[Users] Fwd: National Federation of the Blind and Blue Point Books Bring Back Inspiration

[Cory McMahon]

Hi all,
I just thought everyone would like to read the information below:


----- Original Message -----

dBusiness News
Thursday, June 14, 2007

National Federation of the Blind and Blue Point Books Bring Back
Inspirational Blind Role Model from Obscurity

BALTIMORE -- In conjunction with the publication of The Blind Doctor: The
Jacob Bolotin Story by Blue Point Books, the National Federation of the
Blind (NFB) announced today that it will be launching the "Dr. Jacob
Bolotin Award for the Blind" at its 2007 national convention in Atlanta
from June 30 through July 6. 

The first award will be made in 2008 and will be given by the NFB to blind
people or organizations that have made a significant impact within the
blind community. The book's author, Rosalind Perlman, left a bequest to
the Santa Barbara Foundation to publish The Blind Doctor and to establish
an endowment for this important annual award. 

In the biography The Blind Doctor, Perlman tells the fascinating story of
Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the first man born totally blind to become fully
licensed to practice medicine. Born in 1888 to a poor family in Chicago,
Jacob Bolotin fought prejudice and misconceptions about the capabilities
of blind people in order to win acceptance to medical school and then into
the medical profession. He was one of the most respected physicians in
Chicago in the early twentieth century, particularly well known for his
expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs. His remarkable story had
faded into obscurity until the release of this important and inspiring
book, which is based on the memories of the author's husband, Alfred
Perlman, who was the nephew of Dr. Bolotin's wife and lived with the
Bolotins for several years when he was a boy. 

Dr. Bolotin was also one of the first to raise awareness of the true
capabilities of blind people, and he used his celebrity status in Chicago
and throughout the Midwest to champion the rights of the blind to
education and employment. Given Dr. Bolotin's belief that the blind are
only limited by their own ambition and imagination, the National
Federation of the Blind, which holds the same belief, is the natural
organization to bestow this award in Dr. Bolotin's name. 

"The Blind Doctor is the moving and powerful story of a blind man who
fought ignorance and prejudice to become one of the most respected
physicians in Chicago. Everyone who reads Dr. Jacob Bolotin's story will
learn that blindness is no barrier to a full life and great
accomplishments," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind. 

Dr. Joanne Wilson, founder and director of the Louisiana Center for the
Blind, said: "Belief in oneself is the key to living life as an
independent, productive blind person; without self-confidence, no amount
of rehabilitation training will make a blind person self-sufficient. Dr.
Jacob Bolotin's inspiring story sets an example for all blind people,
because he believed in himself and found ways to overcome obstacles at a
time when the social, legal, and technological resources available to the
blind today did not exist." 

The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story is available in both regular and
large type editions. Review copies are available on request by contacting
Blue Point Books at (800) 858-1058. To purchase the book, visit 

www.bluepointbooks.com 

or call toll-free at (800) 858-1058. 
 

http://baltimore.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=122699&type_news=latest

--
BlindNews mailing list

To contact a list moderator about a problem or to make a request, send a
message to BlindNews-Owner at BlindProgramming.com

The BlindNews list is archived at: http://GeoffAndWen.com/blind/

To address a message to all members of the list, send mail to:
BlindNews at blindprogramming.com

Access your subscription info at:
http://blindprogramming.com/mailman/listinfo/blindnews_blindprogramming.com

To unsubscribe via e-mail: send a message to
BlindNews-Request at BlindProgramming.com with the word unsubscribe in either
the subject or body of the message