Doug Alker

Doug Alker (1940 - 2025) was the former chair of the British Deaf Association and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.^[1][2][3] His self-published 2000 book, Really Not Interested in the Deaf?, is a criticism of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) and the story of his departure from the group.^[4]

After leaving RNID Alker set up the radical political pressure group Federation of Deaf People (FDP) in 1998.^[5] As the chair, he and the FDP are primarily responsible for pressuring the UK government into officially recognizing British Sign Language.^[6] The FDP organised a 4000-strong march to Trafalgar Square in 1999 demanding the recognition of BSL.^[5] The march also delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street with 30,000 signatures backing the cause.^[5] On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognized that BSL is a language in its own right.^[7]

He previously worked as a researcher for the BBC television programme See Hear.^[1]

Publications

• Alker, Doug (1 July 2000). Really Not Interested in the Deaf?. Doug Alker. ISBN 978-0953903702.