“What a privilege!”
Those were the words running through my mind as we began our final class for The League for The Blind’s Leadership
Academy. For along with our usual cast of advocate instructors, retiring Judge Wendy Davis stood at the front of the room.
She served as evaluater for our final capstone project of running and managing a mock political campaign. She got to see advocacy in action as we organized a mock debate where two of us spoke on opposite sides of whether to promote quotas or simply awareness-raising in the workplace regarding employees with disabilities.
Now, of course, the follow-up conversation I had with Ms. Davis was a thrill in itself as we talked a bit about the current political environment in Indiana’s 3rd District. But just as, if not even more, important was the opportunity that she got to experience firsthand.
It’s always good for candidates running for office to meet us who have various disabilities. After all, our unique concerns don’t get much attention in the press. Many times, matters like audible signals, tactile domes at curbs, paratransit access, and adaptive fitness equipment might find their place on some seldom read page of the newspaper or overlooked in comparison to the “big stuff” that candidates care about.
Often, that’s why groups like the American Council of the Blind or the National Federation of the Blind speak up on legislative matters. That’s why we often must be the ones to draw attention to the factors that would make life more equitable.
Slo when someone like Wendy Davis has the opportunity to involve us who are blind on her busy activities, the privilege is hers and ours. The more that someone running for local, State, or Federal office learns by experience about us, the better they will grow in knowing our abilities and dignity. We are, after all, as much citizens in the big world around us as anyone else is. Each of our votes, each of our voices matters just as much as any other person out there.
And the joy is ours to keep advocating, interacting, and navigating life’s contours boldly blind.
Boldly Blind 