Blindness in America

Statistics of Visual Disability

The information below based on CDC analysis from populations in 2017 with information released in 2022.

Overall, 7,053,000 Americans have vision loss (20/40 vision or worse). Of that number,1,097,000 Americans have blindness (20/200 vision or worse). Interesting, females make up 4,141,000 of the before stated Americans with vision loss and make up 640,000 of Americans with blindness. Males make up the remaining 2,911,000 Americans with vision loss and 451,000 of Americans with blindness (CDC, 2022).

Furthermore, race contributes to the prevalence of visual disability, the three most prevalent being White, Black, and Hispanic. According to the CDC, 4,258,000 of the before stated visually impaired 7,053,000 Americans are White, with 745,000 being blind. 1,263,000 Hispanics experience vision loss while 127,000 are blind. Finally, 1,020,000 Blacks have vision loss and 169,000 of them being blind (CDC, 2022).

This information, and more, is show in the below graph.

(CDC, 2022)

All of the information below is based on US Census Bureau estimations of population in 2017, the same census data year that the CDC used.

During the year 2017, the Census Bureau estimated the US population at 320,372,000 people. Of that number, 42,040,000, or 13.1%, identified as Black, 195,453,000, or 61%, identified as White, and 82,879,000, or 25.9%, identified as other (United States Census Bureau, 2021).

Now combining data from both the CDC and Census Bureau, it can be said that 2.2% of all Americans experience vision loss (20/40 or worse). Furthermore, 15.6% of that population or 0.3% of all Americans experience blindness (20/200 or worse).

Using figures from both the CDC and Census Bureau, following numbers can be calculated. It can be seen that 3.6% of Whites experience vision loss, 10.6% of which are blind; while 2.4% of Blacks experience vision loss, 16.6% of which are blind.

History of Blindness

(National Institute for Blind Youth, n.d.)

National Institute for Blind Youth

Opened in Paris in 1784. Educated Louis Braille, where he would complete his work on the writing system named in his honor (Timeline of the Organized Blind Movement | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

(Our History, n.d.)

Perkins School of the Blind

Was the first school for the blind in the U.S., opening in 1829. In 1832, more schools for the blind began opening in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia (Our History, n.d.).

(Braille Card, n.d.)

Braille

Braille is a universal system for reading and writing used by people who are visually impaired. The first book published in it came out in 1829 (Roth & Fee, 2011). Louis Braille, like Louis D. Mitchell, was a talented musician, who also developed a musical codification for the system. Mitchell would use this system for many of his writings and musical compositions.

(Timeline of the Organized Blind Movement | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

Largely thanks to the work of Dr. Newel Perry, in 1906, New York passed a bill to fund readers who would assist blind college students (Timeline of the Organized Blind Movement | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

(Jacobus TenBroek: Letters to Berkeley, n.d.)

Along with Dr. Newel Perry, Dr. Jacobus tenBroke founded the California Council for the Blind, which helped blind people bring forward concerns to the state legislature (Timeline of the Organized Blind Movement | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

(Google Maps generated)

In 1940, delegates from seven states (California, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) founded the National Federation of the Blind. They met in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, roughly a half hour away from Scranton, where Louis D. Mitchell would go on to teach. This is an organization which still exists today. It started with the goal of "promote (ing) the ecnomic and social welfare of the blind." (History and Governance | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

(jrivas, 2016).

Rehabilitation Act 1973

In section 504, this act prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities. It applied to entities that received more than $2.5k yearly in federal funding (Timeline of the Organized Blind Movement | National Federation of the Blind, n.d.).

(Davis, 2007)

Education For All Handicapped Children Act 1975

Hesitantly signed by the conservative President Gerald Ford, this act guaranteed a free and appropriate public education to every disabled child in the U.S. (Davis, 2007).

(Americans with Disabilities Act Guidance Rescinded, n.d.)

Americans with Disabilities Act 1990

Consididered to be one of the most impactful pieces of civil rights legislation, this act prohibited discrimination against persons with disability in several areas, such as hiring, wage determination, and firing (Americans with Disabilities Act Guidance Rescinded, n.d.).

Stevie Wonder (1950-)

https://youtu.be/oE56g61mW44?si=vJ_b1e9ylOYdn3vY

Stevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Louis Mitchell and Stevie Wonder have many things in common. One example is neither man was born blind. Louis became blind at 9 years old, and according to Ovolo Hotels, "Steve Wonders was born premature, thus had to be incubated. The oxygen pumped in his incubator worsened the blood vessels in the back of his eyes, causing him to go blind"(Jessica Tryde, 2023). Louis and Stevie were both blind musicians who had to face diversity in the music industry. They were already gifted before the age of 10 despite their struggles. These men are bonded together through their love of music and blindness.

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