International White Cane Day October 15:

Reflections on the history of the white cane

M.C. Jayasiri

OBLIGATION: A cane or stick in the hand of a person who is blind goes back to biblical times and beyond. In the very early days blind people have used bamboo sticks, even tree branches to alert them of obstacles in their path. Records show that shepherd's staff was used as a tool for solitary travel. But blind people have used such tools to enable them to travel safely and independently.

Throughout history, the cane, staff and stick have existed as travelling aids for the blind and the visually impaired.

For centuries, the cane was used merely as a tool for travel and it was not until the 20th century that the cane - the white cane as we know it today was promoted for use by the blind as a symbol to alert others to the fact that an individual was blind. Thus the white cane is not just a tool that can be used to achieve independence, it is also a symbol of the blind citizen in our society.

This new role for the white cane had its origins in the decades between the two World Wars, beginning in Europe and then spreading to North America. James Biggs of Bristol claimed to have invented the white cane in 1921. After an accident claimed his sight, the artist had to re-adjust to his environment. Feeling threatened by increased motor vehicle traffic around his home. Biggs decided to paint his walking stick white to make himself more visible to motorists.

In north America, the introduction of the white cane has been attributed to the Lions Clubs International. In 1930, a Lions Club member watched as a blind man attempted to cross a busy street using a black cane. Realising that the black cane was barely visible to motorists, the Lions Club decided to paint the cane white to in its visibility to oncoming motorists. In 1931 the Lions Club international began a national programme promoting the use of white canes for people who are blind.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s blind people had walked with their canes held diagonally in a fixed position, and the role of the white cane took on a symbolic role as an identifier. But when the blind veterans of World War II returned to America, the form and the use of the white cane were further altered in an attempt to help the blind veterans to participate in society.

Dr. Richard Hoover developed the "long cane" or "Hoover" method of cane travel. These white canes were designed to be used as mobility devices. They returned the cane to its original role as a tool for mobility, but maintained the symbolic role as an identifier of blind independence. During this period, the white cane began to make its way into government policy as a symbol for the blind.

The first special White Cane Ordinance was passed in December, 1930 in Peoria, Illinois. It granted blind pedestrians protection and the right-of-way while carrying a white cane. In 1935, Michigan began promoting the white cane as a visible symbol for the blind. On February 25, 1936, it was the city of Detroit which passed an ordinance, recognising the white cane.

During the early 1960s several state organisations and rehabilitation agencies serving the blind and visually impaired citizens urged Congress to proclaim October 15 of each year to be White Cane Safety Day in all 50 States.

This event marked a climatic moment in the long campaign of the organised blind movement to gain State as well as national recognition for the white cane. On October 6, 1964, a joint resolution of the Congress HR753, was signed into law authorising the President of the United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day."

Within hours of passage of that resolution, President Lyndon B. Johnson went down in history as the first to proclaim October 15 as white cane safety day. Sri Lanka first celebrated International White Cane Day in 1969.

Thus, the white cane has given the blind freedom to travel independently to their schools and workplaces and to participate more fully in the life of their communities.

It reminds us that the only barriers against people with disabilities are discriminatory attitudes and practices that society has too often placed in our way. The blind people are prepared to play their role in society, but society must give the chance to do so.

They need employment and an income - a monthly income. As suggested by the then Prime Minister, and allowance of Rs. 3,000 per month is both generous and timely.