Miriam,
Sorry, I confused you.
Cynthia Towers was elected as ACB secretary for two terms back in the
early 90's. She had been our state WCB secretary. Cynthia was a
Black Albino...or, as she preferred, a Black person of Albinism.
Come to think of it, she is probably still teaching. I think she's
about the age of my eldest daughter. Cynthia also was active in the
National Organization of Albinism(not actual name), and after meeting
and marrying a Boeing Engineer, she drifted away from the WCB, and
became active in the Albinism Organization.
Cynthia was raised in Spokane. Her dad was a professor at one of the
area colleges, and her mother was an executive of some sort or
another. I forget how many siblings she had, I only met one sister,
but they were a fairly close family. When Cynthia moved to Seattle,
and took a teaching job in a private school, I looked her up and
invited her to talk to our University students regarding her personal
challenges, being both Black and Albino. She joined our University
chapter, and a year later I completed my presidency for the University
chapter, and persuaded her to run for the position. She won walking
away, but her opponent, a smug racist, hurled racial insults at her
when he was told he had come in second. I had great admiration for
Cynthia. She was faced with more challenges than a room full of young
people, and she overcame them.
We've had few Blacks in the WCB. Although there has been extra effort
in seeking them out. Same with our efforts to recruit Indigenous
People, or Asians. A scattering of color in an all white
organization.
It points out to me that in many ways we truly are a nation divided.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/3/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl,
That's your Washington affiliate, but what about National? We had two black
female members of LICB in the 90's during the time that I was a member, and
I think that there was a black man who was a member of the Westchester
County chapter. But the state affiliate never had black people in its
leadership and I remember specifically a choice made to ignore the new
presidency of Obama at a state convention when the normal process would have
included the recognition of a new president.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 12:19 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: FW: [announce] Statement of Solidarity from
ACB Leadership
In fact, Miriam, our ACB secretary back a few years ago...maybe in the early
90's, was Cynthia Towers, a member of the WCB. Cynthia was active here in
Washington, worked as a public school teacher, and successfully ran as ACB
secretary for two terms.
Having said that, WCB still falls short in the area of diversity. I'm not
certain if we even keep stats on ethnicity.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/3/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Really?, I'm amazed. ACB has never made a public statement supporting
the civil rights of black people before, at least, not that I
remember. Are there even any African American individuals in the national
leadership?
Miriam
From: announce <announce-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Kelly
Gasque via announce
Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 9:33 AM
To: announce@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Kelly Gasque <kgasque@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [announce] Statement of Solidarity from ACB Leadership
Statement of Solidarity from the ACB Board of Directors and the Chair
of the ACB Multicultural Affairs Committee
The American Council of the Blind believes that every human deserves
dignity and respect. During these times when our voices seem
sequestered by the weight of social distance, we loudly affirm our
core values, echoing the collective voice of like-minded organizations
who labor daily to dismantle the structural barriers that stand in the
way of equal opportunity and full inclusion in our society.
Our hearts cry out in pain for the family of George Floyd and for all
those victims of social and racial injustice. ACB calls upon our
leaders to exercise peace and justice in a manner that embraces our
mutual connectedness and lifts up the voices of those silenced by the
systemic barriers rooted in historic and blatant prejudice.
ACB was founded on the democratic principle that every individual
deserves to have a voice. Taking our core values to heart, let us
learn from these challenging times so that we may become stronger as a
nation.
ACB’s Core Values Are:
* Integrity & Honesty — That we may have justice for all;
* Respect — That we may all be treated equal;
* Collaboration — That we may work together where ever we may stand;
* Flexibility — That we are willing to change for the common good;
* Initiative — That we not give up, no matter how difficult the obstacles
ahead may be.
Let us all be a voice for equality, and in the spirit of disability
rights advocate Justin Dart, may we all “Lead on."
