by Sanho Steele-Louchart
From the Editor: Sanho Steele-Louchart is the chairman of our LGBTQIA group and is familiar to readers as a result of his article about NFB philosophy that appeared in February of 2021. Here is his take on the question of “Are Conservatives Welcome in the NFB.”
A recent article in the Braille Monitor posed the question “Are conservatives welcome in the NFB?” The answer, with neither hesitation nor equivocation, is a resounding yes.
At its core, the Federation is an organization dedicated to embracing the natural diversity of human experiences. Assuming that such diversity falls within the guidelines of our Code of Conduct, all people are welcome within the NFB. We are a cross-section of society at large. The Federation includes blind people, sighted people, gay people, straight people, cis people, trans people, Christians, atheists, and, yes—Conservatives.
It’s my understanding that some Federation members have felt alienated in recent years due to leadership’s open acceptance of groups such as the LGBT+ community, the emphasis on inclusivity, and a fear that conservative viewpoints will be denigrated. With genuine warmth, I refer those members back to our Code of Conduct. Conservativism is most certainly welcome within the Federation. What’s prohibited by our Code of Conduct is bigotry.
To borrow an example from the article that appeared in the January 2022 issue, it makes sense that a Catholic leader within the Federation might be uncomfortable introducing a same-sex couple as spouses at a chapter meeting. It would even make sense for that person to ask another Federationist to introduce them, instead. Where our Code of Conduct would apply is if that leader made a practice of introducing straight couples, then purposefully denied that respect to the people who identified as LGBT. That would be discrimination, and discrimination is not synonymous with conservativism.
Unfortunately, what we as a Federation have not yet fully grappled with is what to do once that hurt is out there in the world. NFB LGBT Group members and members of color tell me horror stories of what happened years ago. Even today, what do our trans and nonbinary family members do once their core identities have been invalidated on a national stage? Being polite to their faces is a great start, but when they meet us in person, they remember what we wrote. That pain doesn’t just go away. We caused that pain, and our Code of Conduct demands we take responsibility for it.
I issue our membership this friendly challenge: Don’t normalize discrimination within our ranks. We’ve fought for eighty-two years to get to where we are. Celebrate the progress, but remember always to keep marching on. The work has just begun.