[nabs-l] Appreciating our roots

[Jedi]

Briley,

Thanks so much for your letter. I have often had many of the same 
sentiments you've expressed.

As I learn more about the Federation's past, I feel a stronger sense of 
knowing when it comes to our present and future. I feel like a have a 
sort of road map of solid roots that informs my opinion on how I feel 
we ought to go about solving our more recent problems in society.

Reading our past also helps me appreciate how the Federation has 
impacted my life outside of blindness. I find myself, for example, in 
favor of collectivve action instead of solitary advocacy in just about 
any situation where advocacy is needed. I also notice the federation's 
can-do attitude and problem-solving skills working in my daily life 
whether the issue is blindness-related or not.

It's really hard to quantify/explain how the federation, especially its 
history, has influenced me. But I'm with you in that more of us need to 
keep in touch with our history. In that way, we have a much better 
sense of what it means to be blind.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
> Good afternoon all,

> I am writing to open up a topic of conversation which I feel is to 
> often overlooked in our organization; our history as a movement. I've 
> grown up in this organization, and admittedly didn't fully understand 
> our history until about a month ago when I began digging a little deeper.

> The federation has always been an important force in my life, and has 
> shaped my views about my blindness, even during the periods where I 
> wasn't actively involved. I always heard about what great leaders we've 
> had, and was exposed to tidbits of information at state conventions or 
> national events. But most of the focus has always been on the here and 
> now, which is understandable to a point. It is vital that we understand 
> the obstacles that the blind community as a whole faces on a daily 
> basis, and how the federation is responding to them. However, life 
> events have spurred me on to discover more about our roots. I'll keep 
> the story short for brevity's sake, but it has a point which I think is 
> important, so stay with me.

> I am dating someone who has never been actively involved with any of 
> the blindness consumer organizations. He recently realized his need for 
> further training, and that lead him to ask me my reasons for being a 
> federationist. He began asking me questions about how the federation 
> began, how the philosophy developed, and how the rehabilitation views 
> of the NFB evolved. I found myself unable to answer a lot of his 
> questions, and was disappointed in myself. I knew vague details about 
> Dr. Jernigan's involvement with the Iowa Commission for the Blind, and 
> something about airplane issues in the 70's and 80's, but beyond that, 
> my historical knowledge of the NFB was supremely limited. After 
> discussing this with some of my friends in the organization, I found 
> that the problem wasn't just with me. I'm on the board of our local 
> chapter, and it became apparent to me after out last meeting that this 
> is a widespread problem. We have lost touch with our past, and that is 
> never good. Roots are
>   vital to the life of any tree, and without them, we wouldn't exist.

> I began to dig, which isn't hard to do. Nationals has done an amazing 
> job of making our history available to us. www.nfb.org is a gold mine 
> of information, even some of the parts that are hard to see. Issues of 
> the Braille Monitor are available online going back 25 years, and 
> important speeches are available in both text and recorded form going 
> back before that. I have found myself appalled by the discrimination 
> that blind people faced even just twenty years ago. The fortitude it 
> took to get out there every day and command respect from a sighted 
> public is not just commendable, but amazing to me.

> I think that sometimes, the youth of this organization accuse the older 
> generation of the federation of being too "militant," or 
> "confrontational." While I do not always agree with how the older 
> generation has approached some issues, when you really dig and read 
> about what they had to indoor just to be able to do things we take for 
> granted today, you develop a greater respect for their views and 
> approach. We still have a long way to go in some respects, but we have 
> come far, and I think we've lost respect for our past.

> I encourage everyone to sea out and understand the beginnings and 
> progress our movement has made over the past 70 years. You will be 
> amazed, and it will make you really understand, respect, and love this 
> organization. I have had my share of frustrations with the organization 
> over the years. But I must admit that I am so proud to be a part of the 
> NFB, not just for what it has meant to me, but what it has done even 
> before I was born to insure that I can live and work in a world where I 
> am seen as an equal with my sighted peers. No organization is perfect 
> because no person is perfect. But we must all remember to appreciate 
> this community we have, built upon a solid foundation provided by many 
> generations of blind people before us, tirelessly working to show that 
> blindness should not limit our life choices.

> Let's all make a greater effort to know and appreciate our history. We 
> will all be better for it.

> Best,
> Briley
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