By Jennifer Dunnam

At this writing, more than 80 Federationists from all over Minnesota have just returned from the 2013 national convention of the National Federation of the Blind in Orlando, Florida, where we worked, played, worked some more, and otherwise actively participated in the largest and highest-impact gathering of blind people anywhere.  The agenda and all space between was packed with opportunities to gain and share information, to celebrate our collective victories, and to plan the work to come.

Just before the convention, a story aired on NBC’s Rock Center program, detailing for a national television audience the effects of Section 14C of the Fair Labor Standards Act that makes it legal to pay disabled workers below the minimum wage.  At the convention, we heard from the two workers in Montana who were brave enough to tell their story.  See the Rock Center video here: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp/52280748#52280748

It appears that the proposed section 511 of the Workforce Investment Act (legislation that two years ago caused us to protest in front of the office of Senator Al Franken in St. Paul and of other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee) is back under consideration.  This provision would make it easier to place individuals in the vocational rehabilitation program into programs that operate under Section 14C, thereby tracking more people into subminimum wage jobs.  We cannot allow it, and we will not rest until people with disabilities receive at least the minimum wage for their work.

The resolutions process is the way in which our organization establishes its positions and policies.  This year the 23 adopted resolutions dealt with such varied and important topics as nonvisual access to current and emerging technology, quality braille instruction for blind children, and mechanisms to provide greater access for people who are DeafBlind.  One resolution, intended to combat harmful misinformation about blindness which is currently displayed on the popular eHow.com Web site, brought about a good deal of discussion in the committee and on the convention floor (not to mention on social media).  Some expressed discomfort with our telling an organization what should and should not be displayed on their Web site, saying it seemed like censorship.  The resolution did pass, however.  The NFB is our vehicle for working against what holds us back and limits our opportunities.  The damaging misconceptions about blindness that still prevail in society translate into real life problems for us — a high unemployment rate, discriminatory and custodial policies being forced on us, low expectations for blind children, and so much more.  The presence of bad information on blindness should not inhibit our ability to speak out against it in the strongest terms.

We celebrated the victory at the diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, where the World Intellectual Property Organization adopted a treaty that will allow nations to share accessible formats of books.  Currently, a country cannot use a transcribed braille book or other alternate format from another country, and so each country must make its own duplicate transcriptions.  If a nation does not have the resources to make an accessible version of a given book, then the citizens of that country do not have access to it, even if the book is readily available elsewhere.  The treaty has great potential to allow for better use of resources and greater availability of books everywhere.  The next step is for each nation to ratify the treaty, and we will be working on this here in the U.S. over the coming months. 

We also celebrated the success of our efforts to encourage the Department of Education to issue clarification and guidance regarding braille instruction for blind children.  A few weeks before the convention, the Department issued a “dear colleague” letter indicating that schools should teach braille to blind children unless a very rigorous evaluation determines it not appropriate.  This guidance will be another tool to help ensure literacy for blind children.

In addition to the live streaming from www.nfb.org, an internet radio station from the UK did extensive coverage of the convention.  You can listen to some of the sessions as well as interviews (including some with Minnesotans) at http://www.insightradio.co.uk/podcast-feed.html?category=special_features/nfb_convention_2013

Other highlights of the convention included a presentation about the Braille Enrichment for Learning and Literacy (BELL) programs.  These two-week summer programs provide intensive hands-on instruction in braille to help these students hone their skills and learn about ways to use braille in their daily lives.  One presenter was a second-grader from Atlanta who spoke eloquently about the high expectations and the effectiveness of the program.  We will be exploring the idea of having a BELL program in Minnesota next summer.

We still hold our ranking as fourth in states contributing to the Pre-authorized Contribution (PAC) Plan, which helps fund the operating expenses of the National Federation of the Blind.  If you are not yet contributing to this program, please sign up.  The minimum contribution each month is $5, and every dollar helps.  There was, of course, a great deal of discussion about the continued need for fund raising from both inside and outside of our organization. 

Get ready now for our Walk for Opportunity in Rochester on September 7.  This is a great opportunity to garner support from our friends and acquaintances who believe in the work we do. 

Stickers were distributed to help us spread the word that we have partnered with Vehicles for Charity to launch a new vehicle donation program.  The NFB's vehicle donation program accepts almost any vehicle, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles and recreational vehicles.  All donations may be eligible for a tax donation on your federal income tax return.  For more information, including how to donate, visit www.nfb.org/vehicledonations or call 1-855-659-9314.

Alex Loch, a student from Duluth, Minnesota, was selected out of over 700 applicants to be one of the 30 recipients of our national scholarships this year. Emily Wharton, Curriculum and Technology Coordinator at Blindness: Learning in Dimensions (BLIND), Inc., received the highest Jacob Bolotin Award for her development of a new braille teaching methodology.  Besides this being a good year for Minnesotans to win door prizes, Amy Baron won a new Victor Stream in a drawing from HumanWare, and Sheila Koenig won $2,500 in a drawing from the Jernigan Fund.  Next year’s convention will also be in Orlando; as you can see, there are many reasons why you don’t want to miss the national convention in 2014!