Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog

We recently received a screener of the pilot episode of the upcoming NBC sitcom Growing Up Fisher, which tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy and his blind father. In the pilot, the blind character, Mel, and his wife get a divorce, and their son struggles with no longer being his father’s guide when Mel gets a guide dog.

Since 1969, “The Battle Song of the NFB,” or “Glory Glory Federation,” as its most popularly known among Federationists, has been our battle cry from the convention hall to the picket line. Now, on the cusp of our seventy-fifth anniversary, the National Federation of the Blind is launching a contest to discover a new NFB song!

After a little delay, I am happy to report that the winning session in the poll for the final access technology seminar session at convention is 3D Printing and 3D Creation for Tactile Graphics. 3D printing is an ever-growing trend that promises great things for the availability of tactile models in schools, universities and workplaces.

Last week, the FCC announced that a class of “basic e-readers” would be exempt from accessibility requirements over the next year.  At first glance, this announcement seems like a battle lost, considering that the National Federation of the Blind has spent the last eight years fighting the War for Access to make digital books available to the blind.  But in reality,

In October 2003 I came to interview for a job with the NFB. I remember my interview with NFB President Marc Maurer was on a Sunday because that was the only day I could come to Baltimore. It was quiet at the NFB offices. When we finished our formal discussion, Dr.

Note: Get the 2022 summer internship details in the most recent blog post, Letter from Our Executive Director of Blindness Initiatives Regarding Summer Internship Opportunities.

You may remember reading that the NFB of Massachusetts, along with two of its members, reached an accessibility agreement (

More than four-hundred thousand people with disabilities are being paid subminimum wages—and it’s legal! Under current law, Special Wage Certificates are granted to nonprofit agencies that run “sheltered workshops” to employ people with disabilities.

One of the most exciting items on the calendar for the access technology team is the AT seminar day at convention. Though it may seem like a long way off, we are locking in the sessions now. We would like to have your input on what topic completes the agenda, and we have set up a survey with the options.

Access Technology is often dominated by incremental changes; but every once in a while there are big jumps.