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323154722
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Ray Patterson [Foreign Service] 12/9/88 [OA 4425]
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323154722
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Ray Patterson [Foreign Service] 12/9/88 [OA 4425]
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13883-005
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Mary Kate Grant Subject Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Grant, Mary Kate, Files
Subseries:
Subject File, 1988-1991
OA/ID Number:
13883
Folder ID Number:
13883-005
Folder Title:
Ray Patterson [Foreign Service], 12/9/88
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
18
29
1
1
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01. Letter
Ray Patterson to Mary Kate Grant, re: Foreign Service
12/01/88
P-6, (b)(6)
application process for blind people; personal information
redacted. (1 pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Grant, Mary Kate
Subseries:
Subject File
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Ray Patterson [Foreign Svc.] 12/9/88
Date Closed:
12/22/2004
OA/ID Number:
04425
FOIA/SYS Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0482-S
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
MR Case #:
Appeal Case #:
MR Disposition:
Appeal Disposition:
Disposition Date:
Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advise between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
P-6,
(b)(6)
Dear Mary,
Thank you for speaking with me about my problem. I think you sense
what I am trying to say, and I hopeyou can help.
As of today it appears that I may be allowed to take the exam on
December 6 using some technology that is totally unfamiliar to me. I am
making this attempt, but it will not be a fair exam ih my opinion becaause
I had SO little time to play under the new rules. I am not sure what
recourse I will have, but I don t want this December 6 exam under these
circumstances to be considered a "Reasonable" accomidation and I will
not accept this as a CD mplete fumpromise. I'm just giving it my best
try under what they will allow me to do. I have found the Foreign Service
board of Examiners director very frank and relatively helpful
considering the position they are required to take--dialog has been
ongoing which is encauraging.
S nce I spoke with yu I have heard two interviews, shen rad B and on
on TV, with a man named Rabby who is totally blind and has passed both
the written and oral exams and been not allowed on to the list. I spoke
with Mr. Rabby, but I am not a member of his group, the NFB. I do not
want to be linked to the NFB or an y blind organization. I found Mr.
Rabby's case very interesting in that since he had cleared the exam
hurdles and been kept from the list, he should have proceeded in to: the
courts two or three years ago. I know nothing about him or his case, but
it seems strange that he did not move on in to the C urts. I mentin this
because he has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR and in the press,
but hasn at acked the problem. I want to go after the problem and not
use the media until a 1 else has failed.
Iranicly, I am trying to take an exam that I am not assured of being
able to pass. Beyond my desire to get a job overseas, I think that tere
is a principle here worth fighting for. I have sent letters wh ch may
be on file with the State Department expressing my opinion that the
policy/ of keeping the blind out of sverseas positi ns is illegal and
dsicriminatory, but that I wanted to find a way to gain an exemption to
the rule rath r than engage in a protracted court battle. hat is still
my positoin.
Thank you again for offering to help me. If the enclosed letter is
defficient in any way, pl ease let me know and I can WX rewrite it.
Sincerely yours,
Ray Patterson
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
02. Letter
Ray Patterson to James Baker, re: Foreign Service application
11/30/88
P-6, (b)(6)
process for blind people; personal information redacted. (3
pp.)
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Grant, Mary Kate
Subseries:
Subject File
WHORM Cat.:
File Location:
Ray Patterson [Foreign Svc.] 12/9/88
Date Closed:
12/22/2004
OA/ID Number:
04425
FOIA/SYS Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0482-S
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
MR Case #:
Appeal Case #:
MR Disposition:
Appeal Disposition:
Disposition Date:
Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advise between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
P-6,
Ray Patterson
(b) (6)
Secretary James Baker
Office of the Presidential Transition
1825 Connecticut NW
Suite 1025
Washington, D. C. 20270
Dear Secretary Baker:
My name is Ray Patterson. I am totally blind. I am writing to
bring a problem to your attention and to request your assistance in
attempting to find a solution.
The enclosed letter is the latest policy of the State Department
and has implications beyond the matter of how the Foreign Service Exam
is to be administered. I believe that the departure from past practice
is giving blind people the opportunity to take the exam and possibly
working in the Foreign Service is illegal and discriminatory. I think
the exclusion of an entire minority group from consideration and the
normal selection process sends a negative message that may not Le the
intent. In my biolgraphical information that follows I believe that
I can put forth a position that a case by case evaluation of blind
people wishing to enter the foreign service would serve the best inter-
ests of all concerned.
I have taken the Foreign Service Exam three times. For those
tests I was allowed to use a reader, braille, or cassette recording.
1 understand that this concession to the handicap is generally allowed
in testing at the Federal and State level.
I have spoken with the author o1 a 1984 State Department report
which may have been entitled Visually Impaired Persons in Foreign
Service Officer Positions. It is germane because in that report
information was accumulated and presented to show clearly and irref-
utably that the blind can not work overseas. I began questioning that
premise while simultaneously readying myself to take the Foreign
Service Exam.
I now synthesize the situation as having two problems. First,
the new policy appears to use the exam as a discriminatory device tc
keep blind people out of the State Department. It has been verbalized,
though not yet put into writing, that the Intent is to show that blind
cannot hold jobs, therefore it is unnecessary to test them. On Novem-
ber 9, 1988, I received the enclosed letter which made it difficult
and unreasonably hard to take the test. It states that I will not be
allowed to use a reader, braille text, or a cassette recording. The
new policy seems to discriminate against a whole group. I am not
arguing for special treatment for myself, but rather for returning the
procedure to the longstanding practice of allowing the blind to take
the exam. If that means that a reader, braille text, or cassette
recording is necessary for taking the exam, then it should be allowed.
Even as I write this, procedures for using other technology could
allow the blind to take the test from original source documents.
Second, the 1984 policy restricts the blind from overseas duty. The
1984 report substantiating why blind people cannot work overseas is
an issue not easily put into black and white, but falls much more into
a shades of gray argument. The problem is complex because the reasons
given are based on sighted people's biases. Please bear with my
explanation.
One example given for not allowing blind people into Consular
Office positions is that the blind officer could not look at an
applicant. This is true. A blind person cannot eyeball someone, how-
ever a blind person can ask questions, use their experiences and
knowledge of the people in the country and make a determination. Now
for putting these two evaluations side by side. The assumption holds
that the visual evaluation is inherently superior. Much of the science
of psychology is based on asking questions and getting answers, so the
visual inspection is not necessarily superior to the nonvisual evalu-
ation. It comes down to a case by case matter, but the inferred, almost
unanimous feeling that the visual evaluation is always superior is
difficult to refute - but not impossible.
Another often used reason to keep blind people from being posted
overseas concerns the difficulty a blind person would have in living
in a foreign country and transporting themselves around. Many sighted
evaluators know how difficult it has been for themselves and amplify
the problem when looking at a blind person. Blind defenders of their
position hold that there is no problem. The middle ground, accurate
position is that it is difficult, true, but no more difficult because
of the blindness. Individual mobility skills can be considered, but
an all encompassing generalization is inappropriate and serves to
discriminate.
Although I have stated that I don't want special consideration
and I am interested in seeing that the policy be reviewed, I would like
to note that I have seen State Department literature which suggests
that some attempts are made to recruit minorities and those with
certain skills which would serve the interests of the State Department.
1 can envision situations in which a olind person could be recruited
as an asset. I would like to reserve the possibility of presenting
such a case in a future letter.
The State Department, through such reports as I have cited, has
examples of blind people to support their position. Blind organizations
have blind people to cite as refutation. I would like to put forth my
own position and a bit of my history since I know my own case best.
I am forty and have been blind since age three. I graduated from
Kansas State University in 1970 and became & counselor at the Univer-
sity of Nevada at Las Vegas in 1972. In 1975 I loft for an around the
world trip. From 1976 to 1980 1 made many trips to and from such
countries as Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore.
During this time I W&S ucting business, transporting myself, and
living completely on my own. I was not E member of any group and had
no traveling companions. This is important because I know just how
independent a blind person can be with no supporting group. I can
personally refute every point raised in the 1984 report and probably
most arguments that can be put foreward age inst me as a blind person
being sole to function overseas.
In 1979 I began my own business in Singapore, making and selling
display models of corporate aircraft. In my work 1 traveled between
Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore, cleared shipments through
customs, obtained contracts, in short did the scrt of things that
indicate nj ability to work in foreign countries. None of this T.U.S
easy or totally without problems; rsj blindness was not one of the
problems.
During 1985 and 1986 I was living in France, racing tandem
bicycles. During that time I traveled through Europe and in 198c
I traveled across the Soviet Union, through China and Tibet, and
retraced my steps through Southeast Asia. I include this infor-
mation to show that my knowledge of foreign travel and situations is
relativel. current and includes trips to France also during 1987 and
1988.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter, and I hope that
you can sense my concerns and help to resolve this problem as quickly
as possible.
Sincerely yours,
Ray Patterson
encl.
1. State Dept. ltr.
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
November 9, 1988
Mr. Ray Patterson
1427 Gamble Lane
Escondido, CA 92025
Dear Mr. Patterson:
I wish to refer to your correspondence with the Department of
State regarding the 1988 Foreign Service Written Examination.
On October 14, 1988, Mr. Bruce Flatin of this office wrote to
you, pointing out that the Department's policy on the
employment and assignment of visually impaired persons in the
Foreign Service was under review and that you would be informed
of the result of that review as soon as possible.
On October 17, 1988, another letter was sent you by
Ms. Robin C. Cooke of the Foreign Service Assessment Center
regarding the special arrangements you requested for this
year's Examination. I regret to inform you that Ms. Cooke's
letter was sent to you inadvertently, and that you should
disregard it entirely.
The policy review mentioned in Mr. Flatin's letter has now been
completed. Henceforth, the Foreign Service Written
Examination, in addition to measuring an applicant's
intellectual skills, will also be considered a test of an
applicant's ability to work effectively and independently from
original source documents. I must inform you, therefore, that
the Board of Examiners will be unable this year or in the
future to offer the Examination in Braille or provide the
services of a reader.
Paul Sincerely, Paul F. Canney Connery
Staff Director
Board of Examiners
for the Foreign Service
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20270
December 9, 1988
Secretary-Designate James A. Baker III
Department of State
S/TT Room 1208A
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Baker:
I work for David Demarest in Public Affairs at the
Transition; previously, I was the writer of the Line of the Day
at the campaign.
While at the Transition, I have come across the case of a
blind man, Mr. Ray Patterson, who is trying to get into the
Foreign Service. (Since I had passed the Foreign Service exams
several years ago I can understand his dilemma, and took an
interest in the case.) The issue of the State Department's
policy regarding blind Foreign Service Officers is in the midst
of being reviewed, and he is asking that there not be an across-
the-board policy regarding the blind -- but that each blind
candidate be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as far as ability
is concerned. He told me today that he was allowed to take the
written exam on December 6, 1988.
The issue is becoming rather well-publicized. State
Department Spokesman Charles Redman handled questions from the
press about this issue at the November 30 briefing; other blind
Foreign Service applicants have appeared on National Public Radio
and Good Morning America to discuss this.
I have spoken to Mr. Patterson several times by telephone,
and have found him to be a very reasonable man who is not
interested in getting special treatment. He is a quiet man and
has refused to talk to the media about the issue.
Please find his letter attached. I appreciate any attention
you could give it.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely
Mary many Kate Kate ate grant Grant
Special Assistant to the Director
Office of Public Affairs
cc: David Demarest
GEORGE BUSH LIBRARY
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