[Arizona-students] Over One Thousand Blind Americans to March in Dallas, First United States Coin with Tactile Braille to be Unveiled by Director of United States Mint

[The BlindTechs Network]

yeh, maybe this whole braille trip would sound good if they actually  
believed in it when showing up to local public events, like vrate and   
stuff like that. but shhhhh they'll say they forgot to bring it or  
something like that.


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On Jun 18, 2008, at 6:09 PM, Freeh, Jessica (by way of David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com 
 >) wrote:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Public Relations Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
Cell:  (410) 262-1281
E-mail: <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org

Over One Thousand Blind Americans to March in Dallas

First United States Coin with Tactile Braille
to be Unveiled by Director of United States Mint

Baltimore, Maryland (June 18, 2008): The National
Federation of the Blind (NFB), the oldest and
largest organization of the blind in the United
States, will hold its second March for
Independence on July 2, in Dallas, Texas.  The
March for Independence–A Walk for Opportunity is
a 5K walk to increase public awareness of the
true capabilities of blind people and raise
critically needed funds for the efforts of the
National Federation of the Blind.  Over one
thousand blind Americans, their friends and
families, and other supporters will march from
the Hilton Anatole Hotel–headquarters for the
2008 convention of the National Federation of the
Blind–to AT&T Plaza at American Airlines Center,
where a special ceremony and rally will take place.

Highlights of the rally will include addresses by
NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer and Congressman
Pete Sessions (TX-32), the honorary chairman of
the March for Independence.  The rally will close
with United States Mint Director Ed Moy unveiling
the design of a commemorative coin to be issued
in 2009 by the Mint in honor of the two hundredth
anniversary of the birth of Louis
Braille.  Following the rally, the participants
will return to the Hilton Anatole Hotel, where
President Maurer will sound his gavel to bring
the convention to order for its opening session.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, said: “It is fitting
that the unveiling of the design of the Braille
commemorative coin will take place as part of our
March for Independence–A Walk for
Opportunity.  The March for Independence is our
way of demonstrating to the public that we are
equal participants in society and that we are
determined to make for ourselves a future full of
opportunity.   No tool available to the blind
opens more doors to opportunity than the ability to read and write  
Braille.”

Mark Riccobono, executive director of the
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
Institute, said: “Braille is the key to literacy
for the blind.  Its centrality to success in
education, employment, and independence for blind
Americans has been demonstrated time and time
again since its invention, but a combination of
factors has led to a decline in its use in the
United States.  Only 10 percent of blind children
in the United States today learn to read and
write Braille.  Such a low literacy rate would
never be accepted among sighted children and it
should not be acceptable for the blind.  The
National Federation of the Blind intends to
conduct an aggressive public campaign to reverse
this trend and restore Braille to its proper
place at the center of education and opportunity for the blind.”

United States Mint Director Ed Moy said, "The
United States Mint is proud to present the 2009
Louis Braille Commemorative Silver Dollar coin
design.  It will be the first coin ever minted in
the history of the United States to contain
legible Braille characters.  I am looking forward
to presenting the design for this historic coin,
and I am pleased that the United States Mint is
playing a role in the cause of bringing literacy
to all blind and visually impaired Americans."

In 2006, Congress passed and the President signed
into law Public Law 109-247:  The Louis Braille
Bicentennial–Braille Literacy Commemorative Coin
Act.  This legislation authorized the minting of
a commemorative coin in 2009 to mark the two
hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis
Braille.  The Congress recognized in the
legislation that: “The National Federation of the
Blind, the nation’s oldest membership
organization consisting of blind members, [is] a
champion of the Braille code, of Braille literacy
for all blind people and of the memory of Louis Braille.”


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