[Nfbwv-talk] January 2015 Braille Monitor

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Fellow Federationists,

I encourage you to check out the January edition
of The Braille Monitor at
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm15/bm1501/bm1501tc.htm

While the weather outside is still frightful, you
will be warmed by the tale of advocacy and battle
of Christopher Toth and Jamie Principato for
accessibility to educational materials in
Florida. The story may be familiar to some of
you, yet the finale is sure to put a tear in your
eye. Tom Bickford humorously shares some
anecdotes, too, about his advocacy with the
Federation and close friendship with our second president, Ken Jernigan.

As hundreds of Federationists prepare to gather
in Washington, DC later this month, one of our
core issues remains the passage of the TEACH Act,
which will create guidelines for accessibility to
educational materials in higher education. While
the proposed bill is only a few pages long, many
questions abound. In just a few minutes, Lauren
McLarney provides simple answers and the latest
news about our conversations with the American Council on Education (ACE).

Sighted people always see us and say that we are
“amazing.” When you read Julie McGinnity’s
article, your mind will be stretched to
understand what she means when she says, “We
reject the idea that we are amazing, but we work
hard to be amazing.” Pair that one with Debbie
Kent-Stein’s replies to a British, sighted
teenager doing research about blind people, and
you will be armed with some quick ways to explain blindness to anyone.

In addition to the details about the site of our
75th anniversary convention this summer, Allen
Harris and Patti Gregory-Chang talk about the
secrets to winning two different kinds of
scholarships…both of which will pay part of your way to Orlando.

I trust that you will find this issue educational, inspirational, and a joy.

Happy reading!
Corbb O’Connor

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