July is Disability Pride Month, which celebrates the 32nd year after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed on July 26, 1990, to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. The month is a time to recognize, celebrate, and raise awareness about the lives of people with disabilities.
Boston, Massachusetts, held the first-ever Disability Pride event in 1990, while the first ever Disability Pride Parade of The United States was held in Chicago in 2004. Since then, Disability Pride events have been held across the country and the world! While disability pride and parades are a relatively new concept, the idea of Disability Pride is rooted in the same foundation as movements like LGBTQ+ Chicago’s Disability Pride Parade defined their mission in three ways: “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 disabilities can take pride.”
The Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Magill, a disabled woman. Each of its elements symbolizes a different part of the disability community.
The Black Field: this field represents the disabled people who have lost their lives due not only to their illness, but also to negligence, suicide and eugenics.
The Colors: Each color on this flag represents a different aspect of disability or impairment.
• Red: physical disabilities
• Yellow: cognitive and intellectual disabilities
• White: invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
• Blue: mental illness
• Green: sensory perception disabilities
Disability pride is a part of Disclo's mission by nature. For so many years the process of requesting accommodations from employers have been laced with shame, discomfort, and unwanted conversations. To finally have the opportunity to be proud of asking for what we need to be successful in the workplace, is an integral part of what disability pride is.
