Question of Membership

Question of Membership

The Braille Monitor_______

October 1997

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(contents)

PHOTO/CAPTION: Jamal Mazrui

More Than a Question

of Membership

by Barbara Pierce

Federationists will remember that in

the fall of 1990 the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind

expelled Jamal Mazrui, who was living in Massachusetts at the time. The charges

dealt with disruptive tactics, attempting to incur organizational expenses without

approval, and attacks on the organization and its leaders outside the organization.

After a futile attempt to get the 1991 National Convention to reverse the Board's

decision, Mazrui joined the American Council of the Blind--and there, apparently,

the matter ended.

However, in the spring of 1997 Al Sten-Clanton

(one of Mazrui's long-time friends) told President Maurer that Mazrui would

like to apply for readmission. Sten-Clanton said that Mazrui had had a change

of heart and wanted to come back.

Mazrui, along with Sten-Clanton and his

wife, came to the National Center for the Blind on Saturday, May 24, 1997, to

talk with President Maurer. This meeting resulted in the exchange of a series

of letters and the ultimate agreement that Mazrui could apply for reinstatement

to membership and that he would be accepted and welcomed.

The August, 1997, issue of The Braille

Forum (a publication of the American Council of the Blind) carried an article

by Mazrui, stating that he was a member of the American Council of the Blind.

In view of the assertion in Mazrui's letter of May 28, 1997, to President Maurer

that: "If accepted as a Federationist, I would resign as a member of the

American Council of the Blind. . .," one must suppose that the Mazrui article

was submitted to the ACB prior to his meeting with President Maurer and that

the article was subsequently printed without his prior knowledge and consent.

To presume anything else would be to impute to Mazrui not only a misrepresentation

of the truth but also a pattern of behavior that could not be anything other

than transparently counterproductive.

It is certainly true that members of

the Federation can submit articles to any publication they like. It is also

true that I don't know whether Mazrui's formal reinstatement has been accomplished.

But the moral question is the same regardless of the technicality. He indicated

in a letter of July 21, 1997, to Lloyd Rasmussen, who is one of the NFB of Maryland

leaders, that he had been permitted to join and wanted to know the time and

place of the next chapter meeting. Here are the pertinent letters between President

Maurer and Mazrui. They do not so much deal with an individual as with patterns,

with different behavior on the part of different people and organizations, with

philosophy, and with morals:

Silver Spring, Maryland

May 28, 1997

Dear Mr. Maurer:

I appreciated the time and hospitality

you shared with me and the Sten-Clantons last Saturday. Our discussion and the

company of Federationists there confirmed my interest in being considered for

membership in the National Federation of the Blind.

The Federation has inspired my thinking

and action more than any other personal or political philosophy. I've participated

in various consumer organizations over the years and found no other to be as

much a force for good. Since I believe in concerted political action, I would

like to participate in the organizational vehicle with the most promise for

achieving social change. If accepted as a Federationist, I would resign as a

member of the American Council of the Blind in order to better focus my energy.

In addition to the volunteer labor, financial

support, and project leadership generally expected of members, contributions

of mine to the Federation would hopefully include such things as government

information, technology skills, and contacts with other consumers and professionals.

If you or other NFB officers wish to

discuss any relevant issues about this application for membership, please feel

free to call me. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

Jamal Mazrui

Baltimore, Maryland

June 20, 1997

Dear Mr. Mazrui:

Quite some time ago Al Sten-Clanton told

me that you would like to be reinstated as a member of the National Federation

of the Blind. I told him that your actions at the time you left the Federation

and subsequently were such that I doubted you would want to meet the conditions

of membership, but he said he thought you had had a change of heart. Therefore,

I told him that I would be glad to meet with you.

On Saturday, May 24, 1997, you and Mr.

and Mrs. Sten-Clanton came to see me here at the National Center for the Blind.

You said that you had participated in the activities of the American Council

of the Blind and that you felt that it was not in the mainstream of progress

in the blindness field. You said that you would like to rejoin the National

Federation of the Blind, and I told you that I would bring the matter to the

Board of Directors for their consideration.

Under date of May 28, 1997, you wrote

to me formally asking that you be reinstated. You said that the Federation had

inspired your thinking and action more than any other personal or political

philosophy and that you had found no other organization to be as much a force

for good.

I have now read and discussed your letter

with the members of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the

Blind. They were sympathetic to your wish to be reinstated as a member of the

Federation but wanted to be certain that such an action would likely bring a

positive result, both for you and the organization. Specifically, they wanted

me to ask whether you were willing to indicate in writing your intention to

abide by the policies and Constitution of the National Federation of the Blind

if reinstated. In that connection I call your attention to that portion of Article

VI of the NFB Constitution which provides that no member may "indulge in

attacks upon the officers, board members, leaders, or members of the Federation,

or upon the organization itself outside of the organization." Article VI

further provides that "The organization will not sanction or permit deliberate,

sustained campaigns of internal organizational destruction by state affiliates,

local chapters, or members."

Beyond that, the long-standing policy

of the National Federation of the Blind is that policy decisions of the Federation

are binding upon all members and that affiliates and members must participate

affirmatively in carrying out such policy decisions.

My purpose in bringing these matters

to your attention is not to be abrasive but the exact opposite. Before taking

action, the Board and I want to be certain that you and we have the same understanding

of basic issues. As you know, the Federation is the largest, the most inclusive,

and the most open organization in the blindness field, but we believe that democracy

cannot exist unless members are willing to abide by votes taken and policies

made. We trust that you share these views.

As soon as I have your response, I will

bring it to the National Board, and we will move with dispatch to take action.

Meanwhile, I thank you for coming to see me, and I thank you for your letter.

Sincerely,

Marc Maurer, President

National Federation of the Blind

Silver Spring, Maryland

June 23, 1997

Dear Mr. Maurer:

Thank you for the content and tone of

your June 20 letter, conveying that the NFB board is generally sympathetic to

my application for membership, though it seeks clarification on my views of

some organizational principles. This letter responds to that inquiry and in

the same spirit highlights principles I trust the board also supports, in order

that our understanding be common and productive. Though I would be but one of

thousands of members, I believe my acceptance as one, having the same rights

and responsibilities as any, would mean a positive result for me, for the Federation,

and most important for the integration of the blind into society on a basis

of equality.

Let me reassure the board that it is

not my nature to engage in public attacks upon individuals or organizations

even if I disagree strongly on an issue. I have learned that passion serves

best as an engine of justice, and reason as a pilot of tactics. I have also

sharpened my understanding of the distinction between advocacy inside and outside

an organization I hold dear.

I trust that disagreement with an NFB

leader or an exercise of internal appeal is not considered an attack by itself.

Similarly, I trust that an internal-issue campaign--even one involving a persistent

minority viewpoint--is not by itself considered a campaign of destruction or

an unauthorized sub-organization.

In the unlikely event that a disagreement

arises as to my adherence to NFB policy, I assume that disciplinary action would

not be taken without prior good cause and good faith negotiations on the matters

of contention. If such discussions occur and I understand that the board interprets

a policy in a way I could not accept, I would probably resign as a member, concluding

that sincere irreconcilable differences exist which make it better for me and

the organization to simply go our separate ways without ill will.

Let me close by committing myself, if

accepted as a Federationist, to the NFB Membership Pledge (as found in the 1996

convention program of the NFB of Massachusetts):

I pledge to participate actively in the

efforts of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve Equality, Opportunity,

and Security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation;

and to abide by its Constitution.

Sincerely yours,

Jamal Mazrui

P.S. I will try to attend the upcoming

convention in New Orleans. If I do so as an NFB member, I would appreciate it

if you could at some point make a public statement to that effect, thereby clarifying

this status to Federationists there.

Baltimore, Maryland

July 10, 1997

Dear Mr. Mazrui:

The Board of Directors of the National

Federation of the Blind has met and considered your letter of June 23, 1997,

in which you reiterate your request that you be reinstated as a member of the

National Federation of the Blind and pledge that you will abide by the policies

and Constitution of the Federation if accepted. As you know, an individual becomes

a member of the Federation by applying to a local chapter or state affiliate.

The National Board has decided as follows:

Since you now live in Maryland, you are free to apply to any local Maryland

chapter or to the state organization for admission to membership. You will be

welcomed and will have all of the privileges and responsibilities of any other

member, with the following stipulations and understandings:

You may not apply to the NFB of Massachusetts

for membership or be accepted as a member by the NFB of Massachusetts without

prior agreement by the National Board of Directors. There is too much residue

from the past to make such an application anything other than a focal point

of ill will and controversy.

If you wish to apply for membership to

any Federation affiliate besides Maryland, there must be prior agreement by

the National President. The Board feels that this will avoid possible misunderstanding

and disharmony.

You will need to abide by the commitments

you made in your letters of May 28, 1997, and June 23, 1997, and by the spirit

and substance of the letter I sent you dated June 20, 1997. With particular

respect to your June 23 letter, you need to understand that, if a disagreement

arises between you and the Federation as to whether you have violated a policy

of the Federation or the organization's Constitution, the Federation must have

the final decision in the matter. This is true of any organization if it is

to have meaning and integrity. For that matter, it is true for society as a

whole.

I would hope that what I have said makes

sense to you, and I tell you again that you will be welcome to come back to

the Federation if you like. There is much to be done, and the Federation is

the organization to do it.

Sincerely,

Marc Maurer, President

National Federation of the Blind

Here are Jamal Mazrui's and Lloyd Rasmussen's

e-mail exchanges dated July 21 and July 23, 1997, respectively:

Mazrui: As you may know, the National

board of the NFB has permitted me to rejoin the organization. Can you let me

know of meeting times, locations, and dues of local chapters in Maryland?

Rasmussen: The chapter most convenient

to you is the Sligo Creek Chapter, which covers Montgomery and northern Prince

George's Counties. Dues are $4 per year, and we usually meet early in the afternoon

of the second Saturday of each month. Normal meeting time is 1:00, but the location

(one of the Montgomery County public libraries) is not quite pinned down for

September through June. In August, on the 9th, we will be having a chapter picnic

at the home of Frank Stark in Wheaton, starting I think at 2 or 3 p.m. I think

you will find Sligo to be a good, mid-sized, active, and diverse chapter. The

chapter president is Debbie Brown. You can also call Judy or me for more information.

We need a wide variety of members with

different skills who are willing to work together in changing what it means

to be blind and to bring fresh ideas to the cause. We look forward to seeing

you participating in the NFB and its Sligo Creek Chapter.