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Vol. 65, No. 2 February 2022
Gary Wunder, Editor
Distributed by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the
The National Federation of the Blind
Mark Riccobono, President
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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.
ISSN 0006-8829
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Vol. 65, No. 2 February 2022
Raising Expectations Every Day: The Challenge of the Federation's Community Standards
by Mark Riccobono
National Federation of the Blind Code of Conduct
The Determination to Achieve Excellence or Tying Another Knot in the Family I Created
by Ever Lee Hairston
Marci Carpenter: Leader, Trusted Friend, and Beloved Spouse
by Gary Wunder
Longtime CFB President Mary Ellen Gabias Retires
by Doris Belusic
The KNFB Reader: Its History and Evolution
by Gary Wunder
Psychiatric Hospital Access Barriers: A Call for Change
by Jolean O’Connell
Who Is Responsible for the Blind?
by Steve Jacobson
Blessed Are the Givers
by Hannah Neff
You Can Make a Difference
Interview with Celebrity Stylist Sabrina Gilleylen
by LaShawna Fant
Independence Market Corner
by Terry Boone
Monitor Miniatures
Copyright 2022 by the National Federation of the Blind
by Mark Riccobono
"Yesterday and tomorrow meet in this present time, and we are the ones who have the responsibility. Our final climb up the stairs will not be easy, but we must make it. The stakes are too high and the alternatives too terrible to allow it to be otherwise.... We will continue to climb. Our heritage demands it; our faith confirms it; our humanity requires it. Whatever the sacrifice, we will make it. Whatever the price, we will pay it." — Kenneth Jernigan
In the National Federation of the Blind, we have worked to set a high standard in our expectations for ourselves, for each other, and for those around us. While our advocacy and program work is focused on raising expectations among others in the blindness field or the broader society, we also recognize that we cannot require others to do what we are not prepared to do for ourselves. Meeting that internal expectation is complicated when you consider the challenges of bringing together fifty-two diverse local organizations of the blind (our state affiliates), a couple of dozen special interest divisions, and thousands of people into a unified movement. It is made even more complicated because that movement must operate within a broader society with many competing perspectives and priorities. Despite the challenges, our movement has persisted because as blind people we have continued to take responsibility for changing and evolving the movement to meet our expectations. This has sometimes come with great struggle and debate, but it has always resulted in the blind having a stronger sense of ownership in our movement.
During the last year, we have done what was not easy to do, and we have emerged with a commitment to high expectations that is stronger than ever before. Our challenge now is to meet those expectations. Before we do that, we should reflect on the significant journey we have taken—a journey we have taken because our hopes for tomorrow demanded that we examine who we are and how we sustain our togetherness. History will remember that this year was even more significant because we did so during a worldwide pandemic where our togetherness was as fragile as it has ever been as a result of physical distancing and tremendous uncertainty throughout society.
The time has come for me to share my perspective on the journey we have taken in the set of expectations we call the Federation's Code of Conduct. This article only covers the recent efforts. Certainly, the conduct of members and appropriate standards for leaders and affiliates has been a topic of discussion throughout the history of the movement, and I do not attempt to capture that in this article. I feel it is most helpful to tell this story from my perspective, but what you read below is to the credit of hundreds of Federation members. Not every detail of the journey is documented here, and certainly there are many key players who are not named. Most importantly, I want to personally and professionally thank the individuals who have privately and forthrightly shared with me their stories and experiences in order to shape my own thinking. I continue every day to value the faith that you have and continue to place in me every day. Your stories will continue to be carried in my heart as I work on behalf of this organization. Some of you may have even forgotten what you shared with me, but I have not forgotten, even if I was sometimes slow to put it all together in my own mind. Our progress belongs to you, and I am honored to have been part of the journey.
I first became an elected leader in the Federation in 1996 when I was chosen to serve as president of the newly formed Wisconsin Association of Blind Students. My first real opportunity to learn about the expectations for leaders of the organization came at a student seminar held at the national office in the early months of 1997. I understood from that gathering and ones that followed that the organization expected a level of professionalism and caring to be shared among members. This expectation came from years of interaction among members who created these standards: at times through policies, sometimes through the leaders they elected, and at other times through the common unwritten understanding that developed. It was only a year after that when I observed my own affiliate president utilizing the power given to her by the members to limit participation in the organization rather than building up those around her. This was the beginning of my own journey to becoming an affiliate president, where I served for five years before coming to be on staff at our national office. My own leadership experience within the Federation taught me the importance of acting when confronted with difficult circumstances and recognizing the wisdom of the members of the movement.
In 2014 the convention elected me to serve as President of the Federation, and I continue to be humbled and challenged by the honor of representing the many diverse members of this organization. Shortly after my election, Pam Allen, who was serving as our treasurer at the time, reported an incident she had learned about regarding the conduct of another officer of the organization. There was no roadmap for what to do next. The Federation's Constitution gives the board of directors authority to act, but there was no specific written way to guide my response or how I would document that response. Instead, I acted upon my understanding and leadership experience. However, after that challenging experience in the first few months of my presidency, I thought there must be a more systematic means of responding to these situations. At the same time, we had a significant transition of long-time affiliate presidents. While my attention was on working with the new corps of affiliate-level leaders on effectively coordinating work of the movement, I continued to ponder what other structures we needed. From time to time, I would raise the question with other leaders of the organization, and I attempted to educate myself by talking to members about their own experiences. There was still much I would come to understand over the coming years.
In early 2017 I decided that we needed to develop a written document of expectations that we could socialize throughout the Federation. I began plans to pull a group together to start the drafting of such a document based upon leaders who had expressed great interest in the idea in my previous conversations. In the spring of 2017, it became clear that preparations for the national convention were going to prevent substantive progress on this initiative; thus, plans were made to start after the convention with the goal of presenting something to the national board at its fall meeting. However, we already had a stronger awareness that there was more we could do to encourage the appropriate behavior that I had always learned was expected within our movement. When I got up to address the Federation staff who would be participating in the 2017 convention, I specifically asked them to be alert for situations in which sexual misconduct might occur and to intervene as appropriate and certainly to report back if they witnessed anything. This was certainly not bystander training as we would want offered today. It was my own recognition that, in addition to developing responses, we needed to be more effective in our proactive efforts to prevent these situations where we could.
In the fall of 2017, we began drafting a comprehensive document which we later started calling the Code of Conduct. In the process, I continued to try to learn from the individual stories of members within the movement. It was hard to hear about experiences where people felt they were harmed by others in the organization, and I felt very personally responsible in my position as President. The stories I heard were so very different from what I knew about the Federation that it took a lot of emotional energy to sort out what we could do to strengthen our work together.
We did not reach our original deadline of having the Code document ready to be vetted and approved by the board during the time of its meeting in December of 2017. While the board discussed the plans for the Code, it did not approve the original version until January 26, 2018. In that first version of the Code, we encouraged each affiliate to adopt an identical policy at the local level. We also encouraged each elected leader to sign signifying that they agreed to abide by the policy. It quickly became evident that our approach would need some refinement to be effectively implemented.
During 2018 we made members aware of the Code and worked on getting leaders of the organization to understand how to implement it. We also prepared some internal procedures for the way we would handle reports we received at the national level. In addition to discussing it on the Presidential Release and distributing the Code in the Braille Monitor, we invited affiliates to discuss the Code at local meetings. We highlighted and invited feedback on the new Code during the meeting of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors held during the 2018 National Convention. It was not until the fall of 2018 that we received our first report to be investigated at the national level. It is fair to say that, in responding to and internally investigating that matter, we learned a lot. It immediately became clear we needed to do more work on our procedures, and many people involved in the early group of reports we investigated gave honest and invaluable feedback about how to improve our work.
At the fall meeting of the Federation's Board of Directors that took place on November 30 and December 1, 2018, the board reviewed the Code implementation and decided it needed enhancements. The board approved edits to the Code which were dated December 1, 2018. The minutes from that meeting also reflect additional discussion:
The board reviewed a number of other plans for strengthening the organization’s Code of Conduct practices. Best practices are being drafted to assist leaders in conducting Code of Conduct investigations. Once the procedures are developed, they will be reviewed by a third party with expertise in investigations to ensure that they are informed by best practices used by other membership organizations. In addition, an online form will be established as well as a voicemail box so that individuals who believe they have a legitimate grievance under the Code of Conduct have many ways to file a formal complaint. The board expressed the need for continued training of leaders regarding the expectations of the Code of Conduct and its implementation at the local level.
As a result of the board's work to improve implementation of the Code of Conduct, it decided to revise the Code in April of 2019. The most significant policy change at that time was to eliminate the need for affiliates of the Federation to establish their own Codes. The board recognized there were a number of problems with having each affiliate respond to certain reports of misconduct. This change was also consistent with the Federation's longstanding practice that national policies of the organization apply to affiliated local organizations as part of the charter of affiliation with the Federation. Specifically, the board recognized that reports of sexual misconduct required a consistent response and that the national organization was in a better position than state affiliates to provide a clear, consistent, and accountable response to concerns raised by members.
During the summer of 2019, a consultant was hired to review the Federation's Code and related procedures and then to provide recommendations. This was an important step in the board's continued efforts to understand how to implement an effective framework across a diverse volunteer-driven organization. In addition, during the 2019 National Convention several seminars were held to support the values outlined in the Code of Conduct and empower members to help guard against inappropriate behavior. At its meeting in December of 2019, the board of directors discussed recommendations by the external consultant, especially the opportunity to improve internal procedures for investigating reports when they came to the organization. The board set forth plans to make improvements in 2020. Normally that work would have taken place prior to the convention in 2020, but the emergence of the coronavirus in March set that work back many months.
At its virtual meeting on December 4 and 5, 2020, the Board of Directors considered the Code and future improvements to be made. Specifically, the board discussed the need to explore using an external investigator for certain reports of sexual misconduct due to the nature of those concerns. The board also discussed the need for more training to help all leaders and members better meet the standards for our community that were and are articulated in the Code of Conduct. At the meeting, the board adopted edits to the Code with the understanding that more significant changes would come in the next year. None of the members of the board, including myself, recognized how true that would be in the months ahead.
While the board was meeting in December 2020, a series of posts to Facebook began to emerge making allegations about the National Federation of the Blind and our affiliated training centers. On the day following the board meeting, Sunday, December 6, 2020, I pulled together a meeting with the executive directors of the NFB training centers to discuss the emerging allegations. Everyone in that meeting affirmed their commitment to ensuring that our programs are responsive to allegations and as safe as possible. Each of the center directors also agreed to fully cooperate with any investigations by the Federation that might become necessary. During the following week the NFB Board of Directors issued a statement regarding its support for survivors. During that same week one Facebook post called specifically for both Pam Allen and me to resign as officers of the Federation. I immediately sent the post to the other officers of the Federation and noted that both Pam Allen and I would cooperate with any investigation of our past actions the board felt was necessary. The board met at the call of Second Vice President Ron Brown to discuss the allegations. At that meeting, the board decided that it had no evidence to cause it to withdraw its support for Pam Allen or for me in carrying out our duties as officers of the Federation. At that same meeting, the board asked that I write a broader letter to the membership about the allegations. Members of the board agreed that they would review the letter and sign onto it if they supported the contents.
As I considered what I would write to the members of the Federation, I went back to the feelings I described above. It makes me really sad that anyone would be harmed in the course of their participation in the Federation. I also felt a degree of frustration that the efforts we had been putting forward to make improvements had not yet created the sense of safety and action that I was personally committed to overseeing. I thought about my own daughters who have grown up in the Federation and may decide to participate actively in the organization someday. I reflected also on the stories that survivors had shared with me during the preceding years. I knew there was still much more for me to come to understand about the pernicious impacts of sexual misconduct within our society, including our organization. I also felt a degree of guilt for what I understood then but did not understand years before. What could I write that would say in words all that I felt? The result was a combination of what was in my heart and also a set of actions I was committing to lead. Those actions were made easier to commit to by the fact that the board had already made plans for 2021 at its meeting earlier in the month.
In the letter that was the culmination of my heartbreak, soul searching, and the most rational thoughts I could muster, I referred to my own mistakes—a recognition that I was still growing and evolving in my own understanding of these important issues. I have detailed some of that evolution above. This letter of apology was posted to our website on December 16, 2020, and it was supported and signed by all members of the national board. Read the letter at https://nfb.org/blog/open-letter-apology-president-riccobono.
In the time between the NFB board meeting on December 4-5 and the release of the letter on December 16, I had one consistent message for leaders and staff of the organization. I called for everyone to "lean into the situation" in front of us. I had a great deal of uncertainty about what we did not know, but I had a lot of confidence about the journey we had already been heavily invested in during the past four years. When repeatedly asked about the motives of those making and spreading charges of impropriety, I reminded folks that our concentration should be on getting at the truth regardless the source of the allegations.
The board of directors had already put significant time and energy into this journey, and it was time to accelerate our efforts. We began networking through the movement to find out who else might be out there as a potential partner. This was when we first reached out to RAINN, which is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization.
On the afternoon of December 17, 2020, an open letter addressed to "Members of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind and Members of the Board of Directors of the National Blindness Professional Certification Board" was posted to the internet. This letter was signed by forty individuals. The open letter permitted people to sign on in support. This letter was later sent to me via email on December 28, 2020, and it included the name of approximately five hundred people who had signed it. The letter called on the Federation to examine its work and to make substantive changes. It also asked that changes be made at our affiliated training centers. It went on to make similar suggestions regarding the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB). The Federation coordinates with the NBPCB, but as an organization we do not manage or have the ability to directly change the policies of that certifying body. The letter highlighted a number of allegations and referenced broadly the social media posts which were being organized around the hashtag #MarchingTogether. The letter closes by stating, "We are sincerely hopeful for action to be taken by the NFB and NBPCB Boards. We were encouraged that many of our points were acknowledged in the apology released by NFB on December 16, 2020. While we think this an excellent step forward, we insist that it be backed up by survivor-led actions. We thank you for your recognition of these top priorities of blind people today."
It turns out that on the evening of December 17, 2020, we had a previously scheduled meeting for state affiliate and national division presidents to give some Federation updates. At that national meeting via Zoom, I acknowledged the current concerns and pledged our commitment to do the work necessary to strengthen our organization. My personal notes from that call suggest that we did not talk about anything else beyond the #marchingtogether concerns. I acknowledged that some on the call had signed the open letter that was released earlier that day and invited those individuals to be active in the work going forward.
Apparently, there was a Christmas holiday in 2020, but it is mostly a blur for me. I spent much of the final weeks of the year talking with members, our training center leaders, and potential partners in the work we intended to do. During this time I also began putting together the framework for the survivor-led taskforce. That group of six women, including Marci Carpenter, Cheryl Fields, Sarah Meyer, Daphne Mitchell, Briley O'Connor, and Kathryn Webster, did the most significant work of 2021 for the Federation. They ensured that survivors were clearly in the lead in our efforts, and they gave endlessly of their time and energy to bring people into the conversation in a safe and supportive manner. I met with them weekly from January to June, and I cannot express just how important their commitment and thoughtful work has been to making our organization stronger and safer. When you encounter these ladies at Federation meetings, I invite you to thank them for the difference they have made.
On January 4, 2021, I hosted the Presidential Release live, where I announced our partnership with RAINN and the establishment of the survivor-led taskforce. On January 6, 2021, the NFB Board of Directors met to establish a Special Committee to perform an independent investigation of the organization. The board resolution authorizing this action states its purpose to be: ". . .overseeing and directing an internal investigation of allegations of abuse (including sexual misconduct and abuse) by NFB members, participants, or staff at NFB or NFB-affiliated events or facilities, including its affiliated training centers and its state affiliates. . ."
During the meeting the board affirmed our use of an external investigator for all matters involving sexual misconduct. We had identified Tonya Bana as a local investigator we wanted to work with and began onboarding her after the board meeting.
Prior to the meeting of the board, I was interviewed by Justin Wm. Moyer of the Washington Post regarding the allegations and my letter of apology. In the interview the reporter wanted me to make certain commitments about things we planned to do, but I continued to message that we were open to everything. I knew that the board was likely to authorize establishment of a Special Committee when I talked to the reporter, but the board had not yet fully discussed and approved the investigation, so I could not commit to it in the media. During this interview and all media inquiries in 2021 about these matters, we were very clear that we would not talk about the details of specific allegations. We have held this stance to protect information about survivors and to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information that the organization has about specific matters. The downside to this strategy is that there are a number of stories that circulated in 2021 that the Federation knows not to be accurate from our investigations, but they remain unchallenged. We have consistently heard from survivors that protecting their stories is the right thing to do, so we will continue to maintain that priority going forward.
I set a very aggressive timeline for the work with RAINN, our survivor-led taskforce, and the Special Committee. At the meeting on January 6, I advised the board that our goal was for our work with these three aspects of the initiative to be completed in time for us to fully report to the national convention which, in its role as the supreme authority of the organization, should determine whether the actions taken have been adequate. That timeline turned out to be overly aggressive, although I still believe it was the right goal to set. In particular, the Special Committee determined that it could not adequately complete its work by the time of the national convention.
During the following months, considerable time, energy, and organizational effort were spent on pushing our safety and support initiatives forward. Our survivor-led taskforce was holding multiple meetings each week; the Special Committee was compiling hundreds of documents, generating and receiving correspondence and conducting interviews; and we were making temporary enhancements to our internal Code procedures as we went along. We suspended changes to the Code of Conduct itself until we received recommendations from our stakeholders about specific policy changes the board should consider. However, with the introduction of the external investigator, we had to develop new procedures for processing reports that came to the organization. In early February we made that even more complicated by stating that we would accept a report of an incident regardless of when it happened. Since 2018 the Code had stated a preference for reports of incidents that occurred within the past year. The intent of the board was always for that statement to encourage timely reporting so action could be taken. It was clear that it was perceived differently, and some felt it was an outward attempt to silence reports. We originally lifted the time limitation until August, but the board later extended that through the end of 2021 so that there was adequate time to complete all the improvements that were needed.
During that same time, we provided RAINN with documents so they could give us recommendations on our processes. Concurrently, we planned to do level-setting training with key leaders of the organization. During the first six weeks of the spring, we trained over seven hundred Federationists. Those trained included all members of our affiliate boards, staff, students, and board members of NFB training centers, employees and key contractors of the Federation, national board members, and members of key committees in order to give everyone a common understanding of the factors that impact sexual misconduct. We also performed a community-wide survey to understand the baseline for our efforts going forward. Most significantly, we recognized that we needed a mechanism for capturing feedback from members who cannot access online surveys, so we built an accessible telephone-based survey tool that we can continue to build upon in our future surveys to build the Federation.
We also reviewed and updated our agreements with the NFB training centers and established a memorandum of understanding with the NBPCB to ensure we effectively shared critical information on a regular basis. BLIND Incorporated, the Colorado Center for the Blind, and the Louisiana Center for the Blind are all independent 501(c)(3) organizations with boards of directors which oversee their operations. These centers affiliate with the Federation in a manner similar to state affiliates of the NFB. We revisited the procedures and understandings we have with these training centers to improve our coordination, and we made plans to do this on a more regular basis going forward. I now have a regular monthly meeting with all of the board chairs and executive directors for our affiliated training centers. We received and investigated a number of Code of Conduct reports from past incidents specifically involving individuals associated with our three NFB training centers. Our centers fully participate in all investigations. As of this writing, there are no employees at any of our three training centers who have been the subject of substantiated Code of Conduct reports to the NFB. We can all be proud of the deep commitment to safety and support that these centers have demonstrated. They have all agreed to make improvements and have actively worked to engage students, staff, and other supporters in building upon the work that has been done in the past.
The first quarter of 2021 was extremely packed with the work detailed above. As we entered the first week of April, I realized it was probably time to update the membership on our work. I began to draft an update which was released to the NFB website as an Open Letter on Safety and Support Progress on April 15, 2021. The letter can be found at https://nfb.org/blog/open-letter-safety-and-support-progress. This letter was the first public announcement of the Special Committee. Prior to that time the Special Committee was getting its processes established and collecting background documents. Since the Special Committee was operating independently, we were following their lead as to when we could announce their existence. When I informed the Special Committee of my plans to release an update letter, the timing was right for the announcement of their work. This was one factor leading to the Special Committee needing to extend its timeline as the April announcement caused a significant influx of information that they needed to sort through before concluding their report.
In the months leading up to the 2020 National Convention, the Board of Directors had a number of important items to consider as it waited to receive recommendations. The board reviewed the oversight of youth programs directly managed by the Federation and established a youth program participant policy to articulate the practices already being used at the national office. In addition, the board considered forward leaning things it could do to create better supports among the Federation family. One initiative that came from those discussions was the adoption of a proposal on June 10, 2021, to recommend to the convention that the Survivor Assistance to Facilitate Empowerment (SAFE) Fund be established. That resolution was passed during the 2021 convention, and the board is still finalizing the selection of a third-party administrator to assist with the program.
In late June the board received an interim report from the Special Committee. The board met to consider the report and ultimately decided to release the report publically immediately before the convention. Members of the board had reservations about releasing an interim report without having the whole scope of the committee's findings. It also was concerned that, despite an earlier communication that the Special Committee would not use names in the report, a small number of people were named. However, the board felt that it was in the best interest of the organization to make the information publically available prior to the convention. The April 30, 2021, statement from our Special Committee can be found at: https://nfb.org/programs-services/safety-support/letter-nfb-community-special-committee.
The NFB Board's statement that accompanied the release of the interim report on June 29, 2021, can be found at https://nfb.org/blog/statement-nfb-board-directors-regarding-final-report-special-committee.
During our 2021 national convention held on the Zoom platform, the convention considered presentations from the Special Committee and the Survivor-led Taskforce. We also disclosed to the convention the work that was ahead for the board in improving our Code of Conduct commitments.
Coming out of the convention there was considerable discourse about the constitutionality of the actions being taken by the Board of Directors under the organization's Code of Conduct. These concerns were not raised by the delegates during the convention, but the Board of Directors still met to discuss the concerns raised. As a result, the NFB Board of Directors Statement Regarding NFB's Constitution and Code of Conduct was released on July 24, 2021, and it can be found at: https://nfb.org/index.php/blog/nfb-board-directors-statement-regarding-nfbs-constitution-and-code-conduct.
In short, the NFB Board of Directors believes it is acting within its authority under the organization's constitution in establishing standards and processes for determining behavior that is unbecoming of a Federationist. Despite this, the board has committed to accepting feedback on the constitutional questions and is currently considering whether it has any recommendations to propose to the 2022 convention.
As it relates to the organization's Code of Conduct, the second half of 2021 was spent sorting through the recommendations and solidifying processes that were only temporarily in place. The board had substantial recommendations from the Special Committee, the Survivor-led Taskforce, and RAINN to consider. In addition, we continued to support our affiliated training centers in examining their procedures. We have assisted them in developing stronger response protocols for handling reports of misconduct. In September a meeting of the executive directors and board chairs for each of the centers was held at the national office. This was the first time this group had been together in person in a couple of years. A number of collaborative efforts came out of that meeting that will strengthen the work being done by the outstanding staff at these centers. In the meantime, the national board prepared for the next report of the Special Committee, which was to be delivered in November. In addition, we established a new Blind Survivors Group within the Federation to maintain a specific space for survivors to come together, share resources, and assist in informing the work of the organization.
By the end of October 2021, the NFB Board of Directors had drafted a new revision of the Code. Knowing that the board would meet in early December, we dedicated the month of November to continuing to collect and sort through feedback from the membership about the proposed draft. The participation of members in reviewing and commenting on the draft was impressive. In general, there was widespread support for the draft, but a number of substantive suggestions were received that helped make the document clearer. One of the most significant changes was limiting the general time for reports under the Code of Conduct. The draft stated that any report would be accepted regardless of time, but we clearly heard from the membership that a timeframe was necessary to create healing and stability in the community. The board vigorously debated this at its December meeting but ultimately decided on the five-year standard that had been proposed by the survivor-led taskforce with some important exceptions. The board specifically states this in the Code as an exception, “One example of an exceptional circumstance in which the above time limitation may not apply is a report of sexual misconduct which could be subject to criminal prosecution.” As with the past, the goal is to encourage people to report the information they have into the Code process so we can consider it and track it over time.
At its meeting in early December, the Federation's Board of Directors spent considerable time on the safety and support efforts, actions taken under the Code of Conduct, and forward leaning policies. Those in attendance describe it as one of the hardest board meetings they had ever attended in the Federation. The objective from my point of view was to bring closure to the items that we could reasonably settle before the end of the year. Here is a quick summary of the actions that came out of the meeting.
We reviewed the final report of the Special Committee and voted to publicly release it to the membership. The final report was released with a statement by the board on December 8, 2021, and it can be found online at: https://nfb.org/blog/statement-nfb-board-directors-regarding-final-report-special-committee.
We extensively considered the work of the Special Committee and whether members of the board felt there were unanswered questions that the board needed the committee to investigate. The board voted unanimously to sunset the Special Committee and acknowledge it for having successfully completed its charge. The Special Committee sunset occurred when the final report was released on December 8, 2021.
We discussed in detail the feedback on the draft Code of Conduct, and the board voted on specific changes to appear in the final version. The board decided that an additional meeting to finalize the Code of Conduct after the agreed upon changes were made would be needed. The NFB Board of Directors met on December 19, 2021, and finalized the version of the Code that is effective as of the writing of this article on the fourth of January, 2022. This is the fourth time the Code has been revised. The presentation of the Code online has been enhanced, and it is now available in a variety of formats online. You can visit the Code of Conduct link found on every page of the Federation's website or navigate directly to http://www.nfb.org/codeofconduct.
We finalized initial eligibility criteria for the SAFE Fund consistent with the convention resolution and directed the President to identify a third-party administrator suitable to the confidential administration of this fund.
We established a subcommittee to plan for ongoing training related to supporting the Code of Conduct and building a safer community throughout the Federation.
We reviewed the progress on clearing Code of Conduct complaints that have been backlogged during 2021. As of January 1, 2022, there were still a couple of dozen reports that were received in 2021 and were yet to be fully investigated and acted upon by the organization.
We discussed the role for the new Code of Conduct Committee that is referenced in section XI of the Code of Conduct.
As we open 2022, I have a great deal of pride and confidence in the work we have done. Where I was very uncertain in December 2020, I now believe we have looked as deeply and as honestly as possible at our past and our work and that we have made positive changes for our future. The work above represents nearly one million dollars of unbudgeted expenses by the Federation. However, it was money and time that was well spent. Our policies, procedures, tracking, record keeping, and response systems are all better for the initiatives we have pursued and the actions we have taken. Unlike many organizations that spend money on defending themselves and their past actions, the initiatives and expenditures above are investments in determining the facts, acting on them, and using the learning from these unfortunate experiences to make our organization an even safer and more welcoming community.
What remains left undone is a significant amount of healing in our community. The combined circumstances of a worldwide pandemic, social uneasiness with resolving long-standing injustices, and honestly examining allegations about our organization and many of its leaders has been emotionally draining on the people of our movement. We have the opportunity to make 2022 about renewing our commitments to march together and strengthening the bonds of faith and friendship that make the work of the movement most fulfilling.
In that spirit, let me offer some final and somewhat general comments about the journey I have laid out above.
The journey we have taken with the Code of Conduct has been perplexing to many members of the organization who have not been subject to the misconduct of others or directly witnessed people being harmed. I can relate to this experience since the things I have learned about the harm human beings do to other human beings is so far from my own values and behaviors. This is a form of heartbreak we must endure, for we are about truth, compassion, and helping people be all we can.
We also need to acknowledge the truth that it hurts when we experience people we love exposed for bad behavior, but we hurt even more for those who are the victims of that behavior and feel the greatest obligation to them. The Federation's Code of Conduct is not meant to be punitive. It is to make clear the behavior we expect at Federation activities and to detail what must be done when that behavior falls short of what we expect. We decide what the standard is for our movement, and we have always expected more within the community we have built than the rest of society has expected of us. This means we need to do the right things when people violate the standards we set, even when they are very hard to do.
We have been open and honest about the journey we have been on. In fact, we proactively informed our partners and funders in early January 2021 about the work we were undertaking and about the discussion of these topics in social media. We invited our partners to ask questions and gave them information they requested. Federation leaders have accepted many invitations to talk about these situations publicly and have not avoided the hard questions although, as noted above, we have maintained that we will not discuss the specifics of individual incidents. Most recently, I was invited to address the December meeting of the National Council for State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB) where I detailed to all of the agency leaders the work shared above and our commitments going forward. While I discussed these topics with the convention, I have not written an article for the Braille Monitor on this topic in the past year and you might wonder why. The reason is that I felt that it would not be appropriate to lay everything out from my perspective until the Special Committee did its work and until the Board of Directors considered those findings. I have tried very hard not to interfere or inappropriately influence the work of the Special Committee. I believe that group—Sharon Krevor-Weisbaum, Denise Avant, Tim Elder, and Ronza Othman—did an outstanding job sorting through an incredible amount of information. I suspect that even that group of people will be surprised by some of the personal reflections I have shared here as this is the first time I have put everything together in one place.
Our organizational commitment to a meaningful and powerful Code of Conduct did not start in December 2020. Nor should we judge every element of the past by our understanding of today. We have been on a journey which continues into the future. Without doubt, in another five or ten years we will make changes that seem obvious to us at that time that have not been a priority or even understood as important in this moment. We need room in our movement for growth and learning to occur. That is not to say we should go easy on people who do harm, but it is to say that we have an obligation to teach what is appropriate and to help people apologize and overcome mistakes they have made.
The Federation has a lot of power to set appropriately high expectations for behavior, but there are still limits to be recognized. Every allegation we receive should be adequately investigated and should not cause further harm to either survivors or those accused. The conclusions drawn from investigations are shared only with those affected. This means that we have deliberately refrained from addressing questions other than those dealing with the procedures we have developed and follow. While silence can be construed as guilt or confirmation, we regard this as less important than confidentiality and conducting fair and impartial investigations. We have worked diligently to avoid an adversarial process in which disparaging the character of one person may be used to serve the interest of another. Again, silence has been the result, and we have chosen to suffer the consequences that its interpretation may cause rather than violate what are, for us, core principles of fairness to all parties. We have an obligation to take the reasonable steps necessary to inform leaders in the organization when sanctions have been placed on the participation of other individuals, and we will continue to seek the most effective and responsible way to carry out that responsibility. Yet we are not the sexual misconduct jurors for the entire blindness field. Certainly, the Federation has always spoken out against agencies where we learn blind people are being abused. We also need those agencies and their leaders and boards to step up and fulfill their responsibilities. We are prepared to share our practices and the standards we have evolved and use in our organization. We are even prepared to keep known offenders from participating in Federation events. However, we need others in the blindness field to adopt and implement high standards alongside our work.
Much of what I have detailed above feels like a lot of change in a short amount of time to those who have not been working on it day to day. From my perspective, this is good change, necessary change, and change for the sake of building our future together. I invite you to hold that Federation bond of faith tightly with me and to recognize that, although we have been through an unparalleled time of uncertainty, we are emerging stronger for the experience as an organization. Let us remember that marching together we are so much stronger than walking alone; that this movement of blind people and our friends and allies is the most powerful force for raising expectations for the blind in the world. Our work is not finished, but we can feel proud that we have completed an important and necessary milestone in that work. Thank you for continuing to meet the challenge of building the National Federation of the Blind and maintaining a high set of standards for a community which so many of us value as our Federation family.
Updated December 19, 2021
I. Introduction
II. Who Must Follow This Code and When?
III. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy
IV. Nondiscrimination, Anti-Harassment, and Retaliation Policy (General)
V. Sexual Misconduct Policy
VI. Social Media and Web Policy
VII. Conflict of Interest Policy
VIII. Policy While Interacting with Minors
IX. Alcohol and Drug Policy
X. Other General Principles
XI. Violations and Reporting Procedures
Reporting
Processing Reports of Sexual Misconduct
Processing Other Reports of Violations of This Code
Notifications
General Principles of Report Resolution
XII. Minimum Standard
The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. The Federation knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. To help carry out the Federation’s vital mission, this Code of Conduct sets forth policies and standards that all associated with the Federation community, as defined below, are expected to adopt and follow. This written Code was first established on January 26, 2018, by the NFB Board of Directors, who review and update it regularly to reflect current practice and the continuous feedback of Federation members. The strength of our Federation community depends upon each individual doing their part to uphold the commitments we make through the principles outlined in this Code.
Adopting and implementing a strong Code of Conduct enables the Federation to carry out its vital mission. The standards set forth in this Code apply to all members, employees, program participants, event attendees, contractors, and volunteers.
Hereafter, all those subject to this Code shall be referred to as “covered parties.” As a national policy, it applies to any national division, group, or committee; all state affiliates; all local chapters or divisions of affiliates; and other affiliated programs of the organization (e.g., NFB training centers).
The Federation’s Code applies to both in-person and virtual settings and governs all interactions reasonably associated with NFB-sponsored/related activities. Specifically, the Code applies to covered parties in the following situations:
The National Federation of the Blind celebrates and embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion as core values in its mission to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind. We are committed to building and maintaining a nationwide organization with state affiliates and local chapters that is unified in its priorities and programs and is directed by the membership. We respect differences of opinion, beliefs, identities, and other characteristics that demonstrate that blind people are a diverse cross section of society. Furthermore, the organization is dedicated to continuing to establish new methods of membership and leadership development that reflect the diversity and full inclusion of the entire blind community. In promoting a diverse and growing organization, we expect integrity and honesty in our relationships with each other and openness to learning about and experiencing cultural diversity. We believe that these qualities are crucial to fostering social and intellectual maturity. We recognize that our views and convictions will be challenged, and we expect this challenge to take place in a climate of tolerance and mutual respect in order to maintain a united organization.
While we encourage the exchange of differing ideas and experiences, we do not condone the use of demeaning, derogatory, or discriminatory language, action, or any other form of expression intended to marginalize an individual or group. The National Federation of the Blind does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, political affiliation, or any other characteristic or intersectionality of characteristics.
The National Federation of the Blind prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, background, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, genetic information, disability, political affiliation, or any other characteristic or intersectionality of characteristics. Harassment or retaliation based on any of these characteristics similarly will not be tolerated. Although this Code of Conduct establishes a minimum standard prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, nothing in this Code should be interpreted to limit in any way a person’s right to report abuse or harassment to law enforcement when appropriate or to take other action outside of the Federation.
Under this policy, harassment can be verbal, written, or physical conduct that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual, or their relatives, friends, or associates, because of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, citizenship, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law and that (1) has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment; (2) has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s performance or involvement in the organization; or (3) otherwise adversely affects an individual’s opportunities for participation/advancement in the organization.
Harassing conduct includes epithets, slurs, or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts including bullying; denigrating jokes; and written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group that is placed on walls or elsewhere on the organization’s premises or circulated by email, phone (including voice messages), text messages, social networking sites, or other means.
Retaliation of any form is strictly prohibited by this Code, whether that retaliation is based on someone’s protected characteristics (as outlined in Section III of this Code and elsewhere) or whether the retaliation is based on the actions, beliefs, or opinions of someone else covered by this Code who is not otherwise violating this Code. Anyone who retaliates against someone who is exercising their right to report violations of this Code is subject to discipline under Section XI of the Code.
The National Federation of the Blind prohibits sexual misconduct of any kind. Generally, sexual misconduct is a non-legal term used to describe a broad range of sexually inappropriate behavior, which includes inappropriate jokes, inappropriate touches, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, and which may or may not be criminal.
The following list illustrates specific behaviors that are deemed unacceptable under this Code. This list is not meant to be all-inclusive, but rather indicates the types of actions, both in-person and online, that are subject to disciplinary action by the NFB.
All covered parties under this Code should be mindful that the general public frequently does not distinguish between personal views and official ties to the National Federation of the Blind. Therefore, covered parties should take care to make clear distinctions so that their role within, and messaging of, the National Federation of the Blind is not publicly confused with their personal statements of opinions and beliefs. Individuals should consider their role within the Federation community and whether their commentary on social media or other communication channels might reasonably be attributed to their elected or appointed role within the Federation. A pattern of public communications mixing personal viewpoints with Federation positions or policies using an individual’s personal social media or communication accounts that has the effect of harming the programs or public outreach of the organization may be considered as a violation of this Code. In addition, inappropriate use of social media or other communication accounts that are owned by or in the name of the National Federation of the Blind, any of its state affiliates, or an affiliated training center is a violation of this Code.
National Federation of the Blind officers, national board members, state affiliate presidents and their boards, division presidents and their boards, local chapter presidents and their boards, employees, and contractors with independent decision-making authority on behalf of the organization (hereafter, “Federation leaders”) are expected to avoid all conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest arises when a person’s personal or professional interests interfere, or even just appear to interfere with the interests of the Federation. A conflict may arise if a Federation leader takes action or has personal interests that make it difficult for the Federation leader to effectively perform their duties to the Federation. The common factor in all conflict-of-interest situations is the division of loyalty, or the perception of a division of loyalty, between the leader in performing their duties as a leader of the organization and their personal and other interests. In specific, Federation leaders are expected to take appropriate responsibility to protect the Federation from misappropriation or mismanagement of Federation funds (including funds of an affiliate, chapter, or division in which Federation leaders assume leadership roles).
National board members, national division presidents, and state presidents are expected to disclose the existence of any potentially conflicting personal financial interest or relationship to the full National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors and seek its review and approval, and all other Federation leaders are required to disclose conflicts of interest to their governing boards, as specified below. For example:
For purposes of this Code of Conduct and consistent with most legal standards, a minor is any individual under the age of eighteen. While interacting with a minor, any adult that is a covered party to this Code must recognize that a minor cannot legally give consent for any purpose, even if said minor is verbally or otherwise expressing consent. For example, a minor may say that they consent to physical interaction. However, such consent is not valid or legal and should not be accepted. A parent or guardian must be informed and consulted about any action requiring consent from the minor. Covered parties shall report any inappropriate interactions between adults and minors to the minor’s parents/guardians and law enforcement when appropriate. Covered parties should consult state and local requirements regarding mandatory reporting to determine when reporting is required. The National Federation of the Blind's Board of Directors maintains a Youth Participant Protection Policy to facilitate a high standard of oversight related to the organization’s youth programming. For more detailed information regarding sexual misconduct and minors, see Section IV of this Code.
Although alcoholic beverages are served at some Federation social functions, members, employees, contractors, event attendees, volunteers, and program participants may not take part in any such functions in a condition that prevents them from participating safely and from conducting Federation business effectively or that might cause embarrassment to or damage the reputation of the Federation. The Federation prohibits the possession, sale, purchase, delivery, dispensing, use, or transfer of illegal substances on Federation property or at Federation functions.
In addition to the other policies and standards set forth herein, all covered parties shall adhere to the following standards:
Violations of this Code of Conduct, after first being established through the process set forth below, are subject to disciplinary action by the Federation. Such disciplinary actions may include but are not limited to counseling; verbal and/or written reprimand; probation, suspension, or termination of officer/leadership duties; and/or suspension or expulsion from the Federation. The below procedures detail how the NFB Board of Directors intends to carry out its responsibilities under Article III, Section E, of the Federation’s Constitution.
As explained above, all reports received are first reviewed to determine if they include violations of Section V, Sexual Misconduct, of this Code, which would activate specific response procedures for the organization. Once it is determined that a report does not activate response procedures related to Section V, the report will be reviewed by the President and the Federation's legal counsel. If either or both of these individuals have a conflict, the report will be referred to other officers of the Federation. In this way, two individuals will determine the course of action for addressing the report.
Disciplinary decisions made under this Code are significant actions to protect the Federation community. Therefore, the board has established an internal policy to guide providing appropriate notice to the leaders, the Notification of Leaders Regarding Code of Conduct Violations. Key national and affiliate leaders as well as certain employees and strategic partners will be informed of the name of the individual being disciplined, the type of discipline (e.g., probation/suspension/expulsion), and the state where the individual resides. The notification policy is intended to balance privacy with safety within the Federation community. No details regarding the report, the reporting party, or individual survivors will be shared in the notification process. Requests for information regarding membership status of any individual should be directed to the Office of the President, but this information will only be disseminated to individuals who are eligible to receive notifications according to the policy. In limited but significant circumstances (i.e., investigations involving (1) rape, stalking, or other violent sexual acts; (2) unwanted physical, written, or verbal contact of a severe or pervasive nature; or (3) any misconduct of a sexual nature involving a minor), an accused individual will be directed to immediately cease all participation in the organization while the investigation is conducted, and leaders who are critical to monitoring the participation of the individual will be notified. Once an investigation of this type has concluded, those who were notified of the investigation will be notified of the outcome even when the result is no disciplinary action.
This Code of Conduct is intended to outline a minimum set of standards expected of covered parties. It sets forth the spirit that the Federation expects of all of its participants toward each other and toward those who work with the Federation at all of its levels. It is intended to be interpreted broadly to instill a respectful, cooperative, and welcoming spirit within covered parties to this Code and in the activities of the Federation.
by Ever Lee Hairston
From the Editor: Given that February is Black History Month, what a wonderful time to get and run this article. Many who read this will know about Ever Lee’s struggles and the significant accomplishments she has lived. She grew up as a part of a sharecropper’s family, got an education, taught business education in Camden, New Jersey, and then spend a couple of decades as an administrator in the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center located within the Department of Health and Human Services in that state. She is a member of the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors and has served both as the vice president and president of the National Federation of the Blind of California. In all these capacities, she has made being of service to her fellow human being her top priority because this is that the core of the identity she sees as Ever Lee Hairston.
These are her external accomplishments, but the more important and internal affirmations often come from somewhere else. Frequently, we measure our success by what our children and grandchildren think of us, and what follows is not only a testament to Ever Lee; it is also a testament to the reverence her family feels for her. Here’s what she says:
Some of you know about my family history. My family lived on a plantation, and though we were anything but poor in spirit, we did know poverty, did know what it was like to be treated as second-class citizens, and did know, whether we called him by that name or not, the experience of living on the master’s plantation. I remember struggling with dreams: what was something to cheer me during the day and what might really come to pass in my life. Adjusting those expectations was molded by my experience in the civil rights movement and the phenomenal leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King. I had the pleasure of marching with him and absorbing his words and dreams into the fabric of my soul. Dr. King helped me define myself as a black woman, but what about also being blind? Would I have a future including children, providing a home, and one day being the matriarch of my family? Through its pioneering work, the National Federation of the Blind helped me live and clarify the answers to those questions.
All of this flashed through my mind when, on June 14, 2021, my granddaughter Breanna and her fiancé Anthony and his parents drove from Northern California to Los Angeles. They invited the family to lunch. It was very quiet as we sat waiting for our food to be served. I suggested that we have a table topic for discussion. Everyone laughed at my idea, and at that moment Brianna stated, “I have a topic.” Then she asked the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question: “Grandma, will you officiate at our wedding?” I was extremely shocked, but I knew how important it would be to achieve this extraordinary opportunity. It didn’t take me long to realize I could not bask too long in the glory of being asked because we had only six weeks between that extraordinary lunch and the equally monumental wedding over which I was to preside.
I experienced many thoughts as I began to plan: what will I wear? What about my nails and hair? What shoes will I wear? How will I use my cane to remain independent? Will it work in the sand? Do I want it in the picture or out of the way for the moment? Can I hold it and still read the Braille for my presentation? How can I ensure that the color of my Brailled cards doesn’t conflict with the colors of the wedding—the answer was clear: use clear plastic cards. Then came perhaps the most important questions: What do I have to do to obtain a license, and how long will that take? Dealing with these issues one at a time, finally I was ready, and imagine my relief when the license arrived one week before the wedding.
On July 26, 2021, I had the honor and privilege to officiate at my granddaughter’s wedding. The ceremony took place on the beautiful beach at Half Moon Bay, California. There I shared with the couple some of the requirements for maintaining a happy and fulfilling marriage:
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not rejoice in wrong things, but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
(First Corinthians 13: 4-7)
The bride and groom recited their thoughtful vows to each other, followed by an exchange of rings as a symbol of their love and commitment. To seal the marriage, they jumped over a broom, an African American tradition. By the authority vested in me in the state of California, I pronounced Anthony and Breanna husband and wife. A long kiss ensued.
Their original plans for a destination wedding were cancelled because of the pandemic, but the wedding was a success. And, for my part, I could walk away with a supreme sense of gratitude; Preparation, preparation, preparation. The hard work paid off; Mission accomplished with love!by Gary Wunder
Marci Carpenter was born in 1959, the youngest of three children gifted to Rodney and Betty Carpenter. It was clear early on that her vision was limited. Within a month the family realized her eyes were not tracking. That being acknowledged, the message about whether she was blind was slow in coming and frustratingly unclear. That lack of clarity would be a problem during many of Marci's formative years, but she believes every experience has value in helping to form character and in understanding her fellow human beings.
Marci's father loved to fish, and she loved it as well. He also shared his love of professional football with her, and these created a tremendous bond between them for which she will be eternally grateful. Fishing is but one of many outdoor activities she remembers. Being a person who spends quality time outside is very important to her. Walks are a way of relieving stress, but just the wind and the sun are a part of her life balance that includes enjoying and being thankful for nature.
As much as she needs and enjoys physical activity and being outside, Marci also is a lover of books, and reading is one of her major pastimes. It has taken her to places and given her experiences through the adventures of others that she has been able to incorporate into her life. She credits reading with helping her appreciate and respect differences in people, respect their cultures, and do so with acceptance and a real appreciation of who they are and the values they hold dear.
Marci remembers loving elementary school, but as she went through the experience of public education, she met with the taunts that our not-so-innocent children are masters at delivering. When she was teased and bullied at school, she was told not to take nicknames such as Blindy, Bat, and Four Eyes seriously because, after all, she was not blind; she just couldn't see as well as some. But, when it came to attending little league softball games, she was told she might be injured because, being blind, she couldn't duck or get out of the way of foul balls.
These contradictions were apparent in what her parents wanted from her and from her school. They wanted her to learn Braille, but for her to use a cane was out of the question. When she took a typing class, she could read from a large print book and type the material, but when the teacher put things on the board for transcription, Marci could not read them. Though she suggested alternatives, Marci was told that since she could not do the work in the way it was prescribed, she should immediately leave the class. This was the year after the passage of landmark legislation known as Public Law 94-142 but before regulations were in place. Though no one was happy with Marci's expulsion, she was not encouraged to be an advocate, and no one stepped forward to demand what would have been a reasonable accommodation. The term wasn't yet in law or regulation, but the concept made sense long before it was recognized as a legal mandate.
Interestingly, when the physical education teacher decided there was no place for Marci in his class, her parents decided to fight back, and alternatives in which she could participate were adopted. This was yet another contradiction for Marci to reconcile: why was there fighting for accommodations in one class and a passive acceptance in one that might be equally important?
Marci was drawn to involvement in public activities by her mother's work in their community. The family matriarch created a park, helped get funding for a historical society, and later was instrumental in the creation of a museum. With this family tradition and orientation, in third grade Marci had her first opportunity to move onto the public stage and do public speaking, her talk being about the magnifiers she used in class. The hope was that better understanding in the student body would mean less bullying, and the chance to address her schoolmates would bolster her self-confidence. The latter came to pass, but the abuse remained a problem.
Even with the adversity, Marci was determined to remain positive and active. At the request of her class, in her freshman year she went to the school's principal and asked permission for the school to host a parade. The principal agreed but said it would take the concurrence of the city council to close off several of the town's streets. Marci went before the council, got permission, and the parade was a success.
Primarily as a result of blindness and the ambiguity about whether or not she was blind, Marci developed contradictory feelings about school. In a place down deep, she loved it; but with the bullying and the denials, she remembers wanting to flunk out, get it over, be done with the conflict. Given that it was always assumed she would go to college, there wasn't much of a future in acting on the emotions that came from the hurt in her heart that urged her to give up and quit. Her feelings about school were further complicated by the fact that she easily made good friends, and the mutual benefit they provided was a source of real joy.
In high school she remembers going to school games on the bus the school provided for the team's rooters. In getting off at the event, she soon learned that if she ran to keep up with her classmates, she might stumble and get unwanted attention. If she didn't run, she would fall behind and never find her group at the game. Running was the better of two bad choices, but again she did not tell her friends she was blind because she wasn't sure where she fit in the world of the blind and the somewhat sighted.
Even with her intelligence and enthusiasm, Marci realized her academic performance was hampered. In working on a senior term paper, she found that notes she quickly wrote were unreadable. She needed more than print; she really did have a significant problem, but blindness still wasn't the word she and others would use to identify it.
Her first work with any blindness entity was with the Hadley School for the Blind and the correspondence course in typing that would substitute for what she had been denied. After that came rehabilitation through the Washington Commission for the Blind. There she received good skill training, but the program did not fundamentally tackle the way she felt about herself. Although she read speeches by Dr. tenBroek and Dr. Jernigan while there, it wasn't until 1981 that she met the National Federation of the Blind. Here she came to understand that both skills and attitude figured into what life could be for blind people and that she was indeed a blind person. These Federationists were suggesting she was blind and that was okay. "These people took me from thinking of myself as a broken sighted person to a proud blind person. It is hard to put into words the difference in those two perspectives. One leaves you feeling you want to be invisible; the other makes you say, I'm a normal, capable woman, and I'm here to live, compete, and be seen for the full human being I am."
Marci has had her share of disappointments in looking for jobs. She once applied for a job preparing food. The requirement was to take food from a freezer, place it in a microwave oven, and then sell it to the waiting customer. She was denied on the grounds she might slip and fall. That rejection didn't stop her. In the paid job she values most, she worked in the University of Colorado disability services office. She helped students gain needed resources and is proud that she brought to that job the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind: ask only for what you need, and since you are the person with the most to win or lose, do for yourself whatever you can. Don't let your success depend on the work of others. She emphasized to students that any skill learned in college would prepare them to be better employees, teaching them to deal with an ever-changing world and giving them practice at the "think outside the box" paradigm required of so many successful blind people.
One message Marci would like to communicate is that she is not what the stereotypic Federationist is portrayed to be. She does not hold some highly prestigious job requiring multiple undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has multiple disabilities including hearing loss, asthma, and Essential Trimmer disease, which is similar to Parkinson's in its manifestations. She deals with chronic depression and wrestles with anxiety, but she demonstrates that none of this stops her from living an active and happy life with her husband Raymond Spicer, partners and soulmates since 2007. She was elected president of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington in 2014, and canvasing affiliate members reveals they couldn't be happier with their choice. She leads by example, leads with wisdom, leads with compassion, and leads by emphasizing that there is nothing more important than clear and frequent communication.
Marci is particularly proud of the role she has played as a part of the National Federation of the Blind Survivor Task Force. As a person who has suffered from sexual and emotional abuse, she knows the feelings, relates to the stories, and provides a path leading to hope and healing. "This has taken more time over the last year than I thought it would, but I consider it time well spent. I want people to know that we listen to them, we believe them, and we intend to make our organization better as a result of experiences expressed through their stories."
When asked what she would like to say about her life and her work in this organization we share, Marci says: "I am a testament to the fact that what people think it takes to be a leader in the Federation is way too narrow. As I mentioned during my acceptance speech at the 2021 National Convention, I was out of the Federation for about a decade, but when I came back, I was welcomed with open arms. All of my experiences make me certain that the Federation is more needed today than ever before. I'm proud to be a part of it, and I urge those who think that they can't become a part to think about my life, my contributions, and how they might follow a similar path. We must go forward together, and through the organization we nurture and support, this is exactly what we will do."by Doris Belusic
From the Editor: This article was originally printed in The Blind Canadian, Volume 20, December 2021, a publication of the Canadian Federation of the Blind (CFB). Readers of the Braille Monitor know about the stellar work of Mary Ellen Gabias, her work as a former member of our national staff, her marriage to Paul, their move to Canada, and their starting of an organization similar to the Federation in its philosophy and being run by the blind. Here, in substantial part, is the article:
It is with mixed emotions that we in the Canadian Federation of the Blind see the retirement of our longtime president, Mary Ellen Gabias. Of course, it is hard to let go of a president like her!
The position of president is demanding, and Mary Ellen served in this capacity from May 2012 until this past September of 2021. Before that she served many years as our first vice president. She fulfilled her roles with dedication, dignity, diplomacy, wisdom, and spirit. This she did while giving generously of her time, knowledge, experience, energy and friendship. Mary Ellen was mentor extraordinaire.
Mary Ellen, along with her husband, Dr. Paul Gabias, founded Federationism in Canada in 1992 and founded the CFB in 1999. Paul, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria in 2000 for his work in bringing Federationism to Canada. Due to their vast early involvement in the National Federation of the Blind in the United States, Mary Ellen and Paul knew the importance and value of such an historic, grassroots, membership-driven, advocacy and mentoring organization—by the blind and for the blind—and knew what such an organization can offer to the blind. They wanted to bring this successful blindness movement model to Canada. Until then, Canada knew no such thing, and for many blind Canadians, Federationism was something foreign and new, an eye-opener, no pun intended. It was what blind Canadians needed—this knowledge that one can learn to be more independent, confident, successful, and live the lives we want if given appropriate blindness skills training, information, and opportunities. We learned about not bending to societal low expectations or to the stigmas and stereotypes of blindness. We learned about being advocates for the greater good and being advocates for ourselves in our own daily lives. We learned about the importance of having a positive can-do attitude toward our blindness. We learned about the NFB-style long, white cane—better for mobility—and to view our canes with pride instead of shame, to see them as tools of ability, not inability, of independence, not dependence. And we learned about powerful Federation philosophy:
Through Paul and Mary Ellen, we gained knowledge about the three world-renowned United States NFB intensive blindness skills training centres and about NFB annual national conventions—the largest gatherings of blind people in the world, at about 3,000 attendees each year! We’ve met many Federation leaders and members and have listened to and talked with many successful role models: blind lawyers, blind educators, blind business people, blind writers, and blind parents.
This takes me back to the early Federation days in Canada, when in 1997 Paul and Mary Ellen, at major expense, sponsored over ninety of us Canadian newbies to attend and experience our first-ever NFB convention, held that year in New Orleans. That was some week! Talk about educational, inspirational, and life-changing experiences for many of us who had never known that such events, that such learning grounds, existed. This was mentorship at its best!
Yes, it was Paul and Mary Ellen’s mission to expose blind Canadians to the benefits of Federation conventions, to bring together blind people, to learn from each other. They felt it was critically important that we in Canada know the value of attending these NFB conventions, but also to hold our own Canadian Federation gatherings—hence, our CFB conventions! The value of these conventions should not be underestimated.
Mary Ellen was instrumental in our CFB conventions, including writing and presenting many informative and entertaining speeches and banquet addresses, which are preserved for all to read on CFB’s website, and published within issues of our own CFB magazine, The Blind Canadian, which she also helped establish.
Mary Ellen was very instrumental in areas of blindness advocacy, including many government-related issues, such as equitable library service. She must have written hundreds of letters over the years. She gave media interviews, attended important meetings, ran our monthly national CFB meetings, and helped plan and attended our rallies/ protests, as CFB advocated for positive change. Among these were several human rights cases and issues such as the need for better blindness rehabilitation services in Canada. Mary Ellen was also a strong advocate opposing Canada’s old, pervasive charity model, which in many ways has held the blind back, especially the working-age blind. The list of her advocacy work goes on and on.
When I mentioned that Mary Ellen was mentor extraordinaire, it wasn’t an exaggeration. She was knowledgeable on so many aspects concerning blindness and has helped many people on their own blindness journeys. And since she is the mother of four grown children, she has been able to offer a lot of experiential guidance to those who asked about blind parenting.
Because of the Gabias family, our thinking in Canada has shifted about blindness, about ourselves, and about possibilities. All this and more is what Federationism is about. We, the blind in Canada, were given this gift of knowledge—an awakening. Today, Federationism is growing and expanding across this country. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Mary Ellen and Paul for all of their hard work and a HUGE THANK YOU to Mary Ellen as she retires from the president’s chair. May your retirement be joyful! But luckily for us, we still get to keep you, one chair over – as our Immediate Past President!
by Gary Wunder
Many articles have been and will continue to be written about the magic of Braille. Less well covered is the magic of print and what it has meant to be a blind person who cannot read it directly and the need and yearning for the secreted-away information.
I can’t count the number of times running my hands over what to me were smooth surfaces. Their texture would vary a bit since the smoothness of a written newspaper was rougher than what people called the shiny magazine. I noticed that the texture of book pages could be different, but my fingers could not discern any patterns that would let me read what my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles would read and make come alive for me. Dad read me the news; mom read me the product catalogs. If it was a product I was interested in receiving for a birthday or Christmas gift, maybe she would read it to me once, twice, or even ten times if I could get her to do it. Woe be to the person who had a good story, for I never tired of hearing them read.
I decided that if I were ever to write a science fiction book, one of the first things it would contain would be a reading machine that would unmask print. In 1975 a pioneering inventor named Raymond Kurzweil demonstrated an early version of his product to James Gashel, the head of our Washington office at the time. Jim got a demonstration for then-President Jernigan, who subsequently introduced it to the leadership of the National Federation of the Blind. It wasn't long before demonstrations of it appeared in the Braille Monitor based on Ray's presentation before the national convention. I could see my dreams coming true, print almost being hearable and touchable, and I knew I was living in exciting times and was a part of a cutting-edge organization.
Time moved along, prototypes became products, the cost of those products dropped from $50,000 to $30,000 to $20,000, and eventually they became affordable for some of us to have at our local library. When the product was able to run using an off-the-self scanner and a personal computer, some of us could even have this technology at home. What a magical time in which to live—one in which I could walk into the public library, rejoice in the scent of all those books, and realize that they didn't just belong to someone else but were mine to read as well. I got a library card, checked out four books, scanned them, and then proudly posted them to Bookshare.
To some extent print had been conquered, but only if one was in the right environment. A leaflet handed to me on the street was still unreadable. A memo passed out at a work meeting was the same. The information was right in front of me but not really. A sign on the door conveyed no information except that there was information I couldn't have. Would that ever change? The science fiction reader in me said it certainly would; the realist in me said it wasn't likely to be soon enough to help me.
On October 22, 2001, many assembled for the groundbreaking that would begin our dream of building the Jernigan Institute. At that ceremony President Maurer talked about what the blind needed and how, through our organization, we might get some of those things. One he talked about was a handheld reader, something that could be taken to the print rather than the print being taken to it. What made this different from science fiction was that he wasn't talking about something that would happen in 2050; he and Ray Kurzweil, the restless genius, were discussing publicly whether such a machine would be commercially available in four years or five. What would it cost? What would it look like? No one really knew, though President Maurer did hold a little box he thought might approximate the size of the unit, one he called a pocket-sized reading machine.
Ray Kurzweil and the NFB started putting action behind those publicly spoken words nearly a year later when President Maurer approached the officers and Board of Directors with the proposal to start building software that would run on smaller machines. No machine was yet available to undertake the task of capturing a picture, processing the poor image that was likely to come from a user who couldn't easily focus, and then do the optical character recognition. But Ray Kurzweil believed that the power of technology would double every eighteen months, and that meant that by the time the software had been developed and tested, there would indeed be the hardware to run it.
By 2004 we had a version of the software that would run on a PC under Windows and used a camera. What magic to hear the click of a camera and within two or three seconds hear the reading begin. In a year the software was running on a smaller machine, and by 2006 the KNFB Reader was being produced and sold. It was not exactly pocket-sized, but it was handheld, it was portable, and it was, without a doubt, a reading machine. The machine consisted of four discrete parts: a camera, a PDA, a circuit board that connected those devices both electronically and mechanically, and a leather case. The discrete parts all arrived at our headquarters separately, and Will Schwatka, the voice of the Federation in so many reading projects including this magazine, was the project manager charged with assembling them. He was assisted by Lou Anne Blake and none other than David Patrick Maurer, the son of Marc Maurer, our Immediate Past President, and Patricia Maurer, our organization’s First Lady. Each member of the team got a bin and oversaw the product assembly, loading the KNFB software, and then testing each unit. Will Schwatka remembers the excitement of working with such groundbreaking technology. "I remember taking one of the units home, showing it to my friends, and watching as they marveled at this organization I was working for that did such cutting-edge work. After giving them a demonstration, some of them wanted to know if they could buy stock in the new machine." Will remembers his work fondly as "one of the coolest jobs I have ever had."
For my part, I remember buying a machine and flying home while experiencing my first look at an in-flight magazine. On that flight I learned two lessons: the machine could read a magazine, but not everything the machine could read was worth reading.
Though we had a portable reading machine, it wasn't ideal. The more technology we use to deal with blindness, the harder it is to decide what to carry and what to leave at home. With the KNFB Reader, there was the machine and then two chargers: one for the PDA and one for the camera. If I had to choose among a phone, a book or book reader, a device to read print, and either a laptop or notetaker, would there be enough print to justify a reader? Sometimes my answer was yes, and sometimes it was no.
But that technology Ray talked about kept evolving, and soon the KNFB Reader was on the cell phone. The Nokia N82 had a five-megapixel camera and a brighter Xenon flash. The phone also had a computer fast enough that within two or three seconds of the flash came well-articulated text, and the accuracy was surprisingly good. A reader in our pocket was real. Now I and other KNFB users didn't have to make a choice between phone and reader; they were the same.
Sometimes technology change is beneficial, and at other times it is just plain inconvenient. For blind people the iPhone was a breakthrough that has made tremendous changes in the way we can benefit from portable technology. Having out-of-the-box screen reading was the model we wanted, and the thought by Apple that went into making touchscreens a blessing and not a barrier rocked our world.
Unfortunately, the 2009 introduction of this device presented a big problem for the KNFB Reader. Of course, many of us wanted an already accessible iPhone, but the camera used in the initial versions lacked the resolution we needed and didn't let us control important elements in getting an image that could be recognized and put into text. Once again the KNFB Reader was a standalone one function machine and something of a frustration for those of us who wanted the power of the iPhone and Android devices that soon followed. As these other smartphones became available, Nokia's interest in maintaining the phones we loved faded. Finding sources and convincing people that the phone that ran the software would continue to be supported required significant effort.
Our desire to have the KNFB Reader run on a smartphone and specifically at first the iPhone was intense, but we could not simply wish technology development forward, especially when that technology belonged to someone else. It wasn't until 2014, almost five years, until the iPhone brought sufficient camera resolution and the ability to control it with software that a version came to market. Jim Gashel has stories to tell about being at an Apple store all night so he would be first in line for the newest version. Finally, our waiting paid off, and we were able to get an image we could use. The KNFB Reader indeed was then able to be on popular and readily available smartphones and the newly available computer power they contained. Our unique Field of View Report was eventually replaced by a simpler tone for focus, and our pictures got better. So too did the recognized text we read.
Having a product on the market challenged and stretched us from the beginning. We had to dedicate resources to development, and Mark Riccobono, our newly-elected President, established a special LLC for the KNFB Reader. We had to figure out a way to market it and asked Michael Hingson to undertake the task. We had Scott White handling our bulk sales to schools, rehabilitation agencies, and private agencies that wanted to help bring portable reading to the blind. Rachel Olivero was involved at every level in this process, being one of our most faithful testers and helping to set our direction as the product moved forward. Joel Zimba handled technical support and spurring on the development of the product. Hai Wyn Lee was one of our most helpful testers and brought along many good ideas that found their way into the product. In addition, almost one-hundred NFB volunteers were involved in our work and spent countless hours testing, troubleshooting, and talking up this new technological miracle.
But the NFB is not so much in the business of business. We are advocates, and a part of that advocacy is being pioneers. We prove something can be done, and we aren't disappointed when someone does it better. In a generous move in the spirit of providing what we can to blind people, the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors decided to provide the KNFB Reader without charge in its NFB-NEWSLINE® application. Though the version does not offer some of the interfaces in the full version, it does allow for the same scanning and reading for which this product is known.
Unlike when we began the effort to develop a pocket-sized reading machine, blind people now have Microsoft SEEING AI without charge, and several commercial offerings with good recognition and responsiveness are available for less than thirty dollars.
The time has come for us to turn over the KNFB Reader to Sensotec, one of the developers that has been with us in this since the beginning. This company will change the name of the app, will take over its maintenance, and offer whatever upgrades it wishes. Owners of the KNFB Reader need not worry; their product will be supported.
Like the Speakquilizer, the KNFB Reader will be remembered for not only demonstrating a product but bringing it to the market for blind people. In keeping with our tradition, when things evolve, we move on to another challenge to improve the lives of blind people.
I am proud of what we did, grateful for being allowed to live through it, and glad for whatever small part I played in testing and eventually buying our machines. When dreams come true, they must be replaced; thank you NFB for opening a space for a new science fiction dream and making my day-to-day interaction with the world just a little bit fuller and considerably easier.
by Jolean O’Connell
From the Editor: As an organization we are very proud that we represent all blind people and that blind people are a cross-section of those who make up the world. The difficulty has always come when we get to decisions about what we can and should do for blind rights when there are other issues that complicate things. In the case of mental illness, we have tended to defer to those who work with the mentally ill for two reasons: we have regarded the professionals who work with the mentally ill as experts and have been very aware of our lack of expertise when it comes to understanding the meaning of a diagnosis and how to react to it. It is a bit humorous to think about the latitude we have given to professionals in this field, given the difficulty we have at times faced with those who believe they know more about blindness than we do. Every analogy breaks down, of course, and I think many of us are still very unclear about what decision-making faculties are compromised by mental illness and which are simply deemed as prerogatives by the professionals. Again, we have little knowledge of how to run institutions and have been hesitant to assert what we do not know. All of this has sometimes meant that we may have overlooked fundamental human rights or not given them the priority they deserve simply because figuring them out and then asserting them is more difficult than in cases that don’t involve institutionalization.
Jolean O’Connell is making her first appearance in the Braille Monitor with this article. I hope many of us will be informed by what she says, seriously consider her experiences and recommendations, and figure out a way to assert the rights of blind people that should help to make all of us happier, more functional human beings. Here is what Jolean says:
Greetings, all. In my nineteen years of life, I have been admitted to psychiatric hospitals a total of eight times. I come to you with my experiences of inaccessibility and to talk with you about the way the lack of education about blindness on the part of hospital staff gets in the way of quality care. I want to make clear the ways we can address these injustices and implement positive changes in facilities that deal with people who are undergoing mental health issues.
I became a cane and Braille user at the age of four, so you can imagine how vital these two things are to my life. They are almost more than tools—they are a part of me.
More often than not, those of us who are nonviolent by nature are integrated with those who are rather aggressive. This poses many issues affecting my having and using my books and canes. The problem with hardcover books is because of the spines that can be broken and used as weapons against others or oneself. The same is true with the canes that can easily be used as weapons.
For the first six times I was hospitalized, the keeping of my books and canes was not a big issue. Those problems began my seventh and eighth visits. I’ll start with the seventh. I could not get access to books, because I was too far away from a location in which Braille books were stored, and it would have been quite inconvenient if someone were to drive such a long distance to bring them to me. I was only there for eight days. My cane was taken, but I fought for it and got it back two days later. I had lice, which was treated hours after I was admitted, so I was doing “human guide” with patients and staff alike until my cane was returned. I was afraid the heads of those assisting me would become infested, too, and it was a very depressing and uncomfortable situation. Treatment for lice is done twice within a week’s time, which is why there was cause for worry. The second round is to ensure that every bug has been killed. Therefore, to say that I was relieved when my mobility aid came into my possession again is a vast understatement.
During my stay, I was put on a women’s trauma unit, where aggressive patients do not usually reside. We are all grown. The psychotic patients were put with us trauma patients, so I was constantly in danger, and therapy groups were very few and far between because of the nonsense actively overwhelming our unit. I sat in chairs for hours as people drew pictures, played Pictionary, or watched television. I had to be content with nothing but the horrifying sounds of individuals being attacked and my own despair to keep me company. We were fortunate and got to use the phone frequently, because with COVID, visitors are not allowed. Discharge day did not come soon enough. It haunts me, even now.
I am strongly against medications for a multitude of reasons. Therefore, I was allowed to get information about another treatment option but did not take it up due to potential medical complications, which I would not have been in a position to deal with at the time. I expressed my concern to the individual who had let me discuss this drugless path, and my doctor told me I could not participate in it since I could not read the consent. I was so exhausted that I didn’t think to tell him that forms could be read to me, so I just tried to explain my reasons and let this pass. The point is, if someone is interested in a treatment option and is blind, not being allowed to go through with whatever it may be because it is in print is unacceptable.
My final hospitalization is brief, yet, in a way, more horrifying. I was on a unit with both males and females this time; all of us are adults. It sounded like my cane would be taken, but I got out of that one, so I had it for the entirety of my stay. I was close enough to a place where books could be delivered, and thankfully they let me have them. We had only three therapy groups per day, which meant more hours spent doing practically nothing.
Discharge time is where things take a turn for the worse. I was signing a form, both cameras and humans keeping a very watchful eye. My signature is illegible more often than not, and a staff member had an issue with this fact, even going so far as to say that she couldn’t let me leave with that. She had someone look at how I signed other things, and another staff member said, “Barely,” which was humiliating, at best.
I was almost literally trapped, because I can't write what they judged as legible print, and an employee wouldn't sign as a witness saying I got the information I was supposed to have. I have only ever been on locked units, and this was one. Sobbing, I finally exited the premises, terrified that I would be brought back immediately by staff for showing such strong emotion. I have never recovered.
Were there some people who had tried to make such environments such as these as accessible as they could for me? Absolutely. And I thank them, greatly. However, the injustices run rampant, and I am quite tired. I refuse to sit by, whether I am on the in- or out-side. I propose that we, as the National Federation of the Blind, come together to eradicate the nonsense and conduct advocacy work with psychiatric hospitals all across the country. I encourage you to come forth with your stories.
To the hospitals, I say that canes are just as much a mobility aid as wheelchairs. Putting us in wheelchairs and taking away our autonomy is not providing us with the proper accommodation. Please have areas within the building or something of the sort for blind patients, or research how to incorporate audio description so that we may watch movies and television along with the others in the many hours that we have spare time. Those are just a few things you can do to improve the quality of care for the blind. We deserve so much better. We are humans, too.
by Steve Jacobson
From the Editor: Steve Jacobson is one of my favorite people. He is kind, thoughtful, deliberative, and insightful. He thinks a lot about what he wants to say and then says it in a way that is both clear, informative, and friendly. Here is what he says about believing in and taking responsibility for ourselves:
Last June, Gary Wunder described an experience he had at an airport where two people physically saved him from a fast and ungraceful trip down a flight of stairs that probably would not have ended well for him. Around that same time, I read some other discussions on our email lists regarding independence, including the notion that it was no longer a relevant term. This caused me to think some about independence, responsibility, and even the role of help that we receive. Even though we live in a changing world, our ability to succeed as blind people is affected by these factors. Let me set the stage for this discussion with a fictional trip through an airport. However, while fictional, certainly some of my own tendencies are represented.
Jack is a blind college student who has solid skills and is an experienced traveler. As he returns to school after the holidays, he has to change flights fairly late in the evening, and he doesn't have much time to get from one plane to the next. If he misses his connecting flight, he has to spend the night in an uncomfortable plastic chair at the airport. He has been at this airport before, so he has a pretty good sense of where he has to go.
It had been a long day already, and Jack was tired. His cane technique left something to be desired as he raced down an uncarpeted hall to his next flight, but it was still adequate to detect most obstructions. He had just traveled this same route in the opposite direction when he went home for his break only a week ago. As he traveled quickly down the hallway toward the departure gate of his next flight, he heard someone shout from some distance away that he should be careful. Although he acknowledged this warning, people were always saying that to him. There are those who would urge him to be careful when getting out of bed in the morning.
Suddenly, Jack's cane and then his foot struck something that threw him off balance. His other foot quickly flew from beneath him, and he was momentarily flying through the air until he landed with some impact on his back, cushioned only slightly by his backpack. The Braille notetaker that he had around his neck went flying, and he heard the sound of gurgling water coming from inside his backpack. His first thought was "There goes that extra bottle of water I purchased."
An airport employee quickly arrived on the scene to see if Jack was hurt. Fortunately, he only had a few scratches and bruises, but the inside of his backpack was a mess, and his Braille notetaker appeared to be damaged as well. It turned out that Jack had collided with one of those wet floor signs that one often finds in public buildings. That caused him to trip, but his other foot landed on the wet, slippery floor. He was lucky and knew that he could have been hurt much more seriously.
Does Jack have any kind of legal recourse? Were there some violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act? Could there have been some kind of warnings in place that would have prevented this accident? Perhaps all of the above could be true, but that is for another article that would need to be written by one of our lawyers.
Throughout the life of the National Federation of the Blind and for years before our founding, blind people have been working hard to move from the back rooms of our families and almost complete dependency to become able to manage our own homes and be caregivers for others. This has been a long, complicated, and difficult journey which has required a lot of effort on our part as blind people. We have not completed that journey yet, although we have made great progress.
This journey is not an easy one. The "Wet Floor" signs that are placed in our path can be frustrating. It is not unreasonable for us to look for easy solutions. Still, part of this journey means that we must be willing to accept responsibility for the actions that we might take in a careless moment. We have a pretty good set of skills that, if correctly used, really can keep us safe. It is only natural that, as human beings, we are going to occasionally stretch those skills beyond their limits. We need to remember that sighted people stretch their skills with negative consequences every day. One has only to look at the frequency of car accidents to realize this is the case. It is therefore very important for part of Jack's analysis of his experience to be what he should have done differently, as Gary did in his article.
Some might say that Jack's biggest mistake was not taking seriously the warning he received to be careful. Yet, for us to become dependent upon such help or to assume that others will always be there to save us from ourselves would be a major step backward in our journey to independence and self-sufficiency. To continue this journey, we must separate areas where help is sometimes required from those areas where we can manage situations on our own by developing and refining our skills. This leads us to the terms "independence" and "interdependence."
On one of our email lists, someone said that independence is no longer a relevant goal for blind people. Nobody is truly independent, and what we must strive for is interdependence. It was further said that one could only claim they were independent if they could live by themselves on an island. In my opinion it is dangerous for us to follow that path, discarding independence as a meaningful goal.
Independence and interdependence are two very separate things. They are not mutually exclusive; all of us, blind or sighted, are dependent in one way or another on other people. Interdependence is not a goal to be achieved, but rather, it is a description of the status quo. Certainly, one should have a goal to manage interdependence effectively, but one cannot "become" interdependent, because all of us are already interdependent.
Independence is less a description of how things are than a goal to be achieved. Rather than being an absolute state that requires one to survive alone on an island, it is a relative term. Independence may not mean the same thing for all of us. For one thing, many more of us have disabilities in addition to blindness than was the case fifty years ago. Yet, striving to do as much as we can do independently is as relevant today as it ever was, even if it has different meanings for different people. Here's why.
Most people with whom we interact picture blindness as having their eyes closed. What they imagine is how blindness looks without any training in the alternative skills of blindness and without the experience we have as blind people. Since most people mean well, many will tend to warn us of dangers they see based upon closing their eyes. For example, more than once I've had someone join me as I was walking, warning me of every curb or uneven surface, only to go their own way when their route diverged from mine. They gave no thought of how I got to the point where they joined me and little thought to what would happen to me when I continued on my route without their constant council. They only thought that the information they provided me, even if distracting, was necessary while they were traveling with me. Of course, I tried to view such encounters as opportunities to educate, and I hope I am generally successful.
Another example of how this can work involves a conversation I had with someone when I was out for a walk. They warned me that there were three cars parked along the street on which I was walking during the next two blocks. I replied with a smile that my cane would find them. However, they noted that they had observed me running into a parked car before our conversation. What actually happened was that my cane contacted a car, and I then walked around it as was supposed to happen. However, my cane contacting the parked car was interpreted as "running into the car." In other words, my success was seen as a failure in their eyes, because they did not understand the purpose of my cane.
Yet another example of this process occurred when I was once stepping on an escalator with which I was familiar. A well-meaning member of the public rapidly approached me from behind and grabbed my cane arm just as I was ready to step aboard. As they approached, they were saying "No, no, no!" Their intervention threw me off balance. I grabbed the railing, and they partly grabbed me as we stepped aboard. I do not remember exactly what was said, but it was to the effect that it was a good thing they were there to catch me. They had no idea that they had accidentally caused the problem they thought they had solved, and the experience reinforced, in their mind, the need to help me. Had I not carefully thought through what happened, I could easily have wondered what I did wrong.
The point here is that assistance is not always helpful even though there are instances when we might need it. If we don't have some faith in ourselves and the skills we have developed, such help can undermine the confidence we have in ourselves. If I had not had confidence in my abilities, I may have believed I narrowly escaped an accident on the escalator and that I could not avoid the parked cars. The idea of striving for independence is necessary to offset this unintended consequence of certain kinds of help. The journey we are traveling is sometimes like walking uphill. It is harder to move forward than it is to slide back.
So, what does this mean in our fictional scenario above? If we're honest with ourselves, it isn't really that fictional. Most of us who travel have found ourselves being a little sloppy in our travel techniques after a long day and in a familiar environment. Still, Jack's mistake was not that he didn't immediately put on the brakes when someone told him to be careful. His mistake was in being a little sloppy with his travel techniques. While it might have been appropriate to thank the person who offered the warning, his concern going forward has to be how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. In other words, the main lesson is not that we're lucky that there are sighted people everywhere to help us if we need it. Rather, it needs to be how we can avoid making the same mistake again so we don't need to assume that someone must be present to rescue us. Interdependence also includes the need for each of us as blind people to help one another to strengthen our skills and also to learn from one another how to avoid common mistakes.
One of the greatest gifts I receive by being a member of the National Federation of the Blind is to be surrounded by others who, through their instruction and by their example, can show me how to overcome those areas that challenge me. Together, we can all continue traveling this uphill journey toward living even more meaningful lives as full participants in society. This means, though, that we must be responsible for ourselves.by Hannah Neff
From the Editor: This article was sent to me by Dana Ard, the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Idaho. It is reprinted with the kind permission of the publisher, and any changes are made to conform to Monitor style. Here is the way Dana introduces the article:
Jordana Engebretsen was presented with the National Teacher of Blind Children award at the NFB National Convention in July. She has high expectations for the blind children that she teaches and expects them to do things that others feel are impossible. This article describes a Christmas activity that took place last Saturday, December 8, 2021, in Coeur d’ Alene and was published in the Coeur d’Alene Press. Jordana is a member of the NFB Treasure Valley Chapter.
Ten-year-old Emilia Paulding, a visually impaired student, hands a hand-decorated Christmas card to Rhonda McCann of Post Falls at Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters on Saturday.
Smiles, carols, and cards filled the room as a group of happy givers prepared to bless the community.
Six visually impaired students, guided by volunteers, spent their Saturday crafting Christmas cards, putting together goodie bags, and practicing Christmas carols at North Idaho College, preparing for their show that afternoon at Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters in Coeur d'Alene.
“I feel like we all had a lot of fun,” said student Jessalyn Wright, 14. “I know I definitely had fun making the cards and the packages, and practicing the songs.”
Six-year-old Aubriella Gibson said she was a little scared singing in front of everyone at first but had fun. She said her favorite part was giving the gifts after the performance.
The event was put together by Jordana Engebretsen, a teacher for the visually impaired.
“The main thing is for them to understand that they are not alone,” Engebretsen said. She also says she wants the students to have the opportunity to give so they can understand it’s more of a blessing to share with others.
“I know in my own life, if I give I get more reward than receiving,” Engebretsen said. “That’s what I want the kids to feel.”
Engebretsen has been blind for more than twenty years and contracts her teaching services through TechMission. Every few months, she hosts the students for a “My Environment” activity. It’s a chance for them to socialize and enjoy doing things on their own.
“It’s really important that they know other people that are like them and that they enjoy things in a different way, but they can enjoy it together,” said Tina Johnson, a volunteer and teacher for the visually impaired. Johnson said she got a lot of joy out of watching the kids do activities on their own that other people will unintentionally help them with because they think the kids need assistance when they don’t.
Carla Carnegie, of Willow Song Music Therapy in Otis Orchards, Washington, came out to help the students perform at the coffee shop. Carnegie worked with student Alex Owens, thirteen, since he was seven.
The crowd, including Rhonda McCann of Post Falls, cheered as the kids sang their Christmas carols, including solo performances. “It was amazing,” McCann said. “I just think they’re amazing kids.”Blind children, students, and adults are making powerful strides in education and leadership every day across the United States. For more than eighty years, the National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds of thousands of blind people into reality. With support from individuals like you, we continue to provide powerful programs and critical resources for decades to come. We sincerely hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by including the National Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in your estate planning. It is easier than you think.
With your help, the NFB will continue to:
The National Federation of the Blind legacy society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and recognizes the generosity and vision of members and special friends of the National Federation of the Blind who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option. You can join the Dream Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.
You can specify that a fixed sum of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.
You can specify that a percentage of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or other accounts.
You can name the National Federation of the Blind as the beneficiary on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can turn any checking or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest ways to leave a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime and you can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.
If you do decide to create or revise your will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.
Visit our Planned Giving webpage or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.
Together with love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams into reality.
Since the start of 2019, the NFB:
Just imagine what we’ll do next year and, with your help, what can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse, tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the Blind.
The NFB accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can make arrangements to pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you have.
General donations help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people live the lives they want. You can call 410-659-9314 and elect option 4 to donate by phone. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money order. Visit our Ways to Give webpage for more information.
Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program, supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making recurring monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, call 410-659-9314, extension 2213, or fill out our PAC Donation Form online.
If you have questions about giving, please send an email to [email protected] or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422.
by LaShawna Fant
From the Editor: LaShawna is a wonderful source of information who has graciously responded to our request for more authors on more subjects. I start with the two words thank you, but it is hard for the gratitude I feel to be carried by two small letter groupings. Here is Lashawna's latest contribution:
Note: In August and October of 2021, Sabrina Gilleylen shared with members of the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of the Black Leaders Serving for Advancement of Blind Professionals Working Group. The celebrity stylist generously offered information concerning hair, make-up, and skincare during these events. My purpose in doing this interview is to share her work and accomplishments with a larger audience.
Dr. LaShawna Fant: Hello, Sabrina. I truly appreciate your agreeing to do this interview. Please introduce yourself to the readers.
Sabrina Gilleylen: My name is Sabrina Gilleylen. I am from Amory, Mississippi. I have one amazing and talented son named Tyler Jayden. I have seven brothers and sisters, an amazing father who served thirty-five years in the military, and a resilient mother who is an angel in human form. I am a celebrity hairstylist, writer, and mentor. I love to sing, shop, and travel around the world. I also enjoy going to the movies, acting, doing voice-over jobs, and spending time with family.
LF: That is very interesting. In your earlier years, what did you plan as a career?
SG: In my earlier years, I wanted to be a famous movie star, singer, and fashion designer. I would draw pictures of hairstyles and clothing during school hours, and afterward, I would go home to bring them to life on my dolls. My father was an elder in the church, and my mother was an evangelist. The church was all I knew. My brothers, sisters, and I would travel to churches all around Mississippi singing gospel songs. We were like the Jackson five. I would lead just about all the songs at church. I also sang in competitions in school and college.
LF: What prompted you to journey into the field of being a stylist?
SG: It all started at the age of five. I would watch my mother style and braid my sisters' hair. She would also cut my brothers' hair. My mother was a seamstress, drummer, and singer. She was a woman of many talents. We did not have the money to go to the barbershop or salon, so she became the stylist and barber. My mother wanted to be a hairstylist, but she couldn't due to her having children so fast and traveling the world with my father in the military. I knew that there was more than just styling hair behind a chair. I wanted more. I moved to a fruitful area which was Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounded myself with people who were doing the same thing I wanted to do.
LF: How long have you been a celebrity stylist?
SG: I have been a celebrity stylist for big name celebrities for over seven years, but in all honesty, I have been a celebrity stylist for seventeen years. The reason I say this is because I have called all the people who have sat in my chair celebrities. If not for my regular clients, I would not be who I am today.
LF: That's amazing! It is great for you to value each of your clients like that. Sabrina, in your profession, what are some of your goals?
SG: One of my goals is to create my own make-up line catering to the visually impaired community. I also want to open a hair school that caters to people with scalp and skin disorders. I want to become a Trichologist. My goal is to bring healthy hair back and to grow healthy hair all over the world.
LF: As a celebrity stylist, what are some opportunities you have been blessed to get your hands into?
SG: As a celebrity stylist, I was blessed to work with the late Charles Gregory, who was my mentor. I invested in his class "Cinema Secrets." This class taught me everything I needed to know about the TV, film, and movie industry. He worked on projects with Tyler Perry’s "Madea," Halle Berry, Cicely Tyson, and many, many more. He was a true legend in the hair industry. Also, in my career, I have been blessed to work with great people such as Jewel Tankard, Travis Scott, August Alsina, and Big Boi (from OutKast), to name a few. The first professional TV series I worked on was The Walking Dead, season six. I just finished working on the movie Rumble in the Dark, starring Aaron Eckhart and Bella Thorn.
LF: Those were some awesome opportunities! What are some things you aim to represent or display when working with clients or on sets?
SG: I aim to represent loyalty, honesty, and trust. I aim to execute the visions the of the producer, writers, and directors. I aim to create and bring their visions to life. I will make sure that my clients are taken care of in the best way possible by listening to their needs, desires, and wants as well.
LF: Sabrina, what are a few tips you would like for people to remember concerning overall self-care and beauty?
SG: The number one tip I would love to share is to drink plenty of water every day and to enjoy and live life every day like it's your last. Moisturize your skin daily. You can take daily vitamins such as Vitamin D, C, and E.
LF: That is truly some beneficial information. Where can people find out more about your products and a published book you are included in, Sabrina?
SG: You can find me on Facebook and Instagram: Msbrina00
My webpage: www.ladybrina.com
LF: We are so thrilled you agreed to share with the members of the National Federation of the Blind in a couple of public events. Why were you so willing and honored to do this?
SG: Making people smile and happy is my passion. I love to enhance the beauty of every soul that I encounter. It is what I was born to do.
LF: Who have been some of your inspirations, mentors, or role models?
SG: The number one role model in my life is God. He's the best role model ever! During my journey, my role models have been my mother, Linda Gilleylen, Jewel Tankard, Joe Dudley, Charles Gregory, Anita Lynsey, George Stone, and Regina Baker. These individuals have been very influential in my life since I have been in the hair industry.
LF: Thanks for sharing in a public forum with members of our organization and friends on behalf of the working group Blind Professionals. What are some final words you would like to impart?
SG: Live life every day as if it's your last day on earth. Be kind to everyone. Love as God loves.
by Terry Boone
As a service to our members and the general public, the National Federation of the Blind operates a blindness products store known as the Independence Market, which sells mostly low-tech items, designed to enhance the everyday independence of blind people. We will be highlighting a different product every month and listing sale products from time to time.
TALKING NON-CONTACT THERMOMETER: This infrared thermometer provides an almost instant reading of body temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. To use the thermometer, simply point it at your forehead from a distance of two to four inches and pull the trigger. The results are spoken in either English or Spanish and displayed in 1/2-inch-high numerals on a backlit LCD screen. The thermometer also has a room temperature mode. The unit powers off automatically and uses two AA batteries (included). AIM07T $50.00
TALKING ORAL THERMOMETER: This clinical thermometer gives temperature readings in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. Power-on the thermometer and wait for the prompt to “please measure” before inserting the thermometer under your tongue. In eight seconds, the result is spoken and displayed in 3/4-inch-high numerals on a backlit LCD screen. Six languages can be selected, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Russian. The unit powers off automatically. Uses three AG13 (1.5V) batteries (included). AIM03T $18.00
LADIES GOLD BRACELET BRAILLE WATCH: Montiel Swiss watches are known for their "flat look" design, craftsmanship and styling. This gold quartz Braille wristwatch has two raised dots at the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock hours. It also features a gold-plated adjustable bracelet band and gold-plated case. AIB37GB $155.00
THE PROPHET (by Kahlil Gibran—Audio) LSA32CD $5.00
(READ BY KENNETH JERNIGAN)
THE PROPHET (by Kahlil Gibran—Braille) LSA32B $7.50
CAMERA BAG AIA48B $1.00
MONOCULAR WITH CASE AIL75M $3.00
For more information about the products available from the Independence Market, contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at (410) 659-9314, extension 2216, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Our staff will be happy to assist.
Notices and information in this section may be of interest to Monitor readers. We are not responsible for the accuracy of the information; we have edited only for space and clarity.
Now in its sixth year, the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition annually awards three blind people from anywhere in the world, up to $25,000 each to carry out an incredible idea that will shatter misconceptions about blindness.
The Holman Prize is named for James Holman, a blind 19th century explorer, (https://holman.lighthouse-sf.org/who-is-james-holman/) who is the most prolific private traveler of anyone, blind or sighted, before the era of modern transportation.
The only qualifications to submit an application to win a Holman Prize are that you must be blind or legally blind, be eighteen years old by October 1, 2022, and speak English. All you have to do is make a ninety-second video pitching your idea, upload it to YouTube, and then fill out the application form on the Holman Prize website.
But if you’re not quite ready to upload your ninety-second YouTube pitch and fill out the application, there’s no need to worry. Applications close on March 20 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. Your idea can literally be on any topic, as long as you are the originator and leader of your ambitious Holman Prize objective and you are blind or legally blind: technology, the Arts, Braille, accessibility, transportation, travel, community, learning a skill, teaching a skill, launching a business, providing a service—smashing any boundary and changing perceptions.
You will have until March 20, 2022, to submit your application, but don’t leave it to the last minute: during the application period, you can be collecting as many ‘likes’ on YouTube as possible so that you’re in the running for the “People’s Choice Award.” The applicant whose video has the most ‘likes’ automatically goes through to the semifinal.
Please note: we know just how different applications will need to be during this time of the pandemic. While we recognize this will be a factor for the scope of some peoples’ ideas, we encourage you to think big and imagine your Holman plan without taken the current constraints too much into consideration. If your idea is successful, we will do everything we can to work with you and help you make it happen. Don’t let the pandemic blunt your ambition!
We are thrilled to announce that Waymo is again sponsoring the Holman Prize for Blind Ambition this year. Thank you Waymo for your continued support of this global prize. Want to see examples of great pitches? Check out the 2020 Holman Prize Finalists playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U43xqY4_JGk&list=PLBgTkRMP5uazmdIST_cKOG4BXGNXjQJP1
Check out our Holman Prize frequently asked questions: https://holman.lighthouse-sf.org/faq/, and if you don’t find your answer there, email us at [email protected]. We will be glad to give you any further information you need.
Spread the word about the Holman Prize and follow Holman Prize on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We can’t wait to watch your Holman Prize 2022 application videos and celebrate your Holman Prize idea with you.
I pledge to participate actively in the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.