[Nfbsf] April Meeting Minutes

[Jim Barbour]

Role - Favorite Easter Candy

Christina Daniels	Cadbury eggs
kayla Kidwell		Robin's Eggs
Adam Rodenbeck		Reese's eggs
Ginny Prince		Cadbury eggs
Serena Olsen		Cadbury eggs
Bobbi Pompey		Jelly Beans
Richie Flores		Jelly Beans
Tim Elder		Shannon's mom's sugar icing
Bryan Bashin		Sweet red wine
Jordyn Castor		Solid chocolate bunny
Cindy Fassler		Peeps
Kate Williams		Solid chocolate bunny
Sara Hadsell		Jelly Beans
Ed Vaughan		Forgotten what he likes
Lisa Irving Pardini	Lutheran mimosa
Larissa Dupree 		Reese's Eggs
David Chan		Kinder Eggs
Amy Mason		Solid chocolate bunny

1.  We listened to the presidential release.

2.  Tim talked about the membership coin.  Before the coin goes out, California has to turn in membership lists for all chapters.

3.  Tim talked about the NFBCA grants to national convention.

4.  March minutes were passed, Jenny correct to Ginny.

5.  We talked about funding options for convention.  Lisa suggested purchasing food or banquet tickets.

6.  Richie suggested a cook off to raise money for San Francisco fund raiser.

      Scheduled for Saturday, June 15th.  Serena, Richie, and Bobbi have volunteered to be cooks.  Maybe Bryan, needs to check calendar.

      might be at the Lighthouse or on Jordyn's rooftop.

7.  Amy kicked off a philosophy discussion.

    How do you label yourself around your blindness?

    Cindy says Visually impaired because that's the clearest way to express that you can't see like other people see.

    Ed pointed out that Dr Jernigan used to say "you'll be categorized as blind, so why not own it."

    Bryan Bashin says let's avoid ableist terms like partially sighted, partially blind, vision loss, etc.  These all start with the idea that being fully sighted is the norm, and that being blind marks you as "less than" the norm.

    Tim asks how we can accommodate Cindy's desire to quickly communicate that "I don't want all the help"

    Jordyn says that she's been surrounded by people who uses labels to indicate that someone is legally (partially) blind, vs. totally blind.  Jordyn like to claim the blind label with pride.

    Bobbi says that she liked using legally blind to describe her blindness when she had some vision.

    Serena uses the word blind.  Competent blind person vs incompetent sighted person.

    Lisa tried to hide her blindness.  Remembers losing vision and family members wanted her to hide her cane.  She discovered the philosophy the it is respectable to be blind.  Often inclusion groups will use people first language.  I am a person who is blind, vs I am a blind person. She prefers disability first language as it avoids the negative connotation of blindness or disability.  

    Cindy says that she wasn't sure what to call herself.  She was uncomfortable with "low vision" and happier with "visually impaired."

    Amy recommends "The Definition of Blindness" which is an article by Doctor Jernigan.  This is a good article.

    Adam pointed out that person first language is usually pushed by people who are uncomfortable with the disability.

8.  Tim says that Marco is setting up a group to go to the Cafe X robotic coffee stand.  The stand is largely inaccessible because the app to control the robot is not accessible.  They are claiming that they have one human on site that can make coffee and that this gets around accessibility needs.  Marco wants to overwhelm the human to make the point that this is not a very scalable accessibility solution.

9.  Kate is seeking volunteers for the NFB national convention career fair.

10. Next meeting is May 14th.