[Nfbf-l] Blind Americans Equality Day

[Sherri]

Presidential Proclamation

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release October 15, 2012


BLIND AMERICANS EQUALITY DAY, 2012
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As business leaders and public advocates, teachers and
scientists, musicians and athletes, and in countless other ways,
blind and visually impaired Americans have profoundly enriched
every part of our national life. Today, we celebrate their
innumerable contributions, and we recommit to guaranteeing equal
access, equal opportunity, and equal respect for all Americans.
My Administration is working to ensure people with
disabilities have full access to the education, information,
and job training they need. Over the past year, we have
continued to implement the 21st Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act, which makes it easier for people who are
deaf, blind, or visually impaired to take advantage of today's
cutting-edge technologies -- including home and mobile
broadband. As part of that implementation, the Federal
Communications Commission has established video description
standards for television stations that help ensure programming
is accessible for blind and visually impaired Americans. And in
keeping with the promise of equal access to technology under
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Department of Justice
reported last month on our progress toward making Federal
resources fully accessible and offered new recommendations to
further improve compliance throughout the Federal Government.
We are also striving to open new pathways for blind and
visually impaired Americans to pursue careers in all fields,
including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM). To provide more opportunities for students to achieve
in math and science classes, the Department of Education is
promoting effective learning materials for blind and visually
impaired students. This year, the White House honored
14 individuals, including several who are blind, as Champions
of Change for their work to expand educational and employment
opportunities for people with disabilities in STEM fields.
Their example affirms that when the playing field is level,
people with disabilities are equally capable of excelling in
these economically vital professions.
When the American people have the chance to succeed, we can
achieve extraordinary things. Today, we renew our commitment to
innovative projects and initiatives that will propel us further
toward full access, inclusion, and opportunity for blind and
visually impaired Americans.
2
By joint resolution approved on October 6, 1964 (Public
Law 88-628, as amended), the Congress designated October 15
of each year as "White Cane Safety Day" to recognize the
contributions of Americans who are blind or have low vision.
Today, let us recommit to strengthening our Union and ensuring
we remain a Nation where all our people, including those living
with disabilities, have every opportunity to achieve their
dreams.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do
hereby proclaim October 15, 2012, as Blind Americans Equality
Day. I call upon public officials, business and community
leaders, educators, librarians, and Americans across the country
to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.
BARACK OBAMA



Sherri Brun
flmom2006 at gmail.com
Character is the side of yourself you choose to show the world.
Integrity is what you do, what you say and how you act when you think no one 
is paying attention.
 NFBF Newsline® chair
www.nfbnewsline.org
E-mail:  newsline at nfbflorida.org
Vice-president National Federation of the Blind of Florida Greater Orlando 
Chapter
http://nfbfgoc.org
Chair Orange County Disability Advisory Board