Blind Advocates Call For Sweeping New Laws

by Kevin Burton    This time of year I get multiple notifications of this group or that group observing White Cane Awareness Day.    I tend to gloss them over, but I shouldn’t.    The fact that I can is a testament to the dedication and determination to the many blind people (and our sighted …

Blind Author Shows Disabled As Real People

by Victoria Ivie San Gebriel Valley Tribune    Growing up blind, Fullerton-based author Melissa Whitney voraciously consumed representation of the blind community in media, hoping to connect with inclusive characters that reflect her and her disability.    “I always wanted a book where I could see myself as a main character,” Whitney said. “I can …

Visually-Impaired Man Competes On Jeopardy

by Darian Lusk     Jeopardy contestant Andrew Miller came in third place on the, Oct. 8’s episode, but he held his own and personally triumphed over a serious visual impairment.    The auto claims adjuster from Bristol, Connecticut, faced off against returning champ Mark Fitzpatrick and Gino Montoya.  Miller finished with $4,183 — a respectable …

What Does Blind Barbie Mean Really?

by Kevin Burton    I was on the road playing beep baseball when the e-mail notifications about the first blind Barbie doll came pouring in. And I mean they poured in, from every quarter.     I thought, that’s a story. But then I realized, I had no idea what to think or say about it. …

Blind Nebraska Woman Denied Postal Delivery

by Kevin Burton    Dialogue magazine for the blind used to have a column called Abapita. Abapita is an acronym standing for “ain’t blindness a pain in the anatomy.”    Sadly that magazine stopped publishing in 2019.  Also sadly, for the blind, the pain in the anatomy continues.    I get all manner of news …

Singer Lachi Lifts Up Her Voice For The Blind

by Peter D. Kramer lohud.com    “Hello, my name is Lachi. Like Versace,” says the woman in the fabulous dress and the beaming smile. Then the New York-based singer-songwriter takes more time than most people, to describe herself.    She offers a visual self-description for blind people in her audience, saying she is a Black …

Blind People Struggling in War-Torn Ukraine

by Hanna Arhirova Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Sunlight filters through shattered windows, casting a glow upon the dusty furniture and fragments of glass strewn across the floor of the office belonging to Oleksandr Vinkovskyi, director of a Kyiv business where visually impaired people worked.    Vinkovskyi is blind, and can’t see the scale of …

Blind BBC Reporter Gets Best Of Mugger

by Kevin Burton    A blind BBC reporter, retrieved his cell phone from a mugger and restrained the assailant until help arrived, multiple sources reported in late December.    “Wrong blind person, wrong day,” said Sean Dilley, a blind news reporter and project lead for the BBC’s Reframing Disability program.    Dilley was taking a …

Blind Man Suing County For False Arrest

 by Kevin Burton    A legally blind Florida man who was falsely arrested Oct. 31 just for carrying his cane is filing a suit against the local government.    James Hodges was stopped for questioning, then arrested after Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies mistook a folded cane he was carrying in his back pocket, for a …

Blind Man Arrested For Wrong “Crime”

by Kevin Burton    Blind people: use your canes!    Or else, say police in Columbia County, Florida.    Two Sheriff’s deputies have been suspended after they arrested 61-year-old James Hodges for “resisting arrest.”   Hodges, who is legally blind was carrying a folded cane in his back pocket. One of the deputies mistook the cane …