[NFBSF] October NFB meeting Minutes 2022

[taryn.ann.morris at gmail.com]

Hello NFB San Francisco Chapter:

 

I hope everyone is doing great.  Below you will find the October NFB 2022
meeting minutes.  As always, if anyone has any questions or needs any
clarifications please feel free to reach out to me.

 

October NFB meeting Minutes 2022

 

*         Introductions

*         secretary Report

*         Treasurer Report

*                Presidential release Recap

*         Legislative Announcements 

*         Announcements

*         Discussion

 

Members

*         Bobbi-she/they/them, Berkeley, Black, Blind, conquer, multiple
disabilities   

*         Amy-first vice president of the San Francisco chapter, she/they,
autistic 

*         Christina- Pleasant Hill, Che/her black, blind, agnostic, 

*         Sheri-she/her, Alameda, Caucasian, Blind, mom, sad let her
daughters go back home after visiting

*         Taryn-Secretary, Blind, she/her, Millbrae, mixture of Chinese and
Caucasian, Assistive Technology Trainer, employed

*         Dr. Ting-Siu-opening door for her San Francisco students to
introduce themselves, thank you very 

*         Laura-Zooming in form Eureka, she/they/them, student at San
Francisco State, first time here   

*         much for having us tonight at your meeting, thanks for sending
invitation tonight for the teachers of the visually impaired or blind as
well as orientation and ability teachers

*         Caley-she/her, also first time joining, Zooming in from Los
Angelo's, Jewish 

*         Michelle- Central Valley, she/her

*         Andrea- she/her, from Dr. Ting's class, Santa Rosa

*         Elizabeth-    San Diego area, she/her, Black, deaf and hard of
hearing, and first time here

*         Lindsay Paramount fifth tee minutes away from Los Angelo's,
she-/her, first time to our meeting, also a board member of the California
blind student's association, scholarship winner

*         Gabe- Petaluma/him, White, male, thank you for having me

*         Jasmine- Pleasant Hill, she/her, also her first time here

*         Kendra Visalia, Central Valley, thank you for having me

khanpanom- she/her, Ocean Side, San Diego area, Asian woman, first time here

*         Irene- Sacramentos/her, Pilipino, first time here thank you for
having me

*         Julie- Pacheco she/they, Latino woman, also Visually Impaired

*         Sara- Treasurer, Oakland

*         Lisa Maria Martinez, also known as LM-Union City, hello to Ocean
side student, grew up and Ent to high school there, she/her, Puerto Rican
momma of three, about to go on a red eye flight to Boston tonight

*         Monica- she/her, Oakland, Blind, Wooer, woman, White, lawyer\

*         Rochelle- San Francisco, pug momma, she/her, and pug Archie
he/him, frustrated artist

*         Jaime- San Ramon, legally Blind, she/her, Caucasian, College
instruction aide at San Ramon college

*         Serena- from kitchen in San Leandro, she/her, Caucasian, Blind,
language impaired, food freak, any, food conversations bring them her way

*         Kaila- hi everyone, San Pablo, she/her, Blind, White, multiple
disabilities

 

Secretary Report 

*         September meeting minutes were sent out to the list serve 

*         Motion was made by Sheri, Rochelle seconded the motion, and all
approved of secretary report

 

Treasurer Report  

*         Currently we have $721.60

*         Every month our chapter donates ten dollars to the PAC (Pre-
Authorized Contribution) Plan

*         If anyone wants to pay dues and is using PayPal or venmo please
use this information to pay:  Sara Hadsell, 510-387-0766

*          <mailto:SaraAHadsell at gmail.com> SaraAHadsell at gmail.com, if anyone
needs to pay with a different mode, please email sara or call her

*         if you prefer to mail a check is: 585 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607.

*         If paying by PayPal, you must do it on a computer, which is where
you can select that you are paying a friend, rather than purchasing an item.
The PayPal phone app is set up for commercial purchases.

*         If someone needs to use another method of payment, they should
contact Sara directly,

*         Motion was made by Amy, Jaime second the motion, and all approved 

 

Presidential Release Recap

Blind Equality Achievement Month

*         Mark and Pam were with the NFB of Mississippi Jackson Chapter and
the Mississippi School for the Blind. 

*         They spent the day distributing water to members of the Jackson
chapter of the National Federation of the Blind Mississippi to help
alleviate some of the strain of the water crisis 

 

*         October 1 was 60th anniversary of James Meredith becoming the
first African-America to attend the University of Mississippi.

 

*         Quote from President Riccobono 

*          ".My charge for all of us this month is to use this Blind
Equality Achievement Month to assert our right to belong."

 He we *can demystify the way blind people do things by talking to people,
posting to neighborhood listservs about the way we do things and encouraging
people to ask questions. This way we can lead the narrative of these
conversations.

*           On September 28, Mark and Anil Lewis, Executive Director of
Blindness Initiatives, went to the White House and attended a Rose Garden
ceremony in celebration of the ADA. It was September instead of June due to
President Biden having COVID in June.

*          Also on September 28, Senator Tammy Duckworth introduced Websites
and Software Applications Accessibility Act (S4998) in the Senate. It was
assigned to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and has
three co-sponsors: Senator Casey of Pennsylvania, Senator Markey of
Massachusetts and Senator Schatz of Hawaii.

* There is also house bill introduced, HR9021 that was introduced by
representative John Sarbanes of Maryland.

*          NFB has been working on this for 18 months. 

* This bill expands on the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities
Act to protect our rights in the digital space.

Specifically: it provides a strong statutory definition for accessibility of
websites and applications.

Secondly, it provides a well-defined regulatory structure and schedule.

Third, the bill provides safeguards against a rush to court settlements for
inaccessible websites. Companies have been sued for the accessibility of the
websites and the plaintiffs have signed confidentiality agreements, so we
have not been able to hold these companies responsible for accessible
websites. 

*         NFB encourages you to reach out to your representative and
senators about the house/senate bills. 

*         The Access Technology Affordability act has a very good chance of
getting attached to a bill before the clock runs out on this Congress.

*         NFB is having an Open House on November 2nd at 5 pm Pacific for
new members. If you are interested in participating, you can sign up for the
<https://nfb.org/form/open-house-gathering-call-regist> NFB Open House
online or send an e-mail to  <mailto:membership at nfb.org> membership at nfb.org
to register and get info.

*         NFB is seeking info on the Social Security Administration intake
process. If you have visited an SSA field office, since their reopening in
April of 2022 or are planning to and want to be a part of the testing
program, please reach out to Valerie Yingling at 410-659-9314 extension 2440
or  <mailto:legal at nfb.org> legal at nfb.org.

 

Legislative Announcements

*         No Legislative Announcements this month

 

Announcements

*         California state convention will take place from November 3-6
offering in person and virtual options, will take place in San Diego,
information to register, scholarships, and all other information can be
found at nfbcal.org/convention

*         -registration for state convention is available, and if you
register after October 27 registration price will increase by twenty dollars

*         Fee for state convention is 60 dollars for in person, and 25 for
virtual, 

*         In person registration price includes breakfast Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday

*         If you attend banquet at state convention it will be 60 dollars
including   steak OR chicken taco bar WITH ALL THE FIXINGS

*         YOU MUST ATTEND STATE convention IN PERSON TO VOTE

*         Please register with the phone and if you can receive messages on
it as there will be some voting testing for virtual voting options for years
to come

*         Scholarship applications due by October 16 at 11:59 PM

*         If you win the scholarship fees waived for transportation, hotel,
banquet, and registration, will have to attend convention in person

*         Resolutions every year, issue that NFB or local agencies should
work on, written out by members, if you have any ideas to work on to resolve
the issue at hand, any stance you feel NFB should act upon, please submit
ideas by October 16 by 5 PM to Brian Bashing the committee chair email
<mailto:bashin at calweb.com> bashin at calweb.com

*         As far as our gift basket, we have decided to do a virtual basket,
our theme is Hometown Flair, keep an eye out as an announcement for more
details will be emailed out

*         LM made a motion to donate fifty dollars for door prizes at the
California state Convention, Christina second the motion, and all approved

*         Sheri donating Google mini home and LM willing to bring it to
convention, will coordinate to meet

*         On October 28, 2022 the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired will have their grand opening at their new building in Alameda
called the Circum center that produces cleaning materials and packages for
medical facilities and the military, looking for members to help table from
10 AM - 3 PM, there will be other organizations and Lighthouse tables, lunch
snacks and drinks will be provided 

*         We will start to fundraise and want to gather any members
interested, Jinny and Rochelle interested, anyone else interested reach out
and any suggestions welcome

*         Elections taking place in February, positions up for re election
are secretary, treasurer, both board positions, as well as filling the role
of first vice president, will discuss more about it as we get closer

*         We will be having our Holiday party at our December meeting, bring
ideas to our next meeting

 

Discussion

*         Dr. Ting-Siu, the director of the Teachers of the visually
impaired and orientation and mobility specialist graduate program at San
Francisco State University, are here with her students here to connect and
hear how to better serve those who are blind or visually impaired

*         How to be an ally and what It means

*         Bobbi feels that she is an ally with   Latin community, do and say
as an ally, choose to be an ally

*         Monica had an incident at A BART station where someone tried to
grab her and direct her and another sited person came and told them to stop
as she knew where she was going and to leave her alone, great ally

*         Amy believes Bobbi has real right ideas of that opportunity to
help people become allies, yes ones to label also educate people stand with
us, how to do that

*         Invite others on our journey thank everyone coming and taking that
step

*         Alycia question listen to Bobbi we were together in previous class
define ableism helped with intersectionality default not ally to check her
ableism things do and said question being ally checking yourself first for
ablism and other things before giving yourself title of ally

*         Bobbi understanding of ableism as a form of discrimination or
thinking different treatment inferior to people with disabilities
intentional or unintentional often is little different from things like
racism and sexism and homophobia socially engrained too but come from a
place more malice negative intent, ableism different most of the time things
we do or say some ableism often done out of ignorance and good intentions

*         What does it take to be an ally or supportive things of that
manner

*         Sheri be able to somehow walk in our shoes not to be accomplished
family member   or partner truly    able to walk in a blind person's shoes
in order to be able to be an ally in every sense of the word

*         Amy allyship begins with listening to voice of anyone in blind
community and amplify those voices, if possible, get to know the community
and make sure community gets opportunity to be heard 

*         Bobbi feel most supportive and understood when people are
receptive of feedback all learning general ableism totally a thing towards
disabilities  to do these things too most value call someone ally if they
know do something feels off to her or problematize and call them out,  did
not like it or did not land well say it differently do not like saying it
was bad  just trying to help people say that taking feedback  not about you
or intentions or what you meant focus in moment someone negative impacted
conversation of how can we change and impact of future

*         take your own allyship related to leadership, space representing
they are leading telling us what to do in a lot of ways   

*         Bobbi trap to blindness professional think valuable to realize
degree education of blind folks in certain area blind rehabilitation
therapies  realize two different realize trained on how to best instruct
someone live their life get things done not expert on their life and they
are truly the expert they know their experience better than she could ever
imagine realize when in doubt   one feedback ableism learning if do not know
do not ask do not know do not do anything or ask  take that moment of not
knowing to gain clarity do not act without knowledge

*         Sheri what just said really huge moment of humility and humble lot
of people not in position, trial training, degree what it is like to be
blind and training listen to Bobbi that is so beautiful what Bobbi said
every person different everyone's journey is different

*         Lindsey and other students watching the documentary Krip Camp
about Film discussing disability and advocacy 

*         Bobbi idea of zoom meetings introducing yourself and sharing
deception of yourself based on what others can see

*         Resolution did not pass national against this practice Harris did
it at ado celebration in July   

*         Monica people like them do not appreciate it, she likes the idea
of what people look like and what the vibe is, in meeting practice beginning
of meeting in intros or before anyone has any access needs if ask for visual
descriptions then describe themselves

*         personal choice not mandatory 

*         Amy happens in meeting already knows they are there or disability
community uncomfortable feels being called out a bit rather see it go more
mainstream or less middle ground a happens at disparities does not like that

*         Sheri comes up daughter was here gone to book club meet up, from
the mid-west met with people from bay area, shows up in t shirt and jeans
and jean jacket, mom felt out of place everyone in different clothes, would
not know vibe is or know what the rest of the group is wearing for next 

*         Bobbi mixed feelings more value know what people are like,
description society as whole makes a lot of assumptions of people based on
what they look like and what they are based on what they look like

*         What opportunity on your soap box think about these students here
tonight going to make impacts on people and their experiences in life
teachers of those student's peers and class mates and families of students
and communities everyone involved with

*         Is anything important for them to know or wish your teachers of
the visually impaired as well as orientation and mobility instructors had
known or done differently or did really well appreciate

*         Serena hit on her area starguards very rare find them everywhere
fair amount of usable vision pass for sited for long time wish did not get
special services lived in very rural area and was passing use blind jokingly
took into adulthood coming against time in college no skills she was doing
first person in family to go to college to learn navigate higher education
and blindness and acknowledge it to begin with  

*         Teenagers see and not see come around to that in their own time
with alternative skills encouraging moving in non-visual way, suggesting
perhaps useable vision did not come fully as confident person until got
alternative skills of blindness, not fully employed and tax paying, multiple
degrees and peace corps without blindness skills would not happen, kids do
not let yourself fall into that trap

*         Jaime had a similar story as serena, rare retina syndrome that
impacted learning braille in school,  multiple teachers felt she could not
use or learn how to read braille not related to blindness and was of tactile
issues in fingertips, finally got to training center out of state realized
hand stuff goes with blindness, learning braille every day for more than
half hour helped her learn, yes very slow wish she learned it much younger,
blind children should learn to read and write braille much  younger 

*         LM stay in blindness community regardless of what others say

*         NFB, America council of blind similar tons of blindness
professionals, meet blind friends and go places to chat, on Facebook,
twitter, list serves, clubhouse, things blindness related feel free to tap
into communities to help you stay up with latest and greatest especially
technology

*         Bobbi lot of people with functional vision wish they received non
visual skills like braille and cane and screen readers earlier in age

*         Amy stays in blindness community get plugged into positive blind
role models one of the best ways to see yourself see someone like you be
successful 

*         Bobbi people known best of not being alone and more value talking
to other blind people, great value 

*         have positive blind role models

*         thanks for everyone coming

*         huge road to be supportive and becoming an ally

*         thanks for your time

*         feel free to reach out to Bobbi

*         Dr. Ting-Siu can share Bobbi's contact information and can answer
questions

 

Please stay after for after hours and social time

 

Our next meeting will be November 8th

 

Best Regards,

Taryn Morris