                       THE BRAILLE MONITOR
Vol. 41, No. 8                             August/September, 1998

                     Barbara Pierce, Editor


      Published in inkprint, in Braille, and on cassette by

              THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

                     MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT


                         National Office
                       1800 Johnson Street
                   Baltimore, Maryland  21230
                   NFB Net BBS: (612) 696-1975
              Web Page address: http://www.nfb.org


           Letters to the President, address changes,
        subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
       articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
             should be sent to the National Office.


Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five
dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members are
requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:


                National Federation of the Blind
                       1800 Johnson Street
                    Baltimore, Maryland 21230


   THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
 SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES


ISSN 0006-8829


                            Contents

1998 Convention Roundup

Presidential Report

NFB Awards for 1998

Bureaucracy and the Individual: The Plan for Rehabilitation in
the Twenty-First Century
     by Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.

The Continuing Saga of the Kernel Books
     by Kenneth Jernigan

Supporting Programs that Enhance Opportunity: A View from
Congress
     by Kay Granger

The Scholarship Class of 1998

The Search for Anonymity
     by Marc Maurer

Attending Conventions: Deane Blazie Makes a Statement

Resolutions Adopted by the Annual Convention of the National
Federation of the Blind, July, 1998

Convention Miniatures

       Copyright (C) 1998 National Federation of the Blind


[LEAD PHOTO DESCRIPTION: A number of Federation leaders are
pictured on these two pages, all wearing cowboy hats. Several of
them are wearing the same hat, the one given as part of the grand
prize at the close of the Banquet. Pictured here are Peggy
Elliott, Jim Omvig, Deane Blazie, Ron Gardner, Bruce Gardner,
James Skelton, Marc Maurer, Jim Gashel, Allen Harris, Norm
Gardner, Hal Priser, and Ted Hart.
CAPTION: When in Rome, do as the Romans. When in Texas. . . .]


                     1998 Convention Roundup
                        by Barbara Pierce
                                
     Many Federationists arrived at the Hyatt Regency DFW in
early July convinced that they knew what to expect from the 1998
convention. After all, this was our third convention since 1990
at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Hyatt. The weather would be hot
and the hotel staff friendly and helpful. The quarter-mile-long
corridor between the two towers would grow longer as the week
continued. Sullivan O'Shaughnessy's diner and the Sports Bar
would serve delicious food into the small hours to Federationists
too busy to find dinner earlier. The elevators would be crowded,
and the stairwells would be hot but faster than any other way of
getting up and down the two towers.

     All of these things were certainly true, but what no one was
quite prepared for was the fact that in many ways this convention
would be, quite simply, unforgettable. As always lots of people
were attending their first convention, but many others had made
great efforts to return to Dallas. One of these was Mrs.
tenBroek, who grows more delicate each year but also more
determined. As always she lent charm and dignity to every
conversation in which she took part, and her presence lent
continuity to the entire event.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Hazel tenBroek and Kenneth Jernigan]
     If asked to describe this convention in a few words, one
would have to say that it was characterized by deep love, growing
determination, and self-confidence. Undoubtedly Dr. Jernigan's
courageous fight against lung cancer inspired everyone and called
forth the best in each one of us as we march together toward the
millennium. In short, this convention turned out to be the
embodiment and expression of all that is best in each of us and
in this movement we love.

     A good example of the kind of thing that happened throughout
the week was the experience of many of the 150 or so families of
blind children who attended this year's convention. Barbara
Cheadle, President of the National Organization of Parents of
Blind Children, reports that more networking than ever before
took place during the week. She points to the attendance of a
growing number of professionals truly sharing the NFB's
commitment to quality instruction and positive attitudes. These
inspiring teachers offered their expertise to parents and kids
alike throughout the week. Added to the discussions and brain-
storming that always take place among families and
Federationists, we seem to have hit a new high of usefulness to
blind kids.

     At least two teens who had become blind within the previous
month attended this year's convention. Their families came with
them, and they all learned and observed and took home new hope
for the future. Can you imagine a more powerful antidote for the
tragedy of sudden blindness than cane-travel instruction by
instructors like Joe Cutter and competent blind adults, Braille
advice from teachers and parents who believe in the importance of
Braille, and the inspiration of meeting and observing hundreds of
successful blind adults?

     As always family activities on July 4 were inspiring and
thought-provoking. Parents and educators enjoyed a morning-long
seminar of presentations from Federation leaders, professionals,
parents, and kids. The afternoon was jammed with exciting
workshops and a first-time-ever walk-in question-and-answer
session for parents. To give you an idea of the range and
importance of the activities, here is the list of workshops,
several of which were presented twice:

Beginning Braille for Parents
Teaching Braille to Students with Partial Sight: Rationale,
     Methodologies, and Materials
Technology from the Point of View of Blind Youth
Sports and Recreation: Blind Kids Belong Too
Keeping Up with the Rest of the World: Tips to Help Blind Kids
     Speed Up and Keep Up

     While adult activities occupied parents during the day on
Saturday, blind and sighted kids in NFB Camp learned about
cooking and prepared their own lunches using toaster ovens and
microwaves borrowed from local NFB members. Also during Saturday
fourteen teens, eleven of them blind, participated in a class
devoted to the fine points of babysitting. Carla McQuillan, who
helped instruct the class and who also planned and supervised NFB
Camp during the week, reports that class graduates all got
babysitting jobs afterward, and all volunteered throughout the
week in NFB Camp.

     At 5:00 p.m. parents gathered to watch a cane parade by all
the youngsters who had spent the preceding hour decorating canes
for the Fourth of July. Blind and sighted children alike used
stars, streamers, and sparkles to adorn their canes. Sighted
youngsters continued to admire and use their masterpieces in NFB
Camp throughout the week, and blind kids discovered, some for the
first time, that a white cane really can be an object of pride
and independence.

     Meanwhile teens were gathering for a dance and contemporary
dance lessons. That evening they took part in a scavenger hunt
that sent them all around both towers of the hotel to gather
items and to allow them to get acquainted with each other and the
facility. Family hospitality gave parents and kids (not otherwise
occupied) a chance to get to know each other and talk about the
day and other issues of importance to them. All in all, it was a
wonderful beginning to the convention for families.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: NFB campers and their chaperons enjoy lunch at
the dude ranch. CAPTION: Nikki White of Maryland rides one of the
ranch horses.]
     On Monday forty youngsters, along with teen and adult
chaperons took a trip to a dude ranch, where the older ones rode
horses and the younger ones had a hay ride. Everyone enjoyed hot
dogs and s'mores, though the camp fire might have been more
attractive if Texas had not been already blazing with the triple-
digit temperatures that lasted all week. The children had a
wonderful time climbing down to and back up from the creek, using
outcrops and roots to clamber along the steep bank. It was an
unforgettable day for ranch employees and visitors alike.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Circle dancing was one of the activities at NFB
Camp.]
     NFB Camp just gets better every year. This year about sixty
kids were enrolled each day, and the schedule of things to do and
for visitors to enjoy was so crowded that it was hard to fit in
last-minute opportunities. Daniel Lamonds, president of the
Darlington County Chapter of the NFB of South Carolina, was a
particular favorite. Each day he did something different in camp,
and out of the sales of music tapes to NFB Camp families, he made
contributions to the NFB treasury.

     In addition to the parents' and kids' activities, all sorts
of other workshops, seminars, meetings, and demonstrations were
taking place throughout Saturday, the Fourth of July. The most
popular, of course, was the Job Opportunities for the Blind
National Seminar for blind job seekers on Saturday afternoon.
President Maurer opened the seminar with the announcement that
the JOB Program, as we have come to know it, is now at an end.
The U.S. Department of Labor changed the requirements for
programs it would consider funding this year, so the NFB altered
its proposal. Shortly before the convention we received a grant
to begin an exciting new program, but as far as we can now tell,
the JOB Seminar, the Employers Bulletins, and JOB Bulletins have
ended. If this turns out to have been the final JOB National
Seminar, it was a spectacular finish. Presentations by a blind
trucker, blind paralegals, a blind occupational therapy assistant
in a rural area, and a blind linguistic anthropologist followed
each other in rapid succession. More than 250 Federationists took
advantage of the presentations and asked interesting and
insightful questions.

     The JOB breakfasts were also an unqualified success again
this year. Twenty-five took place. One day as many as ninety
people turned out for structured discussion in their field of
interest. We will have to think long and hard about ways to
replace the quality networking that has taken place as a result
of JOB contacts. Again this year, as in past years, a number of
contacts took place that seem destined to end in employment
matches. The coming JOB Program will undoubtedly be extremely
helpful to blind people, but we owe a great debt of thanks to the
Department of Labor and to Lorraine Rovig and the others who have
guided the JOB Program through the past twenty years for all they
have done to increase job opportunities for blind Americans.

     A number of other groups met on Saturday. Division meetings
and seminars for writers, guide dog users, deaf-blind people, and
secretaries and transcribers were scheduled during the afternoon
and evening. Several other committees and groups took advantage
of the relative calm of the day before the official beginning of
the convention to conduct meetings. And workshops on using the
NFB computer bulletin board and Windows 95 also drew sizable
crowds. In addition, demonstrations of Humanware's Braille
Companion, Blazie's Braille notetakers, the Myna Corporation's
new Myna computer, and NEWSLINE(R) and America's Jobline(R) took
place throughout the day.

     After dinner the Texas affiliate hosted a wonderful evening
of fiddle music and dancing. This Texas hospitality set the tone
for the convention and allowed folks to meet new people and visit
with old friends.

     Sunday, July 5, was the first official day of the
convention. Sensory Safari opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
at 9:30, and convention registration and the exhibit hall opened
their doors at about the same time. A television news crew
followed several children around as they examined a number of
animals from a snapping turtle to a bear on his hind legs with
his mouth wide open. Federationist Ted Hart's latest trophy was
also on display. This was the head, skin, and claws of the bear
he recently shot in Canada. Sensory Safari remained open on
Sunday and Monday, and a number of volunteers from the local
group were present to make sure that everyone who came by had a
chance to examine all the trophies on display.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ted Hart shows an admiring Hazel tenBroek the
bear he shot in Canada]
     As always, registration ran smoothly. People hardly had time
to discover what was being sold by hopeful NFB peddlers working
their way up and down the lines before marshals had guided them
into the ballroom and one of four concurrent registration
stations, where a name tag was printed, event tickets purchased,
and an agenda in print, Braille, or cassette dispensed. After
that came quick stops for PAC, Associate, and SUN ribbons before
heading out for a look at exhibits.

     This year was Miss Scheuermann's first year to supervise the
exhibit hall, and by all accounts she did a splendid job. Each
booth was numbered, and print and Braille handouts described the
layout of the room and listed the fifty-one outside exhibiters
and affiliate and division displays, together with a brief
description of what could be found at each location. The crowds
were as large as always, but at least everyone knew what they
were looking for and approximately where to find it.

     Sunday afternoon marked the meeting of the Resolutions
Committee. Fifteen resolutions made it through the committee and
to the floor of the convention for action later in the week. The
full texts of these resolutions appear elsewhere in this issue.

     Immediately following the Resolutions Committee meeting was
a new event. The National Association of Blind Lawyers conducted
a mock trial as a fund-raising and educational activity. National
Board member and practicing attorney Charlie Brown acted as
judge, and Anthony Thomas, a public defender in Chicago, and
Scott LaBarre, President of the lawyers division and an attorney
in private practice in Denver, were the council for the
plaintiffs. Paul Kay and Larry Povinelli, who are law partners in
Washington, D.C., served as counsel for the defense.

     The case was a rather free reenactment of the suit Nadine
and Steve Jacobson brought against United Airlines with the help
of the NFB in 1985. Nadine Jacobson and Tom Scanlan played
themselves, and Bennett Prows played an actual Frontier Airlines
executive who testified for the plaintiff in the original case.
Witnesses for the defense were Peggy Elliott (who was the
Jacobsons' attorney in the original case and who won it for the
good guys) playing a United Airlines executive. Allen Harris
played the arresting police officer, and Barbara Pierce played
the Louisville gate agent who called the police. As street
theater the trial may have lacked polish, but everyone in the
room enjoyed it hugely. The lawyers have already announced that
they have begun planning the mock trial to take place at the
Atlanta convention.

     Sunday evening and Monday afternoon and evening were even
more crowded than usual with meetings, seminars, and receptions.
Thirty separate committee and division activities took place. In
addition, a number of groups hosted receptions of various kinds.
Here are a very few highlights. A new division (which had
formerly been a group, the National Association of Blind Piano
Technicians) was organized. The National Association of Blind
Entrepreneurs, which was organized at last year's convention,
attracted sixty to its meeting this year and now boasts 200
members. The new Professional Blind Journalists Group heard a
fascinating presentation by Bob Ray Sanders, the Executive Editor
of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who clearly understood the
parallels between the problems faced by black and disabled
journalists. Journalists from Hong Kong, Cypress, and the United
Kingdom took part in the meeting.

     The Louisiana Center for the Blind Players gave two
performances of yet another original play by Jerry Whittle on
Monday evening. The title was The Sky is Blue and Black. It was a
romantic comedy about a blind woman's fight to marry the man she
loves.

     The first official convention session is traditionally the
meeting of the NFB Board of Directors, which took place at 9 a.m.
on Monday morning, July 6. President Maurer brought the meeting
to order on time and led the organization in a moment of silence
in memory of the members who have died in the past year. The day
was Dr. tenBroek's birthday, and his wife Hazel was with us this
year and was warmly greeted by the convention. President Maurer
reviewed the list of members of the Board whose positions were up
for election. This included all five officers and six of the
twelve at-large members.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: NFB of Texas President Tommy Craig]
     After greetings and several announcements by Tommy Craig,
President of the NFB of Texas, Dr. Jernigan took the mike for a
number of announcements. The audience's greeting was tumultuous
as, in fact, it was every time he addressed the convention during
the week. After reviewing a number of the details of convention
activities, he urged everyone to submit jokes for the joke books
we use in fund-raising. He read letters illustrating the value of
these books and the way they have led to direct public education.
Jokes like the ones that appear at the end of Presidential
Releases can be submitted in writing to President Maurer at any
time.

     Dr. Jernigan then reviewed the forty-four NEWSLINE(R) sites
now up and running in the United States and Canada and said that
the number should top fifty by the end of the year. He announced
that the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is
continuing its effort to see that blind children have their own
Braille books. Animorphs is currently number fifteen on the New
York Times best seller list. Each month the American Action Fund
will produce a volume of this series in Braille. Those interested
in adding the names of blind children to this list should contact
Barbara Cheadle at the National Center for the Blind.
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Maurer displays the medicine stick while Toby
Longface looks on.]

     A number of presentations were then made. Toby Longface, a
member of the Chiricahua Tribe of the Apache Nation and a new
member of the NFB from Arizona, explained that he had made a
medicine stick for Dr. Jernigan last winter, and now he has
specially made another one for Dr. Maurer. The stick is over five
feet long with an eagle's head carved at the end of the crook. It
has feathers and a dream-catcher, and the words "Dr. Marc Maurer"
are carved on it. The medicine stick is now on display in
President Maurer's office.

     A number of affiliate presidents came to the platform to
announce gifts to the national organization. Gary Wunder
presented $10,000 from Missouri. Diane McGeorge gave $18,237 from
a recent bequest to the NFB of Colorado. Carla McQuillan
announced that the Oregon affiliate has given $23,355 during the
past year. Peggy Elliott next explained that the Blackhawk County
Chapter of the NFB of Iowa received a bequest, which it
immediately presented to the state affiliate for division between
it and the national organization; $24,106.84 is the amount that
has come to the National Center. Jim Willows, President of the
NFB of California, announced that throughout this past year the
affiliate has contributed $138,623 from bequests that it has
received. Kris Cox, the newly elected President of the NFB of
Utah, proudly announced that from a bequest the affiliate was
contributing $508,995.48 to the work of the national
organization. Finally President Maurer announced that the
Baltimore Chapter has contributed about $9,000 to the NFB from
its most recent art auction. It was also instrumental in
acquiring a $10,000 gift from the United Parcel Service
Corporation. The UPS Foundation has contributed $50,000 to
support NEWSLINE(R), and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, also
associated with UPS, has contributed $50,000 to fund educational
programs for parents and educators of blind children.

     Steve Benson, Chairman of the Blind Educator of the Year
Selection Committee, came forward to present this year's award to
David Ticchi, First Vice President of the NFB of Massachusetts
and President of the Cambridge Chapter. The text of that
presentation appears elsewhere in this issue.

     Dr. Jernigan announced to the Board that someone at the
Winn-Dixie supermarket nearest the convention hotel had called
hotel management and warned them not to send over any more blind
people. Dr. Jernigan commented that some response was required,
and President Maurer appointed a committee composed of Charlie
Brown and Peggy Elliott, both of whom are attorneys, to contact
the store manager and resolve the situation and educate store
staff about the law.

     Peggy Elliott then introduced the members of the 1998
scholarship class to the audience. A complete report of this
year's scholarship program appears elsewhere in this issue.

     Brian Buhrow, Chairman of the NFB's Research and Development
Committee, announced that real audio versions of a number of NFB
speeches will soon be available on the Internet. Consult the
notice in the "Convention Miniatures" column in this issue for
the details.

     Dr. Jernigan then presented a Distinguished Service award to
Michael Marucci, who has been translating and recording NFB
materials in Spanish. The full text of this presentation appears
elsewhere in this issue.

     Brief reports were made by those who chair the Pre-
Authorized Check (PAC) Plan, Shares Unlimited in NFB (SUN),
Planned Giving, tenBroek Fund, and Associates Committees.
President Maurer then read the top ten in number and in
contributions in the 1998 Associates contest. Those recruited to
become Members-at-large (Associates) not only make contributions
to the NFB but also become full-fledged members of the
organization. The top ten recruiters this year by number of
Associates and by dollar amount are as follows:

                        Top Ten in Number
                     of Associates Recruited
                                
10. Jim Omvig (Arizona), 53
 9. Gary Thompson (Missouri), 57
 8. John Stroot (Indiana), 63
 7. Joe Ruffalo (New Jersey), 73
 6. Carlos Servan (New Mexico), 76
 5. Karen Mayry (South Dakota), 100
 4. Laura Biro (Michigan), 112
 3. Tom Stevens (Missouri), 247
 2. Arthur Schreiber (New Mexico), 271
 1. Michael Taylor (Utah), 333

                 Top Ten in Dollar Amount Raised

10. Verla Kirsh (Iowa), $1,608
 9. Joe Ruffalo (New Jersey), $1,672
 8. Laura Biro (Michigan), $1,766
 7. Mary Ellen Jernigan (Maryland), $2,125
 6. Marc Maurer (Maryland), $2,197
 5. Tom Stevens (Missouri), $2,599
 4. Arthur Schreiber (New Mexico), $2,745
 3. Michael Taylor (Utah), $3,335
 2. Karen Mayry (South Dakota), $5,276
 1. Kenneth Jernigan (Maryland), $14,921     

     After the Board voted to conduct an Associates contest
during the coming year, President Maurer adjourned the meeting.

[PHOTO DESCRIPTION: In this view of the convention hall many
state flags are visible, and the attendance banner can be seen
mounted on the Texas stanchion. The ballroom is filled with
seated people. CAPTION: The convention ballroom as viewed from
the center aisle.]
     The crowd began to gather early on Tuesday morning as
Federationists prepared for the opening of the first general
session of the fifty-eighth convention of the National Federation
of the Blind. Following the opening door prizes and the
invocation, President Maurer read a welcoming letter from
Governor George W. Bush of Texas. Tommy Craig, NFB of Texas
President, then welcomed the convention. This is part of what he
said: 

     Howdy, y'all.

     Welcome to Texas. . . . As I said yesterday, we were real
concerned to see that you had a warm welcome here, so we've done
our best and got it as warm as we could. But if it's not warm
enough for you, let us know, and we'll try to do better.

     I wanted to tell you some facts about Texas. I told you a
few of them yesterday. There are probably as many facts about
Texas as there are Texans. Being so humble and all, we want to
share them with you. First of all, the state capitol building in
Texas is the largest state capitol building in the U.S., and it's
actually taller than the U.S. capitol building. The San Jacinto
Monument, which stands outside of Houston, is 570 feet tall,
twenty feet taller than the Washington Monument. Texas has 254
counties, more than any other state, and forty-one of those
counties are larger than the state of Rhode Island. Three of the
ten largest cities in the U.S. are in Texas: Dallas, Houston, and
San Antonio.

     Texas produces more oil, natural gas, beef, sheep, goats,
wool, cotton, rice, and watermelons than any other state. There
are eighteen million people in Texas, sixteen million head of
cattle, two point five million deer, and two hundred thousand
alligators. The land area of Texas is larger than New England,
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois combined. Texas is
over 800 miles from north to south and from east to west. The DFW
Airport, where we now are, is larger than New York's Manhattan
Island. El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than to Port Arthur,
Texas, and Port Arthur is closer to Jacksonville, Florida, than
it is to El Paso. There you have a few tidbits about Texas. Once
again, welcome to Texas.

     President Maurer briefly reviewed the election information
in preparation for the election on Wednesday. Then Richard
Edlund, a Member of the Board, asked for the floor to make the
following announcement:

     Thank you, Mr. President. I do not choose to seek re-
election this year. It seems to me that I've been at it for about
thirty years. I think you and I both attended our first National
Convention in 1969, and I got started a lot later in life than
you did. Fourteen years as national Treasurer and six years on
the Board with a little time off for the state legislature--this
has probably been one of the greatest experiences of my life,
being connected with you out there and all over this nation.

     People ask me why did you drop out of the legislature? I
usually tell them that some of the arguments started to make
sense, and I figured that was the time to leave. That is not why
I am dropping out now. I'm still going to be here, and I love you
all.

     After a number of convention announcements by Dr. Jernigan,
President Maurer introduced an NFB song, which was played for the
convention. The selection was one of a number on a cassette
recording produced by a group of Federationists calling
themselves the Cane Raisers. As Dr. Maurer commented, songs as
tragic and angry as this one have to be leavened with humor in
order to be tolerable. Dr. Jernigan pointed out that anyone who
doubts the importance of the National Federation of the Blind has
only to take note of the truth expressed in this song to
understand how much still has to be done to give blind people a
fair chance. 

                       The Technology Song
                      words by Debbie Brown
   sung by Lloyd Rasmussen to the tune of "The Marvelous Toy"
                          by Tom Paxton

1.   When I wrote my rehab plan,
     My Counselor promised me
     The hottest screen-access program
     Of the twentieth century.
     I waited for six months
     Then gave my counselor a call,
     He said, "our budget's frozen;
     You must wait until next fall."

     Refrain: It went zip when it moved
     And pop when it stopped
     And whir when it stood still.
     I've never done a thing with it,
     And I guess I never will.

2.   When my equipment finally came,
     My counselor explained
     That I couldn't get my hands on it
     Till I'd been thoroughly trained.
     I said "Let's start tomorrow,"
     But my counselor told me,
     "We have a six-month waiting list
     At our facility."

     Refrain: It went zip when it moved
     And pop when it stopped
     And whir when it stood still.
     I've never done a thing with it,
     And I guess I never will.

3.   I said I'd get trained on my own,
     But rehab made a fuss.
     They said, "You won't get funding
     Unless you're trained by us."
     Now my training's finally done,
     And I've come home to wait.
     If I ever get a job,
     My skills will be out of date.

     Refrain: It went zip when it moved
     And pop when it stopped
     And whir when it stood still.
     I've never done a thing with it,
     And I guess I never will.

4.   Today I had an interview,
     But I didn't get to go.
     I called for para-transit,
     But my vehicle didn't show.
     The finest new technology
     Won't help us, it's quite plain,
     Without good blindness training
     And a thirty-dollar cane.

     Refrain: It went zip when it moved
     And pop when it stopped
     And whir when it stood still.
     I've never done a thing with it,
     And I guess I never will.
     I've never done a thing in life,
     And I guess I never will.

     The remainder of the morning session was devoted to the roll
call of states. During this the official delegate from each
affiliate comes to the microphone to give several pieces of
information. Sometimes interesting little facts are also
announced. For example, Richard Bennett announced that the
Delaware legislature had just appropriated funds for NEWSLINE(R),
and Priscilla Ferris announced that her affiliate's work with the
Massachusetts Association for the Blind has now been successful
in bringing NEWSLINE(R) to the Bay State this coming fall. Allen
Harris told the cheering audience that funding for four local
service centers to begin service later this year has been made
available in Michigan. Maryland and Minnesota announced that
Jobline(R) is up and running in their states, and New Jersey and
New Mexico are about to sign the final contracts to make it
available across their states. Louisiana, New Jersey, New York,
and Texas boasted that their state agency directors were on the
convention floor. Minnesota's was also present all week long.

     Wayne Davis told the cheering audience that the state agency
for the blind in Florida had just notified the National
Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually
Handicapped (NAC) that it had decided to drop its affiliation
with the agency. Florida had been the only state agency left on
the NAC rolls. Now that agencies serving the blind in Florida are
no longer required to maintain NAC accreditation in order to get
state contracts, it will be interesting to see how many of NAC's
remaining fifty-two members will decide to desert the ship.
Eleven are in Florida. Their reason to continue paying NAC
membership dues is clearly gone. How many others will now see the
light?

     Following the lunch recess, the afternoon session began with
Dr. Maurer's presidential report. He reviewed the activities of
the previous year and looked forward to the year ahead. The full
text of this exciting report appears elsewhere in this issue.

     When the standing ovation that greeted President Maurer's
report had subsided, he quietly announced that several people had
come to him with a request that the organization establish the
Kenneth Jernigan Fund, interest for which would be used to help
fund our scholarship program and convention scholarships for
deserving people. He admitted that he had been hesitant at first
to go forward with the idea, but the pressure had continued, so
the fund had been established with an anonymous gift of $5,000.
He then appointed a committee to supervise the project.

     With that announcement the afternoon schedule dissolved in a
touching and heartfelt outpouring of loving tributes to Dr.
Jernigan and his role in changing the lives of blind people.
Individuals and affiliates lined up to make gifts and pledges of
up to $10,000. This is what Lloyd Jernigan, Dr. Jernigan's
brother, said: 

     Good afternoon, Federationists. Back during the twenties and
thirties, when Kenneth Jernigan was a child, there was very
little hope for a blind child to become an independent, self-
supporting person. Kenneth Jernigan has spent his entire adult
life trying to change those conditions. There are still many
obstacles to be removed. Several of us have discussed setting up
a Kenneth Jernigan fund to be used for scholarships or other
things, for example, financial aid to someone who does not have
the financial means to attend a convention such as this. The fund
will be used to help educate and assist blind persons. My wife
Mary and I would like to start the donation this afternoon with a
check for $1,000, and here is the check. [applause] Thank you.

[PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Lloyd Jernigan stands at the podium holding a
check over his head. CAPTION: Lloyd Jernigan]
     There is no way to convey the raw emotion and the sincere
love expressed by person after person at the microphones that
afternoon. Others simply made their quiet way to the table at the
back of the room to make contributions, large and small.

     Eventually Dr. Jernigan came to the podium and said: 

     I was warned and admonished to keep out of this, to say
nothing about it, and I kept my counsel until the comments were
made. I have never been insulated from the Convention, and I
don't intend to start now.

     I have only a very few things to say. One of them is to say
that anybody who didn't have a heart of stone would be touched
and appreciative of what has been said. I am. The second one is:
don't count me out; I'm not gone yet! [tumultuous laughter and
applause]

     I hope to be around for a long time to come, and, as long as
I am around, I intend to have a hand in running this outfit. So
keep it in mind. This fund looks as if it is going to grow. I'd
add my voice to that of Dr. Maurer: don't give any money to this
fund that you would have given otherwise because that would be
restricting money that we don't want restricted. However, when
this fund is developed along with everything else in this outfit,
since I am finance chairman, I'm going to have something to say
about how it is spent. I thank all of you for what you have said.
I think we understand each other. God bless you.

[PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Dr. Jernigan stands at the podium smiling
broadly. CAPTION: "Don't count me out yet."]
     With that Dr. Jernigan intended to bring the public
outpouring to a halt in order to go forward with the afternoon's
agenda. But it was not to be. The stream of people kept flowing
to the microphones on the convention floor, and no one wanted it
to stop. By the time the contributions and pledges made during
the week were added up, the total was $130,000 and still
climbing.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson]
     When the afternoon's agenda resumed, Congresswoman Eddie
Bernice Johnson of the Nineteenth Congressional District
addressed the convention briefly. She talked about her
recognition of our need for reliable, affordable public
transportation and pledged to work toward this goal. She also
committed to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 612, the bill to re-
establish linkage between the monthly stipends received by blind
SSDI recipients and those received by retirees under seventy.

     The Hon. Richard Conway Casey, District Judge in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York, then
came to the platform to speak. His title was "A Jurist Who
Happens to be Blind." He encouraged his audience always to dare
to do more and to help others along on their way. He illustrated
his points by reviewing his own experience during recent years,
after he became blind.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Geoff Hilton-Barber]
     Geoff Hilton-Barber, mariner and Director of the National
Society for the Blind in the Republic of South Africa, was the
next speaker. His title was "Charting the Course, Setting the
Sails, Completing the Voyage: The Blind Sailor Travels from
Africa to Australia Solo." In the time allotted to him he tried
to give the audience a real sense of his voyage, not merely the
exciting or frightening events, but the peace and beauty as well.
Hilton-Barber is soft-spoken, sensible, a gentle and quiet man.
It was clear from his story that fulfilling this dream has been
costly. He was parted from his loving wife and children,
including a four-year-old daughter, for many weeks, and he has
borne much of the expense himself. But he believed that it was
important to demonstrate that a blind sailor could organize and
make this voyage.

     The closing agenda item for the day was titled "The Blind
Businessman Builds a Visual/Audio Systems Business." It was
presented by Greg Lukens, Founder and Vice President of
Washington Professional Systems, Inc. He described the way he
sold one successful business and began another in which he and
fifty-two other people now design and build video and audio
systems for big business. He encouraged his listeners to resist
becoming the prisoners of other people's lack of imagination. His
company did fifty million dollars' worth of business last year
and expects to do more this year, but he still finds it necessary
to remind others not to let their lack of imagination limit his
opportunities.

     On this high note the afternoon session recessed, and
delegates left to change for the barbecue at Bear Creek. The
mercury was still above 100 as the busses began to make their way
to the party, but that didn't stop those determined to enjoy
Texas fun and good food. Deane Blazie supplied the beer; the band
was great; and everyone had a wonderful time.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Federationists enjoy the barbecue at Bear Creek]
     Just because hundreds of Federationists were enjoying the
barbecue, things didn't stop at the hotel. The annual IEP
workshop sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of
Blind Children drew a large and interested crowd. The Music
Division's Showcase of Talent was also lots of fun for
participants and audience alike.

     At 9:00 a.m. sharp President Maurer gaveled the Wednesday
morning general session to order. The first agenda item was the
annual election. The positions of the five constitutional
officers and six at-large board members were up for election this
year. The six members in hold-over positions were Don Capps
(South Carolina), Wayne Davis (Florida), Priscilla Ferris
(Massachusetts), Bruce Gardner (Arizona), Betty Niceley
(Kentucky), and Joanne Wilson (Louisiana). Marc Maurer
(Maryland), President; Joyce Scanlan (Minnesota), First Vice
President; Peggy Elliott (Iowa), Second Vice President; Allen
Harris (Michigan), Treasurer; Ramona Walhof (Idaho), Secretary;
and Board Members Steve Benson (Illinois), Charlie Brown
(Virginia), Sam Gleese (Mississippi), Diane McGeorge (Colorado),
and Gary Wunder (Missouri) were all nominated and re-elected by
acclamation.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Carla McQuillan]
     Because Dick Edlund was not running for election this year,
the Nominating Committee placed in nomination the name of Carla
Mcquillan, President of the NFB of Oregon, for election to the
Board. She was elected with great enthusiasm. This is what she
said immediately following the vote: 

     Mr. President, Dr. Jernigan, fellow Federationists, in 1988
I applied for a scholarship from the National Federation of the
Blind of Illinois. I had a four-year-old daughter and a husband
in graduate school, and I was flat broke. I remember the
telephone call from President Benson. After a series of very
uncomfortable questions about blindness, he got to one I thought
I could answer, and without hesitation or reservation, when he
asked me, "Do you consider yourself blind?" I said, "No sir. I do
not." I went to the convention in Carbondale, Illinois. My
pockets were empty, my hands were empty, and my soul was empty.
Two days later I walked away as president of the student chapter,
a white cane in my hand, and a thousand dollars in my pocket.

     Shortly after that convention I addressed a student luncheon
in St. Louis. Rami Rabby was in the audience, and I said my goal
is that ten years from today people in this organization will
look back and say, "I'm glad that we gave that scholarship to
Carla McQuillan." Here we are ten years later, and I had no idea
that the affirmation would be so resounding, but I will take it.

     I consider what I've learned from the members of the
National Board to be beyond anything that I could give back. It
is such an honor to be counted among them, and with your help--
although I'm sure many will leave this convention with empty
pockets--let us work to see that no one walks away with empty
hands or empty souls. Thank you so much. [applause]

[PHOTO DESCRIPTION: Two photographs appear here. In the first
Carl Augusto presents the award to Dr. Jernigan. Mr. Augusto
holds it between them, and Dr. Jernigan examines it. The second
photograph is a close up of the award with the print text visible
on the base. The exact text reads "The AFB International
Leadership Award, Kenneth Jernigan, 1998." CAPTION: Carl Augusto
presents the AFB International Leadership Award to Kenneth
Jernigan. CAPTION: One side of the award has Braille text; the
other side has print.]
     Carl Augusto, President of the American Foundation for the
Blind, then gave a report from the AFB, reviewing its activities
and accomplishments during the past year and looking to the
future. Mr. Augusto then said: 

     Much progress has been made in recent years in working
together, and much of the credit for that progress belongs to
Kenneth Jernigan. Dr. Jernigan's leadership in this country and
throughout the world is unparalleled. He has inspired so many
blind people to reach for the stars and not to allow barriers to
be in the way of a successful life. So many individuals and
organizations have reached out to Dr. Jernigan for advice and
assistance. In recognition of his lifelong commitment to enabling
blind people to be the best they possibly can be, the American
Foundation for the Blind has established an award entitled the
American Foundation for the Blind International Leadership Award,
and I am very, very proud to present this new award, the AFB
International Leadership Award, to its first recipient, Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan.

     The award is a crystal globe with the continents shown in
gold plate. The globe turns on its green marble base. The name of
the award is written in print and Braille on the base. In his
acceptance Dr. Jernigan commented in closing that the award is a
symbol of the deepening respect and collegiality between the AFB
and the NFB.

     Martin Frost, Member of Congress representing the Twenty-
fourth District of Texas, next reviewed the legislative picture
in Washington and urged Federationists to continue to come to
Capitol Hill to educate Congress about the important issues
facing blind people. He assured the crowd that he is a co-sponsor
of our linkage bill.

     Frank Kurt Cylke, Director of the National Library Service
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, began his remarks by
pointing out that this was the first time in twenty-seven years
that he had spent the Fourth of July at home. Next year, when our
convention is once again scheduled during the first week of July,
he'll bring his family with him. After reporting briefly on
what's new at NLS, Mr. Cylke described in some detail the process
by which the NLS is preparing to make the transition to digital
production of Talking Books. As always many people had questions
to ask following his speech, and as always he was generous with
his time in meeting with people to clear up confusion and
problems.

     The morning concluded with a group of three presentations
concerning rehabilitation. Dr. Fred Schroeder, Commissioner of
the Rehabilitation Services Administration, spoke about
"Bureaucracy and the Individual: The Plan for the Twenty-first
Century." His remarks appear elsewhere in this issue. Jamie
Hilton, President of the National Council of State Agencies for
the Blind and Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission for
the Blind, then delivered remarks titled, "Combined Efforts: The
Direction of Today, the Strength of Tomorrow." She reviewed all
the ways in which the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and the
NFB of New Jersey are working together to see that communication
is complete and coordinated action on behalf of blind people is
as extensive and effective as possible. Hilton said that she has
also used this model as president of the NCSAB working with
nationwide consumer organizations and with the federal
government. She pointed out that, when she started working in
this field twenty-five years ago, it would have been
inconceivable for the NCSAB and the AFB both to be on the
platform together at the convention of the National Federation of
the Blind. Our strength to cope with tomorrow will come from a
shared vision today.

     The final panelist and last speaker of the morning was Tom
Robertson, Associate Commissioner of the New York Commission for
the Blind and Visually Handicapped. His title was "Changing
Service Delivery, Working with the Consumers, Increasing
Opportunity." He said that all the things listed in his title are
essential in rehabilitation today. To accomplish them an agency
must insure that an agency director is appointed who is committed
to improving the quality of service. He also stressed that
consumers must play a significant role in establishing directions
and determining program and policy for the agency.

     Immediately before the recess, President Maurer called Peggy
Elliott to the platform to report on the work of the Winn Dixie
Committee. She explained that Mr. O'Neal Williams, manager of the
Winn-Dixie store that had refused to do business with blind
people earlier in the week, was with her on the stage. His head
office had instructed him not to speak over the p.a. system, but
he had written a letter to convention delegates that was read.
The text stated in forceful terms that the Winn-Dixie company
recognizes that everyone who shops at its outlets confers
patronage on the company. He said that Winn-Dixie welcomed and
was grateful for the business we might bring, and he pledged to
do all that he could to make blind shoppers feel welcome. With or
without an oral statement from a Winn-Dixie representative on the
platform, this was a victory for blind people.

     The array of Wednesday-afternoon tours sent Federationists
off to explore all corners of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex,
but there was lots to do at the hotel for those uninterested in
braving the triple-digit temperatures. There were workshops on
Social Security and making tactile materials for blind children.
Joe Cutter conducted a drop-in discussion for parents on "Kids
and Canes," and Descriptive Video showed several of its new
releases. In addition, several committees and divisions met and
other groups held receptions. The centerpiece of the evening, as
usual, was Monte Carlo Night, sponsored by the National
Association of Blind Students.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Federationists enjoy Monte Carlo night.]
     The Thursday morning general session came to order at 9:00
a.m. sharp, and the first speaker was Cheralyn Braithwaite, a
special education teacher at Mueller Park High School in
Bountiful, Utah. Her speech was both touching and powerful. She
described years of struggling to appear to be sighted, complete
with embarrassing mistakes and a few marginal successes. Then she
began to accept herself and her very real abilities when she met
Federationists and began to live out NFB philosophy. The audience
response to this talk was overwhelming.

     The next convention item was a panel presentation titled
"The Blind in the World." Dr Jernigan moderated the panel and
began with a review of the NFB's role in international matters in
the blindness field. Ian Bruce, Professor, Doctor of Social
Sciences, Commander of Institute Management, and Director General
of the Royal National Institute for the Blind, then gave a
charming report on the situation of blind people in the United
Kingdom. Dr. Euclid Herie, President of the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind and also President of the World Blind
Union, reported on his travels across the world during the past
year and expressed the hope that blind people everywhere will
continue to work together ever more effectively to bring
literacy, jobs, and community acceptance for all blind people.

     The next speaker was Frank Clegg, Vice President of the
Canada and U.S. Central Region for Microsoft. He reiterated
Microsoft's eagerness to work with disabled people to improve the
quality and quantity of software solutions to the computer
problems faced by blind people. Mr. Clegg indicated that he and
his company were ready and eager to discuss access issues. He
pointed out that accessibility was now on the executive check
list of items that Bill Gates checks when software packages come
to him for approval. This is a very important matter for
developers writing programs within Microsoft. The audience was
left with the impression that Microsoft executives are genuinely
interested in insuring that Microsoft programs will truly be
accessible to disabled people in future.

     During a brief exchange after this presentation, the
following challenge was given by President Maurer and accepted by
Mr. Clegg: 

     President Maurer: You have said that you want to work with
us. I want to know if you are willing to put it on a regular,
ongoing basis. I recognize that we won't like all of the
decisions you make. And I also recognize that you won't like all
of the recommendations we make. We'll get along anyway. I'd like
to do it. I want, on a regular, ongoing basis, for us to
establish communication so that we can build something we can
use. Will you do it?

     Mr. Clegg: (after a brief pause for thought) Yes. [cheers
and applause]

     Dr. Maurer concluded the discussion by saying: "Mr. Clegg,
we've always respected Microsoft; we think now we are going to
come to like you guys."

     William Rayder, Executive Director of the National Braille
Press, gave a report on "Braille Books on a Computer Disk: The
Multi-Volume Text You Can Carry in a Briefcase." He announced the
availability of Port-a-Books(R), which can be loaded into the
three Blazie notetakers and read anywhere. The Braille will be
NBP's standard, high-quality code, and it will be encrypted for
additional copyright protection. National Braille Press's policy
of selling Braille books at no more than the cost of the print
versions will apply to Port-a-Books(R) as well as hard-copy
Braille. Rayder said that NBP plans to expand beyond Blazie
products as soon as possible, and it should also soon be possible
for buyers to download their purchases from the Internet. The
audience's response to the announcement of this new product was
enthusiastic. Mr. Rayder closed his remarks by thanking the NFB
and particularly the National Association to Promote the Use of
Braille, for presenting the Golden Keys Award to NBP last year.
He said that the plaque hangs in his office and is an eloquent
demonstration to would-be contributors that blind people
appreciate the work of the National Braille Press.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Carolyn Colvin]
     The final item on the morning agenda was a report from
Carolyn Colvin, Deputy Commissioner for Operations at the Social
Security Administration, titled "Social Security Beneficiaries
and Work: The Need to Encourage Independent Employment." She
reviewed current efforts to minimize the disincentives and
increase the opportunities for disabled beneficiaries to return
to work. In an exchange with Jim Gashel following her remarks,
Ms. Colvin agreed to explore ways of working with the NFB to
notify those returning to work of what they must do to prevent
overpayments and the subsequent need to return the funds in a
lump sum.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman]
     The afternoon session began with a convention first.
Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman spoke to convention delegates
from her office in Washington. The Secretary was visible on large
screens at the front of the ballroom, and the audio system
allowed her to hear and be heard during her remarks. This is what
Secretary Herman said: 

     Thank you for that warm introduction and for allowing me to
be a part of your national conference. I must admit that I feel
as though I am with you live, in person today. I want to
recognize Congresswoman Kay Granger, who I understand is there
with you in Dallas; the President of the NFB, Dr. Marc Maurer;
and acknowledge your President Emeritus, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan,
for his longstanding leadership in the blind movement. [beginning
applause] Yes, let's give him a round of applause. [enthusiastic
applause]

     The Department of Labor and the NFB have a long record of
working together to expand opportunity and increase employment
for people with disabilities. And meeting that goal is a high
priority for President Clinton and for me as your Secretary of
Labor. That's precisely why the President established and I chair
the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of People with
Disabilities.

     We know our economy today is strong. Jobs are up and
unemployment is down. But we also know that people are getting
left behind. Three out of four people with severe disabilities
are not working. We have to change that. And that is why I am so
pleased to announce the awarding of a $3 million grant to the NFB
to implement a project that will help us do just that.

     As you may know, the Department of Labor has an Internet Web
site called America's Job Bank. It is the largest electronic job
bank in the country. That's a great service, but it's not
available to the blind. Through your leadership that's going to
change.

     Our $3 million grant to the NFB will be used for the
development of America's Jobline(R), which makes a personalized
job search possible by telephone. You won't need a computer. You
won't need to get on the Internet. All you need is a phone. The
project reflects three major principles and hallmarks of our
Department's one-stop system-building: universal service;
customer choice; and strong partnership among public, private,
and non-profit sectors.

     For the user Jobline(R) will: 1.) be available twenty-four
hours a day to provide all job announcements in high-quality
synthetic speech; 2.) let callers search a regularly updated,
job-order data base, for example a statewide job bank or
America's Job Bank; 3.) allow job seekers to create and store on
the system personal job-search profiles.

     I am very excited about this project. It will make a real
difference. And I want to thank the NFB for helping make that
happen. And I know that Jim Vollman, the brain behind many of
DOL's technology-based, one-stop advancements, is there with you
to walk you through our new project in detail.

     Let me also say that I am pleased to announce that as of
July 1, 1998, the Department of Labor and the NFB are
collaborating on an exciting initiative to promote competitive
employment for the blind. This $500,000 effort will go a long way
to making sure that blind individuals are trained and job-ready
for opportunities in the future--particularly in the high-tech
area. (I want particularly to commend United Parcel Service for
their willingness to step up and commit to being the very first
large corporate employer to agree to place job-ready blind
individuals.) [applause] Thank you, UPS.

     Once again, thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to
working with all of you and continuing the Department of Labor's
strong partnership with the NFB in the months and years to come.
Thank you, and may God bless all of you today.

     Then the Associate Assistant Secretary of Labor leading the
One-Stop and Labor-Market Information Initiatives and Employment
and Training Administration, Jim Vollman, spoke to the
convention. He described the Jobline(R) technology that is
beginning to be available for the use of job seekers with access
to phones rather than computers. He went on to say that with our
help they are working to make truly accessible America's Job
Bank, the original online version of the Department of Labor's
giant database of employment opportunities. He concluded by
saying that perhaps the most important lesson he had learned from
his work with the NFB was that the most valuable and constructive
thing that the Department of Labor can do is not to do things for
blind people but to make it possible for us to do them for
ourselves.

     President Maurer then called on longtime Federationist
Richard Davis, Director of Programs for the Blind in the
Minnesota Department of Economic Security, to describe briefly
the America's Jobline(R) installation in Minnesota, which was
being readied for demonstration during the national One-Stop
Conference to be held in late July.

     The next agenda item was the one Federationists had been
waiting for all week. "The Continuing Saga of the Kernel Books"
was the title of Dr. Jernigan's address, and it was, quite
simply, magnificent. The text appears elsewhere in this issue.
Those who receive the cassette edition of the Braille Monitor
will have some idea of the electricity that filled the ballroom
as our beloved leader for so many years delivered what people
recognized might well be his last speech to the organized blind
movement. This was one of a number of times throughout the week
in which love for Dr. Jernigan and for one another and pride and
joy in what together we have created swirled through the room,
strengthening us all for the future.

     When Congresswoman Kay Granger, Representative of the
Twelfth District of Texas, came to the podium to speak following
this presentation, it was clear that she, too, had been moved by
what she had heard. Her topic was "Supporting Programs that
Enhance Opportunity: A View from Congress." She is a truly
articulate and engaging speaker, and her remarks appear elsewhere
in this issue.

     Ritchie Geisel, President of Recording for the Blind and
Dyslexic, announced that seven members of his staff were
attending the NFB convention because, as he pointed out, it is
the largest gathering of RFB&D borrowers taking place this year.
He described the exciting progress being made by researchers to
make the new digital technology available to RFB&D borrowers. He
believes that by sometime in 2001 it will be widely available,
though as long as patrons still want cassette books, they will
also be available. In closing, Mr. Geisel announced that he will
be leaving RFB&D in the coming months but said that he and his
wife hope to be in Atlanta for next year's convention.

     The final agenda item of the afternoon was a panel
presentation moderated by James Gashel, Director of Governmental
Affairs. He was joined by Dan Shipley, Deputy Director for Retail
Tenant Services of the General Services Administration, and
Stephen Leavey, Manager for Corporate Personnel Operations of the
United States Postal Service. Mr. Gashel began by describing
recent efforts by various federal agencies to erode the blind
priority of the Randolph-Sheppard Program. Mr. Shipley assured
the audience of GSA's continuing commitment to implementing and
supporting the program, and Mr. Leavey, who was back for the
second year, reported on food service operations in the Postal
Service and talked about efforts to work with the NFB to improve
matters still further. It was clear from their comments and from
the questions that followed their presentations that, though
there are certainly problems, these two agencies are prepared to
continue making good-faith efforts to solve them and protect the
Randolph-Sheppard Program.

     As often happens, the banquet this year occurred on Thursday
evening. A new system was put in place that made getting to the
ballroom during the half hour preceding this always memorable
event positively pleasant. A Federationist was assigned to every
elevator lobby in the East Tower. This person's job was to load
the elevators stopping at that floor. A hotel employee operated
each elevator by hand. These six people were in radio contact
with each other at all times. When an elevator was full, it was
taken directly to the ballroom level. The folks in charge were
pleasant, and the trip was surprisingly efficient and very quick.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Allen Harris]
     There is a science to getting several thousand people to
assigned banquet seats in a brief time, and we seem to improve
our mastery of it each year. By shortly after 7:00 p.m. most
people were in their seats, and Allen Harris, who did a superb
job as master of ceremonies this year, was banging the gavel to
begin a memorable evening. Of course door prizes, songs, and
division drawings were scattered throughout the proceedings. Jim
Gashel came to the podium to recognize the United Parcel Service
Corporation for its growing partnership in the work of the
National Federation of the Blind and the Kaman Corporation, which
is also an enthusiastic NFB supporter. Both organizations had a
number of guests present at the banquet.

     One of the first pieces of business for the evening was
consideration of Resolution 98-01, commending the National
Council of State Agencies for the Blind for honoring Dr.
Jernigan. It was adopted enthusiastically with Jamie Hilton,
NCSAB President watching.

     Dr. Jernigan presented the Newel Perry Award to Rudy Savage,
head of Talking Book Publishers, Inc., a nonprofit organization
in Denver, Colorado, that produces talking books. Mr. Savage
responded briefly to this warm presentation. The full text of
this ceremony appears elsewhere in this issue.

     Immediately following this presentation came one of the high
points of the evening. Ramona Walhof stepped to the microphone to
present the Jacobus tenBroek Award for 1998. She began quietly
enough, but when she got to the words, "I first met Mary Ellen
Jernigan," the ballroom erupted in a standing ovation of
spontaneous and heartfelt joy and approval. Mrs. Jernigan was
completely surprised, but demonstrated what we have long
suspected, that it is impossible to catch her without a
collected, articulate, and insightful response on her lips. The
complete text of this moving tribute appears elsewhere in this
issue.

      The other award presentation made during the banquet was
recognizing the 1998 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children.
Sharon Maneki came to the platform to present this award to Dr.
James Bickford, Director of Education at the Washington State
School for the Blind. The complete text of this presentation
appears elsewhere in this issue.

     "The Search for Anonymity" was the title of this year's
banquet address by President Maurer. We have come to expect
thoughtfulness, humor, and inspiration from NFB banquet
addresses. It is fair to say that this year's speech was vintage
Federation fare. It was by turns funny, infuriating, thought-
provoking, and energizing. The full text appears elsewhere in
this issue.

     It's always a delight to participate in the presentation of
the twenty-six scholarships awarded during each year's banquet.
Hearing the students' accomplishments and their vocational plans
one after the other is challenging and inspiring. Each year these
students represent the furthest cast we have yet made toward
first-class citizenship. Their dreams are the product of all we
have worked for and dared to hope. Whenever fatigue threatens to
overwhelm us, it is enough to remember the scholarship class and
what they are accomplishing. This year Stephanie Thompson was the
recipient of the American Action Fund Scholarship in the amount
of $10,000. Her remarks, as well as a full report of the 1998
scholarship program, appear elsewhere in this issue.

     As the banquet drew to a close, one of the activities that
had enlivened the Thursday-afternoon convention session came to a
close. The Jernigan Fund Committee had conducted a split-the-pot
drawing in which 1,000 tickets were each sold for $5. The drawing
took place just at the close of the banquet, and Alan Hale of
Maryland was the winner of $2,500. Karen Marx won the grand door
prize of $1,000, and as a result her husband Jim, who complains
that no hat ever fits him, was the ultimate recipient of the
Texas-size hat that went with it and was worn at different times
by so many NFB leaders during the course of the evening--see the
lead photograph for the evidence.

     However late the banquet runs and however hard
Federationists play afterward, the Friday convention session
begins promptly at 9:00 a.m.

     The entire final day of the convention was devoted to
organization business. Dr. Jernigan presented the financial
report, and Jim Gashel reported on the past year in Washington.
Affiliates and divisions had an opportunity to contribute to both
the Jacobus tenBroek Fund and the White Cane fund in the Honor
Roll Call of States. The remaining fourteen resolutions were
read, considered, and passed by the convention. And a number of
drawings took place. Here is the complete list of countries
represented by the sixty international guests at this year's
convention: Canada, China, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany,
Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

     Final reports were made by the Pre-Authorized Check (PAC)
Committee. Contributions rose to an annualized figure of
$383,514, and SUN contributions during the convention reached
$9,485. Toward the close of the afternoon session, Dr. Jernigan
raised the problem of persistent negative posts from a few people
on the NFB's various listservs. He made it clear that he was not
referring to honest questions posed in tactless terms but rather
repeated insults and criticisms dropped into the discussion in
the name of free expression. Dr. Jernigan commented that he had
no quarrel with the concept of free speech, but he didn't see why
we should have to pay for other people to insult us in the name
of the First Amendment. The convention obviously agreed with him
because it voted enthusiastically to deny space to such
contributors in future.

     Following a number of commendations and several suggestions
for agenda items at the 1999 convention in Atlanta, Diane
McGeorge drew for the final door prizes, and Dr. Maurer brought
down the gavel adjourning the 1998 convention. It's always
difficult to leave a National Convention. The joy of being
together, exchanging ideas and funny stories; the inspiration of
learning about what other people dare to do; the excitement of
discovering new possibilities for ourselves: these always make
good-byes hard to say. It was particularly difficult this year
because of the uncertainty of Dr. Jernigan's health. But every
moment of the convention served as a reminder of what the blind
of the nation have built by working together and what we have
already accomplished through the National Federation of the
Blind.

     As always, the future is uncertain. Challenges await us.
Those who would prefer for blind people to remain quietly in the
places of dependency they have assigned us will try to stop our
march. But we now know some part of what we are capable of
accomplishing, and we dare to dream of an even brighter tomorrow.
We will carry into that tomorrow all the proud history of our
past, all the wisdom and compassion we have been taught, all the
love we have received and passed along. Our strength and courage
will be sufficient to face whatever comes, for the price of
failure is too great. We will keep faith with those who have gone
before us, and we will continue to reshape the world for those
who come after. Whatever the year ahead brings, we will gather
again in our thousands in Atlanta next July to keep the pledge we
have made to Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and each other to change
what it means to be blind.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Marc Maurer]
                       Presidential Report
                National Federation of the Blind
                          Dallas, Texas
                          July 7, 1998

     During the past twelve months the National Federation of the
Blind has experienced unprecedented growth, and our leadership in
matters dealing with blindness has expanded to an unparalleled
level. Even with the accelerated pace of activity within the
Federation, the essence of what we are remains the same. We
continue to be the blind speaking and acting for ourselves--the
blind teachers, the blind lawyers, the blind merchants, the blind
vendors, the blind students, the blind factory workers, the blind
sheltered shop employees, the blind musicians, the blind members
of religious communities, the blind government employees, the
parents of blind children, and others--those blind people who are
unemployed, those who have recently become blind, those who are
in rehabilitation facilities, and all others who believe in the
innate capacity and normality of the blind. We are the people of
the organized blind movement.

     The work of the National Federation of the Blind continues
to be recognized for outstanding leadership both within the field
of work with the blind and elsewhere. Several years ago Dr.
Kenneth Jernigan, President Emeritus of the National Federation
of the Blind, wrote an article entitled "The Pitfalls of
Political Correctness." This article has been reprinted many
times. This spring we received a request from the Harcourt Brace
College Publishing Company to include it in a college-level
textbook by Jane McGrath entitled Point/Counterpoint. The
thinking, the philosophy, and the leadership of Dr. Jernigan will
be included in college courses throughout the United States and
in a number of other countries.

     On Wednesday, April 22, 1998, the National Council of State
Agencies for the Blind awarded the first lifetime achievement
award ever given by that organization. Jamie Hilton, President of
the Council, said: "In recognition of more than four decades of
exceptional leadership, advocacy, and unwavering dedication to
promoting the capabilities and fortifying respect for the rights
of individuals who are blind worldwide; in celebration of the
life of one who embodies the attributes of courage, spirit, and
devotion. Know the man--know the legend." With those words the
National Council of State Agencies for the Blind presented its
award to Dr. Kenneth Jernigan.

     For many years Dr. Jernigan has served as our representative
in international programs dealing with blindness. Last summer,
shortly after the close of our convention, Dr. Jernigan traveled
to Sao Paolo, Brazil, to present the keynote address at the
convention of the International Conference on the Education of
the Visually Handicapped, the world body concerned with the
education of the blind. The address was delivered before an
audience of more than a thousand representatives from countries
throughout the world. It has already induced a substantial
increase in cooperation among organizations dealing with
blindness.
As Federation members know, Dr. Jernigan has served as President
of the World Blind Union, North America/Caribbean Region, for the
past dozen years. For health reasons he resigned last fall, and I
was elected President. In this capacity I have participated this
spring in meetings of the officers of the World Blind Union held
in Madrid, Spain. Our continued membership in this world
organization provides us information and opportunity for
interaction which we would not otherwise possess. We do what we
can to provide educational materials, and we are always anxious
to learn from our colleagues in other nations.

     Last summer, shortly after the close of our convention, I
was filmed for a program called "Cultural Affairs." This program
describes in brief the work of the National Federation of the
Blind. Most people begin with a fear of blindness. However, when
this fear is overcome, the abilities possessed by the blind are
revealed. Blindness cannot stop us, but the mistaken attitudes
about blindness can--if we let them. This "Cultural Affairs"
program shows me teaching a blind man from Cyprus how to cut wood
with a chain saw. He is a reporter for a newspaper there. He came
to the Federation to learn about computer technology. We
recognized that teaching him to use a chain saw would enhance his
skill in the use of the computer. It would show him that the
limitations which he had thought might prevent him from engaging
in a broad range of activity have been overstated. With
imagination and a proper understanding of blindness, these
limitations can be overcome.

     A year ago, as we gathered at our National Convention, we
had become aware that the Walt Disney Company was planning to
release a new movie featuring the clumsy, bumbling, almost blind
character Mr. Magoo. We adopted a resolution opposing the
production of the film and calling upon the Walt Disney Company
to scrap it. Disney responded to our resolution by telling the
members of the press that Magoo was not blind--only nearsighted--
and that the film was only a comedy, offered in good fun, so how
could anybody object? Of course there have always been jokes
about blindness, but most of them are not funny to the blind.
Blind people do not (as Magoo does) speak to the coat rack,
thinking it is a person, or pat the top of a fire plug, thinking
it is the head of a small child. The problem with the portrayal
is that the misunderstanding of blindness is accentuated by
Magoo, and blind people are hurt by the experience. Some blind
people have been spat upon; some have been kicked; and many have
been the butt of this so-called humor. This is the legacy for us
of Mr. Magoo, along with a substantial measure of
misunderstanding and lost opportunity.

      After our convention the magazine Entertainment Weekly in
its July 18th column called "Jim Mullen's Hot Sheet: What the
Country Is Talking About This Week" said that one of the top
stories was Mr. Magoo and the National Federation of the Blind.
We stayed among the top stories week after week in Entertainment
Weekly, on radio talk shows, in newspaper columns, and on
television. The coverage continued until the beginning of 1998.
Sometimes the National Federation of the Blind was portrayed as a
bunch of ridiculous malcontents, and sometimes we were
represented as a group trying to protect the blind against the
power of a giant, the Walt Disney Company. The ABC program
"20/20" of October 9, 1997, interviewed me and described the Mr.
Magoo controversy as a foolish argument instigated by the blind
for no valuable purpose. It's only a joke, they said. The blind,
they thought, would be an admirable target for the so-called
humor.

     The CBS program "Public Eye" of November 12, 1997, carried a
segment entitled "Laugh until It Hurts." Three Federation
leaders, Joanne Wilson, Barbara Pierce, and I, told the viewing
audience about the damage the Magoo image has done to the
prospects of blind children and blind adults. The commentator got
the point. He summed it up by saying that, if it's unfair to tell
jokes about Jews or members of other minority groups, it's just
as unfair to make fun of the blind.

     In the meantime a senior vice president from Walt Disney
came to the National Center for the Blind several times to
negotiate. When the Magoo film appeared on Christmas Day, 1997,
it contained a statement that the film was not intended to be an
accurate portrayal of blindness or blind people and that we who
are blind can lead productive lives. In addition to the statement
the Disney Company made in its film, senior officials have
indicated that they want to support the National Federation of
the Blind. They have told us that they are prepared to assist us
in a number of ways, including letting people know about our
programs.

     When the Magoo film appeared in the theaters, it lasted only
a few days. Our objection to its release helped the public to
give it the proper perspective, and it received the reception it
deserved.

     Last August we created the Technology Department of the
National Federation of the Blind. This part of the organization
considers existing technology and works to develop additional
applications for it. It also explores the development of new
technology and coordinates all of our efforts in this direction.

     One of our most innovative and exciting programs is the
NEWSLINE for the Blind(R) network, which reads newspapers to the
blind over touch-tone telephones. This service has expanded
substantially. Since last year additional NEWSLINE(R) local
service centers have been established in Hartford, Connecticut;
Los Angeles, California; Montgomery County, Maryland--just
outside the District of Columbia; New Brunswick, New Jersey; New
York City; Huntington, West Virginia; Madison, Wisconsin;
Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle, Washington.
There are currently forty-three local service centers in the
United States and Canada, and we are exploring establishment of
NEWSLINE(R) local service centers in a number of other countries.

     The six national newspapers and seventeen local papers now
being offered by NEWSLINE(R) will soon be joined by the Wall
Street Journal. A satellite dish has been installed at the
National Center for the Blind to receive daily feeds from that
paper.

     An outgrowth of the NEWSLINE(R) technology is America's
Jobline(R) system, which provides tens of thousands of employment
listings to job seekers by touch-tone telephone. We have
completed final development and testing of this system and
established the first local service center in Maryland. We
anticipate that a majority of the states will have America's
Jobline(R) within the next year. The Jobline(R) technology will
benefit not only blind people but also anybody else who wants to
search for jobs by telephone.

     Access to information over the World Wide Web continues to
be a major focus. Through our Technology Department we are
providing leadership in Web accessibility. Guidelines for
constructing accessible Web sites are now available on our own
Web site or in print from the Technology Department. These
guidelines offer substantive direction to Webpage designers to
make information on the Web fully accessible to the blind.

     Curtis Chong, Director of the Technology Department of the
National Federation of the Blind, has been designated as our
representative to participate in ongoing discussions with the
Microsoft Corporation about accessibility to its programs such as
Windows and other graphics-based applications. Last February Mr.
Chong attended a two-day meeting on accessibility held at the
Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft has
committed to assign an increased number of staff members to the
task of making its programming accessible to the blind.
Furthermore, it has also promised to work more closely with us,
and it is sending a representative to this convention.

     In conjunction with the National Library Service for the
Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), we are participating in
the development of standards for the digital talking book, the
replacement for books on tape now being offered by the Library.
This effort is being coordinated by the National Information
Standards Organization. A document describing the text-navigation
features that we hope will be incorporated in the most
sophisticated digital talking book machine is now available for
review and comment from our Technology Department or from NLS.

     Of course we continue to maintain the International Braille
and Technology Center for the Blind. This center contains at
least one of every device of which we are aware that is being
manufactured anywhere in the world to provide access to
information through voice, through Braille, or through
refreshable Braille. During the past twelve months we have
purchased or upgraded four electronic note takers, six
refreshable Braille displays, six optical character recognition
software packages, two screen readers for Microsoft Windows NT,
six screen readers for Windows 95, six Braille embossers, four
stand-alone reading machines, two digital talking book machines,
three voice-recognition programs, one tactile mouse, four
software synthesizers, five hard-wired speech synthesizers, two
Braille-translation programs, four screen-enlargement programs,
and one color identifier. We have also purchased for use with
these software packages ten additional Pentium-class computers.
In the International Braille and Technology Center we now have
ten Internet work stations, using a variety of screen-reading
software programs, Web-browsers, refreshable Braille displays,
and Braille printers.

     The Federation is helping train people in the use of
technology for the blind. There is a tremendous need for this
skill, and we are attempting to meet the need. Within the last
year we have taught more than a dozen classes in information
technology for the blind to rehabilitation professionals, parents
of blind children, teachers of the blind, and blind individuals.
And in the year to come we expect that the number of these
classes will increase. Nowhere else on earth are there, collected
in one place, the hardware, the programs, and the talent required
to offer the kinds of classes we are able to give.

     For the past few years we have maintained a substantial
portion of the extensive body of literature of the Federation on
the Internet. Our goal is to create the best possible research
library on blindness. During the past year we have provided more
than 365,000 pages of information to more than 98,000 people. The
number of people who have asked for information has more than
tripled in the last year. We have provided information to people
from eighty different countries, including Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, British West Indies,
Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic,
Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia,
Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius,
Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan,
Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian
Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa,
South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe.

     Last year we prepared a model Braille bill to be used in
states to require equal access to information for the blind. This
model legislation declares that technology purchased by the
states must be constructed to afford equivalent non-visual access
to information. Technology bills have already been adopted in
Texas, Minnesota, and Maryland. We will continue to work until
this principle has become law in every state. Manufacturers of
information technology are capable of producing very complex
systems to present information in Technicolor and Surround Sound
for the sighted. They must not exclude the blind, and we will see
that they do not.

     Last December the Governor's Office of the state of Maryland
sponsored a Maryland Technology Showcase to bring attention to
the most innovative technologies being invented in the state. The
National Federation of the Blind demonstrated America's
Jobline(R), the national NEWSLINE(R) network for the blind, and
other computer access technologies. Over eight thousand people
attended the Showcase. The kick-off ceremony of the Showcase was
the initial breakfast attended by the most prominent technology
developers. At that breakfast the Governor of the state of
Maryland praised the National Federation of the Blind for its
innovative information-access programs. Immediately following
this presentation I addressed the gathering and presented
Maryland's Governor with an engraved National Federation of the
Blind mug.

     The National Federation of the Blind is working closely with
the International Braille Research Center for the Blind in
cooperation with the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research to build a tactile image printer. This
three-year project will create a multi-level tactile graphics
printer suitable for topographic presentations and other similar
applications. One element of this undertaking is the creation of
a set of principles to be used in editing pictures and graphics
so that the essence of these images is retained and presented in
a way that can be understood. Dr. T.V. Cranmer, the Director of
Research for the National Federation of the Blind, has planned
this project and will be directing it.

     Dr. Cranmer was featured last March on the CBS program
"Sixty Minutes," as the best-known inventor of products for the
blind in the United States. CBS told the nation that he is the
Thomas Edison of the blindness field.

     On an increasing basis we receive calls from the press
wanting to know our position on issues relating to technology and
other matters dealing with blindness. In just the last few months
we have been quoted extensively in the New York Times, the
Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Wall Street Journal, and
a number of computer magazines.

     We have also been involved in a number of legal cases on
behalf of blind people during the last year. Dennis Groshel
operates a vending facility at a Department of Veterans Affairs
installation in St. Cloud, Minnesota. More than ten years ago the
Department of Veterans Affairs decided to take the facility away
from Dennis Groshel. This was a violation of the Randolph-
Sheppard Act, but the Department of Veterans Affairs was
unimpressed when we asked them to obey the law. There was no
choice except to take the matter to court. After a number of
proceedings we won the case. Then the Department of Veterans
Affairs decided to install vending machines next to the vending
facility operated by Dennis Groshel in direct competition with
him. If they could not throw him out, they planned to drive him
out. This, too, was a violation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, but
the Department of Veterans Affairs did it anyway. We went back to
court, and once again we won. Dennis Groshel could continue to
earn his livelihood in the vending program.

     Last fall we asked the Federal Court to review the case and
make a determination that the actions of the Department of
Veterans Affairs regarding Dennis Groshel had been without
foundation. This would entitle Dennis Groshel to an award of
attorney's fees. Of course the National Federation of the Blind
had been assisting throughout the case with technical support and
financial backing. We paid the lawyers. In November of 1997 we
received a check for the attorneys' fees in the amount of
$47,219.91.

     Of the federal agencies that resist the blind vendor
priority under the Randolph-Sheppard Act, none is more openly
hostile than the Department of Veterans Affairs. Last fall the
Department tried to have Congress adopt a provision of law
dealing with food service concessions which would give the
Department exclusive control over all vending operations in
veterans facilities and eliminate the priority of blind vendors
under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The bill including this
provision was scheduled for a vote in the House of
Representatives under suspension of the rules, which meant that
it could not be amended.

     We learned about the plan late Friday afternoon, October 3,
1997. The vote would occur Monday afternoon, October 6. When
Congressional offices opened on Monday morning, the odds against
changing the bill were overwhelming, but this has never stopped
the Federation. Calls came flooding into the Capitol, but
Congressional staff members informed us that the scheduled bill
could not be changed. When it passed later that day, the
provision dealing with food service had been deleted. The
organized blind had accomplished what many said could not be
done. This is the power of the National Federation of the Blind.

     We have supported amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, which funds the federal/state program that pays for
training and employment services for the blind and other
handicapped. Bills which have been adopted by the Senate and the
House of Representatives strengthen provisions regarding client
choice, declare that those who receive Social Security benefits
are eligible for rehabilitation, and increase access to
electronic information technology. We have worked closely with
the Rehabilitation Services Administration on the amendments to
the Rehabilitation Act.

     I reported to you last year that the Federation had assisted
three blind law school applicants, Ross Kaplan, Latonya Phipps,
and Shannon Dillon, in bringing a lawsuit in the federal court
against the Law School Admissions Council because this testing
service would not permit them to use their own readers or even
take Braille notes during the Law School Admission Test. This
test is one of the requirements for entrance into law school.
Sighted applicants may take all the notes they want, but the
blind were prohibited.

     After months of legal maneuvering and negotiation, the case
has been settled. Blind applicants for the test will select from
a pool of readers until they find one of acceptable quality. And,
of course, we may take all the notes we please. The Law School
Admissions Council thought the blind could conveniently be
ignored. But we in the National Federation of the Blind believe
that all people should obey the law, including the lawyers and
administrators of the Law School Admissions Council.

     Brad Carroll, living in Alabama, is the blind father of two
small children. In a family court proceeding last March, he
attempted to gain visitation rights. The court decreed that he
was permitted to visit his own children only if they were in the
presence and under the supervision of a non-disabled adult.
Implicit in the order is the misguided belief that blindness
prevents a father from supervising his own children and that it
is necessary for the safety of the children that the court force
a stranger into the family of a blind father. Such an order
deprives blind parents of the rights and obligations associated
with one of the most fundamental relationships there is.

     We in the National Federation of the Blind are not prepared
to surrender our rights, our love and affection for our children,
and our dignity as human beings because of a misunderstanding
about blindness. The president of our Alabama affiliate sought
counsel from our national office and urged Brad Carroll to seek a
reconsideration from the court. Blindness does not prevent a
person from being a good father, and we asked the court to revise
its order and remove the restriction.

     The ruling in the court was not long in coming. The revised
order declares that the blind father and his children need not be
supervised by an able-bodied adult. Instead the supervision must
be given by an able-bodied teenager. The order makes it perfectly
clear that the judge believes blindness is synonymous with
helplessness and inferiority. Even a teenager, says the court, is
better able to care for children than their own father if he is
blind. We have commenced an appeal. We came to this case late,
but we are now a part of it, and we intend to win!

     In the spring of 1997 Arthur Schreiber, President of the
National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico, received a call
from Sherrie Abraham, the mother of a blind boy named David who
was not being taught by the school system to read and write
Braille. She felt desperate because she had done all she could to
get a decent education for her son, but it was not happening.
Then the Federation offered assistance. Christine Hall, one of
the leaders of our New Mexico affiliate, began tutoring David in
Braille. An appeal was filed demanding that the Albuquerque
Public School System evaluate David to get a realistic picture of
the services he needed and that it act upon this evaluation. To
prepare for the case, we helped to secure an independent
assessment of David's educational abilities.

     The case has now come to a conclusion. The school system is
working closely with us to meet the needs of this blind student;
David is receiving classes in Braille; and the other
recommendations that came from the evaluation are slowly being
implemented. One more blind child is receiving an education. As
Sherrie Abraham told us, it would not have happened without the
support and sustained help of the National Federation of the
Blind.

     Rodney Botellho is a blind computer expert living in New
Mexico. Something over a year ago he applied for a job as a
database administrator with Software Research and Development, a
contract database manager for the Wells Fargo Bank. He supplied
documents showing his ability and answered all the questions they
asked. He was offered the job, and he accepted.

     All of this was done by telephone and mail. At the last
moment Software Research and Development and the Wells Fargo Bank
learned that Rodney Botellho is blind. Within twenty-four hours
they had rescinded their job offer and rejected his application
for employment. We helped him with an appeal. A settlement has
now been reached. The Wells Fargo Bank will change its policies
so that there is no more discrimination against the blind. Rodney
Botellho will also receive a cash payment. I am requested not to
disclose the amount, but I believe it would be fair to say that
Rodney Botellho could soon be the proud owner of a brand new car,
and he would own it because of the work of the National
Federation of the Blind.

     We have helped with a number of Social Security cases.
Russell Jeffreys is a blind vendor living in Ohio who had been
receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits until the
early 1990's, when he was told by the Social Security
Administration that he had been overpaid by $92,000. The
calculations of the Social Security Administration were
incorrect, and we helped with an appeal. Within a short time the
overpayment was waived, but Social Security continued to insist
that Russell Jeffreys was no longer eligible for benefits. It has
taken many years. The most recent proceeding in the case occurred
last August, and the letter from Social Security arrived in
February. It said that the first check for back benefits would be
$77,417.60. A second check for more than $8,000 has also been
sent, and monthly benefits are now being paid.

     We continue to publish the Kernel Books. Last fall we
released the thirteenth Kernel Book, entitled Wall-to-Wall
Thanksgiving. The fourteenth, entitled Gray Pancakes and Gold
Horses, is being released at this convention. These easy-to-read
volumes contain first-person accounts of the lives of the blind
told in a way to attract the interest and capture the
imagination. To understand blindness, it is necessary to learn
something about it, and these Kernel Books are the best broad-
based educational program on the topic that has ever been
devised. With well over three million of them now in circulation,
the message of the normality and ability of blind people is being
spread throughout the nation, and a growing number of interested
people are responding.

     We have also published a number of other books. A Resource
Guide to Training and Employment of the Blind and Visually
Impaired for Staff and Customers of One-Stop Career Centers
offers practical advice to staff members at the one-stop
vocational and career centers, which have been established to
provide assistance to members of the public in finding jobs.
Generally personnel at these career centers know nothing about
blindness, and they need assistance in approaching blind
applicants in the most effective way.

     We published Techniques Used by Blind Cane Travel
Instructors by Maria Morais, Paul Lorensen, Roland Allen, Edward
Bell, Arlene Hill, and Eric Woods, which gives detailed
instructions for blind cane travel instructors. We are also
distributing Dr. C. Edwin Vaughan's book Social and Cultural
Perspectives on Blindness, which contrasts socialization,
educational opportunities, and expectations for the blind in a
number of cultures. The National Federation of the Blind is
quoted extensively.

     We have produced a number of new video tapes. Two of these,
White Canes for Blind Kids and Avoiding an IEP Disaster, have
been prepared to assist parents and educators of blind children
to approach education for blind youth with an increased emphasis
on the skills essential to independence. Too often blind children
are prevented from gaining the broadest possible education, and
this leads to loss of opportunity in later life. These two videos
will help to change that thinking and offer new direction.

     During the past year we have done extensive remodeling at
the National Center for the Blind. A twenty-five-ton air
conditioning unit was installed on the roof of our building to
upgrade and expand our air conditioning system. Shortly before
this convention one of our tenants departed, releasing more than
eight thousand feet of floor space. We have begun extensive
remodeling of that space to put it into shape for our own use.

     Cable trays and conduit have been installed throughout the
building to permit the laying of cable for an upgraded computer
network. This network is now big enough that it has required 850
feet of cable tray and 150 conduit cable drops. One of the
principal elements of this system is fiber-optic cabling and
accessories, which permit information to be transmitted at 100
megabits per second.

     A new masonry store room, with approximately 850 feet of
floor space, has been constructed at the first floor level in an
unused area south of the Johnson Street elevator. The top of this
store room is an outside deck. Immediately above it is another
deck of the same size at the third-floor level. At the fourth
floor we have added the Skydeck, which is much bigger than any of
the others. It is 185 feet long, and for most of its length it is
32 feet wide, which adds over 5,000 feet of outdoor meeting space
to our Center.

     This deck was constructed by pouring 108 yards of concrete
weighing 432,000 pounds on steel decking supported by beams and
columns. The steel weighs eighty-eight tons. Although the
National Center for the Blind is unique among facilities for the
blind, the addition of the Skydeck will offer opportunities
unlike any we have ever known. And all of this fiber-optic cable,
these tons of concrete and steel, and everything associated with
them belong to us--to you and me--to the blind of the nation.

     Through our Diabetes Action Network we have been working to
convince drug manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration
to put insulin into bottles with tactile markings. This spring
agreement was reached; in the future insulin vials will carry
different raised markings to identify the kind of insulin they
contain. We expect the FDA to issue a final rule incorporating
this agreement within the next few months.

     The most widely distributed publication dealing with
blindness in the United States is the Voice of the Diabetic. We
are now producing 225,000 issues per quarter. The message of the
National Federation of the Blind is being read by medical
professionals and diabetics in record numbers.

     The Braille Monitor, now being circulated to more than
35,000 people per month, is the most widely distributed general-
interest publication in the field of work with the blind. And
there are many other publications: more than 8,000 Presidential
Releases; over 11,000 copies per quarter of Future Reflections,
the magazine for parents and educators of blind children; The
American Bar Association Journal recorded edition; more than
17,000 Job Opportunities for the Blind publications; and all of
the other newsletters, brochures, and magazines produced by
chapters, state affiliates, and divisions.

     To assist in addressing the crisis in Braille literacy, we
are, in conjunction with the International Braille Research
Center, in the final stages of producing a text entitled The
National Braille Competency Test Self-Preparation Manual. More
than 50 percent of the people who have taken the National Braille
Competency Test have not passed. We are offering this book to
encourage the study and understanding of Braille by the
professionals who must teach it and promote its use. In schools
and agencies for the blind there is a growing trend to require
staff members to know Braille. This should have a real impact in
bringing literacy to the blind, and we are doing what we can to
accelerate this trend.

     During the past year approximately twelve hundred people
came to the National Center for the Blind to discuss programs
dealing with blindness and to learn from the organized blind of
the United States. We had visitors from all fifty-two of our
state affiliates and from twenty-two countries beyond our
borders.

     The facts and statistics are important, but they come to
have added meaning when we realize how much they touch the lives
of individual blind people. A letter which came to the National
Center for the Blind last April says in part, "My name is Marilyn
Barr, and my daughter Jessica, who is totally blind, is going to
be attending the national Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in
Washington, D.C., on May 24th through the 30th. She won our
regional spelling bee and is now eligible to participate on the
national level. This is a great honor for her. I think that the
Braille Readers Are Leaders contest put on by the National
Federation of the Blind has had a hand in helping her to like the
Brailled word. I was hoping that someone could give me
information on what is good to see for a totally blind thirteen-
year-old in Washington. I want to make sure she gets everything
possible out of this wonderful trip that we will be embarking
on."

     This is what the letter from Marilyn Barr said to us about
her thirteen-year-old totally blind daughter, and how do we
respond? We feel exactly the way Jessica's mother does; we want
Jessica to have all the wonderful experiences of life. And we are
prepared to help her get them through a knowledge of Braille,
through programs that will expand her understanding and
independence, through association with other blind people who
will encourage her to think big, to believe in herself, and to
persist in the search for the tremendous future that can and
should be hers.

     As we gather at this convention and consider the events of
the past year, we come with a sense of optimism and hope. Dr.
Jacobus tenBroek founded our movement in 1940. Under his
leadership the Federation continued to grow for more than a
quarter of a century. Dr. Kenneth Jernigan worked with him and
was inspired by him. Dr. Jernigan became the leader of our
organization, assuming the presidency in 1968, and he has become
an inseparable part of the Federation. Dr. Jernigan taught and
inspired me and the members of my generation, and I have now
served as President of the Federation for twelve years.

     I know that one day we in the Federation will not have Dr.
Jernigan's counsel and advice on a daily basis. Indeed we
wondered if this would be the year. With immeasurable gratitude
we hope and believe that the extraordinary steps Dr. Jernigan has
taken are bringing him back to good health and strength. He is
not only a colleague, not only a leader, not only a teacher, but
our dear friend, and we love him.

     But we say to you, Dr. Jernigan, if the time comes that your
step is no longer felt in the convention hall, we will carry on.
We will continue to build. The Federation is too important to let
it be otherwise. We have learned strength from you, and we will
find the commitment and the dedication that must exist to bring
true independence to the blind. The journey that began in 1940
will be completed.

     There is nothing on earth that can prevent us from going the
rest of the way, for we will accept nothing else. The future will
be bright because we will make it bright. Our determination
demands it; our imagination affirms it; and our lives proclaim
it! This is my report for 1998.

                       Pooled Income Gifts

     In this plan money donated to the National Federation of the
Blind by a number of individuals is invested by the NFB. Each
donor and the NFB sign an agreement that income from the funds
will be paid to the donor quarterly or annually. Each donor
receives a tax deduction for the gift; the NFB receives a useful
donation; and the donor receives income of a specified amount for
the rest of his or her life. For more information about the NFB
pooled income fund, contact the National Federation of the Blind,
Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-
4998, phone (410) 659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653.

        National Federation of the Blind Awards for 1998
                                
     From the Editor: National Federation of the Blind awards are
not bestowed lightly. If an appropriate recipient does not emerge
from the pool of candidates for a particular award, it is simply
not presented. At this year's convention five presentations were
made. Here is the way it happened:

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Jernigan presents the Distinguished Service
Award to Michael Marucci]
                 The Distinguished Service Award

     At the meeting of the Board of Directors on Monday morning,
July 6, Dr. Jernigan came to the microphone to make a
presentation. Actually, he had intended to present two awards,
but Angela Ugarte, mother of student division President Ana
Ugarte, was packing for a family move from Ohio to Oregon and
could not attend the convention, so Dr. Jernigan presented only
one award in person. This is what Dr. Jernigan said:
                                
     It is with considerable pleasure that I am privileged to
present an award. In this organization, as you know, we are very
choosy and sparing in the awards we present. We have given a few
Distinguished Service Awards in our time, but not very many. That
makes those we do give of greater significance than they would be
if we gave them automatically.

     We are giving the Distinguished Service Award to Mr.
Marucci. I want him to come up to the stage, and I want to say a
few things. I'll ask Mrs. Dyer, my secretary, to read the text of
the award. I can read Braille, but somehow I lost the text, so
she will read it.

     Mr. Marucci is an important part of this organization. He
functions without a very high profile. His wife is on the staff
at the National Center for the Blind and does a good job. He
works on the staff too, but doesn't get paid for it. He is an
accomplished linguist--speaks several languages. He does it
professionally, without any payment and without for that matter a
lot of praise or credit. He translates books into Spanish for us.
He is about to put our book on diabetes into Spanish. He has
translated other books. It seems altogether fitting that he
receive this award. I'm going to ask Mrs. Dyer to read it. Mr.
Marucci, there are two things I want to present to you as part of
the award. I'm taking the pin that I have been wearing on my
lapel--the NFB pin--off, and I want to give it to you. This is a
pin that has a great deal of symbolism about it, not because I
have worn it, but because of the fact that it represents the
Federation. So I'm going to hand you the pin: then we'll read you
the plaque.
                                
     Mrs. Dyer then read the text of the award:
                                
                   Distinguished Service Award
               In recognition of the contributions
                you have made and your dedication
                          to our cause
              the National Federation of the Blind
                        presents to you,
                        Michael Marucci,
                this Distinguished Service Award.
              Without expectation of public acclaim
            or fanfare you have tirelessly worked to
                translate material for the blind
                   from English into Spanish,
     and you have done it on a continuing, sustained basis.
              We call you our colleague with pride.
                We call you our friend with love.
              The lives of the blind of this nation
                    and the world are better
                     because of your effort.
              The National Federation of the Blind
                           July, 1998
                                
     Dr. Jernigan: For whatever you may wish to say, here, Mr.
Marucci, is a mike.
                                
     Dr. Jernigan, Federationists, thank you very much. I am
stunned here. I do love Monday mornings, however. I want to thank
all the people: Mrs. Marie Marucci, who is my encouragement and
support in this whole thing. When I said, "Why am I doing this?"
She said, "There is a reason." If it makes one person's life
better, by all means I am happy to do this: I am very proud to do
this.

     Mr. Gildner, for putting up with me through all these
recording sessions, making sure the mike is in the proper place,
all those after-work hours, I thank you very much. All the people
in the Federation who have given me support.

     This is what you can do with a foreign language if you put
your mind to it. A lot of people say, "Why study a foreign
language?" This is what you can do. Anybody who would like help
in this endeavor, I would like to think that I am not doing this
alone. Anybody else, I know there are several of you who are
bilingual out in the audience. I am sure that everybody comes in
contact with a foreign language. I know there are a lot of
scholarship recipients who have studied a foreign language at one
time or another. If one of you helps, it doubles the effort. We
have plenty of literature to go around, not major books--even
small ones. Anything that helps out would be greatly appreciated.

     Again I thank you for the award. I walk in the steps of
fellow recipients of the award who have done much more than I
have. I accept this humbly. I thank you very much.

     Dr. Maurer: Congratulations to you. Increasingly we are
distributing our literature all over the world. One of the major
languages that people wish to read it in is Spanish. Your
translations of our works have been distributed to tens of
thousands of people in countries around the world. Thank you very
much.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. David Ticchi receives the Blind Educator of
the Year Award from Steve Benson.]
                Blind Educator of the Year Award

     From the Editor: Steve Benson, Chairman of the Blind
Educator of the Year Award Committee, made the following
presentation during the Board of Directors meeting on Monday,
July 6.
                                
     The recipient of the 1998 Blind Educator of the Year Award
is, of course, an extraordinary teacher. This person exhibits
creativity, resourcefulness, patience, flexibility, wisdom, and
clear thinking. The winner is demanding, raises student
expectations, and commands the respect of both students and
colleagues. This year's winner has gained considerable stature
and respect as an elected and appointed leader on boards and
commissions in the community as well as in his church.

     More than all of that, this individual has demonstrated
leadership in the National Federation of the Blind as a chapter
President; as a state officer; and as one who has served on
committees, often as chairman, since the mid-seventies.

     The winner of this year's award has appeared at legislative
hearings on behalf of the Federation. He has spoken before civic,
church, and community groups; and he has represented us on radio
talk shows. In each case he has delivered the message of the
Federation effectively and persuasively.

     The 1998 winner has done those things or caused those things
to be done that have improved the quality of life for blind
people. He has stretched blind people beyond what society has
deemed appropriate for us. In other words, this year's recipient
has understood and has emulated the example and the words of Dr.
tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and President Maurer, all exemplary
teachers.

     The Blind Educator of the Year Award committee--Homer Page,
Judy Sanders, Adelmo Vigil, and Ramona Walhof--have selected as
this year's winner David Ticchi.[applause] While David is making
his way to the platform, I will tell you that he is a cum laude
graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, and he earned his
master's and doctoral degrees at Harvard University.

     David is currently supervisor of the alternative education
program for ninth and tenth grades at Newton North High School in
Newton, Massachusetts. This is a program designed for potential
school dropouts. David is also a consultant for the Technical
Vocational Department in his school. I might add that David had
the honor of carrying the Olympic torch prior to the 1996 Olympic
games.

     David Ticchi is a Federationist. He does all that he does
within the context of Federation philosophy.

     David, congratulations. Here are a check for $500 and a
plaque which reads:

                Blind Educator of the Year Award
                National Federation of the Blind
                          presented to
                          David Ticchi
                  in recognition of outstanding
                     accomplishments in the
                       teaching profession
                     You enhance the present
                   You inspire your colleagues
                      You build the future
                          July 6, 1998

     Here is what David Ticchi said:

     Thank you very much. This is something I will cherish. When
Steve Benson was reading the introduction this morning, I wasn't
sure if that sounded like me. I wasn't sure who would win the
award because to me this is one of the most prestigious awards
that a blind person could earn. Our organization was started by
an educator, Dr. tenBroek, followed by Dr. Jernigan, and Dr.
Maurer. If you look up the derivation of the word "education,"
you will find it is based on a Latin root, "ducere," which is to
lead. In order for one to lead and be an educator, you have to
have a philosophy, a body of knowledge and information, a desire,
a motivation, and ability to convey it to others in order for
them to benefit from what they learn. Our organization certainly
is illustrative of that kind of education and that kind of
leadership. To be honored in this way is something which means a
great deal to me.

     I will also say, too, for blind people who have worked in
public schools in particular, that I'm very thankful for this
opportunity because historically, until the 1960's, there were
actual visual acuity requirements for blind people who worked in
public schools. Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, and others changed
those laws, and made it possible for me and other blind people to
teach in public schools. They are now doing that at all grade
levels. It is our responsibility to do that and to continue that
and to educate others. Frankly we are all educators. Because if
we truly think of one of our sayings, "changing what it means to
be blind," in reality that's education. That's changing people's
attitudes and providing them with information to show them that
we can do what we have to do, that we are truly a cross section
of society. Thank you very, very much. This is something, as I
say, I will cherish.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Sharon Maneki presents Dr. James Bickford with
the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award.]
       The Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award
                                
     During the Thursday evening banquet, Sharon Maneki was
called to the dais to make the following presentation:

     Good evening, Dr. Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, fellow
Federationists. In 1987 we established a new tradition in the
National Federation of the Blind; we created a new opportunity to
make sure that our blind children had a good education. We
established the Distinguished Educator of Blind Children Award.
As the recipient begins to make his way to the stage, let me
share a little of his background. He is an individual who has
taught in schools for the blind throughout the nation for the
past twenty-five years. He has a master's degree from Florida
State University in vision. He has a Ph.D. in administration from
Portland State University in Oregon. But this is not the whole
story; the individual that we are recognizing tonight does the
real thing about education of blind children. As the Director of
education at the Washington State School for the Blind he makes
sure that his students have the opportunity for real academics.
He promotes science and foreign languages, but he does not
neglect the basic skills of blindness and literacy. In Washington
State vision teachers are required to know Braille. Thanks to the
leadership of Dr. James Bickford, Washington State is the first
state to require instructional assistants who work with blind
children to know Braille.

     His friends refer to him as Blue, and we in the National
Federation of the Blind are certainly his friends. Blue, I have
first of all for you a check for $500. Let me present the plaque
to you, and then I will read it.

              The National Federation of the Blind
                             honors
                       Dr. James Bickford
            Distinguished Educator of Blind Children
                 for your leadership in building
                     educational excellence
                     for the students at the
              Washington State School for the Blind
                     for creating a standard
                      to measure competency
                       in literary Braille
                 and for your successful efforts
                in insuring that vision teachers
                  and instructional assistants
                in Washington State are required
                    to demonstrate competency
                 in Braille reading and writing.
                   You champion our movement,
                    you strengthen our hopes,
                      you share our dreams.
                           July, 1998
                                
     Congratulations.[Applause]

     Dr. Bickford then responded:
     President Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, Ms. Maneki, and members of
the National Federation of the Blind, it is indeed a pleasure to
be here tonight. I am proud to be in the state of Washington,
where the NFB and the Washington State School for the Blind have
worked cooperatively to better the educational programs for all
blind children in the state. Thus it is on behalf of the
students, parents, paraprofessionals, and teachers who have
worked so hard to make everything work that with humility, honor,
and a great deal of pride I accept this award. Thank you very
much.[Applause]

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Rudy Savage receives the Newel Perry Award.]
                      The Newel Perry Award

     From the Editor: During the banquet on July 9 Dr. Jernigan
came to the microphone to present the Newel Perry Award for 1998.
This is what he said:

     The Newel Perry Award (one of the highest honors we can
bestow) was first given in 1955, being presented to Governor Ed
Johnson of Colorado. The next year the recipient was Senator
Jennings Randolph of West Virginia. I received the award in 1960,
and subsequently it was given to members of Congress,
administrators, and other community leaders who were deemed to
have made significant contributions to the improvement of the
quality of life for blind people. In 1965 we gave the award to
Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.

     It should be noted that this award is not routinely given.
In fact, quite the contrary. In 1982 the recipient was
Congressman Barry Goldwater, Jr., of California. It was 1989
before the next presentation was made. That year's recipient was
Congressman Gerry Sikorski of Minnesota. In 1991 we gave the
Newel Perry Award to then Commissioner of Rehabilitation Nell
Carney. No one has received the Newel Perry Award since that
time.

     This gives special significance to tonight's presentation.
Tonight's recipient (although he has deliberately maintained a
low profile in the blindness field) is particularly deserving.
Last year, for instance, without even being asked to do so, he
came to the National Office of the organization and gave $5,000
to help with our work. This was not his first financial
contribution.

     But it is not for this that we honor him. Rather it is for
his daily effort to make life better for blind people. As I have
said, he deliberately maintains a low profile, and some of you
may not even know who he is. But if you don't, it is time you got
acquainted. Tonight's recipient of the Newel Perry Award is Rudy
Savage, who is head of the nonprofit company Talking Book
Publishers, Inc., of Denver, Colorado.

     Mr. Savage was born in Denver and received his B.A. degree
in social science from the University of Denver. Acting on the
hunch that many readers of all ages and types would enjoy
recorded books, he presented the idea of books on flexible disks
to the American Booksellers convention in 1966. At that time he
met Robert Bray, who was head of the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress
and who expressed interest in the concept for the NLS program.

     Mr. Savage researched and pursued the development of high-
quality flexible disk recordings with the Eva Tone Corporation.
Not only could five flexible disks be produced and mailed for the
cost of one hard disk, but the timeliness of recorded magazines
could be enhanced if they were mailed directly to subscribers
instead of being sent to the regional libraries and then
recirculated to blind readers. The flexible disk program, which
has been a standard feature of library service for the blind for
many years, was pioneered and developed by Rudy Savage.

     In the early 1970's he continued to pursue his work with the
blind by pioneering a contract with US News and World Report to
produce a recorded edition of their magazine to be made available
to the blind through NLS. At that time he also established the
nonprofit company Talking Book Publishers, Inc. He then brought
together a group of readers whose names are now household words
among the blind.

     Talking Book Publishers, Inc., now records between 300 and
400 books a year, as well as many of the magazines and
periodicals available on cassette and flexible disk. Mr. Savage
takes great pride in the quality of the recording standards and
research that Talking Book Publishers, Inc., maintains.

     Rudy Savage has a variety of business interests outside of
the blindness field. He has created several successful companies
that provide business information to thousands of executives, and
he serves as a consultant and facilitator for a business
diagnostics process.

     Of particular interest to us, Mr. Savage is a true friend of
and an active participant in the organized blind movement. He
encourages those who wish to make financial contributions to
programs for the blind to work directly with the NFB, and he puts
his own money where his mouth is.

     During the past few years I have come to know Rudy Savage
personally and well. He rings true and is genuinely committed to
advancing the interests of the National Federation of the Blind.

     Therefore, it is with real pleasure that I present the 1998
Newel Perry Award to the head of Talking Book Publishers, Inc.,
Rudy Savage. The brass plaque mounted on walnut reads:

                        Newel Perry Award
                National Federation of the Blind
                                
             In recognition of courageous leadership
                    and outstanding service,
              the National Federation of the Blind
               bestows the Newel Perry Award upon
                          Rudy Savage:
             our colleague; our friend; our brother
                       on the barricades.
                   You champion our progress;
                    you strengthen our hopes;
                      you share our dreams.
                          July 9, 1998.

     Mr. Savage, I give you this plaque and a copy of my remarks.
Welcome to this convention, and congratulations to you on the
receipt of the Newel Perry Award.

     Doctors Jernigan and Maurer and the entire Federation, I am
really just overwhelmed by this. I didn't expect anything like
this. When Dr. Jernigan suggested that I attend this year's
convention as I have done from time to time, I thought that maybe
I would receive a piece of paper or something like that. But to
receive something as distinguished as this award is just
overwhelming. I don't have anything else I could possibly say
right now. Thank you very much.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Mary Ellen Jernigan addresses the banquet
audience after receiving the Jacobus tenBroek Award while Ramona
Walhof and Allen Harris look on.]
                   The Jacobus tenBroek Award
                                
     During the banquet on Thursday evening, July 9, Ramona
Walhof came to the microphone to present the Jacobus tenBroek
Award. This is what she said:
                                
     In 1974 the convention decided to establish an award in
memory of our beloved founder Dr. Jacobus tenBroek. This award is
to be given to one of the leaders of the organization as often as
merit indicates. Since 1974 the tenBroek Award has been presented
fourteen times to leaders from eleven different states. Tonight
the committee has selected an individual who joined the
Federation at a young age, during the 1960's, and has matured and
developed into one of our very best. Anyone who has attended a
National Convention during the last twenty or twenty-five years
has observed this person on the run handling large and small
matters with poise, competence, and efficiency.

     I first met Mary Ellen Jernigan [prolonged applause] when we
were both teachers at the orientation center in Iowa. Dr.
Jernigan picked her as a very promising new graduate of Drake
University in Des Moines. Some of her travel students from that
time are here tonight. When she and I organized together in
Kansas and Oregon, we both underrated the contributions we could
make to the National Federation of the Blind, but blind people
are not the only ones who have benefited and grown and blossomed
under the direction of Dr. Jernigan and in the activities of the
National Federation of the Blind.

     Early in the 1970's the then Mrs. Anderson became Deputy
Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind. In 1978, when it
was time to move Federation headquarters to Baltimore and begin
to build a new National Center for the Blind, Mrs. Anderson was
eager and able to take on a large share of that work. With her
usual high energy, thoroughness, and intelligence she began to
learn and to manage the mailings of the organization. For nearly
twenty years Mrs. Jernigan has been one of the primary builders
and the administrator of one of our principal means of public
education and fund-raising. I remember when she led a small group
of Federation staff members to go and learn enough that we could
purchase and install our very first computer at the National
Office. Since that time she has kept ahead in the increasing
dependence on use of computers.

     Her contribution has been immeasurable in making our
headquarters operation the comprehensive and effective facility
it is today. I cannot fill in all the details of a career of more
than thirty years, but we have all benefited from the
contributions she has made to the Federation. She has worked
many, many hours beyond the call of duty. She has been far more
than a valuable staff member. She has become truly a leader in
her own right.

     In 1986 Dr. and Mrs. Jernigan were married, and we all
shared their happiness. Mrs. Jernigan has continued to assist
both Dr. Jernigan and Dr. Maurer in the management of the
National Federation of the Blind as the organization has grown
and become the most important force in work with the blind in the
world today.

     This year we have faced a new and frightening problem. Dr.
Jernigan developed lung cancer. To fight such a battle requires
all the strength and determination anyone can possess.

     I cannot, and I hope I need not, describe the difficult
weeks and months through which the Jernigans have struggled
together this winter. We have all prayed for strength and success
for them in this most important of all efforts. But the Jernigans
have had to shoulder and carry the primary weight. Dr. Jernigan
has depended heavily on Mrs. Jernigan through the treatment, and
she has never wavered or stumbled in her support, doing research
on the treatment, giving injections, helping to understand and
remember the details of the doctors' pronouncements, going with
him wherever the treatment took them, counting pills, finding and
preparing special diets--these are only some of the ways that
Mrs. Jernigan has participated in the struggle against the
cancer.

     Most important of all has been her spirit, always gentle and
caring. She has not complained or flinched at whatever has been
needed. Most of the time you and I were not able to be there and
could not know or help with the daily battle and pain. We
depended on the Jernigans together to give it their best while we
gave only love and prayers from a distance. But it has meant a
lot to all of us as well as to Dr. Jernigan himself to know the
kind of support Dr. Jernigan has had from his wife. This battle
matters to everyone of us in this room and elsewhere tonight, and
we are proud of the Jernigans for the progress they have made so
far. Tonight is the time to honor Mrs. Jernigan for all she has
done for Dr. Jernigan and for all of us, both this year and
throughout the many years she has been a leader in the National
Federation of the Blind.

     Throughout her career she has made invaluable contributions,
and therefore Mrs. Jernigan we all honor you and appreciate you
tonight. We love you and honor you for what you have done and
what you are. We have a plaque here. Let me give it to you, and
then I will read it. The plaque says:

                     Jacobus tenBroek Award
                National Federation of the Blind
                          presented to
                       Mary Ellen Jernigan
         for your dedication, sacrifice, and commitment
              on behalf of the blind of the nation.
           Your contribution is not measured in steps,
          but in miles, not by individual experiences,
   but by your impact on the lives of the blind of the nation.
           Whenever we have asked, you have answered.
             We call you our colleague with respect;
                we call you our friend with love.
                          July 9, 1998

     Now I'm going to give Mrs. Jernigan the microphone to hear
what she has to say.
                                
     President Maurer, Dr. Jernigan, Mrs. Walhof, and friends. I
have grown up in this organization; and I, like so many of you,
have gained far more from this organization than we've ever
given. I want to say a word about this year. I want to thank all
of you for your love, for your prayers, for your support. I want
to say a special word about President Maurer. President Maurer
has been there early and late and every day. President Maurer has
carried on all of his work, all of Dr. Jernigan's work, most of
my work, and, while he has been doing that, he's been by the
bedside. He's never too busy to do any tiny thing that he even
thinks Dr. Jernigan would have wanted done. I want to say to him
thank you, and I want to say to all of you: we picked right; we
have one of the most wonderful presidents this organization could
ever hope to have.

     I also want to say thank you to the staff at the National
Center for the Blind because each of them has also done during
this year a lot of Dr. Jernigan's work and a lot of my work.

     It's not easy to keep a secret from me in this organization,
and I must say that I had absolutely no inkling of this. I've
often said that there is really only one speechmaker in our
family, and it's not me, so I will close with this. Thank you
very much.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Dr. Fredric Schroeder]
                 Bureaucracy and the Individual:
     The Plan for Rehabilitation in the Twenty-first Century
                 by Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.

     From the Editor: On Wednesday morning, July 8, Dr. Fredric
Schroeder, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services
Administration of the U.S. Department of Education, delivered his
annual address to the National Federation of the Blind. This is
what he said:

     Thank you, President Maurer. I'd like to begin by adding my
congratulations on your re-election as President of the National
Federation of the Blind. I was thinking about what this means as
the elections were taking place this morning. Two months ago, as
you all know, President Maurer was presented an honorary degree
by Menlo College in California. I thought: here is a man who has
been recognized for his commitment and his ability and his
leadership externally by the academic community and now
reaffirmed this morning by blind people throughout the nation. I
would say that the National Federation of the Blind is very, very
fortunate to have a president like Marc Maurer.

     I'd like to begin by recognizing that a number of my
colleagues from the Rehabilitation Services Administration are
here with me today. From our Dallas office Mr. Loran Steever, our
regional commissioner, is here. Also from our Dallas office is
Martha Garber. From my office in Washington is Susan Benbow, and
also the Director of the Division for the Blind, Joe Cordova, is
with me this morning.

     As we discuss rehabilitation programs in the United States,
I think it is important to recognize that the model for
rehabilitation--what has become an enduring and powerful model
for rehabilitation--was brought to us by Dr. Jernigan. He did
much more than articulate a philosophy. Dr. Jernigan took that
philosophy and put it into practice and built the most effective
program for the blind that has ever existed in this country. It
would behoove all of us as rehabilitation professionals to learn
from the work that he has done.

     For blind people and others to attain social and economic
integration, we must find ways to aid the rehabilitation system
to work better. But what is meant by working better? Better than
what? And are better services good services?

     To know whether rehabilitation services are good services
and to know whether we are making progress, we must first share a
common understanding, a common belief about the purpose of the
rehabilitation program. In my view the system exists to assist
blind people and others with disabilities to achieve high-quality
employment according to their individual interests and abilities-
-good-quality employment that can help lift them out of poverty
but, beyond that, afford them the opportunity to live normal
lives as integrated members of society. But what do these words
mean? How are words such as "high-quality employment" any more
precise than words like "better services"? What is high-quality
employment?

     Agreeing on the meaning of "better services" and "high-
quality employment" speaks to expectations--the expectations of
the client for the system and the expectations of the system for
the client and what it believes he or she might be able to
achieve. It speaks to the question of whether we genuinely
believe in the inherent normalcy of blind people or whether we as
a society continue to assume that blind people are forever doomed
to lives of nominal participation.

     Today few would argue that blind people cannot be employed,
but the real question is whether we as a society and as a service
delivery system and, for that matter, we as blind people
ourselves truly believe that blind people can achieve equal
status in society. We know that blind people can work, but do we
believe that blind people truly have the same full range of
talents and abilities as others and, given training and
opportunity, can work competitively alongside the sighted? To
expand employment opportunities for blind people, we must
recognize that our real struggle, our first and most pressing
priority, is to reshape society's beliefs and attitudes about
blindness.

     As a rehabilitation system we know how to accommodate an
individual's disability. We know about the training and the
assistive technology that can enable the individual to work. But
to assist blind people in attaining true integration, we must
seek opportunities for blind people and others to pursue their
individual interests and aspirations. With this principle in mind
let me discuss with you the current status of the reauthorization
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act) and how
certain proposed changes will better enable state rehabilitation
agencies to support blind people and others in pursuing high-
quality employment.

     In the House of Representatives amendments to reauthorize
the Act are contained in the Employment, Training, and Literacy
Enhancement Act of 1997 (H.R. 1385), which was passed by the
House in May, 1997. The Senate's bill to extend authorization of
the Act is the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 (S. 1579).
This bill was adopted on May 5, 1998, as an amendment to the
Workforce Investment Partnership Act (WIPA, S. 1186). Congress is
now working through a conference committee to resolve differences
between the two bills.

     The Senate bill contains many more changes and new
provisions than the House proposal. However, when taken together,
the bills would streamline administrative procedures; expand
consumer choice; increase opportunities for high-quality
employment; and link the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program
to a state's workforce development system.

     For example, to increase access to the system, the Senate
bill takes an important step to simplify eligibility
determinations by establishing presumptive eligibility for people
who receive Social Security Supplemental Income (SSI) or Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and who are seeking
employment. While the provision does not establish an entitlement
to VR services for SSI recipients and SSDI beneficiaries, it
recognizes that they have already been determined by an agency of
the federal government--the Social Security Administration--to
have a disability which impedes their ability to work and
accordingly receive cash and medical benefits.

     Concerning informed choice, the Senate and House proposals
expand the choice provisions in the Act in several ways. State VR
agencies, through an open process, will be required to develop
and implement policies and procedures to afford opportunities for
applicants for VR services and eligible individuals to exercise
informed choices throughout the rehabilitation process. The
policies and procedures must include the provision of information
and support services to assist applicants and eligible
individuals in making informed choices.

     Current law requires that VR services be provided in an
integrated setting; however, the Senate and House bills clarify
that the requirement is for the most integrated setting that is
appropriate to the service being provided and consistent with the
informed choice of the individual. If a particular program or
service is better suited to a special setting, such as
orientation and adjustment training, it may continue to be
provided in a nonintegrated setting. Both bills also incorporate
current regulatory language on informed choice in the selection
of the employment goal, services, service providers, and
procurement methods.

     Both bills rename the Individualized Written Rehabilitation
Program (IWRP) to focus on employment and expand the client's
role in developing it. Clients (or their representatives) will
have the new option of developing their own plans for approval by
state VR agencies, or they may jointly develop their plans with
rehabilitation counselors in the traditional fashion.

     To encourage new opportunities for high-quality employment,
both the House and Senate bills include new provisions that
emphasize self-employment and small business operation. The
Senate bill adds to the scope of VR services, technical
assistance, and other consultation services for eligible
individuals who are pursuing self-employment or small business
operation. Both bills introduce new authorities to fund special
service projects to assist individuals in pursuing self-
employment, and the Senate bill includes authority for special
projects in the area of telecommuting.

     While the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) does
not administer Title V of the Act, I would like to give you an
update on proposed changes to section 508. The Senate version of
section 508 would strengthen current law by requiring every
federal department or agency to procure, maintain, and use
electronic and information technology that is accessible to
people with disabilities, unless not practicable. An important
change in the Senate proposal is a requirement that, within
eighteen months after the date of enactment, the Access Board
must issue standards that set forth the technical and functional
performance criteria necessary to implement the requirements of
section 508. Another important proposed change is a provision
which would allow any individual with a disability to file a
complaint alleging that a procurement action is inconsistent with
the established standards.

     Turning to another matter, you may be aware that on March
13, 1998, President Clinton issued an Executive Order on the
Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The Executive Order
articulates the belief that people with disabilities in the
United States should be employed to the same extent as the
general population. It calls for the creation of a national Task
Force made up of the Secretaries of most domestic policy Federal
departments, including the Departments of Labor, Education,
Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Justice. The Task Force
is chaired by Labor Secretary Alexis Herman with Tony Coelho, the
Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People
with Disabilities serving as Vice Chair. The Task Force will
examine Federal disability policy to determine what changes can
be made in a coordinated, interagency effort to remove barriers
to employment facing people with disabilities.

     As the rehabilitation system seeks ways of increasing
employment opportunities, we must begin by recognizing the
importance of education in acquiring high-quality jobs. We know
that there is a strong correlation between education and
earnings. The more education an individual has, the more money he
or she is likely to make. Conversely, people with little
education on average earn less than more highly educated workers,
and are more apt to live in poverty.

     RSA is in the fourth year of a longitudinal study of the VR
Services program. Preliminary findings indicate that
competitively employed individuals with disabilities with less
than a high school diploma or GED equivalency earn an average of
$6.30 per hour. Those with more than a high school education
average slightly over $9 per hour, or over 40% greater earnings,
due to higher academic achievement. Unfortunately, of all people
competitively employed in the longitudinal study, only 18 percent
had earned any kind of degree beyond a high school diploma or GED
equivalency. Less than 3 percent held an advanced degree.

     Achievement levels in reading and mathematics also correlate
strongly with earnings. Competitively employed workers with
disabilities who read at less than the fourth-grade level barely
earned the federal minimum wage, while those who read above the
twelfth-grade level averaged $7.52 per hour, over 36 percent more
than the poor readers.

     The disparity in earnings by math achievement levels is even
more dramatic. People with math achievement levels at less than
fourth grade earn an average of $5.56 an hour. Those with
achievement levels above the twelfth grade earn an average hourly
wage of $8.54, over 50 percent more.

     An important measure of high-quality employment is access to
health insurance. Only 36 percent of all disabled workers in the
VR longitudinal study received medical benefits through their
employers. Not surprisingly, better paying jobs were also more
likely to include health benefits.

     The staggering unemployment rate among blind people and
others with disabilities can be significantly reduced through
more jobs, but high-quality jobs are the key to true economic
independence. High-quality jobs mean higher-paying jobs that
include critical benefits such as health insurance and retirement
plans. High-quality jobs mean jobs that are not dead end but have
opportunities for career advancement. And, most important, high-
quality jobs mean jobs which the individual finds challenging and
rewarding. In many instances access to high-quality jobs will
require better-qualified candidates, and therein lies the
challenge.

     It is unconscionable to train people for entry-level, low-
paying jobs with few or no benefits when additional training or
education would qualify them for better jobs with better benefits
and economic independence. We serve no one well when we assist an
individual in becoming underemployed.

     We know that higher academic achievement leads to higher
earnings, and higher earnings lead to health insurance and other
important benefits. Blind people must be encouraged to seek out
high-quality employment, not simply stereotypic jobs or the most
readily available jobs. To prepare blind people for high-quality
jobs, blind people must first be literate. We must be able to
read and write Braille if we are to pursue advanced academic or
technical training. Consequently, the rehabilitation system must
encourage and support blind people in pursuing training in the
skills of blindness as well as the academic or technical
credentials necessary to compete successfully for good jobs. And
the system must also encourage and assist those who are
underemployed to acquire the additional skills or education they
need to achieve true social and economic integration. Service
providers and blind people must share a common belief in the
fundamental equality of blind people. We must forge partnerships
between blind people and the rehabilitation system growing out of
the shared belief in the capacity of blind people to work
competitively and to live normal productive lives.

     In short, we must continue to struggle to break free from
the bonds of minimal expectations. We must continue to struggle
to create opportunities for blind people to achieve academically
and to pursue their individual interests and abilities. We must
continue to struggle for high-quality employment, but not simply
to lift ourselves out of poverty. We must continue to struggle
for high-quality employment as a symbol of true social and
economic integration. We must continue to struggle for high-
quality employment as the tangible expression of our fundamental
normalcy. And we must continue to struggle for high-quality
employment as evidence that we have the capacity and right to
assume the challenges and opportunities of first-class status.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Kenneth Jernigan]
             The Continuing Saga of the Kernel Books
                       by Kenneth Jernigan
                                
     During the 1990's the Kernel Books have been at the very
heart of our program of public education, and 1998 is no
exception. This year, as in the past, we are publishing two new
volumes. The first will be available at this convention, and the
second will be released this fall.

     Today, as on previous occasions, I want to give you the
introductions to the two books, as well as the first article in
each. As you know, I edit these books, and I also usually write
the first article. So here is my Editor's Introduction to the
book that will be available to you at this convention:

                      Editor's Introduction

     This is the fourteenth volume in the Kernel Book series. Its
title, Gray Pancakes and Gold Horses, is taken from the first two
stories and symbolizes the theme of the book.

     How do blind children learn the details of the hundreds of
small daily acts that sighted children pick up without ever even
knowing they have done it? A blind boy sits in a farm house on a
summer night and wonders which way to shake his head to mean yes
and no. He guesses and loses, and his mother's feelings are hurt.
I know, for I was that boy.

     A blind father cooks for his two sighted children, and the
pancakes are gray, causing the children to reject them. Small
incidents, things of no great moment. Yet the stuff of daily
living, the patterns and realities of life.

     This Kernel Book is much like those that have gone before
it. It contains first-person real-life stories, told by those who
have lived them. It talks about going to school, communicating
with others, and living from day to day. I know the people who
appear in its pages. They are friends of mine. Some have been my
students.

     The one thing all of us who appear in this book have in
common is our shared participation in the work of the National
Federation of the Blind, the organization which has been the
strongest single factor in making life better for the blind of
this country during the twentieth century. With more than 50,000
members the National Federation of the Blind is primarily
composed of blind people, who are trying to make life better for
themselves and other blind people, while at the same time making
the world a better place in which to live for everybody.

     We who are blind have a major job on our hands in trying to
get members of the general public to see us for what we are--not
especially blessed or especially cursed but just ordinary people,
exactly like you. The only difference is that we don't have
eyesight, which is not as big a factor in our daily lives as most
people think it is.

     So how do we get the job done? How do we get people to see
us for what we are and not just what they have always thought we
are? One of the most important ways is through the Kernel Books.
This is why we write and publish them. They must be entertaining
enough that people will read them, but they must do more than
that. They must carry the message of what blindness truly is, and
what it isn't.

     We hope you will enjoy this book and that it will give you
new insights about blindness. Since more than 50,000 people
become blind in this country each year, the information you get
from these pages may be useful to you in a personal way at some
future time--and if not for you, then for a family member or
friend.

     As you read, remember that we who are blind have more hope
today than ever before in history. We believe that, when we can,
we should do for ourselves before calling on others for
assistance, but we also recognize the value of the help which a
growing number of sighted friends and associates give us. We want
to live the full lives of free, participating citizens, and we
know that we can.

     All of this you will see reflected in the pages of this
book. We hope you will find it of interest and that it will cause
you to rethink some of your notions about blindness.

                                                 Kenneth Jernigan
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                             1998

     There you have the introduction to Kernel Book fourteen.
Now, here is my opening article. It is entitled "The Barrier of
the Visible Difference."

              The Barrier of the Visible Difference

     Catchy titles and clever phrases are the stuff of big
business. As every advertising agency knows, fortunes are made or
lost by the way the public reacts to a jingle or a slogan.

     Once I heard a liquor distributor say that his company had a
thoroughly mediocre wine that was going nowhere, and then
somebody got the bright idea of giving it a sparkly name (I think
it was Wild Irish Rose). After that he said they couldn't make
enough to meet the demand, operating three shifts a day.

     Whether that story is true or false, the underlying message
is right on target. It is not just what a thing is but how it
sounds and feels that sets the tone and gives the value.

     When most of us come across the term "visible difference,"
we think of the trademark of the beauty expert and cosmetics
manufacturer Elizabeth Arden. "Visible Difference" is the brand
name of moisturizers, lotions, and other products. But for the
blind the term means something else. It represents a barrier and
a hurdle to be surmounted. Let me illustrate.

     When I was a boy of about four, my mother and I were sitting
in the front bedroom of our home. Even though more than sixty-
five years have passed, I still remember every detail. It was a
summer evening just after dark. My father and brother were
sitting on the porch, and the night sounds (the frogs and
crickets) were coming into full chorus. It was oppressively hot
with a lot of dust in the air.

     In those days we didn't have electricity, so my mother had
just lit the oil lamp. The smell of the burning kerosene began to
blend with the regular odors of food and plant life that
permeated the four-room house. Of course, all of the doors and
windows were open.
     When my mother finished lighting the lamp and adjusting the
wick, she sat down and put her arm around me. Then she kissed me
on the left side of my face. Since she was sitting on my left,
this was a natural (almost an automatic) gesture. Then she said:

     "Do you like for mother to kiss you?" Now this put me into a
real dilemma--for I very much liked for mother to kiss me, but I
felt shy and embarrassed to say it.

     Hunting a way out, I thought perhaps I could say yes by
shaking my head. From conversations I had heard, I knew that
other people shook their heads to mean yes or no, but I didn't
know which way the head should move to indicate which meaning. It
had never before occurred to me to wonder about the matter since
I had never needed to know. My mother or anybody else around the
house would undoubtedly have been perfectly willing to tell me if
I had asked, but that didn't help in the situation I was then
facing.

     Using the best logic I could muster, I thought that since my
mother was sitting on my left, maybe if I moved my head that way,
it would indicate yes. Unfortunately it didn't, and my mother
(not understanding my embarrassment and lack of knowledge)
thought I was saying no. She was hurt and cried, and I didn't
know how to explain.

     So what is the moral of that little story, that minor
tragedy of childhood? It is not that blind people are less
competent than others of their age and circumstance. It is not
that blind persons are slow learners or inept. It is that
sometimes something that can be seen at a glance must be learned
a different way by a blind person. The learning can be just as
quick and just as effective, but it won't happen unless somebody
thinks to explain, to help the blind child cross the barrier of
the visible difference. There is no great problem in knowing how
to shake one's head or in doing a hundred other things that
sighted children learn without ever knowing that they have done
it. It is only that the blind child must either be unusually
persistent and inquisitive or have somebody constantly at hand
who thinks to give information. Otherwise insignificant details
will multiply to major deficits.

     And this is not just a matter of childhood. After seventy
years I keep learning new things about the barrier of the visible
difference. Recently, when I told a blind friend of mine who is a
lawyer about my head-shaking episode, he asked if I knew how you
are supposed to hold your hand in a court when you are told to
raise your right hand. I said that I had never thought about it
but had always assumed that you simply raise your hand above your
head, which is what would seem logical in the circumstances.

     "No," he told me, "that isn't the way it is done. You raise
your hand to shoulder level with the palm out." He went on to
tell me that when he was being sworn in to be admitted to the
Bar, he had raised his hand above his head and that later one of
his classmates had told him how the customary ritual is
performed.

     It is important to understand the significance of this
incident. There is nothing better about raising the hand to the
shoulder than over the head. It doesn't make one a better lawyer
or a better witness in court. My friend is an excellent attorney,
and I have testified in court on more than one occasion. We are
simply dealing with a custom of society, a visible difference.

     More than anything else (at least, unless one is aware of it
and thinks about it) meaningless visible differences can lead to
confusion and misunderstanding, and sometimes even to misplaced
feelings of superiority or inadequacy. A thing that looks
beautiful to the eye, for instance, can feel ugly and dirty to
the touch. Again let me illustrate. Once, when I was four or
five, my mother and father took me to the county fair. This was a
big event.

     We lived about fourteen miles from the county seat, and we
didn't have a car. Very few people did in those days, so friends
and neighbors pooled their transportation and helped each other
with rides.

     On this particular occasion my mother and I were standing at
one of the booths at the fair. In retrospect it must have been
one of those places that give prizes for throwing darts, tossing
rings, or something of the sort. Regardless of that, the woman in
charge gave me a small statue of a horse. As I think back on it,
she may have done it because I was blind, or simply because she
thought I was a cute kid. For purposes of my story it doesn't
matter.

     The horse must have been quite pretty, for both the woman
and my mother kept exclaiming about it. It was apparently covered
with some sort of sparkly gold paint. To the eye I assume that it
was extremely attractive, but to me it just felt dirty and
grungy.

     Now, I had never before had a small gold horse or, for that
matter, any other kind of horse, or very many nice toys of any
kind--so I was pleased and ecstatic with my treasure. But I
thought I ought to clean it up and try to make it look nice.

     Therefore, while my mother and the woman were talking, I
busily scratched all of the rough-feeling gold paint off of it.
It was quite a job. By the time I had finished, my horse felt
clean and attractive. I was proud of it. Imagine, then, my
disappointment and chagrin when my mother and the woman noticed
what I had done and were absolutely dismayed. I couldn't
understand why they were unhappy, and they couldn't understand
why I felt that the horse was better for my effort. Again I had
bumped head-on into the barrier of the visible difference.

     Unlike the head-shaking incident, this was not exactly a
matter of learning correct information. If a thing looks better
to the eye and feels worse to the touch, that doesn't make it
better or worse. It simply means a different point of view, a
visible difference.

     I thoroughly understand that we live in a world that is
structured for the sighted, so if a blind person intends to get
along and compete in society, he or she must learn how the
sighted feel and what they think is beautiful and attractive. But
this has nothing to do with innate loveliness or quality. It is
simply a visible difference.

     As a matter of fact, although I wouldn't scratch the paint
off of it if I met it today, that horse of my childhood would
feel just as dirty to me now as it did then. A few years ago,
when I went to Athens, I was invited (no, urged) to handle a
variety of sculptures. They may have looked beautiful, and I have
no doubt that they did; but they didn't feel beautiful--at least,
not to me. They felt dirty, and I wanted a good hand-washing
after feeling them. Hopefully this does not mean that I am either
a barbarian or a boor, only that my way of appreciating beauty
may have something to do with the fact that I touch instead of
look.

     Do not make the mistake of thinking that it is only the
blind who get stuck on the barrier of the visible difference. The
sighted do it, too--repeatedly, every day. Recently when I was in
the hospital, I was being taken to the x-ray department for
tests. On the way I had to stop to go to the bathroom. As I came
out, a hospital official (I think she was a nurse) saw me and
exclaimed, in what I can only describe as panic:

     "Catch him! He's going to fall. His eyes are closed."

     My wife explained to her that I am blind and that my eyes
are usually closed. It made no difference.

     "It doesn't matter," she said. "Hold him. His eyes are
closed. He will fall." This woman is not abnormal or unusually
jumpy, nor (at least, as far as I can tell) is she stupid. She is
simply so accustomed to the fact that sighted people look about
them to keep their bearings that she cannot imagine that sight
and balance have nothing to do with each other. If I had thought
it wouldn't have upset her, I would have asked her if she
believed she would be unable to stand up in a totally dark room.

     During that same hospital stay, when I stepped into another
bathroom, the nurse turned the light on for me even though I told
her in a light and pleasant tone that I didn't need it. She said
she would turn it on anyway. It was clear that she felt
uncomfortable to have me in the bathroom in the dark. Obviously
this is not a major matter. It simply shows that we feel uneasy
when something violates (even benignly) our routine patterns.

     And these are not isolated instances. Every day letters and
articles come to my attention to prove it. A journalist from Ohio
writes to say that the blind need special fishing facilities--and
he will lobby the government to help make it happen. He doesn't
say why we can't fish in the regular way like everybody else,
which many of us do all of the time.

     A locksmith from Wisconsin believes the blind would benefit
from specially shaped door knobs (oval and textured, he thinks),
and he is willing to design them. A pilot from Pennsylvania
thinks we should solve any problems we have with the airlines by
setting up an airline of our own, and he will help fly the
planes.

     A man from Minnesota believes that blind alcoholics cannot
benefit from regular programs used by the sighted and suggests
separate services. Some years ago the Manchester Union Leader,
one of New Hampshire's most prominent newspapers, said that the
governor of the state was so bad that only the deaf, the dumb,
and the blind could believe he was competent.

     These few illustrations are not a complete list, of course,
but only a sampling. Moreover, I am not talking about all of the
sighted. An increasing number are coming to understand and work
with us. They give us some of our strongest support.

     Nor am I saying that the sighted are hostile toward us.
Quite the contrary. Overwhelmingly the members of the sighted
public wish us well and have good will toward us. It is simply
that they are used to doing things with visual techniques, and
when they look at a blind person, they see something to which
they are not accustomed--what I call the barrier of the visible
difference.

     Most sighted people take it for granted that doing something
with eyesight is better than doing it some other way. Visual
techniques are sometimes superior to non-visual techniques, and
sometimes not. Sometimes the non-visual way of doing a thing is
better. Usually, however, it isn't a matter of better or worse
but just difference.

     This brings me to my experience with the National Federation
of the Blind. I first became acquainted with the Federation
almost fifty years ago, and it has done more than anything else
in my life to help me gain balance and perspective--to understand
that the barrier of the visible difference need not be a major
obstacle, either for me or for my sighted associates.

     With more than fifty thousand active members throughout the
nation, the National Federation of the Blind is leading the way
in making it possible for blind people to have normal, everyday
lives. We of the Federation seek out parents and help them
understand that their blind children can grow up to be productive
citizens. We work with blind college students, giving
scholarships and providing successful role models. Blind seniors
make up an important part of the organization, helping and
encouraging each other and exchanging ideas and information. We
develop new technology for the blind and assist blind persons in
finding jobs.

     All of this is what we of the National Federation of the
Blind do to help ourselves and each other, but the chief value of
the organization is the way it helps us look at our blindness and
the way it helps sighted people understand and accept. We who are
blind know that with reasonable opportunity and training we can
earn our own way in the world, compete on terms of equality with
others, and lead ordinary, worthwhile lives. We do not feel that
we are victims, or that society owes us a living or is
responsible for our problems. We believe that we ought to do for
ourselves and that we also should help others. These attitudes
are the heart and soul of the National Federation of the Blind.
They constitute its core beliefs and reason for being.

     We go to meet the future with joy and hope, but we recognize
that we need help from our sighted friends. If we do our part, we
are confident that the needed help will be forthcoming. We also
know that both we and the sighted can surmount the barrier of the
visible difference and reduce it to the level of a mere
inconvenience.

     There you have the Editor's Introduction and the first
article in volume fourteen of the Kernel Book series. Here is the
Editor's Introduction to book fifteen, which will be released
this fall:

                      Editor's Introduction
                                
     This is the fifteenth volume in the Kernel Book series. Its
title, To Touch the Untouchable Dream, comes from the article by
Ed and Toni Eames, who recently went to South Africa. They tell
of their visit to a game preserve and the techniques they used to
experience the wonder of it.

     The first of the Kernel Books was issued almost eight years
ago, and since that time more than three million have been put
into circulation. If generalizations were effective, we could
have saved a lot of paper, space, and time by writing a single
paragraph or two to convey our message. It would probably go
something like this:
                                
          Being blind is not what almost everybody thinks it
     is. Contrary to popular belief, the real problem of
     blindness is not the lack of eyesight but the
     misconceptions and misunderstandings which exist--
     misconceptions and misunderstandings by the public at
     large and also, unfortunately, sometimes by many of the
     blind themselves. However, we are learning new ways of
     thought about blindness, and every day our situation is
     improving. This is true because we have established our
     own nationwide self-help organization, the National
     Federation of the Blind, and because more and more
     sighted friends are doing what they can to help us.

          We know that with proper training and opportunity
     the average blind person can do the average job in the
     average place of business and do it as well as a
     sighted person similarly situated. We know that blind
     children can successfully live and compete with sighted
     children, that blind seniors can function as well as
     sighted seniors, and that there is almost no job that
     some blind person is not competently doing. In short,
     through the work of the National Federation of the
     Blind and of our sighted friends and associates we are
     changing what it means to be blind.
                                
     If generalizations were effective, we could, as I have said,
have saved a great deal of effort by simply writing and
distributing these two paragraphs. But generalizations are not
effective. They don't convey a sense of reality, so we give
details and write the Kernel Books. The present volume is part of
the process.

     What happens when a blind man who has been an outdoorsman
goes camping and climbs a tall tree while a passing tourist stops
to watch? You will learn in this book, and I think you will find
the interchange interesting. At least I did since I was on hand
to observe it.

     And what happens when a blind father, waiting for his wife,
is holding his baby in his arms and is approached by a sighted
bystander, who believes that the blind are not competent to do
such things? Then there is the blind person who teaches another
blind person to operate a chain saw, and the blind woman who
talks about baking bread. These and other true-life, first-person
stories appear in this volume.

     This is not the stuff of high drama. Rather, it is an
account of the ordinary routine of daily life, the detailing of
how average human beings live and work and play--perhaps as
compelling in the long run as the most graphic international news
story. I know the people who appear in these pages. They are
friends and colleagues of mine.

     Besides blindness we have at least one other thing in
common. We give our time and effort to the work of the National
Federation of the Blind. We do this because the organization is
the focal point for improving the quality of life for the blind
of this country. Life has been good to us, and we feel the need
to give something back--to help the newly blind, blind children,
blind job seekers, blind seniors, and each other. We feel
strongly that we must contribute as well as take, but we also
realize that, if we are to go the rest of the way to real
equality, we will need help from sighted friends. These are our
core beliefs, and we feel great hope and confidence in the
future.

     I hope you will find this book, the fifteenth in the series,
both interesting and entertaining. If you do, we will have
achieved our purpose and come one step closer to touching the
untouchable dream.
                                
                                                 Kenneth Jernigan
                                              Baltimore, Maryland
                                                             1998
                                
     My opening article in book fifteen is called "Even I." Here
it is:

                             Even I
                                
     Words play a more important part in our daily lives than we
sometimes think. They allow us to communicate with each other
with wonderful precision, and they are one of the principal
features that distinguish humans from animals. It is not that
words make us human but that they enhance our humanity.

     For the blind certain words have a special meaning. As an
example, when I was a boy growing up on the farm in Tennessee, I
learned early on of the significance of the words "Even I" used
by my family and sighted neighbors.

     As a case in point consider the game of checkers. In those
days (when none of us in that part of the country had either
telephones or radios and when books and magazines were not part
of the daily routine), the men and boys often entertained
themselves by playing checkers. I wanted to play, too, but one or
another of my family would invariably explain to me that I had to
understand my limitations as a blind person. Eventually they
would get around to saying something like this, "Even I find it
difficult to play checkers."

     The implication was that, because they could see and I
couldn't, I was obviously at a disadvantage, not only in checkers
but in everything else. This, of course, was just plain
foolishness. All I needed was some way to feel the squares on the
checkerboard, a problem I solved by stretching a string across
the squares and tacking it down at both ends. The job took only a
few minutes, and my checker playing was not impaired by my
blindness. However, in the face of all of the negatives, it took
me a while to put the system into place. The "Even I" was a
definite drawback.

     And this attitude of believing that sight is always the
deciding factor is not just a matter of fifty years ago or some
isolated corner of rural America. In the 1950's, when I was a
teacher at the California Training Center for the Blind, we had a
student who had always been an outdoorsman. He was now in his
forties, had just become blind, and had come to us for training.

     One day a number of us went to a wooded area for an
overnight camping trip, and while we were there, the new student
(feeling energetic in the fresh air) decided to climb a tree. He
went up the tree with ease. A passing tourist stopped and
marveled.

     "That is amazing," he said. "Even I would have trouble
climbing that tree, and I can see."

     As best I could determine, the tourist was probably in his
late sixties, and he was extremely overweight. I doubt that he
could have climbed the tree if his life had depended on it, but
he thought only in terms of sight and blindness. Of course, in
the circumstances blindness had nothing to do with the matter.
The "Even I" was totally irrelevant.

     Later, when I was director of programs for the blind in the
state of Iowa, I was traveling to one of our district offices and
stopped at a service station to get a Coca-Cola. While I was
drinking it, a man who had just come in said:

     "I can understand some of your problems, for I am
handicapped, too. My handicap is not as bad as yours, but even I
have trouble getting along."

     After I left the service station and was continuing my trip,
I thought about what he had said. So far as I could tell, he had
at least three handicaps that would limit him in the competition
of daily life. He had a speech impediment, which I think was what
he was talking about when he said he had a handicap; he had a
very limited education; and his intelligence did not appear to be
very high.

     I think his speech impediment was the least of his
handicaps, but I am sure that he didn't see it that way. I
suspect that I was much more employable than he and much better
able to participate in the rough and tumble of the competitive
world. But to him, because he could see and I could not, the edge
was all in his favor. As he said, "Even I have trouble getting
along."

     In the early 1980's I appeared one night on the "Larry King
Program." In those days it was entirely radio, and the studio was
about nineteen floors up from street level in a downtown
Washington, D.C., building. It was a lively program, and when we
finished at midnight, my driver and I went out into the hall to
take the elevator to ground level.

     The problem was that the elevator wouldn't come. This seemed
mightily upsetting to both Larry King and his assistant. I
pointed out to them that there was a fire stair immediately next
to the elevator and that there would be no problem in simply
walking down to the street. It is no exaggeration to say that
Larry King's assistant was shocked. Apparently it had never
occurred to him that a blind person might take the stairs.

     "Even I would not like to walk down those nineteen flights,"
he said, "and I am sighted."

     What sight had to do with it was more than I could
understand, but after a few minutes of trying to soothe him down
and of waiting for an elevator that persistently refused to come,
we took the stairs over his protest and walked without incident
to the street.

     This sort of thing happens every day, but it is not limited
to the sighted. Let me go back to my teaching experience at the
training center in California. In those days (1953 to 1958) I had
not learned to sign my name. My students told me that I was
creating a bad image of blindness because of this shortcoming and
that I should get with it and learn to make a readable signature.

     I argued that I rarely needed to sign my name, that I didn't
need to learn how in order to improve my self-esteem, and that I
could and would take an hour or two and learn to sign my name if
the time came when I thought it would be useful to do so.

     In fact, when I became director of Iowa's programs for the
blind in 1958, I did just that. One evening as we were driving
across the country from California to Iowa, my sighted wife
worked with me for an hour, and I learned to sign my name. It is
not the most elegant signature in the world, but it is legible
and serves my purposes. Incidentally, as director of the Iowa
programs for the blind, I did not sign my name as often as I
thought I would, delegating routine paperwork and signatures to a
deputy. However, the fact remains that I learned to sign my name
in an evening and that I now do it without thought whenever I
need to.

     Yet that does not end the matter. As I have thought about it
through the years, my students were right, and I was wrong. I,
who was teaching them that blindness need not mean inferiority,
was not proving up. As later events would show, it would have
been a simple matter to learn to sign my name.

     So why didn't I do it? Reluctantly I conclude that it
probably had to do with "Even I." From childhood I had been told
in hundreds of ways everyday that sight meant superiority. In the
circumstances it would have been surprising if I had not absorbed
and been affected by some of the mistaken notions. Therefore,
when I am tempted to be impatient or annoyed with sighted people
who say "Even I," let me remember my own experience in learning
to sign my name. What we need is not bad temper or blame but
understanding and education.

     This brings me to the National Federation of the Blind, the
organization which has done more than any other single thing to
make life better for blind people during the past century. The
National Federation of the Blind has local chapters in every
state and almost every community of any size. These state and
local chapters come together to make up the national body.

     Although we have sighted members, most of us in the
Federation are blind. We give our time and devotion because we
have seen what the National Federation of the Blind does in
helping blind people lead normal, regular lives. Through its work
with parents of blind children, with seniors, with blind college
students, and with blind persons seeking employment, the National
Federation of the Blind touches every aspect of the daily lives
of the blind of the nation.

     We in the Federation believe that we should stand on our own
feet and do for ourselves before asking others for assistance,
but we also know that our road to independence cannot be
successfully traveled without help from our sighted friends and
associates. And we have faith that this help will be forthcoming
if it is reasonably requested and wisely used.

     In fact, the future looks bright for those of us who are
blind. We go into the new century with hope and confidence, and
an ever-growing number of the sighted are moving with us as part
of our cause. "Even I" is still one of our greatest problems--but
that, too, is diminishing and fading into the past.

     There you have the introductions and opening articles of
this year's Kernel Books. When the National Federation of the
Blind came into being in 1940, the problems we faced were
overwhelming, but the most urgent and pressing of them was to
find a way to relieve the immediate distress of poverty faced by
most of the blind. After that (and it took years) we turned our
attention to rehabilitation and jobs. Then it was a question of
dignity and civil rights--and although all three of those
problems are still to some extent with us, we have now moved to a
fourth stage of emphasis, that of public education.

     For ultimately confrontation and legislation will not solve
our problems. To some extent both confrontation and legislation
will always be necessary, and we must certainly not forget how to
do either. But in the final analysis we cannot force people to
accept us as equals, and I think we don't need to if we give them
the facts. As somebody once said, it is not necessary to be
loved, but it is extremely desirable not to be hated--and an
overdose of confrontation and legislation can create backlash and
hatred.

     On the other hand, education properly done brings only good
will and support. This is why we continue to invest the time and
resources to produce and distribute the Kernel Books, and the
results have richly justified our faith. We know that we are
capable of living on terms of equality with the sighted and that
the sighted are capable of accepting us as such--and for the most
part they want to. All we need to do is present the facts in
understandable terms.

     Of course the Kernel Books are no magic bullet. They will
not solve all of our problems, and nobody thinks that they will.
Certainly I don't. As I have already said, we must retain the
option of confrontation and legislation, but these should be used
sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. The better and more
productive road is education.

     As we move toward the next century, we as a movement are
stronger and more confident than we have ever been. We choose
peace and harmony if we can have it, but we will do what we have
to do to go the rest of the way to equality. I have said it to
you on previous occasions, and I will say it again now. The
future is ours. We know who we are, and we will never go back.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Congresswoman Kay Granger]
          Supporting Programs that Enhance Opportunity:
                      A View from Congress
                         by Kay Granger

     Thursday afternoon, July 9, Congresswoman Kay Granger
addressed the Convention. She is a compelling speaker, and it was
clear that she impressed her audience and was impressed by what
she observed of the National Federation of the Blind. President
Maurer introduced her with the following words:
                                
     Congresswoman Kay Granger, who is a Member of Congress from
the Twelfth Congressional District of Fort Worth, Texas, is the
first Republican woman to serve in the United States House of
Representatives from Texas. Before her election to Congress in
1996, she served as mayor of Fort Worth for five years. She is a
member of the House Budget Committee and an assistant majority
whip. According to the Washington Times, Congresswoman Granger is
the most often mentioned newcomer to Congress. And George
Magazine has described her as one of the most compelling freshmen
of the 105th Congress. Let me say to you, Congresswoman Granger,
that we are pleased to welcome you to this convention.
(Congresswoman Granger has been here through the afternoon.) You
have observed that we have worked most closely with a number of
Democrats this afternoon. Don't let that make you believe that we
don't like to work with our Republican friends. We certainly do,
and we want to welcome you to the 1998 convention of the National
Federation of the Blind. Here is Congresswoman Granger.

     Thank you all very much. It's definitely an honor to be here
today with all of you. I understand this convention will be the
largest meeting of the blind anywhere in the world this year. I'm
here to say first of all thank you for choosing Dallas-Fort Worth
Metroplex for your meeting again, and also thank you for asking
me to be here with you today.

     When I was contacted about speaking with you, we talked
about what should be presented to you and what would be most
important to say. I contacted a good friend of mine who speaks
nationally to large groups such as yours and asked him what I
should speak about. He looked at me, narrowed his eyes, leaned
forward as if he were going to give me some very, very sage
advice, and he said, "You asked, Kay, what you should talk about.
I think you should talk about fifteen minutes and sit
down."[applause]

     The sheer size of this meeting is truly very impressive, but
even greater than the size and strength of this organization is
its purpose--to fully integrate the blind into society on the
basis of equality. Before I was a Congresswoman, I was mayor.
Before I was a mayor, I was a small business owner. Before I was
a small business owner, I was a teacher like Kenneth Jernigan. I
began teaching school when I was only twenty-one years old, and I
taught high school English. My students were sixteen and
seventeen and a few were even eighteen years old. So I had to try
very hard to be bold and grown up in front of students who were
almost my age. Of course I was learning just as they were
learning. One of my students that first year that I taught was a
very remarkable young man. He was president of his class. He was
a brilliant musician. He was close to genius in intelligence, and
he was also blind. Robert went on--I kept up with him--he went on
to earn his bachelor's degree. He went on to earn his master's
degree. He went on to earn his doctorate degree. The last time I
heard, he was doing post-doctoral work in math.

     I frankly couldn't teach Robert much in high school. He knew
so much, but he taught me a great deal. He was very generous in
answering my questions about how he dealt with and mastered the
world he found himself in. That was nearly thirty years ago, but
I have told this story many times to many other students and to
people that I work with and colleagues. I have thought so often
about what he taught me about really paying attention--attention
to sound and texture and smell and the tiny nuances of each day
and each event that go so completely unnoticed by those of us who
do not develop that extra sensitivity that many of you have
developed so finely.

     In thinking of your mission and your purpose of this
organization to fully integrate on the basis of equality, I also
thought about one of my favorite stories about former President
Ronald Reagan. I think this story makes an important statement
about our society and how we view and treat those who live with
extra challenges in their lives. One day Reagan visited an
elementary school. He wanted to discuss the importance of staying
in school and education and also staying off drugs.

     It was that kind of well-crafted, well-planned media event
that press secretaries can only dream of. Reagan had taken off
his coat in a very relaxed manner and began to talk to the young
children about how important they were to the future of America
and how they absolutely had to stay in school and off drugs. At
the end of his talk he said, "I'm now going to answer questions
from you youngsters." And as luck would have it, the very first
hand to go up was a little girl in the front row who didn't look
any different from the other children, but unlike the other
children she had a speech impediment, one that was so severe that
her words were almost impossible to understand. Naturally, when
President Reagan saw her hand go up, he smiled at her and asked
what her question was. With all the network cameras filming every
minute, the young girl looked at the elderly President and
struggled to ask her question.

     President Reagan couldn't understand the little girl, and
with the cameras rolling, there was a silence as the entire room
looked at Reagan and wondered what he would do. Would he tell her
he couldn't understand her? Would he ignore it? Would he move on
to another question, and if he did, wouldn't the little girl be
crushed? Here she was with the President of the United States,
and he couldn't, wouldn't answer her question. After a few
seconds, Ronald Reagan walked over to the little girl's desk. He
bent down on one knee and in a whisper that could barely be heard
by others he said, "You know the worst thing about getting old is
this darn hearing aid. It just never seems to work." He said to
her, "Would you do me a favor? Would you write your question
down, and I'll be happy to answer it?"

     Well you can imagine, a collective sigh went around the
room. Everyone in the room said that they were so relieved that a
possibly embarrassing situation had been avoided. But more
important, everyone in the room was amazed. Here was the most
powerful man in the world, and he wasn't too dignified or too
important to reach down to a little girl and say, "You know, your
question is important to me." He let her know that so was she.
Imagine what that must have meant to her. Imagine the struggles
she'd suffered, and here was the President saying "You didn't do
anything wrong. I'm just that old, and I can't hear sometimes, so
let's just find another way to communicate."

     As powerful as that lesson is, there is an even deeper
lesson to learn from the story. President Reagan's simple act
reminds us all that ultimately we're all the same, even though we
are unique. We all have our own crosses to bear and our own
challenges. Just because some of us face a speech impediment,
paralysis, or, yes, blindness, we're created in God's image; and
we all have a role to play in making America great. [Applause]

     You in this room know that, and that's why you applauded.
You know that's what makes America great, and you know that our
differences also strengthen America. Our unique differences as
people and the value we put on the individual are what make the
greatness of America. One of the themes of this conference is
supporting programs that enhance opportunities. Let me say that I
support federal programs that help open doors for all people.
SSI, Social Security Disability, IDEA, vocational training
programs, and civil rights protection--they're all issues I've
supported and I will continue to support because they're so
important.

     But they're just pieces of puzzles. Real solutions are found
right here in this room. You are the ones that make it happen
every day. You're the ones that are breaking down barriers and
changing stereotypes. You're the ones who are letting your fellow
citizens know that blind Americans have an important contribution
to make in American life. You may be doing it through books like
the Kernel series; you may be doing it just because you take the
time to explain and let us know. I've a simple slogan--I say,
"Government if necessary, but not necessarily government." So I
want to tell you today, that, while government programs can be
helpful, it's the timeless values that are essential. They aren't
values handed down from Washington. They're handed down from one
generation to the next.

     I want to speak to you just a minute about how important it
is that we all play an active role in society and pass down
values. Whether you're a blind American or just an American
interested in helping the blind, we can all make an effort to
make a difference in our homes, in our work places, in our
communities, and certainly in our nation. I believe there are two
basic truths that open doors for all Americans, and they make our
society more compassionate and more caring. I want to spend a
minute just telling you and talking about those.

     First I want to talk about an old fashioned American virtue.
It's better to give than to receive. I say, isn't it amazing what
can happen when we can give ourselves, not just money, not just
words, but we truly give ourselves? America is a nation founded
on giving and compassion. Generations have passed down the gift
of a free nation to our children. Of course Americans give so
freely, a hundred and fifty billion dollars a year to churches
and to charities. It's not only our responsibility to give, it's
our heritage; it's our contribution; it's our legacy here in
America.

     Giving usually involves more than money. Americans are
traditionally understanding that our forefathers didn't believe
government was the care giver. They believed that they were, and
churches were, communities were, and individuals were. When they
gave, they also had expectations. They said that they helped and
they never took away the self-respect by giving much but
expecting little. Marvin Olasky has written a book about early
Americans and how they dealt particularly with poverty and those
who were without. They used a very different model than sometimes
we do today; they didn't measure support for the needy in dollars
and cents; they measured the number of hearts they touched and
the lives they changed. Our ancestors didn't just give their
money. They gave their time. They gave themselves. They gave new
folks jobs and brought them into the communities, their homes,
their churches. In other words they gave from their hearts, not
just from their wallets. We must never forget the power of people
giving of themselves and giving to their neighbors. We must
always remember that only in giving do you receive.

     One of the most important lessons that Olasky talks about in
this book is what we came away with in giving. With the gift came
expectation, the expectation that everyone is expected to play a
part. A hand up, not a hand out, was what was expected with
compassion. So a lot of self-respect was restored along with a
full stomach and a quenched thirst.

     Last year a friend of mine was honored with the Horatio
Alger Award. The Horatio Alger Award is a wonderful award that
says, "We want to recognize people who have achieved
extraordinary success by overcoming adversity." I listened to the
stories both of those receiving the award and also of the
wonderful young people that they were helping. But in those
stories not a single person who was recognized gave credit to a
government program. They gave credit to their own hard work, and
they also gave credit to caring individuals in their lives. They
also gave credit to an environment of opportunity and certainly
equality of opportunity, which is what you stand for.

     America is a great nation and is filled with good people.
I've always believed that. We're good because we believe that all
men and women are created equal, and so therefore they deserve
and should have equality in treatment, equality in respect, and
deserve equal opportunities, which is of course what we have been
working so effectively for. 

     We talked about one more important concept, and that's the
concept of the power of one. Let me explain it. You may remember
the story of Captain Scott O'Grady. He was the pilot who was shot
down in Bosnia in 1995. He was alone, all by himself, starving
for days. He lived off the land. He hid in the bushes from the
enemy. At night he would come out of the bushes and try to make
contact with the American troops. Finally, after more than a
week, he was able to make contact. But there was only one
problem--how do you rescue a person deep within enemy territory
when he can't even come out from the bushes? So what do we do? We
send in the Marines. We sent the Marines, a whole platoon of
them. We sent our Marines, who are the best trained and best
equipped soldiers. We did that to save one person, Scott O'Grady.

     That statement becomes even more amazing when you look
around the world and see how some nations treat individuals. In
Iraq you see a leader who never tries to save one person. In
fact, he's been known to test weapons of mass destruction against
his own people. He protects himself with human shields of women
and children. But thank goodness America is a different place,
and thank goodness America values each and every citizen. Only
Americans can be kind enough, concerned enough, and caring enough
to mount a full-scale operation to save one person.

     On a more personal level, think of the people around you.
Think of the people in this program, and think of the people who
aren't. Think of your colleagues you work with and people in your
community who are sort of down and need help or need a pat on the
back or need to be remembered or understood. Everyone plays a
part. Please remember that in America each person is a creation
of God, and each person we need for the equal opportunity because
that is what makes America great. With a little help that person
can become a doctor, a scientist, or a teacher (one of the most
important careers). Like I say, we need everyone to pitch in, and
we need everyone to play a part, and everyone can do that part if
they listen to what you're saying. What you're saying is,
"Opportunity for all and equality for all." I think we should
keep in mind that people are only limited by their dreams.

     I appreciate my experiences. I appreciate the people who
have been in my life who give the color, the texture, and the
understanding that it takes all of us and that we all play a
part. Each of us comes with a little different kind of
difficulty, but if we listen to each other and talk to each other
and we understand that we are unique, then our nation can
overcome whatever is wrong. It's often popular today to talk
about what's wrong in America. I believe that what's wrong with
America can always be overcome with what's right with America.
You show that in this room; you show that in this meeting; and I
appreciate it very, very much.

     Thank you for letting me talk to you today. Thank you for
letting me listen particularly to the wonderful stories I've
heard. Thank you.

     In a brief question period following this address,
Congresswoman Granger was asked whether or not she would co-
sponsor H.R. 612, the Social Security linkage bill. Mr. Gashel
took a minute to describe it to her, and she immediately agreed
to sign on, which she did several weeks after the convention.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: The scholarship class of 1998: (left to right)
back row: Tomas Cintron, Adam LaSalle, Eddie Bell, Tanya Stewart,
Rik James, and Daryl Swinson: middle row: Nhu Nguyen, Stephanie
Thompson, Ellen Nichols, Catherine Armstrong, David Dzaka, Brenda
Patterson, Sathish Sundaram, Ameenah Ghoston, Eddie Culp, Calvin
Keuchler, Greg Williams, Jason Hutton, Arnold Thomas, and
Priscilla McKinley; front row: Lauren Hunter, Karla Gilbride,
Amanda Bourn, Tiffany Medina, Steven Smith, and Angela McJunkin.]
                  The Scholarship Class of 1998
                                
     From the Editor: Twenty-six men and women from Vermont to
California arrived at the Hyatt Regency DFW as members of the
National Federation of the Blind scholarship class of 1998. Not
counting their expense-paid trips to the convention, this year
the class divided $88,000 in scholarship awards, which were made
at the close of the Thursday, July 9, banquet. This year's class
is a remarkable group of students--bright, energetic, and eager
to change the world. They met the full convention during the
meeting of the Board of Directors on Monday morning. Four of the
winners were designated as tenBroek Fellows because they had won
scholarships in a previous year and had been chosen this year not
only because of their impressive academic record but also because
of the contribution they have already made to the organized blind
movement. Peggy Elliott, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee,
introduced each student by saying the name, home state, and
school state. This is what each student had to say:
                                
     Catherine Armstrong, Virginia, Connecticut: Good morning. I
would just say to the scholarship committee, it's a genuine
pleasure to be here today and thank you very much. Recently I
graduated from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia,
and will be attending as a freshman Yale University this fall. I
don't know what I want to major in, but this convention has given
me a lot of things to think about as far as that goes, and I want
to say congratulations and good luck to all the other scholarship
winners and thank you very much for allowing me to be here.
                                
     Eddie Bell, California, Louisiana: Good morning. I just
graduated in May with my bachelor's degree in human development.
I am currently at Louisiana Tech University working on my
master's degree in orientation and mobility and will hopefully be
working at one of our fine NFB centers teaching cane travel very
soon. This is my sixth convention. My very first was right here
in Dallas, Texas, 1993. I'm very proud and honored to be selected
as a tenBroek fellow this year.
                                
     Amanda Bourn, Oklahoma, Oklahoma: Hi. I've lived in Oklahoma
for the last three years and am going to attend Oklahoma
University this fall as a freshman. I plan to major in
linguistics and hope to get into translation for a career goal.
Thank you very much for this experience.
                                
     Tomas Cintron, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico: Good morning
Dallas. I'm a student at Inter American University of Puerto
Rico. My major is special education in my handicap. I'm very
proud to be here. Thank you to the committee for selecting me to
participate in this scholarship. Thank you.
                                
     Eddie Culp, Louisiana, Louisiana with a detour this summer
in Colorado: Mornin' all. Hi. My name is Eddie Culp. I'm
attending Louisiana University, double majoring in political
science and history, minoring in English. I hope to attend law
school and someday get into politics. I'm very glad to be here.
I'd like to thank the scholarship committee for helping me make
it here, and also to thank God.
                                
     David Dzaka, Hawaii, Hawaii: Hello everybody. I'm David
Dzaka from the University of Hawaii, greatly honored to be here.
I'm a Ph.D. candidate in English, and I have great ambition to be
a college professor as well as a writer. In addition, I also look
forward to serving as an international delegate of the NFB. I
appreciate this opportunity.
                                
     Ameenah Ghoston, Illinois, Illinois (a tenBroek fellow): Hi.
My name is Ameenah Ghoston. I will be a junior at the University
of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. After declaring so many majors,
my advisor said to declare something, anything. I chose
journalism, and I think I will stick with it. Thank you.
                                
     Karla Gilbride, New York, Pennsylvania: Hello everybody. My
name is Karla Gilbride. I just graduated a couple of weeks ago
from Syossa High School in Long Island, New York. In a month or
so I'm going to be a freshman at Swarthmore College in
Pennsylvania. I'm very excited about it. I plan to major in
psychology and possibly also linguistics. I also love to sing,
and I want to pursue an interest in music during my college
years. I'm really honored to have been selected among this
illustrious group of scholarship winners. Thank you very much for
the honor, and goodbye.
                                
     Lauren Hunter, Colorado, Colorado: My name is Lauren Hunter.
I'm going into my senior year at Fort Lewis College. I'm a
humanities major and studying political science, English, and
sociology, with a minor in history. I hope to go to law school
and get into civil rights mediation. I'd like to thank the
Scholarship Committee and all of my fellow Federationists, who
have had a great influence in my life. Thank you.
                                
     Jason Hutton, Indiana, Indiana: Hello. My name is Jason
Hutton, and I would just like to thank the National Federation of
the Blind for this scholarship. This is my first Federation
experience, and I didn't know that with the scholarship came this
opportunity to be educated by all these wonderful people. That is
what I would like to thank you the most for--the opportunity to
learn about blindness and this organization. I'm a sophomore at
Butler University next year, and I will be a band director after
I graduate. Thank you.
                                
     Rik James, Montana, Louisiana: Good morning. I just love
being here, and I appreciate the scholarship committee's choosing
me--what an honor. Very impressive committee, very impressive
group of winners. I am very humbled and deeply honored. I am
currently enrolled in the master's program at Louisiana Tech
University seeking an educational psychology degree with
concentration in orientation and mobility. I plan to be a cane
travel instructor. The training down there is rigorous; our
methods are sound; our purposes are clear. We believe in the
techniques and the ability of blind people. I intend to be a cane
travel instructor of whom hopefully all of you people will be
proud. My career aspirations are intertwined with my
Federationism to help my affiliate along, one blind person at a
time, to make things better for all of us. Thank you very much.
                                
     Calvin Keuchler, Ohio, Ohio: All honor and praise goes to
the Almighty, my ancestors whom I represent, and for the children
who might struggle. I want to be an educator. I received my
bachelor's at Oberlin College in Spanish with an intention of
going into a master's in math education at the Ohio State
University. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this. It
adds new meaning and new heights to what I know I can achieve.
                                
     Adam LaSalle, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, with a detour
this summer in Louisiana: I am originally from Pennsylvania,
where I went to Swarthmore. I am attending graduate school in
North Carolina because I intend to go for my doctorate and teach
college history and possibly political science. I'm glad to be
here, and I thank the committee for choosing me.
                                
     Angie McJunkin, Tennessee, Tennessee: I'd like to thank the
scholarship committee and say what an honor it is to be here. I
just graduated from the Tennessee School for the Blind, and I
will be attending Trevecca University in Nashville, where I plan
to major in English education and then go on to get a master's in
special education and hopefully help other blind students.
                                
     Priscilla McKinley (another tenBroek fellow), Iowa, Iowa:
Hi. I'm Priscilla McKinley. I am the newly elected president of
the Old Capital Chapter in Iowa City. I am glad to say we now
have five chapters in Iowa. I am a graduate student at the
University of Iowa. I'm finishing my thesis in the M.F.A. non-
fiction writing program, and I'm starting the graduate program in
English education in the fall. I teach writing and rhetoric at
the University of Iowa. Two years ago, when I stood up here in
1996, I had three goals: one was to teach, which I'm pursuing.
Two was to top Robert Waller in the New York Times Best Sellers'
List--and I hope to do that with my thesis. I'm having one of my
chapters published. My third goal was to be like the other people
here who have been here twenty, twenty-five, thirty years. This
is my third convention, and I'm counting. Thanks a lot.
                                
     Tiffany Medina, California, Massachusetts: Hi everyone. I'm
really honored to be here today. I just graduated from Henry M.
Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, where I worked hard--
played hard too. I was first runner-up for valedictorian. I'm
really excited to go to Williams College this September, where I
will be exploring a lot of my interests. My major as of now is
undecided, but I'm looking at teaching or international
relations. Thanks everyone.
                                
     Nhu Nguyen, Kentucky, Tennessee: Good morning. I'm a second-
year law student at Vanderbilt University. I have a bachelor's
degree in political science and communications from the
University of Louisville. While I have learned a lot of
information in college, a lot of my knowledge and some of my
wisdom has come from the NFB. Thank you.
                                
     Ellen Nichols, Maryland, Pennsylvania: Good morning ladies
and gentlemen. It's such a privilege to be here this morning, for
which I thank the Lord. I am anticipating attending Messiah
College near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where I will major in
Spanish and minor in music. My long term goal is to be a
missionary. In the meantime, I guess I will do translation in
general or things like that. Thank you very much.
                                
     Brenda Patterson, Vermont, Vermont: Ladies and gentlemen, I
thank you warmly for bringing me for this first time into your
very caring family. Next fall I begin my life as a blind student
at the University of Vermont doing graduate studies in the
history of international law. I thank you again. Following me is
another fellow Vermonter.
                                
     Steve Smith, Vermont, Vermont: Good morning. I am currently
enrolled in the graduate program and I am studying community
psychology. Last year I graduated from Norwich University with a
degree in psychology and counseling. When I've finished my
education, I am going to be counseling people--self-employed. I
just want to say that I think Winn-Dixie will be getting their
education.
                                
     Tanya Stewart, New York, Louisiana: I'd like to thank my NFB
family. I've been in the Federation now for two years, and
without you I'd never pursue the education that I'm going to. I'm
going to Louisiana Tech University for a degree in elementary
education, and two years ago I never thought it was possible,
because at that point I didn't know that, even if I survived
college, I could ever teach. So I thank you very much and thank
you for being my family and supporting me all the way through. I
am currently in Louisiana working for the Louisiana Center for
the Blind, and I graduated from the adult program in March. Thank
you.
                                
     Sathish Sundaram, Michigan, Massachusetts: Good morning
everyone. I will be attending Harvard University and majoring in
either physics or mechanical engineering. I plan to design
musical instruments. My minor at Harvard will be in medieval
underwater basket-weaving--wait, no, that's not right. It's
something in which the job market is equally scarce--I'll be a
music performance minor. I would say "goodbye" to you, but I hope
to be speaking to you again on Thursday night, so I'll just say,
"Thank you all."
                                
     Daryl Swinson, Arkansas, Arkansas (tenBroek fellow): Good
morning fellow Federationists. I'm going to be a senior at
Arkansas Tech University. I'm a computer science major. I deeply
appreciate the honor given me by the scholarship committee by
allowing me to be a part of the scholarship class this year, but
the true gift of being here at the convention is that you get to
meet so many inspirational people, and it gives you the
opportunity to make the NFB philosophy an integral part of your
life. That's the true gift that I take away from these
conventions. Thank you very much.
                                
     Arnold Thomas, Nevada, Utah: Good morning. It's my first
conference here other than the state conference. I have a degree
to be a basketball coach and a football coach, and I also have a
degree in psychology. Currently I am working on my master's
degree at the University of Utah in social work. I hope to pursue
a Ph.D., hopefully at Cal Berkeley in California. I'm a native
American from Nevada originally, and I would like to offer a
short song to those individuals that are here today, also to go
along with what happened earlier with the gift that was given to
Mr. President there. I offer this short song. (He then sang a
brief Native American song.) Thank you everyone.
                                
     Stephanie Thompson, Utah, Utah: Charlotte Bronte, who is
well-known as the author of Jane Eyre, but less well known for
her struggle with myopia and limited vision, once wrote,
"Throughout my youth the difference which existed between me and
the people around me was an enigma that I could not solve. I felt
myself inferior to everyone, and it distressed me." When I read
those words, I felt as though someone had looked on my own soul,
and I determined to seek out biographies of other blind and
visually impaired women in the nineteenth century. I want to
thank the NFB for helping me in that project, not only by giving
me the money to help pursue a Ph.D., but also in giving me the
confidence to overcome those feelings of inferiority and to
recognize that difference can be strength. Thank you.
                                
     Greg Williams, Indiana, Indiana: Good morning. I would like
to thank the scholarship committee for giving me the opportunity
to come to the NFB Convention. This has been my first exposure to
the NFB, and it has given me the opportunity to get to know the
likes of people like Dr. Jernigan, Dr. Maurer, and the
scholarship committee themselves. Let me tell you, I'm very
impressed with what I have seen. I am currently attending Indiana
University. I finished my sophomore year this past spring, and I
am majoring in chemistry and math with the intent of going into
teaching and research. I would like to thank God for what He has
given me. Thank you.
                                
     Throughout the week these twenty-six scholarship winners got
to know Federationists and participated in convention activities.
Thursday evening, July 9, at the close of the banquet they
received their scholarship certificates, and Stephanie Thompson,
the winner of the 1998 $10,000 American Action Fund Scholarship,
briefly addressed the audience. This is what she said:
[PHOTO/CAPTION: Stephanie Thompson]

     Thank you so much. Overwhelmed isn't quite the word, but
it's close. Until earlier tonight during Dr. Maurer's wonderful
speech--that was the first time I ever heard that I was a
partial. Before that I had heard as early as the age of eight,
when my third grade teacher decided to humiliate me in front of
the entire class, that I was faking it, because there are two
types of people in the world: blind people and sighted people. I
heard the same thing from my itinerant teacher about ten years
later when I desperately wanted to learn Braille. I was sighted,
not blind; therefore I was not eligible for any Braille or cane
mobility instruction. Well, I heard that--and please correct me
if I'm wrong, and I trust that you will. I heard also earlier
this week that there are two types of people--blind people and
sighted--and I am so thrilled and excited to find out that I'm a
blind person and that I have every right and ought to seize the
privilege of associating and being seen as a blind person and of
learning those skills which will make me a better person.
[applause]

     I cannot praise and thank Dr. Jernigan and President Maurer,
not only for making this possible, but for their invigorating and
wonderful talks during this conference--I really do not want to
cry. But I also want to say to them and their wonderful wives and
to all of you out there: I feel as though this is the beginning
of a big change in my life. This is one of those momentous
occasions that I could never want to go back on and that I think
will be beyond words. That's it. I just ran out of them. But I do
wish again to thank the scholarship committee, the wonderful
people here--and I know that I will leave somebody out--so I
won't do the Academy award thing and name everybody and their
dog, but really everybody here, thank you so much. Especially
again President Maurer and Dr. Jernigan. [applause]
                                
     Peggy Elliott: Scholarship winners, I do have one other
quick thing I would like to say to you as a scholarship class. We
have spent the week with you. We have talked and talked with each
of you about the Federation. We have also walked that quarter-
mile walk, waited for elevators, ascended the stairs, shared
barbecue, played cards, laughed, cried, and talked some more.
Most of all we have offered to you the gift we think is of much
more value than the check we will give you. We offer to you the
National Federation of the Blind, the most precious thing we
have. We of the Federation have poured our minds and our hearts
and our souls into building this Federation. We love and cherish
it and deeply wish that each of you will do the same. The
Federation is a winner, but your strength can add to our momentum
and to our success. We offer this gift wrapped in the love which
is the fundamental bond among Federationists. Join us, and that
bond of love, as well as first-class status for all blind people,
will both grow and prosper. From us (we hope) to others of us, we
say to you congratulations 1998 scholarship winners! [applause]
                                
     Here is the complete list of winners and the awards they
received:
                                
     $3,000 NFB Scholarships: Catherine Armstrong, Amanda Bourn,
Eddie Culp, Ameenah Ghoston, Karla Gilbride, Lauren Hunter, Jason
Hutton, Calvin Keuchler, Adam LaSalle, Angela McJunkin, Nhu
Nguyen, and Arnold Thomas
                                
     $3,000 Frank Walton Horn Memorial Scholarship: Sathish
Sundaram
                                
     $3,000 Hermione Grant Calhoun Scholarship: Ellen Nichols
                                
     $3,000 Kuchler-Killian Memorial Scholarship: Steven Smith
                                
     $3,000 Humanities Scholarship: David Dzaka
                                
     $3,000 Mozelle and Willard Gold Memorial Scholarship:
Tiffany Medina
                                
     $3,000 Educator of Tomorrow Scholarship: Tanya Stewart
                                
     $3,000 Howard Brown Rickard Scholarship: Greg Williams
                                
     $3,000 E. U. Parker Memorial Scholarship: Rik James
                                
     $3,000 Computer Science Scholarship: Daryl Swinson
                                
     $4,000 NFB Scholarships: Eddie Bell and Tomas Cintron
                                
     $4,000 Melva T. Owen Memorial Scholarship: Priscilla
McKinley
                                
     $10,000 American Action Fund Scholarship: Stephanie Thompson
                                
                                
[PHOTO/CAPTION: President Marc Maurer]

                    The Search for Anonymity
               An Address Delivered by Marc Maurer
        President of the National Federation of the Blind
                          July 9, 1998
                                
     Ideas expressing new understanding of reality inevitably, if
they are to be accepted, undergo a process of internalization. To
paraphrase the naturalist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz, every
great truth goes through three stages. First it is claimed that
the idea conflicts with recognized truth and is heresy. Next it
is argued that the idea has been discovered in a former time.
Finally it is asserted that knowledgeable people have always
believed it.

     Groups that come to be accepted as part of society must
undergo a similar process. The members of such groups begin with
the experience of rejection or indifference. Then comes a
grudging toleration. The toleration is eventually replaced by a
peculiar mixture of uneasy suspicion and admiration. During each
of these stages the individuals in the group are regarded as
distinctly separate and different from the ordinary, regular
members of society. They are a part of the fringe--having an
identity strange and mysterious--an identity so unusual that
those who have it are always under scrutiny and can never be
taken at face value.

     The fourth and final stage is unlike the first three because
it is undramatic and unremarkable. At this point in the evolution
of the process, there is full acceptance. The characteristics
which marked the group as separate from the rest of society still
exist, but they are no longer thought to be important--no longer
an identifiable means for differentiation--no longer a symbol
denoting special emphasis or special treatment. These identifying
characteristics have come to be a part of the norm, and the
members of the group that were once so noteworthy as a result of
possessing these characteristics have lost their high profile and
become anonymous.

     Consider, for example, the Irish. In the history of the
United States there have been times during which immigrants from
Ireland were unacceptable as part of the social set or the work
force. Employers posted advertisements for jobs which included
the statement "No Irish Need Apply," and they meant exactly that.
Those from Ireland, regardless of their abilities or
qualifications, were rejected. Today, such a pattern of behavior
would be completely unimaginable and unacceptable.

     But what does this delineation of elements in social change
mean for us, for the blind? The process of achieving acceptance
within society is not automatic; it does not come to every group.
To get it, a group must possess self-discipline, the capacity for
joint action, assertiveness, a willingness to give, and the
understanding to take the long view. Furthermore, acceptance is
never offered free; it must be earned.

     When we the blind came to organize in Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, in 1940 under the leadership of Dr. Jacobus
tenBroek and those few other pioneers who formed the National
Federation of the Blind, our history was one in which the blind
were either regarded with indifference and dismissed or actively
rejected. No blind person could escape the all-pervasive social
attitude which relegated the blind to positions of inferiority
and idleness. Indeed Dr. tenBroek, who was later to be counted
among our nation's most brilliant authors and constitutional
scholars, had enormous difficulty at the beginning of his career
finding any kind of meaningful work within the discipline he had
studied.

     For the blind of the early 1940's there were few if any
jobs, not many books, and only limited opportunities for a
college education. Some sheltered workshops had been established,
which provided a little work for a few blind people, but wages
were low and working conditions dismal.

     The Social Security Act had been adopted in 1935, but it
provided minimal support to a small number of blind
beneficiaries. Most blind people were without financial
resources, without the ability to gain a first-class education,
without employment, without the opportunity to engage in social
interaction at a meaningful level, and without hope. On those
rare occasions when members of the general public thought about
blindness at all, they dismissed us as being unable to make
substantial contributions. When we who were blind sought the
opportunity to engage in productive activity, our efforts were
rejected.

     Then Dr. tenBroek and that small group who joined with him
formed the National Federation of the Blind. With that single act
circumstances for the blind began to change--the rejection became
less frequent, and the dismissal less firm. The possibilities for
blind people began to expand. There were more jobs, more
opportunities for education, more books, and more social and
political interaction with the rest of society. The process has
continued for more than half a century, and the reason for the
change is unmistakably clear. It is in this room tonight. It is
our joint effort--yours and mine--through the National Federation
of the Blind. It is also the effort of those tens of thousands of
blind Federationists who preceded us. It is the strength and
commitment of the organized blind movement--speaking for
ourselves with one united voice. It is the organization we have
built--the National Federation of the Blind!

     As soon as the force of the Federation was felt, the
rejection of former times began to give way to toleration--
although it has not always been a peaceful toleration. Blind
people could no longer be universally dismissed--we were becoming
too well organized to permit it. Of course not all of the
rejection came to an end--some of it still exists even today. But
blind people as a group proclaimed for the first time that we
have a role to play, and some (at first only a few) within
society responded.

     During this phase of development laws were adopted--laws
which had, for the most part, been drafted by the National
Federation of the Blind--laws to guarantee the rights of the
blind to equal access to institutions of higher learning, to
public buildings, and to other places of public resort. Blind
people were not always welcomed, but we were frequently admitted
because it was easier to let us in than to keep us out; and
having learned something of independence and the joys of
participation, we would no longer stay at home, where some
thought we belonged. As the pressure continued to be exerted to
include the blind in all activities of life, the toleration of
the blind slowly changed. It was replaced by a mixture of
cautious suspicion and admiration.

     In the past those who were blind were not expected to be
competent to handle much of anything. When blind people did
something successfully, there was (and sometimes still is) a
measure of surprise that a blind person could do the job at all.
Some have wondered whether the job was really done with
competence, and others have suspected that the apparent success
must be attributable to luck or accident rather than ability. The
situation is made more complex by the legal requirement under the
Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal statutes to
offer the blind reasonable accommodation with the attendant
uncertainty about what this means.

     In some government institutions, for example, this concept
has been distorted to such an extent that it is said to require a
double standard of performance--a higher one for the able-bodied
and a lesser one for the handicapped. In these institutions a
blind employee is required to produce only 50 percent as much
work-product as a sighted employee. In such circumstances to
speak of a blind employee as successful is a mockery and a sham.
It creates mistrust, frustration, and annoyance. There is a
tendency on the part of employers to say, "When I buy a quart of
milk, I'm not prepared to settle for a pint or even a pint and a
half. If this is what the handicapped demand, I will do my best
to avoid them. I will take one of them if I must, but I won't
like it."

     Even with all of the frustration and mistrust, blind people
do perform, and when there is no other convenient explanation for
success, we get the credit, sometimes accompanied by a healthy
dollop of admiration. When the admiration is offered not for
outstanding performance but for the ordinary job done in the
ordinary way in the regular routine, it signifies inferiority. It
implies that the blind worker cannot reasonably be expected to be
successful--that incompetence and failure are the norm for the
blind. The admiration is better than rejection--but not much.

     We who are blind do not want recognition because of our
blindness. We want to be known for the talent, the energy, and
the imagination we possess. We do not believe that the ordinary
job performed by a blind person becomes extraordinary or that
blindness is amazing. We do believe that the ordinary blind
person, given training and opportunity, can perform the ordinary
job in the ordinary place of business and do it as well as the
ordinary sighted person similarly situated. We also believe that
there are many extraordinary blind people, who deserve
recognition for what they are and what they do, but not because
of blindness. It is nice to be admired, but we want the
admiration that we deserve--not false admiration from those who
believe that they are superior to us. They can keep their false
admiration; we are not prepared to accept a counterfeit. We want
the real thing, and we have the talent to earn it.

     The various reactions to blindness included in the shift
from second-class status to first-class citizenship often exist
simultaneously. It is not that one reaction disappears and
another takes its place, but that a reaction which has been
predominant diminishes to permit a different attitude to become
primary. Rejection for the blind still occurs, and toleration is
often an element in the attitude of the general public toward us.
But there is a growing admiration for talented blind people and,
of even more importance, a growing acceptance of the blind in
general.

     One of the more poignant depictions of blindness during the
last twelve months occurred on December 22 of last year on the
nationally televised NBC program "Dateline." Desiree Strand, a
single parent living in Albany, New York, and working as a
business consultant, became blind in 1995 only days before
Christmas. The devastation caused by blindness was featured on
"Dateline" two years later. The ancient myth that blindness is
always an unmitigated tragedy was laid on with a heavy hand.
Desiree Strand says at one point during the dialogue that she
contemplated suicide. She decided not to kill herself because she
has a daughter to raise. She tried rehabilitation but found it
less than satisfactory. Then she received training at a guide dog
school, and her prospects changed. Excerpts from this extensive
program describe the experience this way:
                                
     Tonight: The story of a remarkable woman, and the
extraordinary dog who came to her rescue! It's about a woman of
tenacity and wit [said Jane Pauley, host of the program], a woman
whose happy life was torn apart by a terrible twist of fate.
Dennis Murphy [the "Dateline" reporter] learned how she came back
from the brink with the help of a remarkable friend.

     It happened a few days before Christmas [said the reporter],
and at first Desiree Strand thought, just maybe, she was getting
the best gift of all. She'd lost the vision in her left eye
several years before, but now something in her eye was changing--
maybe for the better. Tingling with excitement and hope, she made
an appointment with the eye doctor.

     I went to the doctor's [said Strand] with joyful
anticipation that I was getting my sight back in my left eye, and
in fact, he informed me I was going blind.

     [The reporter asked] And how much later was it, when you
actually lost the vision?

     [Strand responded] Two days. I turned to my doctor and said,
"Oh my God, what am I going to do? What am I going to do, how am
I going to live? How will I survive?" He said to me, "I don't
know, but you're going to have to find a way."

     [The reporter asked] how did you go about the routines of
your life?

     [Strand answered] I didn't. I lay on my couch, and I waited
for the sun to come through the window--so I could feel it. I was
afraid of falling. I was afraid of looking foolish, and so I
locked myself, literally, in my home. And it dawned on me that I
was taking the one place on earth that I loved very much [and
making of it a prison]. It was a prison, [so I hated it].

     [The reporter asked rhetorically] How could she ever raise
her eleven year-old daughter Mandy? Her consulting business was
all about numbers--poring over the books for new car dealers. How
could a blind person do that?

     [Said Strand] I envisioned myself living in a basement on
public assistance.

     [The reporter stated] her prospects were black as night.

     [Said Strand] I'm probably one of the strongest people
you'll ever meet. It brought me to my knees in a flash. It was
overwhelming, absolutely overwhelming. It was truly the depths of
despair that I think any human being can go through. And I had
the pills in my hand.

     [The reporter sympathized] You were looking over the edge.
How did you crawl back, Desiree?

     [She responded] I reached down real deep for every ounce of
inner strength I could muster. I did it then for my daughter. I
do it now for me.

     Starting over [said the reporter], Desiree had to put her
life back together piece by piece, relearning everything, from
getting toothpaste on the toothbrush, to making sure her shoes
matched. She put her career on hold. Everything she did now was
focused on how to be a blind person.

     [Said Strand] The only thing I didn't have to relearn was
sleeping.

     Let me interrupt the dialogue to reflect that blindness, if
it is not properly understood, can be devastating. But I also
reflect that the language in the "Dateline" program is written
for maximum drama, not for truth. Those of us who are blind need
not relearn everything except sleeping. To declare that every
skill we possessed before we became blind disappears at the onset
of blindness, except the capacity to sleep, is a distortion, a
vast overstatement, one that characterizes the entire
presentation. But back to the program.

     Desiree had devoured books [said the reporter]. Now she was
learning to read with her fingertips. She had to learn to get
about by tapping a cane.

     [Strand said] It's hard as hell to get around. Blindness is
lonely. It's like being in a cocoon.

     [The reporter said] Potholes, cracks in the sidewalk: things
that used to be just annoyances now could break her neck.
Desiree's teacher took her to downtown Albany, New York, for a
gritty lesson with obstacles galore. Like this bicycle left in
the middle of the sidewalk. Desiree knew it was there, somewhere.
She overheard two bystanders giving cynical play-by-play as she
approached.

     Once again I interrupt the "Dateline" presentation to ask
you, how often have those of us who are blind broken our necks on
potholes, cracks in the sidewalk, or bicycles? Such things are
annoyances, but not more than that. But back to the program.

     [The reporter asked] The cane really bugs you, doesn't it?

     [And Strand replied] It bugs the hell out of me. I hate it.
I felt pitiful. I don't want anybody's pity. Absolutely not. Be
happy for me. I'm out and about; I'm not locked in my house.

     But [said the reporter] the clock of her life was still
stopped at that December day. Even though the cane works well for
most, Desiree needed something more to get back to where she was
before she lost her sight. That's when she decided to heed a
friend's advice and investigate the possibility of getting a
guide dog.

     [Strand said] I've tried so hard to put my life back
together again. And this is really the last piece. Now, if the
dog could just drive, we'd be all set.

     [As Strand departed from the guide dog school, she said, in
part] I have spent the last few months of my life getting up each
morning and turning my back on the curse of blindness, telling
it, "You cannot have me; I am not yours--not today." I find
myself walking towards that door once again which was slammed in
my face when I became blind; I will open it and resume my life. I
don't think I can lose. Indeed, I think I've already won.

     And Desiree is back at work [said the reporter]. Back in the
thick of her consulting business she loved so much. Desiree and
her new silent partner in the firm. [She] is back to where she
was before she lost her sight. The clock has started again. It
was a cruel Christmas season, the December she went blind. One
year later, this past Christmas, the greatest gifts turn out to
be the family and friends who saw her through and the
companionship of one special partner, who is so much more than
that.
     [Said Strand] My life is wonderful, and, you know, people
hear me say that, and they say "My God, you're blind! How can you
say you're happy?" I'm happy. I don't feel blind anymore. I felt
different before. I don't feel different anymore. I'm the
happiest I've ever been in my life.

     So says the story on "Dateline" from December 22, 1997, less
than seven months ago. Such descriptions are intended to warm the
heart, renew the belief in goodness and the human spirit, and
remind us that each of us is given a measure of hope and the
strength to bring success to our lives if we have faith and the
willingness to work. But wait, there is something even better.
The reporter has not finished. We return to "Dateline."

     This past June [the reporter said], just when Desiree was
finally comfortable with Braille and she and Ruth had become an
inseparable team, something totally unexpected happened. Desiree
went to see a doctor who specializes in low-vision problems. A
person resigned to being blind for the rest of her life could
see. Her life is enormously improved by her new special glasses.
But she is still legally blind and needs Ruth's help to get
around. The glasses work only for reading, and that is a
struggle. Being able to simply read poems to her daughter Amanda
resting at her feet is something she never thought she'd do.

     Since we first met Desiree [said the reporter], she's also
received a number of awards over the months for her courage and
her strength. She was recently named entrepreneur of the year by
the state of New York, not just for her skills in business, but
for the inspiration she instills in others.

     [At one of the gatherings where Strand was honored she said]
hope is the thing that we need to move forward. Most importantly,
I'd like to thank my twelve-year-old daughter Amanda, who has
believed in me as a mother and a provider. For the longest time I
felt that blindness was a punishment, something that we [my
daughter and I] were going through together. I was wrong. It's a
test. We passed, honey; we passed.

     [Jane Pauley, the host of the program, closed by telling us
these things]: As for Desiree, her condition continues to
improve. She tells us she just saw her eyes in the mirror for the
first time in two years. Seeing her own eyes, she says, makes her
feel like she's been given back her soul.

     This is what the "Dateline" program said, and is it any
wonder that the blind are misunderstood when such drivel is
portrayed on television as reality? "Dateline" saves the
essential point to the final moments of the program. The
significant factor is not the struggle to rebuild a career, not
the reestablishment of a family circle, not the return to
community activity. Desiree Strand is informed that she may be
able to regain her sight. If she can get it, she will be able to
abandon the despondency and despair associated with blindness.
Even with the experience of becoming blind, she has permitted
herself to be duped. Such training as she has been able to get
has not taught her the truth. She equates sight with goodness and
blindness with deprivation. Although as a blind person she has
declared that her life is happy and that she has already won, she
demonstrates no happiness. She thinks that the capacity to see
will allow her to regain possession of her own soul.

     What a Christmas present for the blind of America--what a
shallow, misguided, misleading portrayal! Blindness can be, if it
is not properly understood, a tragedy indeed, but blindness is
not equivalent to inferiority. It need not deprive a person of a
career or prevent a mother from caring for her child. And under
no circumstances can it rob us of the essence of our being--it
cannot take away our souls.

      It is not the blindness itself but the attitudes portrayed
by programs like "Dateline" that stifle the initiative and
curtail the opportunity. "Dateline" does not reject the blind--at
least not overtly. It has admiration for the courage and
fortitude of a blind woman, but its assessment is that the
courage and fortitude are insignificant compared to sight. We
know that this understanding of the relative importance of the
capacity to see is unfounded. "Dateline" admires us, but in doing
so it asserts our inferiority. We reject that formulation. We are
willing to be admired, but only if it is the real thing. And we
will never accept a counterfeit.

     Becoming first-class citizens requires blind people to
perform competently. If we do not, we should face the
consequences. For an employer, through a feeling of charity, to
decide not to dismiss a blind person who has failed is a
disservice not only to the employer but also to us who are blind.
An article from the Associated Press which appeared in January,
1998, describes a disciplinary action taken against a blind
judge. It says in part:

     A state judicial panel Friday suspended Alabama's only blind
judge for failing to keep his docket up to date and trying to
block testimony that the judge feared would show how poorly he
ran his office.

     The State Court of the Judiciary also censured Jefferson
County Circuit Judge Tony Cothren for sleeping on the bench, but
it did not issue sanctions on that count because of undisputed
evidence that he suffers from a sleep disorder.

     Cothren, forty-eight, was suspended with pay until June 30
and without pay for the remainder of his appointed term, which
ends in January, 1999.

     A friend, Jefferson County Tax Collector Jack Williams, said
he was disappointed in the ruling and he felt Cothren had been
"hammered" for having a physical disability.

     "I definitely think he didn't get a fair chance" to work as
a judge, Williams said.

     Cothren also testified he was not aware of ever falling
asleep on the bench, although his lawyers said he has a sleep
disorder and introduced evidence that people with the disorder
don't always realize they doze off for brief times during the
day. Numerous witnesses told the court that Cothren fell asleep
during court proceedings.

     When asked about stacks of court files supposedly littered
throughout his office, the judge said he was not aware of them.
He said he relied on his staff to tell him about such matters.

     Cothren said that, because he is blind, he is more dependent
than most judges on his staff members. He said he must trust them
to do the work he asks them to do because he cannot see it for
himself.

     This is the story from the Associated Press. If the judge
was disciplined because of blindness, as one person believed, we
in the Federation should support him in challenging the decision.
But if the reason for dismissal is a failure to get the work done
and to stay alert, the decision is fair. It is beyond
comprehension that we would ask for special treatment because we
didn't know that the stacks of paper representing court files
littered the office. There are those who want to hide behind the
disability of blindness and blame all their misfortunes on it,
but we know better. We want the admiration that our performance
deserves, and we have the talent required to earn it. But we
insist on the real thing, and we will never accept a counterfeit.

     When I was a boy at the school for the blind in Iowa, all
people were divided into three categories: the sighted, the blind
(sometimes called totals), and the partials--sometimes partially
sighted, sometimes partially blind, but most of the time just
partials. The difference between the partials and the totals was
significant. Partials were permitted to meet guests and give
tours of the campus; totals were not. Partials, if they were old
enough, could travel downtown by themselves. Totals had to be
escorted by partials. Partials were also called "sight-savers"
because they could read large-print books. Totals read Braille,
which was regarded as slow and clumsy. Being a partial was better
than being a total.

     Today, at least in certain erudite professional writing, the
classification is different. The three categories are the
sighted, the blind, and the low-vision. The argument is made that
those who have some remaining sight (we used to call them
partials) are not really sighted but not really blind. The
problems faced by the blind, according to this theory, are fairly
well defined and readily addressed. However, those with some
remaining sight cannot be helped by the techniques for the blind
because these solutions do not apply to them. But the techniques
for the sighted don't work either. Consequently, the low-vision
live in a shadow-world--suffering from the disadvantages of not
being able to handle the world as the sighted do and not being
accepted by the blind.

     Of course it is tempting to dismiss this line of argument as
just one more effort to create a euphemism for blindness--sight-
limited, visually impaired, visually challenged, sight-savers,
partials, or, as some wags would have it, the hard of seeing. But
the professional theorists in the business of advancing the
claims of the low-vision say it's not that simple. There is not
only a physical difference but a psychological one as well, they
say.

     A book by Helen Neal entitled Low Vision: What You Can Do to
Preserve and Even Enhance Your Usable Sight contains suggestions
for adapting the home for the partially sighted. The author
believes that the ordinary comfortable home becomes, for the
partially sighted, a place of inconvenience and danger. Here are
portions of the text that describe this phenomenon:

     As vision deteriorates, [says Neal] the once familiar, safe
household has a disconcerting way of developing hazards that
didn't seem to exist before. Staircases that were once descended
without looking down at all become perilous, one tread
indistinguishable from another. Scatter rugs that one used to
walk on surefootedly slide from underneath. Tiled bathrooms,
their light intensity once perfect for shaving or putting on
makeup, develop a blinding glare. One is less likely to notice
the dog or cat stretched out in pathways from one room to
another. Tripping over invisible family pets is a common accident
for the partially sighted, adding broken bones to an already
crowded list of problems. Some people get rid of pets they have
difficulty seeing. But there are other solutions--an elderly
woman, whose sight had deteriorated to the point where she kept
tripping over the Siamese cat that blended into the gray living
room carpet, instead of getting rid of the cat as everyone
advised, had the carpet dyed a deep reddish brown that contrasted
with the silvery cat.

     That is part of what Neal tells us, but there are other,
more devastating problems, she believes--problems of perception,
problems of communication, problems of psychological wholeness.

     Among the reasons many people with defective vision try to
cover up [Neal tells us] is fear of being labeled blind if they
take rehabilitation courses, and especially of being rejected by
the opposite sex. Dating is a major concern of partially sighted
young adults and of older adults as well. How do you meet people?
Should you admit you have a vision problem if they haven't
already noticed? One young man told about going on a first date
carrying his white cane--the date ended at the front door. At a
dance a young woman whose sight was minimal approached a tall,
slender man and asked him to dance. The tall man with close-
cropped hair turned out to be a woman, very indignant at having
been mistaken for a man. Among the many anxieties besetting the
partially sighted is fear of losing sexual drive and attraction.
In psychiatric language the eyes are an erogenous zone, organs of
sexual excitation. Painters, poets, and lovers have immortalized
the attributes of the eyes: their beauty and power to arrest,
haunt, invite, question, and transmit messages of desire,
melancholy, hatred, adoration. Being unable to see the eyes of
others deprives one of what has been called the little consoling
flirtations of everyday life.

     So says the writing of Helen Neal, but there is more. In her
book, she quotes a man who has lost substantial amounts of
vision. He says he feels "undesirable and unmanly." He laments
not being able to "engage in the sophisticated language of the
eyes." He says that his lack of vision leaves him with "no access
to the eyes' ambiguities, no playful enigmatic dialogue, no
sexual finesse."

     I interrupt to ask you how does such a description strike
you? Have you lost your sexual drive? Do you feel undesirable and
unattractive? Have you lost all of your sexual finesse? But I
return to the writing of Helen Neal.

     She quotes the partially sighted man this way: "I felt
particularly loutish without my eyes. I wondered what signs I was
missing, whether her countenance was sparkling or dull, bored or
preoccupied or aroused. I yearned for the absolute truth of the
eyes' and the body's involuntary code."

     Such writing makes a person wonder whether Helen Neal has
ever met a blind person. When you are with a person of the
opposite sex in a setting where such things matter, can you tell
whether your companion is preoccupied, bored, or interested? And
even though it seems both obvious and elementary, sex can occur
with no involvement of the eyes.

     Although Helen Neal purports to offer a fresh perspective
concerning the lives of those who have lost much but not all of
their sight, there is nothing new in the images presented. She
takes extraordinary pains to avoid using the word "blind." She
tells us that the eye is a part of the essence of our being, and
that this sense organ is necessary to communication in complex
relationships. She says that for those who have lost sight,
simple chores become difficult and complex. This is not new
science, but ancient witchcraft decked out in modern form.

     We in the Federation believe that those with some remaining
sight should use it to the extent that it is useful. The writers
about low vision emphasize sight because they fear blindness.
This fear is transmitted to those who are losing vision, and it
creates a tremendous anxiety. Suppose that the person with a
little sight loses just a little more. Will the cat still be
visible on the newly dyed carpet? How much easier it would be to
learn the techniques of blindness and to combine those techniques
with such sight as remains. How much more effective it would be
to abandon the fear of blindness and accept blind people for what
we are. Those who seek euphemisms for blindness do not believe
that it is respectable to be blind. Although they claim to be
among the most modern thinkers on the subject of low vision,
their attitude is of a bygone era. They are seeking to reject the
blind.

     However, such self-proclaimed experts are not the only
people with the capacity to write. We who are blind, we who make
up the organized blind movement, we will offer our own opinions
and our own advice. We have learned that blindness cannot stop
us, but the writing of such people as Helen Neal may--if we let
them. When we started the Federation, our experience was almost
total rejection, and Helen Neal and the others who write in a
similar vein would resurrect that benighted thinking of a former
day. But they cannot do it, for we will not permit it. This too
is the reason we have formed the National Federation of the
Blind.

     As we gather here at the convention in our thousands from
every part of the nation, what are the prospects for the blind in
the months and years ahead? The "Dateline" program tells us there
is little hope unless we can regain sight. The blind jurist
argues that blindness prevents a person from observing that there
are stacks of files littered throughout the office. The expert in
low vision writes that the lack of sight can cause loss of sexual
finesse and a consequent rejection by members of the opposite
sex. If this were the total picture of our future, the prospects
would be dismal indeed. But it is not the total picture; it is
one scene in a much greater panorama.

      The complete rejection of the blind as part of society,
which was once the norm, has not yet come to an end, but this
primitive approach to blindness is much less prominent than it
was even just a few years ago. The toleration of blind people is
slowly giving way to a sense of admiration and, in many
instances, to genuine acceptance. Such a revolution in
understanding is not a matter of accident; it comes only to those
who earn and demand it. The requirements for success are rigorous
and exacting. But no matter what the cost, we in the Federation
are equal to the challenge. When work must be done, we will do
it. When sacrifices of time, of money, of energy, and of
commitment are required, we will make them. When problems
confront us, we will solve them. And above all else we will
believe in ourselves and each other, and we will share the
dedication that must exist to bring the dream of a brighter
future to reality.

     I will expect of you, the members of the Federation, all
that is best within you, and I will not hesitate to ask for your
support. For my part I will not ask of you what I am not prepared
to give myself. I will stand in the front lines and take whatever
comes, and I will not equivocate or flinch or duck
responsibility. In the past we have been rejected, tolerated, and
admired for the wrong reason--because of our blindness. We will
find the strength and the resolve to change these attitudes so
that we who are blind gain full acceptance. In so doing we will
lose the high profile so often associated with blindness and will
reach anonymity. We want no false admiration from those who think
us their inferiors. Instead we insist on the real thing, with all
the recognition that this implies. And we will not rest until we
have it. Join me, and we will make it come true!

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Deane Blazie]
                     Attending Conventions:
                 Deane Blazie Makes a Statement

     From the Editor: In a field as comparatively small and
inbred as the blindness field, a number of producers and vendors
seem to struggle over the question of identification with one or
other of the consumer groups. Not surprisingly, loyal members of
each group would like to believe that their favorite suppliers
agree with them about the various issues on which the NFB and ACB
frequently disagree.

     A company--or even an agency--may require that its employees
have nothing to do with either group, but such a policy is not
very sensible. The result is not the objectivity, which was
presumably intended, but fence-sitting of a particularly
uncomfortable and cowardly sort. Blind and sighted employees
alike, if they are worth their salt, should know about and have
views on the issues big and small that shape the lives of their
blind customers.

     Having personal opinions and convictions, however, need not
affect the quality of the service or equipment provided. When Dr.
Jernigan was Director of the Iowa Commission for the Blind, he
constantly made it clear that the group affiliation of a blind
consumer of agency services would never determine the excellence
of the services provided by his staff. In fact, it seems to me
that employees should be reprimanded for showing bias of any kind
because of politics in the field. I have no personal knowledge of
what effect ACB affiliation has on the general quality of service
delivery by its members employed in the field, but over and over
again I have observed NFB members go more than the extra mile to
help a blind customer just because of their own personal
commitment to the concept that every blind person should have the
chance to succeed.

     Last spring Deane Blazie and Blazie Engineering began
receiving pronounced criticism for their corporate decision not
to attend the ACB convention again in 1998. On June 15 Mr. Blazie
finally made a statement of his position in an open letter which
he put on the Blazie Engineering listserv. It is an articulate
statement of an eminently sensible corporate policy. Here it is:

Dear Customers,

     Recently there has been a lot of discussion about Blazie
Engineering's decision not to participate in the ACB convention
the last two years. There have been e-mails, letters, Internet
discussions, stories, and proclamations. Many of them have been
thoughtful and serious; many of the questions have been probing;
many of the complaints courteous.

     Not all of it has been nice, of course. In any controversy
there is rumor, error, innuendo, and misinformation. Some of it
arises from heartfelt passion, some of it to further personal and
professional agendas. In the hope of answering the questions and
to help in putting the record straight, I want to take this
opportunity to respond and tell our side of the story.

     First, however, I want to make a critical point. The issues
involving NFB and ACB have no connection to the relationship
Blazie Engineering has with its customers. I don't like wasting
words, and I don't like repeating myself, but this point is too
important to pass over lightly: The issues involving NFB and ACB
have no connection to the relationship Blazie Engineering has
with its customers. None.

     The relationship we have with our customers is the
centerpiece of our business. It is the reason we have survived
and prospered. Making a good product is not enough. You must
build trust, create customers that become lifelong friends, and
you must listen to the people you serve.

     We do.

     We DO NOT ask anyone whether they belong to one organization
or another. We ask them how we can help, and that is all we ask
because that is all we need to know.

     The suggestion that our support of NFB affects how we do
business is, at best, disingenuous. At worst it is an attempt to
force us to change our position by frightening our customers. It
won't work because we believe in the rightness of our decision
and because our customers know better. I am sorry but not
surprised to see this tactic used, but anyone who knows us knows
how shallow the charge is.

     Now that we have gotten that nonissue out of the way, we can
get to the question at hand: Why has Blazie Engineering chosen
not to attend the ACB convention for the past two years?

     To understand the answer, you need to know a little bit
about me and about the origins of Blazie Engineering. I promise
to keep this part short, but it is important. My introduction to
electronics and to the special world of the blind started when I
was a boy in Frankfort, Kentucky, and made friends with a
remarkable man--Tim Cranmer--a name some of you will recognize.
That friendship was one of the most important in my life, and I
learned a great deal from it. Most important in the long run,
perhaps, was the role it had in helping me develop a political
and personal philosophy.

     Slightly less than twenty years ago I made my first computer
for the blind, and just over ten years ago I made the first
Braille 'n Speak. In fact, I made ten of them, using all the
money I had, and I took them to the NFB convention. From a
business point of view I suppose the story is that I came home
with all ten of them sold and with enough orders to start the
business for real. But I came away with a lot more than just
orders. I made friends. I got advice. I got support. Anyone who
has built a business knows that these things are as valuable in
their own way as orders.

     I also found kindred spirits, people who had the same views
as I did about being advocates for the blind, people who were
committed to the same goals and ideals that Tim and I had
discussed. I had found my place.

     Blazie Engineering grew up with the NFB. Over time the
relationship strengthened, and we found ourselves active and
eager participants in many of their projects. We have supported
their goals. We believe it is an important and effective
organization.

     Last year we had our ten-year celebration at the NFB
convention. Because of the commitment that required from us, we
decided we could not attend the ACB convention. The ACB responded
by passing a proclamation attacking Blazie Engineering. I still
do not know why they did that--don't understand why they would
have bothered.

     I did not seek to be caught in the conflict between ACB and
NFB, but I am. Contrary to some of the charges that have been
made, this is not a business decision. And this is not just about
loyalty. This is a personal and philosophical decision. I have
always been a Federationist. I believe in the organization. It is
the most active, aggressive, effective, and important spokesman
for the blind in the world.

     ACB is largely a social organization. It is unfortunate, but
I believe it siphons off energy and resources from NFB. Despite
their proclamation, I harbor no animus or ill will toward the
organization, and I remain personal friends with many of its
members. But there can be no question about which organization I
support. In the end I am not doing this because I was caught in
the middle; I am doing it because it is the right thing to do.

     I know my position will not satisfy every person. Any time
you find yourself trying to make everyone happy, you can be sure
that you are doing something wrong. It isn't personal. I respect
the people who disagree with me, and I hope they return the
feeling.

                                                     Deane Blazie
                              President, Blazie Engineering, Inc.

[PHOTO/CAPTION: Ramona Walhof (left), Committee chairwoman;
Sheryl Pickering, Committee secretary; and James Gashel,
Committee consultant, listen carefully to a speaker during the
Resolutions committee meeting.]
                   Resolutions Adopted by the
                    Annual Convention of the
                National Federation of the Blind
                           July, 1998
                        by Ramona Walhof

     As usual President Maurer appointed a large and diverse
Resolutions Committee this year. There were forty-nine members
from thirty states. Eleven committee members are attorneys, and
twenty are state presidents. In addition, two individuals were
appointed to advise the committee regarding technical matters.
They were Jim Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs, and
Curtis Chong, Director of the Technology Department, both staff
members at the National Center for the Blind. I did not attempt
further to categorize committee members, but it is a delightful
and hard-working group.

     Any member of the Federation may submit a resolution to the
committee. These resolutions must be received by the President or
the chairman no less than two weeks ahead of the committee
meeting. The committee reads each resolution, discusses it, and
votes either to recommend that the convention pass it or refuses
to send it to the floor. Each resolution must have a sponsor at
the committee meeting. After the resolution is read, the sponsor
has the opportunity to speak about it as part of the committee
discussion.

     This year I received nineteen resolutions. One was withdrawn
before the committee met. Two were withdrawn after discussion
with the committee. Another was voted down. The other fifteen
were passed by the committee and presented to the convention.
This year most of the resolutions were discussed on the floor
Friday afternoon. Each of the fifteen resolutions was voted on
and passed by the convention. They now constitute policy of the
National Federation of the Blind. Therefore, they will be printed
in full later in this article. Here are brief summaries of our
fifteen new policy statements.

     Resolution 98-01 commends the National Council of State
Agencies for the Blind for honoring Dr. Jernigan and for its
efforts to work more closely with the NFB in providing better
services to blind people.

     Resolution 98-02 calls upon the U.S. Congress to pass
currently pending legislation on exempt earnings for blind
people.

     Resolution 98-03 states NFB's insistence on equal access to
electronic information technology for the blind and calls upon
governmental agencies to remember this when they procure, use, or
regulate this technology.

     Resolution 98-04 calls upon producers and developers of set-
top boxes to confer with and respond to designated
representatives of the NFB in order to provide equal access to
the blind.

     Resolution 98-05 calls upon the U.S. Congress to revise, re-
enact, and improve the technology assistance act to provide
better access to technology for the blind.

     Resolution 98-06 calls upon those responsible for
implementing the 1997 IDEA Amendments to be conscientious and
firm.

     Resolution 98-07 states that this organization opposes bill
H.R. 3433 as passed by the House of Representatives because it
could encourage minimal training and dead-end jobs for the
disabled instead of real careers.

     Resolution 98-08 calls upon the courts of Hawaii not to
adopt the settlement offered in Crowder, et al. v. Nakatani, et
al. (Civil No. 93-00213 DAE), which would restrict the freedom of
blind people to use guide dogs in Hawaii at a time when it should
be expanded.

     Resolution 98-09 calls upon the U.S. Congress, especially
the chairman and members of the House Committee on Resources, to
include an amendment to S.1693 to insure that the provisions of
the Randolph-Sheppard Act are acknowledged when the bill is
considered by the House.

     Resolution 98-10 condemns the position by the Acting
Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army regarding the Randolph-
Sheppard Act and calls upon the Secretary of Education to defend
and preserve the Randolph-Sheppard program.

     Resolution 98-11 objects to the idea that the committee
which administers sheltered workshops can appropriately have
anything to do with assessing the Randolph-Sheppard program.

     Resolution 98-12 calls upon all blood glucose monitor
developers and manufacturers to shift from hanging-drop-of-blood
systems to simpler and more accessible test strip types.

     Resolution 98-13 calls upon the Social Security
Administration to make work incentives a top priority pursuant to
Executive Order 13078.

     Resolution 98-14 opposes the inclusion of rehabilitation
funds for the blind in block grants from the federal government
to the states.

     Resolution 98-15 commends the responsible leaders in
Congress for including the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation
Act in the workforce development program legislation and calls
upon Congress for action immediately.


                        Resolution 98-01
                                
     WHEREAS, the National Council of State Agencies for the
Blind (NCSAB) has recognized Dr. Kenneth Jernigan with its first
Lifetime Achievement Award; and

     WHEREAS, this recognition by the NCSAB in particular is both
a distinctive honor for Dr. Jernigan and an act of noteworthy
importance in paying tribute to his service on behalf of all
blind people as the principal leader of the organized blind
movement and President and President Emeritus of the National
Federation of the Blind: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this ninth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization officially express its
appreciation to the National Council of State Agencies for the
Blind for honoring Dr. Kenneth Jernigan with the first Lifetime
Achievement Award ever presented by that organization; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we particularly commend the
leadership of the National Council of State Agencies for the
Blind for the constructive efforts being made to work in harmony
with the National Federation of the Blind on behalf of better
programs and improved services for blind people throughout the
United States.

                        Resolution 98-02

     WHEREAS, Representative Barbara Kennelly and Senators John
McCain and Christopher Dodd have sponsored legislation to restore
the policy of an identical earnings exemption threshold for blind
people and age-sixty-five retirees; and

     WHEREAS, this legislation, introduced in the 105th Congress
as H.R. 612 and S. 375, would reenact the statutory linkage
approach for exempt earnings which existed for a continuous
period of eighteen years before the policy was broken in favor of
mandated adjustments in the earnings exemption for seniors but
not the blind; and

     WHEREAS, 191 members of the House of Representatives and 32
Senators (including the leaders of both the majority and the
minority in the Senate) have placed their names on this
legislation as cosponsors in the present Congress, demonstrating
that substantial support now exists for correcting the injustice
that was done by excluding blind people from the series of
mandated adjustments in exempt earnings: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization call upon the Congress to
approve the pending legislation on exempt earnings for blind
people since, as in the case of retirees, this is the best, most
certain way to promote the opportunity to work.

                        Resolution 98-03
                                
     WHEREAS, developments in information technology now being
used for communication by electronic means are changing the way
in which ideas and knowledge are spread throughout our society
and the world; and

     WHEREAS, the new methods of information exchange resulting
from these developments are affecting participation in society in
a growing number of ways, including personal communications,
provision of educational services, conduct of business, and
interaction with entities of government for required filings, to
obtain information and services, or to take part in the political
process; and

     WHEREAS, entities engaged in the design and use of
electronic information technology have a responsibility to assure
equal participation, especially when the technology or
information content is intended for general use; and

     WHEREAS, the new forms of communication by electronic means
hold much promise for providing blind people with ready access
and equal participation, but--except in the most unusual of
cases--the design of both the technology and the content
presented presumes that everyone who uses the technology or
receives the information can see; and

     WHEREAS, participation on equal terms requires equal access
to the channels of communication and sources of information
available: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization insist upon equal access to
electronic information technology as fundamental to the right of
equal participation throughout our society; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Federation seek the
enforcement of existing laws and the enactment of new laws and
standards for nonvisual access so that equal participation by
means of equal (including nonvisual) access will be embraced as a
fundamental right by all entities of government involved in the
procurement, use, or regulation of electronic information
technology.

                        Resolution 98-04

     WHEREAS, digital set-top boxes and other electronic devices
currently under development will enhance the conventional
television by enabling it to be used as a focal point for access
to a variety of information and interactive services such as the
Internet, interactive cable and telephone services, and a host of
other information offerings; and

     WHEREAS, prototypes of such devices are currently being
tested without the participation of blind consumers; and

     WHEREAS, digital set-top boxes and similar devices are
substantially inaccessible to blind persons; and

     WHEREAS, the designers and manufacturers of these devices
have not sought to obtain advice from experts on blindness and
access technology in order to produce a product which complies
with Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which
requires that telecommunications equipment and services be made
accessible to blind persons and which is administered by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC); and

     WHEREAS, designers and manufacturers of set-top boxes such
as IBM, Visual Information Services Corporation, Microsoft
Corporation, Sony Corporation, Philips Corporation, and other
companies have made no effort to work with the National
Federation of the Blind, the largest and most influential
organization of the blind in the country, in designing their
equipment to be accessible and usable by blind persons; and

     WHEREAS, within a few years digital interactive set-top
boxes and similar digital technologies will be required in order
to receive virtually all information services, and lack of access
for blind persons will lead to isolation from the mainstream
channels of communication open to every one else: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization call upon designers and
manufacturers of digital set-top boxes and similar equipment to
design their products to be accessible to and usable by blind
persons; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization declare its
desire and willingness to consult with the industry on this
important issue and take all necessary steps to ensure that set-
top boxes and similar devices are accessible to and usable by the
blind--including, but not limited to--consulting with designers
and manufacturers of set-top boxes and similar technology;
seeking administrative remedies available under the
Telecommunications Act of 1996; and, as a last resort, litigation
as may be necessary.

                        Resolution 98-05

     WHEREAS, authorizations for programs conducted under the
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities
Act (known popularly as the "Tech Act") will expire at the end of
September, 1998, unless Congress approves legislation to continue
or recreate these programs in some form; and

     WHEREAS, programs conducted under the Tech Act have been
spread across the entire spectrum of disability needs with the
result that their impact in bringing resources to bear upon the
access needs of blind people has been minimal; and

     WHEREAS, Congress is considering proposals to continue a
state-grant technology-assistance program and to revise the
policy approach and program emphasis of the Tech Act in positive
and relevant ways which may include assistance to promote
leadership by consumers in the evaluation of technology and
expanded support for low-interest loans and loan-guarantee
programs to assist individuals in obtaining needed technology;
and

     WHEREAS, provisions in the revised version of the Tech Act
must especially affirm the right of access, including nonvisual
access, to information technology when such technology is
marketed for sale to the public or is generally available for
public use, especially when such technology is used for
communications or for any course of instruction in the case of
any tax-supported program; and

     WHEREAS, elements such as these would improve the policy
direction and program emphasis of the Tech Act by addressing
present-day concerns of blind people who could otherwise be
excluded from the benefits of the modern communications
technology now evolving in the information age: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization encourage the Congress to
revise and re-enact the technology assistance program prior to
the expiration of the current Tech Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support a redirection in the
policy and program emphasis of the technology assistance law so
that the goals of access--including access to financial
assistance for technology acquisition and access in the use or
modification of technology for nonvisual use--will be supported
as a top priority and can be achieved through this program.

                        Resolution 98-06
                                
     WHEREAS, landmark legislation to improve the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed by Congress and
signed by President Clinton in June, 1997; and

     WHEREAS, the IDEA Amendments of 1997 contain important new
provisions on the content of the Individualized Education Program
(IEP) required to be used for each child eligible for special
education services; and

     WHEREAS, the law specifies that Braille instruction and the
use of Braille must be included in the IEP of each blind child
unless the IEP team--including the child's parents--determines
that Braille services are not necessary based on evaluations of
reading and writing performance and consideration of the child's
future literacy needs; and

     WHEREAS, provisions of the new law--including the
specifications for content to be addressed in each child's IEP--
are now under serious and sustained attack by organizations
representing school boards, school administrators, and general
education professionals who originally opposed the IDEA
amendments but eventually agreed to the compromise legislation
which was negotiated in good faith in 1997; and

     WHEREAS, the organized opposition to the IDEA Amendments of
1997 is likely to result in efforts to change the law by way of
amendments placed on annual appropriations bills or other
legislation expected to be passed before the end of the present
Congress; and

     WHEREAS, the efforts to change the law by creating an
atmosphere of controversy and angry opposition in the Congress
have placed all of the new provisions--including Braille
instruction for blind children--in jeopardy while plans are made
to promote amendments which will not be disclosed in their full
scope and content until the time for presentation and voting is
at hand: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization urge the Congress to stand
firm in upholding the IDEA amendments which were finally passed
in 1997 after several years of controversy; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon the officials and
professionals responsible for implementing the law to honor the
commitments made in the passage of the 1997 amendments.

                        Resolution 98-07

     WHEREAS, the beneficiary rehabilitation program of the
Social Security Administration allows for payment of costs for
training and employment assistance provided to a beneficiary who
becomes employed and leaves the rolls; and

     WHEREAS, with the limited exception of services obtained
from only a few so-called "alternate providers," the beneficiary
rehabilitation program pays for services from state vocational
rehabilitation agencies and not from any other source; and

     WHEREAS, legislation passed by the House of Representatives
as H.R. 3433 now pending in the Senate would expand the
beneficiary rehabilitation program to allow for virtually any
agency of the beneficiary's choice to be reimbursed for services
provided, but only after successful employment is achieved; and

     WHEREAS, this approach, while well-intentioned in its
emphasis on beneficiary choice, is essentially a way of using
revenues from the Social Security Administration to subsidize
programs otherwise known as sheltered workshops that both train
and then employ the persons served; and

     WHEREAS, provisions for a milestone payment system as an
alternative to the reimbursement system are so far ill-defined,
making it unlikely that beneficiaries with significant adjustment
and training needs such as the blind would have a choice of
providers other than state agencies under the existing program:
Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization oppose H.R. 3433 as passed
by the House of Representatives on the basis that this
legislation would promote the expediency of short-term training
and quick-fix jobs instead of providing resources for extensive
services and quality jobs.

                        Resolution 98-08

     WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind opposes
application of animal quarantine procedures by the state of
Hawaii in the case of blind persons who use guide dogs; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano has been a champion of
removing the procedures for blind residents of the state and in
fact assisted in the preparation of a provisional rule to that
effect; and

     WHEREAS, in a lawsuit entitled Crowder, et. al. v. Nakatani,
et. al. (Civil No. 93-00213 DAE), brought under the Americans
with Disabilities Act and supported by the United States
Department of Justice, various plaintiffs, including persons and
organizations claiming to represent the blind, challenged
application of the quarantine to blind guide dog users but have
decided instead to ask for a court-approved settlement; and

     WHEREAS, concessions agreed to in the proposed settlement
include the following:

     (1) that each guide dog user must abide by extensive
procedures for testing and rabies-free certification of the dog
with no assurance that the quarantine will not be imposed even
though the procedures have been followed and the dog is rabies-
free;

     (2) that the procedures for testing and rabies-free
certification are as onerous for Hawaiians with guide dogs as
they are for non-residents who may visit the state with their
guide dogs;

     (3) that guide dogs trained by owners or by any source other
than a school on a state-approved list are subject to the
quarantine even if they are rabies-free;

     (4) that guide dog users who must visit the state of Hawaii
for emergencies must have their dogs quarantined and, when
leaving the quarantine station, must be accompanied by a sighted
person at all times and can only go to places related to the
emergency;

     (5) that guide dog users may stay only in state-approved
hotels or in homes of residents of the state that are
specifically pre-approved by the state;

     (6) that the use of a guide dog means the waiver of the
right to privacy since a record of each user's travel to the
state will be kept and routinely furnished both to the plaintiffs
and to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, the proposed settlement with the terms just
described is a compromise of civil rights for expediency and as
such will enshrine in the law the principle that the use of a
guide dog is a valid reason for such rights to be abridged when a
case can be made to do so; and

     WHEREAS, for residents of Hawaii, the proposed settlement
concessions would roll back the clock and impose onerous
restrictions which Governor Cayetano had worked cooperatively
with the blind of the state to remove: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore the
compromise of civil rights for expediency as proposed in Crowder
v. Nakatani and declare the proposed settlement itself to be an
express denial of civil rights affecting not only the blind who
use guide dogs but all blind persons as well; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the Attorney General of
the United States, Janet Reno, to withdraw the Justice
Department's agreement to the proposed settlement on the basis
that the very terms of the settlement impose discriminatory
restrictions upon blind persons in contravention of the Americans
with Disabilities Act; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge the
United States District Court for the District of Hawaii to reject
the proposed settlement in Crowder v. Nakatani on the basis that
the terms which it would impose upon both the residents and non-
residents of Hawaii are contrary to the Constitution and laws of
the United States.

                        Resolution 98-09

     WHEREAS, Title IV of S.1693, as recently approved by the
United States Senate and now pending in the House, is entitled
"The National Park Service Management Improvement Act of 1998";
and

     WHEREAS, the provisions of this legislation are essentially
designed to ensure that virtually all contracts for concession
services in national parks are awarded through a competitive
process with the offer of a franchise fee paid by the
concessionaire to be considered as one of four principal factors
when the Secretary of the Interior evaluates proposals and awards
such contracts; and

     WHEREAS, by the plain terms of the Randolph-Sheppard Act,
the priority established for the placement and operation of
vending facilities by the blind on federal property applies to
national parks and public land areas to precisely the same extent
that it applies to federal buildings; and

     WHEREAS, although the Secretary of the Interior would be
authorized to set aside the use of the competitive process for
limited commercial use authorizations or in "extraordinary
circumstances where compelling and equitable considerations
require the award of a concession contract to a particular party
in the public interest," these provisions do not specify that the
competitive process must be set aside for compliance with the
Randolph-Sheppard Act, and in fact the provisions of title IV of
S.1693 fail to acknowledge or even mention the priority required
by law for blind vendors; and

     WHEREAS, failure to cite compliance with the Randolph-
Sheppard Act as a specific requirement is likely to create a
statutory conflict and will certainly reduce the likelihood that
blind vendors would be awarded concessions opportunities in
national parks: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization call for a clarifying
amendment to the concessions-management provisions of S.1693 when
this legislation is considered in the House of Representatives;
and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge the Chairman,
Representative Don Young of Alaska, and members of the House
Committee on Resources to specify compliance with the priority
for blind persons under the Randolph-Sheppard Act as an essential
requirement in the bill before it is reported to the House.

                        Resolution 98-10
                                
     WHEREAS, leadership for government-wide compliance with the
Randolph-Sheppard Act is vested in the office of the Secretary of
Education and is further delegated to officials within the
Department of Education, such as the Commissioner of the
Rehabilitation Services Administration; and

     WHEREAS, the lead agency authority for government-wide
compliance includes the authority to interpret the law and to
issue regulations which are binding on all other departments and
agencies of the Federal government; and

     WHEREAS, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Research,
Development and Acquisition of the United States Army has
notified Army procurement officers of his interpretation of the
Randolph-Sheppard Act and instructed them not to award contracts
for food service in military mess halls to state licensing
agencies under the Randolph-Sheppard Act; and

     WHEREAS, this action is a knowing and calculated assault
upon the Randolph-Sheppard Act and particularly upon the
authority of the Secretary of Education to interpret it in regard
to the types of facilities covered on all federal property; and

     WHEREAS, allowing this action to stand would nullify the
Secretary of Education's authority to interpret and coordinate
government-wide compliance with the Randolph-Sheppard Act and
would thereby lead to further erosion of the blind vendor
priority: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization condemn and deplore the
arrogant disregard for the law shown by the Acting Assistant
Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition of the United
States Army in his issuance of instructions which he knew to be
contrary to the express position of the Department of Education;
and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Federation support and
insist upon a vigorous response from the Secretary of Education
in asserting the authority granted by the Randolph-Sheppard Act
whenever it is under attack by the U.S. Army or by any other
Federal department or agency.

                        Resolution 98-11

     WHEREAS, on March 13, 1998, President Clinton issued
Executive Order 13078 for the purpose of increasing employment of
adults with disabilities to a rate that is as close as possible
to the employment rate of the general adult population; and

     WHEREAS, although laudable in its goals, the Executive Order
in section 2(C) specifies that the Committee for Purchase from
People who are Blind or Severely Disabled is to have a role in
assessing the impact of the Randolph-Sheppard vending program on
employment and small business opportunities for people with
disabilities; and

     WHEREAS, the vagueness of the language in section 2(C) leads
to the troubling conclusion that the drafters of this Executive
Order are calling into question the mission of the Randolph-
Sheppard Act and suggesting that the Committee, which only
administers an employment-in-sheltered-workshops program, has
some sort of special knowledge about businesses operated by the
blind, which it does not; and

     WHEREAS, rather than serving as a constructive force for
entrepreneurial opportunities for blind or disabled people, the
Committee's narrow view and statutory purpose is to promote
direct labor jobs for blind and disabled people in sheltered work
programs, making it completely unqualified to provide any
assessment whatsoever of business-opportunity programs such as
the Randolph-Sheppard Act; and

     WHEREAS, in a consistent pattern of conflicts with the U.S.
Department of Education, the Committee has established a record
of promoting employment for disabled people in sheltered work
over business opportunities for blind people under the Randolph-
Sheppard Act, leaving no question as to the Committee's narrow
orientation: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization advise the task force
responsible for implementing Executive Order 13078 of its
profound objection to the notion that the Committee that
administers the employment-in-sheltered-work programs can play a
constructive role in assessing the impact of the Randolph-
Sheppard Act on small business opportunities based on the
Committee's record of promoting sheltered work over any other
form of employment.

                        Resolution 98-12

     WHEREAS, The Center for Disease Control estimates 15.7
million Americans have diabetes and calls diabetes "the leading
cause of new cases of blindness in adults twenty to seventy-four
years old," making this an issue of great interest to the
National Federation of the Blind; and

     WHEREAS, all diabetics, blind and sighted, need to monitor
blood glucose levels accurately and frequently in order to
maintain health and reduce risk of complications; and

     WHEREAS, many of the common and popular types of home blood
glucose monitors available today require a hanging drop of blood
for correct measurement, a complex, vision-intensive move which
is difficult for many sighted diabetics and an unnecessary burden
to blind diabetics or those losing vision; and

     WHEREAS, other, simpler means of depositing blood onto the
test strip already exist, but most have yet to be integrated into
glucose meters with speech output for the blind: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, this organization call upon all blood-glucose-
monitor developers and manufacturers to shift from hanging-drop-
of-blood systems to simpler and more accessible test-strip types.

                        Resolution 98-13

     WHEREAS, provisions to allow work while continuing the
payment of benefits are part of the Social Security Disability
Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs and are
supposed to operate as work incentives; and

     WHEREAS, these work-incentive provisions are complicated
enough as written in the law, but the lack of clarity in the
approach used by the Social Security Administration in regard to
work incentives is even more baffling both for beneficiaries and
for employees of the Social Security Administration, as well; and

     WHEREAS, the failure of the Social Security Administration
to create and apply rational standards and reasonably workable
procedures to implement the work incentive provisions nullifies
the value of the provisions by creating an atmosphere of
uncertainty, confusion, and mistrust; and

     WHEREAS, efforts to promote rehabilitation and self-
sufficiency among beneficiaries are worthy but will end up with
disappointing results if beneficiaries who respond to the
encouragement are then caught up in allegations of overpayments
and the quagmire of rules and standards used to resolve them; and

     WHEREAS, the use of clear and workable procedures for work
incentives is unquestionably possible and should be particularly
beneficial in the case of blind people whose eligibility is
governed by more precise statutory criteria as compared to the
regulations which in other cases define disability and
eligibility for benefits: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization promote the resolution of
the work-incentive quagmire as a top-priority objective for the
Social Security Administration in its administration of the
Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs;
and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we insist upon the adoption of a
clear, fair, and rational approach for the administration of the
work-incentive provisions as an immediate initiative to be made
by the Social Security Administration in responding to Executive
Order 13078 pertaining to employment of people with disabilities.

                        Resolution 98-14
                                
     WHEREAS, distribution of federal dollars by means of a
block-grant, no-strings-attached approach is promoted as a
panacea for the alleged inefficiency of more targeted or
categorical federal programs; and

     WHEREAS, the approach for federal block grants for programs
such as education and workforce development was recently proposed
by the National Governors' Association at its winter, 1998,
meeting in an attempt to convince the Congress to provide funds
to the states in broad categories for discretionary spending at
the state level rather than to enact or reauthorize specific
federal programs, such as state grants for vocational
rehabilitation; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Slade Gorton of Washington State sponsored
an education block-grant amendment which included funds to be
removed from the Vocational Rehabilitation program and which
passed the Senate last fall on a vote of fifty-one to forty-nine;
and

     WHEREAS, although Senator Gorton said after the vote that he
had not intended to include funds from Vocational Rehabilitation
in the block grant, the threat resulting from this amendment was
very real and could reoccur at any moment on the floor of the
U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives; and

     WHEREAS, rather than being a panacea for the improvement of
programs, approval of a block-grant approach as advocated by the
National Governors' Association and Senator Gorton would create a
melee of competition for a shrinking pot of federal dollars, with
the result that programs serving the blind (which are
comparatively small) would often be overtaken by others in the
scramble to survive: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization reaffirm its vigorous
opposition to the use of the block-grant approach in which funds
for services for the blind would be included; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge all
members of Congress to give block-grant proposals a strict-
scrutiny test in order to insure that targeted and categorical
programs that meet a defined need, such as services for the
blind, are not swept away in the rush to make a political
statement.

                        Resolution 98-15

     WHEREAS, legislation to consolidate federal vocational
education, training, and employment assistance programs into a
single workforce-development system has been passed in different
forms by the House of Representatives and the Senate; and

     WHEREAS, in passing their respective versions of the
workforce-development bills both the Senate and the House of
Representatives have kept faith with their express commitment to
continue programs in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 under funding
authorities and statutory provisions that are separate and
distinct from the consolidated workforce-development system; and

     WHEREAS, provisions included in both bills are similar in
important respects and promise to improve the public vocational
rehabilitation program, particularly in regard to responsiveness
to consumers; and

     WHEREAS, the changes expected in the Rehabilitation Act,
such as strengthened client-choice language, presumed eligibility
for disability insurance beneficiaries or SSI recipients, and new
requirements for procurement of accessible information technology
for employee and public use, fulfill important objectives of the
National Federation of the Blind: Now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in
convention assembled this tenth day of July, 1998, in the City of
Dallas, Texas, that this organization express strong support for
the present effort underway in Congress to enact a final bill on
the consolidation of workforce-development programs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we commend the responsible
leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for
the approach being taken in this legislation in regard to the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and urge them to bring the entire bill
forward for final passage within the next few weeks.

                      Convention Miniatures

Blind Science Students Needed:
     Brian Buhrow, who chairs the NFB Research and Development
Committee, recently wrote to say that Arizona State University is
conducting research to determine the feasibility of using rapid-
prototyping techniques to provide instructional materials to
blind students completing post-secondary courses in the sciences.
Rapid prototyping is a technique for producing three-dimensional
scale models of complex computer-rendered drawings. For example,
it is traditionally used in manufacturing to allow parts
designers to produce samples quickly and easily. These samples
allow designers to experience their designs using tangible parts
to understand better the way their designs translate into
product.

     Because rapid-prototyping techniques can be used to turn
almost any computer-rendered three-dimensional image into an
actual object, which one can touch and hold, it can also be used
to create models of objects which are normally too small or large
to touch. For example, it is possible to collect images of human
blood cells through microscopes, generate computer-rendered
images, and turn them into three-dimensional objects which are
accurately scaled up to a size discernible by the human hand. It
is also possible to go the other direction and scale large
objects--a model of the Empire State Building, for example--down
to a few inches.

     Dr. Anshuman Razdan of the Prism Project at Arizona State
University came to our convention this year to learn about how we
might be able to help him learn how useful rapid prototyping
would be in instructing blind students in scientific course work.
Specifically he is interested in helping produce three-
dimensional models of various objects for blind students who are
taking scientific courses during the 1998-99 academic year.
Because this is an experimental project, Dr. Razdan is able to
work with only a few students during this academic year. However,
he is particularly interested in working with blind students who
are pursuing courses in the biological, physical, and
architectural sciences. Students analyzing laboratory data are
also of interest here.

     The plan is to have the students work directly with Dr.
Razdan's office to gain access to visual models throughout the
academic year. Students will be expected to provide feedback to
the Prism Project about what worked and what didn't, and the
Prism Project will work with the students to try to provide
access to handouts, laboratory data, etc. The exact details of
what will be provided and expected of students participating in
the program will be worked out between each student and the folks
at the Prism Project.

     Blind students reading this and pursuing or about to pursue
a course in which access to non-textual, visual data might be
helpful should contact us to indicate an interest in
participating in this program. To learn more about it or to
express interest in participating, please contact Brian Buhrow at
(831) 423-6743 or <buhrow@nfbcal.org>.

Division Election Results:
     A number of divisions conducted elections during the 1998
convention in Dallas. Here are the results of the elections about
which we were notified:

     The Science and Engineering Division: John Miller,
President; Michael Gosse, Vice President; Brian Buhrow,
Secretary; Robert Jaquiss, Treasurer; Angela Lee and Abraham
Nemeth, Board Members.

     The National Association of Blind Educators: Bonnie
Peterson, President; Mary Willows, First Vice President; Allen
Harris, Second Vice President; John Smith, Secretary; Pattie
Harmon, Treasurer; and David Ticchi and Carolyn Braak, Board
Members.

     The National Association of Guide Dog Users: Suzanne Walen,
President; Dana Ard, Vice President; Eugenia Firth, Secretary;
and Priscilla Ferris, Treasurer.

     The Diabetes Action Network: Ed Bryant, President; Janet
Lee, First Vice President; Sandie Addy, Second Vice President;
Sally York, Secretary; Bruce Peters, Treasurer; and Eric Wood and
Gisela Distel, Board Members.

     The National Association of Secretaries and Transcribers:
Lisa Hall, President; Janet Triplett, First Vice President; Mary
Donahue, Second Vice President; and Carol Clark, Secretary.

     The Deaf-Blind Division: Joseph B. Naulty, President;
Maurice Mines, First Vice President; Burnell E. Brown, Second
Vice President; Terry Criswell, Recording Secretary; Lisa Hall,
Corresponding Secretary; Kimberly Johnson, Treasurer; and Dana
Ard, Robert Jacquiss, and Robert Deaton, Board Members.

     The National Organization of the Senior Blind: Christine
Hall, President; Ray McGeorge, First Vice President; Kathy
Randall, Second Vice President; Paul Dressell, Secretary; and Don
Pruitt, Treasurer.

     The Music Division: Linda Mentink, President; Mary Brunoli,
First Vice President; Karen McDonald, Second Vice President; Mary
Donahue, Secretary; and Ben Snow, Treasurer.

     The Merchants Division: Donald J. Morris, President; Joseph
VanLent, First Vice President; Kevan Worley, Second Vice
President; Pam Schnurr, Secretary; Don Hudson, Treasurer; and
Wayne Shevlin, Norm Bolton, Chris Hollingsworth, and Carl
Jacobsen, Board Members.

     The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children:
Barbara Cheadle, President; Carol Castellano, First Vice
President; Marty Greiser, Second Vice President; Christine Faltz,
Secretary; Julie Hunter, Treasurer; and Tammy Hollingsworth,
Crystal McClain, Sally Miller, and Sandy Taboada, Board Members.

Computer Games for the Blind:
     Near the close of the parents seminar, Richard Ring,
director of the International Braille and Technology Center for
the Blind in Baltimore, told the audience that at least one
company is now producing high-quality computer games using sound
rather than complex graphics. Games available at a reasonable
price include Monopoly, Ten Pin Bowling, Fox and Hounds, and Any
Night Football.

     To learn more about these games, contact PCS Computer
Systems, 551 Compton Avenue, Perth Amboy, New Jersey 08861, phone
(732) 826-1917.

The Sound of the National Federation of the Blind on the
Internet:
     The National Federation of the Blind is beginning to build a
digital audio library of banquet speeches. We will begin with the
1998 banquet address in Dallas, Texas, by Dr. Maurer and work
backward through the banquet addresses. Our goal is to have the
most extensive digital audio library on the Web addressing issues
of blindness. It will truly be "the blind speaking for
themselves" on the World Wide Web.

     We will be using the Real Audio technology from Progressive
Networks, Inc., which works with most popular Web browsers
available today. Since most of these browsers work with speech
technology, these recordings will be accessible to blind users of
the Web as well as friends, colleagues, and those just being
introduced to blindness issues. The initial URL for the NFB audio
archive will be: <http://www.blind.org/audio.html>. Expect
availability of the 1998 banquet address about the end of
September. Tell your friends, show it to your colleagues, and
demonstrate it as often as possible. We want to be heard, and now
we can be around the globe--day or night, rain or shine.

New Division:
     During this year's convention a new division, the National
Association of Blind Piano Technicians, was formed. The new
officers are Don Mitchell, President; Richard Bennett, First Vice
President; Ron Poorey, Second Vice President; Al Sanchez,
Secretary; and Connie Ryan, Treasurer.

Music Tapes by Daniel Lamonds Available:
     Those interested in purchasing recordings by the performer
who was the hit of NFB Camp this year will be interested in the
following information. Three tapes of Mr. Lamonds's original
songs are currently available: "Cookies and Milk" (preschool
through fourth grade); "Cookies and Milk Movement and Activity
Bus" (ideal for elementary students); and "Out of a Dream"
(country music). A tape of religious music will also soon be
available. Mr. Lamonds's personal favorite is the movement and
activity tape.

     Ordered individually, each tape costs $10. Two tapes are
$15, and three tapes (three copies of one tape or mixed in any
combination) are $20. Add $3.50 handling to the cost of one or
two tapes, $5 handling for three tapes. To order, make checks
payable to Blind Ambition, Inc., and send to P.O. Box 692,
Darlington, South Carolina 29540. For more information contact
Mr. Lamonds at (843) 393-2004, office/Fax (843) 393-3426, e-mail
<Dansing4u@aol.com>.

NFB Literature in Spanish Now Available on Cassette:
     Two Distinguished Service Awards were presented this year to
Federationists who have been working to translate and record NFB
literature in Spanish. Here is the current list of Spanish
language publications now available on cassette: If Blindness
Comes, What Color Is the Sun?, The Freedom Bell, As the Twig Is
Bent, Making Hay, "The Federation at Fifty," "The Day after Civil
Rights," "Blindness: A Left-Handed Dissertation" and "a
Definition of Blindness" (on the same tape), and "Blindness:
Handicap or Characteristic."

NFB Songs Old and New Available:
     "NFB Songs, Old and New" is the title of the cassette tape
which includes the technology lament played for convention
delegates. Sligo Creek chapter members describe it as an effort
to teach people some new and old songs about blindness and the
National Federation of the Blind. It is a fund-raiser for the NFB
of Maryland. The singers, known as the Cane Raisers, were Tom
Bickford, Andrea Brandies, Deborah Brown, Terry Powers, Lloyd and
Judy Rasmussen, and Gail Snider. Curtis Chong played keyboards,
Tom Bickford played guitar, and Arthur Segal sang one solo.

     The tapes cost $5, and checks should be made out to the NFB
of Maryland. For more information or to place an order, contact
Lloyd Rasmussen, 11909 Coronada Place, Kensington, Maryland
20895-2322, (303) 946-8345. Work e-mail: <Iras@loc.gov>, home e-
mail: <Iras@sprynet.com>.

For Sale:
     Dan Keller, who sang during the daily devotions at
convention, has cassette tapes of his gospel music for sale. The
tape contains ten original compositions of Scripture verse vocals
with keyboard accompaniment. The tapes were professionally
recorded and sell for $8. The supply he brought to convention
sold out before everyone who wished to buy one had a chance to do
so. A contribution from each sale will go to the NFB. For more
information or to order, contact Dan Keller, 1802 N. Cedar,
Nevada, Missouri 64772 (417) 667-6208.

                           NFB PLEDGE

     I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the
National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality,
opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies
and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.
