[il-talk] Kindle Picket Report

[Deborah Kent Stein]

The NFBI sent me to Seattle this week to represent Illinois at the Amazon
protest.  I would like to share a bit about my experience and try to
clarify some of the points raised in the post that Rob forwarded to this
listserv.  The protest was triggered by Amazon's aggressive efforts to
introduce a program called WhisperCast into the K-12 public schools
throughout the country. WhisperCast enables sighted students to read Kindle
books on a number of devices that read ebooks such as the iPhone and iPad.
Because WhisperCast is not accessible, blind students cannot use Kindle
books effectively, even on the iPhone or other accessible devices.  Blind 
students in
school districts that adopt WhisperCast and provide Kindle books as
electronic textbooks will be shut out of equal
participation in the classroom.

Our experience with Apple demonstrates that
inexpensive nonvisual access is possible, and that it is beneficial to a
variety of users.  We in the Federation are calling upon Amazon to make its
educational products fully accessible to blind and visually impaired
students.  Companies that provide materials to the public schools have a 
responsibility to make those materials accessible to all.   Likewise, as 
several comments in the forwarded post pointed out, school districts have a 
responsibility to implement materials that are accessible to all of their 
students.  We need to work with the schools, too, around the Kindle books 
issue.  Both approaches are essential.

About one hundred Federationists took part in the December 12 demonstration. 
Undaunted by some cold Seattle rain, we marched in the plaza between the two 
Amazon buildings for two hours, carrying signs and chanting slogans such as, 
"What do we need?  Books!  When do we need them?  Now!"  Several speakers 
addressed the marchers and onlookers, including New York Governor David 
Patterson, the nation's first blind governor.  An amusing bit of street 
theater depicted Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos as "the Grinch who stole the ebook." 
The atmosphere was upbeat, with an abundance of Federation can-do spirit. 
John Pare delivered a large packet of letters from students, teachers, 
parents, and blind adults, written in print and Braille, addressed to the 
real Mr. Bezos.  Let's hope he starts to get the message.

I was privileged to be part of this important action, and I thank the NFBI 
for making it possible for me to attend.

Debbie