Call for Articles: Celebrating Blind Equality Achievement Month

by Chris Danielsen

The National Federation of the Blind makes a special point each year of celebrating the organized blind movement during October. Throughout the month, our members conduct a variety of outreach activities in their local communities. Many of these activities center on White Cane Awareness Day, which is October 15th. Although you may be reading this as you recover from the national convention, October will be here before we know it, and it’s not too early to plan for the October festivities.

This year, The Braille Monitor cordially invites you to contribute to what we hope will be a vibrant dialogue surrounding this significant event. As the flagship magazine of the National Federation of the Blind, we want to tell the best stories about our Federation activities in these pages, and those stories come from you.

Blind Equality Achievement Month serves as a beacon of empowerment, shedding light on the remarkable achievements and inspiring stories of blind individuals and the successes of the organized blind movement. It is a time to celebrate progress and to reflect on the challenges that have been overcome, as well as to plan for the opportunities that are still ahead.
We invite Monitor readers to share your experiences, insights, and success stories surrounding this month-long celebration. We encourage you to contribute articles that highlight the following:

1. Successful Events: We would love to hear about the events and initiatives organized in your chapters, divisions, and affiliates that have effectively promoted blind equality. Share your strategies, lessons learned, and outcomes, inspiring others to create meaningful and impactful events in their communities.
2. Community Service Projects: Tell us about the community service projects your organization has undertaken during Blind Equality Achievement Month. Whether it’s advocating for accessible infrastructure, mentoring blind individuals, or engaging with local schools, these projects help strengthen the bond between blind individuals and the wider community. They don’t even have to be strictly blindness-related. Perhaps you helped clean up a local park, planted some trees, helped neighbors make home improvements, or supported a local event. The greater Baltimore Chapter of the NFB of Maryland, for example, handed out water to runners in Baltimore’s annual running festival, which includes a marathon, half-marathon, and more.
3. Other Successes: Apart from events and community service projects, we are eager to learn about any other initiatives that have contributed to the success of Blind Equality Achievement Month in your region. It could be partnerships with local businesses, legislative efforts, awareness campaigns, or innovative new programs. Your experiences can provide valuable insights to help others in their advocacy and outreach work.

Of course, you may be able to contribute to the discussion of Blind Equality Achievement Month and what it represents to our movement in ways that are not listed here. Perhaps you have done something as an individual that surprised sighted members of your community and may inspire other blind people to try something new. Or maybe you have been inspired by someone else in your chapter or community who is truly living the life they want. Let your imagination run wild and contribute whatever thoughts you feel are appropriate. We are confident that your contributions will not only enrich our understanding of the strides being made towards blind equality but also inspire other readers from all corners of the nation to get involved and take action. Together, we can continue to dismantle barriers and foster a society that recognizes the immense potential of blind people.

We’d love to feature your stories of past successes in an issue this fall, so please submit relevant items by August 15, 2023, so that we have plenty of time to review them. You can send them to the Monitor editor or to [email protected]. Of course, this won’t be your only opportunity to share these stories in our pages, but we’d love to feature the items we can as close to this year’s celebration as possible. If you’re not sure you have a full article in you, then let us know about your idea, and we’ll work with you to share it. Let us use this opportunity to showcase the incredible achievements of blind people and our movement, which prove that with love, hope, and determination, dreams can be transformed into reality. We eagerly await your contributions.