THE BRAILLE MONITOR September, 1990 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, 1990 CONVENTION ROUNDUP by Barbara Pierce FIFTY YEARS OF GOLD PRESIDENTIAL REPORT by Marc Maurer THE FEDERATION AT FIFTY An Address Delivered by KENNETH JERNIGAN At the Banquet of the Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind Dallas, Texas, July 5, 1990 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND AWARDS FOR 1990 1990 SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION AWARD FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WALKING ALONE AND MARCHING TOGETHER RECIPES MONITOR MINIATURES 1990 resolutions Constitution of the National Federation of the blind Copyright, National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1990. CONVENTION ROUNDUP by Barbara Pierce There is always a danger in anticipation. Do any events ever live up to our expectations? Looking back on the birthday and holiday celebrations of childhood, most people will admit to a string of disappointments running through their memories of those occasions that they had expected to be most thrilling. Many Federationists, if we are honest with ourselves, would probably admit to having felt a tinge of worry before our golden anniversary convention for fear we were perhaps expecting too much that it was really impossible for any convention to live up to the billing this one had been receiving. But now that it is behind us and we are settling down to the task of writing the next chapter in the history of the emancipation of the blind, we can safely proclaim that this was truly an unforgettable experience a high mark for the planners of the NFB centennial celebration in 2040 to set their sights on. The Hyatt Regency DFW was splendid, and the hotel staff was absolutely first-rate. In addition to hotel restaurants, there was a glorified hot-dog stand near the convention ballroom and the exhibit hall. On the busiest days there was also a delicious buffet, which guaranteed that one could get a tasty, efficiently served, inexpensive meal without a long wait. And, although the elevator lobbies were frequently crowded, the fact that the hotel had two towers (each only moderately tall) meant that many of us could resort to the stairs to get to our rooms without much difficulty. The convention began at a dead run on Saturday, June 30, 1990, with shuttles to a nearby mall; a trip to Six Flags Over Texas for older children; wonderful activities for the younger ones (including a delightful clown who spends her serious time as an attorney and active member of the NFB); two workshops for writers; and the annual day-long seminar for parents and educators of blind children, this year entitled Who Are the Professionals and What Should They Do? The importance of striving to establish healthy, thorough, well-balanced rehabilitation for blind youngsters was demonstrated early in the seminar by a panel of charming teens from the summer program of the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Before ducking out for a day of fun at Six Flags, these youngsters told parents and teachers about coming to terms with blindness and learning that they really are capable of achieving, now that they are developing good attitudes from strong role models and are being taught the alternative techniques that will ultimately make them competitive adults. Here's what Angela Howard, age thirteen, had to say in part: I never really saw a blind person before in my life. I just thought what everybody else thought, that they were kind of weird standing on the corner selling pencils, with one red sock and one blue sock...But after I met Ernie and Zack and all of them, they were kind of normal well, they are not normal, but they're not weird. [laughter] I mean, they're not like a blind person. I mean, they're not like I thought that blind people were; they were different. And I thought that I could still be that way. A panel of parents, medical professionals, and educational specialists of various kinds discussed the role of professionals from their different perspectives and concluded that, essential as their expertise is, there is simply no substitute for informed parents and good blind role models. Rather than getting a good night's sleep in preparation for the exhausting day and week ahead, many conventioneers whooped it up with the host affiliate at a Texas-style hoe-down. Hospitality in general this year took place in two different locations one with tables for quiet conversation and group singing around a piano, and the other with space for dancing and the type of music usually enjoyed by the young or, at least, by those who like the loud. Texas warmth and welcome were available in both hospitality areas, in the Texas suite, and everywhere else a Texan was to be found. Sunday morning was given over as usual to convention registration and exhibits. With the streamlined system perfected by the Federation registration team, hundreds of people an hour passed through the line and went on to discover what was new in the exhibit area. Technology of every description was on display, as well as an amazing range of items for sale by professional vendors, NFB divisions, state affiliates, and local chapters. In the NFB store three new products were of special interest. The NFB cookbook, which includes every recipe that appeared in the Braille Monitor during the first fifty years, was available for the first time. It is a handsome, spiral-bound book that will lie flat when open, and each recipe includes a note about the person who contributed it. After preliminary work by the Minnesota affiliate, the California affiliate assembled this masterpiece, and we are all grateful to have it. It sells for $15, and those who did not snap it up at the convention can order it from the National Center for the Blind. Gold, silver, and bronze NFB anniversary medallions were also for sale in the exhibit hall, and many Federation desks and pockets across the nation are graced now by one of these mementos of our fiftieth-year celebration. They can still be purchased from the NFB at $500 for the gold, $25 for the silver, and $5 for the bronze. The new carbon-fiber straight canes were available for the first time, and many Federationists took advantage of the opportunity to buy this tougher, lighter version of the standard NFB cane. The carbon-fiber telescoping canes which were test marketed at the 1989 convention were also available in a number of lengths this year. The straight canes cost $30, and the telescoping ones are $35. As always, the exhibit hall this year was everyone's favorite place to spend a little extra time dreaming and having fun. Twelve committees and divisions met Sunday afternoon or evening, and sixteen did so on Monday. In addition, Mary Kay Cosmetics conducted a seminar on Sunday evening for those interested in color coordination and grooming. It was a tremendous success, and the NFB received a sizable contribution as a result. The Resolutions Committee debated and eventually sent to the floor twenty-two resolutions for consideration by the convention later in the week. The texts of these resolutions appear elsewhere in this issue. President Maurer gaveled the annual meeting of the Board of Directors to order at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 2. As usual, a number of announcements and presentations were made, including gifts to the national organization of $4,000 from the Cambridge, Massachusetts, chapter and $90,000 from the Connecticut affiliate. Early in the meeting, at a time when the upcoming election was being discussed, Bob Eschbach of Ohio announced that, after fourteen years of service on the Board, he did not plan to allow his name to be placed in nomination this year. He commented that he was grateful and honored to have shared in the leadership of the National Federation of the Blind throughout these years but that it was time for younger hands and hearts to have this opportunity. He assured the organization that he would continue to serve wherever he is needed, and he reiterated once again the truth that we all understand leadership in the Federation is characterized by service. In responding to this announcement, President Maurer said, I know of no one who has served more faithfully in the National Federation of the Blind than Bob Eschbach. The most exciting moment of the morning was the unveiling of Walking Alone and Marching Together: The History of the Organized Blind Movement in the United States, 1940-1990 . This monumental work, written by Floyd Matson, has over 1100 pages and sells for $30. (After October 1, 1990, there will be an additional charge of $3 for shipping and handling.) Dr. Matson, who was Dr. tenBroek's student and later his colleague and friend, was present to autograph copies bought during the convention. His hand was undoubtedly tired by the time Friday evening arrived. The very first copy of the book was presented at the beginning of the Board meeting by President Maurer to Mrs. Hazel tenBroek. President Maurer said: Dr. Jernigan was just showing the audience a copy of our book. I have here that copy. It has been inscribed by the author and is the first copy of this book to be distributed. It is only right that this organization's first First Lady should be the one to receive it. I want to present to you, Mrs. tenBroek, the history of what Dr. tenBroek began fifty years ago. Here is Walking Alone and Marching Together . Mrs. tenBroek responded: What an exciting moment for the Federation and for me. I would like to say a few words about Floyd. I first knew him when he was a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley. We saw a lot of him at our house. I am sure, from what I know of Floyd, that this book is probably one of the most competent things that has been done in the history of blindness. The scholarship class of 1990 was introduced to the convention at the Board meeting, and an impressive group of students they are. Peggy Pinder, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee, announced that $71,000 would be divided among these young men and women as scholarships in tribute to their academic excellence and dedication to community service. In addition, all twenty-six NFB scholars were presented with convention scholarships to enable them to be our guests at the convention again this year. Dr. Tim Cranmer, Chairman of the Research and Development Committee, demonstrated to the organization a rough prototype of the NFB scientific calculator, which will carry out computations to fifteen places to the right of the decimal point. At last year's convention, Dr. Abraham Nemeth introduced the NFB's calculator program for use with IBM-compatible computers, and by next year the committee hopes to have the first models of the stand-alone scientific calculator for inspection. Dr. Cranmer demonstrated the operation of the prototype and allowed the audience to hear its voice, which bears a remarkable resemblance to that of Dr. Jernigan. Traditionally the NFB recognizes those who have worked hardest and most successfully in the effort to recruit members-at-large (associates). This year we announced both the top ten member-recruiters and the top ten money-raisers. President Maurer announced them as follows: Number ten, Sharon Davis, Michigan, with 51 Associates, and Larry Streeter, Nebraska, with $1,250; number nine, Marc Maurer, Maryland, with 63 Associates, and Fred Schroeder, New Mexico, with $1,420; number eight, Verla Kirsh, Iowa, with 64, and Mary Ellen Jernigan, Maryland, with $1,815; number seven, Gary Jones, Illinois, with 66, and Duane Gerstenberger, Maryland, with $1,830; number six, Fred Schroeder, New Mexico, with 81, and Norman Gardner, Arizona, with $2,370.50; number five, Frank Lee, Alabama, with 83, and Bill Isaacs, Illinois, with $2,571; number four, Norman Gardner, Arizona, with 150, and Tom Stevens, Missouri, with $2,596; number three, Bill Isaacs, Illinois, with 185, and Jim Omvig, Arizona, with $2,809; number two, Tom Stevens, Missouri, with 204, and Marc Maurer, Maryland, with $3,468; and number one in both categories, with 258 Associates and $8,516 raised, Kenneth Jernigan, Maryland. At 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, President Maurer gaveled the first general session of the 1990 convention to order, and Glenn Crosby, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas, welcomed the convention to the Lone Star State. Harold Snider, until recently the Director of Outreach for Persons with Disabilities at the Republican National Committee, made a presentation to President Maurer. He said: Mr. President, Dr. Jernigan, fellow Federationists: This morning I have the great pleasure and privilege to present to Marc Maurer, on behalf of the President of the United States, Goerge Bush, and the Republican National Committee, a Presidential medal in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind. This inaugural medal is a bronze circle two and three quarters inches in diameter. On the obverse is pictured the American eagle and a bust of President George Bush, with the President's signature beneath and his name printed around the edge. The reverse side of the medal displays a picture of the sculpture of Freedom from the Capitol dome with the words E Pluribus Unum at her feet. The inscription says Forty-first President of the United States of America. The words Inaugurated, January 20, 1989, and Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Presidential Inaugural appear around the edge. In accepting this award, President Maurer said: I shall be pleased to display this medal proudly, and I do so for this organization, which has meant so much to so many blind people. The remainder of the Tuesday morning session was devoted to the roll call of states. The Tuesday afternoon general session began with the annual Presidential Report. In addition to reviewing the past year's battles and accomplishments, President Maurer looked back in this fiftieth-anniversary report to the progress that has been made by the Federation during its entire history. In summing up the role that the Federation has always played and the work it continues to do, President Maurer said: When it comes to civil rights for the blind, we are really the only ball game in town. Nobody else has the knowledge, the skill, the determination, and the conviction that we possess. Nobody has the tenacity and the willingness to meet conflict half-way or the ability to settle arguments with finality. We have a reputation and we deserve it. The report, which appears in full elsewhere in this issue, was filled with evidence of what we the blind are doing to earn our rightful place in the community, and it rang with the promise we have made to ourselves and to the coming generations that we will not rest until this work is complete. The final words of the 1990 Presidential Report were a summation of our record, our work in hand, and our dreams for tomorrow: I have met the great body of the Federation, and I am absolutely certain that the first fifty years are only the beginning. With the Federation as our vehicle, and a spirit of determination as our driving force, we will create a climate of equality for all of the blind. The stakes are too high and the costs of failure too great to do anything less. With all of the problems we face, our future has never looked better. Therefore, with joy, with enthusiasm, with purpose, let us go to meet our second half century. This is my hope, this is my certainty, and this is my report to you on this golden anniversary. Following the tumultuous response to the Presidential Report, Congressman Martin Frost (representative from the twenty-fourth district of Texas) spoke to the convention on the subject Representing the People in Congress: The Blind Are Heard in Washington. During the question period that followed Congressman Frost's remarks, a lively exchange took place between Dr. Jernigan and the speaker. Dr. Jernigan: I want to talk to you for a moment about the air carrier bill we have in Congress. That bill, you may know, says that you can't discriminate against people by limiting where they sit on planes on the basis of their eyesight. It's about as simple as the amendment you mentioned to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Senator Hollings introduced that bill in the Senate, and it has thirty-four or thirty-five co-sponsors. It passed out of Senate committee after hearings. It undoubtedly would have passed the Senate had it not been for the fact that it got involved with people trying to put all kinds of Christmas tree amendments on it. There was a motion, as you heard in the Presidential Report and as you may have known anyway, for cloture, so that there could be a vote on the bill itself. That vote was fifty-six in favor; it fell short. We will deal with it in the Senate. In the House we have a different problem. There are 182 of your colleagues in the House who have co-sponsored that bill. For whatever reason, I regret to say that you have not yet seen fit to do that. Now, the real problem we have in the House is not that we cannot muster the votes to pass the bill; the real problem is that Congressman Oberstar, who heads the Sub- Committee, has said that he doesn't like the bill, and he isn't going to give us a hearing. It doesn't matter how many co-sponsors we have. That seems to me a little high-handed. It seems to me the American way is, if you've got 182 of the members of that body who have put their names to a bill and co-sponsored it, at least we deserve the right to be heard even if the committee votes us down. I'll say just this to you, and then I want to ask you a question. You are a member of the majority party in the House. You are not a man without influence; you are a member of the Rules Committee. You have some seniority. The problem that we keep facing is that people say they have great respect for our noble and heroic and courageous wish to be independent they have a lot of compassion for us, but this is a matter of airline safety. That's all very touching and all very phoney. That is, compassion in this matter is inappropriate, either way it goes. If we really are a greater hazard than others sitting in exit row seats, then we don't want to sit there; we shouldn't sit there; and anybody who wants us to sit there is nuts. Compassion has nothing to do with it. On the other hand, if we're not a greater hazard than others, then compassion still has nothing to do with it because in that case, if we are moved arbitrarily from those seats and, therefore, put at greater risk because whoever sits closest to the exit door, as you may know, has the best chance of getting out in case of a disaster in that case we still aren't dealing with compassion. We're dealing with pure discrimination. But it is a matter of fact and not sloppy emotionalism, either way you cut it. For years we were told by the Federal Aviation Administration that we did not constitute a greater risk than others in those seats, and only when the airlines put pressure on them and a lawyer in the FAA dealt with some of the Flight Safety people did they reverse themselves. Furthermore, we participated in a test evacuation of one of the big DC-10 planes and made video tapes. We offered that in evidence before the Senate committee. We went to the White House, as you have heard, and talked with President Bush, and he said, Well, if it's not a matter of safety, why I'll put a stop to all this discrimination if I can if I have the power. Well, of course he has the power. He said, by the way, that his evidence was that Secretary Skinner was so much concerned that he went down there himself to see if a blind fellow could open one of those doors. Can you imagine that? That is comparable to asking somebody with no experience to go to a hospital and see what could be done with surgical instruments it's foolishness! Secretary Skinner may be a good man, but he has no knowledge of what a blind person can do in a plane. Only these two final things: There has never been, in the whole history of aviation, any recorded incident when a blind person impeded the evacuation of a plane or was any way involved in a hazardous procedure in a plane. There have, however, been instances and they are documentable; one of our members was involved in which, when there was smoke in that plane and the lights were out, a blind man it would also apply to a blind woman, but this happened to be a man helped other passengers get out of that plane. We have the testimony of a pilot who flies the big jets saying that, in his experience and in his professional opinion, (remember that this is a sworn statement) the plane would be safer if you had an otherwise able-bodied blind person sitting in that exit row, just because of the kind of case I have described to you. With all of that, I am asking you two things today: Will you try to help us get a hearing before Congressman Oberstar's committee regardless of whether you think you can support the bill or not? That seems to be the American way to do things. And the second thing is will you either based on what we have said to you, or, if that isn't sufficient, based on evidence which you will let us show you will you co-sponsor our bill and make it 183? Please answer those two for me. Congressman Frost: The answer is yes to both, and I will be happy to visit with Congressman Oberstar, whom I know very well. I can't guarantee that I can convince him that he should hold hearings on this bill, but I'll be happy to take it up with him. Dr. Jernigan: Okay, and on the other thing, what do we need to do to deal with you on whether or not you might consider being a co-sponsor? Congressman Frost: Oh, I think you've persuaded me; I think you can count me in that number. Dr. Jernigan: All right, that's all we can ask. Thank you. The remainder of the afternoon session was devoted to four agenda items. Ramona Walhof an independent businesswoman, member of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors, and Secretary of the NFB's Merchants' Division spoke on the topic Highway Vending: A Major Recent Component of the Randolph-Sheppard Program. Wolfgang Zoellner (Deputy Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration) next discussed Randolph-Sheppard Program in America: Prospects for the 1990s. Research Projects That Help the Blind was the title of an adddress delivered by Marie Leinhaas, Director of Clinical Social Work, Wilmer Vision Research and Rehabilitation Center, Johns Hopkins University. The afternoon ended with a report from Mohymen Saddeek, President of the BIT Corporation, on What's New in Products for the Blind. At 5:15 that afternoon, buses began transporting conventioneers to and from the site of the Texas Barbecue at Bear Creek, a seven-minute drive from the hotel. In addition to a delicious dinner of mesquite-grilled beef, corn, baked beans, cole slaw, and fruit cobbler, conventioneers enjoyed free soft drinks and beer all evening provided by our host affiliate. There were live music and much conviviality under the Texas stars. But the Wednesday general session began punctually at 8:30 a.m. with the election of officers and half the at-large members of the Board of Directors. Those still having another year of their terms to serve are Donald Capps, South Carolina; Joanne Fernandes, Louisiana; Priscilla Ferris, Massachusetts; Betty Niceley, Kentucky; Fred Schroeder, New Mexico; and Gary Wunder, Missouri. The following officers and members of the Board of Directors were elected enthusiastically to serve until July of 1992: President, Marc Maurer. In his response to the convention's thunderous election by acclamation, President Maurer said: Thank you very much for that vote of confidence. Before this convention Dr. Jernigan and I were talking about the movement, and each of us encouraged the other to try to make it to the hundredth anniversary. He said to me that he'd be there and he hoped that I'd make it. I thought the same thing I hoped that I'd make it, too, and I hope he's there. It is a wonderful organization, and I very much appreciate your support. First Vice President, Diane McGeorge, Colorado, who responded to her election by saying: Thank you all very much. It is a privilege to be elected; it's a privilege to be a part of this organization. I look at the agenda this morning, and I can't wait to get to the history because I think that the last fifty years has been terrific but, with the leadership of President Maurer and the Board and all of you, I know that the next fifty years is going to be even more terrific. Thank you again. Second Vice President, Peggy Pinder, Iowa, who said: Mr. President, the National Federation of the Blind has given me the security to know who I am, the opportunity to know where I am going, and the equality to know I can do it. Dr. Jernigan has taught me that it is my duty to give to others what has been so generously given to me. You, Mr. President, have taught me by your example about service to others and dedication to principle. I hope that I can continue to do what you, Dr. Jernigan, and you, Mr. Maurer, have taught me to give, to serve, and to be dedicated. And I, too, Mr. Maurer and all my friends in the Federation don't you all? plan to be at the hundredth anniversary convention of the National Federation of the Blind! Secretary, Joyce Scanlan, Minnesota, who responded: Mr. President, fellow Federationists, thank you very much for this honor. I am sorry that I have only been around for twenty of the last fifty years, but I really look forward with a good bit of hope and certainly a good bit of determination to the next fifty years. I expect that during that time we're going to have one hundred percent employment of blind people, and we're going to be able to sit on the airplanes in any seat without being hassled. And if I don't make it for all of these next fifty years, I do have a DIG policy. Treasurer, Allen Harris, Michigan, who said: Thank you Mr. President and my friends in the Federation. The single most important influence in my life has been the National Federation of the Blind. Whatever I am or will become is as a result of the opportunities and sacrifices made for me and for all of us by those who came before us in the National Federation of the Blind. They were working when we did not attend conventions. Subsequently we have been able to, and now we look forward to the future. It is an honor to be able to give something back to the thing that is most important in my life and, when we think about it, the thing that is most important in the lives of blind people. You may think it could be different, but as we look at our history and contemplate our future, the National Federation of the Blind is the single most important influence in our lives, and it will continue to be that way. Thank you. Steve Benson, Illinois, was returned to the Board of Directors for another term. He commented: Thank you Mr. President; thank you fellow Federationists. This is my twentieth convention nineteenth consecutive. I come from a family of great longevity. I have a number of family members who have lived to be 110 and 105. I figure I've got a good shot at the year 2040. I said the other night at the Membership Committee meeting that there is nothing magical about what we do. It requires hard work. We are changing what it means to be blind, but we have a lot yet to do. If we don't do it, it's not going to get done. So let's roll up our sleeves and for the next fifty years work as we know how to work to accomplish our goals. Thank you. Charles Brown from Virginia, known to his friends as Charlie, was also elected to serve another term on the Board. He said: Folks, it's hard to express what an honor it is to be elected to this position. I hope that many of you will have this opportunity; certainly many of you are deserving of it. This is a group that is hard-working and competent and successful; and, when you have an opportunity to sit on the national Board of such an organization, it is really humbling. I really appreciate the trust you have bestowed on me, and I hope and pray that I will be worthy of it. Thank you. Glenn Crosby, Texas, said: I want to thank everybody here for that fine vote. You just can't imagine what a privilege it is to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, and certainly there is no outfit like this one. There is nothing in this world that can compare. It has been rewarding to me to have been a part of the fifty years that we have traveled so far, and I look forward to attending that centennial convention, and I hope it's here in Texas. To the position previously held by Robert Eschbach of Ohio, the convention elected David Hyde, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon. David responded by saying: Mr. President, I am humbled by the honor that this organization has bestowed upon me this morning. I remember a very warm day warm for Corvallis, Oregon in '74 when President and Mrs. Maurer came to Oregon and got in touch with a college student who thought he was very much too busy for this organization and thought that if he went to one of the more difficult places for him to get around at Oregon State, he might be able to say, `well I was there, and I'm sorry you didn't find me.' In true Federation style Mr. Maurer found me and sent me home with what felt at the time like fifty pounds of literature. I found that here is an organization that was saying to other blind people what I thought I had been trying to say and had thought was a brand new idea back when Martin Luther King was leading black people to Selma. I had said, `Why don't blind people do that? That's a wonderful idea.' I would like to take the opportunity briefly to thank those people who have brought me along in this movement. Judy Sanders and Peggy Pinder said to me at my first convention, Los Angeles in 1976 almost the first thing they did say to me `Let's put you to work.' I also want to thank Mr. Maurer and Dr. Jernigan for the time you have taken with me over the last sixteen years. You've taught me, and you have cared for all of us in this organization. My brothers and sisters, there is no greater tribute than to be honored by one's own people. I'll do the best that I can. Thank you. Frank Lee, Alabama, was elected to his third term on the Board of Directors. He responded: I want to thank the members of this movement for your vote of confidence and for the great honor you have bestowed on me to put me into a position of leadership again. I will continue to do all I can. I was thinking that the very next year after I was elected to the Board for the first time I won the Associates contest. So it looks like I'll have to win it again in 1990-91. Thank you very much. Ramona Walhof, Idaho, was elected to the final seat on the Board this year. In her brief remarks she said: When I am organizing, I always tell new recruits that you pay your dues for the privilege of working, and I guess that I have to take that seriously as well. I must say that one of the joys of working in this movement is that there are so many people to work with. That makes it rewarding, challenging, and fun. I thank you for your confidence, and I thank you for the privilege of working in this group. Following the election the convention heard the annual report from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped delivered by its director, Frank Kurt Cylke. Mr. Cylke's title was Six Decades of Service. His report reviewed important NLS programs of the past year as well as looking back over sixty years of serving the blind. As usual, several members of the NLS staff were present throughout the convention, talking with Federationists, solving problems, and discussing ongoing issues of mutual concern. During the remainder of the morning Dr. Jernigan orchestrated a fascinating review of the Federation's fifty-year history. A twenty-six-minute-long tape of the sounds of that history was played for the convention, and two Federationists who joined the movement in each decade spoke of their recollections of the organization at the time that they became active. These representatives were Hazel tenBroek, California, and Joe DeBeer, Minnesota, from the forties; Tim Cranmer, Kentucky, and Don Capps, South Carolina, from the fifties; Marc Maurer, Maryland, and Ramona Walhof, Idaho, from the sixties; Barbara Pierce, Ohio, and Barbara Walker, Nebraska, from the seventies; and Michael Baillif, Connecticut, and Ruby Ryles, Washington, from the eighties. Except for the banquet, of course, this agenda item was the high point of the convention for most delegates. The voices from the past and the personal accounts of unswerving dedication to improving the lives and prospects of blind people reminded us all of our heritage and inspired renewed commitment. The afternoon and evening were filled with a special seminar on Social Security; committee meetings; a Monte Carlo Night, sponsored by the Student Division; and tours, tours, and more tours. A shuttle bus carried conventioneers to and from a nearby mall, and the hotel swimming pool did a land office business under the Texas sun. Applying the Rules of Physics: Blindness No Barrier was the first item on a packed agenda Thursday morning. Dr. John Gardner, Professor of Physics at Oregon State University, was the speaker; and his remarks were fascinating to everyone and particularly useful to several student scientists in the audience. The convention next turned attention to Implications of the Americans With Disabilities Act: What Is the Future, What Is in Store for the Blind? The participants on this panel chaired by President Maurer were William Lucas, Director of the Office of Liaison Services, United States Department of Justice; Sandra Parrino, Chairman of the National Council on Disability; and William McCabe, Chairman of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board. These panelists discussed frankly their hopes for the Americans With Disabilities Act and the concerns and reservations about it held by members of the National Federation of the Blind. Justin Dart, one-time Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration and now Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, then made a surprise appearance on the podium. Mr. Dart came to Dallas to present Dr. Jernigan with the Distinguished Service Award of the President of the United States. A complete report on this exciting presentation appears elsewhere in this issue. Fair Labor Standards: What Blind Workers Need to Know About Their Rights was the subject when James Gashel, National Federation of the Blind Director of Governmental Affairs, and William Brooks, United States Department of Labor, Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards, addressed the convention. Assistant Secretary Brooks has the authority to protect blind sheltered shop workers who still face low wages and lack of opportunity for advancement. Mr. Brooks seemed genuinely interested in working with the Federation to help blind workers obtain fair treatment. Donald Gist is the newly appointed director of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. He attended the 1990 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind as part of his effort to learn firsthand about the problems and potentials of blind people. On Thursday morning he addressed the convention on the subject, New Beginnings: Development of State Programs in Partnership with the Blind. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with this dedicated and energetic director of a state rehabilitation agency. Building a Day Care Program: A Career for the Blind was the title of Carol Coulter's lively and interesting talk, which concluded the Thursday morning session. Carol is an active member of the Missouri affiliate and a busy and productive member of her community. The afternoon session began with an address by Nell Carney, Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration. Her title was The Rehabilitation Services Administration: Its Relationship to Blindness and Consumerism. Mrs. Carney reported on RSA programs and new efforts to work with consumers of rehabilitation services. Perhaps the most exciting part of her presentation was the thoughtful, honest, straightforward way in which she answered the searching questions put to her. She is clearly trying to change business as usual at the RSA, and she appears genuinely to want the participation of the National Federation of the Blind. Federation leaders repeatedly assured her that, if she will try to come half way, we will meet her and then some. Donovan Cooper, a Federationist from California, spoke to the convention about The Skills of Blindness Employed in the Federal Court. This was a moving and interesting talk about his work as a management analyst in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Dr. Euclid Herie, Managing Director of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, has become a close friend of the organized blind of this country in the past several years. He and Dr. Jernigan have worked together in the leadership of the World Blind Union, and Dr. Herie has attended our past several conventions. His topic this year was Roots and Wings. After making his address, he presented President Maurer with a recording of a history of his organization during the last decade, intended for inclusion in the time capsule being prepared for the NFB's centennial celebration. He also made another presentation. This is what he said: I have just given your President a three-dimensional plaque of a beaver gnawing on a tree. The beaver, as you know, is industrious; and it is also the symbol of Canada. He is a most persistent, determined animal something like the history of the Federation. The plaque says: In friendship we congratulate and pay tribute to the National Federation of the Blind on the occasion of your fiftieth anniversary. Your heritage and collective action have established security, equality, and opportunity by blind persons speaking for themselves in America and throughout the world. Dr. Herie was followed by two Federationists who talked about their jobs and their understanding of the role which the National Federation of the Blind has played in their success. Diane Starin of California spoke about The Philosophy of Blindness at Work in Equestrian Training and Shearing Sheep. Don Morris of Maryland told the audience entertainingly how I Could Have Been a Bookkeeper. Larry King, the noted interviewer and talk show host, then amused the audience with recollections of his life as a public figure. He also discussed effective ways of making our voice heard in the halls of power and pledged himself to be our friend. In his own characteristically emphatic way, he placed himself firmly on our side of the airline-seating dispute by saying: I fully support you on this dumb airline thing. When you buy your ticket, when anyone buys a ticket in a commercial enterprise, they are equal to anyone else who buys a ticket to go anywhere and should be treated as such. The final agenda item of the afternoon was entitled Work Incentives and Rehabilitation: Plans and Initiatives of the Social Security Administration. The speaker was Susan B. Parker, Associate Commissioner for Disability, Social Security Administration. The Thursday afternoon general session concluded promptly at five so the hotel staff could prepare the space for the evening's festivities. The annual banquet was characterized by exuberance, laughter, good food, and fun. President Maurer had his hands full as the master of ceremonies. As always, there was lots of singing and as usual, it was characterized more by enthusiasm than musicality. The souvenir mugs for this fiftieth-anniversary banquet were especially attractive, with the anniversary logo on one side and pictures of Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer on the other. The awards presentations were particularly exciting this year. The Blind Educator of the Year Award was given to Dr. Abraham Nemeth, inventor of the Nemeth Braille mathematics notation system. The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award went to Doris Willoughby, co-author of the comprehensive new handbook for teachers of blind children; and the winner of the $10,000 Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship was Robin Zook of Colorado, who attends graduate school at Brigham Young University in Utah. Presentations of the two awards and all twenty-six scholarships are described elsewhere in this issue. As was appropriate on this landmark occasion, Dr. Jernigan delivered the very special banquet address. Entitled The Federation at Fifty, this stirring and thought-provoking speech was unlike any banquet address we have ever been given. It was filled with recollections and passages from fascinating letters that illustrated Dr. Jernigan's explication of the roots and first flowering of the National Federation of the Blind. The tone was more reflective and thoughtful than usual, and the audience hung on every word. Dr. Jernigan's insight into our history and his blazing affirmation of our hopes and dreams for the future united the Federation audience to face the challenges ahead with joy and commitment. The closing words of the speech captured the essence of its promise and our commitment to ourselves and to the blind: I think that the new generation that is on the horizon will provide leaders and members who will be present fifty years from now when we meet for our hundredth anniversary. We must never forget our history. We must never dishonor our heritage. We must never abandon our mission. With love for each other and faith in our hearts, we must go the rest of the way to equal status and first-class membership in society. My brothers and my sisters, let us march together to meet that future. Following this deeply inspiring address, we heard briefly from several distinguished officials at the head table. These included Nell Carney, Sandra Parrino, Frank Kurt Cylke, Susan Parker, and Euclid Herie all of whom had already taken part in the convention program. We were delighted to have these distinguished officials and friends as guests at our banquet. The general session on Friday was filled with organizational business. Reports and discussion of resolutions packed the agenda, and conventioneers began worrying about how to fit everything they had acquired into luggage that was already full when they arrived. Though a number of tired Federationists climbed aboard buses Friday evening for the long drive home, many more stayed on for the Job Opportunities for the Blind seminar on Saturday. In fact, many conventioneers stayed until Sunday in the hope of catching up on sleep and recovering a little from the busiest, most exciting, and inspiring convention we have ever had. The Texans were right about things in the Lone Star State they really are just a little (or a lot) bigger than life-size, and Texas hospitality is every bit as warm as the Texas weather. Those of us who were lucky enough to share in this fiftieth-anniversary celebration will never forget it, and those who plan the hundredth have their work cut out for them if they intend to surpass this convention. It is only fair to point out that, during the Friday general session, members of the Louisiana delegation were circulating through the audience, passing out brochures describing New Orleans and promising wonderful food and music in the French Quarter, where our headquarters hotel for the 1991 convention is located. We have much to do in the coming year. One measure of the distance we have come in the past half century is our painful recognition of just how much is left to do. Blind children are still being shortchanged in education. Blind adults must still fight for adequate rehabilitation and equal employment. And every one of us faces condescension and discrimination with soul- destroying regularity. All of these (and more) are the battles we face in the coming year, but walking alone in our daily lives or marching together in convention assembled, we are the National Federation of the Blind; and we are winning our battles, one skirmish at a time. The 1990 fiftieth-anniversary convention brought home to us in a way that we have never quite seen before that the future is in good hands because it is in our own hands. FIFTY YEARS OF GOLD The summer is coming to a close, and with it the fiftieth-anniversary convention of the National Federation of the Blind fades into history. But there are a number of mementos of the celebration, which will remain, reminders of the accomplishments of our first half century and the fun we have had celebrating them. First and foremost, of course, is the book, Walking Alone and Marching Together . An article about this history of the organized blind movement appears elsewhere in this issue. But the publication of other books also marks this milestone. The Minnesota and California affiliates of the Federation compiled all the recipes that have appeared in the Braille Monitor during the first fifty years. Special commendation for this project goes to Sharon Gold and Cheryl Pickering, who did the lion's share of the work. The book has a soft cover and is spiral-bound so that it lies flat when open. Many of the notes about the contributors have been brought up to date, and reading this mouth-watering publication not only convinces the most doubtful skeptic that blindness need not discourage anyone from ambitious cooking, but provides hundreds of glimpses in the introductory notes of the Federation at work everywhere. The new cookbook can be ordered from the Materials Center at the National Center for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Checks should be made payable to the National Federation of the Blind. The book costs $15 a copy; at this time it is available only in print. At Dr. tenBroek's death, Dr. Jernigan prepared a recorded tribute to him entitled Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement . Because it includes many of Dr. tenBroek's most important and best-loved speeches and because it tells in moving words the story of our founder's life, through the years it has been one of the most popular pieces of literature in our collection. But it has never been available in print or Braille. Now, in honor of our golden anniversary, a new edition of Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement is available in all three formats. A preface by Dr. Jernigan has been added, but otherwise it is the book many of us have loved for years and the rest have wished they could enjoy. Dr. Jernigan read the new preface to the convention on Thursday morning, July 5. Reading it will give you the flavor of the entire book. It is a publication well worth the reading and rereading. Here it is: I first met Jacobus tenBroek in the summer of 1952. He was in the prime of his vigor as an author, a college professor, and the leader of the organized blind movement in the United States; and I was the newly elected president of the Tennessee affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. We were immediately drawn to each other he as mentor and role model and I as protŠgŠ and willing student. But our relationship was not one of difference and distance. Rather, it was one of collegiality and partnership in a joint effort the bringing of equal rights and first-class status to the blind. In 1953 I moved to California to work on the faculty of the state orientation and adjustment center for the blind, and since the Center was in Oakland and Dr. tenBroek lived next door in Berkeley, we were in constant communication. During the next five years I spent many delightful hours in the tenBroek home, where Dr. and Mrs. tenBroek served sumptuous meals, entertained interesting guests by the roaring fire in their 1,600-square-foot living room, and provided mental stimulation and lively talk. For me it was a time of growth of finding myself, of making lasting commitments, and determining what my life's work would be. In 1958 I moved to Iowa to become director of the state Commission for the Blind, but my relationship with Dr. tenBroek did not weaken. Year by year it grew stronger as we worked in the common cause of building the National Federation of the Blind. Through the trials of the organization's civil war, the rebuilding of the mid-1960s, and the period after he learned that he had cancer in 1966 Dr. tenBroek and I were an inseparable team. He faced his terminal illness as he faced everything else in his life, matter-of-factly and looking to the future. By the fall of 1967 it was clear that he had only a few months left, and I began to write and assemble Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement . It was never intended as a print or Braille publication but as a recording of the actual sounds of his speeches. He died on March 27, 1968, and that very afternoon (with heavy heart) I finished my work on the master tapes and sent them off to the recording studio. The national convention was held in Des Moines that summer, and every person who attended was given the recording of Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement . That was twenty-two years ago, and much has happened during the intervening time. The Federation has grown in power and influence; the National Center for the Blind has been established in Baltimore; and a whole new generation of blind Americans has come to leadership in the movement. But essentially the National Federation of the Blind is still the organization which Jacobus tenBroek planned and loved and labored to build. The basic philosophy is the philosophy which he propounded; the underlying structure is the structure which he established. Therefore, it seems particularly appropriate in this year of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind that Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement be reissued and this time not only in recorded form but also in print and Braille. He was the first president of the organization, and he will be a principal element in the administration of the last president, whoever and whenever that may be. In writing this preface and working to issue this publication, I give tangible expression to the debt which I owe to Jacobus tenBroek and to the love which I bore him. He was the guiding force of my formative years and the touchstone of integrity by which I have measured the actions of my later life. The third generation of the movement is now in the flower of its strength, and the fourth generation is coming to maturity. The National Federation of the Blind is in good hands, and the spirit of Jacobus tenBroek is vibrantly alive in the unity of purpose and the drive to freedom of its leaders and members. Kenneth Jernigan Baltimore, Maryland May 18, 1990 The Man and the Movement is available for $5 from the Materials Center at the National Center for the Blind. The commemorative medallion in gold, silver, and bronze is the official memento of our golden anniversary. On the obverse are the words 50th Anniversary Texas 1990 in print and NFB 50 in Braille. The zero of 50th provides the outline for the NFB logo, and a flying flag with the Lone Star visible on it is also pictured. The reverse displays pictures of the three most outstanding presidents of the National Federation of the Blind together with the dates of their elections. Each of these medallions weighs one ounce, and they are available from the Materials Center at the National Center for the Blind at $500 for the gold, $25 for the sterling silver, and $5 for the bronze. This year's banquet mugs were especially attractive. Decorated in black and white, they display the same picture of Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer as appears on the commemorative medallions. On the other side of the mug is the fiftieth-anniversary logo. The mugs are available for $3 apiece from the National Center for the Blind. Finally, in honor of the occasion, the Music Division of the Federation conducted a contest for song-writers. Entries were submitted to the division, and the winner was chosen during the convention. The winners were Linda Milliner, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Sacramento, and Dan Fry, one of this year's scholarship winners and an active member of the Student Division. Their winning entry is set to the melody of The Yellow Rose of Texas and was played for the convention at the close of the Wednesday morning general session. Here it is: Fifty Years of Gold We have gathered here in Texas, for all the world to see; We're proudly celebrating our anniversary. Let us raise one voice with gladness, declare it loud and bold, Oh, NFB we honor you for fifty years of gold. It's a long way from Wilkes-Barre and the call to organize. For fifty years we've prospered with leaders brave and wise. With persistence we have triumphed over roadblocks in the way. We are the Federation, and we are here to stay. Refrain It's the greatest national movement that blind guys ever knew. Our pride's as rich as diamonds, our love's forever true. We will talk about our heritage and sing of unity. The blind will march together; we are the NFB. The organized blind movement is a liberating cause. We've climbed the stairs to freedom without a single pause. We have stood upon the barricades to fight what's clearly wrong. With meaningful objectives we have kept our movement strong. Fifty years of dedication proves the blind have made the choice, To be seen for who we are and to be heard with our own voice. With singleness of purpose we will hold the torch on high, And spread our message far and wide like starry Texas skies. Refrain It's the greatest national movement that blind guys ever knew. Our pride's as rich as diamonds, our love's forever true. We will talk about our heritage and sing of unity. The blind will march together; we are the NFB. ____________ ________ One way and another, it will be a long time before the golden anniversary celebration of the National Federation of the Blind is forgotten. PRESIDENTIAL REPORT National Federation of the Blind Dallas, Texas, July 3, 1990 At the fiftieth anniversary of our founding as a nationwide civil rights organization of blind people, the National Federation of the Blind has the enthusiasm, the know-how, and the determination to meet the problems faced by the blind and to ensure that we go the rest of the way to independence and equality. In 1980, only ten years ago, we had only recently established the National Center for the Blind. Today, this facility, fashioned by the blind of the nation, is unparalleled in the field of work with the blind. But a building, even the most impressive and practical of structures, is only valuable if it is used. As the nerve center and headquarters for all our efforts, the National Center for the Blind gets an astonishing amount of use. In slightly more than ten years we have built a facility which is admired by our friends and envied by others. In fifty years we have built an organization with enough understanding and enough power to cause similar responses. Early in May Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director of the National Federation of the Blind and Editor of the Braille Monitor , was invited to participate in a press conference to interview President George Bush at the White House. Dr. Jernigan asked President Bush about civil rights for the blind in air travel. The final results from this meeting are not yet known. However, for the first time in the history of the United States civil rights for the blind are being addressed by the chief executive of our nation. Never before in history have these matters been regarded by so many as so important. They have become significant because of the efforts of the blind throughout the nation because of the collective action of the National Federation of the Blind. In June the United States Senate voted on a motion for cloture involving our Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act. Civil rights legislation for the blind has sometimes been a minor part of much larger legislative packages. However, this bill is focused entirely on the right of blind people to be treated as equals with the sighted in air transportation. It is totally and completely ours. The United States Senate had this civil rights bill as its pending business for several days. In the neighborhood of two percent of the legislative year of the Senate has been devoted to equal opportunity for the blind. To be successful the cloture petition required not a simple majority but sixty percent of the entire Senate. Fifty-six senators cast their votes with us. There are those who believe that the failure of this motion to be adopted will stop us from achieving the right to travel by air without harassment that the discriminatory regulations adopted earlier this year by the Federal Aviation Administration will remain unchallenged but you and I know better. The tactics we use may change, but the strategy will remain the same. Our objective is to win full first-class status for the blind, and we will find a way to do it. In the 1950s we were battling for the right to be considered for employment in the civil service. In the 1990s it is the airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration that are trying to insist that the blind are second-class. We lost in the original civil service confrontations, but hundreds of us are employed by the government today. The motion for cloture did not pass, but more than half of the Senate voted for it. And there will be a time when discrimination against the blind in air travel will be a thing of the past. The question is not whether but when. In the October issue of McCall's magazine there appeared a full-length feature article about the National Federation of the Blind, concentrating on the work of the President. Personal details of my home and family life helped to fill out the story and provide background. How often we have said that the blind aspire to have a home, a family, and the responsibilities of citizenship. This article describes one family in which these aspirations have become a reality. I am informed that this article will have been circulated to more than fifteen million people. Shortly after the McCall's story, the Maurer family was interviewed on a program called Parent Survival Guide, broadcast by Lifetime Television cable network. Being disseminated to forty-nine million homes, this interview was shown once in the early fall and again just before Christmas. On April 25, 1990, the Wall Street Journal carried a report about blind people in business. Although the blind have very often been the victims of discrimination in the job market, we have frequently been able to demonstrate our capacity by establishing our own businesses. The Wall Street Journal reported this success. Discrimination cannot stop us. We will find a way to circumvent it. For many of us the method is a company or an enterprise of our own. The headline of the article is, For the Blind, Business Ownership Opens a Closed Door: Entrepreneurship Rises Along With Self-Esteem and Lender Confidence. The first three paragraphs of the Wall Street Journal article set the tone. Glenn Crosby, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas and a member of the national Board of Directors, is featured. Here are those paragraphs: Like many other small-business owners in Houston, Glenn M. Crosby had to retrench in the wake of the Texas oil slump. Having sold or closed three restaurants, he is left with only one. But his Mr. C Sandwich Shop earns a profit, and is the source of considerable pride. I have survived, while a lot of sighted people in the same business have not, says Mr. Crosby, who is blind. Many blind people such as Mr. Crosby are becoming entrepreneurs these days. Like other minorities before them, they are finding that entrepreneurship can create opportunities for people who otherwise might have found the door shut. This spirit of independence is what makes us the unstoppable movement we are. This belief in ourselves has helped to shape our organization, the National Federation of the Blind. We were also mentioned in the letters to the editor column of the Newsweek magazine for May 7, 1990. Newsweek had printed a story called, Making the Most of Sight. The basic assumption of the report was that technology can be of great help in making those with a little remaining eyesight competitive. Strongly implied is the notion that if you can't see enough to use this technology, your ability to perform diminishes dramatically. According to the reporter, for those who are really blind there is virtually no hope. Also implied is the idea that techniques used by the blind are inferior. Of course, these implications are false. They mislead the public into believing that the important factor for a blind person is the machinery available rather than the talent of the individual. Our experience demonstrates that a well-trained blind person can (using Braille and other techniques) compete effectively with the sighted. In the May 7, 1990, issue of Newsweek , we responded to the negative tone and substance of the earlier report in a letter to the editor. Our position was clearly articulated by Mr. Miller, an employee of the National Federation of the Blind. No group of people can become a consolidated entity without tradition a sense of history an understanding of where it is going and what its members are within the structure of society. Because this is so, one of the most exciting events of the last year is the publication of the most thorough history of the organized blind ever to be compiled. Our book ( Walking Alone and Marching Together , by Dr. Floyd Matson) contains the facts not merely about those who have done work with the blind, but also about the blind themselves, organized to take collective action and accomplish common goals. Consisting of over 1,100 print pages, Walking Alone and Marching Together acknowledges the work that has been done by the agencies for the blind. But it also does something else something more important something that has never been done in the history of the blind. It tells of the actions of the blind themselves as an organized movement of our growth as a force and our emergence as a people. It tells of our struggles for equality, of the problems we have faced, and the achievements we have made. It is fitting that this book (costly as it has been to print) should be published by the organized blind, for it is our story the story of the blind of America the story of the National Federation of the Blind. This past winter the Director of Public Affairs for the Pepsi Cola Company came to the National Center for the Blind to ask for our advice and assistance. Pepsi was planning to produce and distribute an advertisement in which the principal character is the blind musician, Ray Charles. In the course of the meeting to discuss the ad, a number of plans were reviewed for making commercials that depict the blind as the normal, practical, independent people we are. The portrayal of the blind in television commercials and on television programs has such an enormous impact upon our public image that it is of vital importance to help shape the impression being created. There are still descriptions of the blind on television which are not as positive as they could be. However, in our advisory role to companies such as Pepsi Cola, we can do much to change the focus and alter the image presented by the networks. It is to be expected that major American companies will increasingly seek our advice in planning advertising campaigns that depict the blind. Our own public service spots blanket the airwaves. In the neighborhood of one and one-half million dollars' worth of airtime was contributed to the National Federation of the Blind during the last year. These announcements help to educate the public about the ability of the blind. They tell employers that we can work, educators that we can participate in the classroom, and the public at large that our hopes and dreams are the same as those of the sighted. Our battle is one for understanding in the minds of those who make up this society. Much of what we do can be done most effectively by public education. Our campaign to distribute public service announcements is among the most important undertakings that we have, and it is bringing results. Our interaction with other organizations dealing with blindness from throughout the world continues to be productive. In the past year Dr. Jernigan, as President of the North America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union, attended meetings of the Executive Committee of that organization in England and in Poland. The delegates from the North America/Caribbean Region met at the National Center for the Blind last December to discuss matters of importance to the blind in this hemisphere and throughout the world. We were able to trade information about technological progress which is likely to be of assistance to blind job applicants here and abroad. Our spirit of self-determination is a constant source of stimulus to blindness organizations in other lands. As blind people throughout the world gain independence, it becomes easier for those in the United States to achieve first-class status too. Dr. Jernigan also traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to help the blind of the West Indies by providing information about self-organization and by presenting a reading machine. Because of our interaction with other groups we have been able to establish cooperative arrangements with organizations in the blindness field in our own country. The director of research of the American Foundation for the Blind participated in a meeting of our committee on research and development at the National Center for the Blind last winter. There was an exchange of ideas regarding the most effective technological devices to assist the deaf-blind. Sharing of information increases the rate of progress. The National Federation of the Blind is today, as it has been for a number of years, on the cutting edge in technology for the blind. If we really need to have a thing developed, we will find a way to get it built and will probably do much of the groundwork ourselves. That is one more reason for the National Federation of the Blind. For quite a number of years the relationship between the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress and the National Federation of the Blind has been one of harmony and partnership. In May Dr. Jernigan was invited to make a presentation to librarians from throughout the United States in the NLS network. Because reading is essential for education, the Books for the Blind Program may well be the single most important long-range service for the blind in the United States. As the methods for providing reading matter to the blind are further developed, and as new ways are established of delivering this vital service, we believe that the close working relationship we have with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped will also continue to develop and grow. The blind of America need good library service. The National Library Service is committed to providing it. When those responsible for government programs to serve the blind come to feel a spirit of community with the organized blind of America, the result is predictable and can be stated in a word progress. Those who are losing vision visit the eye doctor to get their sight restored. If the doctor cannot fix the medical problem, the newly blinded person is dismissed from the care of the medical profession. Sometimes the newly blinded individual finds the organized blind movement, and sometimes not. This spring we have begun work with Johns Hopkins University on two projects that should substantially increase our involvement with those in the medical profession. Johns Hopkins University Medical School is inviting members of the National Federation of the Blind to make presentations about our organization to classes of medical students. In addition, we are participating in a joint research project to examine the attitudes of eye doctors and other health care professionals toward their blind patients and clients and to quantify the advice being given by these practitioners. With greater understanding by the doctors that the National Federation of the Blind is an available resource, an increasing number of blind people will be stimulated toward independence without wasting months and years in unproductive, dreary inactivity. Until 1990 we have not concentrated substantial resources in the medical field but we know that literally thousands of blind people are faced with demolished dreams and a dead end in the doctor's office. This need not be the case, and we are changing it. We who are blind know how to reconstruct shattered hopes. We have the means and the will to provide inspiration and facts to the people who believe that their blindness makes them incapable of conducting a normal existence. In fact, this is one of the major reasons we have created the National Federation of the Blind. The Federation sponsors an insurance program for blind merchants. It has been in operation since the early eighties. Some time ago a few people decided to appropriate our insurance for their own use. We informed them that the National Federation of the Blind had created the program and that it could not be lifted for the benefit of private persons. A lawsuit was filed to protect the interests of the organized blind. After much maneuvering on the part of the defendants, we have been able to pin them down. The insurance program we have been supporting is again in the hands of those who sponsored it in the first place. We intend to retain what is ours. And one thing more. Sharp practices and devious methods will not be tolerated in programs that bear our name. The National Federation of the Blind insurance program for blind vendors and merchants is now fully in operation and available to those who need it. There have been a number of cases this year involving civil rights of blind individuals. Dave Schuh is a blind accountant. Until the last day of 1989 he was working as a supervisor of accounting at a Pillsbury products plant in Denison, Texas. When he began to request certain job accommodations (such as a Kurzweil Personal Reader and other computer equipment), Pillsbury officials started planning for the elimination of his job. But his job ratings were excellent. Dave Schuh applied for several transfers to vacant positions at other Pillsbury locations. Despite his superior qualifications, he was not considered for any of these vacancies. Company rules say that preference is to be given to persons whose positions are eliminated, but the rules were ignored in this case. Pillsbury, a large federal contractor, is required to take affirmative action in employing the handicapped. The evidence demonstrates unquestionably that it did not happen for Dave Schuh. We have proceeded with a complaint against Pillsbury on his behalf. We are demanding that the company correct its mistakes by paying back wages, offering him another job, and making certain accommodations. If Pillsbury officials persist in disregarding Dave Schuh's rights, all of their federal contracts are in jeopardy. Thus far, the complaint process is proceeding quite well. The Department of Labor has agreed with us. Pillsbury violated the law. The company will pay, or we will find a method for seeking enforcement of these federal findings. And there are those who ask why we have the National Federation of the Blind. Dave Schuh will have his rights, and we intend to see that he does. Although Richard Frost had been performing the duties customarily demanded of a federal employee at the GS-11 level, he was only being paid the salary of a GS-9. He asked for promotions but was not awarded any. Several years ago, Richard Frost filed a complaint of discrimination against his employer, the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We represented him during most of the proceedings. The federal housing department has insisted that the negotiations be kept (as they would put it) confidential. Despite this demand for secrecy, I can tell you that we reached a favorable resolution this spring. There is no longer a complaint against this federal agency. There is no longer a request for promotion and reassignment. There is no longer a demand for back pay. Richard Frost has told me that it is eminently worthwhile to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. They may insist upon hiding the details, but we can handle ourselves when it comes to an argument, and we know how to promote the best interests of blind employees. In Florida, Adam and Denise Shaible have been facing discrimination because they use dog guides. The Island Club Condominium Association in Fort Lauderdale insisted that they sign a special agreement as a condition of purchasing their condominium. This agreement demands that the private patio attached to their new home be converted to a dog run. Of course, such requirements are in violation of federal law. Nevertheless, they would have been imposed on the blind in Florida if there had not been an organization prepared to prevent it. A law which remains unenforced may be an interesting statement of social policy or a curiosity in the annals of the past. But we have the means and the will to put these statutory provisions into effect we are the National Federation of the Blind. Robert Gumson is a blind man living in Needham, Massachusetts. He has applied to be a day-care assistant. Based on fears about Mr. Gumson's blindness, the Massachusetts Office for Children has refused to issue him the necessary license. Officials have said that state regulations assume that supervision of children must be done by visual observation, but there is nothing in the regulations to substantiate this discriminatory claim. Mr. Gumson would have been licensed long ago if he had been sighted. Despite the evidence that he is fully able to perform the tasks of a day-care assistant, the Office for Children has remained adamant. Consequently, we are assisting with a complaint. In recent years we have won the right for blind people to work in the day-care business in Missouri, California, and elsewhere; and we intend to bring non-discrimination to Massachusetts. The Office for Children must realize that equal opportunity applies to the Northeast as much as it does to the central states or the Far West. Last year I reported to you that we had commenced a lawsuit in South Carolina on behalf of Joe Urbanek. Carnival Cruise Lines had proclaimed a policy which discriminated against the blind. All blind persons were required either to be accompanied by attendants or to sign release forms waiving the legal protections usually available to travelers. When Joe Urbanek was told that he would have to sign such a release, he refused. As a result, the cruise line told him that he could not board their ship. On December 21, 1989, a court decree ended the dispute. Liability releases will not be required. Blind passengers will not be treated differently from others. When Joe Urbanek asks for a ticket and pays the tab, he will receive the same courteous treatment as any other passenger. He will walk the deck of the cruise ship, and blindness will be no bar. This is the power of collective action, and Merry Christmas to Carnival Cruise Lines. We are assisting the National Treasury Employees Union in a grievance on behalf of several blind employees of the Internal Revenue Service. Working conditions for the blind throughout the Internal Revenue Service will be affected. Blind information specialists were expected to answer questions about income tax law and regulations, but they were not given the necessary technical manuals in a usable form. This information is, of course, already available in the computer. However, it was not provided to the blind. Because blind workers were expected to use out-of-date documentation, their answers were sometimes incorrect. Officials in the Internal Revenue Service charged incompetence. However, the blind had been competently giving the answers that had been recorded in the out-of-date manuals they were given. We are currently taking steps to ensure that the materials are made available in a usable form and that the performance of the blind is judged by a reasonable and fair standard. We continue to work in a number of areas to help blind people obtain quality rehabilitation services. One of the most effective ways to improve the rehabilitation system is to create a legislative mechanism which authorizes individual clients to select the agency that will provide their training. A bill which we initiated that is now pending in the House of Representatives would create the process for individual choice. Early this spring hearings were held before the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. I expressed the views of the National Federation of the Blind concerning the urgency of the need for this legislation. A number of other blind witnesses also made presentations, and the hearing record is sprinkled with the testimony of Federation leaders from throughout the land. The result is that the Social Security Administration is now establishing a pilot program which has as one of its main features free choice of rehabilitation programs for Social Security beneficiaries. Of course, if the errors committed by the agencies for the blind are simply adopted by Social Security, this pilot project will work no better than the current program of rehabilitation; but if Social Security really tests the concept of free choice (and I believe that it will), there should be a noticeable change. When blind people control their own lives, enlightened self-interest will do the rest. James Storey and Catherine Monville receive services from the Maryland rehabilitation agency. Rehabilitation officials told them that they could not obtain training from centers operated by the National Federation of the Blind because those centers were outside of Maryland. But the rehabilitation services offered to the blind of Maryland are inadequate, so we filed appeals. Here are the results. Both James Storey and Catherine Monville are students at National Federation of the Blind centers, and the state of Maryland is paying the bill. At our 1989 convention we adopted a resolution which declared that the Americans with Disabilities Act must not be employed as a vehicle to force the blind to use special rooms, equipment, and services modified for the handicapped unless they wished to do so. We said that if an amendment to this effect were not adopted, we would reluctantly oppose the bill. This new law is intended to be a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. It applies to employment, to public facilities, and to most private businesses. When it is implemented, the Americans with Disabilities Act could affect almost every activity of our lives. Accommodation to the needs of the disabled is the underlying principle of the act. Rather than seeking equality of opportunity, this bill asks for alteration of existing businesses, programs, and facilities to achieve equality of result. This form of civil rights has not worked for us in the past. Programs that have been modified to accommodate the handicapped have often first been offered to us on a voluntary basis. Later, accommodated programs become mandatory. On busses there are seats for the handicapped. Some bus drivers insist that the blind sit there or get off the bus. It is possible that hotel operators will set aside rooms for the handicapped that the blind are required to use. This could have been the result of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, an amendment was included in the bill which gives each of us the right to accept or reject any accommodation. This principle must be implemented in regulations developed under the act. If it is not, this civil rights statute could be used to establish restrictions which were not authorized by law until its enactment. However, we will monitor the progress of draft regulations, and we will insist on our right to participate on a basis of equality in programs established to serve the general public. The role of the National Federation of the Blind is to be a watchdog on the programs and activities designed to serve blind people. Nowhere is the need for our organization more strikingly demonstrated than in connection with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the name of civil rights we might have faced reduced opportunity, but our amendment has avoided this negative result. This is one more reason for the National Federation of the Blind. Richard Skipper is a blind vendor in North Carolina. Laurie Eckery is employed by the Marriott Corporation in Nebraska. Tom Anderson has been a social worker, a clerical employee, and a dispatcher. He lives in Ohio. Tony Jaramillo has been employed for many years in the industries program of the New Mexico Commission for the Blind. These blind people are among those who have received extensive assistance from the Federation in dealing with alleged Social Security overpayments during the past year. The amounts that Social Security was attempting to recover ranged from $7,000 to $60,000. In each of these cases the Social Security Administration has been forced to withdraw its claim of an overpayment. It is beneficial to be a member of the National Federation of the Blind. Gladys Penney, who is 63 years old, has been blind since birth. She last received a paycheck in 1951. In 1979 she heard that she might be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. She applied, but her request was denied. The decision said that her Social Security coverage expired in September 1956 and that she was no longer qualified for disability benefits. Although Gladys Penney filed several applications for disability insurance after 1979, the results were always the same. Then, she learned of the National Federation of the Blind. We agreed to help. An additional hearing was held, and a decision has been reached. In its previous rulings on her claim the Social Security Administration had failed to apply the administrative provisions related to blindness. The denials would have been correct if Gladys had not been blind, but she is. We explained the applicable rules, and in March of this year the Social Security Administration paid Gladys Penney the benefits she should have had since 1979. She is presently receiving a Social Security check each month. The amount of her back payment was more than $23,000. Pete Salas is a blind vendor at the federal building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Several years ago he learned from the National Federation of the Blind that the Social Security rules defining substantial gainful activity probably made him eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance. With our help he applied, but his application was rejected. Following a hearing last fall he was awarded disability benefits. However on January 18, 1990, Pete Salas was officially notified that his claim was being reviewed by the Social Security Appeals Council in accordance with a request from the office of disability relations at Social Security headquarters. Their protest memorandum said that the hearing officer had made an error of law in failing to consider the extent of Pete Salas's work activity in conducting his vending business. The Social Security Administration has always tested substantial gainful activity for blind people in terms of money. If the money received by a beneficiary is earned, and if there is enough of it, substantial gainful activity has occurred. If it has not been earned, or there is too little of it, substantial gainful activity has not occurred. In the first instance, benefits will be withheld. In the second, they will not. An alteration of the test for substantial gainful activity as proposed in the Pete Salas case would cost hundreds of beneficiaries tens of thousands of dollars. Such a policy shift cannot be initiated without authorization by law. So we took action immediately. On March 26, 1990, the Appeals Council concluded its review, reinstated the hearing officer's decision, and ordered the Office of Disability Operations to process the claim. Pete Salas will be receiving continuing benefits, and he has been paid the money due him amounting to over $36,000. Furthermore, many blind people (most of whom have never even heard of this decision) have been protected. In Colorado we have achieved total victory on behalf of all of the vendors of that state. Four years ago officials of the state agency for the blind announced that they would take the best vending facility in the state and divide it between two blind persons. In making this decision they arbitrarily exercised judgment about how much money a blind vendor should be allowed to earn. We could not afford to have such a limit imposed, so we took the matter to court. We obtained an injunction, and the facility was never divided. Administrative appeals and an arbitration followed. A settlement has now been achieved. The state must negotiate new regulations with the vendors if any facility is to be split in the future. The business will not be divided, and the Federation will be reimbursed for attorney fees. We are working to uphold the rights of blind vendors in two other arbitrations involving the states of Minnesota and Michigan. The Minnesota case involves a long-standing dispute between the blind vendor program and the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, formerly the Veterans Administration. Observance of the blind vendor priority at VA hospitals is at issue. In Michigan the arbitration involves application of the blind vendor priority at Postal Service sites. We have joined with the state agencies in these cases to secure the rights of blind vendors. Regardless of what some of our opponents may say, when state agencies step forward on behalf of the blind, we support and work with them. We are glad to have them stand with us and share our know-how and expertise. Then, there is the State Department. As long as anybody can remember, the State Department has rejected all blind foreign service candidates on grounds of blindness. Rami Rabby successfully completed the Foreign Service written examination three times and the oral examination twice. The State Department responded by establishing a policy that no blind person could take the test. They said that there was no discrimination, that reading was necessary, and that sight was required for reading. Congressman Gerry Sikorski attended our convention last year. He pledged to work with us to open Foreign Service jobs to qualified blind persons. The Congressman was as good as his word. Last October, State Department officials announced at a hearing that they would abandon their policy of rejecting the blind, and they initiated discussions with Rami Rabby about a job. The commitment of the State Department has been firmly stated. Future applicants will not be disqualified because of blindness. One more opportunity is available to the blind, and it happened because of the National Federation of the Blind. These cases are an indication of the work that we do on an ongoing basis. There are many others. When it comes to civil rights for the blind, we are really the only ball game in town. Nobody else has the knowledge, the skill, the determination, and the conviction that we possess. Nobody else has the tenacity and the willingness to meet conflict half-way, or the ability to settle arguments with finality. We have a reputation, and we deserve it. Those who want a tough, resourceful advocate in matters dealing with the blind join hands with us; they become a part of the National Federation of the Blind. This year we have completed installation of new elevators and finished other remodeling at the National Center for the Blind. Our complex of buildings in Baltimore is the finest of its kind in the nation. Our facilities have helped to make it possible to carry on the extensive programs of the Federation. Without them we would be much less effective. Our growth during the past ten years has been dramatic. We are operating more programs today and assisting more blind people than ever before, and I confidently believe that our expansion will continue. Again this year our activities have brought visitors from a number of foreign lands. Following our 1989 convention, the past president of the World Blind Union, Sheikh Abdullah M. Al-Ghanim of Saudi Arabia, spent several days examining our programs. There have also been visitors from England, Ireland, West Germany, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Poland, Australia, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries. We continue to distribute a very substantial volume of material to the blind of the nation. During the past year over 20,000 aids and appliances and more than a million pieces of literature have been shipped and distributed. The total weight of these items is estimated at over 30,000 pounds. Our Job Opportunities for the Blind program has remained one of the most effective job placement services for the blind in the nation. It has now been in operation for ten years. During all that time almost 150,000 contacts have been made with employers. More than 65,000 job-related publications have been sent, and over 900 blind people have become competitively employed. We have continued our efforts to computerize. In our Records Center there are in the neighborhood of 600 documented discrimination cases, 7,000 photographs, and 20,000 file folders. These must be organized, and the computer is one very efficient method for doing it. This is only an example of the efficiency we gain with technology. Our experts tell us that we now have more than one hundred times the computer power which was required to put the astronauts on the moon. An extraordinary amount of paperwork is handled each year at our National Office. The computers we have obtained (and there are now more than fifty of them) greatly increase our efficiency. Our monthly magazine, the Braille Monitor , is by far the most widely read publication in the blindness field. We are now publishing in the neighborhood of 30,000 copies each month. With this and our other publications we are educating an ever-growing number of individuals about the nature and needs of the blind. Our magazine for parents and educators of blind children, Future Reflections , has a circulation of over 10,000 copies. Our Diabetics Division newsletter, Voice of the Diabetic , is mailed to over 30,000 locations. Our other publications (the Student Slate , the newsletter of the National Association of Blind Educators, the newsletter of the National Association of Blind Lawyers, and the publications of the other divisions, committees, state affiliates, and local chapters) are proclaiming our message about blindness and creating a new spirit in the land. And of course, there are the other materials we disseminate: the American Bar Association Journal , Presidential Releases, and JOB Bulletins . In carrying on our activities we record, duplicate, and mail from the National Center for the Blind approximately 50,000 tapes each year. The literature of the Federation is growing tremendously. This year we have made available the Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and Visually Impaired Students , by Doris Willoughby and Sharon Duffy. This handbook of techniques and resources used by the blind has been acclaimed by those in the field of education as one of the most valuable publications ever produced. Our scholarship program has received more attention in 1990 than ever before. Over 500 blind applicants sought our assistance. The results of this program demonstrate its value. Not only do we distribute in the neighborhood of $100,000 each year to blind students, but because of our efforts blind college applicants throughout the country are encouraged to seek higher education. There are many ways to comprehend the importance of our organization. A cataloging of our accomplishments is one of them, but the work we do is measured not only by statistics but also in the personal lives of the people who gain opportunity as a result. Our Monitor circulation, the thousands of pounds of material we distribute, our hundreds of chapters and tens of thousands of members are an indication that we care about the future of the blind. As I have traveled to state conventions, local chapter meetings, and other functions, I have met the Federation in person. The lives and experiences of you the members make this organization what it is the warmth, the caring, the commitment. In our first fifty years we have built a solid and substantial organization. We have solved literally thousands of problems. We have come to believe in our ability to meet the challenges that lie ahead in the future. The first fifty years are finished, but the next half-century is still to come. The challenge is formidable. It will transform the lives of the blind not only of this generation but also the generations to follow. You know this task as well as I. We must begin with the dream of a future bright with promise of a time when the blind are accepted as equals of a day when we can confidently say, We have attained our freedom. If we keep faith with each other and our heritage, we can complete what Dr. tenBroek began in 1940. A new era for the blind that is our objective. Can we have it? Of course, we can. If we believe with all our hearts, if we think and plan with all our minds, if we work as hard as we know how, and if we care with every atom within us, the goal can and will be achieved. It is within our reach! Do we have the intellect, and will we use it? Is there, in our midst, sufficient imagination? Are we capable of the sustained labor that must be expended? And do we possess the generosity of spirit necessary to care for one another and support our movement? Are not these characteristics the very substance of the National Federation of the Blind? You know they are, and so do I. I have met the great body of the Federation, and I am absolutely certain that the first fifty years are only the beginning. With the Federation as our vehicle and a spirit of determination as our driving force, we will create a climate of equality for all of the blind. The stakes are too high and the costs of failure too great to do anything less. With all of the problems we face, our future has never looked better. Therefore, with joy, with enthusiasm, with purpose, let us go to meet our second half-century. This is my hope; this is my certainty; and this is my report to you on this golden anniversary. THE FEDERATION AT FIFTY An Address Delivered by KENNETH JERNIGAN At the Banquet of the Annual Convention of the National Federation of theBlind Dallas, Texas, July 5, 1990 If the engineers of 1800 had possessed complete drawings for a transistor radio (one that could be bought today for $10), they couldn't have built it, not even if they had had billions or trillions of dollars. They lacked the infrastructure the tools, the tools to build the tools, and the tools to build those; the plastics, the machines to make the plastics, and the machines to make the machines; the skilled work force, the teachers to train the work force, and the teachers to train the teachers; the transportation network to assemble the materials, the vehicles to use the network, and the sources of supply. All of this is generally recognized, but it is far less well understood that what is true of material objects is also true of ideas and attitudes. In the absence of a supporting social infrastructure of knowledge and beliefs, a new idea simply cannot exist. So far as I can tell, there are only three possible reasons for studying history to get inspiration, to gain perspective, or to acquire a basis for predicting the future. In 1965 Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the founder and leader of our movement, spoke at our twenty-fifth banquet, reviewing the first quarter century and charting the road ahead. We were meeting in Washington, and more than a hundred members of Congress were present. I was master of ceremonies, and some of the rest of you were also there. Tonight (twenty-five years later) we celebrate our Golden Anniversary, and the time has once again come to take stock. Where are we, where have we been, and where are we going? In a sense the history of our movement begins in the distant past in the medieval guilds and brotherhoods of the blind in Europe, in the tentative stirrings of organization in China, and even earlier but the National Federation of the Blind is essentially an American product. Its genesis is native. Although (as we all know) Dr. Jacobus tenBroek presided at the founding of the National Federation of the Blind in 1940 at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, he had a teacher (Dr. Newel Perry), who laid the foundations and served as precursor. And Dr. Perry, in turn, had a teacher, Warring Wilkinson. Most of what we know about Wilkinson is contained in the eulogy which Dr. tenBroek delivered at the time of Dr. Perry's death in 1961,1 but our knowledge is sufficient to tell us that Wilkinson was a worthy teacher of the teacher of our founder. He was the first principal of the California School for the Deaf and Blind. He served in that capacity for forty-four years, from 1865 to 1909. He not only loved his students but also did what he could to move them toward the main channels of social and economic participation. Particularly, he saw the potential in young Perry, sending him from the California School for the Blind to Berkeley High to complete his secondary education. To do this Wilkinson (who was ahead of his time both in his understanding of education and the needs of the blind) had to overcome numerous obstacles. I was fortunate enough to know Dr. Perry, meeting him when I moved to California in 1953. He was then eighty, and he spent many hours with me reminiscing about what conditions for the blind were like when he was a boy. He came to the California School for the Blind when he was ten penniless, blind, his father dead, his home dissolved. Two years earlier he had lost his sight and nearly his life as the result of a case of poison oak, which caused his eyeballs to swell until they burst and which held him in a coma for a month. It was at the School, of course, that he first met Warring Wilkinson. While going to high school (from which he graduated in 1892) he lived at the California School for the Blind. He also lived there while attending the University of California from 1892 to 1896. His admission to the University (as had been the case with high school) had to be secured over strong resistance. Again, Wilkinson was the pathfinder, young Perry his willing and anxious instrument. Wilkinson's role in Perry's life as a youth can hardly be overestimated: father, teacher, guide, supporter in Perry's own words, `dear Governor.' After graduating from the University, Dr. Perry devoted himself to further education and to the search for an academic job. He took graduate work at the University of California, meanwhile serving successively as an unpaid teaching fellow, a paid assistant, and finally as an instructor in the department of mathematics. In 1900, following a general custom of that day, he went to Europe to continue his studies. He did this for a time at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and then at the University of Munich in Germany. From the latter he secured in 1901 the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics, with highest honors. He returned to the United States in 1902, landing in New York, where he was to remain until 1912. He had about eighty dollars in capital, a first-class and highly specialized education, and all of the physical, mental, and personal prerequisites for a productive career except one, eyesight. During this period he supported himself precariously as a private coach of university mathematics students. He also applied himself to the search for a university position. He displayed the most relentless energy. He employed every imaginable technique. He wrote letters in profusion. In 1905 he wrote to 500 institutions of every size and character. He distributed his dissertation and his published article on mathematics. He haunted meetings of mathematicians. He visited his friends in the profession. He enlisted the aid of his teachers. He called on everybody and anybody having the remotest connection with his goal. Everywhere the outcome was the same. Only the form varied. Some expressed astonishment at what he had accomplished. Some expressed interest. One of these seemed genuine he had a blind brother-in-law, he said, who was a whiz at math. Some showed indifference, now and then masked behind polite phrases. Some said there were no vacancies. Some said his application would be filed for future reference. One said ironically: `For what as an encouragement to men who labor under disadvantages and who may learn from it how much may be accomplished through resolution and industry?' Some averred that he probably could succeed in teaching at somebody else's college. Many said outright that they believed a blind person could not teach mathematics. Many of these rejections may, of course, have been perfectly proper. Many were not. Their authors candidly gave the reason as blindness. Dr. Perry failed not because of lack of energy or qualification but because the necessary infrastructure of attitudes and beliefs did not exist to allow it to be otherwise so he did not find a job in a university. Perhaps it was better for the blind (for those of us gathered here tonight) that he did not but for him what pain! What absolute desolation and misery! And he had to face it alone no family, no supporting organization of the blind only himself and the bleak wall of continuing rejection year after year. He might have quit in despair. He might have become embittered. But he did not. Instead, he returned to California and settled down to build for the future. If he could not have first-class treatment for himself, he was absolutely determined that at least the next generation of the blind would not be denied. He taught at the California School for the Blind from 1912 to 1947 and day after day, month after month, season after season he exhorted and indoctrinated, preached and prepared. He was building the necessary infrastructure of ideas and beliefs. Those who were his students went on to become his colleagues, and as the number grew, the faith was kept. There would be a state-wide organization of the blind in California. It did not happen until 1934, but when it came, it was built on a solid foundation. And there would also be a National Federation of the Blind but not yet. Dr. Perry was to that generation what Warring Wilkinson had been to him. In the words of Jacobus tenBroek, his most brilliant student and the man who would lead the blind in the founding of their national movement: We were his students, his family, his intimates, his comrades on a thousand battlefronts of a social movement. We slept in his house, ate at his table, learned geometry at his desk, walked the streets interminably by his side, moved forward on the strength of his optimism and confidence. Dr. tenBroek graduated from Berkeley High School in 1930 with, as he said, plenty of ambition but no money. He was prepared to enter the University of California but was denied state aid to the blind, a program then newly instituted as a result of Dr. Perry's efforts in sponsoring a constitutional amendment, which had been adopted by the voters of California in 1928. In Dr. tenBroek's words, The reason for the denial was not that my need was not great. It was that I intended to pursue a higher education while I was being supported by the state. That was too much for the administrative officials. Almost without discussion, Dr. Perry immediately filled the gap. Just as Warring Wilkinson had earlier done for him, said Dr. tenBroek, he supplied me with tuition and living expenses out of his own pocket for a semester while we all fought to reverse the decision of the state aid officials. It was, Dr. tenBroek said, ever thus with Dr. Perry. The key to his great influence with blind students was, first of all, the fact that he was blind and therefore understood their problems; and second, that he believed in them and made his faith manifest. He provided the only sure foundation of true rapport: knowledge on our part that he was genuinely interested in our welfare. So the new generation came to maturity, and Jacobus tenBroek was to be its leader. Born in 1911 on the prairies of Alberta, Canada, he was blinded by an arrow in a childhood game and moved to California to enter the school for the blind. He went on to earn five academic degrees from the University of California at Berkeley a bachelor's in 1934, a master's in 1935, a law degree in 1938, and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1940; and from the Harvard Law School a Doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1947. There is no need for me to talk to this audience about Dr. tenBroek's brilliance his learned articles and books, his chairmanship of the California Board of Social Welfare, his scholarly pre-eminence and national acclaim, his writings on constitutional law that are still the authoritative works in the field. Rather, I would speak of the man the warm human being who fought for acceptance, led our movement, and served as my mentor and role model the man who was my closest friend and spiritual father. When Dr. tenBroek was first trying to get a teaching position in the 1930s, the climate of public opinion was better than it had been a generation earlier, but he faced many of the same problems which had confronted Dr. Perry and sometimes with identical letters from the same institutions. It was, he said, almost as if a secretary had been set to copying Dr. Perry's file, only changing the signatures and the name of the addressee. Here is what Dr. tenBroek wrote to Dr. Perry in March of 1940. At the time he was studying at Harvard: Last November a large midwestern university was looking for a man to teach public law. Having read my published articles but knowing nothing else about me, the head of the department in question wrote a letter to the University of California inquiring whether I would be available for the position. Cal. replied that I would and accompanied the answer with a considerable collection of supporting material. However, when the department head learned that I was blind, the deal was off although none of the competing applicants had as good a paper showing. This incident seems to me of particular interest because, although I have been refused other jobs, this was the first instance in which blindness could be traced as the sole explanation for rejection. Of course, in other cases blindness was also the determining factor, but the fact could not be demonstrated as well. There were other letters and other rejections but on June 8, 1940, Dr. tenBroek was able to write to Dr. Perry: We have justification for hanging out the flags and ringing the bells. I have been offered and have accepted a job at Chicago University Law School. The job pays $1,800, is denominated a half-time position, and lasts for only a year. But it is a job nevertheless. And the Harvard people, who exerted no end of pressure to get it for me, regard it as an excellent opportunity. The position is designated `tutorial fellowship' and consists in supervising the research of the first- and second-year law students. It involves no actual classroom teaching, except possibly by way of an occasional fill-in job. This was how Dr. tenBroek (the man who fifteen years later was to win the Woodrow Wilson Award for the outstanding book of the year in political science and who was always the most sought-after professor at the University of California) was to begin his teaching career. Yet, even today there are sighted people (and also some of the blind people who ought to know better) who tell me that the blind are not victims of discrimination. Yes, the tenBroek job search was fifty years ago, but you know and I know that we have not yet come to first-class status and equal treatment in society. The framework of ideas and beliefs to make it possible, though long in the building, is still not complete. Warring Wilkinson, Newel Perry and his students, Jacobus tenBroek and the founders of our movement, and the Federationists of succeeding decades have worked year after year to improve the climate of public acceptance and make opportunity available for the blind, but the job is not yet finished. Each generation has built on the work of the one before it. Each has fought and hoped, dreamed and drudged for the one to follow and also for the blind then alive. What we have done must be seen in perspective; for no act of the past (no gain or denial) is irrelevant, and no present behavior of ours can be divorced from tomorrow. We are close to freedom, and we must finish the journey. 1940 was notable for something else besides Dr. tenBroek's debut at the University of Chicago. It was also the year of the founding of this organization. With the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935 the federal government had supplanted the states in providing assistance to the blind. In 1939 Congress and the Social Security Board combined to pressure the states having the most forward looking programs (chief among them California but also Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Wisconsin) to repeal their progressive laws. This supplied the immediate impetus for the formation of the Federation, but of course the momentum had been building for a generation. The event occurred at Wilkes-Barre on November 15 and 16, 1940, coincident with the convention of the Pennsylvania Federation of the Blind. In a letter to Dr. Perry dated November 19, 1940, Dr. tenBroek said in part: The confab at Wilkes-Barre gave birth to an organization, the National Federation of the Blind of which you, vicariously through me, are president. The long-range aims of the organization are the promotion of the economic and social welfare of the blind, and its immediate and specific aims are the sponsorship of the principle of Senate Bill 1766 and an amendment of the Social Security Act. Seven states were represented at the organizational meeting Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. We arrived in Wilkes-Barre in the middle of Friday afternoon.... On Saturday morning, while the Pennsylvania state meeting was going on, I had several back-of-the-scenes conversations with Pennsylvania leaders.... In the afternoon... we drew up a skeleton constitution, which we presented to a meeting of all of the delegates to the national meeting, beginning about four o'clock and ending about the same time twelve hours later.... The meeting was interrupted at 5:30 in the afternoon long enough to give the other delegates a chance to eat dinner, and the Pennsylvania leader (Gayle Burlingame) and me a chance to appear on the local radio, where we lambasted hell out of the Social Security Board. On January 4, 1941, Dr. tenBroek wrote to Dr. Perry concerning the details of getting the new orgnization started. With the National Federation of the Blind not yet two months old, he said, its permanence is definitely assured. The factor guaranteeing that permanence is the closely knit nucleus composed of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and California. We three have now had enough experience with each other to know that we can make a go of it.... We can add to this trilogy the state of Wisconsin. I had a letter from Minnesota yesterday to the effect that they are ready to pay their assessment but that they wish assurance that Pennsylvania and California are also ready before they mail their check. I also had a letter from Pennsylvania stating that it is ready but wishes assurance that Minnesota and California are ready. I have written to both of these states requesting them to make out their checks, payable to the Treasurer of the National Federation, and to send them to me, with the stipulation that I shall not forward them to the Treasurer until I have the dues from each of the states of California, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. Consequently, if California is ready, I suggest that you follow the same procedure.... But the new president did not limit himself to procedural matters. The Federation immediately assumed its present-day role of working to improve the quality of life for the nation's blind. In a letter to Dr. Perry dated March 15, 1941, President tenBroek described the efforts he had been making to get changes in the administration of public assistance to the blind. Here, in part, is what he said: After a week in Washington I have more unsocial exchange to report than specific accomplishment.... Gradually working our way upward, Gayle Burlingame and I first presented our case to Jane Hoey, director of the Bureau of Public Assistance, and her associate, a lawyer named Cassius. Next we went to Oscar Powell, executive director of the Social Security Board; and finally to Paul V. McNutt, administrator of the Federal Security Agency. Hoey is simply another social worker of the familiar type but with a higher salary than most. Cassius has lost none of his qualities since Shakespeare described him, except that his wit has been sharpened by a little legal training. Powell is a very high calibre man with a fine sense of argumentative values, a considerable store of good nature, and unusual perception. He simply is not a believer in our fundamental assumptions. McNutt, on the other hand, is a lesser Hitler by disposition and makes our California social workers look like angels by comparison. Hoey and Powell had argued that the new ruling of the Board did not necessarily result in a reduction of a recipient's grant by the amount of his earnings or other income. McNutt took the position that it did and, moreover, that it should. `Are you saying to us,' I asked McNutt, `that blind people should have their grants reduced no matter how small their private income and no matter how great their actual need?' His answer was that he was saying precisely that. I formulated the question in several other ways, only to get the same reply. I can't say that I wasn't glad to get this official declaration from McNutt since it provides us with an official declaration by the highest administrator of them all that ought to be of immense propagandistic value to us. Moreover, McNutt's conduct during the conference has provided us with the most perfect example of the arbitrary and tyrannical methods of the Board that we could hope to have. In the remaining week that I shall stay in Washington, we shall attempt to carry our appeal to the last administrative step. Senator Downey of California and Senator Hughes of Delaware are attempting to secure for us appointments with Mrs. and President Roosevelt. As things stand, the only course open to the blind of California is to urge the legislature to retain the blind aid act in its present form and tell the federal government to go to hell. Even if we can get a favorable amendment to the Social Security Act, it certainly will not be until after the California legislature adjourns. This is what Dr. tenBroek wrote in 1941, and although we have often said in this organization that the first task which the Federation faced after its founding was to help the blind of the nation get enough money for bare survival, I sometimes wonder if we have made the point with sufficient clarity to convey the desperation of it. The report which was prepared following the 1941 convention of the Federation in Milwaukee says in part: Mr. Stephen Stanislevic of New York City reported as follows: `The blind population of New York State is roughly estimated at 13,000. Of these, more than half are in New York City. A very small number of our people, a few hundred in all, are at present employed in sheltered industries, on government projects, at newsstands, or in miscellaneous enterprises. The majority depend for sustenance either upon private bounty or upon Social Security grants. The average monthly grant per individual is $27 in New York City and $23 in the up-state counties. This is the paltry pittance which the wealthiest state in our Union sees fit to dole out to those of its citizens who are blind.' Mr. Hugh McGuire explained that in Indiana there are approximately 2,600 blind and that between 2,200 and 2,300 are drawing assistance with the monthly average of $20. That was forty-nine years ago, and much has happened in the interim. Not that it happened by chance, of course. Mostly we made it happen. How many times since 1940 has the National Federation of the Blind led the way in social reform in this country, not only for the blind but also for others? To mention only three examples, we pioneered exempt earnings for the recipients of public assistance; we pioneered fair hearing procedures in rehabilitation and other public programs; and we pioneered jobs for the disabled in government service. As I have already said, our first task as an organization was to initiate programs to enable the blind to get enough to eat. In 1940 and the decades immediately following, most of the blind of this country were desperately poor, and there were almost no government programs to help. When people are hungry, little else matters. Later (although many of us were still in poverty and, for that matter, are now) we worked on rehabilitation and employment, and today we emphasize civil rights and equal participation in society. But essentially our role is what it has always been seeing that blind people get equal treatment and a fair shake. It is not only in basics but also in detail that our operation today is often much the same as it was in past decades. Let me give you a rather specialized example. I have made a lot of banquet speeches at these conventions, and certain key ideas are central to them all. I can sum up the essentials in a few sentences. The real problem of blindness is not the blindness itself but what the members of the general public think about it. Since the agencies doing work with the blind are part of that general public, they are likely to possess the same misconceptions that are held by the broader society. The blind, too, are part of that broader society, and if we are not careful, we will accept the public view of our limitations and thus do much to make those limitations a reality. The blind are not psychologically or mentally different from the sighted. We are neither especially blessed nor especially cursed. We need jobs, opportunity, social acceptance, and equal treatment not pity and custody. Only those elected by the blind can speak for the blind. This is not only a prime requisite of democracy but also the only way we can ever achieve first-class status. These are the essential points of every banquet speech I have ever made. The banquet speeches are meant to be widely circulated. They have the purpose of convincing those in work with the blind and the public at large that they should rethink their notions about blindness. They also have the purpose of stimulating our own members to increased activity and added vigor. Hopefully the speech will be sufficiently inspiring, entertaining, and literate to make people want to listen to it and later (when it is distributed) to read it. The difficulty is that just about the same thing needs to be said every year, but it has to be restated so that the listeners (and ultimately the readers) will feel that it is different and maybe even new. After a while, putting it all together becomes quite a problem. I don't think I ever talked about this matter with Dr. tenBroek, and I certainly did not attend the 1949 convention at Denver. With this background let me share some correspondence with you. Kingsley Price was a Californian, who became a college professor and was living in New York in the 1940s. In a letter dated April 8, 1949, Dr. tenBroek wrote to urge him to attend the Denver convention. The problem does not arise, Dr. tenBroek said, out of an unmixed desire to enjoy your company. I would like to get you to give the principal banquet address. This is something that I have not been able to dodge very often in the seven conventions that we have had. [Conventions were not held in the war years of 1943 and 1945.] The banquet address, Dr. tenBroek continued, is a kind of focal point in which the problems of the blind, their peculiar needs with respect to public assistance, employment, and equal opportunity are formulated and presented both with an eye to rededicating and stimulating the blind persons present and an eye to enlightening and possibly converting the many sighted persons who have been invited to attend. For me, this has always been a job of rehashing and repeating certain central ideas. My imagination and new methods of statement have long since petered out. The next alternative is to get a new `stater.' This is what I would like you to be. We would, of course, introduce you as a New Yorker since there are far too many Californians in the limelight as it is. We also, if we thought hard, could find one or two other chores about the convention for you to do. Please think this matter over as long as you want, but let me have an immediate answer. Among other things, Dr. tenBroek obviously wanted to get Price to become more active in the movement, and he probably thought the banquet speech might be a way to do it. There has always been a tendency for the successful members of a minority to try to avoid involvement. The only trouble with this behavior is that it won't work. At an earlier period many blacks tried to straighten their hair and hide in white society, but then they realized that it was better to make it respectable to be black. The corollary, if I need to say it, (and every one of us had better know and understand it) is that it is respectable to be blind. That's what the National Federation of the Blind is all about. No blind person in this country is untouched by our successes or, for that matter, our failures and no blind person can avoid identification with the rest of us. This is true regardless of how the blind person feels about it and regardless of how we feel about it. Blindness is a visible characteristic, and all of us are judged by each other whether we like it or not. The feeling I have toward those blind persons who try to hide in sighted society is not anger but pity and, yes, I am talking about those who are regarded (and who regard themselves) as highly successful. When Professor Price replied to Dr. tenBroek, he said that he might be able to come but would probably do a bad job making the banquet speech. He should not have been deceived by the light tone of Dr. tenBroek's letter of invitation, for Federation presidents take banquet speeches seriously. In a letter dated April 21, 1949, Dr. tenBroek set him straight: Dear Kingsley: I am not now, nor on June 20th shall I be, in the least inclined to accept a bad job in the banquet address. If I were willing to accept a bad job, I can think of at least a hundred persons of assured competence to satisfy the requirement. The banquet address is the focal point of the whole meeting. It has come to be regarded as the most important thing that is done at a convention. Many people of influence in the community are invited to hear it. The Governor of the State often is present, and the occasion is used to give him instructions as to what his policy should be towards the blind. The address is expected to be of such a character that it can be published and circulated the nation over with some advantage to the blind. The address must be on the subject of the nature of the problems of blindness, and the discussion should be frank and forthright. Amplification of points by way of personal experience is always helpful and attractive. One conclusion that must always be reached is that the blind should speak for themselves because they are the only persons qualified to do so. I enclose a copy of my Baltimore address, which may give you an idea of what needs to be said. The same truths have to be retold, but the hope is that they will be dressed up in a new and fresh style, even to the point of appearing to be different truths. One further word: It may be that the address will be broadcast direct from the banquet hall. Consequently, both speech and delivery need to be well in hand. I hope these admonitions are solemn enough to convince you of the importance of doing a good job and yet not so solemn as to scare you away. We are desperately in need of a new voice and a new brain to do this job and a man from New York has geographical advantages as well. Cordially yours, In considering our past I am mindful of the fact that except for inspiration, perspective, and prediction, there is no purpose to the study of history. Certainly we can find inspiration in the lives of Warring Wilkinson, Newel Perry, and Jacobus tenBroek. Often in lonely isolation they worked for a distant future which they knew they would never see but which is our present. Using meager reso