Hello Darkness, My Old Friend
Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: How Daring Dreams and Unyielding Friendship Turned One Man's Blindness into an Extraordinary Vision for Life Sanford D. Greenberg, PhD 62'CC 67'BUS, 65'Harvard Chairman of the Board of Governors, Johns Hopkins University’s Wilmer Eye Institute, entrepreneur, author, and founder of End Blindness In conversation with: Miguel Fernández-Flores 15'JRN Documentary Producer, VICE News 07/27/21 It’s a bitterly cold February in 1961. Sandy Greenberg lies in a hospital bed in Detroit, newly blind. A junior at Columbia University from a Jewish family that struggled to stay above the poverty line, Sandy had just started to see the world open up to him. Now, instead of his plans for a bright future—Harvard Law and politics—Sandy faces a new reality, one defined by a cane or companion dog, menial work, and a cautious path through life. But that’s not how this story ends. In the depth of his new darkness, Sandy faces a choice—play it “safe” by staying in his native Buffalo or return to Columbia University to pursue his dreams. With the loving devotion of his girlfriend (and now wife) Sue and the selflessness of best friends Art Garfunkel and Jerry Speyer, Sandy endures unimaginable adversity while forging a life of exceptional achievement. From his time in the White House working for President Lyndon B. Johnson to his graduate studies at Harvard and Oxford Universities under luminaries such as Archibald Cox, Sir Arthur Goodhart, and Samuel Huntington, and through the guidance of his invaluable mentor David Rockefeller, Sandy fills his life and the lives of those around him with a radiant light of philanthropy, entrepreneurship, art, and innovation. Hello Darkness, My Old Friend is Sandy's remarkable and inspiring story. He is interviewed by journalist and VICE News producer Miguel Fernández-Flores. Time is allocated for Q&A.
