National Union of the Deaf

The collection includes the NUD's manifesto, its constitution and papers for its first two conventions.

The National Union of the Deaf was set up in 1976. One of its key aims was "to restore the rights of the deaf". The NUD was a new type of organisation for the Deaf; it was led by Deaf people and campaigned to give them greater control over their own lives. Its stance on some issues was occasionally militant and it came into conflict with more established organisations, which were not Deaf-led. The NUD was active in promoting British Sign Language and was critical of oral-only systems. It campaigned for a much wider adoption of sign language in public life to promote inclusion and unusually was prepared to engage in public protest to achieve its aims.