Convention Report

Convention Report

Future Reflections September- December 1983, Vol. 2 No. 5
(back) (contents) (next)
CONVENTION REPORT
Parents of blind children are becoming more aware of
the difference between agencies who attempt to speak
"for" the blind, and the National Federation of the
Blind, which is the blind speaking for themselves.
These parents are attending meetings of the NFB at
local and state levels, and finding a wealth of information
and wisdom about blindness. Some of these
parents go on to attend the National Federation of the
Blind's annual national convention.
Ellen Norton of Vermont is such a parent. She has a
blind son who is nearly two-years-old, and she attended
the NFB-sponsored Parent's Seminar on the
Saturday preceding the convention, then stayed for the convention -- including committee and division
meetings and the banquet Thursday evening. Paraphrased
below -- using her own words whenever
possible -- are comments about her reaction to her
very first NFB National Convention.
I was really impressed! I saw a lot of competent
blind people. I definitely came away knowing
what kind of a person I wanted my son to be. I
was really glad to see blind people who were
employed, such as blind lawyers, businessmen
and others. It helped to know that my son
doesn't have to stay at home, always dependent
upon me.
I have always been bothered by the "blindisms"
I have seen in some blind adults, but at
convention I learned that it was the lack of the
right training and attitude -- not lack of eyesight -- that creates that problem. I now know
what I can do to help my son develop acceptable
social manners.
It was a real help, too, to meet other parents
and talk with them. The biggest thing I remember
was a little blind girl, she was maybe
five or six, with her first cane. She was so
excited and happy.
There was a lot of good information, too. The
only problem was that there was too much
going on at the same time, and I couldn't go to
all the meetings I wanted to. But it was very
good, and I'm glad I went.
That completes Ellen's observations, and she was
correct. The national convention of the NFB is truly a
one-of-a-kind experience. Thousands of blind people
from across the nation gather together to plan their
future, to set priorities and goals, to share experiences,
and to reaffirm the necessity for the blind to speak for
themselves.
A review of just the agenda demonstrates the level of
the activities and concerns of the National Federation
of the Blind. We had speakers addressing issues
related to conditions for the blind in workshops for the
blind; civil rights and affirmative action for the blind;
discrimination; technology and its impact on the
blind; rehabilitation agencies for the blind in transition;
library services for the blind, and many, many
other topics.
Some guest speakers, such as William Bradford
Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights
Division of the Department of Justice; and Ellen
Shong, Director of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,
soon learned they were there to be informed as
well as to inform. We asked them penetrating questions,
presented real cases and problems to them, and
gave examples which demonstrated some of the failings
in the "system".
Workshops for the Blind was a major topic. We in the
NFB have worked long and hard for many years to
improve conditions for the blind workers in workshops.
Many workers still labor for less than minimum
wages and others receive no benefits, no job
security and no hope of advancement. The self-respect
and basic human dignity of all blind people -- not just
the blind workshop worker -- is jeopardized as long as
those conditions are allowed to exist. The NFB has
promoted the right of blind workers to organize (as a
means of improving their own conditions) and the
reform of the Wagner-O'Day Act. (The WagnerO'Day
Act allows workshops for the blind and severely
handicapped to sell products to the government without
competition from private companies. The workshops
can do this as long as they meet certain
requirements. The NFB proposes that we change
those requirements so as to promote better wages, and
to encourage the advancement of blind workers upwards
into supervisory and administrative positions.
The Wagner-O'Day Act currently requires that 75% of
the direct labor hours be performed by the blind or
severely handicapped workers. We also support other
changes that would make the program more efficient
as well as save money.) As guest speakers addressing
this topic, we had several union representatives, and
we also had Don A. Zimmerman of the National Labor
Relations Board; Clyde Cook, Chairman for the Purchase
from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped;
and Ralph Sanders, President of Blind Industries and
Services of Maryland (a private workshop for the
blind).
Discrimination against the blind was the theme of
several presentations. Bill Joyce, who built his own
communications company in Illinois, gave a moving
talk about his struggle to regain financial independence
after his blindness. Bill is also nearly deaf. Fred
Schroeder, Coordinator of Low Incidence Programs in

the Albuquerque Public School system, was also on
the agenda with the topic of, "Discrimination Against
the Blind as Mobility Instructors: The Certification
Racket." In his situation, discrimination came not
from the public sector (which we can at least say are
simply ignorant) but from the "professionals" (those
whom we might expect should "know better").
Fred Schroeder, a very competent, knowledgeable, and
skilled young blind man was denied certification as a
mobility instructor on the basis of his blindness. The
orientation and mobility profession continues to insist
that blind people cannot safely and efficiently teach
cane travel (O&M). Fred (who had successfully taught
cane travel before seeking certification) and many
other successful blind travel instructors have already
proved them wrong. It now remains for the National
Federation of the Blind and determined men and
women -- like Fred -- to break down those barriers
that have been erected by the "professionals"
themselves.
The other topics on the agenda varied from, "The
Blind and the Right to Freedom of Travel," by Martin
J. Darity, from the U.S. Department of Commerce; to,
"I work as a Pharmacist," by Tony Burda, a registered
pharmacist and poison information specialist. Tony is
also a blind member of the NFB.
We also warmly welcomed such distinguished guest
speakers as Ramona Walhof, Director of the Idaho
Commission for the Blind; Frank Kurt Cylke, Director
of the National library Services for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped and Hellen O'Rourke from
the National Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Mark Maurer, Attorney-at-law and chairman of the
NFB Blind Lawyers Division, gave a most informative
presentation about the law and the organized
blind movement. We also heard from Jim Hudson,
President of the NFB of Arkansas concerning the
activities in Arkansas to improve the agency for the
blind in that state. Guy Carbeneau, president of
Triformations System, and Charles Cook of Community
Computing, Inc. of Maryland, gave us an
update on information about technology and its relationship
and application to the needs of the blind. Gail
Krowe, a blind disk jockey, talked about his work and
the adaptations and alternative techniques he employs
to remain competitive as a disk jockey.
We also heard from Gerald Kass, Executive Vice
President of the Jewish Braille Institute. The NFB and
the Jewish Braille Institute have enjoyed a longtime,
friendly and productive relationship. So, it was with
particular pleasure that we greeted Gerald Kass. His
speech this year (entitled, "And the Winner is...") was
as entertaining, refreshing and insightful as we have
come to expect his speeches to be.
Of course, we cannot forget the Presidential Report by
President Dr. Jernigan, and the Washington Report
by James Gashel, NFB Director of Governmental
Affairs. These reports sum up the activities, goals and
accomplishments of the NFB in the past year. They
are, to borrow a medical term, a measure of our "vital
signs". And we are very "vital" indeed! The progress
we have made in accomplishing our goals indicate just
how healthy and vigorous our movement is. Dr.
Jernigan summed it up best in his banquet speech
Thursday evening. In a speech entitled, "Blindness:
The Other Half of Inertia," he told of the discrimination
and the put-downs experienced by blind people
across the country. He also told of the progress being
made by the blind. He ended the speech with these
words.
"Yes, we still experience discrimination, denial
and lack of opportunity; but the tide is running
the other way. It can be seen in our victories in
the sheltered shops, in our radio and television
spots which blanket the nation, and in the jobs
which blind people are getting and holding.
There can be seen the hope, the determination,
and the zest for the future which the blind
people now are feeling. It can be seen in the
mood and the joy of this convention.
"We have learned the truth of the other half of
inertia: things in motion tend to remain in motion -- and it is as hard to stop something
which is moving as it is to start something
which is not. WE are moving! We are going
with a mighty sweep, straight for equality and
first-class status -- and no force on earth can
slow us down or turn us back or change our
direction. My brothers and my sisters, the
future is ours. Come! March with me in the
quickening pace, and we will make it all come
true!"
(back) (contents) (next)