Disability Pride Month

July is Disability Pride Month. It began with the passage of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) on July 26th, 1990. The ADA was a major piece of civil rights legislation that prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities. We commemorate this step forward on Disability Pride Month because it allows us to understand what we still need to do.

How we reference disability in our society is affected not only by our laws but the language we use, the education we provide in schools, the accessibility that we provide in physical spaces and so much more. However, there is still much progress that needs to be made to allow people with disabilities to achieve justice and equal access in our society.

According to AmeriDisability, Disability Pride can be described as  "accepting and honoring each person's uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity" and connects it to the larger movement for disability justice. I encourage all of our leaders and listeners to learn more about the ADA, disability pride and to learn more about the issues and challenges facing people with disabilities in the United States. That’s how you can support and participate in disability pride.

by Kartik Ramkumar