[NFBofSC] From the National President

Tue Jul 28 23:03:29 UTC 2020

*Critical Actions:* *NFB20 Survey--Please Provide Feedback This Week:*

Thank you for your participation, engagement, and support during this year’s national convention. Please complete this short survey by Friday, July 31, to provide feedback on your convention experience. Take the survey now <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nfb20>.

*News:* *NFB20 Continued--Additional Reports Now Available:*

A couple of presentations originally scheduled for the Saturday agenda of the NFB 2020 National Convention had to rescheduled for after convention.
They are available now on our YouTube channel. Additionally, find other
NFB20 content there as it becomes available. Now available:

·         Protecting and Expanding the Right of the Blind to Live in the
World: A Report from the Advocacy and Policy Department

·         Connecting with the Heartbeat of the Federation: A Report from
the Jernigan Institute

·         Leveraging the Power of the Americans with Disability Act

·         NFB20 Virtual Choir

And more coming *soon*!

Check out the NFB20 YouTube Playlist
<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW144PTYGib0LmONUtu33ZWl_EI3dpXEi>!
Please note that all highlights will be posted soon to nfb.org/convention.
  *NFB BELL® In Home Edition:*

We have nearly 140 participants registered for our final session of NFB BELL In Home Edition. Thank you all for the work you have done to mentor these students and their families and introduce them to our Federation.
This session did start out with some technical difficulties, and the Zoom links that were originally sent have been updated. Students have been split into five classes, each taught by a different experienced NFB BELL Academy teacher. The new Zoom connection information has been sent to all of the families. We are also working to get information for each student out to the BELL coordinators in each state. If you or any families in your affiliate have questions, feel free to reach out to our NFB BELL Academy team atbell at nfb.org or at extension 2418.
 *Advocacy and Policy Update:*

Riding the wave of excitement from our national convention, we have made significant progress on two of our key legislative priorities in recent weeks.

The Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 2086/S. 815) has gained eleven new cosponsors in the House since the beginning of July. They are:

Rep. Bill Posey, Florida

Rep. Don Young, Alaska

Rep. Dean Phillips, Minnesota

Rep. John Katko, New York

Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas

Rep. Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania

Rep. John R. Curtis, Utah

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey

Rep. Michael Guest, Mississippi

There are now 120 total cosponsors for the ATAA in the House of Representatives. This support is phenomenal and gives us more leverage to argue for the inclusion of this critical legislation in the COVID-19 relief package currently being debated in Congress.

Another example of our successful advocacy is with Sami’s Law (H.R. 4686).
We have been working very closely with the office of Representative Chris Smith (New Jersey) to make certain that this bill will ensure the safety and security of blind rideshare passengers. The bill will include the following definition of “nonvisual”:

(1) the terms ‘‘non-visual’’ and ‘‘non-visually accessible’’, with regards to the system required under sections 2(a)(1)(D) and 3(1)(B) mean digital content that—

(A) meets the success criteria of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 2.0, Level AA, and any successor to or revision of such guidelines that has been incorporated into the Section 508 standards issued by the United States Access Board, including, to the extent applicable, the Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI–ARIA); or

(B) allows a blind or visually impaired passenger to access the same information, and utilize the same system offered to other passengers as required under Sections 2(a)(1)(D) and 3(1)(B) in a way that provides a comparable level of privacy, independence and substantially equivalent ease of use to the passenger.

This version of Sami’s Law is expected to be put to a vote on the House floor tomorrow afternoon.
 *New Blog Post--Thirty Years after Covering the Signing of the ADA:*

“Blend in. Stand out. Those were the two seemingly dichotomous goals driving me on July 26, 1990. Always, as a blind person, I wanted to find some level of obscurity, to be just one of the herd. And, always, as a writer, I wanted my work to stand out, stand up, be stellar and noteworthy as topnotch writing.” Read more about Deborah Kendrick <https://www.nfb.org/blog/thirty-years-after-covering-signing-ada> and her story of covering the signing of the ADA.
 *Walmart:*

As a part of NFB’s lawsuit against Walmart <https://www.nfb.org/about-us/press-room/walmart-sued-blind-maryland-residents-over-self-service-checkout-kiosks>,
we need to hear from members who live in states other than Maryland and who shop at Walmart and would like for Walmart’s self-checkout kiosks to be accessible. Please contact Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org if this applies to you.

*Affiliate Contributions to NFB BELL:*

We have received additional affiliate contributions to NFB BELL. I am proud to see our affiliates come together to support our nationwide programming.
Recognition and appreciation go out to the following affiliates:

NFB of Alabama

NFB of Arizona

NFB of California

NFB of Connecticut

NFB of Florida

NFB of Georgia

NFB of Hawaii

NFB of Illinois

NFB of Kentucky

NFB of Louisiana

NFB of Minnesota

NFB of Missouri

NFB of New Jersey

NFB of Ohio

NFB of Pennsylvania

NFB of Texas

NFB of Utah

NFB of Virginia

If we have missed any affiliate, please reach out to Patti Chang at pchang at nfb.org. We want to update our records if we have missed any contributions. This is how we build the Federation!

*Dates to Keep in Mind:*

   - July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In Home Edition
   - February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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.

Mark A. Riccobono, President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>