A stick, painted white
Blind people have used sticks to find their way for centuries, but the white cane as we know it is a 20th-century idea. In 1921, James Biggs, a photographer from Bristol who had lost his sight after an accident, painted his walking stick white so drivers would notice him on busy streets. He is often credited with the first white cane.
One idea, many places
Within about a decade, the idea took hold in other places. In 1930, Peoria Lions Club president George Bonham proposed a white cane with a red band, and that December the city passed an ordinance giving white cane users the right of way when crossing. In February 1931, Guilly d’Herbemont launched a national “white stick movement” in France and donated 5,000 white canes in Paris.
From a safety tool to an independence symbol
What began as a way to be seen gradually became a way to be recognized: a sign of independence, confidence, and the right to move through public space. By the 1960s, that recognition was ready to go national.
In July 1963, delegates at the National Federation of the Blind convention called on the governors of all fifty states to proclaim October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. The idea was for the white cane, already a familiar symbol on the street, to be marked with an official day in every state.
From resolution to proclamation in a day
On October 6, 1964, a joint resolution (HR 753) became law, authorizing the President to proclaim October 15 of each year as White Cane Safety Day. President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first proclamation within hours. It asked motorists to take special care around people using a white cane, and it called on citizens to support blind people’s independence.
More than a safety message
The day grew out of the same movement that drafted a model White Cane Law, which advocates described as a civil rights bill for blind and disabled people. The law protected the right to travel independently, and it included a clause marking October 15 every year.
That broader meaning has stayed with the day. Over time, its focus has grown from road safety to equal access and the right to take part in public life on the same terms as everyone else. In 2011, President Barack Obama also declared October 15 Blind Americans Equality Day.
A day marked around the world
October 15 is now marked well beyond the United States. Blind and low vision organizations, schools, local governments, and community groups around the world observe it each year, and the World Blind Union marks it as International White Cane Safety Day. Formats vary, from walks to open events and talks, but the shared aim is the same: showing what independent travel looks like and what it takes to make public spaces work for everyone.
Independence, every day
At its heart, White Cane Day is about independence. The white cane has been the core of that for a long time, and it keeps evolving, smarter every day. The goal has always been the same. Independence isn’t something one day on the calendar gives anyone. It’s what people practice every day, on every route they take.
Happy White Cane Day. At WeWALK, we’re glad to walk alongside you.
WeWALK Together!
