Tom Page, President of the Kansas chapter of the National Federation of the Blind opened his talk with the question: “What is the National Federation of the Blind…and why do we need it?” Page traced the arc of empowerment for blind people: For tens of thousands of years, when a blind baby was born, the child was left in the elements to die. Some hundreds of years ago, blind people organized themselves into work guilds and for the first time gained independence outside of the family unit. In 1940, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) was formed by a group of blind people to provide security, opportunity and equality for blind people. NFB became a mechanism towards bigger civil rights goals for the blind, like access to education and employment. NFB members do a great deal of advocacy work supporting parents of blind children to ensure children are given access to education as guaranteed by law. Sadly, there are still school districts in Kansas that do not understand the value or legality of braille training (which creates literacy) for blind children.

Following Page’s talk, branch president Barbara Gatewood called the business meeting to order. Updates from board members and team leaders included information on AAUW fellowships and grants; the treasurer’s report; a report on the growing membership of the branch; information on a salary negotiation workshop recently held at K-State and co-sponsored by AAUW; and reflections on AAUW national policy positions. Branch member and liaison to the League of Women Voters, Jean Lee, noted that the mid-term election is over and we must now encourage congress to support women, girls, and working families through advocacy for equal pay for equal work.

The next Manhattan AAUW branch meeting will be held at McCain Auditorium on the K-State Campus on December 8^th at 6pm. The meeting will include a live music performance by K-State students. Persons interested in learning more about AAUW in Manhattan may go to manhattan-ks.aauw.net or email manhattanksaauw@gmail.com.