Disability Pride

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Living with Disabilities

The Fight for Equal Rights

People with disabilities have long faced exclusion in society, leading to social and economic marginalization. By the 1960s, the civil rights movement began to take shape, and disability advocates saw the opportunity to join forces alongside other minority groups to demand equal treatment, equal access and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. In the 1970s, disability rights activists lobbied Congress and marched on Washington to include civil rights language for people with disabilities in the 1972 Rehabilitation Act. In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in history, civil rights of individuals with disabilities were protected by law. In the 1980s, disability activists began to lobby for a consolidation of various pieces of legislation under one broad civil rights statute that would protect the rights of individuals with disabilities, much like the 1964 Civil Rights Act had achieved for Black Americans.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Many people with a disability experience ableism, which is discrimination or prejudice based on their disability. Ableism is prevalent in our culture due to biases about what having a disability does or does not mean, how able-bodied people are taught to treat people with disabilities and how individuals with disabilities are often missing from the table for key decisions. However, the tide is beginning to turn as more awareness is being raised for the disability community. As a society, we can work together to adopt disability inclusion by understanding the relationship between the way people function, how they can participate in society, and ensuring everybody has the same opportunities to contribute in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires.

Becoming a More Inclusive Society

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Littler Celebrates Disability Pride Month - 2024 | Littler Mendelson P.C.

What You Should Know About Disability Pride Month

Here’s what everyone should know about Disability Pride Month, celebrated every year in July.

Disability Pride Month is celebrated each year in July, commemorating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is the landmark legislation, passed in July 1990, that broke down barriers to inclusion for individuals with disabilities in society. Disability Pride Month celebrates people with disabilities and promotes their visibility in society, amplifies their voices, raises awareness, encourages inclusion, and is meant to positively influence the way people think about disabilities. The first official Disability Pride Month celebration was held in July 2015, marking the ADA’s 25th anniversary. Today, cities nationwide and globally recognize disability pride with parades and other events throughout the year.

What is Disability Pride Month?

In March 1990, a watershed moment arrived when disability rights activists staged the Capitol Crawl, in which individuals with disabilities climbed 100 steps to the U.S. Capitol building to demonstrate the nation’s lack of accessibility. The result was a transformational law – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – signed July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA ensures that individuals with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. It prohibits discrimination against them in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools and transportation. It has made communities and workplaces nationwide more inclusive and accommodating. In response to some courts narrowing the definition of “disability,” Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2008, clarifying the law and directing that the definition should be interpreted broadly.

About 61 million – or 1 in 4 – adults in the U.S. live with a disability, which the ADA defines as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. A disability can affect a person’s vision, hearing, movement, thinking, self-care, mental health or communication. Some people are born with a disability, while others may develop one due to age, illness or injury. People with disabilities represent all ages, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.3 billion people experience significant disability, representing 16% of the world's population.

The Disability Pride Flag was created to represent the disability community. Designed by Ann Magill, a person with cerebral palsy, the flag features a faded black background with five diagonal lines that are red, yellow, white, blue and green. The black background represents “the anger and mourning over the eugenics and the neglect that disabled people have to fight against." The stripes represent the barriers that individuals with disabilities must navigate, and each color symbolizes a challenge or experience of the community, including mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, physical disabilities and sensory disabilities.

United Representation: Disability Pride Flag