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Beginnings: 1930s-1940s
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While people who are blind and visually impaired have long faced inaccurate stereotypes, visionaries such as Roy Kumpe pushed against these misconceptions to open new possibilities for a more independent future. His belief in creating employment opportunities for blind individuals enabled him to oversee a vending stand program that gave blind adults access to employment they would not have otherwise. This program was a success not only in Arkansas but nationwide, and it laid the foundation for the creation of World Services for the Blind.
By: Sharon Giovinazzo
Randolph-Sheppard Act
In 1936, U.S. Congressman Jennings Randolph introduced a vending stand bill in the House, and U.S. Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Following hearings, the House Committee on Labor recommended passage of the Randolph bill. The report stated in part:
"The Federal Government is spending billions of dollars to create employment opportunities for millions of persons, but not the blind person is benefited thereby. The blind cannot build bridges, buildings and do other kinds of work now being authorized by the Public Works Administration [...] There is no definite or practical national system or plan whereby placement work for the blind can be done."1
Vending Stands in Arkansas
After the passage of this legislation, advocates tried to create a separate commission for the blind in Arkansas, but the head of the state Vocational Rehabilitation Department rejected the project. Reluctantly, John R. Thompson, the head of the state Welfare Department, agreed to allow his department to serve as the licensing agency. In the spring of 1939, the state opened its first vending stand.
Thompson offered the position of program supervisor to Roy Kumpe, a visually impaired attorney in Little Rock. Initially, Kumpe was not interested in accepting the job but instead wanted to continue to build a legal career and venture into politics. However, once he realized the possibilities of the vending stand program, he accepted the position. Kumpe created the Arkansas Employment Service for the Blind, later Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, to oversee operation of the vending stand program in Arkansas.
A Model Program
In June 1939, Roy Kumpe began presenting to civic clubs and asking them to act as sponsors. He worked with local officials to establish vending stands and began recruiting blind individuals to operate the stands. His career adage was the following:
“The blind do not want pity or the sentimental gushing of sympathetic people. They want to work and be self-supporting. Eighty-five percent of the blind in Arkansas lost their sight after they turned twenty-one and these are restless and uncomfortable individuals who wish with all their hearts they had steady employment so they might benefit rather than hinder the world.“2
Because of Kumpe’s leadership, the vending stand program and the state welfare department became a model for the vending stand program across the nation.
Rehabilitation Center
However, Kumpe never anticipated the obstacles he would encounter. The most difficult task was breaking through the assumption that visually impaired people could not work. Often, Kumpe would find a blind individual who was eager to work a vending stand, but the person's family resisted the idea because they thought the blind person was helpless. Kumpe also realized that potential operators were hindered by more than just a lack of sight: they lacked the skills to manage their day-to-day life.
To fill this need, Kumpe opened the first blind adjustment center in Little Rock. In May 1947, the Prevocational Adjustment Center for the Adult Blind began operations as a project of Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind. The center was located in the Brack Home at 2811 Fair Park Boulevard.
Sources
- “Vending Stand Programs for Blind Persons,” Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness 51, no. 4 (1957): 164, accessed June 20, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482x5705100414.
- Kumpe, Roy, and Jim Lester, The Lion’s Share: A History of Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind (Little Rock: Rose, 1983), 27.
“Vending Stand Programs for Blind Persons,” Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness 51, no. 4 (1957): 164, accessed June 20, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482x5705100414.
“Federal Aid for Housing, United States Housing Act of 1936: Hearings before the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. Senate, 74th Congress, 2d Session, April 20-29, 1936, on s. 4424.The Housing Act of 1936: Report from the Committee on Education and Labor, June 3, 1936.Senate Bill 4424.” Social Service Review 10, no. 3 (1936): 544-545. https://doi.org/10.1086/631912.
Kumpe, Roy, and Jim Lester. The Lion’s Share: A History of Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind. Little Rock: Rose Publishing Company, 1983.
“Randolph Sheppard Vending Facility Program.” Rehabilitation Services Administration. Accessed June 25, 2022. https://rsa.ed.gov/program/rand-shep.
“Vending Stand Programs for Blind Persons.” Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness 51, no. 4 (1957): 164. Accessed June 20, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482x5705100414.
About the Author
Sharon Giovinazzo joined World Services for the Blind in August 2015 as its President/CEO. As the leader of the world’s most comprehensive vocational rehabilitation serving people who are blind and visually impaired, she has carried on the tradition of leveraging the power of relationships and networks to work across private, public, and corporate sectors, thereby improving employment outcomes for the clientele served. Sharon holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Master’s in Social Work from the State University of New York (SUNY). She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Tom Phifer Award from the Arkansas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired for outstanding contributions to the field. She has received the US Army Freedom Team Salute presented for ongoing support of the “Army Family,” the American Legion Award for Military Excellence and one for Academic Excellence, and the Roxann Mayros Organizational Champion Award in recognition and appreciation of innovative leadership to grow and strengthen the organization to better serve individuals with blindness and low vision.