,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ccga  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #d1  
#bjbe,mr4 ,van ,hollen 7for himself and 
,ms4 ,alsobrooks7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
designate the ,museum of the ,blind     
,people's ,movement in ,baltimore1      
,maryland1 as the ,national ,museum of  
the ,blind ,people's ,movement4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,national ,museum of the ,blind     
,people's ,movement ,act4  #b4          
,designation of ,national ,museum of the
 ,blind ,people's ,movement  7a7        
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,equal treatment under the law and
 equal access to all the rights1        
privileges1 and protections of the      
,constitution are core tenets of the    
philosophy of the ,united ,states of    
,america4  7#b7 ,those noble and lofty  
ideals have not always been met         

throughout the course of this country's 
shared national history and its movement
 toward a more perfect ,union4  7#c7    
,people with disabilities have faced    
unique challenges pertaining to         
accessibility and civil rights4  7#d7   
,blind individuals have experienced     
systemic discrimination and low         
expectations but1 despite these         
barriers1 have historically made        
significant contributions to society    
which have often gone underrecognized4  
7#e7 ,blind people self-organized on a  
national basis in #aidj to establish the
 ,national ,federation of the ,blind    
which has served as a vehicle for       
collective action by the blind          
themselves to raise expectations in     
society4  7#f7 ,the ,national           
,federation of the ,blind has served as 
the model and inspiration for the       
development of blind-led organizations  
the world over and sparked the creation 
of the ,international ,federation of the
 ,blind which later became part of the  

,world ,blind ,union4  7#g7 ,throughout 
the course of its eight-decade crusade  
to ensure the full integration of the   
blind into society on the basis of      
equality1 the ,national ,federation of  
the ,blind has acquired innumerable     
artifacts1 documents1 and literature    
detailing the individual and collective 
accomplishments and struggles of blind  
people and how those individuals have   
contributed to the broader ,american    
society4  7#h7 ,the ,united ,states has 
no cultural institution that centers the
 experience of blind people and elevates
 the understanding of how those         
individuals have worked together to     
improve society and to change the       
negative misconceptions about the blind 
in the ,nation and around the world4    
7#i7 ,the ,national ,federation of the  
,blind has chosen to commit to the      
collection1 preservation1 and curation  
of this history through the ,museum of  
the ,blind ,people's ,movement located  
inside the ,national ,federation of the 

,blind ,jernigan ,institute in          
,baltimore1 ,maryland4  7#aj7 ,this will
 be the first museum owned and operated 
by the blind of ,america4  7#aa7 ,the   
museum1 as well as the existing archive 
which is currently available to         
researchers1 will serve as a national   
platform to explore the struggles and   
successes of the blind as individuals1  
as collectives1 and as a movement4 and  
to encourage understanding of the past1 
and facilitate awareness and evoke      
dialogue in the present1 while inspiring
 respect1 determination1 and action for 
an equitable future4  7b7 ,designation  
,the museum known as the ,museum of the 
,blind ,people's ,movement1 located at  
#bjj ,east ,wells ,street in ,baltimore1
 ,maryland1 is designated as the        
,national ,museum of the ,blind         
,people's ,movement4