“Dots and Dashes” is a short newsletter featuring a variety of topics and ACB stories. This issue features information about the 2020 leadership meetings, the latest Advocacy Update podcasts, the BADIE contest and how to become the described movie critic of the year, re-introduction of the Cogswell-Macy Act, an interview with Marilee Talkington, and Apple releasing new emoji to reflect diversity andinclusion.
Join Us at the 2020 DC Leadership Meetings!
ACB’s annual Presidents’ Meeting and Legislative Seminar will take place from Saturday, February 22 through Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Old Town in Alexandria, Va. Make plans to join us for a fantastic set of meetings!
2020 Schedule of Events:
Saturday, February 22: Board Meeting
Sunday, February 23: Affiliate Presidents’ Meeting
Monday, February 24: Legislative Seminar
Tuesday, February 25: Meeting with Legislators on Capitol Hill
Hotel Information:
Holiday Inn & Suites Alexandria - Old Town
625 First Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 548-6300
Room rates (pretax): $109/night (king/double)
Hotel online reservation link (group code: ANC): American Council of the Blind
Holiday Inn Old Town website: https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/alexandria/axehd/hoteldetail
Advocacy Updates
Apple will launch their new streaming video service, Apple TV+, today! On the Nov. 1 episode of the Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark spoke with Joe Strechay, Associate Producer, about his work as a blindness consultant on the new series, “See,” and the accessibility features of Apple TV+. Listen via your favorite podcast player or online at http://acbradio.org/ACB-Advocacy-Update-10-31-19.
More information about the Apple TV+ service is available from the Audio Description Project at https://acb.org/adp/index.html.
For the transcript of this podcast, visit https://acb.org/ACB-Advocacy-Update-10-31-19-transcript.
On the Oct. 24th episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark speak with Dan Kelly from IFB Solutions for National Disability Employment Awareness Month. They discuss the employment opportunities available to people who are blind through the AbilityOne Program, and ACB’s advocacy efforts to address the challenges posed by recent changes to procurement policies for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
To learn more about this issue, read ACB Resolution 2019-03, https://www.acb.org/resolutions2019. Listen to this episode via your favorite podcast player, or online at http://acbradio.org/ACB-Advocacy-Update-10-24-19. To access a transcript of this episode, visit https://acb.org/ACB-Advocacy-Update-10-24-19-transcript.
If you have feedback on these podcasts, the written transcript, or ideas for future podcasts, please share them with us at [email protected].
Described Movie Critic of the Year
To read the full announcement online, visit https://acb.org/2019-BADIE-contest-announcement.
ACB’s Audio Description Project (ACB-ADP) and the Described andCaptioned Media Program (DCMP) are continuing their co-sponsorship of an exciting opportunity for blind and visually impaired young people, in four categories from ages 7 to 21: the Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE) contest.
Students choose an audio-described film or video from the more than thousands of titles available through DCMP, or borrow an audio-described video or film from a library. Then, once you’ve seen the movie, write up a review in braille, print, or via audio recording.
To register for the contest, visit http://listeningislearning.org/badie.html. Entries can also be submitted via email or postal mail (submissions from outside the United States are fine) to:
ACB-DCMP Benefits of Audio Description In Education
1703 N. Beauregard St., Suite 420
Alexandria, VA 22311
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 467-5083
Deadline for entries: Friday, December 6, 2019
Cartwright, McKinley Reintroduce Cogswell-Macy Act
To read this entire article online, go to https://cartwright.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cartwright-mckinley-introduce-bill-to-improve-educational-services-for. Or you may listen to it on the Washington Connection, 1-800-424-8666.
On October 23rd, Reps. Matt Cartwright (PA-08) and David B. McKinley (WV-01) re-introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to improve educational services for students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. Senators Ed Markey (MA) and Shelley Moore Capito (WV) introduced companion legislation in the Senate earlier this afternoon.
The Cogswell-Macy Act would amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975 (IDEA) by:
- requiring states to identify and evaluate children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind;
- expanding knowledge about the scope and quality of special education and related services provided to students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind;
- encouraging states to conduct strategic planning that guarantees all students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind receive the specialized instruction andservices they need; and
- increasing the U.S. Department of Education’s responsibilities to monitor and report on states’ compliance with requirements relating to specialized instruction and services for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.
Talkington Discusses Apple TV’s ‘See’
Friend of ACB and actress Marilee Talkington has long advocated for the representation of blind actors, like herself, on screen. You can catch her in Apple TV's series “See” starring alongside Jason Momoa. In this interview, Marilee discusses the series and the representation of blind actors in Hollywood. ACB commends Marilee for her tirelessly advocacy in leading the charge for more authentic representation for the blind and visually impaired community.
To hear this interview, visit https://cheddar.com/media/actress-marilee-talkington-previews-apple-tvs-see?fbclid=IwAR0XuVwy99Eo1yoOoCW7AGuJVCZ7pWraqGmvviSMoDVGqmjavFKiaRtFZtE.
New Emoji Now Available
Last year, the American Council of the Blind collaborated with Apple to create a set of blindness-related emoji. To read the full article online, go to https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/28/tech/apple-ios-13-2-emoji/index.html.
San Francisco (CNN Business) — After previewing new emoji this summer, Apple released nearly 60 new characters on Monday, many with a focus on inclusion and diversity.
The iOS 13.2 software update features interracial couples, gender-neutral characters and disability-themed emoji options, including a seeing eye dog, characters in wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. Other new emoji include a waffle, butter, a sloth and a yawning smiley face.