[NFBMI-Talk] Open Letter from the Board

[nfbofmi at gmail.com]

To the members, friends, and allies of the National Federation of the Blind
of Michigan

 

An open letter from Members of the NFBMI Board

December 19, 2024

 

The NFBMI Board regrets that a considerable number of members and their
elected leaders throughout the state are reporting a sense of fear due to
the words and actions of a handful of individuals. Adverse actions taken
against leaders, members, or the organization as a whole --Especially when
someone purports to speak as an officer of the organization while publicly
disparaging it--Must be addressed. We would remind ourselves of the
following from our national Constitution:

 

"An affiliate or local chapter must not indulge in attacks upon the
officers, board members, leaders, or members of the Federation or upon the
organization itself outside of the organization, and must not allow its
officers or members to indulge in such attacks. . . the organization will
not sanction or permit deliberate, sustained campaigns of internal
organizational destruction by state affiliates, local chapters, or members."


 

With this in mind, we ask that everyone communicate in a way that is
positive and productive as per the terms of our Constitution.

 

On December 12, 18, and 19, 2024, allegations were published on this list
against our affiliate president, our state board, and our national
representative. Although we would normally choose not to respond, such
allegations cannot go unchallenged.

 

Item 1: Claims of Election Fraud

On December 12, 2024, two leaders  published allegations of voter fraud
against our affiliate President, the state board, and our national
representative. These allegations stated in part, "There have been credible
reports and evidence suggesting irregularities and misconduct during the
recent elections at our 2024 State Convention." 

 

The authors of these letters have not provided any evidence to support this
assertion, did not raise this issue during the elections held six weeks
earlier, and did not raise this issue  in the intervening time. We will save
the painstaking detail of our election process for another day, but will
remind our members that all concerns around process at the Convention were
heard and ruled on by our national representative. We invite anyone in
possession of such evidence to submit it to our national president for his
review. 

 

Item 2: Conflicts of Interest

The December 12, 18, and 19 letters accuse President Parsons of conflicts of
interest, though they do not specify the nature of these conflicts and,
again, merely rely on the reader to assume the allegation to be
self-authenticating. We must therefore conclude that the supposed conflicts
are thinly veiled accusations regarding President Parson's paid work as a
blindness professional and mental health counselor who receives funds from
state agencies. 

 

President Parsons makes no secret of his roles as a VRT, CRC, and LPC, any
or all of which allow him to work on contract with or receive client
referrals from state agencies. President Parsons in fact ran on a promise to
imbue those agencies with Federation philosophy by leveraging the very
relationships we presume to be at issue. We would respectfully disagree with
the political critique that President Parsons isn't aggressive enough in his
positions against the agencies, but that critique isn't the one being
offered. What is being put forward is the much stronger and as-yet unfounded
allegation of a "conflict of interest." Suffice it to say that the affiliate
board is not compelled by a blanket allegation of a conflict of interest,
and that to the extent such a conflict exists, we believe President Parsons
has been perfectly transparent with both the membership and the Board.

 

Item 3: Lack of Open Meetings

The above-referenced letters state that affiliate meetings have not been
appropriately public. The Board notes the following. First, NFBMI has always
had a mixture of open and closed board meetings as is consistent with state
and national policy. Second, not every part of every meeting should be
public, and neither state nor national policy suggests otherwise. It is now
and has always been the  purview of an affiliate Board to hold executive
sessions to discuss matters of a sensitive nature. This can be a fully
closed board meeting or simply a time set aside within the larger, public
meeting for the board members to confer privately. Although we recognize the
need for transparency and are moving toward public board meetings generally,
the Board will reserve the right to hold executive sessions as required to
discuss possible Code of Conduct violations and related concerns.

 

Item 4: Lack of Due Process

Next, the December 12, 18, and 19 letters indicate that due process was not
provided to a member who was removed from the organization and that
committee chairs who enjoyed their committee appointments are upset about
having been removed as the chairs of those committees. 

 

Regarding the removal of a member, we cannot speak to a due process
accusation being made against our national organization. We respectfully
refer any member who takes issue with that removal to the national board for
an appeal. Although the appeal was required to be filed within thirty days
of the decision, it is possible that this limitation could be lifted for
cause. Please visit
https://nfb.org/about-us/history-and-governance/code-conduct/code to learn
more.

 

Regarding committee chairs being upset they were not reappointed for the
upcoming term, we would remind them that chairs are appointed by and serve
at the pleasure of the president, and that chairs are never guaranteed a
lifetime appointment. Chairs are selected for each cycle based on factors
such as availability, reliability, efficacy, experience, and demeanor, and
the best candidate for any given appointment may change from year to year.

 

These views are shared by a majority of the NFBMI Board of Directors. We
thank you for the opportunity to serve. We know that with love, hope, and
determination, we'll turn dreams into reality.

 

Sincerely,

NFBMI Board of Directors

 

Robert Parsons

Sheila Fulmore

Sanho Steele-Louchart

Maryann Murad

Felecia Bradford

Donna Posont