On this episode of Change Makers, we are celebrating Black History Month. Hear from Anil Lewis about his childhood, challenges, victories and how he became Executive Director of Blindness Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind. After that, we’ll hear what’s new with LEGO Braille Bricks.
On this Podcast (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
On this episode of Change Makers, we are celebrating Black History Month. Hear from Anil Lewis about his childhood, challenges, victories and how he became Executive Director of Blindness Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind. After that, we’ll hear what’s new with LEGO Braille Bricks.
On this Podcast (In Order of Appearance)
Additional Links
Welcome to Changemakers, a podcast from APH. We're talking to people from around the world who are creating positive change in the lives of people who are blind or have low vision. Here's your host.
Sara Brown:Hello and welcome to Change Makers. I'm APH's Public Relations Manager, Sara Brown, and today we're celebrating Black History Month. On this episode, we're gonna talk to Anil Lewis about his childhood challenges, victories, and how he became Executive Director of Blindness Initiatives for the National Federation of the Blind. After that, we're gonna hear what's new with LEGO Braille Bricks. All right, Anil, thank you so much, and welcome to Change Makers.
Anil Lewis:My pleasure to be here. I'd like to consider myself a change maker.
Sara Brown:Yeah, you certainly are. You certainly are. So, this podcast is about Black History, is is in, is for Black History Month, and we're mm-hmm.<affirmative>, we're spotlighting you. So we just wanna hear your story. We wanna spotlight your story in here, in your own words. Last year, um, I've interviewed in the past two years, I know I've interviewed Everlee Hariston.
Anil Lewis:Oh, a phenomoninal woman.
Sara Brown:Mm-hmm.<affirmative> Louis Tutt. And I've also done, is it Denna Morgan? She's at NASA.
Anil Lewis:Oh, Dina. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Yes. She's a sweetheart.
Sara Brown:Very much.
Anil Lewis:She's a mom now. I don't know if she's a mom. When you interviewed her,
Sara Brown:She just became one. Yeah. So, yes. So you're, you're up there with, without, with that list. Yeah. Denna Lambert! She's awesome. Mm. Mm-hmm.<affirmative> Denna Lambert. That's it. Yes. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. So you're, you're my, you're my 2023. You and another individual, Monique Coleman.
Anil Lewis:<laugh>. Oh, Monique Coleman. She is an impressive lady, Dr. Coleman. Now that's, yeah, man, good to know. I, I feel honored to be in such company with all of those individuals. So thank you for selecting. Yes.
Sara Brown:So, for, for these types of interviews, I just wanna hear your story. I wanna hear mm-hmm.<affirmative>, you know, your childhood, your early life. I understand 1964 in Atlanta, Georgia. Yeah. So, talk about your childhood. What was that like? Okay.
Anil Lewis:Yeah. I, I was born in 1964, uh, inner city, Atlanta, Georgia. Uh, I, I think in perspective of this particular conversation, it's important to understand that Atlanta was the mecca of, of black equality and power, especially at that particular time. I recognized wholeheartedly that being born in 1964, that I'm the beneficiary of all of the work that all of those civil rights leaders did in the past. You know, the Civil Rights Act passed at that time. And I'm in a city where the mayor's black, many black owned businesses. I really didn't come into this world with a sense of inferiority. Uh, I felt that I was in the majority. I, I felt in a strange way, that I was privileged in a lot of ways. So, and I, I could dig deep down to several things, but the things I like to really highlight is one, yeah, we lived in the city. Uh, my father died when I was six-years-old. So my mom had to raise four of us with a very limited income. And realistically, I never felt that we were poor, um, because everybody in our community had the same economic status. And as long as I stayed within that incubator, you know, I felt that I was just equal. So, I, I attribute that to the fact that I feel that I have the right to be wherever I am<laugh>, because that was instilled in me very early on through that experience. It wasn't until later, and we can talk about that as we progressed, that I really started understanding that I was a, quote unquote"minority," uh, within this country. And their, their worth was some real, or is still some significant discrimination that needs to be dealt with. But for the most part, during my developmental years, and I was cited at the time, I didn't become blind until much later in life, um, that those developmental years gave me a sense of self, um, had very positive self-concept. Uh, I, I had, uh, a sense that my voice mattered, uh, because I came from a strong household. My mom, I tell people, my mom, uh, made me a stronger man than most men could have. And I really love and respect her. Uh, I miss her so much in every day. So, growing up in that particular space, again, I, I felt very empowered in the whole era of,"say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud." Um, you know, coming into an identity of, of, uh, empowerment through that whole experience. So my, my perspective on life is, I guess, fairly unique, because again, that was balanced with the fact that in those early years, my mom was a domestic. So she worked as a maid, uh, with my grandmother, uh, to clean the homes of this very affluent white family, uh, near the governor's mansion here in Atlanta. And again, that provided a unique lived experience for me that helped shape my perspective around race, because even though she was a domestic, um, they treated her with respect. Uh, that family actually loved my grandmother. Um, when she passed away, they made a significant donation to, uh, erecting a pavilion in her honor, uh, at her home church down in Woodville, Georgia, uh, where I used to spend my summer. So I, I have the balance of being inner city and acquiring the courage that it requires to live in that particular environment, but also the work ethic that was required. When I went to go visit my grandmother, uh, she, uh, also was widowed very early and raised a large family, and she used to send us out to cut the neighbor's yards and all that stuff. So in the inner city, I had a hustle about me, but my grandmother says,"well, you go cut Ms. Jenkins yard, and don't you charge her a dime<laugh>?""So, and you go over there, you pick these blackberries, and don't you charge them a dime?" So it, it showed that there was a sense of community, a responsibility to care for others. And I also learned that sometimes bartering is better than getting money up front, because we would pick those blueberries till our fingers were sore, but we get the best blueberry cobbler this, uh, world could ever offer. So that was really, the compensation was much better than the money that we could have gotten for picking<laugh>, picking those blackberries and blueberries, et cetera. Um, so I'm trying to make, put this in context. So you let me know if I ramble in a direction that's No,
Sara Brown:Just hearing you talk about your childhood, that's that sense of community. And I, I, I mean, I, as an adult, but I don't have children. I don't feel like it's maybe it's still there, but things have obviously changed. But I like that they instilled that hard work ethic in you. Yeah. And, and then told you upfront, don't you charge them anything,
Anil Lewis:<laugh>. Exactly. Exactly. And I, and all of this, I, I, I think I'll tie it together, hopefully near the end.
Sara Brown:No, but that really shaped you that Exactly. And their, their voice is always in your head.
Anil Lewis:Exactly. Those memories. Exactly. Exactly. And the, and the beauty of the fact that despite the race piece, I never felt lesser, uh, I grew up with, with their son, uh, in that environment. So while my mom and grandmother were cleaning the house, me and Mark, we were out playing, uh, he actually taught me how to ride a bicycle, taught me how to tie my shoes. Um, I, I never felt lesser. Um, so the, the race issue never presented a problem for, for me. So I, I really, again, know that I'm the beneficiary of all that good work. The unfortunate part about all of that, though, is it gave me a false sense of what the real world was like. Um, so as I grew older and started experiencing things outside of that controlled environment and recognized that racism did exist, um, I was well equipped in one way, right? Because, again, I had a very positive sense of self. Uh, I never felt lesser based on race. I had relationships, you know, that were intersectional around race. Uh, but then when you run into individuals who don't share that same perspective of equality and respect for each other, despite these various characteristics, then you have to acquire a skill set that still defines you in that space so that you can continue to be authentic to who you are and command the respect that you deserve in those environments. So, uh, I was academically successful to my detriment because I never had to study cuz things came so easy. And I ended up getting a scholarship to Georgia Tech. And when I went to Georgia Tech, my whole world flipped upside down. So now,
Sara Brown:Now talk. Yes. Okay. Yeah.<laugh>, why was your world, for those who can't figure it out, would you talk about, you're getting ready to, but just in a nutshell, was it because you were in a whole, you were in a whole new world?
Anil Lewis:Yeah. An extremely new world. Exactly. Um, definitely not. Black was not the majority on the campus of Georgia Tech. I was no longer the stellar academic student because everybody else was as bright, if not brighter. It, it was really a, a, uh, I don't know, I don't wanna call it a sad awakening. It was really, really a necessary awakening. So in that particular space, I did run into instances of racism. Uh, people that thought lesser of me because of my race. Uh, and it was challenging for me. But luckily for me, I was able to build on, again, the sense of identity and self, et cetera, to assert myself in that environment. I wasn't successful academically, but what I learned with respect to interacting with people during that experience was an education in itself. So, when we're talking about black history in the context of black history, I did not have a full knowledge of black history because I had a uniquely different lived experience that kind of carried me through. But now I'm at the place where I need to really understand where I came from, if I'm really gonna be assert that I'm able to assert that I belong because people were making, um, assertions about me as an individual. And I had no way of rebutting them because they were basing it on, uh, historical, I guess they would call them facts at the time,<laugh>, that that really were skewed. But I had no way of rebutting them because I didn't have the knowledge that I needed around, uh, my history as, as, as a black person in this country. So that challenged me to learn and grow. But unfortunately, at that particular time, that's when the retinitis pigmentosa, so I have Retinitis Pigmentosa. That's how I lost my sight in 1989. Both my older brother and older sister have RP as well. And they became blind very early on in their lives. Um, and unfortunately, they became blind in an environment where, uh, the people who were there to serve, whether it be the education professionals or the employers, they didn't believe in the capacity of blind people. My brother worked at a shelter workshop. He actually got paid sub minimum wages. Uh, and that's unfortunate because I believe he was much brighter than me. Um, he just wasn't pushed. He didn't, wasn't provided training and support. He went to a school that did not think that he needed to learn how to read braille because he had just enough vision to put paper up against his nose, which we know that's a flawed philosophy that didn't teach him how to use a white cane because he had just enough vision to travel, quote, unquote, safely. But that's subjective. Um, so many things he was denied that would've really made his life completely different. And my sister luckily, came right around the threshold when the Georgia, uh, agencies were really doing a good job of actually providing training and real employment opportunities. So, uh, the long story short, with her, maybe she'll get interviewed some days. Uh, she came up through the, the, uh, workshop system, but then she is now employed as a supervisor, uh, for the general services administration for the federal government. So it shows that the capacity is there. But when I lost my sight, they were still on the other side of the door. I didn't see any real, uh, potential of me living the dream that I had in mind. And I'm plagued with a crisis at this particular point, because now as I'm struggling to understand myself as a black person in this new environment, I'm also struggling to assert myself as this blind person, which I had no real, uh, understanding of blindness. I only had those experiences that were demonstrated to me by my brother and sister. So, so I, I'll offer this though. Um, the beauty of my mom instill in me a sense of self and a positive concept, regardless of what comes in, making sure that I'm authentically who I am or whatever environment that holds true for me. And that's what helped carry me through. But, um, I pinned an article, um, during the whole George Floyd dilemma, uh, that really showed how the intersection between my blindness and my lived experience as a black person helped really support one another. Um, so I really wanted to really highlight this part in the whole black history context of what's going on, because I think the intersectionality of it is important, cuz I mean, it is the American Printing House for the blind. So I wanna make it relevant to both, both characteristics. Uh, when the incident with George Floyd, George Floyd happened, I mean, let me deviate interview you real quick for a quick question. Yes. Did that have an impact on you?
Sara Brown:On me personally, yes. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, I was not at APH at the time. Mm-hmm.
Anil Lewis:<affirmative>. Tell me a little bit, how did that impact you?
Sara Brown:Um, the sheer stunnedness, the, the, I think the sheer shock of it all mm-hmm.<affirmative>, that something like that would happen in these, in this era, in this time. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, just a sheer shock of it all to the point where I watched the video maybe once. I know I didn't watch it more than twice mm-hmm.<affirmative>, and then I can't watch it anymore. Yeah.
Anil Lewis:Much like you, I watched it at one time. I didn't need to watch it again because it was, it was stuck in my head. I mean, I, I could play it over and over in my head. And so much of that really well, without going through the counseling<laugh> go, go through the National Federation of the Blind, um, Beil monitor and look at, I forget the article, but it's, uh, how Black Being Black helped Me Be Blind. And you can go through the cathartic, um, confession that I made in the article. But the key part for me is it energized me to do a deeper dive around black history. Um, so my blindness helped me really deal with a lot of the discrimination in a way because, uh, well, I learned to deal with discrimination, period. Because growing up in a black environment when I went to Georgia Tech and really experienced it, those types of things, but that also helped me deal with my blindness, um, in, in those different ways where I was experiencing a discrimination. Uh, just a quick tangent. One of the nuances though, of dealing with discrimination based on race, uh, as opposed to dealing with discrimination based on disability, is, uh, discrimination based on race. It was usually people who, out of their ignorance, were afraid of me, whether they admitted it or not, you know, they may have come across aggressive, but they were being aggressive because they were afraid of me. I, you know, I'm the super predator as, as it as named. So I was able to deal with that in a way that was kind of equally aggressive when they were experiencing some aggression. Um, it wasn't really in a place where educating them about being black was really gonna be the answer, but as a blind person, they're not doing it. Ignorance out of hate, um, and fear, uh, they're discriminating to me against me based on love. You know, it's misguided love, but I mean, no, no one<laugh>, they're not being mean by"here, here, baby. Let me do that for you." They're, they're not, they're, they're doing it outta love, but they're recognize that that's just equally disabling if they're prohibiting me from one, acquiring a skill set to be independent, and two, demonstrating that skill that I can<laugh>. So it, it, that was the, the nuance, but still, it was recognizing it and then dealing with it. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, um, I bits and pieces. So I come back on the main track. So with George Floyd and that whole instance making me recommit to studying black history, I start reading books and, you know, we could have a whole different discussion about, uh, critical race theory and the whole deal. I just wish they wouldn't have called it critical race theory and called it History<laugh>. It would've been accepted more. The, the George Floyd thing awakened the side of me, um, that I'm so proud of. I was initially ashamed, but now I'm very proud that at least took enough of, um, initiative to really educate myself in a real way. And I, every opportunity I get to talk about this, I talk about it because I think it's important.
Sara Brown:During your time at elementary school, you were labeled disabled, mentally Disabled. And then that changed to gifted. Talk about that experience and what that meant, and how, how that came to be
Anil Lewis:Around the third grade when start instituting the standardized test, we took the, I would test the basic skills, and I'm in the third grade testing at the seventh grade level in sometimes. So all of a sudden now that label that I have of being educationally retarded and then taught to have to check that. And then they gimme the label of gifted.
Sara Brown:So what were you?
Anil Lewis:How did it I'm both<laugh>. I, I have a developmental disability, but luckily my mom, through her insistence around certain things, she helped me cope and learn skills to deal with it. And I deal with that today. And I think that I'm gifted, but I don't think I'm unique. I think that's everybody. I think everybody has some degree of development of disability, and everybody has a degree of being gifted. But I'll tell you, that label of gifted was more disabling than the retarded label. Really. It took me out of an environment. All of my friends had that la we, we hung out together. We enjoyed each other. We didn't try to compete in any real way that made one person feel lesser. Soon as I became gifted, that changed, you know, and, and it, it isolated me. And from that point on, you know, I, I became an extreme introvert. I'm still an introvert now. A lot of people think I'm gregarious and I, and extroverted, but I'm not. I'm still very much an introvert. Uh, but I've learned, again, to deal effectively in crowded situations, et cetera. But once I do that, that spends a lot of energy and I have to shut down and re recoup. And now what? Whatever. But the, the, the, the, the, um, the gifted label really kind of attributed to that because it, it ended up isolating me from my peer group mm-hmm.<affirmative> and the, the new peer group that I established, you know,<laugh>, uh, it, it, this, it wasn't very comfortable mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, and not because the, the other students made me feel uncomfortable. It was just something I didn't, I never really adjusted to. And again, you know, I send it through the rest of my academic life up through the 10th grade, you know, not really anyway, that, that's a whole different story for a whole different time. But the thing that I think today when we're talking about black history, is I really want individuals to be empowered with understanding of the past. And, and I talked, you know, more around the policy stuff, but, uh, I, I read a couple of books that really reframed a lot of the violence around black people in a way that, um, shook me to my core. Um, and, and I, and I again, hate that I had, um, desensitized myself to all of the atrocious, um, you know, I, you, you read in history and, and you, you, you read, you know, the Civil War victories and that kind of thing. And you don't really put it in the perspective of, uh, slavery rules. One of, if not the major catalyst for the Civil War. Uh, the, the atrocities, um, that were committed. Uh, we, we, we hear about, you know, the, the, um, things like the, the, the Nat Turners and the Rebellions. But, you know, we never learned about Black Wall Street in Tulsa. Uh, we never learned about<laugh>. You know, we never learned about the, the, the, I don't wanna call'em reciprocal. Cause I don't think it's, we never learned about the atrocities committed on the other side. And I think that that's unfair. And I don't, I don't wanna learn about that to make people feel guilty. I want people to feel uncomfortable because we all have some skin in this game. Yeah. And, and if we don't educate people about it in a real way, then we'll always continue to suffer from the, the racist impact of the ignorance that we all<laugh>. Yeah. We all have.
Sara Brown:Yeah. I'm hearing more and more about history that's just never been reported on.
Anil Lewis:And I don't think it's harmful. It's gonna be uncomfortable. I, and I think that people need to acknowledge that, but without full information, we can't make better decisions. And that's what's frustrating for me. So in, in the context of black history today, so really focusing on using those holidays in a more per purposeful way. The same with, with Dr. King. You know, not just taking the day off, but doing something. Even if you don't do, um, the public service or whatever, take time to, to educate yourself, um, around that. Because the, the, the pieces that we learn when we do that deeper dive is that we can be those change makers. Right. I, I talk about people, I, I talk to them about Dr. King and I, I grew up in that environment, of course, where King, you know, everybody, I have a dream setter. And I grew up thinking that I can't be a Dr. King because we always had him up on that pedestal. He was divine. But then when they wrote the book and they told, you know, king hanging out, shooting pools, smoking cigarettes in it, like, maybe I can be Dr. King. That one, once we make them make him real, it doesn't take away from what he did, the sacrifice that he made, and the strides that he, but when you make people real, then more people feel that they could do it too. And that's what I really wanna focus on. I think Black History today needs full information. And we need, when I say full information, let people know that they're real. I had the luxury, joy, honor of meeting John Lewis in a real way. Ambassador Young in a real way. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, Jesse Jackson, peripherally. Jose Williams peripherally a lot of these Civil Rights icons. And I got to see them as men, you know, regular men,
Sara Brown:Humans. That's right.
Anil Lewis:And yeah. And that inspired me. You know what, I, I can do it. And that's what I, black history today, that's what I, I want black history to empower people with information so that they can create better black futures. Mm-hmm.
Sara Brown:<affirmative>. All right, Anil, is there anything else you wanna say about Black History Month, about your live, and your journey, or anything on this podcast?
Anil Lewis:Uh, I'll offer the disclaimer that what you've listened to is the lived experience of Anil Lewis. And I am entitled to have my opinion and perspective, and I just want you to know that I respect, uh, anyone else with their opinion and their perspective as well. And I think that when we come to a place where we have that greater understanding and appreciation for people, and respect for people to feel the way they feel, then we can all get along in a so much better fashion. But with Black history, I just want full information so that we can real, really build real features, uh, for black people. That that's black history, that's what I, history in a way that informs and educates and empowers.
Sara Brown:I love it. Anil thank you so much for joining me today on Changemakers.
Anil Lewis:Oh, this has been my pleasure. This has actually been fun.
Sara Brown:Now we're gonna pivot and talk to, to APH's Braille Product Manager, Rachel Bishop, who's here to tell us about the updates and exciting things coming with Lego Braille Bricks. Hello Rachel, and welcome to Change Makers.
Rachel Bishop:Thank you.
Sara Brown:So we're talking about LEGO Braille Bricks. Tell us what's new with LEGO Braille Bricks?
Rachel Bishop:Um, well, um, most recently, um, we are going to have a training, uh, on LEGO Braille Bricks at the CEC conference, which will be on March 1st. Um, and this is gonna be with Marie Oddoux and Marc Angelier. Um, they are consultants with the LEGO Foundation, and they're gonna give, um, a training on how to use these bricks.
Sara Brown:Okay, cool. Now, for those who aren't aware, tell us what LEGO Braille Bricks are and how, how they can really help facilitate just the learning of braille?
Rachel Bishop:Yeah. Um, Lego Braille bricks, um, are, um, a part of the LEGO Foundation. Um, and APH is the distributor of the LEGO Braille bricks in the us. Um, and these are used, um, for kids, um, who are blind or visually impaired. Um, and they can be used with, with blinder visually impaired children, um, along with their sighted peers. Um, and they're just little bricks, uh, with braille, uh, characters on them. Um, and, um, students can play with them and through play, um, can be introduced to braille. And there's a lot of different activities, uh, that you can introduce the student to. Um, and, um, let's see, what else? Um, so it's, it's learning that integrates a child's physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and creative skills. So it engages all those skills, um, in relation to braille, if that makes sense.
Sara Brown:And I've always heard LEGO brick or LEGO Braille Bricks, they're a really cool thing because it's not just blind and low vision children that can play with them. It's pretty much anybody that loves playing with LEGOs. Right. Talk a bit about that.
Rachel Bishop:Yes. Um, anybody can a any kid can play with them, any adult can play with them. Um, so if a kid is in an integrated classroom, um, with sighted peers, uh, the student can play, the student with visual impairments can play, um, but then they can also have their sighted peer come over and play. Um, and they work just like regular bricks. You can build different things with them. Um, and then it also introduces, uh, the side of children to braille as well, so they can start to get an understanding of, of what the other kids, um, are, are, are working on, basically. So it's a good uniting toy, well, not toy, but a good uniting, um, uh, uh, product. Now, talk to us, I know a lot of people are wishing they could purchase LEGO Braille Bricks just outright, but can you talk about how one can get LEGO Braille Bricks? Yes. Um, if you are a teacher, um, or work with students who are blind or visually impaired, you can go to the APH website, um, and, um, you would fill out a form, um, and this form would ask you to, uh, basically, uh, not sell, um, the kits, um, to people outside your group. Um, and so you can go on there and then, um, and then APH um, will approve the form and then they will send you your bricks.
Sara Brown:And is there anything else you wanna say about LEGO Braille Bricks?
Rachel Bishop:Um, that it's a great, uh, tool for learning braille. Um, it also engages students in play, which is a wonderful way, uh, for students to learn. Um, and part of what LEGO is presenting at CEC is the concept of learning through play, um, that children learn most naturally when they're playing. Um, and then we introduce braille into that, um, which, uh, we believe is really important, um, for students to learn, um, so that they can be literate adults and, um, and, uh, acquire academic skills, um, in their future.
Sara Brown:And can, do you wanna talk about CEC for a second? You wanna just wanna talk about what that is and what people can expect at that conference?
Rachel Bishop:Yeah. Um, CEC is the Council for Exceptional Children, um, and that's, they're having a big conference in Louisville. Um, and, um, uh, people from the Lego Foundation are coming to present trainings, um, and they're gonna talk about, um, three different, uh, modules and, um, within those modules, um, we would expect, um, TVs and teachers, um, to learn how Lego bricks enable learning through play, um, reimagine learning that integrates a child's physical, social, emotional, cognitive and creative skills. Um, explore and experience what Lego braille, bricks, pre braille bra braille activities are, um, and learn to use these bricks to motivate students through play. So there's a lot of things that they're going to be doing training on, and it will also be really hands on. Um, so they'll have kids there, um, for, for teachers to use and play with.
Sara Brown:Awesome. Rachel, thank you so much for joining me today on Change Makers. Thank you so much. I've put links in the show notes to Anil Lewis' article."Being Black Helped me be Blind, and Being Blind Helped me Understand that Black Lives Matter." Links for more information about LEGO Braille Bricks and information about c e C that will be held in early March. As always, thank you for listening to this episode of Changemakers, and be sure to look for ways you can be a changemaker this week.