[Ohio-talk] Pennsylvania Convention

[Marianne Denning]

This is a great article.  Was it a great convention?

On 11/16/15, Eric Duffy via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> The Pierces’ Shelbi and I attended the historic Pennsylvania convention this
> past weekend.
>
> Here is what a newspaper covering the convention reported:
>
>
> Statewide blind group meets at birthplace. Eric Mark. WILKES-BARRE - The
> Pennsylvania chapter of the National Federation of the Blind held its annual
> convention this weekend at the spot where the organization was born in 1940:
> Best Western Genetti Hotel & Conference Center. In November 1940, a group of
> 16 advocates for the blind, from seven states, gathered in Wilkes-Barre at
> the hotel that is now Genetti's. They formed a constitution that created the
> National Federation of the Blind, or NFB, which grew to be the largest
> organization led by blind people in the nation. To mark the 75th anniversary
> of the federation's founding, the Pennsylvania chapter chose Wilkes-Barre as
> the site for this year's state convention, said Lynn Heitz, the chapter's
> first vice president. "The national organization was founded right here,"
> she said Saturday afternoon, outside a spacious meeting room where most of
> the 120 people who attended the convention gathered for lectures and
> seminars on a wide range of topics that affect the visually impaired. Blind
> and low-vision people of all ages walked confidently into and out of the
> room with the help of long white canes. One of the seminar topics was
> "Technology for the blind and how it has changed. Mark Riccobono, the
> national president of NFB, had some thoughts on that, as he stepped out of
> the meeting room to speak with a reporter. He called technological advances
> "double-edged" for the visually impaired community. On the upside, there are
> useful technologies such as voice-activated personal assistants available on
> computers and smart phones. Riccobono demonstrated an app he recently
> installed on his iPhone, called KNFB Reader, that can take a picture of
> printed text and read it aloud to a visually impaired person. He pointed his
> phone toward the program for the convention, clicked a button and a
> mechanical voice started to recite the convention schedule listed in the
> program. On the other hand, the push for technological solutions to replace
> Braille, a writing system for the blind that uses raised letters and
> characters, has left some blind people struggling, especially younger ones
> in school and college, Riccobono said. "A lot of technology is not built
> with accessibility in mind," he said. He cited his own experience growing up
> as a legally blind student in Wisconsin, where his teachers, in line with
> the educational philosophy of the time, tried to get him to read and study
> as much as possible the conventional way and use Braille only as a last
> resort. "I faked it all the time," he said. "I had to memorize things. There
> were lots of positive stories at the convention, which draws a dedicated
> core group and some newcomers each year, according to Heitz, who described
> the gathering as "a family. Liliya Asadullina, 22, said being blind has not
> stopped her from a rewarding and enjoyable college career at Metropolitan
> State University of Denver. "They have a really good public transportation
> system," she said, adding that she has no qualms about taking a bus or train
> on her own. She credited the local chapter of the NFB near Philadelphia,
> where she grew up, with helping her to develop that confidence. "They showed
> me you have to be independent," she said. The NFB has led the push for civil
> rights for the blind, which has helped raise awareness for all special needs
> groups, Riccobono said. As traffic drove by on East Market Street outside
> the hotel, he gave an example. In 1940, when the federation was founded, if
> a car jumped a curb and struck a blind person on a sidewalk, the blind
> pedestrian was considered partly culpable, according to Riccobono. Blind
> people and others with challenges or special needs were expected to
> basically stay out of sight and mind in those days, he said. Today, through
> educational efforts and legislation such as "white cane laws" that require
> motorists to stop and allow blind pedestrians to cross the street, things
> are different, Riccobono said. "Blind people have the right to be in the
> world," he said. emark at citizensvoice.com <mailto:emark at citizensvoice.com>,
> 570-821-2117
>
>
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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053