[NFBOH-Cleveland] The Ohio Membership Committee shares "The Power of Love and Commitment" from the May edition of the Braille Monitor

[Suzanne Turner]

The Power of Love and Commitment


by Nancy Burns

>From the Editor: Nancy Burns is well known to readers of the Braille
Monitor. She has a life filled with rich experiences, and what is so
fantastic for readers of the Braille Monitor is that she knows how to share
them. Here is what she has to say about her public education and the role
that Dr. Isabelle Grant played in it:

Commitment is a commonly used word in today's vocabulary. Television
commercials may boast of a commitment to giving the buyer the best deal if
you purchase a car from this dealership. Banks or loaning agencies may boast
of being committed to providing customers with the best rates. Every
business, from grocery stores to shoe stores, may boast of their commitment
to providing customers with the lowest price. All of these promises seem to
dilute the true meaning of commitment since they are tossed around so
frequently and casually. 

The National Federation of the Blind exemplifies the true meaning of
commitment. This organization, which stretches from coast to coast and from
Alaska to Puerto Rico, provides sincere commitment to the blind, visually
impaired, and to their friends and family. At the root of this commitment is
a philosophy, the cornerstone of which is the belief that blind people will
lead happy and productive lives if they have a positive attitude and the
proper training. 

The best way for this writer to explain commitment is to share some of my
own personal experiences. At the age of eleven I suddenly lost my vision as
the result of a traumatic injury to both eyes. This took place in Southern
Missouri, where I grew up and attended school. My parents knew nothing about
blindness and mostly survived on denial and were certain that the next of
numerous surgeries would restore my vision. This, however, did not happen. 

A representative from our local school board visited and told us about a
school for the blind in St. Louis. I was sent, although reluctantly, to this
school, and that was the best thing that ever happened. It became the
beginning of the belief in myself as I saw active blind students. They
roller skated, swam, and carried around large Braille books which were used
to do their homework assignments. Shortly after enrolling, I was taught
Braille, and I soon found that I too could skate, swim, and read my
assignments in Braille.

As I was ready to begin the tenth grade, my mother told my sister and me
that we were moving to California. We were not pleased with this decision,
but the move was made. 

It was assumed that I would again attend a school for the blind, but this
was not the case. We were living in the Los Angeles area, and the California
School for the Blind was in Northern California. This transition in my life
was yet another important turning point. I was enrolled in a large,
metropolitan high school in Los Angeles. This move forced me to adjust from
the segregated school for the blind to the "real" world of sighted students.
This is where I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Isabelle Grant. I find it
difficult to verbalize the right words to express the important role she
played in my life. She was a tiny bundle of energy who said that she was
Scottish, not Scotch. She explained that Scotch was something one might
drink. 

Dr. Grant had been the principal of a large school in Los Angeles until she
lost her sight as the result of glaucoma. She was then placed in a resource
room in the school I attended. This was way below her qualifications, but
her impact on the blind students who returned from the classroom to that
resource room was nothing short of phenomenal. If I asked her the meaning of
a word, she didn't stop at the definition but would tell me the derivation.
She also strongly encouraged me to take the college prerequisites. Prior to
her encouragement, I had no intention of attending college, and, without her
support, I doubt that I would have gone on to UCLA. Much of who I became and
who I am is the result of my association with Dr. Isabelle Grant. She opened
my mind to possibilities that I might never have considered without her
encouragement. She was truly a huge influence in my life. 

In addition to her academic support, she began speaking to me about this
organization of blind people. She invited me to her home one Friday evening,
and I just went because she wanted me to do so. I was only a high school
student, and the picture I had of this meeting I would attend was this room
full of blind people, and most likely old blind people. Some of these
attendees were possibly in their 40s or even 50s while I was a kid of only
seventeen. 

With her white cane she took us by bus through busy Friday evening Los
Angeles traffic to her home. Blind men and women began arriving, and I met
mechanics, homemakers, social workers, and office workers. During a break
Dr. Grant served tea and cookies. What an eye-opener this all was. No pun
intended. This was the beginning of a true commitment to me on the part of
Dr. Isabelle Grant. No other individual has ever affected my life in such a
positive manner. She encouraged me and began filling me with NFB philosophy.
What an awesome honor for me to have her guidance. 

After graduating from high school, I met several college students, and once
again the name National Federation of the Blind popped up. I found myself in
the student's group and even became president. This was the first of many
positions I have held within the NFB. It was also another lesson in the true
meaning of commitment. 

Students supported one another in many areas of life, and during these years
the influence of Dr. Grant was again felt. She spoke with students and
discussed the importance of organizing and of the affect that Dr. tenBroek
was having on the blind population. She told us about the work at state and
national conventions and encouraged students to become involved. As a blind
teacher she led the movement in California to remove the vision requirement
for teachers. She put forth the argument that, as long as an applicant was
otherwise qualified, there should be no vision test required. With her
support a law was passed revoking the controversial vision requirement. 

I moved to San Francisco and completed my bachelor's degree in sociology at
San Francisco State. Good fortune continued to follow me since that was
where I met Laurence (Muzzy) Marcelino, another dynamic leader in the
National Federation of the Blind. I joined the local San Francisco chapter
and demonstrated my own commitment to growing the NFB.

After completing my bachelor's degree, I returned to Los Angeles and became
even more involved in the movement. Since this organization had become a
huge part in my training, I became totally involved and organized several
local chapters. Even after marriage and having two sons, my commitment to
the NFB continued to grow. I remember bundling my babies up, and my husband
and I took them to chapter meetings. 

I began attending state and national conventions and was elected to the
California Board of Directors in the 1970s. My husband and I divorced, and I
gained full custody of my boys. I was hired by the California State
Department of Rehabilitation and maintained my involvement in the National
Federation of the Blind. 

In 1993 my life took yet another huge turn while attending the national
convention in Dallas, Texas. It was there that I met Don Burns, a gentleman
who asked me to dance with him at a huge barbecue. He was involved, although
recently, in the NFB. Don was in the process of losing his vision, his wife,
and at the same time he was struggling with his future. He was from New
Mexico and had connected with Fred Schroeder and Adelmo Vigil, who became
his mentors. We connected immediately, and three months later Don and I were
married. Don told me about an opening at the commission for the blind
training center, where he was working as a cane travel instructor. While
still working in California, I had completed my master's degree in
Counseling and Psychology and was not certain as to where I wanted to work.
I applied for the position of independent living instructor and was accepted
and moved to New Mexico. Besides our love for one another, we both shared a
commitment to the National Federation of the Blind. He confided that after
losing his job in the field of construction for many years, then losing his
wife, he had struggled until he met members of the organization. Our love
for one another, along with our commitment to the organization, has
continued to develop and grow. 

After working for the commission for the blind for a year, Don and I moved
to Burbank, California, where I still owned property. We both maintained our
involvement in the NFB. Don was appointed to the position of legislative
director by then NFBC president, Jim Willows. He worked for several years on
legislation, and his work was instrumental in creating Braille and math
standards for blind students in the state. 

I was elected state president in 2000 and served until 2006. Following my
service we moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We, of course, maintained our
commitment to the Federation. It is my sincere hope that I have been able to
give to others even a small portion of the gift which was given to me by Dr.
Isabelle Grant. She was the epitome of love and commitment, and her
influence is still felt within the movement. The best way for me to describe
the influence of Dr. Isabelle Grant on my life is to quote some words from
Eleanor Roosevelt: "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only
true friends will leave footprints on your heart". 


 


 

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