Margaret Blackwood became Margaret McGrath

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(1 October 1924 – 28 January 1994) was a Scottish activist and founder of

Disablement Income Group The Disablement Income Group (DIG) was a British disability pressure group formed in 1965 in Godalming, Surrey. It is considered to be one of the first pan-impairment pressure groups in Britain, and was created to campaign for the introduction of a ...

Scotland.

Biography

She was born Catherine Margaret Blackwood in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and was the daughter of Beatrice Marie Orr and George Blackwood, an actuary. She was a pupil at

St Margaret's School, Edinburgh ) , established = 1890 , closed = 2010 , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head = , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair ...

. She and her family moved to Edinburgh in 1965. Megan du Boisson and Berit Moore had inspired a campaign for a National Disability Income. In 1966 she started a

(DIG) in Scotland to partner the group in England. Margaret Blackwood was a campaigner for people with mental or physical disabilities and the founder of the Margaret Blackwood Housing Association (MBHA). The first home opened in Dundee in 1976. As of 2021, the association is known as Blackwood Homes and Care. Margaret was awarded an honorary doctorate from

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

and in 1970 an

for her dedication to improving the lives of disabled people. She died in Edinburgh on 28 January 1994. Blackwood campaigned for people with mental or physical disabilities to have the same rights, voice and opportunities as the able-bodied. She lobbied Scottish MPs, organised a ''March on Wheels'' protest along

Princes Street, Edinburgh Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching aroun ...

, and addressed a rally in Trafalgar Square, London. The campaign was successful; in 1970 the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act, which introduced financial benefits for disabled people including mobility and attendance allowance, was passed.

Private life

In 1978, she married fellow disability rights activist Charles McGrath.

References

External links

Blackwood Homes and Care
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwood, Margaret 1924 births 1994 deaths People from Dundee British disability rights activists Scottish women activists People educated at St Margaret's School, Edinburgh