Margaret Carter
Handicapped rights activist, writer.
Born June 1, 1939

Founder and long-time chairperson of the Bermuda Physically Handicapped Association, Kathleen Margaret Carter championed the cause of people with disabilities. 

She was herself disabled, and one of only a handful of Bermudians of her generation with a disability to receive access to a formal education.  That, along with her talents as an organiser and writer and her media savviness, combined to make her a formidable spokeswoman.

It was largely because of her activism that the needs of handicapped Bermudians were placed on the national agenda. It led to more employment opportunities for the disabled and heightened public awareness of the need to make buildings and streets in Hamilton more accessible to people in wheelchairs.

Without her influence, Summerhaven, the residence for the physically handicapped in Smith’s, would not have been built, and the Human Rights Act would never had been amended to include people with disabilities.

Constitution ushers in new era
June 2, 1968

Bermuda entered a new political era when the Constitution came into effect on June 2, 1968. It enshrined freedoms in law for ordinary citizens and established the framework for a more advanced system of government, along with full universal adult suffrage. 

The Constitution had been thrashed out in London in 1966 by a 20-strong delegation comprising representatives of the United Bermuda Party, the Progressive Labour Party and independents, with Britain's Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, presiding.  The UBP delegation, led by Sir Henry Tucker [pictured] got more of what it wanted—40 seats instead of 36, which the PLP favoured, and constituency boundaries that the PLP said enhanced the political dominance of the white minority. The PLP, led by lawyer Walter Robinson, refused to sign the majority report, writing a separate minority report instead. 

>> Read Bermuda's Constitution