Disability and Progress-March 20, 2025-A Conversation about the current olitical Climate

[00:00:05] Speaker A: KPI it's. And good evening. Thank you for joining Disability and Progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Charlene Dahl is my research woman. Hello, Charlene. [00:01:18] Speaker B: Happy spring. [00:01:20] Speaker A: Oh, I never thought I'd hear that. And let's see. Aaron is my podcaster. Thank you, erin. This week, March 20, 2020 5th, I'm wondering if everyone's as concerned as I am about the political climate and what should we watch for? You know, it's confusing enough. So who do you believe? Who do you turn to for reliable information? We're going to talk about that and more with our two guests that we have. Charlene, we have Claire Stanley. Claire is Director of Advocacy and Governmental affairs for acb, or American Council of the Blind. Hello, Claire. Hi. [00:02:06] Speaker C: Thanks for having me. It's great to be here. [00:02:08] Speaker A: Thank you so much for joining us. And we also have Annie Ann Chiapetta. Ann is an artist, author, consultant and friends, and art president, if I am correct. Hello, Anne. [00:02:21] Speaker B: Hey there. Yes, you are correct. Great to be here. [00:02:24] Speaker A: I know, I feel like you and I, you, we, you and I have had multiple times on the air, so it's so nice to see you again. So thank you both for coming on. And I realize this might be a little bit of an intense show for some people, but I truly feel like we are in such flux and I think we need to talk about it. I think it needs to be discussed about what's going on. But before we get into all of that, can you each please give me a little bit of history about you and how you both got connected with acb. Claire, go ahead and start. Great. Sure. [00:03:07] Speaker C: Thank you. So I first got connected with ACB almost 20 years ago. I was a scholarship winner. I was about to start college and applied for ECB scholarship and received it and was invited to the national convention in Minneapolis actually that summer, and went and had a phenomenal time, met so many members, just kind of got, you know, a taste of ACB and stayed involved in different ways, shapes and forms for many years. But back in 2018, I applied for the position of the Advocacy and Outreach Specialist at the time, a position that now I oversee. Worked there for a few years, had a wonderful experience, left for a couple of years to work for the National Disability Rights Network doing very similar work, but for the cross disability community. And then over a year ago, now, just over a year, this director position opened up and I got many pokes from all directions saying, you Better come back and apply. And so I did, and I've been back for just over a year now. [00:04:12] Speaker A: So. How about you, Ann? [00:04:17] Speaker B: So I got my first taste of ACB through a local chapter when I started working at an independent living center in Westchester County, New York. I was a member for a long time and slowly but surely I moved up, like with my, you know, learned about, did some leadership stuff. I got my first guide dog. I got really involved in the advocacy arm of both guide dog users and then also people with disabilities in general. I was doing social work at the time, a lot of groups and things like that. And I just kept moving along with my local affiliate and everything. I eventually became the secretary for the ACB of New York. And when I moved out of New York, I, I got involved in Friends in Art. And so here I am, the president of Friends in Art, and I'm living in Pennsylvania and I'm learning about a whole new state and how the state responds to the needs of their advocacy for people with disabilities, especially blind and low vision people. So that's how I've come into ACB and have stayed there. [00:05:34] Speaker A: Thank you. Now I'd like you both to kind of address, like what, what ACB is and what they do. And also, Annie, if you could talk about what Friends in Art is and what they do. [00:05:51] Speaker B: Sure. So Friends in Art is a special interest affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. It got started around 40 years ago by a bunch of people who wanted to do things regarding the arts and increase arts access for people who are blind and low vision. Things like, when you think about it, 20, you know, 30 years ago, there was, there was nothing really accessible in terms of theater or Right. Or audio Description of Things things like that. So over time, those things changed. Also, Friends in Art was a really large affiliate at the time and they, during national ACB conventions, they did a lot of live music and they had blind musicians and they had a showcase. And things have changed since then, you know, and, and we're trying to, you know, pivot with the changes in terms of, you know, who we are and what we do and trying to include more, more people with different types of talents in the arts. [00:07:02] Speaker C: And ACB itself, the American Council of the Blind, is a membership organization of people who are blind or low vision and anybody actually, you don't have to be blind or low vision to join, but most of us are. And it's a membership organization where we come together. Acbs at the national level, we do all kinds of things. Part of it Like I said, membership based. So just to be there to support one another, to have fun with one another, to be in community. We also do a lot of advocacy work at the federal level, per my job description. But it's just a place where the blind and low vision vision community can come together to support each other in many different facets and capacities. We are the national office. There are other state and special interest affiliates. Like was just said, however, they are their own 501C3s. But we are here to support in any way we can if needed and desired. There's. It changes a little bit. We have something like 65 or 66 affiliates right now. It goes up and down, you know, just based on what's going on. But like I said, there are state affiliates and then special interest affiliates like Friends and Art and. Yeah, it's a great group of people. Literally ranges from, you know, we even have some affiliates who have members who are younger than 18, all the way up to members who have been in ACB almost since its beginning in 1961. So it's a great group of people from all different backgrounds from all around the country. [00:08:35] Speaker A: Excellent. I want to get to a piece. There's a. We're going to play a piece called Come on, Justice. [00:08:45] Speaker B: Come on, Justice. Performed by Joan Miles, Abby Johnson, Taylor Ann Chappetta, Peter Alchel and Jason Castingway. Soundscape design by Peter Altschel Audio editing and production by Jason Castingway. All rights reserved. Copyright 2021 Joan Miles. [00:09:08] Speaker A: Come on, Justice. [00:09:10] Speaker B: Justice. Come on, Justice. [00:09:13] Speaker D: Justice. Justice. Justice. [00:09:15] Speaker A: Justice. [00:09:15] Speaker E: Come. [00:09:17] Speaker A: Come on. Come. [00:09:18] Speaker E: Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come. [00:09:31] Speaker C: Come on. Come on. [00:09:35] Speaker A: Come on. [00:09:38] Speaker D: Something stirring in the wind and weather Something's roaring in the stormy tide Something's rising up for good and better Come. Come on. Come on, Justice. Come on. [00:09:54] Speaker A: Come on, Justice. Come on. [00:09:55] Speaker B: Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come on, Justice. Come on. [00:10:02] Speaker E: Come, Justice. Come. [00:10:06] Speaker C: Something's beating in the hearts of young. [00:10:09] Speaker A: Folks Something's rushing down the halls of time Something's urging us before all hopes broke Come on. [00:10:18] Speaker B: Come on, Justice. Come on. [00:10:20] Speaker C: Come on. [00:10:21] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. [00:10:22] Speaker A: Justice. [00:10:22] Speaker E: Come on, Justice. [00:10:23] Speaker B: Come on. Come on. [00:10:25] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. Come on. Come on, Justice. [00:10:28] Speaker B: Justice. [00:10:29] Speaker D: Justice. [00:10:31] Speaker B: Smash the idols that compel us Fear and prejudice and greed Clear the pathways that repel us Come. [00:10:42] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. Justice. [00:10:44] Speaker A: Come on, Justice. [00:10:46] Speaker D: Come on. Come on, Justice. Come on. Come on, Justice. [00:10:50] Speaker C: Come on, Justice. [00:10:52] Speaker B: Come on, Justice. [00:10:53] Speaker A: Justice. Come on, Justice. [00:10:58] Speaker E: Something's truer than the tears that blind us Something shining on the hill ahead Something's marching in the streets behind us. Come on. [00:11:11] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. Justice. [00:11:14] Speaker C: Come on. [00:11:15] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. [00:11:17] Speaker C: Come on. [00:11:17] Speaker D: Come on, Justice. [00:11:20] Speaker B: Come on, Justice. [00:11:23] Speaker C: Come on. [00:11:26] Speaker A: Come on. [00:11:30] Speaker E: Come. [00:11:34] Speaker A: Wow. Okay. This, this feels particularly timely. Can you talk about this, Anne? [00:11:44] Speaker B: Sure. Every time I listen to it, it gives me the shivers. [00:11:49] Speaker A: I know, right? I'm like, oh, my gosh. [00:11:53] Speaker B: Yeah. So this was. Actually, we did it because we all felt that Joan's poem spoke to what was going on. She had written it in response to the Black Lives Matters, advocacy and things that were going on then socially. It was back in 2021, but. So we got together and decided how to do something like this virtually when, you know, we all lived in different places, we all had different types of recording equipment. You know, some of us were on the phone, some of us were on Zoom, and we. The magic happened for us and we figured it all out, and that's what we have was the result of that is the Come on justice piece. Joan is an extremely sensitive and keyed in person, and her work is wonderful. And she has some poetry books out. [00:12:52] Speaker A: And. [00:12:55] Speaker B: You know, I think this, this, the message is, is about justice. You know, it's about freedom and about not feeling oppressed and about the uncertainty of what's going on and wanting to find answers and solutions to these things that bind us, that hold us back, especially in the disability community. So, you know, it's a call to action is really what it is more than anything else. [00:13:27] Speaker A: So I guess I know I am, and Charlene and I talk about this a lot, but are you. I'm guessing you're concerned about what's going on in the environment. And I think a lot of people are. And I feel like this is something that it's so uncertain. You have huge uncertainty happening from day to day. You don't know. You see things coming out all of the time. Like so many things, sometimes it's overwhelming to know what you should be paying attention to and if they're true. Like, what do you believe? Do you believe what somebody else is telling you on another site? There's two opposite, you know, sometimes opinions on things. Who should you follow and how much should you take from one as opposed to the other? So what are your two's perspective on things that are going on now? [00:14:42] Speaker C: Yeah, I, I personally, everything you just said is so accurate that things are just changing so rapidly. When you said day to day, that really resonate, resonated with me because it is day to day in this administration more than it's been, at least in my lived experience in a long time. Yeah. So just trying to, you know, comprehend what's going on. I think I have my arms rammed, arms wrapped around something, and then it changes. I think it's important to let ourselves be okay with not knowing every moment of every day. And you might be thinking, like, wait, we, we need to know everything. But I think if we let ourselves feel so consumed by having to understand it, it's. It's just going to overwhelm ourselves. So just taking it, you know, piece by piece as we can as far as resources go, just trying to see what's out there. At acb, we have an announce list and we're trying to get information out there, but know that us, like everybody else, only have access to the same things everybody else does. I often, as an advocate, as somebody who works in Washington, D.C. i often take the approach of, you just pluck a little bit from everywhere. ACB is so fortunate to be part of many different coalitions in both the blindness world and the cross disability world and even other advocacy groups outside of disability. Just being able to share resources with each other. So just that, you know, supporting each other, sharing information, and again, just being okay with the fact that you're not always going to know it all. And I think we all want to know it all because we want to be able to wrap our arms around it. But just knowing that sometimes that's not going to happen in the moment. But if we're patient and we just kind of, you know, keep listening and keep. Keep doing our due diligence, we do learn eventually. So. [00:16:42] Speaker B: Yeah, this is Annie. I. I think taking in what we can in, in measurable doses and not overwhelming ourselves with. With the news or the fake news. I mean, there's. I think for me personally, there's so many times where I'm like, that can't be true, you know, And I like, no way. That is not true. Like, what is? Anyway, so that's. That's it. I. I take things in measure. I don't. I don't, you know, I don't binge wash, you know, whatever. I pick and choose when and how I'm going to interact with the news and, and all the stuff that's going on. And that frees me up to be, you know, more creative, less stressed. And, and that's good for me as a creative person. That's really important because it, you know, if you get overwhelmed and you're a creative person, you're. You're basically just gonna, you know, you're not gonna be able to do anything creative. It's gonna really, you know, hold you back. [00:17:42] Speaker A: It's funny that you say it, because I am known for being more of an intense person, and I. I. Charlene, you don't have to agree. Charlene. So quickly. [00:17:54] Speaker B: Well, I'm an intense also. [00:17:56] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, okay. But. And I do walk this line on how much to know what I know and how much to. To lay it out there. And sometimes I do get frustrated with people that don't want to know anything. Like, they hide under a rock. That's what I call it. They just don't want to deal with things. And I'm like, okay, you don't want to deal with things, but you'll be the first to complain when something happens. So. And this is. I. It very much annoys me when people do that, but I do feel the feeling of helplessness, like, things happen so quickly, and it feels like there is nothing you can do. So I want to get to that more later. But I do want us to think about, through the show, like, what we can tell people to do that makes you feel like you're doing. Doing something, and that it's hopefully. Hopefully something you're not going to get penalized for. Right. I think we've all seen that. So I. I would like to take something that was just mentioned, I don't know, a day ago or something. It was the. It was the executive order of. Intended to dismantle the only federal agency dedicated to library services. Funding library services. And so I'd like to talk about that. So, first of all, is that true? And what does this mean? [00:19:40] Speaker C: Yeah, this is true. And I'm going to speak very cautiously, just because I've seen the announcements and I've done a little bit of reading, but I haven't dove too deep into it. And so I never want to misspeak. [00:19:53] Speaker A: And, you know, I understand you don't. [00:19:55] Speaker C: Know the comments, but. Yes, it did. The executive order did come out. I learned about it early this morning. To my understanding, there still will be a skeleton of resources, but a lot of the funding is being eliminated. So a lot of the resources. I was about to say a cynical joke based on my opinion of the administration, but I'll refrain. But just a lot of the funding is being eliminated. So, yes, the basics I know is that it's not completely gone. A skeleton will remain, but a great, significant amount of funding's gonna be eliminated. That'll really pack away at the resources that we have in our library system here in The United States. [00:20:38] Speaker A: It says that. As well as six other agencies. I'm just curious, are you aware of what agencies that they're mentioning in there? I. I didn't dive into that, but I just saw it. [00:20:50] Speaker C: I, unfortunately, am not. I apologize. [00:20:52] Speaker A: That's okay. Nope, nope. This is just to kind of work things out, to see how you know what everyone knows. And because I. I do feel like it. It is so changing from day to day. And I. I understand your idea was, like, just take little bits and be, you know, mindful of where you are and how much you want to take. But I feel like it's coming so fast that if you don't know enough, you won't be there to take the action, if there is any action we can take. So in regards to, let's just say the library issue, what would you suggest people do? Because a lot of people uses it. Right. This is presumably for all those who don't know about what I'm talking about. Like nls, our National Law Library Services, provides books for visually impaired and blind people that they can read both in braille and on recording. So we can read just as much as anybody else who wants to have equal access to these books. Also. Learning ally. Right? They're part of this. Correct. And that provides the college material where people who are going to school. You know, a lot of college professors, they don't always use the same curriculum book year after year. They often switch around, bounce around, and you need to be able to have that done. And if you don't have somebody to do that, you won't have a book. So is there anything you guys would like to add to this? This is. [00:22:31] Speaker B: Annie. Since I moved to Pennsylvania, I. Getting back involved in. You know, the Pennsylvania Library for the Blind is called lamp, and they have a. They have a library of accessible media for Pennsylvanians. That's what they call it. Yeah. Anyway, so it's. It's. It's really good here. We have a lot of wonderful people. We also have a recording library here as well. And, you know, they have open, open monthly meetings for everyone, and, you know, big advisory group, and they're just a wonderful bunch of people. And, you know, we asked them point blank, you know, are. Are you anxious about all of this? And, you know, they took it in stride and they said, we're just gonna. We're gonna keep going until something happens, and that's all they can do. And that's like, I felt when they said that, you know, they're very frank and open about it. You Know, like, we're gonna stay here until some, you know, until something else happens. But that made me feel really. Angry. [00:23:40] Speaker A: Yeah. Upset, you know, because you feel that there's no proactive. [00:23:44] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And I. I just said, ah, you know, that must be a horrible feeling to be, you know, at a job where you feel more insecure than ever, or maybe you feel insecure for the first time about your job. And it just. It just made me, you know, feel very concerned for. For everything. It kind of, like, tilted my world. [00:24:11] Speaker A: Any thoughts on that, Claire? [00:24:17] Speaker C: No. I think what was just shared was so. So helpful, I think. Well, I guess I. I totally feel for what was just said, and I've been hearing that from a lot of people. Just that feeling of. I'll use the word powerlessness of. You see things around us changing in our government and people wanting to do something and not knowing what to do. And I'll admit it's hard because, you know, as the director of advocacy, I even have people saying, well, A, B or C is changing. What do I do? And I even find myself scratching my head because in other situations, there can be a very clean explanation of the steps to be taken. Call your congressmember and tell them to vote yes on bill, blah, blah, blah. [00:24:58] Speaker A: Right. [00:24:58] Speaker C: But with some of this stuff, there's not. [00:25:00] Speaker A: There's no bill. [00:25:01] Speaker C: There's no bill. [00:25:02] Speaker A: It's just happening. [00:25:03] Speaker C: Administration. Exactly right. And so I wish I had some, you know, magic incantation that we can say to do it, but there's not. And so it's. It's frustrating, and I get that. So I'm. I'm personally finding myself sitting at my desk trying to think creatively. What can we do? But there is no. If someone found the incantation, please share it. So it's a tough place to be. But I do want to, you know, hopefully I don't sound too Pollyannish, but I do want us to continue to have these conversations just so that we can, you know, start to think creatively. We can support each other, we can make our voices known, even in different ways, shapes or forms. So. But yes, it's. It's not an easy answer, that's for sure. [00:25:52] Speaker A: So unless you want to dive in another direction, I want to touch on something that has bothered me for a while. And, you know, I think a lot of people have heard about dei, and that's something that's been talked about for, I feel like, a while. Right. But then recently somebody said, well, you know what the A stands for in dei, right? What because no one talks about that. Right? It's really deia. Like, they're the same thing, but with the A added. So why is that just not always mentioned with DEI and talk about. So people understand what A means, what that is? [00:26:39] Speaker C: Well, it's funny you say that, because I always had this kind of tug and push and pull, tug feeling about adding the A. So just to say it out loud, if people aren't familiar, it's diversity, equity and inclusion. And then people said we needed to add the A for accessibility to make sure that people with disabilities were included. But my frustration always was, well, why do we have to include accessibility? Because if you truly, truly, truly were doing diversity, equity, inclusion and inclusion, we would be included. [00:27:11] Speaker A: Right? [00:27:11] Speaker C: We would be included in the industry. However, I know we live in the real world, and so I'm glad we did add accessibility for that reason, because then we had a shining a light on us. But now there's been this. I don't know if irony is the right word, but people, you know, we had been kept out. We being the accessibility component, had been left out so much. And now that DEI is getting, you know, inappropriately, in my opinion, being bumped and bruised and being eliminated, now some of us are saying, well, you never included the A. Can we keep the A, Keep the A here now, Right? So you didn't include us, so can we stay now? [00:27:48] Speaker A: Yes, exactly. But we will indeed be pushed out with any D, E. And I. People just don't realize what that A means. That, let alone if that it was even there, is my opinion, because it was never talked about, not, not a lot, unless you were in that circle. So help people understand what we all lose if we lose that. [00:28:21] Speaker C: If we use the accessibility component, if we lose. [00:28:25] Speaker A: Like for them trying to get rid of dei, A, what does that exactly mean? Or what do you think it exactly means? Because I'm still struggling with knowing what that means. Exactly. [00:28:42] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I'm curious to hear what Ann thinks. But I think, for me, I get. Not that I agree with it, but I understand the whole politics behind it. Right. Suddenly we're insisting that, you know, job, places and the government, you know, implement this DEI and A, and why do we need to do this? And you're pulling resources and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I understand there's a lot of politics wrapped up in it. But for me, as somebody with a disability, as a woman, to me, the DEI and A, it's just so important that. Because it's showing that in order to make the workplace make our government, make schools, wherever the DEI and A is, to make it truly accessible, equitable. But let's even take those words out. Make it friendly, make it welcome to everybody, whether that again, is in school, places, workplaces, the government, and making it accessible in all kinds of ways for the whole community, regardless of gender or ethnicity or race or whatever it might be. So, again, I know it's gotten so politicized and so messy and people think, oh, of course, now we have to do the DEIA lesson and stuff, and that then it almost becomes something of a thing that people just roll their eyes at. But I think if we truly got at the core of why we were doing it, because we have this whole population of people who have been left out for so long, you know, who aren't at the table, who need to be at the table. I think that's more important. I've even heard some people say, like, let's not even use DEIA anymore. Not because they don't like those things, but because that term has maybe become so charged, let's just even use a different term and then advocate for the issues. [00:30:37] Speaker A: Yeah. And what's your thoughts? [00:30:39] Speaker B: So I, for me, long before DEIA came about, I was. I was in college and we're talking about this new thing called inclusion and universal design. And, you know, I followed a lot of that going on, especially at the governmental level when they were making guidelines and doing all that stuff with universal design guidelines. And so, so for me, you know, I really would. I mean, if I had a wish, you know, I would wish for the universal design and inclusion because it covers everybody, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in life, no matter, you know, your ethnicity or whatever. You know, that's. That's what I really would like to see developed, maybe even not take place, but. But become maybe, maybe the new, you know, the new, the new thing, you know, that would be a new positive thing, because I think that's where we're going as a society, like, in. In, like, big terms. I, you know, like, you know, a lot of the, you know, all of the. I think of all of these cities that are doing universal design and inclusive design in their new constructions and the APS signals that just read this thing about Chicago putting in. So there is forward momentum about all this, especially the A and going on and, and, you know, I really wish it was. It would be. Come up in the news more, you know, be more of a positive role for us just to hear about, because it's happening. We just get so overwhelmed with all of this other stuff, you know, all this negative or, you know, you know, the, the way they're rolling back this or that. There are, there are, there is forward momentum. I just think that it's, it's getting lost or it's purposely being trampled on. And, you know, you know, that's what we could do as, as a, as a, as a community and as a voice was just keep that stuff up at the top. [00:33:05] Speaker A: And I will say I am. I'm jaded. So I was. For me, I feel like, you know, even though I understand now the movement away from wanting to use the Deia, I'm like, well, you know, they're just going to come at it and taint something else. You can always taint a term, right? It's like everyone trying to find a term for disability that doesn't sound bad. It's like, oh, come on, you know what? You can always do that. Anyone can do it. But then what do you do? Do you just go back to the term any? How about just blowing them off and making it good yourselves? I mean, I don't know what the total answer is, but I feel like. And I like the universal design idea. I think it's used already for, like, housing and things like that, but I like that idea of universal design overall for everyone. Like universal design for schools, make it, make it fair for everyone in school. I like that. But I feel like what happens when they come in and do something to that? I almost feel like we're in this age that we need to really find a proactive stance that we're going to do from here on out. When somebody tries to disassemble or taint something we use and what we can do with that. And I don't have the answer, but I'm just thinking of that solution of I wonder if we could find a way that we could just polish it back up again, you know? And in some ways, I feel like the word disability became that, right? There was so much. I constantly get asked, like, a lot. Why do you have the term disability in your radio show? A lot of people ask me that, why won't you choose this? Or why don't you use a term that's nicer? I said, well, you know what? All those other terms come and go, and half the time people don't even take the time to know what they mean. You know, it's not in the dictionary. Disability is. And here's what else I can say. Everyone knows what that means, right? You'd have to be on a different planet if you didn't. I do think some people are, but everyone knows what a disability is or what it means. And that is why I keep it, because it's understood by all. And that's my goal. I want, when people see my show, I want it to be known. This is what I do, this is what, you know, what the object is. And I feel like that's the best way to do it, rather than flip flopping words that try to sound nice. And it is. I'm not trying to slam anybody who wants to do that. I think that's great. But I also think you have to do a lot of explaining of why you do that. And when I want somebody just to concentrate on the meaning in general. But anyway, that's my thoughts. [00:36:12] Speaker C: It's interesting that you talk about that idea of I'm going to use the word reclaiming a term that has been deemed as inappropriate. [00:36:21] Speaker A: Polishing it back up is, I think, what I said. [00:36:24] Speaker C: And in the disability community, they've done that a lot. The word crip, people have reclaimed it was always seen as a nickel thing. And now a lot of the disability community, especially people with physical disabilities, and now of course they can self identify. It's not necessarily appropriate for others, but they've, they've reclaimed crip and they see it as a powerful thing. I don't know if people saw the movie Crip Camp that came out a few years ago, but super, super powerful. And they took that term and they said, yeah, we're the crip community. And so it's like reclaiming something that once was seen as negative or inappropriate. So maybe we reclaim DEI and maybe. [00:37:04] Speaker A: We don't want to. I don't know. I mean, I'm just, I don't know. Just think to me, I. And I'm all for, for going forward because I think this has been the biggest destruction of a term, right. Of a acronym that stands for something. And that's. That should be good. And I think that going forward, whatever we decide, we need to take a more proactive stance and how we're going to deal with it the next time it comes around. Because it's not like this will be the last time. It won't be right. Humans are, unfortunately, humans are human and they do what they do and this won't be the last time. So for me, I'd rather be more proactive than reactive. And it may or may not be too late now, but then let's gather our thoughts and what we do from here on out, ladies, I would like to go to talk a little bit about the, you know, what ACB is working on with legislation now, what kind of things are they? And that 20, 25 thing sticks in my brain, so I'm sure some of that is on the list, so go ahead. And if you don't mind, Claire diving into that. [00:38:24] Speaker C: Sure. So every year ACB picks what we call imperatives, and it's just a few bills, three or four bills, that we want to spend a bit of energy on trying to get through Congress. I always put the caveat that that does not mean it's the only legislation we're going to work on. As things pop up and we get involved in the greater advocacy community, we undoubtedly support things or sometimes even work in collaboration to work against the legislation we don't want to pass. But we pick three bills, three or four bills that we're going to really prioritize this year. We got a lot of, you know, appropriate input from our members saying, should we even be working on specific bills in light of the new administration and the new Congress, should we be doing things totally different? And I totally respect that feeling because it is such a turbulent, unknown time. But I said, no, we're still going to pick a few pieces of legislation because even in light of a really turbulent, unknown time, I still think we need to keep doing what we always do because I don't want us to feel defeated that why even do it, it's not worth it. So I said we're going to continue to pick several bills and we're going to continue to advocate because it's too important for our community. So I'm happy to walk through all three if you'd like me to, but okay. So I'm calling our three bills this year the Digital Trio because they all have to do with kind of some kind of access to digital resources. The first one is the Website and Software Applications Accessibility act. And it has to do with making sure that websites are made accessible, obviously for us, with an emphasis on blind and low vision. But it is cross disability cutting, because website access is an issue for our whole community. The second one is the Medical Devices Non Visual Act. We live in a world now where we can have our own medical devices at home. People are even doing things like dialysis and chemotherapy at home. But if the medical devices aren't made accessible, and they're not, mostly we can't do it on our own. So we're advocating to make sure that the FDA designs these devices with audio output Large print tactile buttons, things like that. And then the last one is the CVTA and it's extension of the cvaa. And this has to do with making sure that audio described content is provided on streaming services. So now that television has shifted, we're not using major broadcast stations anymore to get our television and relatedly, audio description. So making sure now that on streaming services we know where to find the audio description, we get more hours of it and that it's available. There's also some collaborative elements of it for the deaf and hard of hearing community. So we're working in tandem with them as well. [00:41:31] Speaker A: Interesting. I really like the tech one with the at home technology as far as the medical tech, because I do think that's important and I do feel that more and more of them are doing that just not consistently. And I really think that that. And they should like that. [00:41:53] Speaker B: Right. [00:41:54] Speaker A: The government should like that because if we can do more at home, we save money. Right. That's what they claim they want to do. And so that's a, that's a money saver. Right. If you're not having to go in or hire a nurse to come home and do in home care to help you with things. Should be good for people if you can do it yourself. It's interesting, the audio description, you know, I see, I'm constantly amazed at how much doesn't have Audio Description. You know, Netflix I see, is fairly good at it. I've encountered a handful of things now that I, I don't watch a ton of stuff because I don't have time frankly, but Apple tv, I have kind of been disappointed in some of the stuff I've watched that isn't audio described. I'm like, what's up with that? So it just surprises me because it should feel so automatic. Right. It should feel like one of the easiest things to do is to get make sure when something's coming out is just automatically auto described and then you don't have to go back. Right. You just have it with it coming out. [00:43:11] Speaker C: Absolutely, absolutely. I almost see it as like a job opportunity. Right, right. It's just another part of the program. When you're designing something, you've got your audio describer to write the script and to read it out. So. [00:43:26] Speaker A: Right. Be careful. That's sounding like dei. [00:43:32] Speaker C: Oh, heaven forbid. [00:43:36] Speaker A: Sorry, couldn't do this. [00:43:38] Speaker B: This is this Annie. Maybe one day we'll have a world where when we turn on something like a show, the people who, who don't need the audio description can turn it off, but it will come on automatically. [00:43:50] Speaker C: Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful? [00:43:52] Speaker B: Right, we'll put that under your incantation list, right? [00:43:55] Speaker C: Yes, that would be cool. [00:43:58] Speaker A: Because that's really what you want, right? You just want to be able to have that option that's built in. Right, right. It's just a built in thing and it's the option you turn off if you don't want it. Yeah, I agree. I like it. [00:44:14] Speaker C: Big sighted people, deal with it for once. Yeah. [00:44:17] Speaker A: Yes, that's right. Welcome to our world, people. And I like the idea that, Claire, that you said we're going to do something because we're not going to change, we're just going to keep doing what we do because we, you know, and my, when you said that, my feeling was, well, if you do nothing, surely you'll get nothing. So you know, to me, what's the worst can happen? You get nothing. But if you don't do anything, certainly you will get nothing. So I like the thoughts of still moving forward. [00:44:54] Speaker C: I see it as letting them win, you know. Okay. I remember we just did our Hill Day and I had people rightfully so emotional right after the elections. [00:45:05] Speaker A: Sure. [00:45:05] Speaker C: They said, well, I don't even want to go to Hill Day. What's the point? And again, I totally respect the emotion there, but I spoke up and said, no, we have to go because if we don't go, we're letting them win. [00:45:16] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Yep. And use that passion and turn it around into something positive. [00:45:22] Speaker A: Right? [00:45:22] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:45:22] Speaker B: You know, don't, don't let the defeat, you know, take that from you. [00:45:26] Speaker A: Because can you talk about how, what, what kind of feedback and discussion are you getting from your legislation? What, what are they saying? Because here's what I see. Hear the crickets, I, you know, somebody, some, you know, who from the, our president calls out the order and legislation just does. And I don't see, I mean, you hear little tiny rumblings, but what are they saying to their constituents? So can you tell us like when you go to the Hill or whatnot, what their, what they're saying to you? [00:46:18] Speaker C: So it's still kind of fresh. You know, we're only a couple of months in, so I don't have a ton of doubts. [00:46:23] Speaker A: Yeah, I really. It is fresh. It is. I realize this is very fresh and I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna drag you guys back here this time next year. [00:46:32] Speaker C: Yeah, please do. We'll have more. [00:46:34] Speaker A: And we're gonna have another conversation about what has passed, what has not, and what is happening. But, yes, please, go ahead. I'm sorry. [00:46:44] Speaker C: But for instance, we literally just had our Hill Day. What's today? There's two days ago. And so we were on Capitol Hill and our members were going to their offices, and I was getting good reports back from people. People said they had some great experiences, some staff members who really perked up, some who were like, wow, that's, you know, again, the medical devices bill, you were like, oh, wow, that, that really sounds like a tough situation. So a lot of them are really responding. Were all of them happy? [00:47:15] Speaker B: Joy. [00:47:15] Speaker C: Joy? No, Some of them, you know, thank you for coming, shake your hand, you know. But you know what? That's how it is every year. That's how it was even during the Biden administration. There's the good, the bad, the indifferent. But I think I was observing pretty similar responses across the board, and I count that as a win because it means we're going to keep doing what we're doing. And for every staff member you get who seems disinterested, we still had a staff member who seems super responsive. And those are the ones we're going to hold on to, and those are the ones we're really going to follow up with. [00:47:49] Speaker A: So, and I do want to encourage, like, I, even the people that did vote the way they voted. I, I, I hear, you know, from certain, some of those people, well, this isn't what we thought we would get. Well, I'm sorry you didn't really listen to what was being talked about because, but having said that, you know, people with disabilities, it's one of the most underutilized voting people, you know, that they're very like, we, it seems like they don't necessarily come out in droves to vote. So I would really encourage people with disabilities and everyone actually, but especially if you have a disability, to make sure that you are voting in these elections. Because even if you have a blue state or a red state, it does matter. It does matter. And if you don't, then you're just pretty much counted out. So I just want to encourage. We always host shows on voting, and I am a true believer. I, I taught my kids that you always vote. You don't set it. You do not set it out. And that's my true belief, is you have a civic obligation and responsibility to make sure that you vote and to make sure your voice is heard. Is there anything that you guys want to make sure you cover? Because time has flown and I don't, you know, I want to make sure I. [00:49:25] Speaker B: Oh, this is Annie I am. So every year, the American Council of Blind has a conference and convention in July, and Friends in Art is working on a protest poetry session. And I'm putting it together. I can't really say much more than it's going to happen. [00:49:48] Speaker A: I'm not sure exactly what a teaser. [00:49:52] Speaker B: So we're going to take some. I think what I'm going to do is we'll take some selected poetry from well known poets who have written protest poetry, and I'm going to try to get some volunteers to read those pieces and then we're going to talk in between. [00:50:09] Speaker A: That's cool. [00:50:10] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So that's one of the things that came out of all of this, is a way to allow ourselves to feel the feelings, to express what we. What we feel we. We need to express in order to help ourselves stay healthy and stay happy and grounded, you know, and as a retired therapist, that's always been, you know, you know, my initiative with people, especially now, like being in Friends and Arts, how to get people to come together and, you know, to support one another through the arts. So I look forward to doing that. [00:50:51] Speaker A: And I really. I feel like you said a real big key thing, Annie, and that's come together and I really, if. Well, I have many wishes, but one of my wishes would be that, I mean, you're always going to have differences in political views. It would really be nice if the political teams would learn to join hands occasionally to give for the good of the whole and not just their perspective, whatever. And we all can have a disability. Anybody, Anybody. You walk in a room of 500 people that don't have a disability. First of all, you don't even know because a lot of people's disabilities are hidden and they don't either want to tell you or be. They don't, you know, they don't want to admit it, but they do have one. Many people do. And the idea that you think that it won't ever happen to you, like, you don't. You can't foresee what's going to happen. You could be in a car accident, you could be in a tornado, you could be in. I mean, there's so many things that could happen. You could. You could actually leave this life unscathed. Good on you if you do. But the fact of the matter is, a great number of people, just like a great number of people at some point in their life will get cancer. A great number of people at some point in their life will have some kind of disability. And wouldn't you want to know that the world is not going to turn on you because of that, that they're going to be there for you and have your back and that everyone is still worthwhile even if they get a disability. So that's one of my people. Yeah. Yeah. So. Well, cool. When is the. When is the ACB Convention and where. [00:52:40] Speaker C: It is? [00:52:41] Speaker B: Claire? [00:52:43] Speaker C: I was gonna let. I was like, I'll go because maybe she doesn't have the date. It is July 4th through July 11th in Dallas, Texas this summer. [00:52:52] Speaker A: And how can the. [00:52:53] Speaker B: And the pre convention is on the July of June 26th, 27th and 28th. I think. [00:53:00] Speaker C: I think you're right. Yeah. [00:53:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Am I right? I'm bad. [00:53:03] Speaker A: Are there still online accessibility for this? So for people who can't go but might. Might want to take any part of this. [00:53:13] Speaker C: Yep. Yeah. [00:53:14] Speaker A: How do people find out? [00:53:16] Speaker B: Registration. [00:53:16] Speaker A: Okay. How can people find out about ACB Convention? [00:53:22] Speaker C: People can go to our website and check it out. The registration usually pops up in about May. So. Wow. It's going to come before we know it. Yes, they can go to our website and all the information is there. Registration starts in May. Like I said, as Ann was saying, we have our pre conference that's all. All online, all via Zoom. So great for people who can only participate virtually. And then that week when it's in person, we have a series of hybrid events that can be done both in person as well as virtually. All of our general sessions are put out virtually even over at ACB Media, which can be. Oh no, I was going to say it, but it's going to talk to me. You can listen to it over the A lady and get all the information through ACB Media. So there's lots of different ways to access the resources. [00:54:16] Speaker A: Excellent. And just so people know, like if you were to. If I were to have three quick takeaways in like a minute and a half. How people can do something so they don't feel. So how they can be proactive and not feeling they're helpless. Give us three things they could do. [00:54:34] Speaker C: Always call your Congress member. You can email them now, you can write them an old school letter. Call them and you know, give your input. You can give it specifically on a bill or just on an issue at large. Do that. Do you know, stay involved with the news we talked about at the beginning. Don't be buried by the news, don't let it consume you, but stay aware at the level or the temper that you can so it doesn't overwhelm you and get involved in some way, whether it be in a local chapter or affiliate, you know, volunteer somewhere. There's so many different ways you can get involved at the local level, but a lot of things that are done are done at the local level. So find something you can do in your community. [00:55:17] Speaker A: Thank you, ladies. Thank you so much. Let's plan for next year. I'd love to have you guys on. Thank you so much for coming on. I really appreciate it. It's been great. [00:55:28] Speaker C: Thank you so much. [00:55:29] Speaker B: Thanks. [00:55:30] Speaker A: And that will do it for us. Thank you so much for listening, everybody. I do want to remind you, if you want to have part of this show and be able to get emails on what's coming on, you can email [email protected] that's disability and progressamjasmine.com and thanks, Charlene. And thanks, Erin, as my podcasters. So. [00:55:55] Speaker C: No, that's hers. [00:55:56] Speaker B: Okay. [00:55:57] Speaker A: Yeah, that's mine. So this has been Disability in Progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily, necessarily those of KFEI or its board of directors. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Thanks so much for tuning in. Thank you, Charlene, for being my PR person. And thank you, Erin, for being my podcaster. This is KFAI 90.3 FM, Minneapolis, and kfai.org Tonight we were speaking with Stair, Stair Claire Stanley, who is the Director of Advocacy and Governmental affairs for ACB or American Council of the Blind. And we were also speaking with Annie Chiapetta, who is an artist, author, consultant and friends and art president for acv. Thanks so much for listening. Fresh Fruit is up next. Goodbye, KPI.org.