Reprinted from Building the Lives We Want
Thoughts for Tomorrow
Mark A. Riccobono
The future we seek is exciting and tremendously positive. It is also full of challenge, hard work, hard decisions, and sacrifices. We stand today on a sturdy foundation that has been built over the past seventy-five years, with planning that goes back even farther. As we continue the building process, we will be challenged to examine our systems and continue to change. The methods of communication and information-sharing we use inside and outside our organization are very different from those we used in 1940. Yet certain elements of the message are very much the same. Our challenge will be to continue to change and adjust fast enough without changing so dramatically that we lose the core elements that make us unique, diverse, and powerful.
When I think about the National Federation of the Blind as we celebrate our seventy-fifth anniversary, I am filled with hope, energy, and love. My confidence comes from the faith we have in each other within the Federation. At our twenty-fifth anniversary Dr. tenBroek so neatly described this faith as being able to “move mountains—and mount movements.”
For nearly twenty of our seventy-five years I have marched together with my blind brothers and sisters. I have experienced the power we create together; I have had my expectations raised and raised again; and I have felt the spirit that joins us when we pledge to be in this march together and to make the sacrifices required to change the world. My optimism comes from my daily conversations with blind people all over the country who feel grateful for all that we have achieved. These people recognize that we continue to need each other so that the future will be even better. The greatest asset we have is each other, and our open doors that invite more people to come join us in building the future. The future we seek will be all that we imagine it to be and are prepared to make it be. The only limitation we have is the natural limitation on our imagination and our ability to focus individual actions into a collective movement. I have not yet found our limits, and I do not expect to find them during our next twenty-five years. We are driving into the future, and I eagerly anticipate the milestones we will discover together.
For Further Information
- “Preamble to the International Federation of the Blind Constitution Sets Goals.” (1964) Braille Monitor, September. https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm64/64bm-sep.html#A10.
- “Blind Driver Challenge at the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Audio Description.” (2013) YouTube Video, 9:00, posted by NationsBlind, National Federation of the Blind, February 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTHa_5Y5IA4.
- Jernigan, Kenneth. (1990) “The Federation at Fifty.” Banquet speech, National Federation of the Blind National Convention, Dallas, TX. Audio, MP3 format. https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Publications/convent/banque90.htm
- Riccobono, Mark. (2014) “Ten Years of Progress in the Jernigan Institute.” Speech, National Federation of the Blind National Convention, Orlando, FL, July 4. Audio, MP3 format. https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/audio/2014_convention_highlights/02_friday_july_4/10_ten_years_of_progress_in_the_jernigan_institute.mp3.
- tenBroek, Jacobus. (1965) “The Federation at Twenty-five: Postview and Preview.” Banquet Speech, National Federation of the Blind National Convention, Washington, DC. Audio, MP3 format. https://nfb.org/Images/nfb/Audio/BanqSpeech/bsp-1965.mp3.