[Colorado-Talk] Happy 80th NFB!!!

[Amy Sabo]

hello scott,
thanks for sharing this wonderful letter and note that president
riccabano wrote that you pasted here in this messafge to all of us. it
was sooo beautifully written. I didn't know that today was the 80th
anniversary of the nfb. thanks for letting us know and, I will talk to
you soon!


sincerely,
amy

On 11/16/20, Scott C. LaBarre via Colorado-Talk
<colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Greetings everyone!!
>
>
>
> As many of you know, today is our 80th Birthday.  On this day in 1940, Dr.
> tenBroek started this great organization.  Below I share some reflections
> from our President, Mark Riccobono.  All I can say isAMEN!!
>
>
>
> Dear Fellow Federationists,
>
>
>
> This morning as I took my daily walk through Riverside Park (which sits
> just
> east of the Johnson Street side of our headquarters), I pictured in my mind
> the symbology of the moment. I was there just at the time that the sun was
> supposed to rise in Baltimore. I started thinking about what the sunrise
> might have been like on that day eighty years ago when Jacobus tenBroek
> woke
> up, and his plan for that day was to establish the National Federation of
> the Blind. Did he know he would be elected as the movement's first
> President
> and that he would dedicate much of his remaining twenty-seven-and-one-half
> years to its advancement? Today was slightly chilly, but the sunrise
> brought
> a sense of warmth to the clear morning. Is that similar to what Dr.
> tenBroek
> felt-a lifting of the cold, hard times that blind people had experienced
> for
> decades?
>
>
>
> As I walked south in the park, it occurred to me that the morning sunlight
> would shine on the Johnson Street side of our building perfectly, there
> being no major structures blocking the morning sun from our building. The
> distance between the sun and our building is vast, and with the
> complexities
> of our lives now, 1940 seems just as distant from 2020. I imagined the sun
> hitting our building, and considered the hundreds of thousands of lives
> that
> have lived under that sun and contributed to the movement we share.
>
>
>
> Eighty years is a short time. Yet for the blind it represents significant
> progress. In 1940 the very building that now serves as the headquarters for
> our efforts was producing materials for use in the Second World War. The
> workers inside could have never imagined it would later become the
> best-known facility for advancing the rights of the blind anywhere in the
> world. Furthermore, the sixteen people who gathered together to form the
> first membership of the Federation could not have imagined the twists,
> turns, victories, and setbacks we have faced over these eighty years.
>
>
>
> As I came to the south end of the walkway in the park, I followed the path
> east into the morning sun. The warmth of the sun felt like hope: the kind
> of
> hope that we experience in this movement every day; the feeling that those
> sixteen people must have had when they came together to establish what has
> come to be the most powerful force for blind people.
>
>
>
> It is fitting on this day to look back and to experience the warm feelings
> that come from all that we have accomplished. We should be proud of those
> who came before us and all they did to make it possible for us to walk this
> path.
>
>
>
> Once we do that for a short time, we have a choice: we can continue
> celebrating the past or we can turn with renewed strength, face the future,
> and walk confidently in that direction with the light of our history
> supporting us and urging us to march forward. When I got to the east end of
> the path in the park, I did not hesitate, I turned and began to loop back
> around to the west to come to our building to begin another day marching
> alongside each of you to advance our collective movement.
>
>
>
> As Thanksgiving approaches, I am left with one thought as I enter our
> Johnson Street door with the sun at my back. I am thankful for the
> incredible blind people who made it possible through their daily sacrifice
> for us to be in this moment. I am equally thankful for the incredible blind
> people who allow us to walk confidently into the future. It is an honor to
> know we march together every day. It is a comfort to know you have my back.
> It is a joy to imagine what we will do together tomorrow.
>
>
>
> I do not know if I will walk that same path twenty years from now, but I am
> confident in what our movement will be on our one hundredth
> anniversary--and
> for that I feel a great sense of pride. Until then, I am going to enjoy the
> struggle and the accomplishment of building with each of you every day.
> Take
> a moment to reflect on those Federationists who you have known personally
> who have helped us get to today. Then, with the warmth of that love, turn,
> link arms with me, and let's march into the future together. When I say
> "let's go build the National Federation of the Blind," what I mean is let's
> enjoy the honor of working together to transform our dreams, and the dreams
> of those who have not yet discovered our movement, into reality. The warmth
> of the movement started before we got here. If we do it right, the warmth
> will go beyond us into a future where others will reflect fondly on what we
> have done to make their lives better every day.
>
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