[nfbmi-talk] Out in the Cold, Again: Kalamazoo Picket Press Release

[Fred Wurtzel]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

CONTACT:

Larry Posont, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

517-482-1800

President.nfb.mi at gmail.com 

www.nfbmi.org

 

 

Federationists Out in Cold, Again, This Time In Kalamazoo,

Demand Commission "Bring Boone Back"

 

Dearborn Heights, Michigan (February 22, 2010):  The National Federation of
the Blind of Michigan (NFBM) is picketing the Michigan Commission for the
Blind Training Center, 1541 Oakland Drive, on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at
11:45 AM regardless of weather.  

 

"Patrick Cannon is trying to bully and intimidate blind people, including
the Michigan Commission for the Blind board, and we are not going to take
it," said Larry Posont, President of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan.  "Weather is no obstacle when it comes to standing up for the
rights of blind people to work in peace and belong to any organization they
choose.  Being a member of the National Federation of the Blind should not
cause anyone to lose their job," continued Posont.  

 

Patrick Cannon, Director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind, fired
Christine Boone, Director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training
Center.  Cannon claimed the reason was a Marksman program Boone had
authorized to help blind students realize that they can do most all the
things they ever did despite their blindness.  

 

"Michigan is an outdoor state.  Many blind people learned to hunt and use
guns as young people with their parents who hunted in Michigan's forests and
fields.  They ought to be able to continue to work, live, and enjoy
recreation, and feel confident," said Posont.  

 

"We (the NFBM) have been accused of trying to destroy the Commission," said
Michael Powell, First Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind
of Michigan.  "We created the Commission and have high expectations for its
potential to advocate and work to help blind people achieve first-class
citizenship.  The kinds of confidence-building activities that Boone was
overseeing are exactly what we expect the Commission to do.  The Commission,
with a positive attitude toward blindness and blind people, is what we want;
we certainly don't wish to destroy it.  No state employee should ever use
his or her position to take good people's jobs away without reason, the way
Cannon has," Powell said.  

 

The Federation says it will continue to protest and tell the public about
the Commission for the Blind until it is restored to a place where blind
people can work without fear of reprisals.  Along with Boone's firing, David
Robinson (another Federation member working in the Lansing office) was
fired, allegedly due to his NFB membership.  Mark Eagle was forced off the
Commission Board of Directors after Cannon accused him of unethical
behavior, though nothing was ever proven.  Eagle had been critical of
Cannon's handling of public comments by blind people.  

 

The Commission oversees the Business Enterprise Program.  There are
currently a record number of hearings and federal arbitrations against the
Commission.  The Federation maintains that Cannon has fired several blind
people from this program for speaking out, including both presidents of the
Federation's merchant division, which advocates on behalf of blind Michigan
entrepreneurs.  

 

The Federation contends that Cannon has undue influence over appointments of
Commission board members, board members who, by law, supervise him and the
agency he runs.  The board cannot manage him, because he sits on the
Governor's cabinet, an equal-level position with the Department of Energy,
Labor, & Economic Growth Department Director, who is his superior according
to the state organization chart.  

 

 

About the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan: 

 

The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan (NFBM) is a proud affiliate
of the National Federation of the Blind.  Originally founded in 1941, the
NFBM has been a leader in advocacy and has worked tirelessly to change what
it means to be blind in Michigan.  Among our accomplishments are:  bringing
NFB-NEWSLINER to Michigan, establishing the Michigan Commission for the
Blind, White Cane legislation, Braille Literacy for Blind Children
legislation, and much more.  

 

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