Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89.0!Jamal.Mazrui From: Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Jamal Mazrui) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Update of NFB Expulsion Message-ID: <16087@bunker.UUCP> Date: 3 Dec 90 16:59:27 GMT Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org Distribution: misc Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/89.0 - BlinkLink, Pittsburgh PA Lines: 55 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 12172 [This is from the Advocacy Conference] It is late Monday evening two days after the national board of directors of the NFB considered whether to expel me as a member for "efforts to undermine the administration." I have not officially been notified, but have just heard a rumor that I was in fact expelled. While I await final confirmation of this, let me provide some more the details. Eventually, I want the whole story to come out. I feel that blind people, the disability community as a whole, and the general public have a right to know about what happens when someone exercises free speech within an organization which represents itself as "the democratically representative voice of the blind of America." I was tipped off by another state officer in the Massachusetts affiliate last Thursday that two days later--on Saturday, November 17--the national president was coming to Boston to try to get the state board to pass a motion to expel me as a member. I was never notified officially of this motion. The state president did notify me the day before, Friday, on my answering machine that on the agenda of this board meeting would be the calling for my resignation as legislative officer. She then said she would be unavailable the rest of the evening due to family obligations. The morning of the state board meeting I decided to resign from my position as legislative officer because I no longer felt I could serve effectively in that capacity given the ill will toward me by some of the officers because of the views I had expressed and the resulting pressure exerted on them from the national office to distance themselves from me. The next few messages document the treacherous views I have h{eld. My resignation was apparently not enough for at the prompting of the national president a state officer then introduced a motion to expel me as a member. A two hour debate ensued with board members speaking for and against the motion. When it became clear that the motion would not pass because enough board members remained unconvinced of the constitutional grounds for expelling me, the motion was changed to one of "censure." A vote was quickly called without defining "censure" or allowing for discussion. It passed I think it fair to say because members wanted to provide at least a face saving measure to the national and state president who had tried their best to convince others of my wrongdoing. Not satisfied, however, with this relatively weak disciplinary motion of the state board, the national president then called me on Monday, November 19 (two days later) to notify me that the same motion that the state board had considered would be considered by the national board this past Saturday, November 24. He followed up with written notification to that effect. Again, I am still awaiting final notification at this time, but the rumor is that I have been expelled. For now, let me share the following with you in my next messages. --Jamal-- -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!129!89.0!Jamal.Mazrui Internet: Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com