Raising the Flag for Disability Pride
Disability Pride Month happens every July to mark the anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. The first Disability Pride Day took place in Boston in 1990, and Chicago hosted the first Disability Pride Parade in 2004. Now there are events nationwide that provide a platform for people with disabilities to easily express their disability pride.
The Disability Pride flag you may have seen lately is fairly new. When Ann Magill attended an ADA anniversary event in 2010 held in the basement of an independent living center, it sparked a desire in her to bring the celebration out into the public eye. In 2019, she created the first-ever Disability Pride flag. In 2021 the colors were updated to be more sensory friendly.
Here is the meaning of each flag color:
- Green: sensory disabilities
- Blue: mental health disabilities
- White: non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Gold: neurodiversity
- Red: physical disabilities
- Charcoal grey background: remembers and mourns disabled people who’ve died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness and eugenics
How You Can Participate in Disability Pride Month
Sometime this month, do one of the following:
- Take a selfie wearing your new "Disability Rights are Human Rights" t-shirt and post it on social with the hashtag #TexasDisabilityPride
- Take a selfie wearing our "Imagine" t-shirt or anything else that shows your disability pride and post it on social with the hashtag #TexasDisabilityPride
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Post the Disability Pride flag on your social media telling others that you support disability rights and use the hashtag #TexasDisabilityPride. Download an image of the Disability Pride flag
Together let’s make sure the world gets the message that disability rights are human rights!
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