwhelming characteristic in the man's life. Nothing else really matters. Notice that in the midst of the gloom and the twisted mockery there is yet the positive language of hope which only makes matters worse. In the Middle Ages it was considered amusing to decorate blind men's heads with donkey ears and make them fight at county fairs. The ears are absent, but the jeering and public ridicule are still with us on Saturday Night Live. Here are excerpts from the broadcast. The dialogue begins with the talk show hostess: ____________________ `You've still had a fulfilling life, right?' `Doing what,' the blind man replies, `listening? Listening to a sunset? Didn't they tell you, honey, I'm blind. Okay? Hello? Blind. Where are you? Can't see you.' `I understand that. But given everything, isn't blindness just one more obstacle to overcome?' `Yeah, right. I'll tell you what. Why don't you try it for about a day and a half?' `I'm sure it's very challenging, but what about the positives? Your other senses are heightened, aren't they?' `Oh yeah, yeah. They're great. I can smell a little better now. That really comes in handy on the subway every day. Not to mention the hearing, of course. Yeah. So let's figure this one out. Let's see, I can hear crickets chirping a little louder than you can, and you can see? Yeah, that sounds fair. That's a fair trade-off. Thanks, God!' `You're a little bitter, Hal. No doubt about it. But you haven't let this stop you from leading a normal life.' `Well, yeah, I'm pretty much dead in the water, I'd say. Mostly I just hang around the house and drink a lot of beer. That's about it.' `You know something? You're a horrible man. Do you know that? A few weeks ago we had a blind horseshoe pitcher, and he was just wonderful. [Here the talk show hostess breaks into tears.] And then we had a blind sky diver, and he always managed to adapt, and he got out there in the world ' `Well they're insane. Okay, honey? They've got no grip on reality. Guys, you're blind, okay? Calm down. Stop embarrassing the rest of us. I don't understand it. What do you people want from us, anyway? Do you want us to perform for you! Is that it? I'll tell you what. Why don't I just do a little dance for you! Blind man dancing. Okay, is that good? All right. I'm sorry. I'll think of something to say that's nice for blind people. Okay? Something like, okay, if you go blind, it's not so bad. You get a nice tax thing, a little deduction there, and oh yeah, you can look right at an eclipse. That's no problem.' ____________________ That is what millions of people heard and saw less than six months ago on Saturday Night Live ; and far from being funny, it is disgusting; it is sick; and it is a straight-out lie. Blind people (we are told) get a tax deduction. We drink a lot of beer and sit at home. Even those of us who are successful (a success, it should be noted, which betokens insanity) have only been able to succeed by engaging in some sort of recreational pursuit. The responsibilities of citizenship, the participation in community activities, and the holding of a job are not even considered. If this is what passes for humor, forget it. If this is what we are supposed to cultivate to prove we are adjusting, we will remain unadjusted and write a new script. We don't control the air waves; but we recognize a lie when we meet one, and we also know enough to avoid being conned into being satisfied with second-class status on the grounds that we have a duty to demonstrate a so-called sense of humor. Again I say, forget it! We have put behind us the donkey ears of the Middle Ages and the donkey tails of Saturday Night Live. We have thrown off the pathos and bitterness, the dejection and gloom, and the passive docility which have traditionally been expected of us. Instead, our mood is one of hope, accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. We know that with reasonable opportunity we can compete on terms of full equality in society, and we also know that with reasonable opportunity the sighted can come to accept us for what we are. What is required is a redirection of public attitudes and beliefs and remarkable as it may seem, one of our principal areas of effort must be with the very governmental and private agencies which have been established to help us do the job. The sad truth is that the agencies often have worse attitudes about us than do the members of the general public. They portray us as helpless and inept. An issue of the Journal , a District of Columbia newspaper, tells of a teen-age girl who wanted to help the blind. Influenced perhaps by the attitudes of those who work at the agency where she volunteered, she decided to write a cookbook for the blind. Sometimes misconceptions about blindness are veiled and hidden, but not this time. This is the way the article describes her work: ____________________ Cooking hurts when you're blind. It is a vexing daily chore for America's eleven and one-half million blind and visually impaired populations, according to the American Foundation for the Blind. For many of them, it is a frustrating and defeating stumble around the kitchen for sustenance conducted dimly or in total darkness by people who long to be as self-sufficient as the rest of sighted America. That's why seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Warshawsky plucks our heart strings with the recent publication of her Braille and large-print cookbooks for the blind. The high-school student from Shaker Heights, Ohio, took two years to write and design her cookbook, only part of a busy schedule of study and volunteer work at her local Society for the Blind. [The article continues with quotes from the student.] `I couldn't get The Miracle Worker out of my mind,' said the high school senior, in a telephone interview. `I saw the movie in the second grade, and it changed me. It made me see how we could help the blind by just taking some time to think about them, to work with them a little. `So [the article continues] in ninth grade this idea comes to me,' she explained. `I saw how the blind people I volunteered for had such a terrible time with food. It's so frustrating and dangerous in the kitchen for them; they solve the problem of eating by getting into a rut, sticking to apples, lunch meats, and sandwiches; and malnutrition is a real problem for many of them. `But what really excited me,' she recalled, `was all this new food that can be easily prepared, food that is nutritious and hot, the kind of foods blind people once had when they could see.' ____________________ So the article says, and it is hard to know how to respond to such a messy mishmash of misinformation. Has this student really met blind people? What influences were brought to bear to teach her that the ordinary kitchen is for the blind a dangerous and frustrating place, a veritable minefield of terror and booby traps? How did she conclude that malnutrition is a serious problem for those of us who are blind? Did the local agency for the blind (reinforced by the American Foundation for the Blind) give her the impression that blind people stumble around the kitchen, feeling defeated? No matter how it came to be, the misunderstanding of blindness has now been learned. A book has been written containing the most blatant misrepresentations about blindness. Opportunities which might have been available will never be and it has all been done in the name of helping the blind. Instead of this half-baked collection of underdone ideas, we prefer reality and a more positive view of our prospects and possibilities. We reject this gloomy assessment, along with the bitterness and blight traditionally associated with blindness. Rather, our mood is one of hope, accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. We believe that we who are blind, organized throughout the land, have the strength and purpose to change the course of history at least our own history. We believe it is our responsibility to make it happen and we accept the challenge, with the full knowledge that the moving force is, and must necessarily be, the National Federation of the Blind. A company calling itself Safe-E-Scape of Tampa, Florida, writes to tell us that it has devised a set of burglar bars, which are most appropriate for the blind. These bars, which fit on the inside of the window, have a locking mechanism, which is opened without a key. In writing to me Safe-E-Scape says: We feel that this product can be very important to blind people everywhere and of every economic and social level. We are, of course, a for-profit concern and are first seeking customers who (we feel) most need and will best accept our product. That is what they say, and I ask you: Why are these burglar bars particularly appropriate for the blind? Why more for us than for others? Are we less able to protect our property than the ordinary sighted citizen? Is there a concerted effort by criminals to seek out the homes of the blind? As far as I know, the property of blind people is not more valuable than the property of the sighted. Or, is the reason for selling this product to the blind contained in the fact that there is no key? If the blind are more helpless than others, there is a need for greater protection. But the very helplessness of blind people contains inherent disadvantages. Those who are helpless may misplace a key (or worse still) may not be able to use it even if it is not lost. These notions are all contained in the advertisement for the special burglar bars for the blind. And they are also contained in a bill considered by the House of Delegates of the 1988 Maryland General Assembly. The bill (which embodies the inherent assumption that the blind and other so- called vulnerable groups need special, segregated laws to protect them) was entitled An Act Concerning Crimes Against the Elderly and Vulnerable. The language of this legislative measure leaves no doubt as to what is meant by those who are vulnerable. It says, in part: ____________________ The maximum sentence allowed by law for commission of any crime of violence may be doubled for commission of that crime of violence against a person who is: (1) 60 years old or older; (2) Blind; (3) Paraplegic; or (4) Quadriplegic. ____________________ According to this bill, if you are blind, you are more vulnerable (in fact, twice as vulnerable) to crimes of violence than other people are. But our experience teaches us otherwise. Blindness does not mean that keyless burglar bars or extra legal protection is required. We are able to live in the world as it is. I am pleased to say that the bill for the vulnerable died in the Maryland legislature. The views of the Federation helped kill it, and we hope that the misunderstandings about blindness which it represented are also on the way to being killed. In our organizational efforts and our daily activity our mood is one of hope, accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. We believe that we who are blind, organized throughout the land, have the strength and purpose to change the course of history at least our own history. We believe it is our responsibility to make it happen and we accept the challenge, with the full knowledge that the moving force is, and must necessarily be, the National Federation of the Blind. Traditionally those who seek to tell the story of blindness exaggerate and distort. They tell us that blindness alters the mental processes that we who are blind are characterized by heightened sensitivity, extreme joy, and deep gloom. There is, for instance, the report some time back in People Magazine concerning a blind child who became so depressed while attending a school for the blind that he forgot how to smile. He had to be taught how to move his face. However, as we know from our own personal experience, blindness and depression are not necessarily synonymous. Nor (as we can testify) does blindness carry with it some of the other peculiar results, weird side effects, and odd-ball associated characteristics which some have claimed. In the book And There Was Light by the blind author Jacques Lusseyran, we find this astonishing passage: Shortly after I became blind, I felt indescribable relief, and happiness so great it almost made me laugh. Confidence and gratitude came as if a prayer had been answered. I found light and joy at the same moment, and I can say without hesitation that from that time on, light and joy have never been separated in my experience. To which one is tempted to respond: Yuk! One blind person could not move his face; the other felt relief and happiness. The only way I know to reply to such fantasy is by calling on the poets. If memory serves me, James Russell Lowell said something to this effect: ____________________ Here comes Mr. Poe with his raven, Like Barnaby Rudge; Three-fifths of him genius, And two-fifths sheer fudge. ____________________ I would agree with Lowell, but I would change the ratio. National Industries for the Blind, the agency which distributes millions of dollars worth of government contracts to sheltered workshops for the blind, has recommended that a special sandpaper-type material be attached to the floor in buildings where blind people walk. The blind (or so National Industries for the Blind apparently believes) cannot effectively get around by any other method and should follow the sandpaper to find their way. Then, there is the opinion of a researcher into low vision, reprinted some time ago in an issue of the Architectural Record . As you might expect, the findings of this researcher are couched in terms of architectural barriers. However, the conclusion reached is, to say the least, astonishing. ____________________ One of the most difficult architectural barriers faced by partially sighted persons [the publication says] is locating a rest room in a public building and determining whether it is for men or for women. This problem can be easily solved by affixing panels to rest room doors in such a way that visually impaired persons can readily identify the facilities. Those on men's rest room doors should be an equilateral triangle with a vertex pointing upward, and those on women's rest room doors should be a circle. The edges of the triangle should be one foot long, as should be the diameter of the circle, and all panels should be one-quarter inch thick. The color and gray value of these geometric figures should be distinct from the color and gray value of the doors. [I interrupt to ask you to disregard the hidden Freudian pornographic symbolism contained in this treatise and to say that there are other (possibly even better) ways of determining which bathroom is which. But back to the article.] If this were done [it continues] even the totally blind could touch the edge of a panel and easily determine whether it is straight or curved. ____________________ As I ponder this report, I confess to a certain curiosity. Are the geometric shapes intended to represent the people involved men triangular with straight edges, vertex pointing upward; and women circles with lots of curves? It is embarrassingly suggestive. Let me simply leave it at this: although it is often important to find a bathroom, most blind people seem to manage; and I believe it is a foolish and overdramatic exaggeration to describe the matter as one of the most important problems faced by the blind. Shortly before last summer's National Federation of the Blind convention an item appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser which declared that there are characteristics of blindness which are advantageous in marriage. Here is the item in full: ____________________ Marriages among blind people last longer statistically than marriages among people with good eyesight. Or, so our Love and War man has been informed. He doesn't doubt it. It's common knowledge that the blind tend to be better lovers than the sighted. For two reasons: 1. It's quite comfortable for them to communicate with their hands. 2. And, they make love with inner visions of each other, which remain forever as they so desire. ____________________ So there you have it. You may have been under the impression that blind people were just like everybody else except that we can't see. Not so! We have the ability to communicate with our hands and besides, there is that special inner vision which we conjure up when making love. When reading this piece of so-called news from the Honolulu Advertiser , I wondered where the reporter got his information. In my experience with thousands of blind people (some of whom have attended conventions of the National Federation of the Blind), I have reached the conclusion that the mating patterns of the blind do not vary substantially from those of the larger society. Let any reporter interested in field testing come to this gathering of blind people from throughout the nation. I suspect that the research will show that we have about the same experience (and the same attributes) as others just as loving, just as bad, just as wonderful. The Queen's University of Belfast has a program for teaching the blind about dentistry and oral hygiene. There is even a kit with models and tape recordings. The brochure has this to say about the course. ____________________ The Queen's University of Belfast Touch Tooth Kit has been developed by the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry within the University. It is a complete dental health programme for the visually impaired. It includes the smells and sounds of the dental surgery, large models for the student to feel what he is learning, and a complete set of Teachers' Notes to lead them through an up-to- date programme of dental health education. ____________________ Why anyone would want to experience the smells of dentistry without being compelled to do so is something I can't understand. Why a university should think that blind people need the sound of the dentist's drill, the spicy aroma of tooth decay, and the feel of a deteriorating molar is beyond comprehension. Perhaps the designers of this course have concluded that the psychological stresses for blind people have been too great. Consequently, they may have decided that the blind are abnormally interested in the bizarre. How else can the existence of this dental education program for the blind be explained? Why is the ordinary dental hygiene program not enough? Most of the blind people I know have teeth, and the toothbrush is not an unknown quantity. I venture to say that blind people are as aware of dental hygiene as the sighted are. If the message were not so destructive, it would be amusing. The basic assumption is that blindness necessarily means diminished ability, that we do not have the capacity to learn with the ordinary tools in the usual way. As with so much else, we reject this assessment. Rather, our mood is one of hope, accomplishment, and the joy of discovery. We believe that we who are blind, organized throughout the land, have the strength and purpose to change the course of history at least our own history. We believe it is our responsibility to make it happen and we accept the challenge, with the full knowledge that the moving force is, and must necessarily be, the National Federation of the Blind. Agencies for the blind have been established to provide services to blind people. However, the actions of the officials of some of these agencies frequently represent the most difficult problems that we face. It is unfortunately too often true that the agencies established to serve the blind create more problems than they solve more than would have existed if they had never been there at all. Last year a supervisor in the vending program of the Division of Eye Care of the Department of Human Services of the State of Maine sent a written directive to all blind vendors in the state expressing her opinion that the blind are not only