American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention 2024 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Is Something Happening Here?
by Deborah Kent Stein
The elevator doors slid shut, and I set down my luggage for a moment on my way up to my floor. Today the elevator wasn’t very crowded—nothing like it would be when Convention really got underway.
Suddenly a fellow passenger turned to me and asked, “Is something happening here? I see an awful lot of people with dogs and those white sticks.”
“We’re here for the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind,” I explained. “We’re a nationwide organization of blind people, working together to open up opportunities.”
The elevator doors slid open on Four. “My cousin doesn’t see too well,” my companion said as he stepped out. “Can I send her over here?”
“Please do,” I said. “Tell her something big is happening at the Rosen Shingle Creek.”
The 2024 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind began on July 3, widely known as Conference Day. The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) presented a day of talks and workshops to inform and inspire. At the same time the Professionals in Blindness Education (PIBE) held its annual conference, packed with information and ideas. In the days that followed, conventioneers explored the Exhibit Hall, where they had the chance to check out the latest assistive technology as well as low-tech kitchen and household gadgets. There were a host of meetings for special interest groups: blind educators, blind lawyers, blind people in human services, blind vendors, blind people in communities of faith, and blind people in the performing arts.
On the afternoon of July 6 Federationists gathered to hear twenty-five carefully worded resolutions that, if passed by the body of the convention, will guide the organization’s policies in the coming years. The resolutions approved by the committee were read later, at the Convention General Sessions, and voted on by the members assembled.
The final three days of Convention were devoted to General Sessions. More than twenty-five hundred blind people, along with our friends and family members, filled the vast conference room. Delegations were arranged alphabetically by state, making it remarkably easy for everyone to find the delegation where they belonged.
Convention concluded with the gala banquet. After everyone had enjoyed a sumptuous meal, NFB President Mark Riccobono delivered the annual banquet speech. This year’s address was entitled “Dignity, Respect, and Determination: The Momentum of the Blind People’s Movement.” You can find it at https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/banquet-speeches/dignity-respect-and-determination-momentum-blind.
This issue of Future Reflections includes a selection of highlights from Convention 2024. It begins with presentations from the NOPBC conference and the PIBE conference, including an article about the Monarch, an exciting new Braille device that drew crowds in the Exhibit Hall. Two presentations from the General Sessions are also included in this issue.
In addition to these convention presentations, this issue includes articles by people who attended Convention as members of special programs, Teachers of Tomorrow and the Parent Leadership Program. There is also an article about the Drop-in Art Room, a perennial favorite among conventioneers of all ages.
If you attended the 2024 NFB National Convention, this issue of Future Reflections may bring back memories of the crowds in the Exhibit Hall and all those jam-packed elevators. If you weren’t able to attend in Orlando, you’ll have another chance next summer, when Convention will be happening in New Orleans. Plan to join us, and let the good times roll!