How We Honor Disability Pride
Neurodiversity Pathways
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July marks an important and empowering month for millions of individuals worldwide—Disability Pride Month. This month-long celebration is a time to honor and recognize the achievements, resilience, and unique contributions of disabled people everywhere. It is an opportunity for society to shift its focus from mere awareness to an acceptance of disability as a normal part of life and a celebration of disability community, connection, and culture .
The Origins of Disability Pride Month
Although disabled individuals have been celebrating who they are for much longer, the roots of Disability Pride Month trace back to 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law.
The American Bar Association provides some helpful background:
"That same year [1990], Boston held the first Disability Pride Day. The first official celebration of Disability Pride Month occurred in July 2015, which also marked the 25th anniversary of the ADA. Since then, cities across the country have celebrated disability pride month with parades and other festivities."
Why Celebrate?
I often teach my students how utterly boring disability is. What I mean by that is this: society often sees disability as something unfamiliar, bizarre, or to be pitied or feared. However, research shows that at least 1 Billion people in the world live with some form of disability (we can assume that the actual number is much higher). That's a lot of us. That's a common occurence. Disability is normal. It's simply a part of everyday life.
In the English language, the word "pride" has a double meaning that can be confusing. First, it is used to describe negative qualities such as arrogance, feeling superior to others, and looking down on them. This type of pride makes a person separate themselves from their community, creating a sense of superiority and distance from others.
Secondly, "pride" is also used to describe some of the best qualities a human can possess, like knowing and valuing ourselves, recognizing our place in society, and accepting the responsibilities that come with being a member of our community. Under this definition, pride means recognizing one's own value and worth without feeling superior to others. Instead, the person acknowledges their equality with their neighbors and embraces their role within the community.
Disability Pride as adopted by the non-disabled person is just the same. Here, disability pride is about acknowledging that disabled people are fully human, fully valued, and fully a part of our communities. With it, one encourages disabled people to embrace their identities and be proud of who they are. They see the disabled experience as a natural part of the human condition which should be embraced and celebrated rather than stigmatized.
Moving Towards the Mountaintop
Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris convened disability leaders at the White House to discuss how our nation might continue to build opportunities and inclusion for disabled people. Not only were the people meeting with the White House disabled, but many of the reporters covering the event happened to be disabled too.
"I cannot describe what it was like to cover an #ADA33 event with my friend Sara Luterman," tweeted autistic journalist Eric Garcia. In the olden days, we were often the only two disabled journalists covering disabilities and could often only dream of being at the White House. That's changing now." .
Writing for The Independent, Garcia went on to note how the occasion felt a bit bitter sweet.
"At the same time, I could not help but feel a twinge of despair when the vice president said 'we can’t celebrate these last 33 years without also remembering Judy Heumann,' the late disability rights activist who led the sit-ins at a federal building in 1977 to coerce the federal government enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Because of the fact that many of my community’s elders lived in a world that disregarded people with disabilities, many of the founders of the disability rights movement who ensured I could live in a better world did not have the luxury of living long enough to see people benefit from their labor".
Another disability leader who passed away in recent years was Australian advocate and broadcast host Stella Young. I recently wrote about the celebration of Young's life that the Australian state of Victoria had recently undertaken. I also noted how I used lessons that Young taught to encourage my own neurodivergent students to take pride in their disabilities.
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I wrote:
"I tell my students that we have to move past experiencing our disabilities as anything extraordinary. They are simply a fact of life we must deal with like shopping, bathing, or taxes.?"
Disability is a normal part of life. It's not something to be ashamed of. It is what it is. To quote La Cage aux Folles "I am what I am. I don't want praise. I don't want pity. I bang my own drum. Some think it's noise. I think it's pretty...It's my life that I want to have a little pride in. My life and it's not a place I have to hide in."
As Garcia notes, it is bittersweet that many disabled leaders that fought for equality and full inclusion of disabled people did not see the fruit of their labors. But, they knew it was coming - even if it would come after their lifetimes. And they still worked to break the earth, till the soil, and water the seeds that would eventually grow into the fruit that we see today.
Every civil rights movement has those leaders - those called to lead us forth towards a land of promise, just as Moses did the Israelites, all the while knowing that they themselves would not see the Promised Land.
In his last public speech, given to striking sanitation workers in Memphis the night before his own assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. acknowledged this fact. Speaking to the overflowing crowd, he said "We've got some difficult days ahead. But, it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop...I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But, I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."
Judy Heumann knew that. Stella Young knew that too. So did Fannie Lou Hamer. So did many more. They went to the mountaintop and looked over just like Moses; just like leaders in many civil rights movements have done before. Below that mountain, the complications of life swirled around them, promising 'difficult days ahead'. But, when these leaders looked up and out from it, they could see in the distance the fields which would bear the fruit of their labor. And in glancing a Promised Land that lay ahead, they worked to cultivate that fruit even while knowing that it would not be tasted by them, but by us.
That's something we should take extraordinary pride in.
We demonstrate the fruit made possible by those who came before us whenever we value ourselves, acknowledge our role in our communities, and take action to create a world that is equal for all. Not only that, but we plant the seeds for the fruit for the generations that are yet to come.
As we celebrate Disability Pride Month, let us reflect on the progress made and the road ahead. Let us embrace diversity, uplift each other's voices, and work towards a world where disability pride is not limited to a single month but becomes a foundation for a more inclusive and compassionate society year-round. Together, we can create a world that celebrates differences and values the contributions of all its members.
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John Marble is the founder of?Pivot Neurodiversity?and is a training partner and classroom instructor with?Neurodiversity Pathways.?
He is autistic.