Disability Pride Month
July is Disability Pride Month! It is a month to celebrate being disabled, people who are disabled, and/or the achievements of the disabled community—it’s up to each individual to decide why they celebrate Disability Pride Month.
For centuries, throughout society, people were isolated, ridiculed, or even killed for their disability status. In the 1800s, “Ugly Laws” explicitly prohibited visibly disabled people from being in public, treating them as sub-human. However, that didn’t stop disabled people from thriving in communities that did accept them, such as Martha’s Vineyard, where there was such a high disabled population that everyone spoke a sign language that was developed on the island.
In the 1900s, with the rise of veterans coming home from both World Wars, disability became more prominent. Some places, like Germany, passed legislation designed to help disabled veterans secure access to jobs and skills training.
In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed by the US Congress, which included a clause that prohibits disability discrimination in programs receiving federal funding. This legislation was life-changing for disabled people, as it guaranteed services they had previously been denied. However, the regulations to enforce this legislation were left unsigned for three years. On April 5, 1977, in eight different cities across the USA, disabled people came together in protest. Protesters in San Francisco, led by Judy Heumann and Kitty Cone, took over a federal building and occupied it for twenty-five days until the regulations were signed into effect, a record that still holds today. Despite the challenges, these protesters ensured legal protections for themselves and future generations of disabled people.
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In March of 1990, disabled American protesters again mobilized. This time, they cast aside their mobility devices, such as wheelchairs and walkers, and crawled up the steps of the US Capitol Building to emphasize the inaccessibility of this and other buildings. The aptly named Capitol Crawl helped pave the way for the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July of 1990. The ADA prohibits disability discrimination and guarantees the rights of disabled people, much like the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) or the Equality Act of 2010 in the UK.
In October 1990, the first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston. As time went on, similar celebrations popped up in cities all over America and spread to other countries, such as the UK and New Zealand, honoring all those who worked to ensure disability rights. The celebrations also shifted to July, to coincide with the anniversary of the ADA. In some cities, like NYC, you might be able to find (free!) programming celebrating disability culture and pride, while in others, like Chicago, you might attend parades for Disability Pride Month. Even if there isn’t a disability pride celebration near you, you can learn about disability pride and history through watching films such as Crip Camp (2020) (available on Netflix), reading books like Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau, or by simply making a choice to treat all people equitably, regardless of disability status.
Disability Pride is so important, especially today, when many people still see disability as something negative, something that shouldn’t be acknowledged or interacted with. Attitudes like these keep disabled people disadvantaged, as they are the reason why there are so many inaccessible transit systems and public buildings, why people with disabilities are grossly underemployed and discriminated against in the hiring process, and why disabled people are often segregated into “special” education classrooms away from their able-bodied peers. Through celebrating disability pride in July all throughout the year, we can take action to make a more accessible world.
How are you celebrating Disability Pride Month?
TWIA
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4 thoughts on “Celebrating Disability Pride Month: History, Meaning, and Events”
Don’t know yet but want to improve access to all things for disabled people. Equality should mean equality for everyone.
As a disabled person I find it impossible to go to concerts, so I was delighted when Lewis Capaldi did an exclusive presale. I signed up, got my code. Signed up to all the ticket sellers, read all their accessibility sales. They all said available to order online. Could I? Nope. Was there a number to call? Nope. Now they’re all gone. I had done everything I could but they changed the goalposts on me so I still can’t go. I literally shut down and slept for 3 hours with the stress and upset it caused me.
The stress of trying to plan going anywhere is just too much.
As someone living with a physical disability and proudly serving as the Founder and President of the GPDS Project and the Eagles Vision Channel platform, Disability Pride Month holds deep personal and professional meaning for me. I come from the Sahel region of West Africa, where many people with disabilities still face extreme marginalization, stigma, and lack of access to opportunities. Yet, we remain resilient.
Disability Pride Month is more than a celebration—it’s a call to action. A reminder that despite centuries of exclusion, we are here, we have a voice, and we deserve equal dignity and opportunity. I am actively seeking partnerships with individuals, organizations, and institutions who share this vision: to uplift and empower persons with disabilities, especially across West Africa and the Sahel.
Let’s work together to break barriers, amplify disabled voices, and ensure inclusion is not just a policy—but a lived reality. Thank you for this powerful reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still must go.
— Abdoulaye Moumouni
Founder & President, GPDS Project & Eagles Vision Channel
advocate for disability inclusion in West Africa
I am a UK based Travel Agent with several clients that require assistance through various airports around the world with different airlines.
I am constantly baffled by the different policies, levels of assistance offered by them as there is no continuity, therefore you never really know what experience you are going to receive.
Who can we approach to Lobby on everyones behalf to receive the same level of service with each airport/airline to make like easier and less daunting to enable to travel with more ease?