[Nfbofsc] FW: Positive Note 1589

[David Houck]

January 25, 2017 

Memo To:  Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents &
Others

From:  Frank Coppel, President

Positive Note 1589

Greetings Fellow Federationists: 

 

              On Saturday, afternoon January 28, I will be traveling to
Baltimore, Maryland to participate in a State Presidents Seminar which is
being held at our Jernigan Institute.  At the conclusion of this meeting, I
will be traveling on Monday, January 30, to Washington D.C. to join the
South Carolina delegation as well as a large number of Federationists from
across the country to participating in the 2017 Washington Seminar.  The
other members of the South Carolina delegation who are traveling to our
Nation's Capital Sunday, January 29, are Shelley Coppel, NFB of SC First
Vice President, Lenora Robertson, Ellen Taylor, NFB of SC Second Vice
President, Debra Canty, Diana Singleton, NFB of SC Board member, ED Bible
and his wife Julie, and NFB of SC Student Division President, Alexus
Blanding.  Because of a severe winter snow storm last year, we were unable
to send anyone to the Washington Seminar.  I am extremely proud of the size
of this year's South Carolina delegation.  The four legislative initiatives
which are being presented to the U.S. Congress next week are as follows: 

              The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education
(AIM HE) Act  

              Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional
methods of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming
majority of ebooks, courseware, web content, and other technologies are
inaccessible to students with print disabilities. The law requires equal
access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to schools for the
way it applies to technology. AIM HE creates voluntary accessibility
guidelines for educational technology to improve blind students' access to
course material, stimulate the market, and reduce litigation for schools.

              The Access Technology Affordability Act  

              Currently, blind Americans rely on scarce sources of funding
to acquire access technology. By providing a refundable tax credit for
qualifying access technology purchases, Congress can stimulate individual
procurement of access technology and promote affordability of these tools
for blind Americans.

              Appropriation to the National Library Service for the Blind
and Physically Handicapped (NLS) for the Purchase of Refreshable Braille
Devices  

              Established in 1931, the NLS provides its patrons with
accessible format copies of printed works. With the latest innovations in
refreshable Braille, it is now easier than ever before to put Braille into
the hands of more Blind people. A one-time appropriation to the NLS will
save money and lead to the proliferation of critically needed Braille
material for blind Americans.

              The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works
for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled  

              Despite the ability to convert print books into accessible
formats like Braille, large print, audio, and digital copies, millions of
blind and otherwise print-disabled Americans are excluded from accessing 95
percent of published works. The Marrakesh Treaty calls for contracting
parties to provide, in their national copyright laws, for a limitation or
exception that allows for the reproduction, distribution, and cross-border
exchange of accessible works.

              These priorities will remove obstacles to employment,
education, and access to published works.  We have scheduled appointments on
Tuesday January, 31, with our South Carolina Congressional delegation to
discuss these four very important initiatives.  

              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.  Joining me for comments in this
Positive Note is the President Emeritus of the NFB of SC.  Here is Dr.
Capps.  

              The Federation on a local, state and national level spends a
great deal of time improving the understanding about blindness.  Thus it is
crucial to correct or challenge any information that distorts the true
meaning of blindness.  In the November 20, 2016 Editorial edition of the New
York Times there was a letter to the Editor written by a blind person that
was severely derogatory about blindness.  President Mark Riccobono responded
to the negative letter by also writing to the New York Times.  We are
sharing with you President Riccobono's letter:

              "Feeling My Way Into Blindness," New York Times, Sunday,
November 30, 2016

By Mark Riccobono, President, NFB. To the Editor:  Re:  "Feeling My Way Into
Blindness" (Disability Series, Sunday Review, November 20):  

              My heart went out to Edward Hoagland when I read his essay.  I
remember that I once let blindness make ne a passenger in my own life.  That
changed when I encountered a vast network of other blind people who
convinced me that blindness did not define me, who taught me nonvisual ways
to handle everything and not-so-everyday tasks, and encouraged me to expect
more of myself.

              Without that experience, I might still live in fear of hurting
myself or breaking things as I walk down the sidewalk, and I might regularly
mismatch my socks.

              I am now a successful blind man married to a blind woman,
living a rich, full life with her and our three children, and serving as
President of the National Federation of the Blind, a membership organization
of tens of thousands of blind people.

              So my next correspondence will be to Mr. Hoagland, to offer
him the love and support from an extended blind family that changed my life
and can change his."

              I was impressed with President Riccobono's response and wrote
the following to him:  "December 1, 2016, Mark Riccobono, President,
National Federation of the Blind, Dear President Riccobono:  Congratulations
on your excellent response yesterday (Wednesday) which appeared in the New
York Times.  Your letter was very effective in dealing with the terrible
letter that appeared in the Sunday Times.  The way you handled this was very
uplifting to me and made me even more proud to be a part of the NFB.  With
kind regards, Donald C. Capps, President Emeritus, NFB of SC."

              I was grateful that President Riccobono responded about my
letter to him:  "December 1, 2016, Dear Dr. Capps, I appreciate your note
very much. It is an honor to serve and to have had the mentoring of
outstanding individuals such as yourself. That we get to carry on the
tradition of excellence branded by our organization is fun, challenging, and
a great honor.  I hope you are doing well.  Sincerely, Mark"

              We are fortunate in having an outstanding National President
who is continuously called upon to deal with crucial issues.  As individuals
we can also contribute to PR initiatives.  In case some of you missed
hearing about the amount of snow that occurred at Rocky Bottom some three
weeks ago, there was six inches of snow.  No doubt it was beautiful.

 

Final Thought:  Raising Expectations:  "Courage defeats the fear of failure.
Knowledge defeats the fear of the unknown.  Faith defeats the fear of
trying."

 

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