by Michael Byington, President
Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
In my present job in the telecommunications industry, I deal with a number of vendors who sell fairly complex equipment. I am supposed to make sure that all the approved vendors follow the program’s rules in selling equipment; but, though I believe in being fair in applying rules, I have found that being fair does not always mean treating everyone alike. One vendor, for example, is the only one in the world who makes a type of telecommunications equipment which some multiply disabled and blind consumers require to use their telephones independently. This one very creative vendor is a small producer who often becomes so focused on what he is creating or improving that the more mundane aspects of his business, like providing customer service, sending in vouchers, and dispatching equipment on time, tend to slide. If this were any other vendor, he would have been removed from my vendor list many months ago because he does not comply with rules and procedures; but I would not dream of dropping this particular vendor, for that action would hurt many of the people who really need what he can provide.
This experience relates to the current situation ACB faces with the resignation of its executive director, Charles Crawford. Crawford has his own way of getting things done. On the ACB convention floor, he was often more political than the current ACB president wanted, and I can remember thinking that it might be more politically correct, and probably better for his own self-preservation, if Crawford would just have the sense to keep his opinions to himself in certain situations. Even when I absolutely agreed with him, I sometimes thought it would be better if he would just use a little self-restraint.
More often, however, I noticed with pride how far forward Crawford was bringing ACB as a recognized advocacy organization truly leading others in representing Americans who are blind and low vision. His energy was boundless, and his grasp of issues was amazing. As I treat the vendors in my own job differently depending upon what they bring to my program, I suggest that how much slack the executive director of ACB is cut in terms of rules and procedures should depend on the relative value he brings to the job, the organization, and the blindness community in general. In Crawford’s case, I believe our ACB president, Chris Gray, made a mistake in not working more diligently to find another solution to handling disagreements to avoid having Crawford resign. There are not many people who could move ACB forward as Crawford was doing. His departure from the national blindness advocacy scene is very painful and destructive to all blind and low-vision Americans.
It may seem as if I am coming down overly hard on my long-time friend Chris Gray. Many would point out what an irascible and stubborn ole coot Crawford can be and would tell me that it must have been a handful for Gray to supervise Crawford. This may be true, and I would not have wanted Gray’s job in doing so; but I did not seek that job and Gray did. Working with the ACB staff toward the betterment of the lives of blind and low-vision Americans is a part of that territory. Gray is the one we elected, so if someone like Crawford, who is so capable in moving the ACB agenda forward, is tempted to resign, it is the responsibility of the ACB president to find a solution for the problem rather than becoming part of it. I think Gray is a capable administrator who is a big enough person to fix a mistake which he and the ACB board have made. I encourage them to work hard to find a way to get Crawford’s resignation rescinded and get him back on the job as quickly as possible. I do not suggest that Gray and Crawford will ever have a love fest; they do not even have to like each other. They simply need to do what is best for the field of blindness.
I have read enough on the various lists to realize how intense are the opinions being expressed and how extreme are some of the proposals being advanced. There are people who want to create yet a third blindness organization over this situation, who would return to the old “Free Press” because they are not pleased with “The Braille Forum,” and who are calling for a special convention to dismiss the ACB president and the board of directors who have generally voted with him. They seem not to know that the ACB constitution does not provide for such a process. ACB, the Forum, and even what has happened with Crawford can all be fixed if the current ACB president and leadership will simply put the real prize, the long-term good of ACB itself, ahead of current differences.
I am therefore asking President Gray to undo the mistakes and get Crawford back on the job. I ask my friend Charlie Hodge, who works very hard in his capacity as chair of the ACB board of publications, not to surrender to the political pressures of the position. I close by asking Charlie Crawford to be big enough to allow President Gray and the ACB board to fix the errors. You have to come along for the ride or all of the suggestions I have made here are dilatory.