Jacobus tenbroek biography of barack obama

Copyright © 1990, 2010
National Federation of the Blind

          The moving force in the founding of the National Federation of the Blind (and its spiritual and intellectual father) was Jacobus tenBroek.

Born in 1911, young tenBroek (the son of a prairie homesteader in Canada) lost the sight of one eye as the result of a bow-and-arrow accident at the age of seven.

Jacobus tenbroek biography of barack obama

His remaining eyesight deteriorated until at the age of fourteen he was totally blind. Shortly afterward he and his family traveled to Berkeley so that he could attend the California School for the Blind. Within three years he was an active part of the local organization of the blind.

          By 1934 he had joined with Dr. Newel Perry and others to form the California Council of the Blind, which later became the National Federation of the Blind of California. Thi

Timeline of Historical Milestones in The Disability Rights Movement

This timeline uses language that is historically correct, but no longer considered acceptable.

1815-1817

Formal Deaf Education Begins in the U.S.
Thomas H. Gallaudet founds the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the first permanent school for the deaf in America.*

1829

Braille Invents the Raised Point Alphabet
Louis Braille invents the raised point alphabet that makes him a household name today. His method doesn't become well-known in the United States until more than 30 years after it is first taught at the St. Louis School for the Blind in 1860.

1907

Eugenic Sterilization Law for People with Disabilities Enacted
Indiana becomes the first state to enact a eugenic sterilization law—for "confirmed idiots, imbeciles and rapists"—in state institutions.* The law spreads like wildfire and is enacted in 24 other states. In 1927, compulsory sterilization is ruled constitutional.

1932

Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Person with a Disability, Elected President
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd president of the United States and is re-elected for an unprecedented four terms. In August 1921, while vacationing at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Roosevelt contracted an illness, believed to be polio, which resulted in total and permanent paralysis from the waist down. After becoming President, he supports the founding of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now known as the March of Dimes). In recognition of his support of this organization, FDR is commemorated on the dime.

1934 - 1940

National Federation of the Blind Founded
At the age of 23, Jacobus tenBroek, blind from the age of 14, joins with Dr. Newel Perry and others to form the California Council of the Blind (later renamed later the National Federation of the Blind of California). This becomes a model for the national organization he form

Following our first post on Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank, the second post in our Meet the Women of the Administration series features Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez. Read on to learn more about her path to becoming a disability rights leader and an inspirational member of the Administration!

How did your childhood influence you?
I come from a large family, and am proud of my Latino and Native American heritage. When I was eight months old, my parents, with limited education and English skills, feared for my future when they realized that I probably would never be able to see. Fortunately, I was mainstreamed in the public school system from kindergarten through high school. This experience made me realize early on that I would have to develop different strategies.

During my early years I encountered many instances of people struggling because of their differences. For example, even though my parents were both U.S. citizens, I have vivid memories of Immigration officials pounding on our door, demanding that my parents produce their birth certificates. I remember when we would go to meetings at my school and the administrators would speak very loudly to my mother because her English wasn't very good at the time. In addition, we lived very close to strawberry fields and orange groves in southern California and I became increasingly aware of the farm workers who worked in those fields. A student teacher in 8th grade read the book Sweatshops in the Sun by Ronald B. Taylor for me on tape. The book was about child labor on farms, and it profoundly influenced my awareness of working conditions in those fields just a couple blocks from my house. I soon became involved in the youth effort to improve conditions for local farm workers.

My childhood became the time when I realized that although I felt different, I had much in common