[misc.handicap] Update of NFB Expulsion

Jamal.Mazrui@p0.f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Jamal Mazrui) (12/04/90)

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--

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