American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention Issue 2025 NOPBC CONFERENCE
Unite, Captivate, Empower
by Norma Crosby
Introduction by Cassie McKinney: As I was putting together this program, I realized that all these people on the agenda are my friends! Then I thought about this next speaker, and I thought, this person is more than a friend! She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in the Federation. She reminds me of everybody’s mom. I have known Norma for about fifteen years. I invited her to come and talk to all of you, and I hope you’ll have that same warm feeling when you meet Norma Crosby.
I have the honor of serving as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas. (Even when we leave the state, we still have to mention Texas!) I serve not only as president of the NFB of Texas, but I have the distinct honor of serving as our national treasurer as well. I’ve come a long way since I attended my first NFB National Convention in 1982!
I didn’t know what to expect before I arrived at that first convention, but my blind friends had told me it would be a life-changing experience. They were absolutely right! That convention was held in Minneapolis. When I got to the hotel I saw something I had never encountered before. The convention was a little smaller than it is now—I think there were about fourteen hundred people in attendance, as opposed to the three thousand or more you might see assembled here this week. But it was similar, in that blind people were navigating not only the hotel, but lines. I saw people like me, people with limited vision, who were using the tools of blindness to be more efficient. I realized that how much they could see was not important to them, because they had the toolbox that I was missing. I really saw that there was hope.
I grew up in a rural community where there weren’t any other blind people. No one knew how to teach a blind student. Don’t misunderstand me! I had wonderful teachers, and they did their best, but I lacked role models. The only tools of blindness I had were large-print books. I had to stick my nose into my books in order to read. I had access to professionals, but they weren’t the enlightened professionals that I hope you’ll meet here this week. They taught me that the only way to be successful was to see—and guess what! I couldn’t do that very effectively! So, my expectations were pretty low.
The Federation gave me the opposite message. When I got to that convention, I found out that I didn’t need to see to be successful. I found a community willing to show me what success might look like for me. I saw canes everywhere—a cane was something I had been assured I didn’t need. I talked to people who let me know that if I used a cane, I wouldn’t have to worry any more about those steps that I couldn’t see. I saw their confidence when they were traveling, and I wanted that for myself.
I didn’t get a cane at that convention, but I got one pretty soon after. With some tips and tricks given to me by my Federation community, I began to use my cane to travel more confidently. That was a huge boost for me! Growing up I had always traveled with my sighted family members. Even when I moved away from home I was careful about where I went. I couldn’t see curbs and steps, and I couldn’t navigate effectively at night. The cane and my new community changed all that for me.
I could go on and on about the things my blind family has taught me, but this meeting is really about you and your children. It’s about learning that it’s respectable to be blind. It’s about understanding that using the tools of blindness is empowering rather than limiting. I bet you decided to attend this convention because you want your child to have a better life, better than what you expected when you found out they were blind. Guess what! You came to the right place!
This week you’ll have access to blind leaders who are willing to talk to you about how your child can become more independent. You might find someone who will show your child how to use an escalator; I’ve definitely seen that happen at convention! You’ll begin to build a community of people who will share their experiences, and who will be willing to communicate with you long after the convention is over. That community is perhaps the most valuable thing you will take home with you when you leave this convention.
Perhaps your child’s vision is diminishing, and you need someone to reassure you that there is support for you as you navigate that journey. The community you begin to build at this convention can help with that. Maybe you know your child needs to learn Braille. They get intense, awful headaches after reading print for just fifteen minutes, so you know reading print isn’t the best alternative for them. This community can offer the advice and the encouragement you need. Perhaps you’ll even find someone to attend your IEP meeting with you and help you make the argument for Braille for your child.
What does the community mean to your child? It means access to role models. It means access to new friends. It might mean access to help when they are having difficulty learning something new.
Community and mentorship are the things the Federation does best. We want your child to have a sense of belonging—not only here, but out in the broader world. I believe you need what we have to offer. But guess what—other people have said it, and I’ll say it, too—we need what you have to offer as well. We know you have lives to live and that you’re busy, but your participation in the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children makes a difference for your child and for other blind children in your city, in your state, and around the world. You might be the link for a parent whose child has just become blind. You might share Future Reflections, our publication for parents of blind children, with another parent or with your teacher of blind students. Participating in one of our IEP academies can make you more effective at your child’s IEP meeting, and it might allow you to share your knowledge with other parents. You might find your own way to be part of this wonderful community that is the National Federation of the Blind.
As I was navigating the sea of humanity in the lobby last night, I thought, this is totally chaotic. And it was. Blind people were everywhere—figuring out how to navigate the hotel, the line for checking in, the elevators. And I saw what I always see at our conventions. I saw people showing one another how to navigate those terrible elevators. I saw people showing others how to find the end of the check-in line. I saw a community that I am proud to be a part of.
Was I glad to find peace and quiet on the twenty-sixth floor? Yes! But I also was overjoyed to be back home, in a space where I can explore new tools, make new friends, and occasionally offer a bit of mentorship myself. It’s a place where I am sure to learn something new that I can share with my community back in Texas.
This might be your first convention, as it was for me in 1982. Embrace the chaos. Attend as many seminars as you can. Talk to total strangers. Ask questions. Take a break when you need to—we all need to do that sometimes. And while you’re doing all those things, give your child the space they need to learn and grow. Send them off to Youth Track if they’re old enough. Let them go to the pool with the new best friend they made this week. I promise they’ll be okay.
This will be a week of intensive immersion into our community, but it will be worth the time you spend. When you go home, take the Federation with you. Share what you’ve learned with other parents back home. Help your child maintain the connections they made here. Get contact information for people you meet. We want to stay in touch with you for sure.
You’re the parents of our next generation of leaders. That makes your involvement critical to building a world where all blind people are valued and are treated with the respect they deserve. You and your children can help us build that world if you join our community.
I wish you a week of aha! moments, a week of seeing your child accomplish new things, a week of making new friends, and a week of getting to know ordinary blind people. Cassie and all our parents will embrace you, answer your questions, and hear your frustrations. And so will the rest of our community. Please enjoy! Please come back every year from now on so we can see your children grow up. Thank you!