Larry Campbell Speaks

Larry Campbell Speaks

Larry Campbell speaks at the memorial service.

Lawrence F. Campbell

From the Editor: Larry Campbell is Vice

President of the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment

(ICEVI). He works from the Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The following were his remarks at the memorial service:

It is an honor to have the opportunity to say a

few words today on behalf of the thousands of educators of blind children throughout the

world who are members of ICEVI. As word of Dr. Jernigan's death spread throughout the

world, my telephone rang off the hook, and my e-mail basket was full—all asking the

same question: what can we do to express our feelings about this great leader who so

influenced thinking, not only here in the U.S. but in some of the remotest regions of the

world, where equality for blind people is, in many cases, still a dream?

As I began to think about what I might say this

afternoon, many fond memories of my nearly twenty years of association with Dr. Jernigan

and the NFB ran through my mind. Let me share with you one of my fondest memories. In 1997

ICEVI convened its tenth World Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As Chairperson of the

Program Committee one of my most important tasks was to identify a keynote speaker who

would deliver a thought-provoking address that would set the tone for this meeting, whose

theme concerned establishing partnerships among parents, consumers, and educators. Dr.

Jernigan immediately came to mind, and he graciously accepted my invitation.

Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan arrived in Sao Paulo a

couple of days before the conference was to open, and after settling them into their hotel

and giving them a very quick orientation to points of interest in the area, which included

a local crafts market, I returned to the many last-minute details associated with

organizing such a World Conference.

The conference was to open with Dr. Jernigan's

keynote address at the State Palace on Sunday evening. Late that afternoon I stopped by

the hotel to find that indeed Dr. Jernigan had fully explored the local crafts market and

had purchased some onyx cordial glasses of which he was very fond. Some of you here may

have used those glasses, and I want to assure you that any and all of us who returned to

Brazil after that meeting were under standing orders to scour that craft market to find

more of them. After all, the NFB is a large organization, and a dozen onyx cordial glasses

don't go far at an NFB function.

That afternoon Dr. Jernigan inquired as to how we

would get to the State Palace. Earlier that same day Victor Siaulys, the parent of a blind

child and the chairperson of the Host Committee, had suggested to me that we use his

helicopter to travel to the State Palace. Without even checking with Dr. Jernigan, I

graciously declined, knowing how he felt about being airborne.

When I told Dr. Jernigan that a car would pick us

up and that I had declined the use of Victor's helicopter, he paused for a moment and

said: "Well, Larry, you know I have never been in a helicopter before, and I really

do like to try everything at least once." As you can imagine, this took me by

surprise, but then again Dr. Jernigan was always full of surprises. A quick call to the

pilot Sergio, and a few minutes later Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan and I were at the local

heliport, boarding a 6-passenger Bell helicopter and on our way to the State Palace. While

Mrs. Jernigan provided a running commentary, Dr. Jernigan, with his unquenchable

curiosity, fired one question after another at the pilot Sergio, who later confided in me

that he was quite certain that with a few more flights Dr. Jernigan would be asking to

take the controls. I think it must have been the first time in his life that he had been

airborne and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In fact, after landing he still wanted to

learn as much as he could—how helicopters were constructed and how they operated. For

a while I thought the conference might open without our keynote speaker.

Upon arrival in the auditorium of the State

Palace, Dr. Jernigan asked me to orient him to the room and then to walk him through the

route from his seat in the front row to the podium. Two passes through these paces and he

was ready to do it alone.

It will not surprise anyone here to learn that

his keynote address was magnificent and extremely well received by the 1,500 delegates and

local dignitaries on hand that evening. However, beyond the powerful words of his keynote

address there was something else at work in the auditorium of the State Palace that

evening. It is reflected in the following editorial which appeared several months later in

the Asia Appraiser, the regional magazine of ICEVI/Asia. I think it sums up what Dr.

Jernigan has represented to so many educators throughout the world. Let me close my

remarks with the words of that editorial.

"When Dr. Kenneth Jernigan of the National

Federation of the Blind of the United States of America walked independently to the dais

of the State Palace in Sao Paulo to deliver the keynote address of the tenth World

Conference of the International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment,

there was thunderous applause. He was independent, elegant, and reassured the conference

that visually impaired persons can come out of the social conditioning that they are

inferior.

"A delegate in the back row shouted with

joy, `That is beautiful, Dr. Jernigan; why don't others emulate you?' Orientation and

mobility are vital aspects of the independent living of any visually impaired person. The

independent movement of Dr. Jernigan made thousands of people assembled at the Palace

proud.

"The striking statement `Leading by Example'

made by Dr. Jernigan during his keynote address was relevant to what he had demonstrated.

His powerful address set the trend for an excellent conference. After delivering the

address, no one was needed to bring him back to his seat. He did it by himself. He,

through his action, had demonstrated that he leads others by example. He also indicated

how parents, teachers, administrators, and other professionals in the field should lead by

example in whatever work they do.

"We can make our visually impaired children

outstanding if they are led by example. Let us make them excellent in education, mobility,

rehabilitation, and integration. In doing so, let us emulate Dr. Jernigan and his powerful

statement, `Leading by Example'"!