White Cane Safety Day
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane
White cane
A white cane is used by many people who are blind or visually impaired, both as a mobility tool and as a courtesy to others. Not all modern white canes are designed to fulfill the same primary function, however: There are at least five varieties of this tool, each serving a slightly different...
.
On October 6, 1964, a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, , was signed into law as , and codified at . This resolution authorized the President of the United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day".
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
signed the first White Cane Safety Day proclamation within hours of the passage of the joint resolution
Joint resolution
In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and the House and is presented to the President for his/her approval or disapproval, in exactly the same case as a bill....
.
In 2011, White Cane Safety Day was renamed to Blind Americans Equality Day by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.
External links
- White Cane Safety Day: A Symbol of Independence (article from the National Federation of the Blind web site)
- 36 U.S.C. § 142
- Special Postal Cover and Cancellation on occasion of 2009 International White Cane Safety Day 15 Oct 2009 launched at GPO Bangalore - de VU2JHM Lion Ajoy