Disability Pride Month takes place in July. However, unlike June’s LGBTQIA+ Pride Month – which garners so much attention it results in rainbow washing – Disability Pride Month is not well understood, promoted, or even acknowledged. At Evenbreak we want to highlight this important awareness month, share the history and meaning behind Disability Pride, and why we at Evenbreak are proud to be disabled.
Disability Pride Month vs LGBTQIA+ Pride Month
Since the month of Disability Pride follows after LGBTQIA+ Pride month, it understandably can be confused to be an extension of celebrating LGBTQIA+ culture. However, Disability Pride Month is solely about celebrating disability, in whatever way makes sense for the individual.
Disability Pride can encompass changing the way people think about and define “disability”, breaking down and ending the internalised shame among disabled people, and promoting the belief in society that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which disabled people can take pride. (1)
The History of Disability Pride Month
The first official celebration of Disability Pride Month occurred in July 2015, marking the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disability Pride began in the United States as a day to celebrate the landmark victory of the ADA in July 1990, the result of relentless campaigning by disabled activists against the inaccessibility of public spaces. A few months before, over 1,000 people marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol, demanding that Congress pass the ADA. In a powerful act of civil disobedience known as the Capitol Crawl, activists protested by getting out of their wheelchairs or setting aside their mobility aids and crawling up the Capitol steps.
In the UK, a similar law was passed in 1995 called the Disability Discrimination Act, which was later replaced by the Equality Act in 2010. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was the first UK legislation protecting disabled people against various forms of discrimination. Years of campaigning and protests led up to the passing of the act, including many incidents of civil disobedience. Find out more. (2)
The Social Model of Disability
Traditionally, there were two ways of looking at disability – the “charity” model and the “medical” model. In the 1960s and 1970s, lots of disabled people were excluded from society. (3) The disability rights movement began as people started to question their experiences. The social model was developed by disability activists and suggests that the person is disabled by society’s inability to adapt to their needs. So, for example, the wheelchair isn’t the problem; the stairs are. The disabled academic Mike Oliver first coined the term “social model of disability” in 1983. Learn more about the ‘Models’ of disability. (4)
The Disability Pride Flag
The original Disability Pride Flag was created in 2019 by writer Ann Magill, who has cerebral palsy. She had attended an event for the 20th anniversary of the ADA and was disappointed that it was confined to an independent living center instead of out in public. She was motivated to create a Disability Pride Flag, initially designed with a zig-zag pattern to represent how people with disabilities must maneuver around all the barriers they face. After feedback from the disabled community Magill refined it by straightening stripes and muting colours to make it more accessible for those with visually triggered disabilities.
Each colour on the flag has a meaning. Red represents physical disabilities, yellow for neurodiversity, and white for non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities. The blue is for emotional and psychiatric disabilities and the green is for sensory disabilities. The black stripe commemorates and mourns disabled people who have died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness, and eugenics.
Why do we need Disability Pride Month?
For those of us who are disabled, this is most likely a redundant question. Ableism Is a very pertinent issue for disabled people and can be experienced both externally and internally. Having a month to celebrate ourselves and educate non-disabled people about our experience is vital for changing societal attitudes, and the workplace, for the better.
Unlearning Ableism
Jamie Shields, one of Evenbreak’s ambassadors, has released an Unlearning Ableism report this month in partnership with Celia Chartres-Aris. “17% of the world’s population identifies as Disabled, making us the largest minority group in the world. Despite this, ableism is one of the most under-addressed, under-discussed, and underrepresented conversations in society. Society is failing to unlearn our inherent ableism. Every day, millions of Disabled people face macro and micro-aggressions, encounter inaccessible barriers, are excluded, overlooked, treated as a burden, or seen as a problem to be fixed. As a result, Disabled people are often left to manage internalised ableism in this ableist society.” (5)
Some of the reports key findings include:
- 95% of Disabled People have experienced Ableism
- 99% of disabled people believe that non-disabled people need more training and education on ableism
- Only 6.6% Of Disabled people have never experienced mental health challenges as a direct result of their Disability
- 93.8% of Disabled people believe there is not sufficient education about Disability and Ableism in the education system
- More than 7/10 of Disabled people believe that the definition of Ableism needs updating and extending
- 94.3% of Disabled people believe not enough is being done to address Ableism in the workplace
- Only 1.5% of Disabled people have never experienced Internalised Ableism
- Just 20.9% of Disabled people always feel comfortable to challenge Ableism.
Go to The Big Ableism Survey
Team Evenbreak
Evenbreak is a job board run by disabled people, for disabled people; we all have lived experience of disability. For Disability Pride month this year, we asked our team “What are you proud of?” Here’s what they said.
“I’m proud of Evenbreak. My lived experience with disability led me to create Evenbreak.” Jane Hatton, CEO.
“I’m proud of my resilience and authenticity”. Titilope Lucas, Communications Manager
“I’m proud of being part of a fantastic community, working together to create a more equitable world for everyone.” Meghan Reed, Head of Training and Consultancy.
Candidates – what are you proud of? Employers – what are you doing to tackle ableism in the workplace? We would love to hear from you.
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