How I Came to Know the Maurers and the Love of the Federation

by Anil Lewis

From the Editor: My friend Anil is the executive director of Blindness Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind, and he is known for so much more. He was a former chapter president in Georgia, a former member of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors, and an active participant in our blind driver challenge. He is an introvert who is often placed in a position of doing the job of an extrovert, and two of his most endearing qualities are his ability to be reflective and his openness to new ideas. Here is what he says about two of the most important people in his Federation life: Marc and Patricia Maurer:

In 1997 I was employed as an advocate/counselor for the Georgia Client Assistance Program, assisting people with disabilities in getting access to vocational rehabilitation services to obtain employment. While giving a presentation at the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of Georgia state convention, I was bombarded by questions from a gentleman at the head table. Although I had come to recognize the power of the NFB by attending my first annual national convention in 1995 in Chicago, my convention experience, which was life changing, was not very welcoming. My lasting perception of the NFB was as a rowdy, militant group of blind people, and although I had some good friends within the organization, I didn’t have the best relationship with the affiliate leaders at that time. So this aggressive interrogation fit my misconceived notion of what the organization was all about. Although I attempted to solicit questions from the audience, the gentleman at the head table insisted on taking the lead in asking relevant, challenging questions. This was my introduction to Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.
Immediately after my presentation, during the break, I had a verbal confrontation with the first vice president of the affiliate. Again, not feeling very welcome by this organization of blind people, I went back to my room to prepare to leave the convention. I was done with the NFB. However, answering a knock at my door, I was invited by Dr. Maurer’s assistant to meet him in the convention hall. I prepared for an escalation of the confrontation.

To my surprise, he simply wanted to talk with me. We sat in the convention hall and discussed everything from my blindness, my access technology, my family, my education, and my life goals. Although I realized later that his convention questioning was intended to test my metal and the following conversation was a prelude to a formal job interview and subsequent job offer, he genuinely wanted to know about me. This was the beginning of one of the most cherished personal relationships of my life.

Shortly after the convention, I flew on a day trip to Baltimore, Maryland, and had the opportunity to meet the entire Maurer family, Dr. and Mrs. Maurer and their children David and Dianna. Dr. and Mrs. Maurer, both blind, nurtured a home filled with love, mutual support, and fun; they reshaped my perspective of blind parenting. We had lunch and each made our own sandwiches. I have since been blessed to share many meals with the family, all filled with good food, good fellowship, and good fun. Many of those meals were to celebrate our many accomplishments. Dr. Maurer loves to celebrate, but very quickly after, he states “What’s next?” looking for the next big, hairy, audacious goal.

Shortly after lunch, Dr. Maurer and I took a short walk from his house to the Action Fund building for the interview, which resulted in a job offer that I was unable to accept. (I often wonder what my life would have been like if I would have responded “Yes” to the offer of employment at that time.) On our way to the Action Fund building, I still had some functional vision at the time and was able to watch Dr. Maurer, totally blind, use his cane to navigate his way freely to our destination. I was impressed with his travel skills, but I supposed that his ability to travel this route so expertly was due to the fact that he obviously traveled this path on a regular basis. This supposition was revealed to be erroneous twelve years later when Dr. Maurer proved his mastery of independent travel during a visit to the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB) while I was attending as a student. Although this was his first time visiting LCB, he bested me during my mobility lesson, traveling streets for the first time that I had been traveling for several months. He truly lives and exemplifies the philosophy of the Federation.

Many of the stories of how he has tirelessly fought to secure equality, opportunity, and security for the blind as President of the NFB have been shared in the pages of the Braille Monitor and will be shared for years to come. He moved forward on the vision of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan to build the NFB Jernigan Institute, the first and only research and training institute of and for blind people, which has served as the incubator of projects and programs that continue to change the landscape of education, employment, research, and technology for the blind. He re-activated our work on the repeal of section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has finally begun to reach the level of interest and action that actually makes substantive reform and even potential repeal an inevitability. He took the risk of initiating our Blind Driver Challenge to create technologies that would enable a blind person to operate an automobile, which affords us standing and credibility that allows us to participate as experts in the design and development of autonomous vehicles today.

There are so many other stories, both personal and professional, that I could share to demonstrate the heart and commitment of Dr. Maurer, who undividedly became more than one of the most influential mentors in my life. I would like to share a very personal story that explains how, through my budding relationship with Dr. Maurer, I came to know the heart of the Federation, recognized the value of this extended family, and continue to pledge my active participation.

The mother of my son and I were separated and headed for a very contentious divorce. As we are at our worst when we act out of anger, she threatened to take custody of our son in the divorce. She was dealing with her own personal demons at the time, and I was the best custodial parent, so I had physical custody of my son. He and I moved in with my mother, who had recently retired, so that she could help me with childcare as I continued to work full-time and attend school. My mother was soon diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer, and had been given a prognosis of less than two years to live. In a matter of months, I found myself a single father of a toddler and primary caregiver to my quickly failing mother. Faced with the belief that the courts would not award custody of a toddler to a blind man, and afraid of the responsibility of caring for my mother, this was the most frightening, challenging time in my life.

I don’t know why, but I reached out to Dr. Maurer, and this call made all of the difference. He mostly listened while I spent about forty-five minutes expressing my anger at the potential of losing my son, or conversely, my uncertainty of my capacity to be a single father. This was coupled with my feelings of being incapable of meeting the challenge of serving as primary caregiver to my mother. Understand that at this time, Dr. Maurer and I had personal interactions, but we had not established a true personal relationship that would have warranted this type of sharing. Yet, he listened just the same. Then he shared stories of his personal experiences as a father, which gave me confidence. He encouraged me to work things out with my son’s mother so that custody would not become a contentious aspect of the inevitable divorce, which grounded me. He pledged the support of the National Federation of the Blind if it did become contentious, which empowered me. Moreover, he reassured me that if I acquired the necessary alternative skills and obtained the appropriate medical supports, I would be fully capable of providing the care that my mother needed to live her remaining days with dignity, which gave me peace. The sincerity of his words and the conviction of his voice gave me strength and confidence to move forward.

My son’s mother and I were able to interact as reasonable adults, placing the well-being of our son first, and we were able to work out a divorce settlement in which I was awarded full physical custody. As a result, my son has enjoyed the involvement of family maternal and paternal, and through the support of my biological and Federation family, my son and I have been able to live the lives we want.

Cancer took my mother quickly. However, as she wanted, she was able to spend her last year on this earth at home. Although her last days were spent in hospice, I treasure those months we were able to spend together. We shared and said so much that may have otherwise gone unsaid. My fears of being able to care for her were unwarranted. I learned to use alternative skills and accessible equipment to monitor her blood sugar, take her blood pressure, administer her medication, and provide other fundamental care. Her doctors were impressed with the medical documentation I provided at every doctor’s visit. Reflecting on this now fills me with the sadness of the loss of my mother, but it also fills me with overwhelming joy that I was able to provide her with comfort and happiness during her transition as a final expression of my love. This would not have happened had it not been for one phone call to a man who has become more than a brother, and I am forever grateful for the love and support that manifested from our becoming acquainted through the National Federation of the Blind.

This is only one example of the many ways Dr. Maurer has played a meaningful role in my life, and I came to learn that this type of intervention and support was a significant amount of the work that he performed as President of a nationwide civil rights organization consisting of a diverse group of historically disenfranchised blind people. I can only imagine the physical, emotional, and psychological toll that this work placed on Dr. Maurer every day. Yet, he rose to the challenge for over twenty-eight years.

One who offers so much support must receive equal support from others. Dr. Maurer is blessed to have Mrs. Maurer as his key supporter, and in some form or fashion, she is always there by his side to offer support, encouragement, and counsel. Although I interacted with her during my many years serving on the NFB national board of directors, I came to know her affectionately and appropriately as “Big Mom” in a more meaningful way when I came to work at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute in 2010. Having the opportunity to get to know Patricia Maurer in such a real way helps me better understand the ability of Dr. Maurer to be so giving with his time and attention. In many matters they work in concert. Working together, they have raised both their biological children, and many metaphorical children within the Federation.
After dedicating over twenty-eight years of her life as a volunteer for the NFB, she became a staff member as the director of community relations under my supervision in 2014. She handled information and referral calls, collected volunteer service hours, managed several essential projects and programs for the NFB, and continued with so many other responsibilities. Much of the work she performed in this role seemed simply programmatic. However, I quickly learned that this job requires more heart and compassion than I would have ever imagined.

I remember speaking to Mrs. Maurer shortly after she had completed an I and R call. She sounded like she had been crying. She explained that she had just spoken with a gentleman who had severe diabetes that had led to problems with his kidneys and his blindness, and he informed her that he would no longer be going to his dialysis appointments. He was effectively telling her that he was going to commit suicide. Until this point, I had never taken the emotional toll of this work into consideration, and I am sure very few people do. This work took on a whole new meaning for me. We must convince this gentleman and others that life is worth living and that they can live the life they want. We may never know the outcome of that particular call, but I have confidence and comfort in Mrs. Maurer’s ability to encourage and share with our callers on a level that made them realize that, even with the challenges they are facing, life is worth living. This work requires true heart, compassion, and dedication, all qualities Big Mom possesses in droves.

After serving as President of the NFB for twenty-eight years, Dr. Maurer chose not to seek re-election in 2014. I have no doubt that if he would have run, he would have been elected by acclamation. Recognizing that the organization needed new leadership to confront the contemporary challenges we face, Dr. Maurer supported Mark Riccobono as his successor, and Mr. Riccobono was elected in 2014. I realize this was an extremely difficult decision for Dr. Maurer to make because so much of who he is revolves around the work he does for the Federation. His decision is a true reflection of how he values the NFB above himself. Both Dr. and Mrs. Maurer continued to show up for work every day at the NFB Jernigan Institute from July of 2014 thru July 2020 to assist with the successful transition of our new administration, and they have now chosen to retire (for whatever that may really mean). Dr. and Mrs. Maurer continue to make themselves available for whatever work may need to be done to continue to build the National Federation of the Blind, and I look forward to celebrating many more accomplishments over meals filled with good food, good fellowship, and good fun in the future.