Content warning: the following letter addresses sensitive topics regarding sexual misconduct and violence.
Dear Fellow Federationists:
Many NFB members, former members, and people
within our blindness community are hurting. For some, the pain comes from their
lived experience of being abused or violated by one of our members and/or made
to feel like no one else was listening or came to their defense at a Federation
event or training program. For others, what they feel is empathy for survivors
who were harmed by participating in the National Federation of the Blind,
recognizing that we have not done enough within our movement and systemically
within our community. We are deeply sorry that this is true and apologize for
where we have failed. As the elected President of this movement, I carry the
responsibility of this pain. I am profoundly sorry that anyone has been harmed
by experiences in our movement. As a husband, father of three children, and
leader who tries to live by a strong set of ethical values, I hurt for the survivors,
and I deeply regret that I have made mistakes along the way. At each
opportunity that I have to sit with my young children, I am directly reminded
how fragile the balances are in our lives and how much our actions can have a
lasting impact on others. I live with the regret and sorrow for the mistakes I
personally made in dealing with inappropriate behavior in the past. Sometimes
my mistakes have only been illuminated later through the honest reflection of a
friend or the vulnerable sharing of someone who has been harmed. How do you
adequately write a letter to apologize for that? How do you spread this
sentiment to an entire movement of people including those who have left our
organization? How do we, collectively, create an adequate action plan to
promote healing, prevent future incidents, and continue our development of a
culture that is welcoming, safe, and eliminates the barriers to bringing
concerns forward for resolution? This letter attempts to explore those
questions, but this is merely a single moment in these needed conversations.
Our hearts break for the survivors of abuse
and sexual misconduct who have bravely shared incidents that have happened
within our organization over the decades. During the past couple of weeks, a
number of courageous individuals have shared painful stories about their
experiences on social media and in individual conversations. We thank those
brave survivors for sharing their stories because we recognize how difficult
that is and how each story creates a unique set of emotions and challenges. We
deeply regret that over our eighty years we have not handled each situation
appropriately or been able to heal the pain that such incidents create. We do
not reject these feelings of pain. In fact, we want to find and establish
better ways to hear them and continuously eliminate the actions that caused
them. We have no intention of debating the circumstances of any instance.
Instead we acknowledge that if a survivor was left feeling the situation went
unaddressed, then we have failed. The membership demands we do better. I, as
President, demand this of myself and expect it from our movement. We will do
better. In addition to calling upon all Federationists to listen better,
honestly reflect upon your own biases, and to actively align our actions to our
words, I call upon you not to dismiss those who cannot believe that our
intentions are sincere or those who have had the courage to come forward. It is
our individual and collective action, positively focused on making things better
that will create belief. That is what has been true for us since 1940, and it
will continue to be true for us going forward.
Let us get down to the hard facts. Words
appear to mean nothing without actions, so below I’ve outlined six steps that
we are committing to in the near future. Before I list them, please understand
that these are initial steps, and we are committed to exploring and
implementing whatever policies, programs, trainings, or resources necessary
beyond these steps to appropriately address these horrible situations.
Improvements to Reporting of Incidents
We are currently thoroughly reviewing the
pathways for reporting incidents and how those paths are handled. We are open
to revamping all of the reporting mechanisms we have. We are in discussion with
outside consultants who are expected to do a complete review of our processes
with a specialized emphasize on sexual misconduct and harassment. We will
rebuild all of our procedures if needed. We expect our revised processes to
involve a third-party entity, but since we do not yet know how that will turn
into actionable efforts within our organization, we cannot be specific about
that process. Our hope is to be more transparent about our partnership and
timelines for action during the first quarter of 2021. We hear you about the
uncomfortable position some people feel is created by the current reporting
system when a person must report through members they will later need to deal
with personally. Regardless of the reporting mechanisms we maintain and create,
we must be very clear on one point: Every elected leader of this organization
must be prepared to take concerns seriously and to act upon information they
are given as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Furthermore, the safety of
blind youth who are under our supervision is our highest priority, and any incident
that is discovered must be dealt with immediately.
Open Meeting and Supporting Survivors
We are committing to hold an open meeting or
series of listening sessions to discuss these issues and solicit feedback on
what support and resources victims and survivors need. We have not yet detailed
what the open meeting and conversations will be. Because we do not want to
unintentionally contribute to further pain among survivors, we want blind
people with lived experiences and our consultants to guide that process. In the
meantime, we continue to answer calls and emails from Federation members
seeking clarity about these issues and offering solutions that we will
carefully weigh as our learning continues. We are grateful to those of you who
have reached out directly offering your personal experiences as a guide to
future development. The members of the Federation are expected to shape what we
do, and your readiness to bring solutions makes a big difference. Our goal is
to provide support and healing to victims and survivors.
Enhancing the Code of Conduct Work
Prior to recent events and the stories that
have emerged, we were in the process of considering and implementing several
enhancements surrounding our code of conduct and its related procedures and
programs. We have now paused those efforts. Why? Because we are listening. We
have done horribly at messaging and sharing our internal procedures and our
plans for effectively administering our organization's code of conduct. I say
paused because we want to carefully evaluate where we are and our next steps
guided by the expertise of anti-sexual-violence experts from outside our
movement. If we must completely reset, that is what we will do. For now, our
code and existing procedures are in place to set expectations within our
organization. We will carefully evaluate current grievances to ensure that they
continue to be safely and swiftly investigated even while our procedures are
under review.
Illuminating Expectations
You may already know, but the board made its
annual revisions to the code and procedures process on December 5, 2020. When
we went to post the revisions, we realized that the FAQ we planned to post
after the December 2019 review did not happen. No excuses, that was a pretty
big dropped ball. That document is intended to answer questions like what happens
when a grievance is filed, how is information kept confidential, and what
communications can a filing party expect? Overall, we have failed to
communicate broadly the procedures we have been using. For example, we allow
for advocates to participate with parties who are involved with code of conduct
investigations. Moreover, these FAQs will also be informed and expanded based
upon questions that continue to be raised. They will also evolve as we
implement additional avenues for raising concerns and for training members of
the organization. We take ownership for the misinformation that is now
circulating. Please keep those questions and suggestions coming.
Continuous Training
Training on issues around misconduct and
abuse is something we have only skimmed the surface of in the recent past. We
have done a minimal amount of training for affiliate presidents and workshops
at our national convention. We were not satisfied that our training was
sustainable, so we have been seeking other partners. That has been unreasonably
slow. No excuse, we understand. We are going to be putting together training
with the specific goal of preventing misconduct and abuse at Federation events
and to strengthen the level of comfort with reporting. We have also hired an
individual to assist in a number of areas including coordinating training—that
person only started on November 30, which is why we had not yet introduced her
to the membership.
Consistency across NFB Training Centers
A lack in consistency in practices across the
three training centers that are affiliated with the National Federation of the
Blind has been raised as a concern. It is worth noting that only BLIND
Incorporated, the Colorado Center for the Blind, and the Louisiana Center for
the Blind have made the specific partnership commitments necessary to be
formally and officially affiliated with the organized blind movement. On a
regular basis, I have been meeting with our training center directors with the
specific goal of better aligning our practices and policies. There is more work
to do there. We expect these centers to fully commit to our code of conduct
practices and set the highest standard of professional practice in all
programs. During the most recent revisions of our code of conduct, we discussed
the topic of consistency in handling and reporting concerns at our centers. We
will be conducting a full review and implementing consistent training for the
personnel at each of our centers. I stand with those who have been harmed by
any employee, contractor, or volunteer at one of our centers, and I am prepared
to help eliminate ineffective practices and urge the termination of those
employees and contractors (as well as the exclusion of volunteers) who violate
our policies in this area.
Let me also add that our training centers
have made a great difference in raising the standard of training for blind
people in this nation and all around the world. As a graduate of one of our
centers, I share that pride for the training I received but also the pain that
even one person coming through one of our centers would have had a harmful
experience. The employees at our centers are some of the most dedicated and
thoughtful folks I know, and they are committed to the safety and wellbeing of
program participants. However, that does not excuse harmful incidents that have
happened in our training programs. I know our centers are committed to doing
better. I know the executive directors and boards of each of these training
centers will be prioritizing the advancement of these conversations. Most
importantly, I know they feel your pain in a very deep and personal way.
Again, these are immediate actions and
commitments. This is not a complete roadmap for the years to come, but it
outlines some of the forthcoming actions we are focusing on. We know that we
need to examine more ways to support our members such as mental health
resources and the expertise of crisis professionals. Members of the Federation
have a right to demand information about what is being done, and Federation
leaders are expected to share that information. When we committed to the code
of conduct in 2018, we made a commitment to a much-needed journey. Our
commitment has not wavered even if we have not been outwardly demonstrating a
commitment that you can trust. As leaders, we will continue to work to earn
your trust and we will remain committed to continuous improvement and an open
dialogue for organizational change. We are committed to finding ways to heal
that pain, while preventing any future pain that results from unacceptable
behavior. We are going to need the ideas and support of the members of this
movement to do that in a meaningful and effective manner, so all are welcomed.
You continue to be our wise teachers. You who
have shared your personal experiences and who have dared to open yourselves
continue to guide us. In the National Federation of the Blind, we value
diversity, we strive to be fully inclusive, and we want to be the safe space
for all blind people. Every blind person in this nation deserves what this
movement has to offer, and we recognize we have work to do so that every blind
person feels like there is a place here for everyone. We are going to get there
together. We apologize that we have not yet made it all the way, but we pledge
that the commitment is deep and it is real. We are not done with our changes.
With love and commitment, we are #MarchingTogether.
— Mark
Riccobono, President
officeofthepresident@nfb.org,
410-659-9314
The National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors shown below requested that the President write an open letter regarding our commitments.
By signing below, each of us affirms our support and commitment to the content of the letter above. Anybody with concerns regarding the content of this letter, the commitments that have been expressed, or potential incidents that may have happened at Federation events are welcome to contact any of the individuals endorsing this statement.Pam Allen, First Vice President and Board
Chair, pallen@louisianacenter.org,
318-251-2891
Ron Brown, Second Vice President, rb15@iquest.net,
317-213-7031
James Gashel, Secretary, jgashel0923@gmail.com,
808-234-9259
Jeannie Massay, Treasurer, jeanniemassay@gmail.com,
405-600-0695
Denise Avant, davant1958@gmail.com,
773-991-8050
Everette Bacon, baconev@yahoo.com,
801-631-8108
Amy Buresh, amy.buresh74@gmail.com,
402-440-4722
Shawn Callaway, callaway.shawn@gmail.com,
202-352-1511
Norma Crosby, ncrosby@nfbtx.org,
281-968-7733
John Fritz, president@nfbwis.org,
608-622-7632
Ever Lee Hairston, ever.hairston@gmail.com,
323-654-2975
Carla McQuillan, president@nfb-oregon.org,
541-653-9153
Amy Ruell, aruell@comcast.net,
617-752-1116
Joe Ruffalo, nfbnj1@verizon.net
Terri Rupp, terri.rupp@gmail.com,
702-524-0835
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