[Colorado-Talk] NFBCO Contributes picket signs

Sat Mar 23 00:13:38 UTC 2024

Brava, Peggy!  Thank you for your inquisitive mind and hard work. We are so
blessed to have you and Curtis in Colorado!

On Fri, Mar 22, 2024 at 3:17 PM Peggy Chong via Colorado-Talk <
colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

>
>
> As part of our ongoing Preservation of Historical Documents, Curtis and I
> took three picket signs from our Goodwill demonstration in 2012 to the
> History Colorado Museum in downtown Denver today, March 22, 2024.
>
>
>
> Our Preservation of Historical Documents Committee, Julie Hunter and I
> have been working for five years now to find our old records and put them
> in an accessible format to save our history as blind people in Colorado.
> Not only did we find our old organizational minutes, but we found news
> clippings, newsletters, proposed legislation, correspondence, and more.
> Most of the files are puzzle pieces, some revealing more than others. But
> what a wonderful history we found.
>
>
>
> Finding and preserving the files and preserving them in a location outside
> of our offices for the public to access is the goal of the PHD project.
> Sharing our history with the world is the best way to learn from our past
> and celebrate our blind ancestors who left significant footprints on our
> state’s historical landscape. The original files are still in our
> possession as are the electronic files, accessible to us as blind people,
> if we remember they are here.
>
>
>
> The pandemic changed many things including library services. The virtual
> library idea grew exponentially during the pandemic, and we soon realized
> this is where our history files needed to go. We are almost done putting up
> files on the Colorado Virtual Library’s Planes and Peaks Collection. These
> are the files that were transcribed into a word document by our group of
> volunteers that came to our aid during the pandemic and beyond. Now, anyone
> around the world who uses the free Digital Public Library of America can
> search for “Blind” and find our Colorado history.
>
>
>
> During my research as The Blind History Lady here in Colorado, I realized
> we have no footprint in our state and local libraries or state and local
> museums. Coincidentally, at a function, I met Dr. Rachael Storm, Curator of
> Business and Industry at History Colorado Museum who is interested in
> bringing into the Museum’s collection, artifacts, and stories of the
> contributions of people with disabilities in Colorado. For the last year, I
> have been working with her to find artifacts and documents that complement
> their collections.
>
>
>
> Last summer I gave the museum our Cornerstones book that highlighted the
> NFBCO leaders from the early 1900s through today. I assisted in connecting
> Dr. Storm with the Colorado Talking Book Library to ensure the timeline of
> reading services to the blind and changes in reading and accessing the
> printed word was included.
>
>
>
> The museum is not interested in our minutes or newsletters as they are
> meant more for a library. The History Colorado Museum is looking for
> artifacts and documentation of the significance of the artifact.
>
>
>
> I went on a quest to find NFBCO artifacts or items of interest, used by
> the blind to give to the museum. Going through shelves with President
> Beecham and learning of a storage locker in the basement of the CCB, I
> found several items. Some we sent to the tenBroek Library in Baltimore;
> many things were of no interest to anyone but me. The bunch of picket signs
> in the corner was another story. The tenBroek library most likely have more
> signs than they need. We will never use them again. They make a great
> artifact for the museum, so I picked three from the bunch and began the
> documenting of the significance of the signs.
>
>
>
> Today, the NFBCO has added our picket signs from our demonstrations of
> 2012 that demanded minimum wage at Goodwill. Along with the signs we
> contributed electronic folders that include labeled photographs from both
> demonstrations in Colorado Springs and Denver. Another folder contained
> documents from the demonstration such as our press release and Goodwill’s
> response. Also included is a file from 1980, a transcript of the testimony
> of Ruth Ashbey, a former NFBCO president who worked at Colorado Industries
> for the Blind in their home sewing program. Ruth describes how she made
> pennies on each item while the items were sold for several dollars. Over
> more than twenty years, she saw little in an increase in her pay while the
> price of the items she sewed increased yearly in price. Where did the money
> go? Not to the blind sheltered workers like Ruth.
>
>
>
> Another set of documents tells when Denver passed an ordinance prohibiting
> sub-minimum wage by any organization or business in Denver.
>
>
>
> There are so many more items we might add to our history either in the
> virtual library or museums across the state. If you have items you think
> are historical in value, please contact me, Peggy Chong at 303-745-0473. I
> would love to discover a new find!
>
>
>
> Below is a photograph of Dr. Rachael Storm and Curtis Chong at the History
> Colorado Museum. Dr. Storm is holding the picket sign between them. The
> sign reads, CEO Salary $500,000, Workers Pay 20 cents. Behind them are
> several Colorado Flags.
>
>
>
> [image: A person and person standing in a room with flags Description
> automatically generated]
>
>
>
>
>
>
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