[nfbwatlk] Fw: Inspirational Blind Role Model Brought Back From Obscurity

[Mike Freeman]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Pare, John
To: Pare, John
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:23 PM
Subject: Inspirational Blind Role Model Brought Back From Obscurity


Inspirational Blind Role Model Brought Back From Obscurity


Prestigious Annual Award To Be Given in Honor of Dr. Jacob Bolotin


Baltimore, Maryland (June 13, 2007): In conjunction with the publication 
of The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story by Blue Point Books, the 
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) announced today that it will be 
launching the "Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award for the Blind" at its 2007 
national convention in Atlanta from June 30 through July 6.  The first 
award will be made in 2008 and will be given by the NFB to blind people 
or organizations that have made a significant impact within the blind 
community.  The book's author, Rosalind Perlman, left a bequest to the 
Santa Barbara Foundation to publish The Blind Doctor and to establish an 
endowment for this important annual award.



In the biography The Blind Doctor, Perlman tells the fascinating story 
of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the first man born totally blind to become fully 
licensed to practice medicine.  Born in 1888 to a poor family in 
Chicago, Jacob Bolotin fought prejudice and misconceptions about the 
capabilities of blind people in order to win acceptance to medical 
school and then into the medical profession.  He was one of the most 
respected physicians in Chicago in the early twentieth century, 
particularly well known for his expertise on diseases of the heart and 
lungs.  His remarkable story had faded into obscurity until the release 
of this important and inspiring book, which is based on the memories of 
the author's husband, Alfred Perlman, who was the nephew of Dr. Bolotin's 
wife and lived with the Bolotins for several years when he was a boy.



Dr. Bolotin was also one of the first to raise awareness of the true 
capabilities of blind people, and he used his celebrity status in 
Chicago and throughout the Midwest to champion the rights of the blind 
to education and employment.  Given Dr. Bolotin's belief that the blind 
are only limited by their own ambition and imagination, the National 
Federation of the Blind, which holds the same belief, is the natural 
organization to bestow this award in Dr. Bolotin's name.



"The Blind Doctor is the moving and powerful story of a blind man who 
fought ignorance and prejudice to become one of the most respected 
physicians in Chicago. Everyone who reads Dr. Jacob Bolotin's story will 
learn that blindness is no barrier to a full life and great 
accomplishments," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
Federation of the Blind.



Dr. Joanne Wilson, founder and director of the Louisiana Center for the 
Blind, said: "Belief in oneself is the key to living life as an 
independent, productive blind person; without self-confidence, no amount 
of rehabilitation training will make a blind person self-sufficient. 
Dr. Jacob Bolotin's inspiring story sets an example for all blind 
people, because he believed in himself and found ways to overcome 
obstacles at a time when the social, legal, and technological resources 
available to the blind today did not exist."



The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story is available in both regular 
and large type editions. Review copies are available on request by 
contacting Blue Point Books at (800) 858-1058.  To purchase the book, 
visit www.bluepointbooks.com or call toll-free at (800) 858-1058.



 # # #





About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is 
the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people 
in the United States.   The NFB improves blind people's lives through 
advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging 
independence and self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the 
blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 
2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute, the first research and training center in the United States 
for the blind led by the blind. For more information about the National 
Federation of the Blind, visit www.nfb.org.





About Blue Point Books



The mission of Blue Point Books is to publish books that make a 
difference.  The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story is its most 
recent publication.  Blue Point Books is based in Santa Barbara, 
California.  For more information visit www.bluepointbooks.com or call 
(800) 858-1058.


John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email:  jpare at nfb.org

-------------- next part --------------
----- Original Message -----
From:
mailto:JPare at NFB.ORG Pare, John
To:
mailto:JPare at NFB.ORG Pare, John
Sent:
Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:23 PM
Subject:
Inspirational Blind Role Model Brought Back From Obscurity
Inspirational Blind Role Model Brought Back From Obscurity
 
Prestigious Annual Award To Be Given in Honor of Dr. Jacob Bolotin
 
Baltimore, Maryland (June 13, 2007):
In conjunction with the publication of
The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story
by Blue Point Books, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) announced today that it will be
launching the “Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award for the Blind” at its 2007 national convention in Atlanta from June 30 through July 6.
 
The first award will be made in 2008 and will be given by the NFB to blind people or organizations that have made a significant impact within the blind community.
 
The book’s author, Rosalind Perlman, left a bequest to the Santa Barbara Foundation to publish
The Blind Doctor
and to establish an endowment for this important annual award.
 
In the biography
The Blind Doctor
, Perlman tells the fascinating story of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the first man born totally blind to become fully licensed to practice medicine.
 
Born in 1888 to a poor family in Chicago, Jacob Bolotin fought prejudice and misconceptions about the capabilities of blind people in order to win acceptance to medical school and then into the medical profession.
 
He was one of the most respected physicians in Chicago in the early twentieth century, particularly well known for his expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs.
 
His remarkable story had faded into obscurity until the release of this important and inspiring book, which is based on the memories of the author’s husband, Alfred Perlman, who was the nephew of Dr. Bolotin’s wife and lived with the Bolotins for several years when he was a boy.
 
Dr. Bolotin was also one of the first to raise awareness of the true capabilities of blind people, and he used his celebrity status in Chicago and throughout the Midwest to champion the rights of the blind to education and employment.
 
Given Dr. Bolotin’s belief that the blind are only limited by their own ambition and imagination, the National Federation of the Blind, which holds the same belief, is the natural organization to bestow this award in Dr. Bolotin’s name.
 
“The Blind Doctor
is the moving and powerful story of a blind man who fought ignorance and prejudice to become one of the most respected physicians in Chicago. Everyone who reads Dr. Jacob Bolotin’s story will learn that blindness is no barrier to a full life and great accomplishments,” said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind.
 
Dr. Joanne Wilson, founder and director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, said: “Belief in oneself is the key to living life as an independent, productive blind person; without self-confidence, no amount of rehabilitation training will make a blind person self-sufficient.
 
Dr. Jacob Bolotin’s inspiring story sets an example for all blind people, because he believed in himself and found ways to overcome obstacles at a time when the social, legal, and technological resources available to the blind today did not exist.”
 
The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story
is available in both regular and large type editions. Review copies are available on request by contacting Blue Point Books at (800) 858-1058.
 
To purchase the book, visit http://www.bluepointbooks.com/ www.bluepointbooks.com
or call toll-free at (800) 858-1058.
 
 
 
# # #
 
 
About the National Federation of the Blind
 
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States.
  
The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence.
 
It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.
 
In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind. For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, visit http://www.nfb.org/
www.nfb.org
.
 
 
About Blue Point Books
 
The mission of Blue Point Books is to publish books that make a difference.
 
The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story
is its most recent publication.
 
Blue Point Books is based in Santa Barbara, California.
 
For more information visit http://www.bluepointbooks.com/ www.bluepointbooks.com
or call (800) 858-1058.
 
John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2371
Cell phone:  (410) 913-3912
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email:  jpare at nfb.org