[nFBMI-Talk] In Light Of New Discussion Over NAC 2018

[Kane Brolin]

Greetings and happy new year to all.

In the January Presidential Release and in the January edition of "The
Braille Monitor" for 2018, President Riccobono refers to the rebirth
or resurgence of the National Accreditation Council, or something
based on the NAC acronym and service model which is rearing its head
once again with respect to how agencies and so-called "blindness
professionals" are to prioritize what they do.  Presumably, this
revised NAC, just like the old one of the 1970s and 1980s, leaves out
the research, beliefs, and desires of blind people.

As a chapter president, and as someone who manages both a Facebook
account and a Twitter feed applying to my NFB chapter, I am wondering
whether the American Foundation for the Blind is taking a supportive
stance toward NAC in 2018 as they did in previous decades?  If so,
this presumably puts the AFB at odds with the Federation
once again, just as they were back in the '70s and '80s.  And if that
is the case, I perhaps should refrain from making even a passing
reference to AFB--even tech articles or things that seem to defend
Braille appearing in AFB online publications--on social media outlets
that I manage in behalf of the NFB chapter I lead.

I am asking how to walk this line because I truly don't know the
answer.  I freely admit I had not become a part of our movement when
the anti-NAC demonstrations were being held back in those previous
decades.  But I have to say, this reference to NAC in our literature
this month surprised me quite a lot, as I thought NAC had been put to
bed and would stay down, given the growing prominence and success that
blind people have won for ourselves--especially seeing as how so many
companies in the private sector seem open to hiring us on our own
merits these days.  And the AFB represents itself at our National
Conventions, with the annual AFB Breakfast and (last year) with Kirk
Adams (a blind guy) speaking to our whole Convention audience on July
14.  I have heard from some Federationists that "The war [between NFB
and AFB] is over"--that we now can play in the same sandbox, even
though we might operate in different ways and exhibit different
strengths.  But does this apparently recent mutual respect between the
two orgs really exist?

I know I might be setting off a verbal fireworks display by sending
out this query.  This is not my intention.  As a new leader in a
relatively new chapter, which has recently been adding new members not
at all familiar with those previous struggles, I really feel as though
I need an understanding about how to spin these issues correctly--that
is, in keeping with Federation interests--if and when someone brings
them up.  Since official Federationist literature and presidential
addresses are beginning to focus on NAC once again, I imagine I will
get questions from people who had never heard of this stuff before.

If questions about other orgs like ACB, AFB, AERBVI, and NAC don't
come up among membership or in the community at large, I figure I will
not bring them up, since it's most important to focus new members on
what we do well as an organization rather than speaking about other
organizations I am not involved with.

Respectfully,

Kane Brolin