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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV>To all on our distribution lists!</DIV>
<DIV>Immediate and urgent action is needed.</DIV>
<DIV>Please share with others as we need to respond to the following provided by
President Riccobono, President of the NFB.</DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for your continued support to raise expectations.</DIV>
<DIV>Joe Ruffalo, President</DIV>
<DIV>NFBNJ</DIV>
<DIV>**</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>From:
<A title=state-affiliate-leadership-list@nfbnet.org
href="mailto:state-affiliate-leadership-list@nfbnet.org">President, National
Federation of the Blind via State-Affiliate-Leadership-List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, September 23, 2016 8:45 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [State-affiliate-leadership-list] #HowEyeSeeIt -- The
Truth</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri"; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline'>
<DIV class=WordSection1>
<P class=MsoNormal>Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>This message is to urge you to keep applying pressure on the
#HowEyeSeeIt campaign and telling the truth about blindness. My announcement
from this week’s notebook is pasted below for reference. We are doing great at
generating content on the hashtag and getting attention. Members of the
Federation are now being blocked from the Foundation Fighting Blindness page on
Facebook. This means that they are more interested in ignoring our concern than
addressing it. This morning the campaign is being featured on the Today Show.
All of this means that there is a great need to keep up the activity across the
country. Be talking about this in our chapter meetings and at our conventions.
Keep creating videos and generating posts in social media. Write letters to your
local newspaper. Find other creative ways to bring attention to the harmful
impact of this campaign. There will be more news coming soon. Congratulations on
the swift action, let’s keep it up through the weekend and into next
week.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>---Post from earlier this week------<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Dear Fellow Federationists,<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>This past weekend an organization released a social media
campaign with the hashtag HowEyeSeeIt. The people using this hashtag are making
videos of themselves attempting to do everyday tasks under blindfold with the
misguided view that this experience will help them know what it is like to be
blind. The motivation for the campaign is to raise funds to eliminate blindness.
We in the National Federation of the Blind know that blindness doesn’t hold us
back. We also know that living with blindness requires learning the techniques
blind people use to do everyday tasks without vision. We are not opposed to
medical research, but the way to generate interest in medical research is not by
further spreading the fear of blindness and strengthening misconceptions about
the lived experience of blind people.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>The current videos being circulated with the #HowEyeSeeIt
campaign are perpetuating the idea that blindness is something to be feared and
that blind people adhere to low expectations. One of the tasks people are
encouraged to do in this campaign is have a friend give them an unidentified
amount of cash and then, under blindfold, attempt to pay for a meal with this
money. Another particularly outrageous example is people are asked to attempt to
take care of their child for one minute while blindfolded. At a time when we
have launched new efforts for blind parents who have their children taken away
because of misconceptions about blindness, this is dangerous and offensive.
These examples and the dozens of others used in the campaign rely on the notion
that vision is a requirement for success, but we know the truth—blindness does
not define us or our future.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraph style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0in"><o:p><FONT
size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>We’ve published a blog, “<A
href="https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/challenging-fear-blindness">Challenging the
Fear of Blindness</A>,” that I encourage you to share. See below for some
related critical actions.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<H2>Critical Actions This Week:<o:p></o:p></H2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.25in">Challenging the Fear of Blindness
- #HowEyeSeeIt:<BR>It is critical that we now join together to combat this
harmful campaign. I urge all Federation leaders to lead by example and to
encourage the members of the Federation in your state to join with me in
changing the perception that blindness is something to be feared and something
that significantly limits our lives. Now is the time to turn our fear into power
and that power into action. We have the opportunity to demonstrate how we live
the lives we want as blind people in a commanding way. All you have to do
is:<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2"><SPAN
style="mso-list: ignore">1.<SPAN
style='FONT: 7pt "Times New Roman"'>
</SPAN></SPAN>Make a video of yourself accomplishing an everyday task as a blind
person. For example, show how you dance, sing, exercise, care for your children,
go to school or work, play sports, manage your finances, travel, participate in
social events, enjoy your hobbies—in short, take a video of yourself living the
life you want.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2"><SPAN
style="mso-list: ignore">2.<SPAN
style='FONT: 7pt "Times New Roman"'>
</SPAN></SPAN>At the end of your video, say that you’re a proud member of the
National Federation of the Blind, and tag three friends or family members to
keep the trend going. You can also urge your audience to make a donation to the
NFB.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Upload your video to social media using the hashtag
#HowEyeSeeIt. Make sure to link to our website, <A
href="http://www.nfb.org">www.nfb.org</A>, and tag the NFB in your Tweet,
Facebook, or Instagram post. If the people you mentioned in your video are on
social media, be sure to tag them, too.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Mark A. Riccobono, President<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Baltimore, Maryland 21230<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Phone: (410) 659-9314<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Fax: (410) 659-5129<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Email: <A href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org"><SPAN
style="COLOR: blue">officeofthepresident@nfb.org</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal>Web: <A title=blocked::http://www.nfb.org/
href="http://www.nfb.org/"><SPAN
style="COLOR: purple">www.nfb.org</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is
not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between
blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not
what holds you back.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
size=3></FONT></o:p> </P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>