[MN-at-Large] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 09/ 30/2019

Wed Oct 2 01:13:29 UTC 2019

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>President's Notebook
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>National Federation of the Blind
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>Mark A. Riccobono
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><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org
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>410-659-9314
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>Dear Fellow Federationists,
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>As we come into the final quarter of the year, 
>there are many reasons to be excited about the 
>opportunities ahead for the National Federation 
>of the Blind. If you read nothing else below, 
>please observe the announcement in the critical 
>section as it finally reveals what we have been 
>waiting to tell you all for a number of months. 
>Our exciting work with Mattel will put the name 
>of the National Federation of the Blind on store 
>shelves across the world, and we all will 
>benefit from the increased promotion of Braille and name recognition.
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>Since it is now October, you can expect a 
>Presidential Release to be available on Friday. 
>As always, the goal is for it to be available 
>before the first Saturday of the month. Please 
>be sure your chapters continue to share this 
>resource. I continue to welcome feedback from 
>you about how to make this communication tool stronger for our chapters.
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>Critical Actions This Week:
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>National Federation of the Blind and Mattel 
>Games Introduce UNOÂ® Braille Today!:
>The National Federation of the Blind partnered 
>with Mattel Games to launch UNO Braille, the 
>first official UNOÂ® card deck featuring 
>Braille. UNO is globally the number one card 
>game by Mattel. UNO Braille features Braille on 
>the corner of each playing card to indicate the 
>cardâ€™s color and number or action. UNO Braille 
>is doing more than making this beloved game more 
>accessible. Itâ€™s also helping promote the 
>importance and normalcy of Braille by putting it 
>in places people might not expect and 
>integrating it into the play of blind children. 
>It will be available through Target, online 
>beginning today and in stores in the next week 
>or so. More information is available in 
><https://www.nfb.org/about-us/press-room/uno-introduces-first-official-braille-deck>our 
>press release.
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>News:
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>#LetUsPlayUs Update:
>Earlier this year we protested the CW regarding 
>their new show In The Dark for casting a sighted 
>actor to play the lead role of blind character. 
>This led to a 
><https://www.nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2019-resolutions#14>resolution 
>that was passed at the 2019 National Convention.
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>This week the popular show This Is Us on NBC has 
>cast a blind actor as a significant blind 
>character. Not only is the actor blind, the 
>storyline shows a blind person living the life 
>he wants; blindness does not hold him back.
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>While we donâ€™t have a direct correlation that 
>the protest influenced the show, we do know the 
>casting happened after the initial run of 
>#LetUsPlayUs and that we have provided 
>consultation to This Is Us. We strive to 
>encourage more opportunities for blind actors 
>throughout all sectors of the entertainment 
>industry. Thank you for your part in supporting these efforts.
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>Legislative Update:
>Our three-week Congressional blitz has come to 
>an end. Both chambers of Congress will be off 
>for the next two weeks until Tuesday, October 
>15. Weâ€™ve seen the influx of emails that John 
>ParÃ© has been copied on, and we know that many 
>phone calls were made as well. We cannot stress 
>enough how much your efforts really do make a 
>difference. To date, the status of our current legislation is as follows:
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>Access Technology Affordability Act
>House – H.R. 2086 – 32 cosponsors
> > Senate – S. 815 – 14 cosponsors
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>Transformation to Competitive Employment Act
>House – H.R. 873 – 52 cosponsors
> > Senate – S. 260 – 7 cosponsors
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>Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act
>House – H.R. 3929 – 4 cosponsors
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>Once this two-week break ends on October 15, 
>Congress will effectively be in session until 
>the last week of November. We need to make 
>another strong showing of support for our 
>legislation to garner as many cosponsors as 
>possible. A more detailed legislative alert is 
>in the works and will be sent out in the next few days.
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>Dates to Keep in Mind:
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>    * October 1, 2019: First day of Meet the Blind month
>    * February 10, 2020: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
>    * March 26-27, 2020: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland
>    * April 14-17, 2020: 
> <http://www.blindmerchants.org>NABM BLAST; Chicago, Illinois
>    * June 30-July 5, 2020: NFB National Convention, Houston, Texas
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>The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
>blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
>you or your future. Every day we raise the 
>expectations of blind people, because low 
>expectations create obstacles between blind 
>people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
>want; blindness is not what holds you back.
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>Mark A. Riccobono, President
>200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
>(410) 659-9314 | 
><mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>officeofthepresident at nfb.org
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>
><https://nfb.org/>
>National Federation of the Blind
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><http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
>Facebook
>     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>
>Twitter
>     <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>
>Youtube
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>The National Federation of the Blind is a 
>community of members and friends who believe in 
>the hopes and dreams of the nationâ€™s blind. 
>Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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