White Cane Safety Day 2015

Today is White Cane Safety Day. This important celebration, around which the National Federation of the Blind has built our annual Meet the Blind Month campaign, began in 1964 and is marked each year by a proclamation from the president of the United States. A few years ago our current president, Barack Obama, renamed the celebration “Blind Americans Equality Day” in his official proclamation. You can read this year’s proclamation here. The white cane, Braille, and the other tools and techniques of blindness help to bring us closer to equality, and we appreciate the recognition of this fact by President Obama. In addition to celebrating and using the tools of our independence that have always served us well, however, today is a good day to reflect on the things that still need to happen in order to achieve full equality for blind citizens and to help us live the lives we want. One of these is the release of regulations that will enforce Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act with respect to the Internet. Although this year’s proclamation mentions the administration’s work to improve the accessibility of government websites, it makes no mention of these regulations, which are still stuck at the White House. Even as you celebrate, consider taking a moment to urge President Obama to #uploadtheregs (Read President Riccobono’s blog post from earlier this year for more information on this issue). The National Federation of the Blind will work tirelessly until our nation’s leaders, and society, recognize and commit to eliminating all of the barriers that still stand in our way, for only then can the full promise of equality for blind Americans be fulfilled.