[Iabs-talk] White Cane Safety Day

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Dear Friends,
 
Today, October 15, we celebrate White Cane Safety Day.  Please find  some 
information below.
 
Ronza
 

White Cane Safety Day: A Symbol of Independence
by Marc Maurer
In  February of 1978 a young blind lady said, “I encounter people all of the  
time
who bless me, extol my independence, call me brave and courageous, and  
thoroughly
miss the boat as to what the real significance of the white cane  is.”
The National Federation of the Blind in convention assembled on the 6th  day 
of July,
1963, called upon the governors of the fifty states to proclaim  October 15 
of each
year as White Cane Safety Day in each of our fifty states.  On October 6, 
1964, a
joint resolution of the Congress, HR 753, was signed  into law authorizing 
the President
of the United States to proclaim October  15 of each year as “White Cane 
Safety Day.”
This resolution said: “Resolved  by the Senate and House of Representatives…
, that
the President is hereby  authorized to issue annually a proclamation 
designating October
15 as White  Cane Safety Day and calling upon the people of the United States 
to  observe
such a day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Within  hours of the passage of the congressional joint resolution 
authorizing  the
President to proclaim October 15 as White Cane Safety Day, then President  
Lyndon
B. Johnson recognized the importance of the white cane as a staff of  
independence
for blind people. In the first Presidential White Cane  Proclamation 
President Johnson
commended the blind for the growing spirit of  independence and the increased 
determination
to be self-reliant that the  organized blind had shown. The Presidential 
proclamation
said:
The white  cane in our society has become one of the symbols of a blind person
’s  ability
to come and go on his own. Its use has promoted courtesy and special  
consideration
to the blind on our streets and highways. To make our people  more fully 
aware of
the meaning of the white cane and of the need for  motorists to exercise 
special care
for the blind persons who carry it  Congress, by a joint resolution approved 
as of
October 6, 1964, has  authorized the President to proclaim October 15 of each 
year
as White Cane  Safety Day.
Now, therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United  States of 
America do
hereby proclaim October 15, 1964 as White Cane Safety  Day.
With those stirring words President Johnson issued the first White Cane  
Proclamation
which was the culmination of a long and serious effort on the  part of the 
National
Federation of the Blind to gain recognition for the  growing independence and 
self-sufficiency
of blind people in America, and  also to gain recognition of the white cane 
as the
symbol of that independence  and that self-reliance.
The first of the state laws regarding the right of  blind people to travel 
independently
with the white cane was passed in 1930.  In 1966, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the 
founder
of the National Federation of the  Blind, drafted the model White Cane Law. 
This model
act – which has become  known as the Civil Rights Bill for the Blind, the 
Disabled,
and the Otherwise  Physically Handicapped – contains a provision designating 
October
15 as White  Cane Safety Day. Today there is a variant of the White Cane Law 
on  the
statute books of every state in the nation.
>From 1963 (and even  before) when the National Federation of the Blind sought 
to have
White Cane  Safety Day proclaimed as a recognition of the rights of blind 
persons,
to  1978 when a blind pedestrian met with misunderstanding regarding the true 
 meaning
of the white cane, is but a short time in the life of a movement. In  1963, a 
comparatively
small number of blind people had achieved sufficient  independence to travel 
alone
on the busy highways of our nation. In 1978 that  number has not simply 
increased
but multiplied a hundredfold. The process  began in the beginning of the 
organized
blind movement and continues today.  There was a time when it was unusual to 
see a
blind person on the street, to  find a blind person working in an office, or 
to see
a blind person operating  machinery in a factory. This is still all too 
uncommon.
But it happens more  often and the symbol of this independence is the white 
cane.
The blind are  able to go, to move, to be, and to compete with all others in 
society.
The  means by which this is done is that simple tool, the white cane. With 
the  growing
use of the white cane is an added element – the wish and the will to  be free 
– the
unquenchable spirit and the inextinguishable determination to  be 
independent. With
these our lives are changed, and the prospects for blind  people become 
bright. That
is what White Cane Safety Day is all about. That  is what we do in the 
National Federation
of the Blind
Model White Cane  Law
©2007 




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-------------- next part --------------
Dear Friends,
 
Today, October 15, we celebrate White Cane Safety Day.  Please find some information below.
 
Ronza
 
White Cane Safety Day: A Symbol of Independence
by Marc Maurer
In February of 1978 a young blind lady said, “I encounter people all of the time
who bless me, extol my independence, call me brave and courageous, and thoroughly
miss the boat as to what the real significance of the white cane is.”
The National Federation of the Blind in convention assembled on the 6th day of July,
1963, called upon the governors of the fifty states to proclaim October 15 of each
year as White Cane Safety Day in each of our fifty states. On October 6, 1964, a
joint resolution of the Congress, HR 753, was signed into law authorizing the President
of the United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as “White Cane Safety Day.”
This resolution said: “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives…, that
the President is hereby authorized to issue annually a proclamation designating October
15 as White Cane Safety Day and calling upon the people of the United States to observe
such a day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
Within hours of the passage of the congressional joint resolution authorizing the
President to proclaim October 15 as White Cane Safety Day, then President Lyndon
B. Johnson recognized the importance of the white cane as a staff of independence
for blind people. In the first Presidential White Cane Proclamation President Johnson
commended the blind for the growing spirit of independence and the increased determination
to be self-reliant that the organized blind had shown. The Presidential proclamation
said:
The white cane in our society has become one of the symbols of a blind person’s ability
to come and go on his own. Its use has promoted courtesy and special consideration
to the blind on our streets and highways. To make our people more fully aware of
the meaning of the white cane and of the need for motorists to exercise special care
for the blind persons who carry it Congress, by a joint resolution approved as of
October 6, 1964, has authorized the President to proclaim October 15 of each year
as White Cane Safety Day.
Now, therefore, I, Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States of America do
hereby proclaim October 15, 1964 as White Cane Safety Day.
With those stirring words President Johnson issued the first White Cane Proclamation
which was the culmination of a long and serious effort on the part of the National
Federation of the Blind to gain recognition for the growing independence and self-sufficiency
of blind people in America, and also to gain recognition of the white cane as the
symbol of that independence and that self-reliance.
The first of the state laws regarding the right of blind people to travel independently
with the white cane was passed in 1930. In 1966, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the founder
of the National Federation of the Blind, drafted the model White Cane Law. This model
act – which has become known as the Civil Rights Bill for the Blind, the Disabled,
and the Otherwise Physically Handicapped – contains a provision designating October
15 as White Cane Safety Day. Today there is a variant of the White Cane Law on the
statute books of every state in the nation.
>From 1963 (and even before) when the National Federation of the Blind sought to have
White Cane Safety Day proclaimed as a recognition of the rights of blind persons,
to 1978 when a blind pedestrian met with misunderstanding regarding the true meaning
of the white cane, is but a short time in the life of a movement. In 1963, a comparatively
small number of blind people had achieved sufficient independence to travel alone
on the busy highways of our nation. In 1978 that number has not simply increased
but multiplied a hundredfold. The process began in the beginning of the organized
blind movement and continues today. There was a time when it was unusual to see a
blind person on the street, to find a blind person working in an office, or to see
a blind person operating machinery in a factory. This is still all too uncommon.
But it happens more often and the symbol of this independence is the white cane.
The blind are able to go, to move, to be, and to compete with all others in society.
The means by which this is done is that simple tool, the white cane. With the growing
use of the white cane is an added element – the wish and the will to be free – the
unquenchable spirit and the inextinguishable determination to be independent. With
these our lives are changed, and the prospects for blind people become bright. That
is what White Cane Safety Day is all about. That is what we do in the National Federation
of the Blind
Model White Cane Law
©2007
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