[Nfb-kzoo] Protest at the Commission

Tue Feb 23 17:11:37 UTC 2010

Rhonda,
Hey, I'm so sorry that we didn't get back to you guys sooner on this...I really just forgot about it.  It would work great if you just sent it to me, and I can then deposit it into the NFB acount.

Tyler and Leanne Merren
4218 Pembrook st.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008

Thanks again you guys for being so supportive,
Tyler Merren
President of the nFB of Kalamazoo
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rhonda Scott 
  To: NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List 
  Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 9:35 AM
  Subject: Re: [Nfb-kzoo] Protest at the Commission

  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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