by Paul Edwards
(Editor’s Note: Former ACB President, Paul Edwards, sent out this communication to agencies, the NFB, and interested blind people everywhere during his last month in office. Edwards’ and Charlie Crawford’s communications speak for themselves. We urge the Federation and their spokespersons to listen.)
As President of the American Council of the Blind, I feel compelled to respond to an article that appeared in the June issue of “The Braille Monitor.” I am disheartened that the National Federation of the Blind chose not to include two other documents which are relevant to this issue. When Dr. Maurer and Mr. Gashel sent their diatribes to the agency list, ACB responded. Below you will find the message we sent. I think the message speaks for itself and needs little additional comment from me. However, I want to make five points which I believe it is imperative that all interested parties understand.
1) The American Council of the Blind has a long-standing record of promoting change that has significantly improved the lives of blind people. Much of our work has been done in collaboration with the whole blindness community including the National Federation of the Blind. This is as it should be. When we have taken positions that were different from those taken by the Federation, we have done so without resorting to attacks on the Federation or any of its members.
2) The American Council of the Blind values diversity and we have no interest in seeing the Federation diminished. We certainly do not “hate” nor are we interested in “killing them off.”
3) The American Council of the Blind has made a conscious decision not to provide services such as rehabilitation training. We have eschewed this direction so that we could legitimately speak as a consumer organization capable of independently evaluating service delivery.
4) The American Council of the Blind is a democratic organization which delegates power to its board of directors and president between conventions and which has hired Charles Crawford as its executive director. We are proud of his work and are fortunate to have him work for us. His record as Commissioner for the Blind in Massachusetts speaks for itself as does his record of advocacy for blind people since he began his employment with us.
5) The American Council of the Blind categorically believes that the blindness community is too small to survive unscathed if we are perceived as fighting among ourselves. We value many initiatives undertaken by the National Federation of the Blind but reserve the right to speak out when our position is different from theirs.
Now I hope you will read the message that we sent to rehabilitation directors. The reader must judge who is at war.
Open Letter to State Directors
You will be pleased to know that this will be a short document. I am appending a memorandum from our executive director, Charlie Crawford. I sincerely hope that this will be the end of this thread.
I feel impelled to make just a few comments. First, and most important, ACB remains committed unequivocally to cooperation with all elements of the blindness community. We believe that it is essential that, wherever possible, those who are blind and those who serve them must present a united front to the many external threats to separate services. I am convinced that there will be considerable difficulty with the next reauthorization effort for the Rehab Act and it will behoove all of us to be prepared to work hard to be sure we are all on the same page when that time comes.
The Thirteen Principles that were attached to Charlie (Crawford)’s original message should be easy for every state to adopt. I was pleased to note that the NFB expressed no opposition to these in their response. Hopefully, then, we will see these widely adopted by agencies and the Rehab Councils with whom they work.
Much of the rest of James Gashel’s memorandum is hard for me to respond to since it consists mostly of rhetoric and innuendo which I will continue to eschew. In the six years I have been president of ACB I have sought to work closely with the NFB and continue to seek ways we can cooperate. I would refer those interested to my February “President’s Message” (in “The Braille Forum”). There I outline my position and ACB’s attitude toward Newsline. In essence, that message welcomes the involvement of the federal government in funding information access to people who are blind and commends the Federation for a service that has been extremely valuable to people who are blind in this country.
ACB has not opposed Newsline, ever. We have suggested that, if public funds are being used, state agencies or the federal government should explore all available options and then choose the one that seems best. The same principle applies to the NFB’s efforts to raise funds for their center. We do not have the right to question how another organization raises money. Our Maryland affiliate has questioned whether appropriating $6 million to the National Center is the most appropriate use of public dollars. ACB has not expressed an opinion on the Maryland issue but I have told Dr. Maurer, privately and publicly, that I reserve ACB’s right to engage in a debate about how public funds are used.
We in ACB believe that funds need to be spent on pedestrian safety, information access, making the built environment more accessible to people who are blind and on programs for older people who are blind. These are our priorities, and we believe that we have every right to ask local, state and federal legislators to commit dollars to these areas of expenditure.
ACB is not interested in engaging in unproductive diatribes against any organization. We respect and value the work being done by the National Federation of the Blind and continue to work closely with Dr. Maurer whenever we can. We will continue to do that. I urge all of us to work together to make things better for blind people. That is what it is all about and that is what all of us are mandated to do. This is almost certainly the last message I will send to you as president of ACB since my term will be over in July. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking all of you for your kindness to me during my presidency. I have had a chance to get to know many of you and have been given a chance to share my views with many of you at conferences. I have learned much from you and hope I have been able to make you think more about how to deliver services to people who are blind. Thank you and farewell!
Memorandum
To: All blindness agency heads
From: Charles H. Crawford - Executive Director - ACB
Date: May 10, 2001
Re: Short clarification
I’m sending you this to underscore that my recent memo relative to the ACB 13 principles of consumer cooperation only sought to remind state directors of our expectations with respect to appropriate balance with regard to the interaction of the state agency and the interests of blindness organizations.
Offering examples of where concerns have been raised was an attempt to assist agencies in reviewing their current operations and to provide opportunities for situations to not become areas of conflict.
I would hope that directors continue to view this effort within the positive frame from which it comes, and that we ensure that true and productive partnerships continue to grow from the valuable perspectives that a balanced approach to rehabilitation always have as a result. For this reason, I have chosen to let the response from the Federation be judged for what it is worth. I will only say that personalizing depictions such as “Charlie’s law” and hostile ramblings on irrelevant fanciful perceptions do nothing to enhance communication or positive results.
Again, I want to affirm that ACB’s interests here are only to create opportunities for consumers of all organizations and to not allow dialogue to sink to the level of the embarrassment that is represented in the response of Mr. Maurer and Mr. Gashel.