Billy’s Story

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, 64-year-old William (or Billy) has been a Brooklyn, New York resident since 1980.

When Billy was 18 months old, his mother noticed something unusual about his vision. One day, a quarter fell on the living room floor, and instead of looking for it with his eyes, Billy began to feel and rub the floor to find the quarter. His mother became concerned and took him to the hospital for a medical diagnosis. It was then discovered that Billy had Congenital Glaucoma in both eyes. 

Once in middle school, Billy no longer received a traditional education in a formal classroom setting and was transferred to an institution of learning for children with special needs. It was here where Billy learned to read all levels of Braille, including reading sheet music in Braille. 

Growing up, Billy was a typical carefree little boy who enjoyed singing. His love for music was instilled in him by his mother, who taught him to harmonize at a very young age. At age five, Billy was already singing lead in the church choir. When he was seven, his mother allowed him to join an adult gospel choir, and by the time he was eleven, he began going on the road with them to perform. 

A Life-Changing Introduction

At 16, Billy’s life would change forever after attending a party he was taken to by his then unknowingly future sister-in-law. What Billy didn’t know on his way to the party was that he would be meeting the love of his life, Sharon. It was love at first sight, and they were inseparable from that day forward. 

A Musical Career Around the World

In 1978, as members of the newly formed family band The Robinson Connection, Billy and his family left their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, and moved to Brooklyn, New York. After arriving in New York City, the band could often be surrounded by cheering crowds as they performed their Doo-wop music on the corners of either 50th Street and Broadway, 34th Street, or 42nd Street. Shortly after arriving in New York City, Billy landed a contract with Columbia Records as the lead singer of the group B. T. Express — a group whose hit songs include “Do It Til You’re Satisfied,” “Here Comes the Express,” “Shout It Out,” and “Put It in Your Peace Pipe.” It was during these years that Billy found himself performing around the world.

Marriage, Family, and Loss

Following the success of working with B.T. Express, Billy and Sharon married in 1980, and during their 44 years of marriage, they had 2 children together. They were married for the last 38 of the 44 years they were together until Sharon’s sudden death in 2018. 

Billy was focused on building his career and connecting with his community, neighborhood, and churches while being with his wife. However, he felt the need for a stronger foundation and education to bridge the gap between the two worlds he was trying to balance. This is when he discovered Lighthouse Guild.

Connecting with Lighthouse Guild

Billy knew about Lighthouse Guild long before having gone there to seek its services. Shortly after moving to Brooklyn, Billy began hearing about Lighthouse Guild’s low vision programs and services through the Helen Keller Services in Brooklyn, the New York State Commission for the Blind (NYSCB), and community members. It would only be a few years later that Billy would reach out to the organization. Being a musician, Billy’s initial interest when reaching out to Lighthouse Guild was to register for classes in its former music school, where he soon found himself serving as a representative on its Student Council committee. 

Shortly after that, the NYSCB arranged for Billy to take another class at Lighthouse Guild to learn about writing a business proposal. During the class, Billy drafted a business proposal that earned him a grant to renovate and upgrade his recording studio. Billy said, “Lighthouse Guild was instrumental in teaching and preparing how to use new technology to design and draw up a business proposal and to demonstrate why it would be beneficial to my business.” Since then, for more than 20 years, Billy has benefited from other programs and services provided by Lighthouse Guild. 

Orientation and Mobility Training

Another program Billy feels has been helpful to him is the Orientation and Mobility (O & M) training program. Billy said, “The training taught me how to correctly use the cane, how to safely travel on the train and maneuver myself safely in the subways when going up and down the stairs, figuring out which end of the train to get on and off, the nearest entrance and exit to access, and most importantly, not to be ashamed to ask for assistance.” A concern for Billy is that when someone who is blind or has low vision goes in the wrong direction in the subway — it can be disastrous. 

Reading Services 

Prior to his wife Sharon’s passing, for the 44 years they were together, she was Billy’s “eyes.” She assisted him with performing certain tasks and drove him everywhere he needed to go. Billy said, “Since my wife’s death, the Lighthouse Guild Reading Services program has become my eyes.” Billy credits the program as a tremendous help, saying, “It’s not about them just reading your favorite books to you. Through their Reading Services Program, I am provided with a reader who reads my mail to me, organizes my email, teaches me how to set up folders, and appropriately files my email. They clean out the junk email, identify what’s most urgent, and create your folders. If something requires me to update a subscription, the reader will go online and assist me with taking care of that, too. It’s a vital service that’s instrumental to me, and it’s absolutely irreplaceable.” Billy is grateful to Administrator of Volunteer Services Renita Carter, volunteer Rosie Lopez, and volunteer reader Nimra Sarwar for all their assistance. 

Braille

Billy is thankful for all the developments in technology to assist individuals with vision impairment, and he also stresses the importance of being able to read Braille. Because of the classes offered at Lighthouse Guild, Billy can now read all forms of Braille— Grade 1, Grade 2, Braille music, Nemeth code, computer Braille, and international Braille. 

Tax Preparation Program

Billy notes there are so many programs and services provided by Lighthouse Guild that he’s grateful for having access to. He also mentions the Tax Preparation Program that assists with one’s yearly income taxes as well as the hosting of accessible voting demonstrations and workshops to give participants with low vision the experience of using voting ballots and machines at polling sites. Billy said, “For anyone who cannot see well, there is no better place you can go that can help preserve what little vision you have. There is nothing that Lighthouse Guild cannot facilitate for you and your vision disability.” 

About Lighthouse Guild

Billy describes Lighthouse Guild as “A place where I can be around people like me, and a place where people with a vision impairment can learn and keep up to date on the latest technologies, receive mental therapy and other low vision services that one cannot get anywhere else.” Billy said, “Lighthouse Guild is special to me because it’s a safe haven where one can learn and be understood by a community of people who are there for them.” 

According to Billy, “At Lighthouse Guild, you are not judged, and they will assist you with taking yourself further. Lighthouse Guild is a Godsend. It’s a place to meet and learn and be comfortable with being a blind person.” 

While taking the opportunity over the past 23 years to become vested with Lighthouse Guild, Billy also found himself performing as the longest-standing lead vocalist with the musical group Total Soul. When he’s not performing on stage, Billy enjoys recording in the music studio that he founded, owns, and operates. When performing on stage, most of the audience has no clue he’s legally blind — mostly because he can be seen moonwalking, doing the splits, and dancing back and forth across the stage. Billy often refers to himself as “a blind Michael Jackson and James Brown impersonator.” 

The Future

A future goal for Billy includes opening a Braille school and offering classes to people who are sighted as well as people who are blind. Billy stresses the importance of learning Braille to individuals with low vision or who are blind. 

Words of Wisdom

Billy’s final words for the youth who are blind or have low vision are, “Do not let what you think is a handicap stop you. Find your gift and share it with others.” Billy shares, “My handicap was my superpower.”

Performances

Billy has been performing with Total Soul since 2001. For information about the band and upcoming performances, visit the Total Soul website.

To learn more about Billy, check out his documentary on YouTube entitled “Billy’s Voice, My Handicap Was My Superpower.”