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In 1978, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan, the dynamic leader of the National Federation of the Blind
found and purchased an entire city square block, here in South Baltimore. Formerly the
site of a fish net factory, furniture manufacturer and other light industry. He began immediately
to turn this complex of buildings into a center of innovation. The headquarters of the National
Federation of the Blind. We completed moving the headquarters of the national office of
the federation from Des Moines to Baltimore. We now have 40,000 square feet of floor space.
It's part of the newly established national center for the blind. At the 1979 convention
of the Federation, Dr. Jernigan stated that he hoped our new building would improve the
services offered by the Federation. That we would host five to six seminars per year.
Over the past thirty years we have dramatically expanded that vision. Improving programs for
the blind in Baltimore and beyond. The national center is a statement of who we are in the
National Federation of the Blind. We will do what we have to do to run our own programs,
to live our own lives and to make decisions about our own lives. In 1990 the NFB opened
the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind. This one of a kind demonstration
and evaluation center comprises 2.5 million dollars of access technology for the blind.
The only consumer reports for blindness technology and a leader all across the world. In the
early 1990s, Dr. Jernigan, began dreaming of a broader vision. A vision of a research
and training institute developed and directed by the blind. In 1999 NFB President Marc Maurer
took the blind of America on a bold new initiative. A capital campaign to build the first research
and training institute developed and directed by blind people. In late 2001 the NFB began
construction on the new facility and under the leadership of Marc Maurer, the blind of
America began to imagine new possibilities. On January 30, 2004 the NFB had a grand opening
celebration. A celebration of a dream turned into reality. A new facility, appropriately
named the National Federation of the Blind, Jernigan Institute. The blind are leading
the way and expanding the horizons of new possibilities through innovative technologies,
empowering programs for youth, mentoring, new possibilities for seniors losing vision
and innovative partnerships. All of these elements and more change lives because of
the investment the National Federation of the Blind has made in building a brighter
future. The National Federation of the Blind has had no less an impact than completely
changing the course of my son's life. This building's operations run by blind people
for blind people was I think one of the most powerful impacts on both of us. The NFB has
continued to build its programs for the blind. Since 1978 we've been building a center of
innovation for the blind of America. Taking an abandoned warehouse complex and turning it
into a major economic force and also creating a significant vehicle for social change in
all corners of this country. In recognition of this the NFB received the 2007 mayor's
business recognition award for civic leadership and outstanding community service for our
partnership with Johns Hopkins University in the largest gathering of blind youth ever,
the NFB Youth Slam. On January 17, 2008 the NFB was presented with a resolution from the
Maryland State Senate commending the organization on its thirty year commitment to promoting
equality for the blind, specifically in Baltimore and Maryland. When Dr. Jernigan first established
the national center for the blind he had a vision of improving services offered by the
Federation and hosting five to six seminars for blind people from across the country each
year. Over the past thirty years we've dramatically expanded Dr. Jernigan's vision. In just the
first quarter of 2008 we've hosted thirteen events catering to over seventeen hundred
individuals from across the country. In 1979 we had 40,000 square feet of floor space.
Today we have 330,000 square feet available, but most importantly the impact of the Federation
stretches far beyond where any of us imagined in 1978. With this thirty year history of
building a center of innovation in Baltimore we can be certain that the future is full
of possibilities. Many more lives remain to be changed and empowered through the work
of the National Federation of the Blind and our Jernigan Institute. Imagine as together
we change lives in Baltimore and beyond.