Happy Disability Pride Month!!!
Happy Disability Pride Month!
July is Disability Pride Month to commemorate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. That day was pretty great for disabled people and everyone who was supporting, assisting and/or advocating with them and it still is now, and future generations. It allows disabled people to participate in society with accommodations and accessibility without being discriminated against. Today, we celebrate this month and advocate for change and more inclusion in everyday life. We can bring awareness to society about the disability community because it's important to tell others that we may be different, but we are just like everyone else. We need to be treated that way!
I learned about Disability Pride Month when I was 16 and I was wondering why I never knew about this month and the story behind it. It's so important to get the word out because some people have never heard of this month being Disability Pride Month. I was kinda sad that I've never heard of this month until 16, but I was happy, so now I can help get the community by getting the word out.
There’s a disability pride flag to show our pride and advocacy in the community. Ann Magrill, who is a writer and has cerebral palsy, created it in 2019. The flag got updated in 2021 by Ann Magrill because it was inaccessible to some due to the zigzag of the lines and the brightness of the colors. In the new flag, the colors are more faded and the lines are straight. The colors represent:
Green - sensory disabilities
Blue - Emotional and psychiatric disabilities
Yellow - non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities
White - neurodiversity
Red - physical disabilities
Faded charcoal black - mourns and remembers disabled people who have passed away due to ableism, illnesses, violence, and more
Dark background - rage, anger, and protest against the mistreatment of disabled people and the community
The lines represent “intercommunal solidarity.” I think that means that we stand together in hard times and good times.
The diagonal lines symbolize the “cutting across barriers that disabled people face and to evoke the concept of light cutting through the darkness” I think that means disabled people are moving and getting barriers out of their way in their everyday life. We keep going and never stop, even though it’s difficult and annoying to get through our life and experiences!
This month reminds us that we can be proud of all the things we have done and fought for by ourselves and/or our loved ones, even by strangers. But also how we have a long way to go to make the world more accessible and accepting of the community, even though it’s getting better at accepting and including to us!
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