Tribute From New Zealand

Tribute From New Zealand

A Tribute From New Zealand

by Jonathan Mosen

October 13, 1998

Most of us probably find ourselves thinking once

in a while about our legacy. It would be nice to conclude our life's work knowing that in

some way the world is a better place for our having lived in it. But few of us will ever

have the kind of legacy that is Dr. Kenneth Jernigan's. I want to try and explain why I

wept openly when I heard that Dr. Jernigan had died, why I in New Zealand, many thousands

of miles away from the United States Congress, NAC, and a history of paternalistic

American State agencies, feel such a profound sense of loss. I undertake this explanation

as a therapy exercise for myself. When I'm at an emotional extreme, I like to write. But I

also do it to say "thank you" to the National Federation of the Blind and Dr.

Jernigan's family for sharing Dr. Jernigan with the world.

When I was in my late teens and at university, I

was confident of my own abilities and scared of the future. I had decided that as a blind

person I was limited, not so much by my abilities, as by other people's perceptions of my

so-called disability. For various reasons I was in the media spotlight every so often and

used to describe blindness as a characteristic. But I was despondent about the seemingly

unbeatable odds I was battling. I thought that society wouldn't let me have a future and

that I might as well do the world a favor and surrender the battle. I was at the lowest

ebb to which any human being can descend.

I have always been an adopter of technology, and

at about this time found myself on the Disabilities Forum of CompuServe. A man named David

Andrews posted a message announcing the latest issue of a magazine called the Braille

Monitor. I downloaded it, read it, and found hope. I have read almost every Braille

Monitor since then.

So what is this hope I found? Obviously as

someone who has been interested in blindness advocacy in some form or another since I

crossed swords with the school for the blind at the age of six, the work of the Federation

interested me. But, as a political science and history graduate, American politics

interests me too. What made my reading of Federation material different and what gave me

hope was that the Federation not only mirrored my own views about blindness being a

characteristic, and about the real problem of blindness being attitudinal, but they had

proved it through their actions and programs.

With the advent of the Internet I gained access

to much more. I read Walking Alone and Marching Together, and it was at this point that I

really came to admire Dr. Jernigan. Dr. Jernigan was many things to the blind of the

world. First, he was a philosopher. One of his most famous pieces, "Blindness:

Handicap or Characteristic," is in my view

the most important and empowering philosophical work on blindness of this century, and

there were many other such writings. He had a remarkable ability to process and enunciate

thoughts clearly and logically. That takes someone who is a good listener as well as a

clear thinker and talker.

Second, he was a man who chose the right tactics

for the right time. He knew when the time was right to ask people to join him on the

barricades, but he also knew when the time was right to embark on the highly successful

public education program that is the Kernel Books. "We will do what we have to

do," he said on many occasions, and that's exactly the strategy he adopted. He was

about outcomes, not about making a noise for its own sake.

Third, he was the most outstanding orator I have

ever heard. Reading a Jernigan speech is inspiring. Listening to one delivered live was

thrilling and captivating. I attended two NFB Conventions and was privileged to be present

for the banquet address delivered by Dr. Jernigan last year as well as other addresses he

gave to the two Conventions I have attended. I have also heard many recordings of his

speeches. He never had to shout or rave to electrify an audience. His delivery was calm

and quite moderately paced. What made listening to him special was the conviction with

which his speeches were delivered, the flawless structure of his speeches, and the message

of hope they all conveyed.

But most important of all, his speeches touched

us all deeply. I remember sitting with my sighted wife listening to a recording of a

speech in which Dr. Jernigan read a letter from a sighted woman going out with a man named

Jim. The letter he read expressed the frustration this woman felt about the way her blind

boyfriend was treated. It was a sincere letter, and I have no doubt it was familiar to

many couples in which one person is blind and the other is sighted. My wife and I found

ourselves hugging each other and crying. We knew the speech could have been talking about

our own experiences.

Fourth, he was an educator. He helped a great

many people to realize that blindness wasn't the insuperable barrier they had thought it

was. He did this through his work in the teaching and rehabilitation professions, through

the Federation, and just through being Dr. Jernigan, the role model and mentor. He

educated the blind about blindness and the sighted too. I know through reading the

forewords to the Kernel Books that he was particularly proud of the difference this work

was making in changing attitudes on the part of the sighted.

I could go on for many pages yet, but let me draw

this to a close. Dr. Jernigan, the world is so much better a place because you lived in

it.

Your writings taught me not only that I had a

future, but that as someone with skills in advocacy and writing I had a duty to hang in

there and do my bit to ensure that the future got brighter for all of us. You taught us

that there were times to be angry and times when we shouldn't "throw the

nickel," times to march and times to negotiate. You taught us to believe in ourselves

and to believe that through organization and unity of purpose comes first-class

citizenship. Thank you for your philosophy, your sense of strategy, your sense of

proportion, your oratory, and your education and wisdom.

I would of course have sent a message of

condolence on behalf of the blind of New Zealand, but in this case it was important for me

personally to say much more. We will mourn, but Dr. Jernigan's family I'm sure know that

he was one of the great Americans of the twentieth century. I extend my sympathy to Mrs.

Jernigan and family, and to President Maurer as he leads the Federation through what will

be a time of deep sorrow, yet a time to celebrate the achievements of a truly remarkable

human being.

Jonathan Mosen, President

Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand