From the Editor

by Chris Danielsen

It is likely that most people reading this are preparing to attend the National Federation of the Blind 2026 National Convention in Austin, Texas, or have just returned from it. The convention is the highlight of each year in the National Federation of the Blind. It has been compared to a family reunion, and attendees have a wonderful time, but its most important function is as the supreme governing authority of our organization. That is because the convention is where officers and directors are elected and where new policies are set for our movement via the resolution process. Consequently, the convention will be extensively covered in the next issue of this magazine. But if you are unable to attend the convention in person and can’t or don’t wish to wait to read about it in our August/September issue, you can still sign up for the virtual convention experience if you have not done so already. The registration fee is only $10, and it is easy to sign up by visiting https://nfb.org/convention. Although you will still receive many of the highlights of the convention in the Braille Monitor, there’s nothing like being there, even virtually, and much as we would like to, this publication cannot award door prizes, whereas you can win them with a virtual convention experience registration.

If you are joining us in Austin, you may have the exciting opportunity to travel in an autonomous vehicle. Austin is one of the many cities where Waymo operates an automated rideshare service, available through its own app or through the Uber app you may already have on your phone. Waymo’s service has been available in Phoenix for a while now, and Jordan Moon, who lives there and works for Saavi Services for the Blind, shares his experience and provides useful tips for trying out the service. We made his article available on our Early Access blog, located at https://nfb.org/braille-monitor, where you can find other posts before they become available in our print, Braille, and audio editions, as well as updates of previously published articles as warranted. In this case we wanted to give readers plenty of time to prepare to take a Waymo ride if they wished, but if you missed the post, the article is now in your hands. And speaking of the Bolotin Award-winning training center Saavi Services for the Blind where Jordan Moon works, its executive director, Amy Porterfield, tells us in this issue about her journey to fully realize the meaning of the Federation in her own life and its ability to enhance the training and lives of her students.

Many who will not attend the convention for whatever reason are still doing the work of our movement, and the convention will not be the only Federation activity that occurs this summer. Some affiliates have already held BELL® Academy sessions and more will hold them in the weeks after the convention adjourns. If you are not familiar with the BELL Academy, Eric Duffy’s contribution to this issue explains this program well and makes a strong case for its importance to blind children, their families, and our movement.

Our advocacy work also continues behind the scenes even as we set new policy priorities at our convention. Regular readers already know that we are fighting for the implementation of rules that will facilitate our equal online access to the activities of state and local governments and to healthcare. This battle has entered a new phase: a lawsuit against the federal Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, which have delayed and may seek to water down or eliminate these rules. We share details of this new litigation in these pages.

The National Federation of the Blind has many divisions through which we support and address issues faced by blind and deafblind people based on our various interests, vocations, avocations, and stages of life. Most of these will hold their annual business meetings during the National Convention, but their activities continue throughout the year. The Seniors Division has always been a critical component of our movement because it serves the many individuals who experience blindness or vision loss as they age, as well as continuing to enhance the lives of existing members who are transitioning into retirement and other changes that come with growing older. In this issue, Sandy Halverson, a longtime leader in the Federation and chair of the Shares Unlimited in NFB (SUN) Committee, describes an innovation from this division that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic but now continues to be a learning and networking opportunity enhancing the ability of blind and deafblind seniors to live the lives they want.

We are unable to carry a Monitor Miniatures column in every issue, but we can carry it more often if we have more content. Since we are able to carry the column in this issue, it seems like a good time to remind our readers that you can submit Federation family news for inclusion in this space. You can also submit information about items you have for sale that will be of specific interest to our readers, such as gently used access technology. We also accept short items about the activities of other agencies, organizations, or individuals that may be of interest to readers. It is important to remember that, when we publish such information, we are not necessarily endorsing the product or service; we are merely sharing what we received in case our readers want to investigate further.

This issue is rounded out with some philosophical musings. My predecessor and dear friend Gary Wunder writes about the kind of understanding and acceptance that we as blind and deafblind people truly need from the rest of our society. Justin Salisbury of Hawaii ponders the ways that we make individual connections with each other in our movement and how the ways in which we do this may change over time. He posits that society’s emphasis on the medical causes of blindness may prompt us to first seek connection through shared eye conditions and gives his thoughts on why that can be a useful but limited strategy of forging bonds with other members. And Ahmad Shafi, president of the National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia, whom I had the privilege of meeting a couple of Washington Seminars back, shares his personal journey toward his proud and unapologetic acceptance of his identity as a blind person.

As ever, your feedback about the content of this issue and your own contributions are much sought and desired. If you do not see yourself writing an article, then a short letter or even a phone call will suffice. Perhaps your observations will be included in this note or in a correspondence column, or perhaps it will lead to a conversation that ultimately results in a complete article. However you choose to contribute, the flagship magazine of our movement cannot claim that distinction without your unique and authentic voice. Please email me at [email protected] or call 410-659-9314, extension 2330, to share that voice. I look forward to connecting with you!