[Nfb-kzoo] Protest at the Commission

Tue Feb 23 14:35:26 UTC 2010

Tyler, we need an address to mail the donation to for the pizza party.

Do you need this by Friday, ASAP, or will early next week work?

Rhonda

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tyler merren" <twmerren at gmail.com>
To: "Organization of Students with Disabilities" <rso_osd at wmich.edu>
Cc: "NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List" <nfb-kzoo at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 7:16 AM
Subject: [Nfb-kzoo] Protest at the Commission

Dear Nicholas Beers Michiels
My name is Tyler Merren and I am the president of the National Federation of 
the Blind of Kalamazoo.  Below I have pasted a press release outlining a 
picket protest that the NFB will be rallying for outside of the Commission 
for the Blind on Oakland drive and Howard at 11:30am.  I know this is late 
notice, but we would love to have the OSD represented at this picket to 
support the rights of persons with disabilities.  Christine Boone has served 
as commissioner for some time now and is a firm believer in the blind and 
other disabled bodies rights and abilities to give back to there community, 
it is with this mentality that she has been terminated from her position, as 
you will see below.

Thank you so much for the consideration, and if you could pass this along to 
the members of the OSD, that would be great.

Thanks again,
Tyler Merren
President of the NFB of Kalamazoo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Larry Posont, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

313-727-3546

President.nfb.mi at gmail.com

www.nfbmi.org

Federationists Out in Cold, Again, This Time In Kalamazoo,

Demand Commission "Bring Boone Back"

Dearborn Heights, Michigan (February 22, 2010):  The National Federation of 
the Blind of Michigan (NFBM) is picketing the Michigan Commission for the 
Blind Training Center, 1541 Oakland Drive, on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, at 
11:30 AM regardless of weather.

"Patrick Cannon is trying to bully and intimidate blind people, including 
the Michigan Commission for the Blind board, and we are not going to take 
it," said Larry Posont, President of the National Federation of the Blind of 
Michigan.  "Weather is no obstacle when it comes to standing up for the 
rights of blind people to work in peace and belong to any organization they 
choose.  Being a member of the National Federation of the Blind should not 
cause anyone to lose their job," continued Posont.

Patrick Cannon, Director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind, fired 
Christine Boone, Director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training 
Center.  Cannon claimed the reason was a Marksman program Boone had 
authorized to help blind students realize that they can do most all the 
things they ever did despite their blindness.

"Michigan is an outdoor state.  Many blind people learned to hunt and use 
guns as young people with their parents who hunted in Michigan's forests and 
fields.  They ought to be able to continue to work, live, and enjoy 
recreation, and feel confident," said Posont.

"We (the NFBM) have been accused of trying to destroy the Commission," said 
Michael Powell, First Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind 
of Michigan.  "We created the Commission and have high expectations for its 
potential to advocate and work to help blind people achieve first-class 
citizenship.  The kinds of confidence-building activities that Boone was 
overseeing are exactly what we expect the Commission to do.  The Commission, 
with a positive attitude toward blindness and blind people, is what we want; 
we certainly don't wish to destroy it.  No state employee should ever use 
his or her position to take good people's jobs away without reason, the way 
Cannon has," Powell said.

The Federation says it will continue to protest and tell the public about 
the Commission for the Blind until it is restored to a place where blind 
people can work without fear of reprisals.  Along with Boone's firing, David 
Robinson (another Federation member working in the Lansing office) was 
fired, allegedly due to his NFB membership.  Mark Eagle was forced off the 
Commission Board of Directors after Cannon accused him of unethical 
behavior, though nothing was ever proven.  Eagle had been critical of 
Cannon's handling of public comments by blind people.

The Commission oversees the Business Enterprise Program.  There are 
currently a record number of hearings and federal arbitrations against the 
Commission.  The Federation maintains that Cannon has fired several blind 
people from this program for speaking out, including both presidents of the 
Federation's merchant division, which advocates on behalf of blind Michigan 
entrepreneurs.

The Federation contends that Cannon has undue influence over appointments of 
Commission board members, board members who, by law, supervise him and the 
agency he runs.  The board cannot manage him, because he sits on the 
Governor's cabinet, an equal-level position with the Department of Energy, 
Labor, & Economic Growth Department Director, who is his superior according 
to the state organization chart.

About the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan:

The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan (NFBM) is a proud affiliate 
of the National Federation of the Blind.  Originally founded in 1941, the 
NFBM has been a leader in advocacy and has worked tirelessly to change what 
it means to be blind in Michigan.  Among our accomplishments are:  bringing 
NFB-NEWSLINE® to Michigan, establishing the Michigan Commission for the 
Blind, White Cane legislation, Braille Literacy for Blind Children 
legislation, and much more.

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