July is Disability Pride Month, which is celebrating its 33rd year after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed on July 26, 1990, prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities.
What is Disability Pride Month about?
In an article for the VeryWellMind, Laken Brooks, a writer and digital storyteller provides a definition for Disability Pride that captures its essence and reflects what it means to her personally.
“Disability Pride is an event that celebrates people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Now, some people may balk at that second word, Pride. But Disability Pride isn’t about appropriating LGBTQ+ Pride. In fact, the disabled and the LGBTQ+ communities have long been intertwined and have long survived under similar systems of oppression. Disability Pride, much like LGBTQ+ Pride, is all about celebrating and reclaiming our visibility in public because people with disabilities have historically been pushed out of public spaces.
As a disabled and queer person, I celebrate Disability Pride to honor the disability rights advocates who came before me. Every public accommodation, every accessibility tool came because some disabled people fought to have their needs met. But also, Disability Pride reminds me that it’s radical for disabled people to just be, to find moments of joy and solidarity and kinship, in a world that still remains unwelcoming to many people with disabilities, especially BIPOC folks. Disability Pride reminds me that there’s so much more to being disabled than a tragic backstory.”
Below are a few helpful links to honor and celebrate Disability Pride Month:
- Green Mountain Self-Advocate Plain-language Resource- Advice For Someone With A Disability Who Wants To Come Out Or Explore Their Sexuality
- Elevatus has an upcoming FREE virtual training on Monday, July 10 from 2-3pm CDT- What, Wait! You want me to talk about Sexuality?
- Trevor Project- Being there for LGBTQ Young People with Disabilities
- The Arc link: https://action.thearc.org/nh5jqpz?p2asource=email-2023-0614