by Charles H. Crawford
How often have you heard blind folks talk about how busy they are or how they just don’t have the time for our organizations? Or have you heard how organizations of the blind are not as needed as they used to be? Are they right? Can it be that the million reasons why not really make sense as we leave the century in which the organizations were created?
An honest appraisal of our modern situation as blind people living in the United States as contrasted to even 40 years ago would clearly tell a story of great success and change. A young blind person today looks forward to a career that he or she has chosen. We now visit and enjoy many places of public accommodation without a thought of any challenge to our being there. We even reasonably expect accommodations to be made which allow us to more fully participate in the mainstream of American life. In short, have we now sufficiently reached our goals as a community as to not really need the kind of consumer organizations we once relied upon? Apparently, many blind folks have decided the answer is “yes.”
Despite all the above, there are many moments of truth that point directly at organizations of the blind as the foundation upon which we all must rely. Whether it’s a software change at the company that locks out the blind professional, a denial of housing or transportation, a print notice requiring action, a widening of a street crossing with new traffic patterns controlled by computers that couldn’t care less about blind pedestrians, a voting booth where you do not control what happens, school activities or even academic opportunities offered to all but you, or the sudden and sobering realization that you are alone in a world that expects you to see, there is no question that the organized blind movement remains a source of strength, vitality and fellowship that makes the difference.
Why then do so many blind folks choose not to join an organization? There are a million reasons why not, and only one reason why. When we are asked why we belong to ACB or another organization of the blind, the answer is simple: because we have our individual lives and we are a community that flourishes together and diminishes apart.
With this knowledge of ourselves as individuals pursuing our own lives and as members of a community that supports us, let us now tell the story of ACB to all who need to hear it. Let them know that their struggle with access is ours. Let them hear that they are not alone and we stand with them. Give them a chance to hear about how we value their views and want them to join with us in defining our advocacy in the next century. Most of all, let them know they belong and we can build a future together that we can only dream of alone.