[NFBWV-Talk] Fwd: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 09/30/2019

Tue Oct 1 13:56:26 UTC 2019

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: President, National Federation of the Blind <
OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 1, 2019 at 8:14 AM
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 09/30/2019
To: President, National Federation of the Blind <
OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>

President’s Notebook National Federation of the Blind Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org 410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

As we come into the final quarter of the year, there are many reasons to be
excited about the opportunities ahead for the National Federation of the
Blind. If you read nothing else below, please observe the announcement in
the critical section as it finally reveals what we have been waiting to
tell you all for a number of months. Our exciting work with Mattel will put
the name of the National Federation of the Blind on store shelves across
the world, and we all will benefit from the increased promotion of Braille
and name recognition.

I want to again remind each of you about our call scheduled for October 2.
If you cannot make the call, please let Beth Braun know and we will be sure
to make alternate arrangements for you. This gathering is for affiliate
presidents only.

Since it is now October, you can expect a Presidential Release to be
available on Friday. As always, the goal is for it to be available before
the first Saturday of the month. Please be sure your chapters continue to
share this resource. I continue to welcome feedback from you about how to
make this communication tool stronger for our chapters.

Critical Actions This Week:

National Federation of the Blind and Mattel Games Introduce UNO® Braille
Today!:
The National Federation of the Blind partnered with Mattel Games to launch
UNO Braille, the first official UNO® card deck featuring Braille. UNO is
globally the number one card game by Mattel. UNO Braille features Braille
on the corner of each playing card to indicate the card’s color and number
or action. UNO Braille is doing more than making this beloved game more
accessible. It’s also helping promote the importance and normalcy of
Braille by putting it in places people might not expect and integrating it
into the play of blind children. It will be available through Target,
online beginning today and in stores in the next week or so. More
information is available in our press release
<https://www.nfb.org/about-us/press-room/uno-introduces-first-official-braille-deck>.

News:

#LetUsPlayUs Update:
Earlier this year we protested the CW regarding their new show *In The Dark*
for casting a sighted actor to play the lead role of blind character. This
led to a resolution that was passed at the 2019 National Convention
<https://www.nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions/2019-resolutions#14>.

This week the popular show *This Is Us* on NBC has cast a blind actor as a
significant blind character. Not only is the actor blind, the storyline
shows a blind person living the life he wants; blindness does not hold him
back.

While we don’t have a direct correlation that the protest influenced the
show, we do know the casting happened after the initial run of #LetUsPlayUs
and that we have provided consultation to *This Is Us*. We strive to
encourage more opportunities for blind actors throughout all sectors of the
entertainment industry. Thank you for your part in supporting these
efforts.

Legislative Update:
Our three-week Congressional blitz has come to an end. Both chambers of
Congress will be off for the next two weeks until Tuesday, October 15.
We’ve seen the influx of emails that John Paré has been copied on, and we
know that many phone calls were made as well. We cannot stress enough how
much your efforts really do make a difference. To date, the status of our
current legislation is as follows:

Access Technology Affordability Act
House – H.R. 2086 – 32 cosponsors
Senate – S. 815 – 14 cosponsors

Transformation to Competitive Employment Act
House – H.R. 873 – 52 cosponsors
Senate – S. 260 – 7 cosponsors

Greater Access and Independence through Nonvisual Access Technology Act
House – H.R. 3929 – 4 cosponsors

Once this two-week break ends on October 15, Congress will effectively be
in session until the last week of November. We need to make another strong
showing of support for our legislation to garner as many cosponsors as
possible. A more detailed legislative alert is in the works and will be
sent out in the next few days.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

   - October 1, 2019: First day of Meet the Blind month
   - February 10, 2020: Great Gathering-In; Washington Seminar begins
   - March 26-27, 2020: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium, Baltimore, Maryland
   - April 14-17, 2020: NABM BLAST <http://www.blindmerchants.org>;
   Chicago, Illinois
   - June 30-July 5, 2020: NFB National Convention, Houston, Texas

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.

Mark A. Riccobono, President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org

[image: National Federation of the Blind] <https://nfb.org/>

                         [image: Facebook]
<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>    [image: Twitter]
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>    [image: Youtube]
<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we
work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

-- 
Sheri Koch, President
National Federation of the Blind of West Virginia
304-993-5103