[nabs-l] Appreciating our roots. And, examining the tree and the forest

[Jedi]

Heather,

that's one of the best analyses I've ever read on this issue. I was 
thinking more along the same lines as you as the topic progressed, but 
I don't think I could have said it better myself. Excellent and thanks.

Respectfully,
Jedi

Original message:
> Hi all,
> It is very easy to blame generalised groups. "The older generation",
> "leadership", "fund-raising" and so on. However, the real truth about
> the growth and education of this organisation, the NFB, is the same as
> it is for all similar groups. To demonstrate what I'm referring to,
> let me take a moment to share what we can learn from other similar
> groups. One such similar group is the Christian church. I have read of
> how some other religious groups, and some sporting groups and clubs
> which function the same.  But, for the purposes of this post, I want
> to use a group that most of us have had some experience with at some
> time or other.

> Many studies have been done over the years about how various Christian
> churches, grow and maintain, their membership and perform their work.
> Without fail, the results of the studies show that churches gain and
> keep new members wehn people are personally invited by a personal
> friend or relative. People continue to stay at a particular church and
> get involved in the work of their church because they are mentored,
> discipled personally by other members of the church.

> This is the simple truth. People join a Christian church of choice,
> get involved in church work, and promote that particular philosophical
> interpretation of the Bible which their church adheres to because of
> the personal factor.  All the studies show that personal invitation by
> friend/family member, personal mentoring, and opportunity to serve are
> the tree factors in the growth and maintenance of a church. Training
> classes, media advertising, door knocking and "sales pitches" by
> strangers, and other publicity events such as having a booth at a
> local fair, will bring in a very small percentage of people of whom a
> smaller percentage actually stay. so, if you want to know what works
> there it is.

> I have been a chapter president and I know what it is like to try to
> get the work of the organisation done. It is not as simple as saying
> that the leadership or the older generation are letting young people
> down. The nfb exists within a society and any meaningful assessment of
> the organisation must be made in the social context in which it
> operates. Some current social trends in first world countries are
> worth considering.

> 1. Generations since the Baby-boomers are much less inclined to do
> volunteer work.
> 2. Post Baby-boomer generations are much less inclined to join, and
> commit to groups such as service clubs, The Red Cross etc.
> 3. The pressure for women to work outside of the home leaves less
> leisure time for social group involvement.
> 4. The number of disability groups vying for public attention is much
> larger in this century than the last. Factors causing this include the
> incredible advances in medical competence, the development of
> technology to sustain life longer, and the success of the civil rights
> movement which has put the disability community out of institutions
> and into the public arena. This means more people to consume finite
> resources such as jobs, government assistance programmes and volunteer
> transportation assistance.
> 5. A blindness specific social factor is the decentralisation of
> education for blind students. Many more blind children are growing up
> with minimal and marginal contact with formal groups of and/or for the
> blind. This means that networking on a personal basis is more
> difficult and, ironically, that attitudes against accepting the
> respectability of blindness are harder to influence.
> 6. The largest and fastest growing group of blind people in the
> western world are adults over 65 years of age.

> The world in which the current NFB is functioning is vastly different
> from the one that existed when it began, and even from the nineteen
> nineties. Yes, many of the things Doctor Jernigan told us to strive
> for in his speeches have not yet been achieved, but the reasons why
> are much more complex than simply saying the organisation has focused
> on fund-raising or centralising programmes. A far better approach is
> to begin with one's self and look at what one has personally done to
> increase the influence and effectiveness of the organisation. Whatever
> the national leadership decide to spend or build, what happens in my
> town is up to me and my blind and sighted friends who believe the NFB
> philosophy and live it as best we can. Local chapters are the mouth
> and arms and legs of the organisation. It is in local chapters that
> new people receive words of welcome and empowerment, hugs of
> encouragement and affirmation, friends and mentors to walk alongside
> them and visit them at home and teach them skills and hope for a
> better life. I ask myself how many new people I have brought to
> meetings after reaching out and getting to know them. Do I attend all
> my chapter meetings and events and make a difference by my physical
> presence? What have I done to reach out to other blind people? It can
> be a sobering experience if you are willing to sit down and ask
> yourself the hard questions.

> I began with the observation that  reliable studies show that it is
> person to person outreach and mentoring/discipling that brings new
> members to social organisations. I will close by sharing another two,
> scientifically varified facts about the successful functioning of
> groups like the NFB.
> 1. Between 9 and 12 percent of the membership are willing and able to
> take on leadership positions.
> 2. Roughly ten percent of the people do roughly 90 percent of the
> work. Generally, the remaining membership attend sporadically, work
> occasionally and talk.  and, I would assume in these days of
> techological communication, e-mail, text and twitter.

> What people are prepared to actually, do. in their community will
> determine what the NFB looks like and what it is doing in fifty years.

> Regards,

> Heather Field







> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Briley Pollard" <brileyp at gmail.com>
> To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 9:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Appreciating our roots


> I think it is perhaps a stretch to say we won't exist in just 50
> years, but I do think the purpose and philosophy will be very diluted
> at that point if something isn't done. I did bring it up to say that
> we have a responsibility to sea out information, but I do think the
> leadership needs to be more efficient at educating new comers. This is
> just speculation on my part, but I think part of the reason why the
> specifics and history of the philosophy stopped being pushed so hard
> is because the federation didn't want to scare off new members. While
> I think it is a poor approach to immediately yank away a cane that may
> be too short, or talk constantly of the "glory days" as soon as
> someone walks in the door, I think a better effort needs to be made at
> empowering and educating the membership as a whole.

> Thanks for your thoughts,
> Briley
> On May 2, 2010, at 6:54 PM, Joe Orozco wrote:

>> Briley,

>> I don't know how many people actually read my series of action plan
>> posts.
>> I'm wrapping it up anyway just to finish my ramblings, and it's
>> funny that
>> you mention roots because it's basically the foreground of what I
>> have to
>> contribute.  Yet, I am not convinced the blame rests squarely on our
>> generation.  Actually, it is my theory that the older generation is
>> almost
>> completely responsible for our sense of complacency.  I believe the
>> National
>> Center has saturated the work of the organization so much with
>> fundraising
>> and technological design that everyday philosophy has been
>> forgotten.  It is
>> my personal belief that our philosophy has become more the banner
>> than the
>> engine, and at this rate I do not believe the NFB will exist in 50
>> years,
>> maybe sooner.  Outrageous?  Of course it is, but considering the
>> source, are
>> you surprised?  More later, but I'm glad the subject came up.

>> Best,

>> Joe

>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their
>> sleeves,
>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Briley Pollard
>> Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2010 7:31 PM
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Appreciating our roots

>> I do think our generation in many ways has a sense of
>> entitlement. I think a better understanding of our history and
>> our purpose as an organization will better define that line
>> between entitlement and creating a level playing field. To whom
>> much is given, much is required, and I think people all too
>> often forget that.

>> Briley
>> On May 2, 2010, at 5:23 PM, David Andrews wrote:

>>> As an old-timer, thank you!  It is important to remember that
>> our ceiling is your floor.  What you can take for granted is
>> what we had to fight for!

>>> And ... we came from a time that was in some ways simpler,
>> but where we asked for as little as possible.  We will not ever
>> be as comfortable as your generation with asking for some
>> stuff.  We also feel somewhat like there is an entitlement
>> attitude, and people are not as self sufficient as they need to
>> be in the real world.

>>> Dave

>>> At 03:35 PM 5/2/2010, you wrote:
>>>> 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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