July Heritage & Cultural Highlight: Disability Pride Month 
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About 

Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July and is an opportunity to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of the disability community. On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), landmark legislation that broke down barriers to inclusion in society, was officially passed. That same year the first Disability Pride Parade took place in Boston, and the celebration has only grown. The more than 1 billion people worldwide living disabilities deserve to live full, self-determined lives. “This month serves as a reminder that disability is a natural and integral part of human diversity. By raising awareness and celebrating disability pride, we can challenge societal stigmas and promote a more inclusive and equitable environment for everyone. Disability Pride Month encourages us to shift our perspectives, understand the unique experiences of individuals with disabilities, and appreciate the many ways in which they enrich our society.” - Embracing Disability Pride Month - OTEHM Student Community (otehmseo.co.uk) 

   

 

Equitable Well-Being Recommended Activities 

Cassandra, a neuro-spicy member of the Equitable Well-Being team, is joined by Dawn Dudley, Senior Public Information Specialist of DCo who has two children with Autism, and by Gavin Shelton, an Autistic Librarian in our Main Library. Additionally, Cassandra spoke with staff from BE ME Occupational Therapy and All Neurotypes, to learn more about resources and support for our local neurodiverse community. Click on the links below to listen in! 

     

 

Connecting  

Whether you want to learn more about ADA, disabilities, find tools and community, or make your workplace more disability-friendly, check out these organizations. 

Learning 

Learn stories of people with disabilities by visiting The Arc Storyhub

Learn about the treatment of people with disabilities throughout our history, including key moments from UC Berkley’s archive on disability rights.

Watch and read media that has been created by and with people with disabilities, such as Crip Camp, CODA, Demystifying Disability, and Disability Visibility.

Try out a new book:

  • Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens edited by Marieke Nijkamp

  • Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong

  • Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Grima 

  • Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig

  • We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

  • The Pretty One by Keah Brown

  • The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais

Doing 

Did you know in the City of Durham we have a Mayor's Committee for Persons With Disabilities | Durham, NC (durhamnc.gov)? Get involved today! You can participate in Beyond Barriers: Celebrating the ADA and Disability Innovators, the 2024 DI-NC ADA Anniversary Celebration on Friday, July 26 from 11:30a – 1:00p (hosted online!) If you’re up for travel, join the Disability Pride Parade in Chicago on July 20th, 2024, and show the world that you believe “Disability Pride Will Not Be Denied”. Everyone can advocate with Disability Rights North Carolina - Current Campaigns - DRNC (disabilityrightsnc.org). Make sure that no matter where you work, you hire people with disabilities. Right now, 85% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are unemployed. But research shows that disability inclusion is a proven good business decision. Read these stories from employees and their employers. Do you have a disability or love someone who does? Use social media for good and share your videos, pictures, or written answers on using hashtags #DisabilityPride and #DisabilityPrideMonth, #TheBarriersWeFace, #WheelchairLife, and #ActuallyAutistic. And lastly, help foster inclusion for future generations of people with disabilities. Here are age-appropriate tips from TODAY.com, HuffPost, and Cincinnati Children’s.

Conversation Starters 

Here are some questions to start conversations with others about Disability Pride Month. For leaders, try building in time in supervisions or team meetings to prompt staff conversations about Disability Pride Month. Options could include: 

  • Did you learn anything new about people with disabilities this month?  

  • Have you made any new personal or professional connections this month that can help you support disabled individuals? 

  • Did you learn anything new about specific disabilities or the experience of disabled people this month? 

  • How did you participate in Disability Pride Month?  

  • How can things you learned or did for Disability Pride Month impact how you do your job?