The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is calling for local blind and partially sighted campaigners in Watford to celebrate the anniversary of the 1920 ‘Blind March’, 100 years after it passed through the area.

The Blind March of April 1920 was organised by the National League of the Blind and was the first disability movement of its kind. It saw hundreds of blind and partially sighted people travel to London on foot in order to meet the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, and demand fairer rights for people with sight loss.

The action taken by these marchers a hundred years ago successfully resulted in the Blind Person’s Act 1920 – an early precursor to today’s Equality Act (2010).

Now, RNIB is asking people to use their one exercise a day to remember this event and take their own symbolic steps for equality.

Society has moved on leaps and bounds over the last hundred years. But, for all our progress, many of the issues that the National League of the Blind marched to London to change remain the same today.

Just like in 1920, blind and partially sighted people continue to face barriers finding and keeping employment, accessing education and getting appropriate Government support. There has been some progress, but it’s not good enough. That’s why we want people to use their one exercise a day to get moving and take their own steps for equality.

To find out more about the history of the Blind March and how RNIB are marking the event, visit: www.rnib.org.uk/campaigning/marching-history

Keith Valentine

Director of Development at RNIB