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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>The following message is from President Riccobono. Please take a few minutes to make a video of yourself doing something that you normally do. We have no fear of blindness and cannot allow others to instill fear within society about blindness either. Engage, please!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Yours in the Federation!!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jeannie <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></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></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></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></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></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></o:p></p><h2>Critical Actions This Week:<o:p></o:p></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.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='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>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='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:.5in;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-.25in;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span><![endif]>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></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">officeofthepresident@nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Web: <a href="http://www.nfb.org/" title="blocked::http://www.nfb.org/"><span style='color:purple'>www.nfb.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></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></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>