The Multicultural Affairs Committee (MCAC) invites you to join their first bilingual Spanish and English Focus Call via Zoom on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/5:30pm PT. The members of MCAC chose this memoir of our first female Hispanic Supreme Court Justice because it tells a story that seems familiar but yet is unique to the life and experiences of Sonia Sotomayor. They also chose this book because it's available in audio, braille, English and Spanish. MCAC invites you to read the book, join them and have a great conversation.

Apple Siri Actions

Apple is working to reinstate some Siri Email and Phone actions, which were temporarily removed as part of updates to improve Siri. You will be able to ask Siri to write, send and check unread emails in the coming weeks. Reinstating Siri actions to check call history and voicemail will take a bit more time, and they will bring back this functionality in an upcoming iOS software update. 

ACB supports the Medicare Vision Act and urges congress to include it in the upcoming budget reconciliation package. We encourage all our members and friends to contact both their Senators and Representative in support of including H.R. 4187 in the budget reconciliation package.

Important Information

Currently, Congress is debating a large legislative vehicle that provides an opportunity to go well beyond creating a pilot program to providing vision coverage through Medicare.

September 29, 2021 – White Plains, NY – People who are blind and use screen readers will now have independent access to life-saving information offered by “NY-Alert,” New York State’s Mass Notification System. Under a 

Hampton, N.H. (September 21, 2021)—Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT), one of the largest and fastest-growing global franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, National Council on Independent Living, and American Council of the Blind (collectively “Coalition for Inclusive Fitness” or the “Coalition”) today announced a commitment to expand access to accessible exercise equipment.

Discord & ACB Announce Digital Accessibility Initiative

Discord, working with the American Council of the Blind, announced a comprehensive initiative to enhance Discord’s voice, video and text communication app to make it more accessible for Discord users who are blind or have other vision impairments. Learn more by visiting: https://acb.org/discord-accessibility.  

Discord, working with the American Council of the Blind, announced a comprehensive initiative to enhance Discord’s voice, video and text communication app to make it more accessible for Discord users who are blind or have other vision impairments.

Discord has worked closely with representatives of the blind community so they each could better understand the challenges and opportunities to enhance Discord’s digital platform:

The April 29, 2021, American Council of the Blind Board of Directors meeting (via Zoom) was called to order at 8:05 PM Eastern Time by President Dan Spoone.

Trott moved and Campbell seconded a motion to adopt the agenda as presented.

Approval of the February 20, 2021 Meeting Minutes: Katie Frederick

The minutes were sent out as a part of the material for the meeting. Corrections or additions were requested.

Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act 

On July 29^th, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) introduced the Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act (H.R. 4853) in the House of Representatives. This act aims to make home use medical equipment and devices accessible to blind and visually impaired Americans. The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish nonvisual accessibility standards for Class II and III  devices with digital interfaces.