What is Disability Pride Month?
It’s #DisabilityPrideMonth! July marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Disability pride means “accepting and honoring each person’s uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity.” Disability pride celebrates the intrinsic worth, right to pride and happiness, and valuable contributions of people with disabilities, and Disability Pride Month confronts the ways people with disabilities have been sidelined and marginalized by proudly reclaiming public visibility. This month, we are honoring people with disabilities by listening to their experiences, promoting their visibility, amplifying their achievements, and learning from the disability community the best ways to fight alongside them for their equity in society.
To start, do you know the symbolism behind this #DisabilityPride flag? Ann Magill, a creator with cerebral palsy, designed this flag to both celebrate the hope and strength and recognize the rage and sorrow of the disability community. The flag is black with five colored stripes of equal size cutting diagonally across the middle, from top left to bottom right. The diagonal represents how people with disabilities cut across barriers, and the colors of each stripe represent the wide variety of disability experiences. Red is for physical disabilities, gold is for neurodivergence (both cognitive and intellectual disabilities), white is for invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, blue is for mental illness, and green is for sensory disabilities. The black background symbolizes anger and grief over the violence and neglect that people with disabilities have and continue to fight against. The flag’s design also represents how learning and collaboration create meaningful community and inclusion. The original design had zig zags and color placement that were difficult for people with a variety of disabilities to view when scrolling on a screen. So, the artist invited people to collaborate on a revised design that better worked for—and belonged to—the disabled community. Listen to Ann Magill explain the story behind the flag’s design on The Accessible Stall podcast.Want to learn more about disability and Disability Pride Month?
- “Why and How to Celebrate Disability Pride Month 2023” (The Arc)
- “What’s the Meaning of the Colors on the Disability Pride Flag?” (Good Housekeeping)
- “Disability 101” (Access Living)
- “Disability History” (RespectAbility)