West face of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

Just as the flowers bloom and come to life again in Washington, D.C., Springtime often brings a flurry of activity from the federal government. Our Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) has been tracking the activity, and would like to share two key recent actions that have taken root and could yield positive fruit for people who are blind or have low vision.

Disability Pride Flag - a black background with five zigzag lines colored blue, yellow, white, red, and green going diagonally across.

July is Disability Pride Month, and we know many have been excited to reconnect with colleagues and friends at the National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind conventions. Here are a few recent stories we have been reading with particular interest.

Donald Wedewer speaking from a lectern at the Helen Keller Centennial Congress in Boston, MA, 1980. Courtesy, Helen Keller Archive.The American Foundation for the Blind mourns the passing of Donald H. Wedewer, 96, of Charleston, South Carolina, a former AFB trustee and beloved colleague who committed his life to service.

On October 11, 2021, the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee (FDR Committee) hosted a celebration to commemorate the 137th birthday of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt with a wreath-laying ceremony at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC.

The wreath-laying coincides with the 75th anniversary of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt becoming chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights and drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As swathes of the United States continue to recover from the aftermath of recent hurricanes Henri and Ida—and as the nation tracks the movements of Hurricane Sam and Tropical Storm Victor—an article entitled, "The Value of Orientation and Mobility in the Preparation, Response, and Recovery of the 2017 Hurricane Season in Puerto Rico," by Kevin McCormack, in the upcoming September-October 2021 issue of the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness (JVIB), offers some reflections on the skills that help people who are blind or ha