[NFB-Talk] Civil rights advocate, Judy Heumann, dies at 75

Wed Mar 8 15:48:51 UTC 2023

Yes, these things were controversial -- which is exactly the problem I 
am talking about. Accessible pedestrian signals should never have been 
controversial.  The technology for the better accessible pedestrian 
signals was available by the time the NFB organized the protest in 2003.

http://www.apsguide.org/chapter1_history.cfm

Here is an article from the Braille Monitor from 2003 when the protest 
occured. Note there is nothing in there about the technology itself. All 
the protestors say is  that we don't need them.

https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm03/bm0301/bm030103.htm

Perhaps the most telling quote from that article is from Mike Freeman: 
"We didn't need audible pedestrian signals, nor did we need detectable 
warnings to walk the streets with safety and grace."

Somehow, the protestors felt that asking for accessible pedestrian 
signals was a sign of weakness or lack of grace. That's exactly the 
cultural change I am pushing for.

It never was about the technology. If it had been about the technology, 
the NFB would have been organizing protests to make sure the accessible 
pedestrian signals were the best ones available at the time.

On 3/7/23 14:53, Buddy Brannan via nFB-Talk wrote:
> Why is a question that’s going to open a huge can of worms and a lot of debate, but it’s a fact that we did. Ditto truncated domes. I’d say at least part of the opposition had to do with the state of the art at the time of APS, which were, in general, not great. They have improved *a lot* in the years since, just as traffic patterns and signaling have become more complex and dangerous.
>
>
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV, WRVB670 - Erie, PA
> Email:buddy at brannan.name
> Mobile: (814) 431-0962
>
>
>
>
>> On Mar 7, 2023, at 1:41 PM, Karen Rose via nFB-Talk<nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>  wrote:
>>
>> Hi John. Just wondering why we would have a posed accessible pedestrian signals??
>>
>> Karen Rose MFT/LPCCwww.career-therapy.net
>>
>>> On Mar 7, 2023, at 9:29 AM, John Heim via nFB-Talk<nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>  wrote:
>>>
>>> We need to change the culture in the NFB. Years ago, the Access Board was going to propose a regulation requiring cities to install accessible pedestrian signals whenever an intersection was built or rebuilt. The Access Board can't just impose regulations like that. It would have had to go through channels. But had it been approved, by now there would be millions of these things around the country. And probably dozens of lives would have been saved. But the NFB organized protests to stop it and the Access Board dropped the idea.
>>>
>>> We need to change the culture so that kind of thing can never happen again. We should have been out there organizing sit-ins to make it happen, not fighting it.
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 3/7/23 10:26, broanna49--- via nFB-Talk wrote:
>>>> John thank you so much for sharing this information on the list. Judy Heuman was a staunch activist for those with disabilities. I am also of the firm belief that we need to fight for our rights. The National Federation Of The Blind should join advocates in fighting for our rights.
>>>>
>>>>> On Mar 7, 2023 11:01 AM, John Heim via nFB-Talk<nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>  wrote:
>>>>> I think Judy Heumann's life story is a lesson for members of this list.
>>>>> Please watch/listen to this:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/because-she-made-a-fuss-judy-heumann-made-everyone-s-life-better-164606021818
>>>>>
>>>>> Rachel Madow makes a point there that I have tried to make many times on
>>>>> this list. By advocating for our rights, we make everyone's life better.
>>>>> When we choose not to push for reform, we are damaging society as a whole.
>>>>>
>>>>> Judy Heumann was once part of a cit-in at a federal building that lasted
>>>>> 28 days. As messy and inconvenient as that was, it was a huge boon for
>>>>> our society as a whole. Judy Heumann is a hero.
>>>>>
>>>>> We need to change the culture within the NFB. We shouldn't have fought
>>>>> accessible money and accessible pedestrian signals. Yes, I know those
>>>>> issues came up a long time ago. But the culture within the NFB is the
>>>>> same as it was back when we made those mistakes. We need to start
>>>>> believing that when we fight for our rights, we're helping our society.
>>>>> We're correcting a mistake. That helps us all.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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