Disability Pride Month - We Belong Here, and We’re Here to Stay

July celebrates the signing of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is a defining moment for people with disabilities and a recognition of the decades of protest and activism. While we celebrate some of the gains, people with disabilities continue to experience barriers in housing, employment, education, and healthcare. People with disabilities are also four times more likely to experience violence than persons without disability.

Disability justice highlights the ways in which marginalized identities experience disability differently and recognizes that disabilities are transitory and fluid. Many of us will experience a disability over the course of our lives. According to the World Health Organization, 15% of the world’s population experiences some form of disability and one in four people in the US are considered disabled. That is about 70 million people.

Want to learn more?

• Office for Equity & Diversity: Equity Certificate Hosted Online courses includes a module on Abelism & Disability Justice
• Disability Pride Month activities (bottom of the page)
• Recommended reading from St Paul Public Libraries: Adult fiction, adult nonfiction/memoirs, teen fiction/nonfiction, and kids fiction/nonfiction
• Connect with ACT: Advocating Change Together - supports the leadership of people with disabilities to fight ableism and build inclusive communities
• Podcasts recommendations