Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July each year - and in 2013, Chicago's Disability Pride Parade explained their mission as:
"To change the way people think about and define 'disability,' to break down and end the internalized shame among people with disabilities, and to promote the belief in society that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disability can take pride."
The Disability Pride movement is long-standing, and became more evident as a day of celebration in 1990 - the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law. Boston celebrated its first Disability Pride Day that year, however many are also familiar with the earlier 504 disability civil rights movements of the 1970s which is chronicled in the movie Crip Camp, (Crip Camp Netflix link, Crip Camp YouTube link, which highlights the advocacy efforts of Judy Heumann and James LeBrecht, among others). This July marks the 32nd anniversary of the ADA, and many cities across the country celebrate disability pride with parades and festivals. Let's work together to support access and inclusion so more people can say it loud, "I'm disabled and I'm proud!"
Learn more about Disability Pride from the Valuable 500, including the design concept of the flag.
Participate in a webinar such as How Disability Rights are Civil Rights - July 14th at 2:00 p.m. Register Here.
Join Maryland's ADA 32nd Anniversary Celebration - Where We've Been, Where We're Going online Monday July 18th at 2p via this Zoom Link Meeting ID 852 33555454 Passcode 312312 MDOD Policy Directors will discuss successes and future opportunities for improvement because while there have been great strides forward, there is much work to be done.
Other ways to celebrate Disability Pride:
Get familiar with local resources and technical assistance - here is a sampling of what is available at UMBC:
- Accessibility and Disability Services
- Student Disability Services
- Learn American Sign Language
- Become involved with student organizations such as Sign of Life (ASL), UMBC NAMI (Mental Health) , DAPi (Honor Society for Students with Disabilities