                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR

                         September, 1990

                    Kenneth Jernigan, Editor


     Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc, 
                        and cassette by 


              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT 
 


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                   Baltimore, Maryland 21230 

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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
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                      THE BRAILLE MONITOR
       PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
                            CONTENTS
                         September, 1990

                       CONVENTION ROUNDUP
                       by Barbara Pierce 
 
FIFTY YEARS OF GOLD

PRESIDENTIAL REPORT  
by Marc Maurer

                     THE FEDERATION AT FIFTY 
An Address Delivered by KENNETH JERNIGAN At the Banquet of the
Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind Dallas,
Texas, July 5, 1990

                NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
AWARDS FOR 1990
                                 
1990 SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION

         AWARD FROM THE  PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

               WALKING ALONE AND MARCHING TOGETHER
 
 RECIPES 

MONITOR MINIATURES

1990 resolutions

Constitution of the National Federation of the blind

Copyright, National Federation of the Blind, Inc., 1990.

CONVENTION ROUNDUP
                        by Barbara Pierce

There is always a danger in anticipation. Do any events ever live
up to our expectations? Looking back on the birthday and holiday
celebrations of childhood, most people will admit to a string of
disappointments running through their memories of those occasions
that they had expected to be most thrilling.
Many Federationists, if we are honest with ourselves, would
probably admit to having felt a tinge of worry before our golden
anniversary convention for fear we were perhaps expecting too
much that it was really impossible for any convention to live up
to the billing this one had been receiving. But now that it is
behind us and we are settling down to the task of writing the
next chapter in the history of the emancipation of the blind, we
can safely proclaim that this was truly an unforgettable
experience a high mark for the planners of the NFB centennial
celebration in 2040 to set their sights on.

The Hyatt Regency DFW was splendid, and the hotel staff was
absolutely first-rate. In addition to hotel restaurants, there
was a glorified hot-dog stand near the convention ballroom and
the exhibit hall. On the busiest days there was also a delicious
buffet, which guaranteed that one could get a tasty, efficiently
served, inexpensive meal without a long wait. And, although the
elevator lobbies were frequently crowded, the fact that the hotel
had two towers (each only moderately tall) meant that many of us
could resort to the stairs to get to our rooms without much
difficulty.
The convention began at a dead run on Saturday, June 30, 1990,
with shuttles to a nearby mall; a trip to Six Flags Over Texas
for older children; wonderful activities for the younger ones
(including a delightful clown who spends her serious time as an
attorney and active member of the NFB); two workshops for
writers; and the annual day-long seminar for parents and
educators of blind children, this year entitled  Who Are the
Professionals and What Should They Do?  The importance of
striving to establish healthy, thorough, well-balanced
rehabilitation for blind youngsters was demonstrated early in the
seminar by a panel of charming teens from the summer program of
the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Before ducking out for a day
of fun at Six Flags, these youngsters told parents and teachers
about coming to terms with blindness and learning that they
really are capable of achieving, now that they are developing
good attitudes from strong role models and are being taught the
alternative techniques that will ultimately make them competitive
adults.
Here's what Angela Howard, age thirteen, had to say in part:  I
never really saw a blind person before in my life. I just thought
what everybody else thought, that they were kind of weird
standing on the corner selling pencils, with one red sock and one
blue sock...But after I met Ernie and Zack and all of them, they
were kind of normal well, they are not normal, but they're not
weird. [laughter] I mean, they're not like a blind person. I
mean, they're not like I thought that blind people were; they
were different. And I thought that I could still be that way. 
A panel of parents, medical professionals, and educational
specialists of various kinds discussed the role of professionals
from their different perspectives and concluded that, essential
as their expertise is, there is simply no substitute for informed
parents and good blind role models.
Rather than getting a good night's sleep in preparation for the
exhausting day and week ahead, many conventioneers whooped it up
with the host affiliate at a Texas-style hoe-down. Hospitality in
general this year took place in two different locations one with
tables for quiet conversation and group singing around a piano,
and the other with space for dancing and the type of music
usually enjoyed by the young or, at least, by those who like the
loud. Texas warmth and welcome were available in both hospitality
areas, in the Texas suite, and everywhere else a Texan was to be
found.
Sunday morning was given over as usual to convention registration
and exhibits. With the streamlined system perfected by the
Federation registration team, hundreds of people an hour passed
through the line and went on to discover what was new in the
exhibit area. Technology of every description was on display, as
well as an amazing range of items for sale by professional
vendors, NFB divisions, state affiliates, and local chapters.
In the NFB store three new products were of special interest. The
NFB cookbook, which includes every recipe that appeared in the 
Braille Monitor  during the first fifty years, was available for
the first time. It is a handsome, spiral-bound book that will lie
flat when open, and each recipe includes a note about the person
who contributed it. After preliminary work by the Minnesota
affiliate, the California affiliate assembled this masterpiece,
and we are all grateful to have it. It sells for $15, and those
who did not snap it up at the convention can order it from the
National Center for the Blind. Gold, silver, and bronze NFB
anniversary medallions were also for sale in the exhibit hall,
and many Federation desks and pockets across the nation are
graced now by one of these mementos of our fiftieth-year
celebration.  They can still be purchased from the NFB at $500
for the gold, $25 for the silver, and $5 for the bronze. The new
carbon-fiber straight canes were available for the first time,
and many Federationists took advantage of the opportunity to buy
this tougher, lighter version of the standard NFB cane. The
carbon-fiber telescoping canes which were test marketed at the
1989 convention were also available in a number of lengths this
year. The straight canes cost $30, and the telescoping ones are
$35. As always, the exhibit hall this year was everyone's
favorite place to spend a little extra time dreaming and having
fun.
Twelve committees and divisions met Sunday afternoon or evening,
and sixteen did so on Monday. In addition, Mary Kay Cosmetics
conducted a seminar on Sunday evening for those interested in
color coordination and grooming. It was a tremendous success, and
the NFB received a sizable contribution as a result.  The
Resolutions Committee debated and eventually sent to the floor
twenty-two resolutions for consideration by the convention later
in the week. The texts of these resolutions appear elsewhere in
this issue.
President Maurer gaveled the annual meeting of the Board of
Directors to order at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, July 2. As usual, a
number of announcements and presentations were made, including
gifts to the national organization of $4,000 from the Cambridge,
Massachusetts, chapter and $90,000 from the Connecticut
affiliate. Early in the meeting, at a time when the upcoming
election was being discussed, Bob Eschbach of Ohio announced
that, after fourteen years of service on the Board, he did not
plan to allow his name to be placed in nomination this year. He
commented that he was grateful and honored to have shared in the
leadership of the National Federation of the Blind throughout
these years but that it was time for younger hands and hearts to
have this opportunity.  He assured the organization that he would
continue to serve wherever
he is needed, and he reiterated once again the truth that we all
understand leadership in the Federation is characterized by
service.
In responding to this announcement, President Maurer said,  I
know of no one who has served more faithfully in the National
Federation of the Blind than Bob Eschbach. 
The most exciting moment of the morning was the unveiling of 
Walking Alone and Marching Together: The History of the Organized
Blind Movement in the United States, 1940-1990 . This monumental
work, written by Floyd Matson, has over 1100 pages and sells for
$30. (After October 1, 1990, there will be an additional charge
of $3 for shipping and handling.) Dr. Matson, who was Dr.
tenBroek's student and later his colleague and friend, was
present to autograph copies bought during the convention. His
hand was undoubtedly tired by the time Friday evening arrived.
The very first copy of the book was presented at the beginning of
the Board meeting by President Maurer to Mrs. Hazel tenBroek.
President Maurer said:
 Dr. Jernigan was just showing the audience a copy of our book. 
I have here that copy. It has been inscribed by the author and is
the first copy of this book to be distributed. It is only right
that this organization's first First Lady should be the one to
receive it. I want to present to you, Mrs. tenBroek, the history
of what Dr.  tenBroek began fifty years ago. Here is  Walking
Alone and Marching Together . 
Mrs. tenBroek responded:  What an exciting moment for the
Federation and for me. I would like to say a few words about
Floyd. I first knew him when he was a graduate student at the
University of California at Berkeley. We saw a lot of him at our
house. I am sure, from what I know of Floyd, that this book is
probably one of the most competent things that has been done in
the history of blindness.  The scholarship class of 1990 was
introduced to the convention at the Board meeting, and an
impressive group of students they are. Peggy Pinder, Chairman of
the Scholarship Committee, announced that $71,000 would be
divided among these young men and women as scholarships in
tribute to their academic excellence and dedication to community
service.  In addition, all twenty-six NFB scholars were presented
with convention scholarships to enable them to be our guests at
the convention again this year.
Dr. Tim Cranmer, Chairman of the Research and Development
Committee, demonstrated to the organization a rough prototype of
the NFB scientific calculator, which will carry out computations
to fifteen places to the right of the decimal point. At last
year's convention, Dr. Abraham Nemeth introduced the NFB's
calculator program for use with IBM-compatible computers, and by
next year the committee hopes to have the first models of the
stand-alone scientific calculator for inspection. Dr.  Cranmer
demonstrated the operation of the prototype and allowed the
audience to hear its voice, which bears a remarkable resemblance
to that of Dr. Jernigan.
Traditionally the NFB recognizes those who have worked hardest
and most successfully in the effort to recruit members-at-large
(associates).  This year we announced both the top ten
member-recruiters and the top ten money-raisers. President Maurer
announced them as follows:  Number ten, Sharon Davis, Michigan,
with 51 Associates, and Larry Streeter, Nebraska, with $1,250;
number nine, Marc Maurer, Maryland, with 63 Associates, and Fred
Schroeder, New Mexico, with $1,420; number eight, Verla Kirsh,
Iowa, with 64, and Mary Ellen Jernigan, Maryland, with $1,815;
number seven, Gary Jones, Illinois, with 66, and Duane
Gerstenberger, Maryland, with $1,830; number six, Fred Schroeder,
New Mexico, with 81, and Norman Gardner, Arizona, with $2,370.50;
number five, Frank Lee, Alabama, with 83, and Bill Isaacs,
Illinois, with $2,571; number four, Norman Gardner, Arizona, with
150, and Tom Stevens, Missouri, with $2,596; number three, Bill
Isaacs, Illinois, with 185, and Jim Omvig, Arizona, with $2,809;
number two, Tom Stevens, Missouri, with 204, and Marc Maurer,
Maryland, with $3,468; and number one in both categories, with
258 Associates and $8,516 raised, Kenneth Jernigan, Maryland.
At 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, President Maurer gaveled the
first general session of the 1990 convention to order, and Glenn
Crosby, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Texas, welcomed the convention to the Lone Star State. Harold
Snider, until recently the Director of Outreach for Persons with
Disabilities at the Republican National Committee, made a
presentation to President Maurer. He said:

 Mr. President, Dr. Jernigan, fellow Federationists: This morning
I have the great pleasure and privilege to present to Marc
Maurer, on behalf of the President of the United States, Goerge
Bush, and the Republican National Committee, a Presidential medal
in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Federation of
the Blind.  This inaugural medal is a bronze circle two and three
quarters inches in diameter. On the obverse is pictured the
American eagle and a bust of President George Bush, with the
President's signature beneath and his name printed around the
edge. The reverse side of the medal displays a picture of the
sculpture of Freedom from the Capitol dome with the words  E
Pluribus Unum  at her feet. The inscription says  Forty-first
President of the United States of America.  The words 
Inaugurated, January 20, 1989,  and  Two Hundredth Anniversary of
the Presidential Inaugural  appear around the edge.  In accepting
this award, President Maurer said:  I shall be pleased to display
this medal proudly, and I do so for this organization, which has
meant so much to so many blind people. 
The remainder of the Tuesday morning session was devoted to the
roll call of states. The Tuesday afternoon general session began
with the annual Presidential Report. In addition to reviewing the
past year's battles and accomplishments, President Maurer looked
back in this fiftieth-anniversary report to the progress that has
been made by the Federation during its entire history. In summing
up the role that the Federation has always played and the work it
continues to do, President Maurer said:
 When it comes to civil rights for the blind, we are really the
only ball game in town. Nobody else has the knowledge, the skill,
the determination, and the conviction that we possess. Nobody has
the tenacity and the willingness to meet conflict half-way or the
ability to settle arguments with finality. We have a reputation
and we deserve it. 
The report, which appears in full elsewhere in this issue, was
filled with evidence of what we the blind are doing to earn our
rightful place in the community, and it rang with the promise we
have made to ourselves and to the coming generations that we will
not rest until this work is complete. The final words of the 1990
Presidential Report were a summation of our record, our work in
hand, and our dreams for tomorrow:
 I have met the great body of the Federation, and I am absolutely
certain that the first fifty years are only the beginning. With
the Federation as our vehicle, and a spirit of determination as
our driving force, we will create a climate of equality for all
of the blind.  The stakes are too high and the costs of failure
too great to do anything less. With all of the problems we face,
our future has never looked better. Therefore, with joy, with
enthusiasm, with purpose, let us go to meet our second half
century. This is my hope, this is my certainty, and this is my
report to you on this golden anniversary.  Following the
tumultuous response to the Presidential Report, Congressman
Martin Frost (representative from the twenty-fourth district of
Texas) spoke to the convention on the subject  Representing the
People in Congress: The Blind Are Heard in Washington.  During
the question period that followed Congressman Frost's remarks, a
lively exchange took place between Dr. Jernigan and the speaker.

 Dr. Jernigan: I want to talk to you for a moment about the air
carrier bill we have in Congress. That bill, you may know, says
that you can't discriminate against people by limiting where they
sit on planes on the basis of their eyesight. It's about as
simple as the amendment you mentioned to the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Senator Hollings introduced that bill in the
Senate, and it has thirty-four or thirty-five co-sponsors. It
passed out of Senate committee after hearings. It undoubtedly
would have passed the Senate had it not been for the fact that it
got involved with people trying to put all kinds of Christmas
tree amendments on it. There was a motion, as you heard in the
Presidential Report and as you may have known anyway, for
cloture, so that there could be a vote on the bill itself. That
vote was fifty-six in favor; it fell short. We will deal with it
in the Senate. In the House we have a different problem. There
are 182 of your colleagues in the House who have co-sponsored
that bill. For whatever reason, I regret to say that you have not
yet seen fit to do that. Now, the real problem we have in the
House is not that we cannot muster the votes to pass the bill;
the real problem is that Congressman Oberstar, who heads the Sub-
Committee, has said that he doesn't like the bill, and he isn't
going to give us a hearing. It doesn't matter how many
co-sponsors we have. That seems to me a little high-handed. It
seems to me the American way is, if you've got 182 of the members
of that body who have put their names to a bill and co-sponsored
it, at least we deserve the right to be heard even if the
committee votes us down. I'll say just this to you, and then I
want to ask you a question. You are a member of the majority
party in the House. You are not a man without influence; you are
a member of the Rules Committee. You have some seniority. The
problem that we keep facing is that people say they have great
respect for our noble and heroic and courageous wish to be
independent they have a lot of compassion for us, but this is a
matter of airline safety. That's all very touching and all very
phoney. That is, compassion in this matter is inappropriate,
either way it goes. If we really are a greater hazard than others
sitting in exit row seats, then we don't want to sit there; we
shouldn't sit there; and anybody who wants us to sit there is
nuts. Compassion has nothing to do with it. On the other hand, if
we're not a greater hazard than others, then compassion still has
nothing to do with it because in that case, if we are moved
arbitrarily from those seats and, therefore, put at greater risk
because whoever sits closest to the exit door, as you may know,
has the best chance of getting out in case of a disaster in that
case we still aren't dealing with compassion. We're dealing with
pure discrimination. But it is a matter of fact and not sloppy
emotionalism, either way you cut it.
For years we were told by the Federal Aviation Administration
that we did not constitute a greater risk than others in those
seats, and only when the airlines put pressure on them and a
lawyer in the FAA dealt with some of the Flight Safety people did
they reverse themselves.  Furthermore, we participated in a test
evacuation of one of the big DC-10 planes and made video tapes.
We offered that in evidence before the Senate committee. We went
to the White House, as you have heard, and talked with President
Bush, and he said,  Well, if it's not a matter of safety, why
I'll put a stop to all this discrimination if I can if I have the
power.  Well, of course he has the power.
He said, by the way, that his evidence was that Secretary Skinner
was so much concerned that he went down there himself to see if a
blind fellow could open one of those doors. Can you imagine that? 
That is comparable to asking somebody with no experience to go to
a hospital and see what could be done with surgical instruments
it's foolishness! Secretary Skinner may be a good man, but he has
no knowledge of what a blind person can do in a plane. Only these
two final things:  There has never been, in the whole history of
aviation, any recorded incident when a blind person impeded the
evacuation of a plane or was any way involved in a hazardous
procedure in a plane. There have, however, been instances and
they are documentable; one of our members was involved in which,
when there was smoke in that plane and the lights were out, a
blind man it would also apply to a blind woman, but this happened
to be a man helped other passengers get out of that plane.  We
have the testimony of a pilot who flies the big jets saying that,
in his experience and in his professional opinion, (remember that
this is a sworn statement) the plane would be safer if you had an
otherwise able-bodied blind person sitting in that exit row, just
because of the kind of case I have described to you.
With all of that, I am asking you two things today: Will you try
to help us get a hearing before Congressman Oberstar's committee
regardless of whether you think you can support the bill or not?
That seems to be the American way to do things. And the second
thing is will you either based on what we have said to you, or,
if that isn't sufficient, based on evidence which you will let us
show you will you co-sponsor our bill and make it 183? Please
answer those two for me.  Congressman Frost: The answer is yes to
both, and I will be happy to visit with Congressman Oberstar,
whom I know very well. I can't guarantee that I can convince him
that he should hold hearings on this bill, but I'll be happy to
take it up with him.  Dr. Jernigan: Okay, and on the other thing,
what do we need to do to deal with you on whether or not you
might consider being a co-sponsor?

Congressman Frost: Oh, I think you've persuaded me; I think you
can count me in that number.
Dr. Jernigan: All right, that's all we can ask. Thank you.

The remainder of the afternoon session was devoted to four agenda
items. Ramona Walhof an independent businesswoman, member of the
National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors, and
Secretary of the NFB's Merchants' Division spoke on the topic 
Highway Vending: A Major Recent Component of the
Randolph-Sheppard Program.  Wolfgang Zoellner (Deputy
Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, General Services
Administration) next discussed  Randolph-Sheppard Program in
America: Prospects for the 1990s.   Research Projects That Help
the Blind  was the title of an adddress delivered by Marie
Leinhaas, Director of Clinical Social Work, Wilmer Vision
Research and Rehabilitation Center, Johns Hopkins University. The
afternoon ended with a report from Mohymen Saddeek, President of
the BIT Corporation, on  What's New in Products for the Blind. 
At 5:15 that afternoon, buses began transporting conventioneers
to and from the site of the Texas Barbecue at Bear Creek, a
seven-minute drive from the hotel. In addition to a delicious
dinner of mesquite-grilled beef, corn, baked beans, cole slaw,
and fruit cobbler, conventioneers enjoyed free soft drinks and
beer all evening provided by our host affiliate. There were live
music and much conviviality under the Texas stars.
But the Wednesday general session began punctually at 8:30 a.m.
with the election of officers and half the at-large members of
the Board of Directors. Those still having another year of their
terms to serve are Donald Capps, South Carolina; Joanne
Fernandes, Louisiana; Priscilla Ferris, Massachusetts; Betty
Niceley, Kentucky; Fred Schroeder, New Mexico; and Gary Wunder,
Missouri. The following officers and members of the Board of
Directors were elected enthusiastically to serve until July of
1992:
President, Marc Maurer. In his response to the convention's
thunderous election by acclamation, President Maurer said:  Thank
you very much for that vote of confidence. Before this convention
Dr. Jernigan and I were talking about the movement, and each of
us encouraged the other to try to make it to the hundredth
anniversary. He said to me that he'd be there and he hoped that
I'd make it. I thought the same thing I hoped that I'd make it,
too, and I hope he's there. It is a wonderful organization, and I
very much appreciate your support.  First Vice President, Diane
McGeorge, Colorado, who responded to her election by saying: 
Thank you all very much. It is a privilege to be elected; it's a
privilege to be a part of this organization.  I look at the
agenda this morning, and I can't wait to get to the history
because I think that the last fifty years has been terrific but,
with the leadership of President Maurer and the Board and all of
you, I know that the next fifty years is going to be even more
terrific. Thank you again. 
Second Vice President, Peggy Pinder, Iowa, who said:  Mr.
President, the National Federation of the Blind has given me the
security to know who I am, the opportunity to know where I am
going, and the equality to know I can do it. Dr. Jernigan has
taught me that it is my duty to give to others what has been so
generously given to me. You, Mr.  President, have taught me by
your example about service to others and dedication to principle.
I hope that I can continue to do what you, Dr. Jernigan, and you,
Mr. Maurer, have taught me to give, to serve, and to be
dedicated. And I, too, Mr. Maurer and all my friends in the
Federation don't you all? plan to be at the hundredth anniversary
convention of the National Federation of the Blind!  Secretary,
Joyce Scanlan, Minnesota, who responded:  Mr. President, fellow
Federationists, thank you very much for this honor. I am sorry
that I have only been around for twenty of the last fifty years,
but I really look forward with a good bit of hope and certainly a
good bit of determination to the next fifty years. I expect that
during that time we're going to have one hundred percent
employment of blind people, and we're going to be able to sit on
the airplanes in any seat without being hassled. And if I don't
make it for all of these next fifty years, I do have a DIG
policy. 
Treasurer, Allen Harris, Michigan, who said:  Thank you Mr.
President and my friends in the Federation. The single most
important influence in my life has been the National Federation
of the Blind. Whatever I am or will become is as a result of the
opportunities and sacrifices made for me and for all of us by
those who came before us in the National Federation of the Blind.
They were working when we did not attend conventions.
Subsequently we have been able to, and now we look forward to the
future. It is an honor to be able to give something back to the
thing that is most important in my life and, when we think about
it, the thing that is most important in the lives of blind
people.  You may think it could be different, but as we look at
our history and contemplate our future, the National Federation
of the Blind is the single most important influence in our lives,
and it will continue to be that way. Thank you. 
Steve Benson, Illinois, was returned to the Board of Directors
for another term. He commented:  Thank you Mr. President; thank
you fellow Federationists. This is my twentieth convention
nineteenth consecutive. I come from a family of great longevity.
I have a number of family members who have lived to be 110 and
105. I figure I've got a good shot at the year 2040. I said the
other night at the Membership Committee meeting that there is
nothing magical about what we do.  It requires hard work. We are
changing what it means to be blind, but we have a lot yet to do.
If we don't do it, it's not going to get done. So let's roll up
our sleeves and for the next fifty years work as we know how to
work to accomplish our goals. Thank you.  Charles Brown from
Virginia, known to his friends as Charlie, was also elected to
serve another term on the Board. He said:  Folks, it's hard to
express what an honor it is to be elected to this position.  I
hope that many of you will have this opportunity; certainly many
of you are deserving of it. This is a group that is hard-working
and competent and successful; and, when you have an opportunity
to sit on the national Board of such an organization, it is
really humbling.  I really appreciate the trust you have bestowed
on me, and I hope and pray that I will be worthy of it. Thank
you.  Glenn Crosby, Texas, said:   I want to thank everybody here
for that fine vote. You just can't imagine what a privilege it is
to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, and certainly
there is no outfit like this one. There is nothing in this world
that can compare. It has been rewarding to me to have been a part
of the fifty years that we have traveled so far, and I look
forward to attending that centennial convention, and I hope it's
here in Texas. 
To the position previously held by Robert Eschbach of Ohio, the
convention elected David Hyde, President of the National
Federation of the Blind of Oregon. David responded by saying: 
Mr. President, I am humbled by the honor that this organization
has bestowed upon me this morning.  I remember a very warm day
warm for Corvallis, Oregon in '74 when President and Mrs. Maurer
came to Oregon and got in touch with a college student who
thought he was very much too busy for this organization and
thought that if he went to one of the more difficult places for
him to get around at Oregon State, he might be able to say, `well
I was there, and I'm sorry you didn't find me.' In true
Federation style Mr. Maurer found me and sent me home with what
felt at the time like fifty pounds of literature. I found that
here is an organization that was saying to other blind people
what I thought I had been trying to say and had thought was a
brand new idea back when Martin Luther King was leading black
people to Selma. I had said, `Why don't blind people do that?
That's a wonderful idea.' I would like to take the opportunity
briefly to thank those people who have brought me along in this
movement. Judy Sanders and Peggy Pinder said to me at my first
convention, Los Angeles in 1976 almost the first thing they did
say to me `Let's put you to work.' I also want to thank Mr.
Maurer and Dr. Jernigan for the time you have taken with me over
the last sixteen years. You've taught me, and you have cared for
all of us in this organization. My brothers and sisters, there is
no greater tribute than to be honored by one's own people. I'll
do the best that I can. Thank you. 
Frank Lee, Alabama, was elected to his third term on the Board of
Directors. He responded:  I want to thank the members of this
movement for your vote of confidence and for the great honor you
have bestowed on me to put me into a position of leadership
again. I will continue to do all I can. I was thinking that the
very next year after I was elected to the Board for the first
time I won the Associates contest. So it looks like I'll have to
win it again in 1990-91. Thank you very much. 
Ramona Walhof, Idaho, was elected to the final seat on the Board
this year. In her brief remarks she said:  When I am organizing,
I always tell new recruits that you pay your dues for the
privilege of working, and I guess that I have to take that
seriously as well.  I must say that one of the joys of working in
this movement is that there are so many people to work with. That
makes it rewarding, challenging, and fun. I thank you for your
confidence, and I thank you for the privilege of working in this
group. 
Following the election the convention heard the annual report
from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped delivered by its director, Frank Kurt Cylke. Mr.
Cylke's title was  Six Decades of Service.  His report reviewed
important NLS programs of the past year as well as looking back
over sixty years of serving the blind. As usual, several members
of the NLS staff were present throughout the convention, talking
with Federationists, solving problems, and discussing ongoing
issues of mutual concern.
During the remainder of the morning Dr. Jernigan orchestrated a
fascinating review of the Federation's fifty-year history. A
twenty-six-minute-long tape of the sounds of that history was
played for the convention, and two Federationists who joined the
movement in each decade spoke of their recollections of the
organization at the time that they became active. These
representatives were Hazel tenBroek, California, and Joe DeBeer,
Minnesota, from the forties; Tim Cranmer, Kentucky, and Don
Capps, South Carolina, from the fifties; Marc Maurer, Maryland,
and Ramona Walhof, Idaho, from the sixties; Barbara Pierce, Ohio,
and Barbara Walker, Nebraska, from the seventies; and Michael
Baillif, Connecticut, and Ruby Ryles, Washington, from the
eighties. Except for the banquet, of course, this agenda item was
the high point of the convention for most delegates. The voices
from the past and the personal accounts of unswerving dedication
to improving the lives and prospects of blind people reminded us
all of our heritage and inspired renewed commitment.
The afternoon and evening were filled with a special seminar on
Social Security; committee meetings; a Monte Carlo Night,
sponsored by the Student Division; and tours, tours, and more
tours. A shuttle bus carried conventioneers to and from a nearby
mall, and the hotel swimming pool did a land office business
under the Texas sun.   Applying the Rules of Physics: Blindness
No Barrier  was the first item on a packed agenda Thursday
morning. Dr. John Gardner, Professor of Physics at Oregon State
University, was the speaker; and his remarks were fascinating to
everyone and particularly useful to several student scientists in
the audience.
The convention next turned attention to  Implications of the
Americans With Disabilities Act: What Is the Future, What Is in
Store for the Blind?  The participants on this panel chaired by
President Maurer were William Lucas, Director of the Office of
Liaison Services, United States Department of Justice; Sandra
Parrino, Chairman of the National Council on Disability; and
William McCabe, Chairman of the Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board. These panelists discussed frankly
their hopes for the Americans With Disabilities Act and the
concerns and reservations about it held by members of the
National Federation of the Blind.
Justin Dart, one-time Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services
Administration and now Chairman of the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities, then made a surprise
appearance on the podium. Mr. Dart came to Dallas to present Dr.
Jernigan with the Distinguished Service Award of the President of
the United States. A complete report on this exciting
presentation appears elsewhere in this issue.   Fair Labor
Standards: What Blind Workers Need to Know About Their Rights 
was the subject when James Gashel, National Federation of the
Blind Director of Governmental Affairs, and William Brooks,
United States Department of Labor, Assistant Secretary for
Employment Standards, addressed the convention. Assistant
Secretary Brooks has the authority to protect blind sheltered
shop workers who still face low wages and lack of opportunity for
advancement. Mr. Brooks seemed genuinely interested in working
with the Federation to help blind workers obtain fair treatment.
Donald Gist is the newly appointed director of the South Carolina
Commission for the Blind. He attended the 1990 Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind as part of his effort to learn
firsthand about the problems and potentials of blind people. On
Thursday morning he addressed the convention on the subject,  New
Beginnings: Development of State Programs in Partnership with the
Blind.  We look forward to a long and productive relationship
with this dedicated and energetic director of a state
rehabilitation agency.
 Building a Day Care Program: A Career for the Blind  was the
title of Carol Coulter's lively and interesting talk, which
concluded the Thursday morning session. Carol is an active member
of the Missouri affiliate and a busy and productive member of her
community.  The afternoon session began with an address by Nell
Carney, Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration. Her
title was  The Rehabilitation Services Administration: Its
Relationship to Blindness and Consumerism.  Mrs. Carney reported
on RSA programs and new efforts to work with consumers of
rehabilitation services. Perhaps the most exciting part of her
presentation was the thoughtful, honest, straightforward way in
which she answered the searching questions put to her. She is
clearly trying to change business as usual at the RSA, and she
appears genuinely to want the participation of the National
Federation of the Blind.  Federation leaders repeatedly assured
her that, if she will try to come half way, we will meet her and
then some.
Donovan Cooper, a Federationist from California, spoke to the
convention about  The Skills of Blindness Employed in the Federal
Court.  This was a moving and interesting talk about his work as
a management analyst in the United States Bankruptcy Court.
Dr. Euclid Herie, Managing Director of the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind, has become a close friend of the
organized blind of this country in the past several years. He and
Dr. Jernigan have worked together in the leadership of the World
Blind Union, and Dr. Herie has attended our past several
conventions. His topic this year was  Roots and Wings.  After
making his address, he presented President Maurer with a
recording of a history of his organization during the last
decade, intended for inclusion in the time capsule being prepared
for the NFB's centennial celebration. He also made another
presentation. This is what he said:
 I have just given your President a three-dimensional plaque of a
beaver gnawing on a tree. The beaver, as you know, is
industrious; and it is also the symbol of Canada. He is a most
persistent, determined animal something like the history of the
Federation.  The plaque says:  In friendship we congratulate and
pay tribute to the National Federation of the Blind on the
occasion of your fiftieth anniversary. Your heritage and
collective action have established security, equality, and
opportunity by blind persons speaking for themselves in America
and throughout the world. 
Dr. Herie was followed by two Federationists who talked about
their jobs and their understanding of the role which the National
Federation of the Blind has played in their success. Diane Starin
of California spoke about  The Philosophy of Blindness at Work in
Equestrian Training and Shearing Sheep.  Don Morris of Maryland
told the audience entertainingly how  I Could Have Been a
Bookkeeper. 

Larry King, the noted interviewer and talk show host, then amused
the audience with recollections of his life as a public figure.
He also discussed effective ways of making our voice heard in the
halls of power and pledged himself to be our friend. In his own
characteristically emphatic way, he placed himself firmly on our
side of the airline-seating dispute by saying:
 I fully support you on this dumb airline thing. When you buy
your ticket, when anyone buys a ticket in a commercial
enterprise, they are equal to anyone else who buys a ticket to go
anywhere and should be treated as such. 
The final agenda item of the afternoon was entitled  Work
Incentives and Rehabilitation: Plans and Initiatives of the
Social Security Administration.  The speaker was Susan B. Parker,
Associate Commissioner for Disability, Social Security
Administration. The Thursday afternoon general session concluded
promptly at five so the hotel staff could prepare the space for
the evening's festivities.
The annual banquet was characterized by exuberance, laughter,
good food, and fun. President Maurer had his hands full as the
master of ceremonies. As always, there was lots of singing and as
usual, it was characterized more by enthusiasm than musicality.
The souvenir mugs for this fiftieth-anniversary banquet were
especially attractive, with the anniversary logo on one side and
pictures of Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer on
the other.
The awards presentations were particularly exciting this year.
The Blind Educator of the Year Award was given to Dr. Abraham
Nemeth, inventor of the Nemeth Braille mathematics notation
system. The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award went
to Doris Willoughby, co-author of the comprehensive new handbook
for teachers of blind children; and the winner of the $10,000
Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship was Robin Zook of Colorado, who
attends graduate school at Brigham Young University in Utah.
Presentations of the two awards and all twenty-six scholarships
are described elsewhere in this issue.
As was appropriate on this landmark occasion, Dr. Jernigan
delivered the very special banquet address. Entitled  The
Federation at Fifty,  this stirring and thought-provoking speech
was unlike any banquet address we have ever been given. It was
filled with recollections and passages from fascinating letters
that illustrated Dr. Jernigan's explication of the roots and
first flowering of the National Federation of the Blind. The tone
was more reflective and thoughtful than usual, and the audience
hung on every word. Dr. Jernigan's insight into our history and
his blazing affirmation of our hopes and dreams for the future
united the Federation audience to face the challenges ahead with
joy and commitment. The closing words of the speech captured the
essence of its promise and our commitment to ourselves and to the
blind:
 I think that the new generation that is on the horizon will
provide leaders and members who will be present fifty years from
now when we meet for our hundredth anniversary. We must never
forget our history.  We must never dishonor our heritage. We must
never abandon our mission.  With love for each other and faith in
our hearts, we must go the rest of the way to equal status and
first-class membership in society.  My brothers and my sisters,
let us march together to meet that future.  Following this deeply
inspiring address, we heard briefly from several distinguished
officials at the head table. These included Nell Carney, Sandra
Parrino, Frank Kurt Cylke, Susan Parker, and Euclid Herie all of
whom had already taken part in the convention program. We were
delighted to have these distinguished officials and friends as
guests at our banquet.
The general session on Friday was filled with organizational
business.  Reports and discussion of resolutions packed the
agenda, and conventioneers began worrying about how to fit
everything they had acquired into luggage that was already full
when they arrived. Though a number of tired Federationists
climbed aboard buses Friday evening for the long drive home, many
more stayed on for the Job Opportunities for the Blind seminar on
Saturday. In fact, many conventioneers stayed until Sunday in the
hope of catching up on sleep and recovering a little from the
busiest, most exciting, and inspiring convention we have ever
had.
The Texans were right about things in the Lone Star State they
really are just a little (or a lot) bigger than life-size, and
Texas hospitality is every bit as warm as the Texas weather.
Those of us who were lucky enough to share in this
fiftieth-anniversary celebration will never forget it, and those
who plan the hundredth have their work cut out for them if they
intend to surpass this convention.  It is only fair to point out
that, during the Friday general session, members of the Louisiana
delegation were circulating through the audience, passing out
brochures describing New Orleans and promising wonderful food and
music in the French Quarter, where our headquarters hotel for the
1991 convention is located.
We have much to do in the coming year. One measure of the
distance we have come in the past half century is our painful
recognition of just how much is left to do. Blind children are
still being shortchanged in education. Blind adults must still
fight for adequate rehabilitation and equal employment. And every
one of us faces condescension and discrimination with soul-
destroying regularity. All of these (and more) are the battles we
face in the coming year, but  walking alone  in our daily lives
or  marching together  in convention assembled, we are the
National Federation of the Blind; and we are winning our battles,
one skirmish at a time. The 1990 fiftieth-anniversary convention
brought home to us in a way that we have never quite seen before
that the future is in good hands because it is in our own hands. 
                                 
 
FIFTY YEARS OF GOLD
The summer is coming to a close, and with it the
fiftieth-anniversary convention of the National Federation of the
Blind fades into history.  But there are a number of mementos of
the celebration, which will remain, reminders of the
accomplishments of our first half century and the fun we have had
celebrating them. First and foremost, of course, is the book, 
Walking Alone and Marching Together . An article about this
history of the organized blind movement appears elsewhere in this
issue. But the publication of other books also marks this
milestone.
The Minnesota and California affiliates of the Federation
compiled all the recipes that have appeared in the  Braille
Monitor  during the first fifty years. Special commendation for
this project goes to Sharon Gold and Cheryl Pickering, who did
the lion's share of the work. The book has a soft cover and is
spiral-bound so that it lies flat when open. Many of the notes
about the contributors have been brought up to date, and reading
this mouth-watering publication not only convinces the most
doubtful skeptic that blindness need not discourage anyone from
ambitious cooking, but provides hundreds of glimpses in the
introductory notes of the Federation at work everywhere. The new
cookbook can be ordered from the Materials Center at the National
Center for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 
21230.  Checks should be made payable to the National Federation
of the Blind.  The book costs $15 a copy; at this time it is
available only in print.

At Dr. tenBroek's death, Dr. Jernigan prepared a recorded tribute
to him entitled  Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement . 
Because it includes many of Dr. tenBroek's most important and
best-loved speeches and because it tells in moving words the
story of our founder's life, through the years it has been one of
the most popular pieces of literature in our collection. But it
has never been available in print or Braille. Now, in honor of
our golden anniversary, a new edition of  Jacobus tenBroek: The
Man and the Movement  is available in all three formats. A
preface by Dr. Jernigan has been added, but otherwise it is the
book many of us have loved for years and the rest have wished
they could enjoy. Dr. Jernigan read the new preface to the
convention on Thursday morning, July 5. Reading it will give you
the flavor of the entire book. It is a publication well worth the
reading and rereading. Here it is:

I first met Jacobus tenBroek in the summer of 1952. He was in the
prime of his vigor as an author, a college professor, and the
leader of the organized blind movement in the United States; and
I was the newly elected president of the Tennessee affiliate of
the National Federation of the Blind. We were immediately drawn
to each other he as mentor and role model and I as protg and
willing student. But our relationship was not one of difference
and distance. Rather, it was one of collegiality and partnership
in a joint effort the bringing of equal rights and first-class
status to the blind.  In 1953 I moved to California to work on
the faculty of the state orientation and adjustment center for
the blind, and since the Center was in Oakland and Dr. tenBroek
lived next door in Berkeley, we were in constant communication.
During the next five years I spent many delightful hours in the
tenBroek home, where Dr. and Mrs. tenBroek served sumptuous
meals, entertained interesting guests by the roaring fire in
their 1,600-square-foot living room, and provided mental
stimulation and lively talk. For me it was a time of growth of
finding myself, of making lasting commitments, and determining
what my life's work would be.
In 1958 I moved to Iowa to become director of the state
Commission for the Blind, but my relationship with Dr. tenBroek
did not weaken.  Year by year it grew stronger as we worked in
the common cause of building the National Federation of the
Blind. Through the trials of the organization's civil war, the
rebuilding of the mid-1960s, and the period after he learned that
he had cancer in 1966 Dr. tenBroek and I were an inseparable
team. He faced his terminal illness as he faced everything else
in his life, matter-of-factly and looking to the future.
By the fall of 1967 it was clear that he had only a few months
left, and I began to write and assemble  Jacobus tenBroek: The
Man and the Movement . It was never intended as a print or
Braille publication but as a recording of the actual sounds of
his speeches. He died on March 27, 1968, and that very afternoon
(with heavy heart) I finished my work on the master tapes and
sent them off to the recording studio.

The national convention was held in Des Moines that summer, and
every person who attended was given the recording of  Jacobus
tenBroek:  The Man and the Movement . That was twenty-two years
ago, and much has happened during the intervening time. The
Federation has grown in power and influence; the National Center
for the Blind has been established in Baltimore; and a whole new
generation of blind Americans has come to leadership in the
movement. But essentially the National Federation of the Blind is
still the organization which Jacobus tenBroek planned and loved
and labored to build. The basic philosophy is the philosophy
which he propounded; the underlying structure is the structure
which he established.
Therefore, it seems particularly appropriate in this year of the
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Federation of the Blind that 
Jacobus tenBroek: The Man and the Movement  be reissued and this
time not only in recorded form but also in print and Braille. He
was the first president of the organization, and he will be a
principal element in the administration of the last president,
whoever and whenever that may be. In writing this preface and
working to issue this publication, I give tangible expression to
the debt which I owe to Jacobus tenBroek and to the love which I
bore him. He was the guiding force of my formative years and the
touchstone of integrity by which I have measured the actions of
my later life.
The third generation of the movement is now in the flower of its
strength, and the fourth generation is coming to maturity. The
National Federation of the Blind is in good hands, and the spirit
of Jacobus tenBroek is vibrantly alive in the unity of purpose
and the drive to freedom of its leaders and members.
                                                 Kenneth Jernigan
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                     May 18, 1990

 The Man and the Movement  is available for $5 from the Materials
Center at the National Center for the Blind.
The commemorative medallion in gold, silver, and bronze is the
official memento of our golden anniversary. On the obverse are
the words  50th Anniversary Texas 1990  in print and NFB 50 in
Braille. The zero of 50th provides the outline for the NFB logo,
and a flying flag with the Lone Star visible on it is also
pictured. The reverse displays pictures of the three most
outstanding presidents of the National Federation of the Blind
together with the dates of their elections.

Each of these medallions weighs one ounce, and they are available
from the Materials Center at the National Center for the Blind at
$500 for the gold, $25 for the sterling silver, and $5 for the
bronze.

This year's banquet mugs were especially attractive. Decorated in
black and white, they display the same picture of Dr. tenBroek,
Dr.  Jernigan, and President Maurer as appears on the
commemorative medallions.  On the other side of the mug is the
fiftieth-anniversary logo. The mugs are available for $3 apiece
from the National Center for the Blind.
Finally, in honor of the occasion, the Music Division of the
Federation conducted a contest for song-writers. Entries were
submitted to the division, and the winner was chosen during the
convention. The winners were Linda Milliner, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Sacramento, and Dan Fry, one
of this year's scholarship winners and an active member of the
Student Division. Their winning entry is set to the melody of 
The Yellow Rose of Texas  and was played for the convention at
the close of the Wednesday morning general session. Here it is:

                       Fifty Years of Gold 

We have gathered here in Texas, for all the world to see; 
We're proudly celebrating our anniversary.  
Let us raise one voice with gladness, declare it loud and bold, 
Oh, NFB we honor you for fifty years of gold.  

It's a long way from Wilkes-Barre and the call to organize.  For
fifty years we've prospered with leaders brave and wise. 
With persistence we have triumphed over roadblocks in the way. 
 We are the Federation, and we are here to stay. 

                             Refrain 
It's the greatest national movement that blind guys
ever knew. 
Our pride's as rich as diamonds, our love's forever
true. 
We will talk about our heritage and sing of unity.  
The blind will march together; we are the NFB. 


The organized blind movement is a liberating cause.  
We've climbed the stairs to freedom without a single pause. 
We have stood upon the barricades to fight what's clearly wrong. 
With meaningful objectives we have kept our movement strong. 

Fifty years of dedication proves the blind have made the choice, 
To be seen for who we are and to be heard with our own voice. 
With singleness of purpose we will hold the torch on high, 
And spread our message far and wide like starry Texas skies. 

                             Refrain 
It's the greatest national movement that blind guys
ever knew. 
Our pride's as rich as diamonds, our love's forever
true. 
We will talk about our heritage and sing of unity.  
The blind will march together; we are the NFB.   
____________ ________

One way and another, it will be a long time before the golden
anniversary celebration of the National Federation of the Blind
is forgotten.                    
PRESIDENTIAL REPORT  
National Federation of the Blind 
Dallas, Texas, July 3, 1990
At the fiftieth anniversary of our founding as a nationwide civil
rights organization of blind people, the National Federation of
the Blind has the enthusiasm, the know-how, and the determination
to meet the problems faced by the blind and to ensure that we go
the rest of the way to independence and equality. In 1980, only
ten years ago, we had only recently established the National
Center for the Blind.  Today, this facility, fashioned by the
blind of the nation, is unparalleled in the field of work with
the blind. But a building, even the most impressive and practical
of structures, is only valuable if it is used. As the nerve
center and headquarters for all our efforts, the National Center
for the Blind gets an astonishing amount of use. In slightly more
than ten years we have built a facility which is admired by our
friends and envied by others. In fifty years we have built an
organization with enough understanding and enough power to cause
similar responses.
Early in May Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, Executive Director of the
National Federation of the Blind and Editor of the  Braille
Monitor , was invited to participate in a press conference to
interview President George Bush at the White House. Dr. Jernigan
asked President Bush about civil rights for the blind in air
travel. The final results from this meeting are not yet known.
However, for the first time in the history of the United States
civil rights for the blind are being addressed by the chief
executive of our nation. Never before in history have these
matters been regarded by so many as so important. They have
become significant because of the efforts of the blind throughout
the nation because of the collective action of the National
Federation of the Blind.
In June the United States Senate voted on a motion for cloture
involving our Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals Act. Civil
rights legislation for the blind has sometimes been a minor part
of much larger legislative packages. However, this bill is
focused entirely on the right of blind people to be treated as
equals with the sighted in air transportation.  It is totally and
completely ours. The United States Senate had this civil rights
bill as its pending business for several days. In the
neighborhood of two percent of the legislative year of the Senate
has been devoted to equal opportunity for the blind. To be
successful the cloture petition required not a simple majority
but sixty percent of the entire Senate. Fifty-six senators cast
their votes with us.  There are those who believe that the
failure of this motion to be adopted will stop us from achieving
the right to travel by air without harassment that the
discriminatory regulations adopted earlier
this year by the Federal Aviation Administration will remain
unchallenged but you and I know better. The tactics we use may
change, but the strategy will remain the same. Our objective is
to win full first-class status for the blind, and we will find a
way to do it.
In the 1950s we were battling for the right to be considered for
employment in the civil service. In the 1990s it is the airlines
and the Federal Aviation Administration that are trying to insist
that the blind are second-class. We lost in the original civil
service confrontations, but hundreds of us are employed by the
government today. The motion for cloture did not pass, but more
than half of the Senate voted for it. And there will be a time
when discrimination against the blind in air travel will be a
thing of the past.  The question is not whether but when.
In the October issue of  McCall's  magazine there appeared a
full-length feature article about the National Federation of the
Blind, concentrating on the work of the President. Personal
details of my home and family life helped to fill out the story
and provide background.  How often we have said that the blind
aspire to have a home, a family, and the responsibilities of
citizenship. This article describes one family in which these
aspirations have become a reality. I am informed that this
article will have been circulated to more than fifteen million
people.
Shortly after the  McCall's  story, the Maurer family was
interviewed on a program called  Parent Survival Guide, 
broadcast by Lifetime Television cable network. Being
disseminated to forty-nine million homes, this interview was
shown once in the early fall and again just before Christmas.
On April 25, 1990, the  Wall Street Journal  carried a report
about blind people in business. Although the blind have very
often been the victims of discrimination in the job market, we
have frequently been able to demonstrate our capacity by
establishing our own businesses.  The  Wall Street Journal 
reported this success. Discrimination cannot stop us. We will
find a way to circumvent it. For many of us the method is a
company or an enterprise of our own. The headline of the article
is,  For the Blind, Business Ownership Opens a Closed Door:
Entrepreneurship Rises Along With Self-Esteem and Lender
Confidence.  The first three paragraphs of the  Wall Street
Journal  article set the tone. Glenn Crosby, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of Texas and a member of the
national Board of Directors, is featured. Here are those
paragraphs:

 Like many other small-business owners in Houston, Glenn M.
Crosby had to retrench in the wake of the Texas oil slump. Having
sold or closed three restaurants, he is left with only one.   But
his Mr. C Sandwich Shop earns a profit, and is the source of
considerable pride.  I have survived, while a lot of sighted
people in the same business have not,  says Mr. Crosby, who is
blind. 
 Many blind people such as Mr. Crosby are becoming entrepreneurs
these days. Like other minorities before them, they are finding
that entrepreneurship can create opportunities for people who
otherwise might have found the door shut. 

This spirit of independence is what makes us the unstoppable
movement we are. This belief in ourselves has helped to shape our
organization, the National Federation of the Blind.
We were also mentioned in the letters to the editor column of the 
Newsweek  magazine for May 7, 1990.  Newsweek  had printed a
story called,  Making the Most of Sight.  The basic assumption of
the report was that technology can be of great help in making
those with a little remaining eyesight competitive. Strongly
implied is the notion that if you can't see enough to use this
technology, your ability to perform diminishes dramatically.
According to the reporter, for those who are really blind there
is virtually no hope. Also implied is the idea that techniques
used by the blind are inferior.  Of course, these implications
are false. They mislead the public into believing that the
important factor for a blind person is the machinery available
rather than the talent of the individual. Our experience
demonstrates that a well-trained blind person can (using Braille
and other techniques) compete effectively with the sighted. In
the May 7, 1990, issue of  Newsweek , we responded to the
negative tone and substance of the earlier report in a letter to
the editor. Our position was clearly articulated by Mr. Miller,
an employee of the National Federation of the Blind.
No group of people can become a consolidated entity without
tradition a sense of history an understanding of where it is
going and what its members are within the structure of society.
Because this is so, one of the most exciting events of the last
year is the publication of the most thorough history of the
organized blind ever to be compiled.  Our book ( Walking Alone
and Marching Together , by Dr. Floyd Matson) contains the facts
not merely about those who have done work with the blind, but
also about the blind themselves, organized to take collective
action and accomplish common goals. Consisting of over 1,100
print pages,  Walking Alone and Marching Together  acknowledges
the work that has been done by the agencies for the blind.  But
it also does something else something more important something
that has never been done in the history of the blind. It tells of
the actions of the blind themselves as an organized movement of
our growth as a force and our emergence as a people. It tells of
our struggles for equality, of the problems we have faced, and
the achievements we have made. It is fitting that this book
(costly as it has been to print) should be published by the
organized blind, for it is our story the story of the blind of
America the story of the National Federation of the Blind.
This past winter the Director of Public Affairs for the Pepsi
Cola Company came to the National Center for the Blind to ask for
our advice and assistance. Pepsi was planning to produce and
distribute an advertisement in which the principal character is
the blind musician, Ray Charles.  In the course of the meeting to
discuss the ad, a number of plans were reviewed for making
commercials that depict the blind as the normal, practical,
independent people we are. The portrayal of the blind in
television commercials and on television programs has such an
enormous impact upon our public image that it is of vital
importance to help shape the impression being created. There are
still descriptions of the blind on television which are not as
positive as they could be. However, in our advisory role to
companies such as Pepsi Cola, we can do much to change the focus
and alter the image presented by the networks.
It is to be expected that major American companies will
increasingly seek our advice in planning advertising campaigns
that depict the blind. Our own public service spots blanket the
airwaves. In the neighborhood of one and one-half million
dollars' worth of airtime was contributed to the National
Federation of the Blind during the last year. These announcements
help to educate the public about the ability of the blind. They
tell employers that we can work, educators that we can
participate in the classroom, and the public at large that our
hopes and dreams are the same as those of the sighted. Our battle
is one for understanding in the minds of those who make up this
society.  Much of what we do can be done most effectively by
public education.  Our campaign to distribute public service
announcements is among the most important undertakings that we
have, and it is bringing results.

Our interaction with other organizations dealing with blindness
from throughout the world continues to be productive. In the past
year Dr. Jernigan, as President of the North America/Caribbean
Region of the World Blind Union, attended meetings of the
Executive Committee of that organization in England and in
Poland. The delegates from the North America/Caribbean Region met
at the National Center for the Blind last December to discuss
matters of importance to the blind in this hemisphere and
throughout the world. We were able to trade information about
technological progress which is likely to be of assistance to
blind job applicants here and abroad. Our spirit of
self-determination is a constant source of stimulus to blindness
organizations in other lands. As blind people throughout the
world gain independence, it becomes easier for those in the
United States to achieve first-class status too. Dr. Jernigan
also traveled to Kingston, Jamaica, to help the blind of the West
Indies by providing information about self-organization and by
presenting a reading machine.
Because of our interaction with other groups we have been able to
establish cooperative arrangements with organizations in the
blindness field in our own country. The director of research of
the American Foundation for the Blind participated in a meeting
of our committee on research and development at the National
Center for the Blind last winter. There was an exchange of ideas
regarding the most effective technological devices to assist the
deaf-blind. Sharing of information increases the rate of
progress. The National Federation of the Blind is today, as it
has been for a number of years, on the cutting edge in technology
for the blind. If we really need to have a thing developed, we
will find a way to get it built and will probably do much of the
groundwork ourselves. That is one more reason for the National
Federation of the Blind.
For quite a number of years the relationship between the National
Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the
Library of Congress and the National Federation of the Blind has
been one of harmony and partnership. In May Dr. Jernigan was
invited to make a presentation to librarians from throughout the
United States in the NLS network. Because reading is essential
for education, the Books for the Blind Program may well be the
single most important long-range service for the blind in the
United States. As the methods for providing reading matter to the
blind are further developed, and as new ways are established of
delivering this vital service, we believe that the close working
relationship we have with the National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped will also continue to develop
and grow. The blind of America need good library service. The
National Library Service is committed to providing it. When those
responsible for government programs to serve the blind come to
feel a spirit of community with the organized blind of America,
the result is predictable and can be stated in a word progress.
Those who are losing vision visit the eye doctor to get their
sight restored. If the doctor cannot fix the medical problem, the
newly blinded person is dismissed from the care of the medical
profession.  Sometimes the newly blinded individual finds the
organized blind movement, and sometimes not.
This spring we have begun work with Johns Hopkins University on
two projects that should substantially increase our involvement
with those in the medical profession. Johns Hopkins University
Medical School is inviting members of the National Federation of
the Blind to make presentations about our organization to classes
of medical students.  In addition, we are participating in a
joint research project to examine the attitudes of eye doctors
and other health care professionals toward their blind patients
and clients and to quantify the advice being given by these
practitioners. With greater understanding by the doctors that the
National Federation of the Blind is an available resource, an
increasing number of blind people will be stimulated toward
independence without wasting months and years in unproductive,
dreary inactivity.  Until 1990 we have not concentrated
substantial resources in the medical field but we know that
literally thousands of blind people are faced with demolished
dreams and a dead end in the doctor's office.  This need not be
the case, and we are changing it. We who are blind know how to
reconstruct shattered hopes. We have the means and the will to
provide inspiration and facts to the people who believe that
their blindness makes them incapable of conducting a normal
existence.  In fact, this is one of the major reasons we have
created the National Federation of the Blind.
The Federation sponsors an insurance program for blind merchants. 
It has been in operation since the early eighties. Some time ago
a few people decided to appropriate our insurance for their own
use.  We informed them that the National Federation of the Blind
had created the program and that it could not be lifted for the
benefit of private persons. A lawsuit was filed to protect the
interests of the organized blind. After much maneuvering on the
part of the defendants, we have been able to pin them down. The
insurance program we have been supporting is again in the hands
of those who sponsored it in the first place.  We intend to
retain what is ours. And one thing more. Sharp practices and
devious methods will not be tolerated in programs that bear our
name. The National Federation of the Blind insurance program for
blind vendors and merchants is now fully in operation and
available to those who need it.
There have been a number of cases this year involving civil
rights of blind individuals. Dave Schuh is a blind accountant.
Until the last day of 1989 he was working as a supervisor of
accounting at a Pillsbury products plant in Denison, Texas. When
he began to request certain job accommodations (such as a
Kurzweil Personal Reader and other computer equipment), Pillsbury
officials started planning for the elimination of his job. But
his job ratings were excellent. Dave Schuh applied for several
transfers to vacant positions at other Pillsbury locations.
Despite his superior qualifications, he was not considered for
any of these vacancies. Company rules say that preference is to
be given to persons whose positions are eliminated, but the rules
were ignored in this case.
Pillsbury, a large federal contractor, is required to take
affirmative action in employing the handicapped. The evidence
demonstrates unquestionably that it did not happen for Dave
Schuh. We have proceeded with a complaint against Pillsbury on
his behalf. We are demanding that the company correct its
mistakes by paying back wages, offering him another job, and
making certain accommodations. If Pillsbury officials persist in
disregarding Dave Schuh's rights, all of their federal contracts
are in jeopardy. Thus far, the complaint process is proceeding
quite well. The Department of Labor has agreed with us. Pillsbury
violated the law. The company will pay, or we will find a method
for seeking enforcement of these federal findings. And there are
those who ask why we have the National Federation of the Blind.
Dave Schuh will have his rights, and we intend to see that he
does.
Although Richard Frost had been performing the duties customarily
demanded of a federal employee at the GS-11 level, he was only
being paid the salary of a GS-9. He asked for promotions but was
not awarded any. Several years ago, Richard Frost filed a
complaint of discrimination against his employer, the Department
of Housing and Urban Development.  We represented him during most
of the proceedings. The federal housing department has insisted
that the negotiations be kept (as they would put it) 
confidential.  Despite this demand for secrecy, I can tell you
that we reached a favorable resolution this spring. There is no
longer a complaint against this federal agency. There is no
longer a request for promotion and reassignment. There is no
longer a demand for back pay. Richard Frost has told me that it
is eminently worthwhile to be a member of the National Federation
of the Blind.  They may insist upon hiding the details, but we
can handle ourselves when it comes to an argument, and we know
how to promote the best interests of blind employees.
In Florida, Adam and Denise Shaible have been facing
discrimination because they use dog guides. The Island Club
Condominium Association in Fort Lauderdale insisted that they
sign a special agreement as a condition of purchasing their
condominium. This agreement demands that the private patio
attached to their new home be converted to a dog run. Of course,
such requirements are in violation of federal law. Nevertheless,
they would have been imposed on the blind in Florida if there had
not been an organization prepared to prevent it. A law which
remains unenforced may be an interesting statement of social
policy or a curiosity in the annals of the past. But we have the
means and the will to put these statutory provisions into effect
we are the National Federation of the Blind.
Robert Gumson is a blind man living in Needham, Massachusetts. He
has applied to be a day-care assistant. Based on fears about Mr.
Gumson's blindness, the Massachusetts Office for Children has
refused to issue him the necessary license. Officials have said
that state regulations assume that supervision of children must
be done by visual observation, but there is nothing in the
regulations to substantiate this discriminatory claim. Mr. Gumson
would have been licensed long ago if he had been sighted. Despite
the evidence that he is fully able to perform the tasks of a
day-care assistant, the Office for Children has remained adamant.
Consequently, we are assisting with a complaint. In recent years
we have won the right for blind people to work in the day-care
business in Missouri, California, and elsewhere; and we intend to
bring non-discrimination to Massachusetts. The Office for
Children must realize that equal opportunity applies to the
Northeast as much as it does to the central states or the Far
West.
Last year I reported to you that we had commenced a lawsuit in
South Carolina on behalf of Joe Urbanek. Carnival Cruise Lines
had proclaimed a policy which discriminated against the blind.
All blind persons were required either to be accompanied by
attendants or to sign release forms waiving the legal protections
usually available to travelers.  When Joe Urbanek was told that
he would have to sign such a release, he refused. As a result,
the cruise line told him that he could not board their ship.
On December 21, 1989, a court decree ended the dispute. Liability
releases will not be required. Blind passengers will not be
treated differently from others. When Joe Urbanek asks for a
ticket and pays the tab, he will receive the same courteous
treatment as any other passenger. He will walk the deck of the
cruise ship, and blindness will be no bar. This is the power of
collective action, and Merry Christmas to Carnival Cruise Lines.
We are assisting the National Treasury Employees Union in a
grievance on behalf of several blind employees of the Internal
Revenue Service.  Working conditions for the blind throughout the
Internal Revenue Service will be affected. Blind information
specialists were expected to answer questions about income tax
law and regulations, but they were not given the necessary
technical manuals in a usable form. This information is, of
course, already available in the computer. However, it was not
provided to the blind. Because blind workers were expected to use
out-of-date documentation, their answers were sometimes
incorrect.  Officials in the Internal Revenue Service charged
incompetence. However, the blind had been competently giving the
answers that had been recorded in the out-of-date manuals they
were given. We are currently taking steps to ensure that the
materials are made available in a usable form and that the
performance of the blind is judged by a reasonable and fair
standard.
We continue to work in a number of areas to help blind people
obtain quality rehabilitation services. One of the most effective
ways to improve the rehabilitation system is to create a
legislative mechanism which authorizes individual clients to
select the agency that will provide their training. A bill which
we initiated that is now pending in the House of Representatives
would create the process for individual choice.
Early this spring hearings were held before the Social Security
Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. I expressed
the views of the National Federation of the Blind concerning the
urgency of the need for this legislation. A number of other blind
witnesses also made presentations, and the hearing record is
sprinkled with the testimony of Federation leaders from
throughout the land. The result is that the Social Security
Administration is now establishing a pilot program which has as
one of its main features free choice of rehabilitation programs
for Social Security beneficiaries.
Of course, if the errors committed by the agencies for the blind
are simply adopted by Social Security, this pilot project will
work no better than the current program of rehabilitation; but if
Social Security really tests the concept of free choice (and I
believe that it will), there should be a noticeable change. When
blind people control their own lives, enlightened self-interest
will do the rest.
James Storey and Catherine Monville receive services from the
Maryland rehabilitation agency. Rehabilitation officials told
them that they could not obtain training from centers operated by
the National Federation of the Blind because those centers were
outside of Maryland. But the rehabilitation services offered to
the blind of Maryland are inadequate, so we filed appeals. Here
are the results. Both James Storey and Catherine Monville are
students at National Federation of the Blind centers, and the
state of Maryland is paying the bill.
At our 1989 convention we adopted a resolution which declared
that the Americans with Disabilities Act must not be employed as
a vehicle to force the blind to use special rooms, equipment, and
services modified for the handicapped unless they wished to do
so. We said that if an amendment to this effect were not adopted,
we would reluctantly oppose the bill. This new law is intended to
be a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of
disability. It applies to employment, to public facilities, and
to most private businesses. When it is implemented, the Americans
with Disabilities Act could affect almost every activity of our
lives.
Accommodation to the needs of the disabled is the underlying
principle of the act. Rather than seeking equality of
opportunity, this bill asks for alteration of existing
businesses, programs, and facilities to achieve equality of
result. This form of civil rights has not worked for us in the
past. Programs that have been modified to accommodate the
handicapped have often first been offered to us on a voluntary
basis. Later, accommodated programs become mandatory.
On busses there are seats for the handicapped. Some bus drivers
insist that the blind sit there or get off the bus. It is
possible that hotel operators will set aside rooms for the
handicapped that the blind are required to use. This could have
been the result of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However,
an amendment was included in the bill which gives each of us the
right to accept or reject any accommodation.  This principle must
be implemented in regulations developed under the act. If it is
not, this civil rights statute could be used to establish
restrictions which were not authorized by law until its
enactment. However, we will monitor the progress of draft
regulations, and we will insist on our right to participate on a
basis of equality in programs established to serve the general
public. The role of the National Federation of the Blind is to be
a watchdog on the programs and activities designed to serve blind
people. Nowhere is the need for our organization more strikingly
demonstrated than in connection with the Americans with
Disabilities Act. In the name of civil rights we might have faced
reduced opportunity, but our amendment has avoided this negative
result. This is one more reason for the National Federation of
the Blind.
Richard Skipper is a blind vendor in North Carolina. Laurie
Eckery is employed by the Marriott Corporation in Nebraska. Tom
Anderson has been a social worker, a clerical employee, and a
dispatcher. He lives in Ohio. Tony Jaramillo has been employed
for many years in the industries program of the New Mexico
Commission for the Blind.  These blind people are among those who
have received extensive assistance from the Federation in dealing
with alleged Social Security overpayments during the past year.
The amounts that Social Security was attempting to recover ranged
from $7,000 to $60,000. In each of these cases the Social
Security Administration has been forced to withdraw its claim of
an overpayment. It is beneficial to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind.
Gladys Penney, who is 63 years old, has been blind since birth.
She last received a paycheck in 1951. In 1979 she heard that she
might be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance
benefits. She applied, but her request was denied. The decision
said that her Social Security coverage expired in September 1956
and that she was no longer qualified for disability benefits.
Although Gladys Penney filed several applications for disability
insurance after 1979, the results were always the same. Then, she
learned of the National Federation of the Blind. We agreed to
help. An additional hearing was held, and a decision has been
reached. In its previous rulings on her claim the Social Security
Administration had failed to apply the administrative provisions
related to blindness. The denials would have been correct if
Gladys had not been blind, but she is. We explained the
applicable rules, and in March of this year the Social Security
Administration paid Gladys Penney the benefits she should have
had since 1979. She is presently receiving a Social Security
check each month. The amount of her back payment was more than
$23,000.
Pete Salas is a blind vendor at the federal building in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Several years ago he learned from the
National Federation of the Blind that the Social Security rules
defining substantial gainful activity probably made him eligible
to receive Social Security Disability Insurance. With our help he
applied, but his application was rejected.  Following a hearing
last fall he was awarded disability benefits.  However on January
18, 1990, Pete Salas was officially notified that his claim was
being reviewed by the Social Security Appeals Council in
accordance with a request from the office of disability relations
at Social Security headquarters. Their protest memorandum said
that the hearing officer had made an error of law in failing to
consider the extent of Pete Salas's work activity in conducting
his vending business.
The Social Security Administration has always tested substantial
gainful activity for blind people in terms of money. If the money
received by a beneficiary is earned, and if there is enough of
it, substantial gainful activity has occurred. If it has not been
earned, or there is too little of it, substantial gainful
activity has not occurred.  In the first instance, benefits will
be withheld. In the second, they will not.
An alteration of the test for substantial gainful activity as
proposed in the Pete Salas case would cost hundreds of
beneficiaries tens of thousands of dollars. Such a policy shift
cannot be initiated without authorization by law. So we took
action immediately. On March 26, 1990, the Appeals Council
concluded its review, reinstated the hearing officer's decision,
and ordered the Office of Disability Operations to process the
claim. Pete Salas will be receiving continuing benefits, and he
has been paid the money due him amounting to over $36,000. 
Furthermore, many blind people (most of whom have never even
heard of this decision) have been protected.
In Colorado we have achieved total victory on behalf of all of
the vendors of that state. Four years ago officials of the state
agency for the blind announced that they would take the best
vending facility in the state and divide it between two blind
persons. In making this decision they arbitrarily exercised
judgment about how much money a blind vendor should be allowed to
earn. We could not afford to have such a limit imposed, so we
took the matter to court. We obtained an injunction, and the
facility was never divided. Administrative appeals and an
arbitration followed. A settlement has now been achieved.  The
state must negotiate new regulations with the vendors if any
facility is to be split in the future. The business will not be
divided, and the Federation will be reimbursed for attorney fees.
 We are working to uphold the rights of blind vendors in two
other arbitrations involving the states of Minnesota and
Michigan. The Minnesota case involves a long-standing dispute
between the blind vendor program and the federal Department of
Veterans Affairs, formerly the Veterans Administration.
Observance of the blind vendor priority at VA hospitals is at
issue. In Michigan the arbitration involves application of the
blind vendor priority at Postal Service sites. We have joined
with the state agencies in these cases to secure the rights of
blind vendors.  Regardless of what some of our opponents may say,
when state agencies step forward on behalf of the blind, we
support and work with them.  We are glad to have them stand with
us and share our know-how and expertise.
Then, there is the State Department. As long as anybody can
remember, the State Department has rejected all blind foreign
service candidates on grounds of blindness. Rami Rabby
successfully completed the Foreign Service written examination
three times and the oral examination twice.  The State Department
responded by establishing a policy that no blind person could
take the test. They said that there was no discrimination, that
reading was necessary, and that sight was required for reading. 
Congressman Gerry Sikorski attended our convention last year. He
pledged to work with us to open Foreign Service jobs to qualified
blind persons.  The Congressman was as good as his word. Last
October, State Department officials announced at a hearing that
they would abandon their policy of rejecting the blind, and they
initiated discussions with Rami Rabby about a job. The commitment
of the State Department has been firmly stated. Future applicants
will not be disqualified because of blindness.  One more
opportunity is available to the blind, and it happened because of
the National Federation of the Blind.
These cases are an indication of the work that we do on an
ongoing basis. There are many others. When it comes to civil
rights for the blind, we are really the only ball game in town.
Nobody else has the knowledge, the skill, the determination, and
the conviction that we possess. Nobody else has the tenacity and
the willingness to meet conflict half-way, or the ability to
settle arguments with finality.  We have a reputation, and we
deserve it. Those who want a tough, resourceful advocate in
matters dealing with the blind join hands with us; they become a
part of the National Federation of the Blind.
This year we have completed installation of new elevators and
finished other remodeling at the National Center for the Blind.
Our complex of buildings in Baltimore is the finest of its kind
in the nation.  Our facilities have helped to make it possible to
carry on the extensive programs of the Federation. Without them
we would be much less effective.  Our growth during the past ten
years has been dramatic. We are operating more programs today and
assisting more blind people than ever before, and I confidently
believe that our expansion will continue.  Again this year our
activities have brought visitors from a number of foreign lands.
Following our 1989 convention, the past president of the World
Blind Union, Sheikh Abdullah M. Al-Ghanim of Saudi Arabia, spent
several days examining our programs. There have also been
visitors from England, Ireland, West Germany, Sweden, Japan,
Canada, Poland, Australia, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.
We continue to distribute a very substantial volume of material
to the blind of the nation. During the past year over 20,000 aids
and appliances and more than a million pieces of literature have
been shipped and distributed. The total weight of these items is
estimated at over 30,000 pounds.
Our Job Opportunities for the Blind program has remained one of
the most effective job placement services for the blind in the
nation.  It has now been in operation for ten years. During all
that time almost 150,000 contacts have been made with employers.
More than 65,000 job-related publications have been sent, and
over 900 blind people have become competitively employed.
We have continued our efforts to computerize. In our Records
Center there are in the neighborhood of 600 documented
discrimination cases, 7,000 photographs, and 20,000 file folders.
These must be organized, and the computer is one very efficient
method for doing it. This is only an example of the efficiency we
gain with technology. Our experts tell us that we now have more
than one hundred times the computer power which was required to
put the astronauts on the moon. An extraordinary amount of
paperwork is handled each year at our National Office. The
computers we have obtained (and there are now more than fifty of
them) greatly increase our efficiency.
Our monthly magazine, the  Braille Monitor , is by far the most
widely read publication in the blindness field. We are now
publishing in the neighborhood of 30,000 copies each month. With
this and our other publications we are educating an ever-growing
number of individuals about the nature and needs of the blind.
Our magazine for parents and educators of blind children,  Future
Reflections , has a circulation of over 10,000 copies. Our
Diabetics Division newsletter,  Voice of the Diabetic , is mailed
to over 30,000 locations.  Our other publications (the  Student
Slate , the newsletter of the National Association of Blind
Educators, the newsletter of the National Association of Blind
Lawyers, and the publications of the other divisions, committees,
state affiliates, and local chapters) are proclaiming our message
about blindness and creating a new spirit in the land. And of
course, there are the other materials we disseminate:  the 
American Bar Association Journal , Presidential Releases, and 
JOB Bulletins . In carrying on our activities we record,
duplicate, and mail from the National Center for the Blind
approximately 50,000 tapes each year.  The literature of the
Federation is growing tremendously. This year we have made
available the  Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of
Blind and Visually Impaired Students , by Doris Willoughby and
Sharon Duffy. This handbook of techniques and resources used by
the blind has been acclaimed by those in the field of education
as one of the most valuable publications ever produced.

Our scholarship program has received more attention in 1990 than
ever before. Over 500 blind applicants sought our assistance. The
results of this program demonstrate its value. Not only do we
distribute in the neighborhood of $100,000 each year to blind
students, but because of our efforts blind college applicants
throughout the country are encouraged to seek higher education.
There are many ways to comprehend the importance of our
organization.  A cataloging of our accomplishments is one of
them, but the work we do is measured not only by statistics but
also in the personal lives of the people who gain opportunity as
a result. Our  Monitor  circulation, the thousands of pounds of
material we distribute, our hundreds of chapters and tens of
thousands of members are an indication that we care about the
future of the blind. As I have traveled to state conventions,
local chapter meetings, and other functions, I have met the
Federation in person. The lives and experiences of you the
members make this organization what it is the warmth, the caring,
the commitment.
In our first fifty years we have built a solid and substantial
organization.  We have solved literally thousands of problems. We
have come to believe in our ability to meet the challenges that
lie ahead in the future.  The first fifty years are finished, but
the next half-century is still to come. The challenge is
formidable. It will transform the lives of the blind not only of
this generation but also the generations to follow. You know this
task as well as I. We must begin with the dream of a future
bright with promise of a time when the blind are accepted as
equals of a day when we can confidently say,  We have attained
our freedom.   If we keep faith with each other and our heritage,
we can complete what Dr. tenBroek began in 1940.  A new era for
the blind that is our objective. Can we have it? Of course, we
can. If we believe with all our hearts, if we think and plan with
all our minds, if we work as hard as we know how, and if we care
with every atom within us, the goal can and will be achieved.  It
is within our reach!  Do we have the intellect, and will we use
it? Is there, in our midst, sufficient imagination? Are we
capable of the sustained labor that must be expended? And do we
possess the generosity of spirit necessary to care for one
another and support our movement? Are not these characteristics
the very substance of the National Federation of the Blind? You
know they are, and so do
I. I have met the great body of the Federation, and I am
absolutely certain that the first fifty years are only the
beginning. With the Federation as our vehicle and a spirit of
determination as our driving force, we will create a climate of
equality for all of the blind.  The stakes are too high and the
costs of failure too great to do anything less. With all of the
problems we face, our future has never looked better. Therefore,
with joy, with enthusiasm, with purpose, let us go to meet our
second half-century. This is my hope; this is my certainty; and
this is my report to you on this golden anniversary.

                     THE FEDERATION AT FIFTY 
                     An Address Delivered by
                        KENNETH JERNIGAN
            At the Banquet of the Annual Convention 
             of the National Federation of theBlind
                   Dallas, Texas, July 5, 1990

If the engineers of 1800 had possessed complete drawings for a
transistor radio (one that could be bought today for $10), they
couldn't have built it, not even if they had had billions or
trillions of dollars.  They lacked the infrastructure the tools,
the tools to build the tools, and the tools to build those; the
plastics, the machines to make the plastics, and the machines to
make the machines; the skilled work force, the teachers to train
the work force, and the teachers to train the teachers; the
transportation network to assemble the materials, the vehicles to
use the network, and the sources of supply.  All of this is
generally recognized, but it is far less well understood that
what is true of material objects is also true of ideas and
attitudes.  In the absence of a supporting social infrastructure
of knowledge and beliefs, a new idea simply cannot exist.
So far as I can tell, there are only three possible reasons for
studying history to get inspiration, to gain perspective, or to
acquire a basis for predicting the future.
In 1965 Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the founder and leader of our
movement, spoke at our twenty-fifth banquet, reviewing the first
quarter century and charting the road ahead. We were meeting in
Washington, and more
than a hundred members of Congress were present. I was master of
ceremonies, and some of the rest of you were also there. Tonight
(twenty-five years later) we celebrate our Golden Anniversary,
and the time has once again come to take stock. Where are we,
where have we been, and where are we going?
In a sense the history of our movement begins in the distant past
in the medieval guilds and brotherhoods of the blind in Europe,
in the tentative stirrings of organization in China, and even
earlier but the National Federation of the Blind is essentially
an American product.  Its genesis is native. Although (as we all
know) Dr. Jacobus tenBroek presided at the founding of the
National Federation of the Blind in 1940 at Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, he had a teacher (Dr. Newel Perry), who laid the
foundations and served as precursor. And Dr. Perry, in turn, had
a teacher, Warring Wilkinson.
Most of what we know about Wilkinson is contained in the eulogy
which Dr. tenBroek delivered at the time of Dr. Perry's death in
1961,1
but our knowledge is sufficient to tell us that Wilkinson was a
worthy teacher of the teacher of our founder. He was the first
principal of the California School for the Deaf and Blind. He
served in that capacity for forty-four years, from 1865 to 1909.
He not only loved his students but also did what he could to move
them toward the main channels of social and economic
participation. Particularly, he saw the potential in young Perry,
sending him from the California School for the Blind to Berkeley
High to complete his secondary education.
To do this Wilkinson (who was ahead of his time both in his
understanding of education and the needs of the blind) had to
overcome numerous obstacles.
I was fortunate enough to know Dr. Perry, meeting him when I
moved to California in 1953. He was then eighty, and he spent
many hours with me reminiscing about what conditions for the
blind were like when he was a boy. He came to the California
School for the Blind when he was ten  penniless, blind, his
father dead, his home dissolved. Two years earlier he had lost
his sight and nearly his life as the result of a case of poison
oak, which caused his eyeballs to swell until they burst and
which held him in a coma for a month.  It was at the School, of
course, that he first met Warring Wilkinson.  While going to high
school (from which he graduated in 1892) he lived at the
California School for the Blind. He also lived there while
attending the University of California from 1892 to 1896. His
admission to the University (as had been the case with high
school) had to be secured over strong resistance. Again,
Wilkinson was the pathfinder, young Perry his willing and anxious
instrument.  Wilkinson's role in Perry's life as a youth can
hardly be overestimated: father, teacher, guide, supporter in
Perry's own words, `dear Governor.'  After graduating from the
University, Dr. Perry devoted himself to further education and to
the search for an academic job.  He took graduate work at the
University of California, meanwhile serving successively as an
unpaid teaching fellow, a paid assistant, and finally as an
instructor in the department of mathematics. In 1900, following a
general custom of that day, he went to Europe to continue his
studies.  He did this for a time at the University of Zurich in
Switzerland and then at the University of Munich in Germany. From
the latter he secured in 1901 the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in Mathematics, with highest honors.
 He returned to the United States in 1902, landing in New York,
where he was to remain until 1912. He had about eighty dollars in
capital, a first-class and highly specialized education, and all
of the physical, mental, and personal prerequisites for a
productive career except one, eyesight.
 During this period he supported himself precariously as a
private coach of university mathematics students. He also applied
himself
to the search for a university position. He displayed the most
relentless energy. He employed every imaginable technique. He
wrote letters in profusion. In 1905 he wrote to 500 institutions
of every size and character. He distributed his dissertation and
his published article on mathematics. He haunted meetings of
mathematicians. He visited his friends in the profession. He
enlisted the aid of his teachers.  He called on everybody and
anybody having the remotest connection with his goal.
 Everywhere the outcome was the same. Only the form varied. Some
expressed astonishment at what he had accomplished. Some
expressed interest. One of these seemed genuine he had a blind
brother-in-law, he said, who was a whiz at math. Some showed
indifference, now and then masked behind polite phrases. Some
said there were no vacancies.  Some said his application would be
filed for future reference. One said ironically: `For what as an
encouragement to men who labor
under disadvantages and who may learn from it how much may be
accomplished through resolution and industry?' Some averred that
he probably could succeed in teaching at somebody else's college.
Many said outright that they believed a blind person could not
teach mathematics.   Many of these rejections may, of course,
have been perfectly
proper. Many were not. Their authors candidly gave the reason as
blindness.  Dr. Perry failed not because of lack of energy or
qualification but because the necessary infrastructure of
attitudes and beliefs did not exist to allow it to be otherwise
so he did not find a job in a university. Perhaps it was better
for the blind (for those of us gathered here tonight) that he did
not but for him what pain!  What absolute desolation and misery!
And he had to face it alone no family, no supporting organization
of the blind only himself and the bleak wall of continuing
rejection year after year. He might have quit in despair. He
might have become embittered. But he did not.  Instead, he
returned to California and settled down to build for the future.
If he could not have first-class treatment for himself, he was
absolutely determined that at least the next generation of the
blind would not be denied.
He taught at the California School for the Blind from 1912 to
1947 and day after day, month after month, season after season he
exhorted
and indoctrinated, preached and prepared. He was building the
necessary infrastructure of ideas and beliefs. Those who were his
students went on to become his colleagues, and as the number
grew, the faith was
kept. There would be a state-wide organization of the blind in
California.  It did not happen until 1934, but when it came, it
was built on a solid foundation. And there would also be a
National Federation of the Blind but not yet.
Dr. Perry was to that generation what Warring Wilkinson had been
to him. In the words of Jacobus tenBroek, his most brilliant
student
and the man who would lead the blind in the founding of their
national movement:  We were his students, his family, his
intimates, his comrades on a thousand battlefronts of a social
movement. We slept in his house, ate at his table, learned
geometry at his desk, walked the streets interminably by his
side, moved forward on the strength of his optimism and
confidence. 
Dr. tenBroek graduated from Berkeley High School in 1930 with, as
he said,  plenty of ambition but no money.  He was prepared to
enter the University of California but was denied state aid to
the blind, a program then newly instituted as a result of Dr.
Perry's efforts in sponsoring a constitutional amendment, which
had been adopted by the voters of California in 1928. In Dr.
tenBroek's words,  The reason for the denial was not that my need
was not great. It was that I intended to pursue a higher
education while I was being supported by the state. That was too
much for the administrative officials.  Almost without
discussion, Dr. Perry immediately filled the gap. Just as Warring
Wilkinson had earlier done for him,  said Dr. tenBroek,  he
supplied me with tuition and living expenses out of his own
pocket for a semester while we all fought to reverse the decision
of the state aid officials.
 It was,  Dr. tenBroek said,  ever thus with Dr. Perry.  The key
to his great influence with blind students was, first of all, the
fact that he was blind and therefore understood their problems;
and second, that he believed in them and made his faith manifest. 
He provided the only sure foundation of true rapport: knowledge
on our part that he was genuinely interested in our welfare. 
So the new generation came to maturity, and Jacobus tenBroek was
to be its leader. Born in 1911 on the prairies of Alberta,
Canada, he was blinded by an arrow in a childhood game and moved
to California to enter the school for the blind. He went on to
earn five academic degrees from the University of California at
Berkeley a bachelor's in 1934, a master's in 1935, a law degree
in 1938, and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1940; and from the
Harvard Law School a Doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1947. There is
no need for me to talk to this audience about Dr. tenBroek's
brilliance his learned articles
and books, his chairmanship of the California Board of Social
Welfare,
his scholarly pre-eminence and national acclaim, his writings on
constitutional law that are still the authoritative works in the
field. Rather, I
would speak of the man the warm human being who fought for
acceptance, led our movement, and served as my mentor and role
model the man who was my closest friend and spiritual father.
When Dr. tenBroek was first trying to get a teaching position in
the 1930s, the climate of public opinion was better than it had
been a generation earlier, but he faced many of the same problems
which had confronted Dr. Perry and sometimes with identical
letters from the same institutions.  It was,  he said,  almost as
if a secretary had been set to copying Dr. Perry's file, only
changing the signatures and the name of the addressee. 
Here is what Dr. tenBroek wrote to Dr. Perry in March of 1940. At
the time he was studying at Harvard:
 Last November a large midwestern university was looking for a
man to teach public law. Having read my published articles but
knowing nothing else about me, the head of the department in
question wrote a letter to the University of California inquiring
whether I would
be available for the position. Cal. replied that I would and
accompanied the answer with a considerable collection of
supporting material.  However, when the department head learned
that I was blind, the deal was off although none of the competing
applicants had as good a paper showing.
 This incident seems to me of particular interest because,
although I have been refused other jobs, this was the first
instance in which blindness could be traced as the sole
explanation for rejection. Of course, in other cases blindness
was also the determining factor, but the fact could not be
demonstrated as well. 
There were other letters and other rejections but on June 8,
1940, Dr. tenBroek was able to write to Dr. Perry:
 We have justification for hanging out the flags and ringing the
bells. I have been offered and have accepted a job at Chicago
University Law School. The job pays $1,800, is denominated a
half-time position, and lasts for only a year. But it is a job
nevertheless. And the Harvard people, who exerted no end of
pressure to get it for me, regard it as an excellent opportunity.
The position is designated `tutorial fellowship' and consists in
supervising the research of the first-
and second-year law students. It involves no actual classroom
teaching, except possibly by way of an occasional fill-in job. 
This was how Dr. tenBroek (the man who fifteen years later was to
win the Woodrow Wilson Award for the outstanding book of the year
in political science and who was always the most sought-after
professor at the University of California) was to begin his
teaching career.
Yet, even today there are sighted people (and also some of the
blind people who ought to know better) who tell me that the blind
are not victims of discrimination. Yes, the tenBroek job search
was fifty years ago, but you know and I know that we have not yet
come to first-class status and equal treatment in society. The
framework of ideas and beliefs
to make it possible, though long in the building, is still not
complete.  Warring Wilkinson, Newel Perry and his students,
Jacobus tenBroek
and the founders of our movement, and the Federationists of
succeeding decades have worked year after year to improve the
climate of public acceptance and make opportunity available for
the blind, but the job is not yet finished. Each generation has
built on the work of the one before it. Each has fought and
hoped, dreamed and drudged for the one to follow and also for the
blind then alive.
What we have done must be seen in perspective; for no act of the
past (no gain or denial) is irrelevant, and no present behavior
of ours can be divorced from tomorrow. We are close to freedom,
and we must finish the journey.
1940 was notable for something else besides Dr. tenBroek's debut
at the University of Chicago. It was also the year of the
founding of this organization. With the passage of the Social
Security Act in 1935 the federal government had supplanted the
states in providing assistance to the blind. In 1939 Congress and
the Social Security Board combined to pressure the states having
the most forward looking programs (chief among them California
but also Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Wisconsin) to repeal their
progressive laws. This supplied the immediate impetus for the
formation of the Federation, but of course the momentum had been
building for a generation. The event occurred
at Wilkes-Barre on November 15 and 16, 1940, coincident with the
convention of the Pennsylvania Federation of the Blind.
In a letter to Dr. Perry dated November 19, 1940, Dr. tenBroek
said
in part:  The confab at Wilkes-Barre gave birth to an
organization, the National Federation of the Blind of which you,
vicariously through me, are president. The long-range aims of the
organization are the promotion of the economic and social welfare
of the blind,
and its immediate and specific aims are the sponsorship of the
principle of Senate Bill 1766 and an amendment of the Social
Security Act.
 Seven states were represented at the organizational meeting
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
California.  We arrived in Wilkes-Barre in the middle of Friday
afternoon....   On Saturday morning, while the Pennsylvania state
meeting was
going on, I had several back-of-the-scenes conversations with
Pennsylvania leaders.... In the afternoon... we drew up a
skeleton constitution, which we presented to a meeting of all of
the delegates to the national meeting, beginning about four
o'clock and ending about the same time twelve hours later.... The
meeting was interrupted at 5:30 in the afternoon long enough to
give the other delegates a chance to eat dinner, and the
Pennsylvania leader (Gayle Burlingame) and me a chance to appear
on the local radio, where we lambasted hell out of the Social
Security Board. 
On January 4, 1941, Dr. tenBroek wrote to Dr. Perry concerning
the details of getting the new orgnization started.  With the
National Federation of the Blind not yet two months old,  he
said,  its permanence is definitely assured. The factor
guaranteeing that permanence is the closely knit nucleus composed
of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and California. We three have now had
enough experience with each other to know that we can make a go
of it.... We can add to this trilogy the state of Wisconsin.
 I had a letter from Minnesota yesterday to the effect that they
are ready to pay their assessment but that they wish assurance
that Pennsylvania and California are also ready before they mail
their check. I also had a letter from Pennsylvania stating that
it is ready but wishes assurance that Minnesota and California
are ready. I have written to both of these states requesting them
to make out their checks, payable to the Treasurer of the
National Federation, and to send them to me, with the stipulation
that I shall not forward them to the Treasurer until I have the
dues from each of the states of California, Pennsylvania, and
Minnesota. Consequently, if California is ready, I suggest that
you follow the same procedure....  But the new president did not
limit himself to procedural matters.  The Federation immediately
assumed its present-day role of working to improve the quality of
life for the nation's blind. In a letter to Dr. Perry dated March
15, 1941, President tenBroek described the efforts he had been
making to get changes in the administration of public assistance
to the blind. Here, in part, is what he said:   After a week in
Washington I have more unsocial exchange to report than specific
accomplishment.... Gradually working our way upward, Gayle
Burlingame and I first presented our case to Jane Hoey, director
of the Bureau of Public Assistance, and her associate, a lawyer
named Cassius. Next we went to Oscar Powell, executive director
of the Social Security Board; and finally to Paul V. McNutt,
administrator of the Federal Security Agency. Hoey is simply
another social worker of the familiar type but with a higher
salary than most. Cassius has lost none of his qualities since
Shakespeare described him, except that his wit has been sharpened
by a little legal training. Powell is a very high calibre man
with a fine sense of argumentative values, a considerable store
of good nature, and unusual perception. He simply is not a
believer in our fundamental assumptions. McNutt, on the other
hand, is a lesser Hitler by disposition and makes our California
social workers look like angels by comparison.
 Hoey and Powell had argued that the new ruling of the Board did
not necessarily result in a reduction of a recipient's grant by
the amount of his earnings or other income. McNutt took the
position that it did and, moreover, that it should. `Are you
saying to us,' I asked McNutt, `that blind people should have
their grants reduced no matter how small their private income and
no matter how great their actual need?' His answer was that he
was saying precisely that. I formulated the question in several
other ways, only to get the same reply. I can't say that I wasn't
glad to get this official declaration from McNutt since it
provides us with an official declaration by the highest
administrator of them all that ought to be of immense
propagandistic value to us. Moreover, McNutt's conduct during the
conference has provided us with the most perfect example of the
arbitrary and tyrannical methods of the Board that we could hope
to have.
 In the remaining week that I shall stay in Washington, we shall
attempt to carry our appeal to the last administrative step.
Senator Downey of California and Senator Hughes of Delaware are
attempting to secure for us appointments with Mrs. and President
Roosevelt.   As things stand, the only course open to the blind
of California is to urge the legislature to retain the blind aid
act in its present form and tell the federal government to go to
hell. Even if we can get a favorable amendment to the Social
Security Act, it certainly will not be until after the California
legislature adjourns.  This is what Dr. tenBroek wrote in 1941,
and although we have often said in this organization that the
first task which the Federation faced after its founding was to
help the blind of the nation get enough money for bare survival,
I sometimes wonder if we have made the point with sufficient
clarity to convey the desperation of it. The report which was
prepared following the 1941 convention of the Federation in
Milwaukee says in part:
 Mr. Stephen Stanislevic of New York City reported as follows: 
`The blind population of New York State is roughly estimated at
13,000.  Of these, more than half are in New York City. A very
small number
of our people, a few hundred in all, are at present employed in
sheltered industries, on government projects, at newsstands, or
in miscellaneous enterprises. The majority depend for sustenance
either upon private bounty or upon Social Security grants. The
average monthly grant per individual is $27 in New York City and
$23 in the up-state counties.  This is the paltry pittance which
the wealthiest state in our Union sees fit to dole out to those
of its citizens who are blind.'
 Mr. Hugh McGuire explained that in Indiana there are
approximately 2,600 blind and that between 2,200 and 2,300 are
drawing assistance with the monthly average of $20. 
That was forty-nine years ago, and much has happened in the
interim.  Not that it happened by chance, of course. Mostly we
made it happen.  How many times since 1940 has the National
Federation of the Blind led the way in social reform in this
country, not only for the blind but also for others? To mention
only three examples, we pioneered exempt earnings for the
recipients of public assistance; we pioneered fair hearing
procedures in rehabilitation and other public programs; and we
pioneered jobs for the disabled in government service.
As I have already said, our first task as an organization was to
initiate programs to enable the blind to get enough to eat. In
1940 and the decades immediately following, most of the blind of
this country were desperately poor, and there were almost no
government programs to help. When people are hungry, little else
matters. Later (although many of us were still in poverty and,
for that matter, are now) we worked on rehabilitation and
employment, and today we emphasize civil rights and equal
participation in society. But essentially our role is what it has
always been seeing that blind people get equal treatment and a
fair shake.
It is not only in basics but also in detail that our operation
today is often much the same as it was in past decades. Let me
give you a rather specialized example. I have made a lot of
banquet speeches at these conventions, and certain key ideas are
central to them all.  I can sum up the essentials in a few
sentences. The real problem of blindness is not the blindness
itself but what the members of the general public think about it.
Since the agencies doing work with the blind are part of that
general public, they are likely to possess the same
misconceptions that are held by the broader society. The blind,
too, are part of that broader society, and if we are not careful,
we will accept the public view of our limitations and thus do
much
to make those limitations a reality. The blind are not
psychologically or mentally different from the sighted.  We are
neither especially
blessed nor especially cursed. We need jobs, opportunity, social
acceptance, and equal treatment not pity and custody. Only those
elected  by  the blind can speak  for  the blind. This is not
only a prime requisite of democracy but also the only way we can
ever achieve first-class status.
These are the essential points of every banquet speech I have
ever made. The banquet speeches are meant to be widely
circulated. They have the purpose of convincing those in work
with the blind and the public at large that they should rethink
their notions about blindness.  They also have the purpose of
stimulating our own members to increased activity and added
vigor. Hopefully the speech will be sufficiently inspiring,
entertaining, and literate to make people want to listen
to it and later (when it is distributed) to read it. The
difficulty is that just about the same thing needs to be said
every year, but
it has to be restated so that the listeners (and ultimately the
readers) will feel that it is different and maybe even new. After
a while, putting it all together becomes quite a problem.
I don't think I ever talked about this matter with Dr. tenBroek,
and I certainly did not attend the 1949 convention at Denver.
With this background let me share some correspondence with you.
Kingsley Price was a Californian, who became a college professor
and was living in New York in the 1940s. In a letter dated April
8, 1949, Dr. tenBroek wrote to urge him to attend the Denver
convention.  The problem does not arise,  Dr. tenBroek said,  out
of an unmixed desire to enjoy your company. I would like to get
you to give the principal banquet address. This is something that
I have not been able to dodge very often in the seven conventions
that we have had. [Conventions
were not held in the war years of 1943 and 1945.] The banquet
address,  Dr. tenBroek continued,  is a kind of focal point in
which the problems of the blind, their peculiar needs with
respect to public assistance, employment, and equal opportunity
are formulated and presented both with an eye to rededicating and
stimulating the blind persons present and an eye to enlightening
and possibly converting the many sighted persons who have been
invited to attend. For me, this has always been a job of
rehashing and repeating certain central ideas.  My imagination
and new methods of statement have long since petered out. The
next alternative is to get a new `stater.' This is what I would
like you to be.
 We would, of course, introduce you as a New Yorker since there
are far too many Californians in the limelight as it is. We also,
if we thought hard, could find one or two other chores about the
convention for you to do.
 Please think this matter over as long as you want, but let me
have an immediate answer. 
Among other things, Dr. tenBroek obviously wanted to get Price to
become more active in the movement, and he probably thought the
banquet speech might be a way to do it. There has always been a
tendency for the successful members of a minority to try to avoid
involvement.
The only trouble with this behavior is that it won't work. At an
earlier period many blacks tried to straighten their hair and
hide in white society, but then they realized that it was better
to make it respectable to be black. The corollary, if I need to
say it, (and every one of us had better know and understand it)
is that it is respectable to be blind. That's what the National
Federation of the Blind is all about.
No blind person in this country is untouched by our successes or,
for that matter, our failures and no blind person can avoid
identification with the rest of us. This is true regardless of
how the blind person feels about it and regardless of how we feel
about it. Blindness is
a visible characteristic, and all of us are judged by each other
whether we like it or not. The feeling I have toward those blind
persons who try to hide in sighted society is not anger but pity
and, yes,
I am talking about those who are regarded (and who regard
themselves) as highly successful.
When Professor Price replied to Dr. tenBroek, he said that he
might be able to come but would probably do a bad job making the
banquet speech. He should not have been deceived by the light
tone of Dr.  tenBroek's letter of invitation, for Federation
presidents take banquet speeches seriously. In a letter dated
April 21, 1949, Dr. tenBroek set him straight:

 Dear Kingsley: 
 I am not now, nor on June 20th shall I be, in the least inclined
to accept a bad job in the banquet address. If I were willing to
accept
a bad job, I can think of at least a hundred persons of assured
competence to satisfy the requirement. 
 The banquet address is the focal point of the whole meeting. It
has come to be regarded as the most important thing that is done
at a convention. Many people of influence in the community are
invited
to hear it. The Governor of the State often is present, and the
occasion is used to give him instructions as to what his policy
should be towards the blind. The address is expected to be of
such a character that
it can be published and circulated the nation over with some
advantage to the blind. 
 The address must be on the subject of the nature of the problems
of blindness, and the discussion should be frank and forthright.
Amplification of points by way of personal experience is always
helpful and attractive.  One conclusion that must always be
reached is that the blind should speak for themselves because
they are the only persons qualified to do so. 
 I enclose a copy of my Baltimore address, which may give you an
idea of what needs to be said. The same truths have to be retold,
but the hope is that they will be dressed up in a new and fresh
style, even to the point of appearing to be different truths. 
 One further word: It may be that the address will be broadcast
direct from the banquet hall. Consequently, both speech and
delivery need to be well in hand. 
 I hope these admonitions are solemn enough to convince you of
the importance of doing a good job   and yet not so solemn as to
scare you away. We are desperately in need of a new voice and a
new brain to do this job and a man from New York has geographical
advantages as well. 

                                                Cordially yours, 

In considering our past I am mindful of the fact that except for
inspiration, perspective, and prediction, there is no purpose to
the study of history.  Certainly we can find inspiration in the
lives of Warring Wilkinson, Newel Perry, and Jacobus tenBroek.
Often in lonely isolation they worked for a distant future which
they knew they would never see but which is our present. Using
meager resources that they could ill-afford to spare, they fought
to build a framework of opportunities and benefits which
constitute the underpinning and foundation of what we have today.
How can we be unmoved by their story? It speaks to us across the
years calling us to conscience, giving us strength for the
battles ahead, reminding us of our heritage, and underscoring our
duty to those who will follow.  Yes, there is inspiration in our
history, and it also gives us perspective.  Otherwise we might
become discouraged. Even today, with all of our work, more often
than not when we come to one of these conventions and talk to the
press, they assign their medical reporters to deal with us. They
want to write stories about our guide dogs, the causes of
blindness, and how capable we are because we can do the ordinary
tasks of daily living, like cutting our food or finding our way. 
But the balances are shifting. Each year a few more reporters are
beginning to understand that our story is not one of physical
loss, or courage in the face of deprivation, but lack of
opportunity and denial of civil rights. A perfect example is the
recent story in the  Wall Street Journal  about the blind who are
running their own businesses. It contains not a scrap of pity,
nor a wasted word about those who (though blind) are valiantly
struggling to earn a living.
Of course, it contains drama but it is the drama of a people
fighting to rise to first-class status in a society which treats
them like children and wonders why they object.
Recently I went to the White House and talked with the President
of the United States about the problems we are having with the
airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. We are being
excluded from exit row seats on airplanes, but year after year
the Federal Aviation Administration has said that there is no
issue of safety in our sitting there. Now (because of pressure by
the airlines) they have changed their minds. As we have become
painfully aware, the issue of seating is only one tiny part of an
overall pattern of bullying and harassment which blind persons
face today in air travel. The difficulty which always confronts
us when we try to discuss this issue is the talk we get about
compassion and how commendable it is that we are trying to be
independent all of which is a bunch of nonsense. If we pose a
hazard in exit row seats, we shouldn't sit there and we wouldn't
want to. If we don't pose a hazard in exit row seats, then we
have as much right to sit there as anybody else, and to try to
make us move is an infringement of our civil rights. In either
case compassion has nothing to do with it.
When I tried to convey these ideas to President Bush, his
response made it clear that he had been thoroughly briefed and by
somebody who hadn't the faintest idea about the issues. In answer
to my question the President said that if there was no evidence
that we constituted a greater hazard than others in exit row
seats, he would put an end to the rule if he had the power to do
so which, of course, he has. I wasn't very hopeful about the
outcome because of two things.  President Bush kept avoiding the
word  blind , gingerly referring to us as the non-sighted, and he
said that Secretary of Transportation Skinner had personally
tested an airplane door to see whether an individual without
sight could open it which is comparable to my going (with my lack
of experience) to a hospital to see what can be done with
surgical instruments.
The President assigned his lawyer, Boyden Gray, to look into the
matter and get back to me. The results were what might have been
expected.  Mr. Gray did not talk to us, nor did he look at the
video tape of our test evacuation of an airplane. Instead, he
talked with Secretary of Transportation Skinner, who told him
that we constituted a safety hazard which data he ceremonially
transmitted to me.
So was it just an exercise in futility? Not at all. This is where
perspective helps. In 1940 Dr. tenBroek was not able even to get
a hearing from President Roosevelt even though two United States
senators tried to help him do it. Moreover, my talk with
President Bush was only one brief skirmish in our long airline
fight, and the history of our past efforts tells us that we will
ultimately win. It is true that Dr. tenBroek did not get to talk
with President Roosevelt, but it is also true that most of the
Social Security reforms for which he fought have been adopted and
mostly they have been adopted through the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind.  Likewise, we lost the recent motion to
cut off debate on our airline bill in the United States Senate,
but we had fifty-six votes. And when has any other group in the
blindness field ever been able to bring a bill of its own to the
floor of the United States Senate and
have it be the pending business of that body for several days?
Never and never with the number of votes we mustered. Again, this
was only a single skirmish in an individual battle in a long war
a war which has been going on for more than a century, a war
which we are winning, and a war which we intend to finish.
Yes, our history provides us with both inspiration and
perspective and it also gives us the basis for prediction. Of
course, no individual can be sure of what will happen tomorrow,
but I feel absolutely certain that this organization will
continue to grow and lead the way in improving the quality of
life for the blind. The outward appearance of the issues may
shift, but the basics will not change not until we have achieved
equal treatment and first-class status in society. And we  will 
achieve it.
In examining our past I have not attempted to assess my own role
and contributions. How could I? I have been too close, loved too
deeply, put too much of my life into the process. All I can say
is this: When Dr. tenBroek was dying, I made certain pledges to
him. I have tried to keep those pledges. I shall always try to
keep them. And when in 1986 I thought the time had come that the
movement would best be served by my leaving the presidency, I did
it. The decision was not easy, but I think it was right. I
believe that President Maurer was the best person we could have
chosen for the position and that he will lead this organization
into the twenty-first century stronger, more vibrant, and more
committed than it has ever been. And there is something more: I
think the new generation that is on the horizon will provide
leaders and members who will be present fifty years from now when
we meet for our hundredth anniversary. We must never forget our
history; we must never dishonor our heritage; we must never
abandon our mission. With love for each other and faith in our
hearts we must go the rest of the way to equal status and
first-class membership in society. Let us march together to meet
the future.

                            FOOTNOTES

1. All of the material concerning Dr. Perry except what I got
from my own discussions with him is taken from  Newel Perry:
Teacher of Youth and Leader of Men,  by Jacobus tenBroek, 
Braille Monitor,  February, 1976. The quotes from Dr. tenBroek
are taken from letters in the files of the National Federation of
the Blind.      NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
AWARDS FOR 1990
 National Federation of the Blind awards are not given lightly.
If an appropriate recipient does not emerge from the pool of
candidates for a particular award, it is simply not presented
that year. However high our standards are as a matter of course,
they become even more rigorous during milestone conventions.
Honorees on these special occasions must be particularly
distinguished. Great care is lavished on their selection, and
equal pride surrounds the bestowal of the awards. This golden
anniversary year saw the presentation of only two awards. Here's
how it happened the night of the banquet, July 5. 

                       The Blind Educator 
of the Year Award

At the Thursday, July 5 banquet Fred Schroeder, representing the
National Association of Blind Educators, presented the 1990 Blind
Educator of the Year award. This is what he said:
This evening I am here as the chairman of the selection committee
for the Blind Educator of the Year Award. This is an award
presented by the National Association of Blind Educators, which
is a division of the National Federation of the Blind. Patricia
Munson, President of the division, asked me to chair this
committee; and as we begin this presentation, I would like to
thank the members of the selection committee, Lev Williams of
Tennessee and Maria (Ernie) Morais of California.  As always, we
had many applicants all of whom were of a very high caliber. The
work of the committee was very difficult, yet it is a rewarding
experience to serve on this committee and to review the
applications of distinguished blind educators.
I think it is particularly appropriate that the division honor a
blind educator in light of the fact that Dr. tenBroek, himself a
distinguished professor, was the founder of the National
Federation of the Blind.  He led the blind out of hopelessness
into the promise of the National Federation of the Blind. Dr.
Jernigan was also a teacher, and he has led and taught many of
us, helping us chart the course of the future and articulating
our philosophy over the years. President Maurer,
while not an educator by profession, has certainly distinguished
himself as a teacher among us and as our leader in the third
generation.  Each year, as we begin the process of determining
who should receive the Blind Educator of the Year Award, we look
for someone who is a distinguished teacher, but we also look for
an individual who has contributed to the nation. As we look back
over the four years that the Blind Educator of the Year Award has
been given, the people who have received it certainly symbolize
the best in teaching and the best in service to the blind. The
first recipient, for example, was Pauline Gomez of New Mexico.
Last year our own Patricia Munson, now President of the Division,
was the recipient. It is with great pleasure this evening that I
present the fourth annual Blind Educator of the Year Award to Dr.
Abraham Nemeth. We have a plaque to present to him and also a
check for $500 from the national organization.
Those of us who know Dr. Nemeth know that he is in fact an
outstanding educator. Dr. Nemeth was born and raised in the Lower
East Side of Manhattan in New York City. During his elementary
and secondary education, he attended both public school and the
New York Jewish Guild for the Blind in Yonkers. After completing
high school, Dr. Nemeth began his college training at Brooklyn
College, where he majored in mathematics.  Unfortunately a
rehabilitation counselor got hold of him and pressured
him by saying that a blind person couldn't pursue that field. He
eventually forced Dr. Nemeth to change his major to psychology.
In 1940 Dr. Nemeth earned his bachelor's in psychology and began
working on a graduate degree at Columbia University. In 1942 he
was awarded a master of arts degree in psychology. But Dr. Nemeth
is a Federationist with all that that implies. No rehabilitation
counselor could keep him down. In 1964 Dr. Nemeth earned a Ph.D.
in mathematics at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
 He is indeed a distinguished teacher. He has taught at Manhattan
College in New York and later went on to teach at Detroit
University in Detroit, Michigan. He retired in 1985, at which
time he moved to Southfield, Michigan.
Dr. Nemeth has also made numerous contributions to the blind. In
1952 he created the Nemeth code for Braille mathematics. In 1954
he created the dictionary of Braille music symbols, another great
contribution in the blindness field. He is a member of the
National Federation of the Blind Research and Development
Committee, and he developed a computer program which drives the
NFB scientific calculator, the best calculator on the market. Dr.
Nemeth, as I present to you this plaque, I would like to read the
inscription. The plaque has the logo of the National Federation
of the Blind, and it says:

   National Association of Blind Educators   A division of the 
  National Federation of the Blind   Blind Educator of the Year
Award                     July 5, 1990 
                      Abraham Nemeth, Ph.D. 
                  Leader, colleague, and friend 

Dr. Nemeth, who was clearly moved deeply by the award, responded
as follows:  It is very rare that I have few words to say, but
this occasion caught me completely by surprise. Usually I tell
people, `Before I begin to speak, I would just like to say a few
words.' But at this particular time, I don't have a few words to
say before I speak. It is a great honor to me to be recognized by
such a wonderful movement as the National Federation of the
Blind. The Federation makes it possible for blind people to dare
to dream; and, as someone said this afternoon, if you don't
dream, it will never come true. I just wish everyone here in this
whole movement the blessing of the good Lord. I don't know what
else to say; I'm just overcome. 

                   The Distinguished Educator 
of Blind Children Award

Sharon Maneki, President of the NFB of Maryland and chairwoman of
the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Selection committee,
then presented this year's award. She said:
Fellow Federationists, this evening it is a great privilege and
honor to talk about a distinguished educator. The National
Federation of the Blind believes in the future of blind persons.
What better way to insure that future than to invest in our blind
children? So we have designed the Distinguished Educator of Blind
Children Award.  The recipient of this award this evening is
truly a distinguished educator. It is most appropriate that she
be recognized at such a special convention, our 50th anniversary.
She is an educator who has not only influenced the children in
her school district, Heartland, Iowa, but she has influenced
blind children, their teachers, and their parents throughout the
nation. She is an author of, not one book, but three:  Your
School Includes a Blind Student; A Resource Guide for Parents and
Educators of Blind Children ; and, her most recent endeavor,  A
Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers of Blind and
Visually Impaired Students . Whenever we have a question, we call
on her, and she comes to the rescue with a thought, an idea, a
suggestion. I'm sure all of you now know who this recipient is,
so it gives me great pleasure to present this award to Doris
Willoughby.  First of all I would like to present Doris with a
$500 check. We also
have an appropriate plaque. It too, has the logo of the National
Federation of the Blind, and it reads:

 National Federation of the Blind honors Doris Willoughby,
Distinguished Educator of Blind Children, for your skill in
teaching Braille and the use of the white cane, for generously
devoting extra time to meet the needs of your students, for
inspiring your students to perform
beyond their expectations, and for sharing your wisdom with your
colleagues and parents across the nation through your writing,
July 5, 1990. 

Congratulations, Doris!
Doris Willoughby responded as follows:  I am very much honored,
and the greatest honor is to make a contribution to the education
of blind children. That's what really matters equal opportunity
for blind children. I could never have done any of this without
the background of the National Federation of the Blind. I would
like particularly to mention the help given in the preparation of
this most recent book by Sharon Duffy, the co- author; to Curtis
Willoughby, my husband, who did all the programming, including
those marvelous pictures of the abacus; and to Dr. Cranmer and
Dr. Nemeth, who made it possible to have the information about
the abacus and about math. I would also like to mention Kim
Bosshart, who received this award last year and who is here again
this year. She is a great help to all of us. Again, I would like
to say that I could not have done any of this without
the National Federation of the Blind. It is a great honor to be
here.                            
1990 SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION
 In recent years, one of the highlights of every convention has
been getting to know the group of scholarship winners, many of
whom are attending their first National Federation of the Blind
convention.  And one of the most exciting parts of the annual
banquet celebration is the presentation of the scholarship 
awards. Peggy Pinder, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee,
calls the winners to the podium, where they receive the
congratulations of President Maurer and Dr. Jernigan; a
certificate designating the particular scholarship which each has
won; and a special certificate from the Committee of One
Thousand, presented this year by Dr. John Redwine. Because this
was the fiftieth anniversary celebration, each member of the
scholarship class of 1990 also received a bronze medallion as a
special memento. Peggy Pinder began the presentation with a few
words to the winners. Here is the way it happened at the banquet:


The National Federation of the Blind stands for success  fifty
years now of bringing security, equality, and opportunity to
blind Americans. In our fifty years we have achieved success in
countless areas: from opening the Civil Service at the federal
and and state levels to blind persons to almost closing down NAC;
from stimulating literacy and the use of Braille among blind
people to quelling the excesses of rehabilitation; from taking on
the airlines to taking down our own history in the new book, 
Walking Alone and Marching Together . But our most important
success of all has been in the way that we view ourselves and in
the way that we are viewed by our fellow citizens. Our success is
right here in this room with us this evening fifty years of
success in changing what it means to be blind.
The Scholarship Program of the National Federation of the Blind,
like the Federation itself, is based on success. Blind people
from every state in the nation applied for these scholarships. We
received a
total of over five hundred applications. From this outpouring of
achievement and success, your Scholarship Committee has selected
twenty-six men and women as the 1990 golden anniversary
scholarship winners. Since they have been with us since Saturday
evening, many of you have met them this week. They are achieving
success in their chosen fields
of study. I want to remind each of you that every person in this
room has participated in the scholarship program in 1990. With us
this evening are some people who have individually endowed
scholarships in memory of loved ones. In this room also are the
members of the Committee of One Thousand, whose work is helping
to make more and more scholarship funds available. And most of
all, in this room are
three thousand of us who constitute the donors of all the awards
designated as National Federation of the Blind Merit
Scholarships. We're all donors of these scholarships. As I
present each one, I will read the name of the person who has won
it and then tell you a little about him or her. The first
category of the twenty-six awards will consist of $2,000
scholarships. We will then progress to $2,500 scholarships and
$4,000 awards. The final award this evening, will be worth
$10,000.  The person who wins this one will not only have been
chosen by his or her fellow blind Americans as the outstanding
blind student of this year, but will also have earned the
opportunity to speak briefly
to this wonderful fiftieth-anniversary gathering of the National
Federation of the Blind.
As each scholarship winner comes across the stage, he or she will
also be given an NFB commemorative bronze medal to symbolize his
or her membership in the class of 1990 golden anniversary
scholarship winners. As I introduce each of these winners, I am
sure that you will agree with the scholarship committee that
these men and women, like the National Federation of the Blind,
stand proudly for success.  The first scholarships I will read
are the National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships
valued at $2,000. There are nine such scholarships.
Carrie Elizabeth Amestoy of Georgia: Carrie will be a sophomore
in the fall at Harvard College, where she is studying towards a
B.A.  in English. Carrie has indicated a variety of interests
consistent with her wide achievement and success. She is
interested in being a writer, a journalist, or possibly a lawyer.
Or she might consider a career in business. You can tell from her
application that this one will be a success wherever she goes.
Elizabeth Regina Butler of Mississippi: Elizabeth will be a
freshman at Mississippi University for Women in the fall, where
she intends to earn a bachelor's degree. She is looking at
careers in education, special education, and counseling with a
particular interest in family development.
Misty Michele Collins of Arkansas: Misty will be a freshman at
the University of Central Arkansas. She will earn a degree in
English.
She is interested in becoming a writer. Misty indicates that she
intends to write fiction as well as nonfiction, and she has
already promised the National Federation of the Blind that she,
like Dr. Matson, will autograph any of her books for us.
Sara Jane Cripps of Tennessee: Sara will be a freshman at
Tennessee Technological University in the fall, where she will
study for a bachelor's degree and ultimately for a juris
doctorate. Sara intends to be a lawyer. She has a wide variety of
interests, including having competed
at the national level in goat-tying and American painted-horse
competitions.  Sara is a winner.
Lisa Marie Heins of Illinois: In the fall Lisa will be in the
second year of a graduate program at Southern Illinois University
at Carbondale, studying towards a master's degree in community
nutrition. Lisa intends to apply her skills and interests in
dietetics and community health throughout the rest of her life.
Bradley Clark Kadel of Illinois: Brad has recently earned a
bachelor's degree from Luther College in Iowa and is heading this
fall for his first year of graduate study at American University.
Brad intends to earn a Ph.D. in history and English and intends
to be a professor at the university level. Any of you who have
met Brad already know that he will succeed in that as he did when
he attended the University of Nottingham for one year during his
undergraduate career.  Janice Michelle Karin of Illinois: Janice,
who is seventeen years old, will be a junior in the fall at the
University of Chicago, where she is already half-way towards her
bachelor's degree in physics.  Janice intends a career in either
research or applied astronomy with a particular interest in
working with our country's space program.  She also writes
poetry.
Cheryl L. Meadors of Arizona: Sherry will be a junior in the fall
at the University of Arizona at Tempe, where she is on her way
towards a bachelor's degree in social work. She has a deep
interest in human services and social work and intends to earn a
master's degree on her way to reforming the vocational
rehabilitation system in this country.
Royce E. Oliver III of Georgia: After earning a bachelor's degree
with honors at Harvard College, Royce entered Columbia Law School
last year. He'll continue his studies there this year, where he
will be a second-year student. It helps, though, in starting your
second year to know that in your first you won the Columbia Law
School Moot Court competition. Congratulations Royce!
That concludes the National Federation of the Blind Merit $2,000
Scholarships.  The next presentation will be the Hermione Grant
Calhoun Scholarship, which bears a name of much honor and
tradition in the Federation.  It is in the amount of $2,000 and
was given by one of our long-time leaders who was herself deeply
interested in international travel, study, and improvement of the
blind.
Judith Louise Rasmussen of Wisconsin: Judith has completed all
her
work for a doctoral degree except for her dissertation at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she will earn a Ph.D.
in French literature.  Judith intends to be a professor at the
college level in French to start with, a discipline in which she
is now serving as a teaching assistant. She also intends to
continue to broaden her abilities and has just won a scholarship
from another scholarship-granting authority to go to Cairo to
study Arabic.
The next award is titled the Francis Urbanek Memorial
Scholarship.
It is also in the amount of $2,000 and is endowed annually by a
faithful member of the National Federation of the Blind of South
Carolina in loving memory of a brother.
Ross Stewart Kaplan of Pennsylvania: Ross had a wide variety of
choices in his studies in the fall, and he has finally decided to
spend his freshman year at Vassar. Ross will study towards a
bachelor's degree in education or psychology or political science
or.... If you talk to him, you know his interests are endless. He
will be a success no matter what he chooses.
The next award is the Ellen Setterfield Memorial Scholarship
endowed by a warm friend of the National Federation of the Blind
in the amount of $2,000. This scholarship is restricted to
graduate students in
the social sciences and was endowed specifically by the donor in
memory of a loved one, endowed to encourage study by the blind in
the social sciences at the advanced level.
Danny G. Wells of Georgia: Danny has finished all but his
dissertation at the University of Georgia at Athens, where he is
studying towards
a Ph.D. in political science. Danny intends to be a professor of
political science at the university level as well as continuing
to do research.  In the course of his work, he has earned another
scholarship in addition to ours this summer and will be spending
a month at Calvin College.  Danny has also trained and shown
horses.
The next scholarships are also entitled National Federation of
the Blind Merit Scholarships. There are seven of these, each in
the amount of $2,500.
Daniel Badger Frye of South Carolina: After earning his
bachelor's degree at Erskine College in South Carolina, Dan is
now headed for one of the top twenty law schools in this country,
the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, where he will
be a first-year student in the fall. Dan intends to earn a law
degree and continue his activity in the Federation, where he has
served in a number of roles. He has also worked for a Congressman
and has helped to found and to organize student chapters around
the country.
Jeanine Lineback of Texas: In the fall Jeanine will be a
sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, where she intends
to complete her studies toward a bachelor's degree in history.
All you have to
do is ask her, and she'll tell you she's going to earn that
master's; she's going to earn that Ph.D.; she's going to be a
professor of history and also a professor of foreign languages.
We're lucky to have Jeanine in the National Federation of the
Blind, where she has been active already for a number of years.
Adam E. Linn of Massachusetts: Adam will be a freshman in the
fall at Harvard College, where he intends to earn a bachelor's
degree.  Adam's specific intentions are as yet undecided, and he
is a wise man. He is going to sample the smorgasbord before he
decides. But he does have particular interests in business and
law. Keep an eye on this young man; he'll be going somewhere.
Kyle Elizabeth McHugh of Massachusetts: Kyle has been working for
five years as a legislative assistant to Senator Patricia
McGovern, who serves as the Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means
Committee in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She's decided to
go back to school to further her education and was admitted this
year to a one-year program at the John F. Kennedy School of
Government, which is a part of Harvard University. She'll be
attending that program to earn her master's degree in public
administration, after which she intends to become a public health
administrator and begin to make some of the changes and reforms,
the need for which she knows well.
Holly Lorraine Pilcher of Florida: Holly is another one of our
winners this year who began her Federationism early, for she
already serves as a chapter officer even though she has just
completed high school.  In the fall she will be a freshman at
Boston University. She intends to earn a bachelor's degree there
in economics and ultimately to be a lawyer.
Laura E. White-Correia of Alaska: Laura will be a senior in the
fall
at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, where she is currently
studying for her bachelor's degree in the field of education and
English. Laura wants to be a teacher of English at the junior
high school level, where she has a special interest in teaching
the next generation of sighted children the capabilities of the
blind.
Francis E. Wozniak of Missouri: Frank will be a junior in the
upcoming academic year at Southwest Missouri State University at
Springfield, where he and his family make their home. Frank is
working toward the bachelor's degree in computer information
systems and also in psychology.  He intends to earn a master's
degree and then become a computer programmer in private industry.
He was a founding member and serves as President of the Student
Division in Missouri.
Next we come to our oldest scholarship and one for which I have a
personal affection since it is the scholarship which I received
when the Federation gave but one: the Howard Brown Rickard
Scholarship in the amount of $2,500. This scholarship is
restricted to students
in the areas of law, the natural sciences, engineering, and
architecture.

Geoffrey N. Courtney of Texas: Geof will be a senior this fall at
the University of Notre Dame, where he is studying towards his
bachelor's degree in the honors program in history and philosophy
with a concentration in English. Geof is already being recruited
by graduate schools.  The next award will be the Melva T. Owen
Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $2,500. It is restricted to
a person who is in an undergraduate school and is also of long
standing in the Federation.
Kathy Gale Kannenberg of North Carolina: Kathy will be a senior
this fall at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where
she is studying towards a bachelor's degree in math and math
education. She intends
to be a math teacher at the high school level. Kathy was also a
founding member of her student chapter, the National Federation
of the Blind of North Carolina Student Division.
The next award is the Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship in
the amount of $2,500, and the generous donors of this
scholarship, the Barnums, are with us this week. Also with us are
their daughter Cathy Randall and her husband Bob.
Amy S. Zellmer of Wisconsin: Amy will be a freshman this fall at
Harvard/Radcliffe, where she intends to earn a bachelors degree
in biology and math.
Amy intends to make herself a career in biological and
environmental engineering.
The next three awards, in the amount of $4,000, are also called
National Federation of the Blind Merit Scholarships. Michael T.
Ferrence of Pennsylvania: Michael will be entering law school
this fall at the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, where he intends to earn his juris doctor degree.
Mike has a particular interest in labor law and is also proud of
the fact that he was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre.
Berenice Wong Ong of California: Berenice will be a sophomore
this year at the University of California at Berkeley, where she
is studying for a bachelor's degree in business administration
and accounting.  Berenice intends to be a lawyer with an emphasis
on taxation. Some people have resisted the idea of her going to
college. She has told everyone that brought up the subject to her
that she intended to earn a college degree and to make her way,
and she is going to do it.  Angie Page of Colorado: Angie will be
a second-semester junior this fall at the University of Colorado
at Boulder, where she is studying political science. I think I
can say that she intends ultimately to
be a lawyer and has an abiding interest in politics. Along with
serving as President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Colorado Student Division, Angie is also working now on the
campaign of Josie Heath, who is compaigning to be the next United
States Senator from Colorado.  Angie has served several
internships in the Colorado State Legislature.

The final and most valuable scholarship is also the one whose
recipient has earned the right to speak briefly to the convention
of the National Federation of the Blind. I will read you the
scholarship and read
its description, and then, as she comes forward, I will tell you
something about our American Brotherhood for the Blind Ezra Davis
Memorial Scholarship winner this year. This scholarship is in the
amount of $10,000.  Robin Elaine Zook of Colorado: Robin is
currently in the first year
of a doctoral program at Brigham Young University, where she is
studying toward an M.A. and ultimately a Ph.D. in genetics and
molecular biology.  Robin intends to be a teacher at the
university level. She is currently also working on a long-term
research project involving analysis of DNA and finds her love of
research strong enough to wish to continue research as well as to
teach. She wants particularly to focus on human disease genetics.
In addition to all of these interests (she has served, for
example, as a lab instructor at her university) Robin has also
trained and ridden horses, including jumpers. She has not only
trained the horses, she has trained the people to care for and
ride them.
A former student of hers now serves as the riding instructor at
Stanford University. Here is Robin Zook.

 Thank you. Several months ago I was experiencing a great deal of
difficulty dealing with my visual loss. I went to the library and
began reading the literature that deals with blindness. The more
I read this literature, the more discouraged I became. Then I
found the NFB literature, and I began to develop the philosophy
of this organization. Dr. Jernigan, Mr. Maurer, I want to thank
you for establishing the atmosphere in which this organization
can flourish. Federationists, I want to thank you for teaching me
many things, especially that it is respectable to be blind. We're
ending the first fifty years of this organization, and I think
that we've come a long way in these
fifty years. We'll be entering the next fifty years of this
organization, and I am confident that we can change what it means
to be blind. 

 Peggy Pinder concluded the presentation by addressing a few
closing remarks to the scholarship winners. She said: 

Now there is a record of success and achievement! I'd like to
take
just a minute more to say a few words to the scholarship winners
themselves.  We have given to each of you a scholarship that
consists of money.
We have also given each of you a scholarship to attend this
convention and to spend this week with us in the National
Federation of the Blind.  But we believe that neither of these
gifts is as valuable as the final gift. It is made up of many
little things of the times this week when we have talked about
using Braille or a cane, of our laughter together over things
forgotten by the day after, of our debates about the content of
resolutions, and of the evenings when we have danced under the
stars and in the bars. It is made up of the times this week
when we have shared as new friends and fellow Federationists our
understanding of blindness and the role it plays in our society.
All these things, taken together, comprise our gift to you, which
is the National Federation of the Blind itself. This is our
organization. We are the ones who recognized that it was
necessary. We are the ones who founded and built it and who now
take joy in its flourishing and its success at this golden
anniversary celebration. We, the blind people of this nation,
have taken our lives into our own hands and have determined to
make our own success. We offer this Federation that we have built
to you, and we ask you to accept it in the spirit in which we
give it, recognizing it as the vehicle which can bring about
change and improvement for the blind. We ask you to understand
that there is one thing that I, at least, have never found
anywhere else the profound understanding that exists among us in
the blind community.  We have come to recognize that it is not so
much our blindness that knits us together; rather it is our deep
love and respect for one another, our commitment to each other,
and our insistence that every blind person shall have a chance.
Scholarship winners, we were working for these goals before any
of you were born and will continue to do so throughout the next
fifty years. The way we do it is through the Federation, and the
thing that makes the Federation work is our love. Scholarship
winners, with love we give you the National Federation of the
Blind. Take it as we give it. Cherish it as we have done. And
help to make it in the next fifty
years achieve progress that we in this room cannot even imagine.
Congratulations, scholarship winners, for all of your gifts.
                         AWARD FROM THE 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
 From the Associate Editor:  Of the many highpoints and surprises
of the fiftieth anniversary convention of the National Federation
of the Blind in Dallas one of the most noteworthy was the
appearance on Thursday morning, July 5, of Justin Dart, Jr.,
Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People
With Disabilities. Mr.  Dart, former commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration and one of the most
prominent national leaders in the disability field, came to make
a presentation from the President of the United States.  He spoke
as follows: 

I am very proud to be here today with so many great soldiers in
the struggle for justice.  I congratulate you each one of you on
fifty years of contributions to the quality of human being.  And
I congratulate each one of you who has worked and sacrificed over
the years to bring the Americans with Disabilities Act to the
threshold of victory.  I congratulate you on the equal
accommodations amendment that considerably strengthens ADA.  And
I congratulate you on your advocacy for justice in the Air
Carrier Act.  You are the true patriots of the twentieth century.
It is my honor now to recognize the accomplishments of one of the
great American pioneers of the twentieth century. It would be
ludicrous for me to read to this gathering the resume of Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan.  But I do want to give you some personal
observations. Most of the prominent people in our society are
famous principally for being famous.  They
hold political, commercial, sports, entertainment, or mass media
positions which make them automatically famous whether or not
they make lasting, positive contributions to the culture. Too
many of them play stereotyped roles with strained conformity and
calculated flamboyant pandering
to prejudice and fad.  The person we honor today is different,
because he has created in human culture a positive quality that
was not there before because the monuments to his life will live
and will multiply long after the buildings of Donald Trump and
the pyramids of the pharaohs have turned to dust.
He has created new, independence-oriented approaches to the field
of rehabilitation.  He has been a great pioneer organizer and
leader of the National Federation of the Blind.  His leadership
of NFB has given impetus and direction to the movement to
emancipate people with
all disabilities who form the world's most oppressed, isolated,
unemployed, impoverished, and dependent minority.  Instead of
using us (his followers) to make a place for himself in the
hierarchy of the status quo, he has led us with the extraordinary
intellectual and political courage
and dedication to principle that is necessary truly to represent 
our  interests. He is a profound philosopher and a uniquely
articulate communicator who has given us revolutionary concepts
that liberate and empower. He has taught us that blindness (that
disability) is
a characteristic of the human condition which is well within the
range of the normal.  He has taught us that people with blindness
like all people have not only a right but also a responsibility
to be fully equal, fully productive participants in the
mainstream of our culture. He has taught us that equality and
productivity cannot be handed down by paternalistic authority but
can only be gained as we who have disabilities speak for
ourselves and empower ourselves
to participate fully in the decisions that control our destinies. 
And
he has taught us that our nation and every citizen has a primary
responsibility to create a society in which full equality and
full productivity are not only rights but realities. He has
consistently followed eloquence with effective action, with
promises kept, administration accomplished, bills paid, and
battles won.  His contributions will live as long as human
culture exists.  They will live in the lives of individuals with
blindness and with other disabilities who have been liberated
from the bondage of prejudice and paternalism.  They will live in
the lives of  all  human beings, whose quality of life will be
forever enriched.
On behalf of President George Bush it is my very great honor now
to present to Dr. Kenneth Jernigan the Distinguished Service
Award of the President of the United States.

 At the conclusion of his remarks Mr. Dart gave Dr. Jernigan an
engraved plague signed by President George Bush. The plaque
reads:   The President of the United States cites with pleasure
Kenneth Jernigan for distinguished service in encouraging and
promoting the employment of people with disabilities.  July 5,
1990, George Bush.  
               WALKING ALONE AND MARCHING TOGETHER
As  Monitor  readers know, we introduced this summer at the
Fiftieth Anniversary convention of the National Federation of the
Blind in Dallas a history of the organized blind movement in the
United States
from 1940 to 1990. The author, Dr. Floyd Matson, was present and
autographed copies of the book which were bought at the
convention. We have now prepared a flier giving information about
the book and are sending
an initial mailing of 65,000 copies to libraries, colleges,
universities, and high schools throughout the country.  Here is
what the flier says:

                       WALKING ALONE AND 
MARCHING TOGETHER:
                        A HISTORY OF THE 
ORGANIZED BLIND MOVEMENT
                 IN THE UNITED STATES, 1940-1990
                         by Floyd Matson

A Story Never Told

This book tells a story as true as it is dramatic that has never
been told before. It is a story of the epochal struggle and
ultimate triumph of a singular American social movement, that of
the organized blind, which evolved over the space of half a
century from a small vanguard of visionary men and women, no more
than a handful
in a scattering of states, into a nationwide community of fifty
thousand members recognized throughout the world as a major force
in the field of blindness and civil rights.
Unlike previous histories of blindness and the blind, which have
dealt almost entirely with the work of benefactors and agencies 
for 
the blind, this magisterial study by a distinguished cultural
historian Floyd Matson breaks new ground in focusing upon the
actions and aspirations of the organized blind themselves. It
follows the progress of the movement from its historical origins
in the remote past to the pioneering adventure of its founding in
1940, then through the early years of lonely struggle for the
right of the blind to organize (indelibly associated with the
name of John F. Kennedy). Then we see the turmoil of  civil war, 
followed by renewed harmony, and explosive growth in both size
and stature as symbolized by the multi-faceted National Center
for the Blind.

* (c)1990, 1116 pages
* ISBN 0-9624122-1-X
* $30.00
* 362.4'15763'0973
* HV1788.M52

* Black and White Photographs, Index, Bibliographies,
Biographies.  

FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE STRUGGLES OF THE BLIND AS AN EMERGING
MINORITY IN THE UNITED STATES IN THEIR WORDS AND FROM THEIR
VIEWPOINT....   A landmark publication? Absolutely! I recommend
this text for all university or high school level teachers or
libraries concerned with American history, post-war politics,
social studies, minority rights, affirmative action philosophy,
or `the handicapped.' Full of useful supplementary material! 
 Allen Harris, Chairman, Social Studies Department and Chairman,
Curriculum Council, Edsel Ford High School, Dearborn, Michigan 

 ...a fascinating story of the rise of one segment of American
society to first-class citizenship based on its own grassroots
efforts.   John Halverson, Program Division Director, Federal
Office for Civil Rights, Region VII
 Eye care professionals, researchers, and rehabilitation
specialists serving individuals facing vision loss will gain
essential insight and perspective.... 
 Eileen Rivera, Administrative Director, Wilmer Vision Research
and Rehabilitation Center, Johns Hopkins University


FOR TRAINING TODAY'S PROFESSIONALS....
 This book is an important tool for training professionals who
work with minority groups or disabled persons.  Every educator
who has responsibility for designing and implementing programs to
bring minority groups or disabled students into the mainstream
should know this story, and no teacher of the disabled should
enter a classroom without understanding the aspirations of the
blind told in this book.   Homer Page, Ph.D., Professor of
Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Colorado
at Boulder

Floyd Matson has lectured and written widely in the fields of
minority rights, social thought, and political action. He is the
author or editor of eleven books and is the co-author with
Jacobus tenBroek
of  Hope Deferred: Public Welfare and the Blind  (1959). He also
collaborated with tenBroek on the award-winning  Prejudice, War,
and the Constitution  (1954), detailing the constitutional
implications of the evacuation of Japanese-Americans from the
West Coast during
World War II. Professor Matson teaches American Studies at the
University of Hawaii.

NOW AVAILABLE

HANDBOOK FOR ITINERANT AND RESOURCE TEACHERS OF BLIND AND
VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS
* by D. Willoughby and S. Duffy
* (c)1989, 533 pages
* Soft cover, photos, bibliography, 
appendices.
* ISBN 0-9624122-0-1
* $20.00
* 371.91'1
* HV1631.W54

...LEARN HOW TO COPE WITH EVERY TYPE OF TRAVEL PROBLEM... 45
PAGES ON TEACHING BRAILLE...TIPS FOR EVERY SCHOOL SUBJECT...
ADVICE FOR THE NEW TEACHER... UNDERSTANDING MEDICAL
ASSESSMENTS... APPENDIX ON THE NEMETH CODE AND THE ABACUS...

 The largest, most practical handbook yet written on the subject.


 Patricia Munson, President, National Association of Blind
Educators


                            ORDER FORM

You may use credit card, institutional purchase order, or check
made payable in full to: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND, 1800
Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230; Telephone (301)659-
9314.

__Check or money order enclosed

__Charge to credit card as follows:
__VISA __Master Card
__Discover Card __Diners Club
Card # ______________ Expires:_________
Authorized signature:__________________ Mail to:
Name_______________________________
Organization_________________________
Address:_____________________________
City, State_________________ ZIP_______
Telephone___________________________
Send __ copy/copies  Walking Alone and Marching Together  @
$30.00 each plus $3.00 each for shipping
Send __ copy/copies  Handbook for Itinerant and Resource Teachers
of Blind and Visually Impaired Students  @ $20.00 each plus $3.00
each for shipping.
Total $__
____________________

Copies of this flier are available in quantity from the National
Office of the Federation. Every local chapter and state affiliate
(in fact, every individual member of the Federation) should get
the flier and take responsibility for its distribution. We should
see that  Walking Alone and Marching Together  is in every
library in the country and we should not just try to buy it and
give it to the libraries but persuade them to buy it. After all,
libraries have budgets for this purpose. We should also inform
those in special education, social science, political science,
civil rights, and other programs of the contents and availability
of  Walking Alone and Marching Together .  This means that we
ourselves must become knowledgeable about the book.  It is being
produced on cassette and in Braille by the National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and should be
ready in these formats in a few months. Meanwhile we have the
print edition, and we should get the needed information from it.
But whatever we do and however we do it, we must scatter this
book throughout the length and breadth of the nation. It tells
the story of the blind as it really was and is, and it is up to
us to see that that story is widely known. The flier gives the
overall picture, but here for further detail is the Introduction:

                           INTRODUCTION

                   The Dark Ages And the Dawn 
of Organization

The year 1990 holds extraordinary significance for blind
Americans.  It marks the golden anniversary of the National
Federation of the Blind and so memorializes the first
half-century of collective self-organization by the blind people
of the United States. This book is the story of those fifty years
of Federationism in America: the history of a unique social
revolution, democratic and nonviolent but not always peaceful;
the drama of an irresistible force some call
it  blind force  colliding again and again with the seemingly
immovable objects of supervision and superstition; and the
narrative
of a minority group once powerless, scattered, and impoverished
coming together as a people and forging an independent movement,
gaining self-expression and learning self-direction, proclaiming
normality and demanding equality.
The story begins, officially, with the establishment of the
National Federation of the Blind in 1940. But the historic
significance of that event can be fully understood only against
the background of earlier attempts to improve the dependent
status of the blind through self-organization and self-help. It
is a little-known fact that organizations of the blind have
existed in one form or another for many hundreds, possibly
thousands, of years. The earliest record of their existence
comes, perhaps surprisingly, from China where blind paupers (most
of them apparently beggars like others of the disabled) banded
together for mutual protection nearly a millennium ago, giving
rise to numbers of guilds and associations (composed entirely of
blind people) which
were able in time to achieve full legal and social status. The
extraordinary self-determining and self-sufficient character of
these pre-modern Chinese associations has been described by a
blind sociologist, C.  Edwin Vaughan, writing in the  Braille
Monitor  (April, 1988):


 In Medieval China for at least 1,000 years guilds of craftsmen,
workers, and merchants were common. Their purpose was to prevent
exploitation from government officials and to provide internal
regulation of trade and craft areas of employment. There was in
Beijing, formerly Peking,
a guild comprised of blind persons who made a career of singing,
entertaining, and storytelling. Parents would seek to place a
young blind son into this guild so that he might learn a trade
for his future lifelong employment. As he succeeded in the
required skills, he would rise in status in the guild to the
level of master.  
 Blind guild members in China were self-governing. The guild was
governed by a board of forty-eight members of whom forty-seven
were blind. The secretary was the only sighted person. The guild
governed itself with regard to membership, including the
discipline of members, the charges for services, and the
recruitment of new members into the guild. The guild met twice
each year, and the meetings lasted until 5:00 a.m. 

But it was in Europe, during the Middle Ages, that independent
guilds and brotherhoods of the blind came to be most highly
organized and
successful in their purpose. One of the most impressive of these
self-contained groups was known as the  Congregation and House of
the Three Hundred,  which flourished in Paris in the thirteenth
century. In this remarkable congregation lived several hundred
blind men and women who successfully governed themselves through
a popular assembly and were, within the severe monastic limits of
the enterprise, entirely self-sufficient.  In time, however, the
suspicions and stereotypes of the wider society worked against
this extraordinary experiment in self-government by the
sightless.  Both the administration and the statutes of the
congregation,  as an historian tells us,  underwent in the course
of time a number of changes, with a considerable loss to the
blind of their original rights and a corresponding increase of
the influence of the sighted. 1
Still other  free brotherhoods of the blind,  as they were
called, flourished throughout Europe during medieval times. Most
of them were in the form of guilds, and it is worth noting
briefly the character and function which these voluntary
associations embodied.  First of all, of course, they were a
means of mutual protection at a time when blindness was regarded
either as a communicable disease or as punishment for sins, and
when the sightless might be cruelly punished or put to death with
impunity. But the blind brotherhoods
also had a positive role to play; they were a vehicle of
self-expression and representation for the blind in the affairs
of the community.
In that respect they were a force, not for segregation, but for
integration of the blind into the carefully articulated society
of the period.  For these guilds of the blind were not unique in
the age of feudalism; they coexisted with a wide variety of other
specialized associations, each with its particular rights and
status, which together made up the medieval community. Through
such groups, largely voluntary, the blind and others of the
disabled gained a collective identity and a degree of security
which was otherwise denied them. Indeed, group membership was
essential to all men and women as a source of recognition and
identification.  The unattached person during the Middle Ages, 
as the historian Lewis Mumford has written,  was one either
condemned to exile or doomed to death; if alive, he immediately
sought to attach himself, at least to a band of robbers. To
exist, one had to belong to an association: a household, a manor,
a monastery, a guild; there was no security except in
association, and no freedom that did not recognize the
obligations of a corporate life. 
What was true for the prosperous and able-bodied  there was no
security except in association  was more profoundly true for the
blind; and it is likely that they enjoyed a greater measure
of physical and economic security within the corporative,
guild-oriented society of the Middle Ages than in any previous
period of history certainly more than in the so-called  golden
age  of classical antiquity, when the common fate of blind males
was to be sold into galley slavery and that of blind females to
be sold into  white slavery.  Nor would the first centuries of
the modern era compare favorably
with the medieval situation. For the blind, as for others of the
disabled, the breakup of the feudal order and the emergence of
the modern world were in crucial respects not progress but
retreat. The movement from group status to individual contract
and more specifically the enactment of the infamous Elizabethan
Poor Laws not merely deprived the blind of their fraternal guilds
but left them scattered, alienated, and utterly dependent upon
the charitable impulses of a new society indifferent at best and
frequently cruel in its treatment of the handicapped.  In this
atmosphere it is not surprising that organizations of the blind,
like trade unions and other independent associations of the poor,
were actively discouraged and discredited. Within the various
separate institutions that grew up to take care of them the
almshouses and workhouses and subsequently the schools, homes,
lighthouses, and sheltered workshops the blind were in effect
segregated not only from normal society but also from each other.
It was not until the last quarter of the nineteenth century that
voluntary associations of blind people began again to take shape,
initially
in the form of local and specialized groups. One of the first on
record was the Friedlander Union of Philadelphia, organized in
1871; six years later came the New York Blind Aid Association,
also composed predominantly of sightless members. By the 1890s
there were a number of such groups across the country, many of
them composed of alumni
of the state schools for the blind. These alumni associations,
representing as they did the educated minority of the blind
population, tended
to take a limited view of their responsibilities and interests,
rather than seeking to represent the blind generally. They were
the forerunners, but not yet the pathfinders or trailblazers, of
the twentieth-century movement of the organized blind. Like the
medieval blind guilds, the early alumni associations were largely
defensive in character, for
the primary stimulus to their organization came from the tragic
failure of the special schools for the blind to attain the great
objective which had been the dream of the pioneer educators (such
men as Valentin Hauy of France, Johann Klein of Austria, and
America's Samuel Gridley Howe), namely, the goal of economic
integration of the educated blind
into the mainstream of society. Before resuming our narrative of
self-organization, it is worth recalling this misadventure of the
schools and the shock
of recognition which it provided. From their beginnings toward
the middle of the nineteenth century, American residential
schools for the blind followed the model of the European schools
in placing their main curricular emphasis upon vocational
training which chiefly meant instruction in the skills of
weaving, knitting, basketry and chair-caning, plus music and
other arts. It was the conviction of the early schoolmasters that
once their blind wards had shown the ability to master these
trades they would be embraced forthwith by
a tolerant and receptive society.  It is confidently believed, 
said one school official in 1854,  that the blind, with proper
instruction, will be able to maintain themselves free of charge
from their friends or the state. There will be as few exceptions
among
this class, according to their numbers, as among those who have
sight. 2

In their idealism, these early schoolmen showed themselves to be
true heirs of the Enlightenment. Like their counterparts in
general education, as well as in social and penal reform, they
believed that it was necessary only to strike the chains from
their wards in order to make them at
once free and self- sufficient. But it was not long before they
discovered their error which was that while the blind were being
prepared to enter society, nothing was being done to prepare 
society  to receive them. The old prejudices and aversions of
employers and the general public remained intact; the newly
trained graduates of the schools were given little or no chance
to prove their abilities, but instead found all doors closed
against them.  Our graduates
began to return to us,  according to a school official, 
representing the embarrassment of their condition abroad, and
soliciting employment at our hands. 3
The response of the schools to this rebuff was perhaps only
natural, but it was also unfortunately defeatist. Instead of
undertaking programs of public education, selective placement and
the like in order to break down the occupational barriers against
their blind students, the schoolmasters simply abandoned the goal
of normal competitive employment altogether. As a blind leader of
a later era, Jacobus tenBroek, was to write of this episode:  At
the first signs of public resistance, the optimistic philosophy
of the school men crumbled; they conceded in effect that they had
been wrong in believing the blind capable
of competition and self-support; they were prepared to accept as
irremovable the prohibitive stereotypes against which they had
formerly ranged themselves, and to assist in reinforcing the
ancient walls of segregation and dependency. 4 TenBroek's
critical words were appropriate to the fact; instead of a place
in the sun, the blind students were offered a shelter in the
shade of the school yard, where they might safely practice what
were already known as the  blind trades  without fear of
competition or contamination from the seeing world.
As one report of the period sadly concluded:  The proper
preventive is the establishment of a retreat where their bread
can be earned,
their morals protected, and a just estimate put upon their
talents. 5

That statement might stand as a prophetic description of the
sheltered workshop movement which arose as a result of the bitter
experience of the schools for the blind with vocational training
and employment.  The role of the workshops will be discussed in
later pages; but it is pertinent here to note that the blind
alumni associations came
into being in the wake of this episode, providing something of a
buffer against the total loss of confidence and self-respect
among the educated blind. One such alumni group was that which
was formed in 1895 by graduates of the Missouri School; within a
year of its founding the Missouri group opened its ranks to
graduates of other schools and took on the name of the American
Blind People's Higher Education and General Improvement
Association. It drew support promptly from blind individuals and
groups in a dozen states across the country, and before the turn
of the century had held conventions in Missouri and Kansas.  In
1903 the character of the group as an organization  of  the blind
was abruptly transformed when representatives of several school
administrations appeared at its convention bearing a plan for a
wholly different kind of association to include not only the
blind but also school and program administrators. In 1905 the
Association formally abandoned its old identity altogether and
became the American Association of Workers  for  the Blind thus
ending the first tentative attempt on the part of blind Americans
to organize independently on a nationwide basis.
This denouement was not, however, quite as destructive a blow to
the principle of self-organization and self-expression as it
would seem.  For one thing the impulse to organize on local and
state levels, once set in motion by the alumni of the schools,
grew steadily and soon embraced other groups of blind persons. At
the same time the development of general-purpose national
agencies combining all areas of work for
the blind agencies such as the AAWB and (later) the American
Foundation for the Blind represented a forward step toward the
professionalization and modernization of this special (and
traditionally backward) field of services to the blind.
Following its reorganization to include sighted professionals in
1905, the AAWB soon became what one observer has described as 
the N.A.M.  (National Association of Manufacturers) of work for
the blind.  During the next decade and a half, the AAWB
consolidated its position until it became the recognized voice of
the numerous professional agencies about the country, not limited
to one or two functions but speaking to the needs of the blind
population generally. In 1921 the American Foundation for the
Blind was established, primarily as a research and coordinating
arm of the agencies for the blind; in effect, if the AAWB filled
the role of an  N.A.M.  in work with the blind, the Foundation
took on the stature of a combined Dupont-General Motors in the
blindness system.
The American Foundation for the Blind provided the framework for
the organizational pattern of the service agencies which was to
prevail undisturbed until the advent of the National Federation
of the Blind in 1940. This pattern, carried out by a host of
agencies at the state and community levels, often under the
guidance of the AFB, embraced four distinct areas of endeavor:
those of research, resources, services, and representation. All
four of these functions including even that of representing, or
speaking for, the blind were, for their time, entirely legitimate
and constructive; indeed, the AFB made great progress over the
years with regard to the first three functions. It initiated the
first substantial and systematic research into blindness and its
problems; it developed and made available for the first time a
variety of significant resources, and it greatly expanded the
range and quality of services to the blind educational and
economic as well as recreational and social. As for its role in
those years as spokesman for the blind, the American Foundation
for the Blind at its worst was better than no spokesman at all
and at best was an effective champion for modernized policies and
much-needed legislation. As Jacobus tenBroek, Kenneth Jernigan,
and other leaders of the organized blind have repeatedly
maintained, the agency structure of work for the blind during the
decades prior to 1940  controlled at the top as it was by the AFB
and the AAWB  resembled nothing
so much as a colonial regime of the nineteenth-century variety
imposed, with benevolent purpose and some constructive effect,
upon a dependent and inarticulate people. Like other colonial
administrations, furthermore, the agency system was destined to
give way to a democratic form of self-government when its blind
wards should come to find their own voice and to declare their
independence.
That critical turning point was to come in 1940 as the natural
and almost inevitable climax of the spontaneous urge toward
association on the part of blind people in state after state.
Many of these groups were outcroppings of the school alumni
combinations, such as the Alumni Association of the California
School for the Blind formed by the legendary Newel Perry and a
handful of hardy colleagues before the turn of the century for
the announced purpose of helping blind people (as Dr. Perry
declared)  to escape defeatism and to achieve normal membership
in society.  Although it cannot be said that these early
associations among the blind were yet prepared to demand the full
rights of equality and normality, Newel Perry's declaration set
the precedent and pointed the direction in which they were to
evolve.  Over the next three decades local organizations of blind
men and women within half a dozen states came together to form
statewide associations.  Among them were the Central Committee of
the Blind of Illinois; the Badger Association of the Blind in
Wisconsin; the Pennsylvania Federation of the Blind; the Mutual
Federation of the Blind in Ohio; and the California Council for
(later  of ) the Blind.
The fundamental purposes of the multiplying local and state
associations of the blind during these years were no different
from those which
had animated the  free brotherhoods  of the Middle Ages: mutual
protection, group identity, and a measure of self-expression. To
these must be added the more modern urge to demonstrate to the
seeing world the capacity of blind men and women to lead their
own lives and govern their own affairs. Moreover, within these
organizations were incubating the more practical objectives which
were to find expression in the national movement of the blind.
Among them were the vision of full and open employment of blind
persons in the mainstream of competitive pursuits, programs of
public aid providing the incentives needed to enable the blind to
achieve self-support, and vocational rehabilitation programs
geared to individual talent and ability rather than to the
stereotyped trades of the workhouse and the workshop.
These were, of course, barely imagined vistas of possibility in
the period prior to the Great Depression and the New Deal of the
1930s.  Social provisions for the blind were traditionally
limited to state and county programs, in accordance with the
ancient customs of the Poor Law. But with the vast increase of
poverty and unemployment during the Depression and notably with
the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935 public welfare and
job opportunity became a national concern, and with it the
particular needs and problems of blind Americans.

The growth of a national consciousness and a sense of solidarity
on the part of blind Americans corresponded with this broader
public awareness of the need for national (or federal) solutions
to the problems of disadvantaged groups. But the assumption of
federal responsibility for public welfare and Social Security was
far from being an unmixed blessing. While the Social Security Act
injected new energies and revenues into the old aid programs, it
also introduced a battery of conditions and requirements which
often bound the blind recipient
more tightly than ever in dependency and red tape. In short, as
Jacobus tenBroek pointed out, the expansion of public aid from
the states to the national level did not eliminate the evils of
the traditional system it only made them national.
The negative side of the federal assumption of responsibility for
welfare came to be felt most sharply under the 1939 amendments to
the Social Security Act. These changes required that under any
state program for the blind to which federal funds were
contributed all the income and resources of the blind recipient
must be counted in fixing the amount of the aid grant, if any.
What this meant, in fact, was that a basic goal for which the
blind had been striving the
exemption of reasonable amounts of income as an incentive to
self-support was to be eliminated by federal edict.
In various ways during the depression years the center of gravity
in public welfare was shifting rapidly from the state capitals to
Washington. It was now Congress, along with the White House,
which took the decisive steps forward or backward in the fields
of welfare aid, vocational rehabilitation, public health,
disability insurance, sheltered workshops, and a host of related
services directly affecting the lives and livelihoods of blind
men and women.
Inevitably, the nationalizing of welfare led to the nationalizing
of the organized blind movement. Various factors, internal and
external to the movement, combined in this preliminary period to
nourish a growing sense of brotherhood, of common needs and
aspirations, both among blind students mingling in their
residential state schools and
among blind workers meeting and sharing grievances in their
all-too-sheltered workshops. A powerful rallying cry emerged
during the course of the Depression decade in the form of the
struggle to  save Social Security from the Social Security Board 
that is, to protect blind recipients of aid from the means test
and other onerous conditions newly imposed by the federal agency.
The campaign to salvage and reform the program of aid to the
blind, and in so doing to transform relief
into rehabilitation, was to dominate the agenda of the National
Federation of the Blind at its founding convention and to remain
a guiding theme through its first decade.
Newel Perry summed up the nature and trend of the evolving
national movement in a 1940 editorial.  During the last forty
years,  he wrote,  a growing group consciousness has been
noticeable among the blind of our country. Practically every
state and large city now has an active organization with a
membership composed exclusively
of blind persons. These clubs seek to improve the economic
conditions of the blind through the enactment of legislation and
through other means. The dream of a national organization is now
to be realized. 


                            FOOTNOTES

1. Richard S. French in  From Homer to Helen Keller  (New York:
American Foundation for the Blind, 1932).
2. Quoted in Harry Best,  Blindness and the Blind in the United
States  (New York: Macmillan, 1934), p. 474. 
3.  Ibid ., p. 476.
4. Jacobus tenBroek and Floyd Matson,  Hope Deferred:  Public
Welfare and the Blind  (Berkeley: University of California,
1959), p. 251.
5. Quoted in Best, op. cit., p. 476.

____________________

With this information from the flier and the Introduction all of
us should be able to talk knowledgeably about  Walking Alone and
Marching Together . It is our book, and we must see that no
college or university, no public library or high school is
without it. We should also try to get it reviewed in magazines
and newspapers, and we should buy it and give it to our families
and friends or, better still, let them buy it for themselves and
purchase other copies for those who
won't. Remember that a book sells best during the year of
publication not necessarily the calendar year but the ensuing
twelve months. In short, let us spread the message and carry the
word. The price is $30 per print copy plus $3 for shipping and
handling. The price per copy for the Braille and cassette
editions has not been set but will be announced soon and will be
as reasonable as we can manage. The success or failure of this
important project is now in your hands.
                                 
 RECIPES 
 From the Associate Editor : September marks both the end of
the summer and the beginning of the academic year a calendar
which, in one way or another, dominates most of our lives. But
even if no one in the family attends school, we all usually feel
the revving
up that comes with cooler weather and the resumption of tight
schedules after the relaxation of the summer. 
 It has always seemed more psychologically appropriate to me to
celebrate the new year in the fall, when everything is starting
up again. That, of course, is what members of the Jewish faith
do, and I commend such good sense. Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New
Year) occurs on September 20 this year, so we wish every one a
Happy New Year in this month of beginnings. Here are some
traditional festive dishes, which are family favorites in the
homes of several Federationists and readers of the  Braille
Monitor:

                           HONEY CAKE
                       by Claudell Stocker

Claudell Stocker is the head of the Braille Development Section
of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped.  She is also an enthusiastic collector of recipes
and an excellent cook. This is her favorite recipe for honey
cake, a traditional New Year treat. 

 Ingredients: 
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup strong, hot coffee
1-1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each ginger, nutmeg, cloves & allspice
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon brandy, optional
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

 Method : Place eggs, sugar, and oil in mixer bowl and mix on
medium speed until smooth and creamy. Combine honey and hot
coffee
and stir until honey is dissolved. Sift dry ingredients and add
alternately to batter with coffee-honey mixture, mixing well
after each addition.  Add nuts, raisins, lemon juice and peel,
and brandy, and mix well.  Pour batter into a greased and
wax-paper-lined 9- by 13-inch cake pan. Bake one hour at 350
degrees. Turn out of pan and remove wax paper. Turn upright. To
serve, sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar.  

                 LUKSCHEN KUGEL (NOODLE PUDDING)
                        by Adrienne Asch

 Adrienne Asch is a loyal Federationist, finishing her Ph.D. and
living in New York City. In the note that came with this recipe
she says,  Here is a wonderful, rich, and easy dessert served hot
or cold. I have served this at nearly every major gathering I
have held for the last twenty years. The recipe given here should
make
12-15 servings, and doubling or quadrupling it is no problem. It
requires only a larger baking dish and a little more preparation
time.  

 Ingredients: 
8 oz. medium egg noodles
1/2 pound dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup large-curd cottage cheese
1 cup golden raisins
2 apples (peeled, cored, and chopped 
into 2-inch pieces)
1/4 pound sweet (unsalted) butter 
or margarine
cinnamon
greased circular 9-inch by 2- or 4-inch pyrex baking dish

 Method : Cook the egg noodles in boiling unsalted water until
tender. Drain well and rinse thoroughly to remove starch. (It is
important to keep the noodles from clumping together.)
While the noodles are cooking, melt the butter. In a large bowl
stir brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs until sugar lumps disappear
and mixture is creamy. Add the melted butter, the sour cream, and
the cottage cheese. When the noodles are cooked and drained, add
them and mix thoroughly. Add the chopped apples and raisins,
mixing thoroughly.  Make sure that the noodles, apples, and
raisins do not cluster together and fall to the bottom of the
mixture.
Pour into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle cinnamon generously
over the surface and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for one hour.
(When
I have doubled the recipe, the 9 x 4-inch pyrex dish still works
fine for mixing and baking. When I have quadrupled the recipe, I
have mixed everything together and baked it in a turkey roasting
pan; it was perfect, if not elegant for the job.) You will know
it is done when there is a sweet aroma emanating from your
kitchen and when the top layer of noodles and apples is a bit
crusty to the touch. Serve hot, or cover the dish with foil and
refrigerate. Kugel will keep for days if it lasts that long.

                          CHICKEN SOUP
                          by Suzi Prows

 Suzi Prows is a long-time leader in the National Federation of
the Blind. She now lives in Washington state with her husband
Ben,
who is President of that affiliate. Chicken soup is laughingly
referred to as Jewish penicillin by the women who prepare it, but
there is basis in fact for the widely acclaimed healing powers
attributed to this comforting dish. 

 Ingredients :
1 small fryer chicken (either whole or parts)
4 large carrots
4 celery stalks
6-8 sprigs parsley
1 medium yellow onion, peeled

 Method:  Rinse chicken and place in eight- to ten-quart stock
pot. Peel and cut carrots in half, and cut celery stalks in the
middle.  Tie parsley sprigs in a bunch (preferably using white
thread). Place the vegetables in the stock-pot with the chicken.
Add enough water to cover.
Bring the soup to a soft boil, then simmer covered on low about
three to four hours. Turn off the stove and let cool to room
temperature
or about one hour. Remove the vegetables and chicken before
refrigerating the broth overnight.
Next day, take congealed fat off the top of the broth. You may
wish to reheat and serve the broth alone, or return the
vegetables and chicken meat. The traditional way for the holidays
is to add matzo balls to the broth without vegetables.
The matzo ball recipe can be found either in the February, 1990, 
Braille Monitor , or on the box of Manischewitz Matzo Meal.

                           HONEY CAKE
                          by Suzi Prows

 Here is the Prows family's variation on the traditional New Year
favorite. 

 Ingredients :
3-1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons salad oil
2 cups dark honey
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1-1/2 cups chopped nuts (either walnuts 
or almonds)


 Method : Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda,
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Beat the eggs, gradually
adding the sugar. Beat until thick and light in color. Beat in
the oil, honey, and brewed coffee; stir in the flour mixture and
the nuts. Oil an 11 x 16 x 4-inch baking pan and line with
aluminum foil. Or, if you want two smaller cakes, use two 9- inch
loaf pans. Turn the batter into the pan or pans. Bake in a
preheated 325 degree oven, 1-1/4 hours for the large cake, 50
minutes for the two smaller cakes, or until browned and a
toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack before removing cake
from pan.
      * * MONITOR MINIATURES * *  **Comments from Newlyweds:
We recently received a letter from Joe and Janet Triplett. The
letter says in part:  We want to thank you so much for announcing
the engagement of Joe Triplett and Janet Smith from Texas at the
Denver convention last year. On March 10, 1990, we were married
in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Walnut Hills Baptist Church. It is
interesting to note that the best man, maid of honor, organist,
and soloist were totally blind.  We had a small reception after
the ceremony. In the middle of the bus strike we returned to our
home in Houston, Texas. In the middle
of April we moved here to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we like it very
much. 

**New Service Available:
The Reader Project is a commercial electronic book publisher for
computer users with disabilities.  It provides books through
computers and functions as an on-line bookstore.  Books are
delivered over a telephone line and can then be read on a
personal computer at home.  Books are produced in their entirety
and retain their original page numbers.  Indexes and tables of
contents are included.  Books can be transferred to your computer
in about ten minutes.  These books may be stored on hard or
floppy disks, making it possible to build your own personal
library.  The price of each book will be the retail hard cover
price of the print book.
The Single User Reader Package, which sells for $495, includes
the software and a small hardware attachment which plugs into a
computer port. The software is designed to work with refreshable
Braille displays, speech, and large print. Systems requirements:
IBM and compatible computers with at least 512K RAM and MS-DOS
3.3 or higher.  For more information or to get on the mailing
list, call (800) 321-8398(TEXT).

**New Chapter, Continued Progress:
Donald Capps, President of the National Federation of the Blind
of South Carolina, writes as follows:  The thirty-second chapter
of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina was
organized Friday evening, July 13, 1990. The blind of Marlboro
County attended
an organizing dinner at a Bennettsville restaurant and listened
carefully to what I had to say. They obviously liked what they
heard since all twenty-three persons in attendance proudly joined
the NFB of South Carolina. Thus, the Marlboro County Chapter, the
thirty-second chapter of the NFB of South Carolina, came into
being. The Marlboro County Chapter has excellent officers. They
are: President, Billy Hendrix; Vice President, Mrs. Maggie Boan;
Secretary, Mrs. Louise Thigpen; Treasurer, Mrs. Inez Barrington;
and Social Director, Mrs. Lucy Quick.  The creation of the
Marlboro County Chapter not only strengthens the NFB of South
Carolina but also makes much stronger an already strong NFB. 

**Dies:
Under date of July 11, 1990, Henry Kluizenaar of South Carolina
writes:

 Dear Dr. Jernigan: 
 I regret to inform you that my wife, Dorothy, died on May 21,
1990. I realized after arriving home from the 1990 convention in
Dallas that I had not written you. Dorothy had attended the
Chicago and Denver conventions and were it not for her illness
and death she would have been at the 1990 Dallas convention. She
was an active participant in the work of the blind and was an
associate member of the South Carolina Greenville Chapter. 

**Appointed:
Recently Karen Mayry, President of the National Federation of the
Blind of South Dakota, received the following letter:

 I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed you to the
Board of Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired pursuant to
the provisions of Chapter 28-10-25 of the South Dakota Codified
Laws.  Your appointment is effective July 1, 1990, and shall
continue until
July 1, 1992. Your service to the citizens of this state is
appreciated. 

                                               Very truly yours, 
                                   George S. Mickelson, Governor 
                                           State of South Dakota 

**Elected:
At a recent meeting of the San Antonio Chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of Texas the following officers and board
members were elected: President, Albert Wilson; First Vice
President, Martha LaQue; Second Vice President, Caroline Sada;
Recording Secretary, Bonnie Severonson; Corresponding Secretary,
Mary Donahue; and Board Member, Belinda Lane. Board members who
are continuing their terms of office for one more year are Manuel
and Peggy Gonzalez.

**Lenscrafters/NFB Joint Project:
We recently received the following press release:

                    Lenscrafters/NFB Carwash 
An  Overwhelming  Success

The carwash held by Lenscrafters on Sunday, June 10, was an 
overwhelming  success according to its organizers. Over a dozen
Lenscrafters employees washed one car every two minutes for five
hours, raising more than $400 for the Metrowest Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind.   We were delighted by the
enthusiasm of the Lenscrafters volunteers,  said Dennis Polselli,
President of the Metrowest Chapter of the NFB.   Their
sensitivity in promoting the event was greatly appreciated by
chapter members. 
 We more than doubled our goal, which was to raise $200 for the
NFB,  added John Barron, general manager of Lenscrafters Natick.  
The media and area merchants were very helpful in lending their
support to this cause. 
Nearly 200 area residents participated in the festivities that
included a Braille display, free helium balloons, distribution of
literature, and a barbecue.
Lenscrafters plans on holding a similar event in mid-August.
Polselli and Barron extend their gratitude towards the volunteers
and area residents that participated.

**From Missouri:
Pauline Murphy, President of the St. Joseph Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, writes as follows:  
Jerry Maccoux, a member of the St. Joseph Chapter of the NFB of
Missouri, has just received the Employer of the Month Award from
the St. Joseph State Hospital, where he works as a music
therapist.   On May 19, 1990, the St. Joseph Chapter of the NFB
of Missouri traveled to Chillicothe, Missouri, where we formed
the National Federation of the Blind of North Central Missouri.
Although we did not elect officers or approve their constitution
until June 9, 1990, they decided to form their chapter on May 19.
They are starting out with ten members, and their officers are:
President, Vernon Coldiron; Vice President, Jammie Pauls; and
Secretary-Treasurer, Martha Young. 

**Dies:
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Patrick Peppe
on May 31, 1990. Pat died of unexpected complications from heart
surgery.  He was forty-nine. Long-time Federationists will
remember that in
the early 1970s he was one of the organizers of our first
demonstrations against NAC. As an officer in the New York
affiliate, he worked to insure that the state's
antidiscrimination law included the blind and others with
disabilities. Although no longer active with the NFB, he found
ways to work for the rights and opportunities of blind people,
and he carried his convictions about equality for blind people
into his university teaching and into his other political work.
The NFB can be proud of the work he did, and his friends inside
and outside the blind community will recognize a deep loss.

**Sell:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:  For
sale:  Toshiba T1200F with internal Accent 1200 synthesizer and
external 5.25 360K disk drive. All items are in very good
condition and were purchased in September, 1989. Price: $2,195,
which includes UPS shipping to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
Contact: Keith Bucher, Post Office Box 130, Reader, West Virginia
26167. Phone (304) 386-4332. 

**Believe It... It's True!:
The following item appears in the Spring-Summer, 1990, issue of 
The Blind Educator , the publication of the National Association
of Blind Educators:
 In September of 1988 I had just returned home from Ruston, where
I was a student at the Louisiana Center for the Blind. I was
confident in myself and readily accepted a transfer from the
elementary school, where I had taught for thirteen years, to a
local junior high school.  Anticipating `Back to School Night,'
when the parents visited their children's classes, I remember
planning answers to parents' questions about my blindness. Before
any questions came, I planned to launch into an explanation of my
blindness and reassure parents I was capable of teaching and
disciplining my students. I was proud of my openness in
discussing my blindness. After `Back to School Night' this past
September I returned home, and as I parked my cane inside the
door, I realized that I had never mentioned my blindness to the
parents.  All we had discussed were the  important  issues: the
students, their progress, and the educational process. My
blindness was not
a factor in the students' education not this year nor had it been
the year before. It hadn't mattered to the students or to the
parents, yet I had felt a need to prove I was okay. During the
Buddy System program this year we have stated over and over:
`Your blindness really doesn't matter!' Believe it it's true! 

**Elected:
At a recent meeting of the Stamford Chapter of the NFB of
Connecticut the following were elected: Sue Manchester,
President; Louis Pape,
Vice President; Judy Murphy, Recording Secretary; John Padilla,
Corresponding Secretary; and Candace Boshka, Treasurer.

**Telemarketing:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement by John
Oliveira
of South Dartmouth, Massachusetts:
 Direct Marketing Services is seeking telemarketers nationwide
to assist in marketing products. You will work at home full- or
part-time on a commission basis processing phone orders. Some of
the products you will be assisting in marketing are:
informational directories, long distance services, credit card
services, magazine subscriptions, compact discs, and video
cassettes. For a personal over-the-phone interview please call
John Oliveira between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. EST at (508) 997-1095
Monday through Thursday. 

**Chinese Dog:
Sharon Maneki, President of the National Federation of the Blind
of Maryland, writes as follows: Do you have trouble taking your
dog guide into a Chinese restaurant? We have the perfect solution
to this problem.  You can obtain a card written in Chinese
explaining your right to be accompanied by a dog guide. Send a
$1.00 donation to the NFB of Maryland at 9736 Basket Ring Road,
Columbia, Maryland 21045, for a three- by five-inch card printed
in Chinese and English.

**Dies:
We have learned of the death on June 13, 1990, of Pat Bedard of
Des
Moines, Iowa.  He reportedly died in a fishing accident on the
Minnesota-Canadian border when he fell from a boat. A number of
Federationists throughout the country will remember Bedard from
his attendance at NFB conventions in the sixties and seventies.

**Book on Business:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:  
Attention: Blind Entrepreneurs! I am currently writing a book
regarding blind folks who have started businesses of their own,
with or without agency assistance but excluding the typical
vending stand operations. The idea is to give would-be business
persons good, sound advice from those who have personal
experience in the creation and running of a business. If you are
such a person and would be willing to be interviewed by tape or
phone, please contact me. Each person whose business is used in
the book will receive a copy of the book free of charge in the
format of his choice. The book will thus serve
as a networking tool among blind business owners as well as an
encouragement to those just starting out. Write to: Janiece
Betker, 1886 29th Avenue, N.W., New Brighton, Minnesota 55112; or
call (612) 639- 1435 (family home) or (612) 631-2909 (home
office). Suggestions regarding the book are always welcome. 

**New Chapter:
Sharon Maneki, President of the National Federation of the Blind
of Maryland, writes as follows:  I am pleased to announce that on
Thursday, May 31, 1990, the Frederick County Chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland came into existence.
Forty-six people joined the chapter. The officers are: President,
Steve Harris; Vice President, Tana Lawrence; Secretary, Teresa
Gregg; Treasurer, Bud Jarrett; and Board Members, David Kukucka
and Trudie Morical.
We look forward to much good work from this vibrant new chapter. 

**Consider the Lock-In:
Jerry Whittle of Louisiana has asked that we carry the following
announcement:  The Writers Division of the National Federation of
the Blind will sponsor a Writers' Lock-In at Rocky Bottom Camp in
the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. The lock-in
will begin on Tuesday, October 30, 1990, and conclude on Sunday,
November 4, 1990. The purpose of the lock-in is to provide the
writer a beautiful setting and the support group to help him or
her complete a manuscript, grant proposal, or any other type of
writing. The agenda includes motivational exercises in the
morning, work and play during the day, and critiquing and
fellowship in the evenings. The cost is $100.00, and this
includes accommodations and all meals prepared at the camp. If
you are interested and would like more information, call Jerry
Whittle at (318) 251-2891. My home number is (318) 251-0626. If
you prefer to write, send your inquiries to: Jerry Whittle, 22
University Boulevard, Ruston, Louisiana 71270.  Hope to hear from
you in the near future.

**Writing Media for the Blind:
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
 If you often write for work or recreation, please consider
volunteering to participate in my master's thesis research. This
study examines the writing media available to blind and low
vision writers. My thesis adviser and I are blind, sharing an
active Federationist spirit. Your participation will occur only
by mail, starting with completion of
a questionnaire. After completing this questionnaire, some
participants will be recruited for a writing experiment. If you
wish to volunteer, please write (in Braille or ink print) to me
at this address: James Canady, 1330 New Jersey Street, Lawrence,
Kansas 66044. 

**Elected:
The Toledo Federation of the Blind, a chapter of the National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio, tells us that its officers for
1990-91 are:  President, Helen Johnson; First Vice President,
Colleen Roth; Second Vice President, Ethel Lewis; Secretary,
Sandra Bresler; Treasurer, Geraldine Bresler; Two-Year Board
Members, Rita Bresler and Helen Tate; and One-Year Board Members,
Ruby McDowell and Seth Haslem.

**Born:
Joy Relton, one of the leaders of the National Federation of the
Blind of the District of Columbia, writes with the joyous news
that she and her husband Gary gave birth to Matthew Leonard
Relton on May 23, 1990. Matthew weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and
was 20-1/2 inches long.  Congratulations to all three of the
Reltons.

**South Dakota Convention Report:
Karen Mayry, President of the NFB of South Dakota, reports as
follows:  Another smashing success is the best way to describe
the May 19, 1990 National Federation of the Blind of South Dakota
state convention.  Fred Schroeder represented our national
office. His contributions throughout the day were invaluable.
Participants from other states Wyoming, Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Canada allowed us to learn about
activities with the blind elsewhere. Canada seems to have no
comparable organization, but other state representatives told us
about the many projects in their respective NFB chapters.
State officials, Library for the Blind staff, friends, and
members joined in the 15th anniversary of our state affiliate.
Door prizes, a baked goods auction, anniversary cake, a $1,000
scholarship award, and a fantastic banquet completed the day's
activities.

**Appointed:
Sharon Gold, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
California, was recently appointed by Gwendolyn S. King,
Commissioner
of Social Security, to a 26-member panel of experts charged with
conducting the Social Security Income Modernization Project.  Its
purpose,  is to determine if the SSI program is meeting and will
continue to meet the needs of the population it is intended to
serve in an efficient and caring manner, recognizing the
constraints in the current fiscal climate.  The panel, whose
meetings in Washington, D.C. and around the country are to be
announced in the  Federal Register,  will consider
recommendations proposed by group members and the general public.
Sharon Gold's long experience in assisting blind SSI recipients
equips her admirably for this important service. We congratulate
her
on this well-deserved honor and commend the Social Security
Administration for what appears at the outset to be a serious
intention to update and improve an important social program.

**Christmas Recordings:
At our 1990 convention a new recording of Christmas carols
entitled  Christmas With You,  which has been produced by a
member
of the National Federation of the Blind, Vern Sullivan, was
presented.  This recording (available on compact disc and on
tape) is offered
to chapters and affiliates as a fundraiser. There are original
Christmas carols composed by Mr. Sullivan. There are also the old
familiar favorites.  Tapes sell for $10. They may be purchased by
chapters for $5. The chapter retains $5 from each sale. Compact
discs sell for $15. These may be obtained for $7.50. The chapter
retains $7.50. The recording is being promoted for broadcast by
FM and AM radio stations. Fifty percent of the proceeds from air
play rights will be given to the Federation. To order these
recordings contact: Sul-Mar Music, 837 Highway 301 South,
Smithfield, North Carolina 27577; (919) 934- 6507.RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE 
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE 
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
JULY, 1990
The policies of the National Federation of the Blind are
established
by resolutions adopted by the national convention. Each year the
Resolutions Committee meets early during the convention in the
presence of hundreds of Federationists, many of whom speak
concerning the matters under consideration. Resolutions are
discussed, revised, and ultimately withdrawn or recommended for
passage or disapproval by the full convention.  Here is a summary
of the resolutions presented at the 1990 convention in Dallas,
followed by the full text of the resolutions which were adopted.
The Fiftieth annual convention of the National Federation of the
Blind adopted twenty-two resolutions, and a twenty-third was
voted down by the Resolutions Committee. Following is a brief
summary of the twenty-two resolutions:
90-01: Addresses efforts to save the Kennelly Highway Vending
Program.

Background: Several years ago at the urging of the National
Federation of the Blind, Congresswoman Kennelly introduced
legislation which established a highway vending program to give
blind persons a preference in the operation of such highway
facilities. The American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is currently tampering with the
legal preference given to the blind.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind take all
possible steps to prevent the evisceration of the Kennelly
Highway Vending Program.
90-02: Designates the blind as a minority for small business
purposes.

Background: A Small Business Administration program offers
business advantages to small contractors who are members of
designated minorities.  The Small Business Administration decides
which groups qualify as minorities which will receive the special
contractual advantages, but it has never identified the blind as
such a protected minority.  Resolved: That the National
Federation of the Blind work with the
Small Business Administration to have the blind designated as a
minority for business contract purposes.
90-03: Urges National Federation of the Blind involvement with
publishers of special education textbooks.
Background: Frequently special education textbooks present
inaccurate and damaging information about blindness and the
blind. This harmful situation could be remedied if the National
Federation of the Blind were able to work out an arrangement with
publishers so that materials could be previewed and corrected
before actual publication.  Resolved: That the National
Federation of the Blind work toward the establishment of a
mechanism through which the blind could review
and propose changes in future publications of special education
books.  90-04: Commends Senator Hollings of South Carolina for
his efforts to pass the Air Travel Rights for Blind Individuals
Act.  Background: The blind continue to experience discrimination
in air travel. Senator Hollings has worked with the Federation
for the passage of S. 341 to eliminate the problem.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind commend
Senator Hollings for his outstanding work and that we reaffirm
the commitment
of this Federation to obtain a clear national policy against
discrimination on ground of blindness in air travel.
90-05: Supports continuation of AMTRAK service and funding. 
Background: Legislation to eliminate federal funding for AMTRAK
has been introduced.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind work for
continued funding of AMTRAK so that blind travelers can take
advantage of rail service.
90-06: Calls for clear and accurate regulations issued under the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
Background: In Resolution 89-01 the Federation took the position
that it would support passage of the Americans with Disabilities
Act only if it were amended to make certain that the blind would
not be forced to accept unneeded and unwanted accommodations. The
Federation was successful in securing such an amendment. As soon
as President Bush signs the bill into law, federal agencies will
begin to develop rules and regulations.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind work with the
various federal agencies to make certain that the proposed rules
and regulations include clear language about the right of every
individual to accept or reject any accommodation.
90-07: Urges direct sales companies to make their sales materials
available to the blind.
Background: Many blind persons have chosen careers in the field
of
direct sales. Historically the companies have not provided sales
materials in a form accessible to the blind.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind work with
direct sales companies to encourage them to make training and
sales materials available on cassette or in Braille.
90-08: Calls for a change in the Department of Labor's policy
against compensation for attorneys' fees.
Background: Blind employees who are being paid subminimum wages
need legal representation when they are challenging the level of
wages
being paid. However, the Department of Labor has declared that
compensation for legal expenses and attorneys' fees cannot be
ordered on behalf of individuals who successfully pursue
subminimum wage complaints.  Resolved: That the National
Federation of the Blind work with the Department of Labor and
Congress for changes so that legal expenses and attorneys' fees
in subminimum wage cases can be ordered.  90-09: Urges that
improper state policies be altered in order to protect the IWRP
rights of clients.
Background: Under the current Rehabilitation Act, each blind
rehabilitation client is entitled to participation in the
development of an Individualized Written Rehabilitation Program
(IWRP), which sets forth the steps by which the client will
achieve his or her vocational objective.  Resolved: That the
National Federation of the Blind work to make certain that
clients' rehabilitation options are not taken away by state rules
and policies.
90-10: Condemns the negative portrayal of the blind by NBC and
its program,  Empty Nest. 
Background: In a February, 1990, episode of  Empty Nest,  NBC
portrayed the blind in a negative and demeaning manner.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind urge NBC to
eliminate this specific episode of  Empty Nest  from its library
of materials.
90-11: Calls for protection of adequate funding for revenue
forgone.  Background: The Federation must be able to do its
outreach and educational mailings under reduced postal rates.
These reduced rates are funded by revenue forgone. A current
proposal would significantly reduce this postal subsidy.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind work with the
Congress to fund revenue forgone adequately to insure affordable
postage rates for the NFB and similar organizations.
90-12: Recommends proposals for SSI modernization.
Background: The Social Security Administration is planning to
modernize the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. The
National Federation of the Blind has proposed several items for
inclusion in the plan.  Resolved: That the National Federation of
the Blind urge all responsible officials and members of Congress
to include the NFB proposals in the modernization.
90-13: Demands that dog guide schools stop asking applicants
about their organizational affiliations.
Background: Some dog guide schools have begun to question the
organizational affiliations of blind persons during the
application process. This practice has the possibility of leading
to discrimination based upon an applicant's organizational
affiliation.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind demand that
dog guide schools eliminate questions about organizational
affiliation from the application process.
90-14: Calls for privacy of information about dog guide school
applicants.  Background: Dog guide training schools have
established a Council of Guide Dog Schools purportedly to develop
standards of training.  However, recent reports suggest that,
through this new council, dog guide training schools have been
sharing personal information about blind applicants without their
permission.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind demand that
the Council develop a release of information form which must be
signed
by the applicant before personal information may be shared among
schools.  90-15: Condemns and deplores the use of
waiver-of-liability forms by instructors of cane travel.
Background: An employee of the Texas Commission for the Blind
recently demanded that a blind client sign a waiver of liability
releasing the Texas Commission from responsibility if the client
were injured either during orientation and mobility training or
in independent travel upon the completion of training.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind condemn and
deplore the use of liability waivers by orientation and mobility
specialists.  90-16: Urges that the Department of Labor require
sheltered workshops to develop affirmative action programs.
Background: Under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended, sheltered workshops for the blind are required to
develop and implement meaningful affirmative action programs.
However, nothing has been done.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind insist that
the Department of Labor take a get tough stand to make sheltered
shops promote affirmative action for the blind.
90-17: Advocates choices in rehabilitation training paid for by
Social Security.
Background: Many state agencies for the blind offer little or no
training to help the newly blinded individual adjust to his or
her blindness.  Even so, under existing law, the newly blinded
individual who is being rehabilitated with Social Security funds
is frequently limited to services in the state where he or she
resides, even when those services are inadequate or nonexistent.
This situation places many Social Security beneficiaries at an
extreme disadvantage.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind work actively
with the Social Security Administration and the Congress to
establish the right of the blind client to choose where he or she
will receive rehabilitation training.
90-18: Commends the United States Department of State.
Background: In resolution 89-04, the National Federation of the
Blind condemned the State Department because of its flagrant
discrimination against blind applicants for foreign service
positions. Because of Federation pressure, the State Department
has changed its position and will consider the applications of
qualified blind persons.  Resolved: That the National Federation
of the Blind commend the State Department for the
nondiscriminatory position which it is now taking.  90-19: Urges
funding for public transportation.
Background: Many blind persons use public transportation. A move
has been made to decrease federal funding significantly for these
services.  Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind
urge continued federal support for public transportation
programs.
90-20: Calls for the abolition of the Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) marriage penalty.
Background: If two single blind SSI recipients decide to marry,
their combined SSI benefits will be reduced substantially.
Resolved: That the Federation urge an end to the SSI marriage
penalty.  90-21: Commends Recording for the Blind for
disassociating itself with the National Accreditation Council for
Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped.
Background: Only the poorest agencies for the blind continue to
seek NAC accreditation (or reaccreditation) in the hope that
accreditation will cover up their inadequacies. In the past
Recording for the Blind sought and received accreditation.
However, it has announced that it will not seek reaccreditation
when its current accreditation runs out.
Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind commend
Recording for the Blind for disassociating from NAC.
90-22: Calls for improvement in services to older blind
Americans.  Background: As a result of Federation efforts,
programs for older blind persons have become a reality. However,
these are not always
as good as they should be sometimes because of inadequate
funding.  Resolved: That the National Federation of the Blind
support an expansion of funding for services to older blind
Americans along with the development of quality assurance
criteria.
90-23: Was withdrawn by its author.

                        RESOLUTION 90-01

WHEREAS, the Kennelly Highway Vending Program (Section 111 of
Public Law 97-424) provides employment opportunity for blind
entrepreneurs and also provides a valuable non-tax source for
blindness programs; and
WHEREAS, Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly worked willingly and
enthusiastically with the National Federation of the Blind in
securing this important legislation and the resulting
opportunities; and
WHEREAS, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a trade association
comprised of State highway officials who are charged with the
responsibility of establishing rest areas on Interstate highways;
and
WHEREAS, AASHTO looks covetously at the Kennelly Highway Vending
Program and the income it produces as a potential funding source
for the completion of their charge; and
WHEREAS, AASHTO has developed a detailed proposal for its
membership
(see AASHTO report titled  Report of Task Force on the
Commercialization of Interstate Highway Rest Areas,  dated
October 19, 1989) wherein the Kennelly Highway Vending Program
would be at worst nullified, and/or would be at least
deleteriously curtailed; and
WHEREAS, AASHTO is willing to sacrifice the Kennelly Highway
Vending Program and the blind people and programs it serves on
the basis that rest areas can thereby be built with private, not
public funds by commercializing these rest areas; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Highway Trust Fund has a current positive
balance of more than 10.6 billion dollars; and
WHEREAS, the AASHTO report itself acknowledges that there is
popular taxpayer support for the establishment of rest areas: 
Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization, its officers, and members
take every action necessary to prevent this attempted
evisceration of the Kennelly Highway Vending Program.

                        RESOLUTION 90-02

WHEREAS, the Minority Small Business Capital Ownership and
Development Section 8(a) Program is a federally funded program to
assist socially and economically disadvantaged small business
contractors into the mainstream of business through government
contracting; and WHEREAS, there is clear and convincing evidence
that the blind of the nation are a minority group in the negative
and destructive sense of the word, as evidenced by the fact that
the blind face massive social and economic discrimination in the
same way as do other specified minorities, and, even more
damning, over seventy percent of all employable blind persons are
either totally unemployed or severely under-employed because of
this minority status; and
WHEREAS, the Section 8(a) Program has not been extended to
include the blind as an identified and eligible minority in an
affirmative effort to overcome both past and present
discrimination; and WHEREAS, the Small Business Administration
has actually ruled that
a small business owner's blindness does not establish minority
status:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization urge the Small Business
Administration and
the Congress of the United States to include the blind as an
identified and eligible minority with equal opportunity, equal
protection, and equal participation under the Minority Small
Business Capital Ownership and Development Section 8(a) Program.

                        RESOLUTION 90-03

WHEREAS, more than 16,000 people are graduated annually from
special education programs conducted by hundreds of colleges and
universities across this nation; and
WHEREAS, thousands of additional college students take
introductory courses in special education; and
WHEREAS, the vastness of the nation's involvement in special
education is demonstrated by an expenditure of more than 15
billion dollars each year; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of college textbooks are published
which purport to introduce students to the various facets of
special education; and
WHEREAS, many of these authors are not familiar with blindness
and visual impairment, and as a predictable result introductory
textbooks in special education generally contain misleading,
inaccurate, and custodial statements about blindness and blind
people, such as:
1. Braille is harder to learn and slower to read than print,
2. the slate and stylus are less practical than the Brailler
because, when using them,  it is necessary to make indentations
in the paper,

3. blind students should be taught to use the continental method
of holding silverware when eating because it is simpler and
neater, and

4.  blind people cannot use tools effectively and must be
protected from themselves when using such items as knives; and
WHEREAS, such obviously untrue and custodial statements, which
appear in several editions of textbooks, perpetuate myths and
misunderstandings about blindness and make a powerfully negative
impact on the lives of blind people; and
WHEREAS, one way to change what it means to be blind and to
enhance
the education and rehabilitation of the blind is to publish more
accurate and favorable textbooks; and
WHEREAS, two sets of textbook authors and editors, using advice
and literature from the National Federation of the Blind as a
basis for change, have already improved such texts:  Now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization initiate a nationwide
project to eliminate inaccuracy and custodialism regarding the
blind and visually impaired in special education literature,
especially introductory textbooks.


                        RESOLUTION 90-04

WHEREAS, the United States Senate has considered the Air Travel
Rights for Blind Individuals Act (S. 341 and H.R. 563) but has
failed to invoke cloture by a vote of 56 yeas to 44 nays; and
WHEREAS, the vote on the cloture petition itself shows that a
clear majority exists in the Senate to pass the Air Travel Rights
for Blind Individuals Act, when considered strictly on its
merits; and
WHEREAS, the Air Travel Rights for the Blind bill represents the
struggle of the blind to be understood as competent and to gain
social acceptance as equal members of society; and
WHEREAS, Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina has worked
diligently in the Senate to steer this bill through his committee
and has ably managed the bill on the floor; and
WHEREAS, Senator Hollings has shown meritorious political
leadership in bringing the issue of discrimination against the
blind to a national focus:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this Federation express official thanks and
commendation to Senator Ernest F. Hollings for standing tall as a
national leader on behalf of equal rights for all blind people;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in praising Senator Hollings for his
historic efforts on behalf of the blind, we reaffirm the
commitment of this Federation to obtain a clear national policy
against discrimination on grounds of blindness in air travel.

                        RESOLUTION 90-05

WHEREAS, public transportation is essential for blind persons to
lead normal, active, productive lives; and
WHEREAS, AMTRAK is the nationwide passenger rail system; and
WHEREAS, Congress is reconsidering legislation authorizing and
funding continued operation of AMTRAK, following a Presidential
veto; and

WHEREAS, state and local involvement and support are important
components of AMTRAK's service:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas,
that this organization and its affiliates call upon the Bush
Administration, the United States Congress, and state and local
authorities to support the continuation and expansion of AMTRAK
service.

                        RESOLUTION 90-06

WHEREAS, several agencies of the Federal government are now
preparing to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act,
designed to expand significantly the civil rights of persons with
disabilities, including the blind; and
WHEREAS, the Act requires that reasonable accommodations be made
for the disabled in employment and that accommodations for the
disabled also be made by agencies providing public services,
hotels, restaurants, recreational facilities, and providers of
public transportation; and

WHEREAS, accommodations even well-intentioned ones can become
discriminatory when they limit individual exercise of the various
forms of freedom that the law seeks to provide; and
WHEREAS, the right of each individual to accept or reject any
accommodation is a fundamental civil rights principle for blind
persons, and federal regulations and standards must now assure
that this right is observed and enforced:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization demand that the right of
any individual to accept or reject any accommodation be stated
prominently and clearly in all regulations and standards
developed to implement the Americans with Disabilities Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization consult with
agencies and officials at all levels of government and in the
private sector
to assure that individual choice in accepting or rejecting any
accommodation is clearly identified as one of the basic
nondiscriminatory rights provided by the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

                        RESOLUTION 90-07

WHEREAS, some blind persons have chosen careers in the field of
direct sales; and
WHEREAS, many direct selling companies provide sales and training
literature to their distributors; and
WHEREAS, blind persons have found it difficult, if not
impossible, to obtain such literature on cassette or in Braille;
and
WHEREAS, the literature that is available is often of no use to
the blind direct-seller because it is out-of-date and inaccurate;
and

WHEREAS, Braille and tape production facilities have sometimes
refused to put literature in appropriate media for blind
distributors, stating that it is  too difficult  or  too tedious 
to transcribe; and
WHEREAS, the best solution to this dilemma is for direct-selling
companies to make literature available to their blind
distributors in media useful to them; and
WHEREAS, many direct-selling companies have shown very little
interest in putting their literature into media accessible to the
blind, citing a low demand for it, but at the same time, have
shown more interest in accommodating other disability groups
(e.g., closed-caption videos for the deaf and translating sales
literature into foreign languages); and
WHEREAS, making sales and training literature available in
Braille
and on cassette would enable blind distributors to conduct their
businesses more efficiently and would enhance recruitment
opportunities for new blind distributors in the direct sales
field:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization encourage direct-selling
companies to make sales and training literature available in
media accessible to the blind; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization, through the
National Association to Promote the Use of Braille, stand ready
to assist direct selling companies in finding the best
arrangement for achieving this goal.

                        RESOLUTION 90-08

WHEREAS, workers being paid subminimum wages are entitled to
challenge their employers' wage determinations through hearings
to be provided under the Fair Labor Standards Act; and
WHEREAS, legal representation is essential for the proper
presentation of cases in hearings on wage determinations; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor has stated that compensation for
legal expenses and attorney fees cannot be ordered on behalf of
individuals who successfully pursue subminimum wage complaints;
and
WHEREAS, this position is insensitive to the need for legal
representation of blind persons whose subminimum wages force them
to live at the poverty level while challenging their well-
financed sheltered workshop employers and their handsomely-paid
attorneys; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Labor's position against attorney fees
in subminimum wage cases is contrary to the policy of the Fair
Labor Standards Act:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization deplore the policy of
withholding compensation for legal and attorney fees in
subminimum wage complaints filed under the Fair Labor Standards
Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Federation enlist the
cooperation of the Department of Labor and the Congress, if
necessary, to obtain changes in the regulations (or the law) so
that legal expenses and attorney fees in subminimum wage cases
can be ordered.

                        RESOLUTION 90-09

WHEREAS, individualized planning to meet the needs of each client
is a cornerstone of the Rehabilitation Act and an obligation of
each state vocational rehabilitation agency; and
WHEREAS, the promise of an Individualized Written Rehabilitation
Program for each eligible blind person is substantially
undermined by state agency policies which apply to all clients in
virtually all cases, regardless of circumstances; and
WHEREAS, examples of agency policies which violate the
individualized planning principle include, but are not limited
to, the following:

(1) inflexible ceilings on funds for reader service,
(2) prohibitions on using readers for educationally-related
research and study activities outside of specific course work,
(3) refusal to pay for even a portion of the costs of higher
education services from private institutions,
(4) refusal to pay for services obtained beyond state boundaries
in all but exceptional circumstances,
(5) prescribed evaluation procedures and training programs for
almost
all clients regardless of individual need, ability, or expressed
preference,

(6) refusal to pay for graduate education, and
(7) refusal to establish eligibility and pay for costs of study
and equipment for career enhancement and promotion; and
WHEREAS, the erosion of individualized planning for clients of
rehabilitation should be reversed by statutory and policy changes
to be considered when the Vocational Rehabilitation Program is
reauthorized:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization demand that the right of
each client to an Individualized Written Rehabilitation Program
be upheld and strengthened as a matter of law and federal policy;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon
responsible federal policy-makers and the Congress to assure that
policies of state vocational rehabilitation agencies do not
obstruct individualized planning in the provision of
rehabilitation services to the blind.


                        RESOLUTION 90-10

WHEREAS, it is the mark of a responsible media corporation that
it refrains from perpetuating negative stereotypes which
denigrate any identifiable group within society, including the
blind; and WHEREAS, on Saturday, February 24, 1990, the National
Broadcasting Company, Incorporated (NBC), aired on television an
episode of the comedy series  Empty Nest  which fostered
demeaning attitudes about blindness by giving the viewing public
the impression that blind people are insecure and dependent; and
WHEREAS, the characters in the episode treated the blind man as
though he were helpless and stupid, which was intended to elicit
laughter from the studio audience directed at the blind; and
WHEREAS, such ridicule of blind persons has long-term negative
consequences including prejudice and discrimination against the
blind in employment opportunities and denial of first-class
citizenship to the blind; and
WHEREAS, further damage to the blind through redissemination of
this offensive portrayal of the blind can be prevented by
elimination of the February 24, 1990, episode of  Empty Nest 
from the library of material available for any type of
redistribution; and
WHEREAS, on the same evening as the broadcast of the offensive 
Empty Nest  episode, another NBC program called  Golden Girls 
also referred to a blind person in a degrading fashion,
demonstrating once again what the blind have long known  that NBC
has a low corporate opinion of the abilities and achievements of
blind persons:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this fifth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization demand that the National
Broadcasting Company, Incorporated (NBC) eliminate the February
24, 1990, episode of  Empty Nest  from its library of materials;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon Brandon
Tartikoff, President of the National Broadcasting Company, to
take the initiative to work in partnership with the National
Federation of the Blind to create standards for handling blind
characters and references to the blind so that an accurate image
is conveyed when NBC produces or selects television programs
which portray blind persons.

                        RESOLUTION 90-11

WHEREAS, stable and affordable postage rates are essential to
provide outreach and public information programs on behalf of all
blind persons in the United States; and
WHEREAS, such efforts are supported in part through federally
subsidized postage rates under an annual appropriation of funds
to the United States Postal Service for revenues forgone on free
and reduced-rate mailings; and
WHEREAS, the Postal Service has announced plans for rate
increases which could amount to a 33 percent higher postage cost
for the National Federation of the Blind beginning in February,
1991; and
WHEREAS, the President's budget request for $485 million for
fiscal year 1991 will not provide sufficient funds for revenue
forgone, and the resulting postal rate increases for the National
Federation of the Blind would then be much greater than 33
percent; and WHEREAS, it is false economy to force groups such as
the National Federation of the Blind to absorb substantially
higher postage costs since support for direct services must drop
as the postage bills climb; and
WHEREAS, the tax-supported subsidy of certain postage rates makes
possible many essential services provided by private sector
groups, thereby decreasing the general tax burden for providing
the same services by government agencies:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization urge the Congress to reject
the President's budget for revenue forgone and act decisively to
support stable and
affordable postal rates directly affected by the revenue forgone
appropriation.


                        RESOLUTION 90-12

WHEREAS, Gwendolyn S. King, Commissioner of Social Security, has
appointed a panel of 26 experts to review the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) Program and to develop proposals for its
modernization; and
WHEREAS, based on policies adopted by this organization, the
National Federation of the Blind has submitted an agenda of
modernization proposals, including:
(1) adjustment of income and resource limits to reflect
inflationary changes since 1974,
(2) annual adjustment of income and resource limits indexed to
cost-of-living increases,
(3) prompt approval of plans to achieve self-support,
(4) outreach activities to explain SSI blindness rules,
(5) flexibility for recipients in the choice of obtaining
rehabilitation services,
(6) limit of time on the Social Security Administration for
recovery of overpayments, and
(7) work incentive counseling to be available upon request; and
WHEREAS, these proposals raise serious policy and administrative
issues that must be faced in any meaningful attempt to modernize
the SSI Program:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this Federation salute the Social Security
Commissioner and her staff for initiating an SSI modernization;
and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge all responsible officials and
members of Congress to endorse the proposals submitted by the
National Federation of the Blind in order that needed
improvements can be made.


                        RESOLUTION 90-13

WHEREAS, there are established and recognized residential
training schools throughout the United States which train dog
guides for use by the blind; and
WHEREAS, a growing number of these schools now include in their
application process questions intended to elicit information
about the applicant's affiliation with consumer organizations of
the blind; and
WHEREAS, some of the dog guide training schools ask a question
concerning organizational affiliation both on the application
form and during the oral interview, and at least one school has
extended this question to third parties by including a question
about the organizational affiliation of the applicant on the
character reference questionnaire, which must be completed by a
third party for the application to be fully processed; and
WHEREAS, since the sole purpose of a dog guide training school is
to train the dog guide and the blind person to function as a
unit, the only possible purpose for attaining the information
concerning organizational affiliation is to prejudice the
student/staff relationship; and
WHEREAS, a blind person's organizational affiliation has no
bearing on his or her performance while in training with the dog
guide or the ability successfully to use the dog guide following
training; and
WHEREAS, the right of association is protected by the First
Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the eliciting of
information about the organizational affiliation of a student
violates the precepts of the Constitution and statutory law: 
Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization abhor the inclusion of any
question by dog guide schools that elicits from the applicant any
information about the organizational affiliation of the
applicant; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that each
and every dog guide training school review its application
process and eliminate any and all questions which may elicit any
information from the applicant about his or her affiliation with
any organization, especially consumer organizations of the blind.

                        RESOLUTION 90-14

WHEREAS, dog guide training schools in the United States recently
formed the Council of Guide Dog Schools; and
WHEREAS, the establishment of this Council is alleged to have
been
for the purpose of developing standards for the training of dog
guides; and
WHEREAS, although there may be an intent to develop standards for
training dog guides, it is reported that dog guide schools are
using this Council to share personal information about applicants
who may wish to apply to a different school when seeking a
replacement dog; and
WHEREAS, this sharing of information extends to those applicants
who, for whatever reason, have been unsuccessful in the
completion of the training program in one school and thus wish to
enroll in another; and
WHEREAS, such an exchange of personal information may be helpful
in the training of persons with dog guides; and
WHEREAS, although this exchange of information may be helpful,
such information may also prejudice the dog guide training school
against the blind person; and
WHEREAS, this personal information is currently being shared
without the knowledge or consent of applicants an action by the
Council of Guide Dog Training Schools and its member schools
which flies in the face of all decency; and
WHEREAS, in almost every instance, the contents of the file
maintained by the school are unknown to the applicant and
unavailable for review and inclusion of rebuttal to negative
evaluations:  Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization demand that the Council of
Guide Dog Schools develop an appropriate Request and
Authorization for Release of Information form specific to the
sharing of information between dog guide training schools; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Request and Authorization for
Release of Information form be signed by the student/applicant
prior to the interschool sharing of any personal information from
the student's file; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon each
school to make progress and training files available for review
by individual students during the training period and by each
graduate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each blind person be afforded the
opportunity to place in his or her file any letter of rebuttal he
or she considers appropriate to refute information contained in
that file.

                        RESOLUTION 90-15

WHEREAS, the primary means of independent travel for the blind is
through the use of the long white cane; and
WHEREAS, some blind persons who want to learn cane travel are
told
by orientation and mobility specialists or by other vocational
rehabilitation workers that they are  unsafe travelers,  even
after these persons have demonstrated their ability to travel;
and
WHEREAS, recently, in the State of Texas a blind woman demanding
proper cane travel instruction was told that she and her husband
must sign a waiver of liability, releasing the Texas Commission
for the Blind and the orientation and mobility instructor from
any possible damage suits which might result from an accident or
injury to her, both during training and after its completion; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind operates
orientation and adjustment centers which have proven that many,
if not all, blind persons can learn to travel safely and
independently, when taught by a competent instructor who believes
in the capabilities of blind persons, thereby diminishing the
concern for liability; and
WHEREAS, liability waivers are just one more hurdle that blind
clients must cross in order to obtain quality orientation and
mobility training; and
WHEREAS, travel training provided by many state vocational
rehabilitation agencies is inefficient and inadequate and is
taught by incompetent instructors exhibiting negative attitudes
about blindness and blind people:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization deplore and condemn the use
of liability waivers by orientation and mobility instructors and
state rehabilitation agencies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization insist that such
vocational rehabilitation agencies employ competent orientation
and mobility instructors, who possess a positive philosophy about
blindness; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the practice by rehabilitation
agencies
of requiring clients to sign liability waivers continues, this
organization shall work with state legislatures to pass laws
prohibiting the use of such documents.

                        RESOLUTION 90-16

WHEREAS, all sheltered workshops in the Javits-Wagner-O'Day
Program
are federal contractors or subcontractors and thereby subject to
Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and
WHEREAS, Section 503 requires federal contractors to take
affirmative
action to employ and advance in employment qualified handicapped
individuals; and
WHEREAS, this affirmative action mandate has existed for almost
two decades, but hiring practices of workshops still have not
changed blind persons are hired for direct labor, and sighted
persons are hired for management and supervisory positions; and
WHEREAS, promotion of blind people into management or supervision
receives little more than lip-service from the workshops; and
WHEREAS, by historically failing to enforce the affirmative
action obligation in workshops, the Department of Labor has
turned its back on blind workers, relegating them to subminimum
wages and dead-end jobs:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization insist upon a get-tough
stand by the Department of Labor to promote affirmative action in
sheltered workshops so that meaningful progress can be made
toward ending the pay inequities and job discrimination against
the blind in sheltered workshops.

                        RESOLUTION 90-17

WHEREAS, the Social Security Administration has expressed an
increasingly strong interest in promoting work incentives in the
Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Programs;
and
WHEREAS, effective adjustment-to-blindness services are essential
to give blind persons the skills and attitudes necessary to
achieve self-support; and
WHEREAS, the Social Security Administration is required by law to
provide funds for successful rehabilitation efforts but can do so
only if the services are obtained from a state vocational
rehabilitation agency; and
WHEREAS, this limitation restricts both the Social Security
Administration and its beneficiaries from obtaining the best
services possible, whether from a state agency or otherwise; and
WHEREAS, alternative referral and funding arrangements could
improve
access to quality services for beneficiaries and would be cost
effective:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas,
that this organization affirm its strong support for choices in
rehabilitation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization work actively with
the Social Security Administration and the Congress to enact
legislative changes to improve access to rehabilitation and
productive employment opportunities for the blind.

                        RESOLUTION 90-18

WHEREAS, in Resolution 89-04, the National Federation of the
Blind condemned and deplored the State Department's refusal to
work constructively with the blind to develop an affirmative
action program and actively to recruit blind persons for
positions in the Foreign Service; and

WHEREAS, State Department officials have since advised the
Congress, the media, and the National Federation of the Blind
that the policy of denying Foreign Service appointments to blind
persons has been rescinded and positive steps will be taken to
recruit the blind into the Foreign Service; and
WHEREAS, the State Department's announced new policy is a
complete retraction of its former stand, which must now be
matched by the actual hiring of blind persons and their
assignment to posts in foreign lands:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization acknowledge the progress
represented by the State Department's new policy on employment of
the blind; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in the spirit of cooperation and
goodwill for the State Department's new-found understanding we
invite officials of the Foreign Service to work with this
Federation in their efforts to recruit and employ qualified
persons who are blind.

                        RESOLUTION 90-19

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has time after time
supported a strong public transportation system; and
WHEREAS, the National Administration is suggesting that Federal
support for public transportation be reduced or eliminated and
that state and local government take up the Federal portion of
the cost; and

WHEREAS, many state and local governments do not have a
commitment to public transportation:  Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization go on record as urging the
continued support by the Federal government of public
transportation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the non-driving public, of which the
blind are a segment, has a right to move from point to point in
this country with ease and reasonable cost.


                        RESOLUTION 90-20


WHEREAS, individuals, including blind individuals who are married
or unmarried, have certain basic minimum economic needs; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Program is to meet these needs by providing a standard federal
payment amount with states having the option to supplement this
amount; and WHEREAS, both members of an SSI couple are by law
each eligible for benefits as individuals in their own right; and
WHEREAS, two single individuals living alone have a combined
presumed minimum need of $772 ($386 each), but two married
individuals in an SSI couple are presumed to need only $579; and
WHEREAS, this difference in treatment between individuals and
couples under SSI is a marriage penalty for which there is no
rational or economic justification:  Now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization support an end to the
marriage penalty in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Program and urge the United States Congress to recognize that all
individuals have the same presumed minimum need, regardless of
their marital status.

                        RESOLUTION 90-21

WHEREAS, Recording for the Blind (RFB) has had a long-time
relationship with the National Accreditation Council for Agencies
Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC); and
WHEREAS, John Kelly, Director of Library and Borrower Services of
Recording for the Blind, attended the Annual Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind during which he disclosed to NFB
officials that Recording for the Blind has decided to sever its
relationship
with NAC and not seek reaccreditation upon the conclusion of its
current period of accreditation:  Now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization commend Recording for the
Blind for making
the decision not to reaccredit with the National Accreditation
Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped.

                        RESOLUTION 90-22

WHEREAS, the Independent Living Rehabilitation Program was
established in order to provide services to those individuals who
by reason of
age or other circumstances are not eligible for vocational
rehabilitation services; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind developed and
presented to Congress the original legislative proposals which
resulted in a special program of grants for services to older
blind persons; and

WHEREAS, state administrators of services for the blind have
claimed that improved services to older blind persons will result
from placing the older blind program on a formula grant basis and
substantially increasing the available funding; and
WHEREAS, services to older blind individuals should be expanded
but not merely through the wider distribution of increased funds;
and

WHEREAS, older blind persons deserve quality services; and
WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind is prepared to
support increased funding for older blind services available by
formula grant to every state, provided that the agencies are
willing to establish and adhere to quality-assurance criteria to
be developed in partnership with the blind:  Now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
Convention assembled this sixth day of July, 1990, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization support an expansion of
funding for services
to older blind Americans along with the development of
quality-assurance criteria; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization invite the
representatives of agencies serving the blind to join with us in
a combined effort to create the standards by which quality
services to this important population will be assured and
expanded.
                          CONSTITUTION 
OF THE 
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND 
AS AMENDED 1986
                         ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this organization is The National Federation of the
Blind.  

                       ARTICLE II. PURPOSE


The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is to serve
as
a vehicle for collective action by the blind of the nation; to
function as a mechanism through which the blind and interested
sighted persons can come together in local, state, and national
meetings to plan and carry out programs to improve the quality of
life for the blind; to provide a means of collective action for
parents of blind children; to promote the vocational, cultural,
and social advancement of the blind; to achieve the integration
of the blind into society on a basis of equality with the
sighted; and to take any other action which will improve the
overall condition and standard of living of the blind.  

                     ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP


Section A.  The membership of The National Federation of the
Blind shall consist of the members of the state affiliates, the
members of divisions, and members at large. Members of divisions
and members at large shall have the same rights, privileges, and
responsibilities in The National Federation of the Blind as
members of state  affiliates.  The Board of Directors shall
establish procedures for admission of divisions and shall
determine the structure of divisions. The divisions shall, with
the approval of the Board, adopt constitutions and determine
their membership policies. Membership in divisions shall not be
conditioned upon membership in state affiliates.
The Board of Directors shall establish procedures for admission
of members at large, determine how many classes of such members
shall be established, and determine the annual dues to be paid by
members of each class.
Section B.  Each state or territorial possession of the United
States, including the District of Columbia, having an affiliate
shall have one vote at the National Convention. These
organizations shall be referred to as state affiliates.
Section C.  State affiliates shall be organizations of the blind
controlled by the blind. No organization shall be recognized as
an  organization of the blind controlled by the blind  unless
at least a majority of its voting members and a majority of the
voting members of each of its local chapters are blind.
Section D.  The Board of Directors shall establish procedures for
the admission of state affiliates. There shall be only one state
affiliate in each state.
Section E.  Any member, local chapter, state affiliate, or
division
of this organization may be suspended, expelled, or otherwise
disciplined for misconduct or for activity unbecoming to a member
or affiliate of this organization by a two-thirds vote of the
Board of Directors or by a simple majority of the states present
and voting at a National Convention. If the action is to be taken
by the Board, there must be good cause, and a good faith effort
must have been made to try to resolve the problem by discussion
and negotiation. If the action
is to be taken by the Convention, notice must be given on the
preceding day at an open Board meeting or a session of the
Convention. If a dispute arises as to whether there was   good
cause,  or whether the Board made a  good faith effort,  the
National Convention (acting in its capacity as the supreme
authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final
disposition of the matter; but
until or unless the Board's action is reversed by the National
Convention, the ruling of the Board shall continue in effect.

                           ARTICLE IV.
                 OFFICERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 
AND NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

Section A.  The officers of The National Federation of the Blind
shall be: (1) President, (2) First Vice President, (3) Second
Vice President, (4) Secretary, and (5) Treasurer. They shall be
elected biennially.
Section B.  The officers shall be elected by majority vote of the
state affiliates present and voting at a National  Convention. 
Section C.  The National Federation of the Blind shall have a
Board of Directors, which shall be composed of the five officers
and twelve additional members, six of whom shall be elected at
the Annual Convention during even numbered years and six of whom
shall be elected at the Annual Convention during odd numbered
years. The members of the Board of Directors shall serve for two-
year terms.
Section D.  The Board of Directors may, in its discretion, create
a National Advisory Board and determine the duties and
qualifications of the members of the National Advisory Board.

                           ARTICLE V.
                    POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE 
CONVENTION, THE BOARD
                         OF DIRECTORS, 
AND THE PRESIDENT

Section A. Powers and Duties of the Convention.  The Convention
is the supreme authority of the Federation. It is the legislature
of the Federation. As such, it has final authority with respect
to all issues of policy. Its decisions shall be made after
opportunity has been afforded for full and fair discussion.
Delegates and members in attendance may participate in all
Convention discussions as a matter of right. Any member of the
Federation may make or second motions, propose nominations, and
serve on committees; and is eligible for election to office,
except that only blind members may be elected
to the National Board. Voting and making motions by proxy are
prohibited.  Consistent with the democratic character of the
Federation, Convention meetings shall be so conducted as to
prevent parliamentary maneuvers which would have the effect of
interfering with the expression of the will of the majority on
any question, or with the rights of the minority to full and fair
presentation of their views. The Convention
is not merely a gathering of representatives of separate state
organizations.  It is a meeting of the Federation at the national
level in its character as a national organization. Committees of
the Federation are committees of the national organization. The
nominating committee shall consist of one member from each state
affiliate represented at the Convention, and each state affiliate
shall appoint its member to the committee.  From among the
members of the committee, the President shall appoint a
chairperson.
Section B. Powers and Duties of the Board of Directors.  The
function of the Board of Directors as the governing body of the
Federation between Conventions is to make policies when necessary
and not in conflict with the policies adopted by the Convention.
Policy decisions which can reasonably be postponed until the next
meeting of the National Convention shall not be made by the Board
of Directors. The Board of Directors shall serve as a credentials
committee. It shall have the power to deal with organizational
problems presented to it by any member, local chapter, state
affiliate, or division; shall decide appeals regarding the
validity of elections in local chapters, state affiliates, or
divisions; and shall certify the credentials of delegates when
questions regarding the validity of such credentials arise. By
a two-thirds vote the Board may suspend one of its members for
violation of a policy of the organization or for other action
unbecoming to
a member of the Federation. By a two-thirds vote the Board may
reorganize any local chapter, state affiliate, or division. The
Board may not suspend one of its own members or reorganize a
local chapter, state affiliate, or division except for good cause
and after a good faith effort has been made to try to resolve the
problem by discussion and negotiation. If a dispute arises as to
whether there was  good cause  or whether the Board made a  good
faith effort, 
the National Convention (acting in its capacity as the supreme
authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final
disposition of the matter; but until or unless the Board's action
is reversed by the National Convention, the ruling of the Board
shall continue in effect. There shall be a standing subcommittee
of the Board of Directors which shall consist of three members.
The committee shall be known as the Subcommittee on Budget and
Finance. It shall, whenever it deems necessary, recommend to the
Board of Directors principles of budgeting, accounting
procedures, and methods of financing the Federation program; and
shall consult with the President on major expenditures.
The Board of Directors shall meet at the time of each National
Convention.  It shall hold other meetings on the call of the
President or on the written request of any five members.
Section C. Powers and Duties of the President.  The President is
the principal administrative officer of the Federation. In this
capacity his or her duties consist of:  carrying out the policies
adopted by the Convention; conducting the day-to-day management
of the affairs
of the Federation; authorizing expenditures from the Federation
treasury in accordance with and in implementation of the policies
established by the Convention; appointing all committees of the
Federation except the Nominating Committee; coordinating all
activities of the Federation, including the work of other
officers and of committees; hiring, supervising, and dismissing
staff members and other employees of the Federation,
and determining their numbers and compensation; taking all
administrative actions necessary and proper to put into effect
the programs and accomplish the purposes of the Federation.
The implementation and administration of the interim policies
adopted by the  Board of Directors are the responsibility of the
President as principal administrative officer of the Federation. 


                  ARTICLE VI. STATE AFFILIATES


Any organized group desiring to become a state affiliate of The
National Federation of the Blind shall apply for affiliation by
submitting to the President of The National Federation of the 
Blind a copy of its constitution and a  list of the names and
addresses of its elected officers. Under procedures to  be
established by the Board of Directors, action shall be taken on
the application. If the action is affirmative, The National
Federation of the Blind shall issue to the organization a charter
of affiliation. Upon request of the National President the state
affiliate shall provide to the National President the names
and addresses of its members. Copies of all amendments to the
constitution and/or bylaws of an affiliate shall be sent without
delay to the National President. No organization shall be
accepted as an affiliate and no organization shall remain an
affiliate unless at least a majority of its voting members are
blind. The president, vice president (or vice presidents), and at
least a majority of the executive committee or board of directors
of the state affiliate and of all of its local chapters must be
blind. Affiliates must not merely be social organizations but
must formulate programs and actively work to promote the economic
and social betterment of the blind. Affiliates and their local
chapters must comply with the provisions of the Constitution of
the Federation.  Policy decisions of the Federation are binding
upon all affiliates and local chapters, and the affiliate and its
local chapters must participate affirmatively in carrying out
such policy decisions. The name  National Federation of the
Blind, Federation of the Blind,  or any variant thereof is the
property of The National Federation of the Blind; and any
affiliate, or local chapter of an affiliate, which ceases to be
part of The National Federation of the Blind (for whatever
reason) shall forthwith forfeit the right to use the name 
National Federation of the Blind, Federation of the Blind,  or
any variant thereof.
A general convention of the membership of an affiliate or of the
elected delegates of the membership must be held and its
principal executive officers must be elected at least once every
two years. There can
be no closed membership. Proxy voting is prohibited in state
affiliates and local chapters. Each affiliate must have a written
constitution or bylaws setting forth its structure, the authority
of its officers, and the basic procedures which it will follow.
No publicly contributed funds may be divided among the membership
of an affiliate or local chapter on the basis of membership, and
(upon request from the National Office) an affiliate or local
chapter must present an accounting of all of its receipts and
expenditures. An affiliate or local chapter must not indulge in
attacks upon the officers, Board members, leaders, or members of
the Federation or upon the organization itself outside of the
organization, and must not allow its officers or members to
indulge in such attacks. This requirement shall not be
interpreted to interfere with the right of an affiliate or local
chapter, or its officers or members, to carry on a political
campaign inside the Federation for election to office or to
achieve policy changes. However, the organization will not
sanction or permit deliberate, sustained campaigns of internal
organizational destruction by state affiliates, local chapters,
or members. No affiliate or local chapter may join or support, or
allow its officers or members to join or support, any temporary
or permanent organization inside the Federation which has not
received the sanction and approval of the Federation.

                    ARTICLE VII. DISSOLUTION

In the event of dissolution, all assets of the organization shall
be given  to an organization with similar purposes which has
received a 501(c)(3) certification by the Internal Revenue
Service.

                    ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS

This Constitution may be amended at any regular Annual Convention
of the Federation by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the
state affiliates registered, present, and voting; provided that
the proposed amendment shall have been signed by five state
affiliates in good standing and that it shall have been presented
to the President the day before final action by the Convention.
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