July is Disability Pride Month! STEM From would like to celebrate by highlighting the importance of this celebration and everything it stands for. We will also be providing resources on how you can help spread awareness and take part in the message.
Disability Pride Month began initially as a singular day of celebration in 1990. That very year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. Boston would be the first that year to hold a Disability Pride Day. It wouldn't be until the act's 25th anniversary in 2015 that it would become a month-long celebration instead of one day. The rest is history, and regions all over hold celebrations all July long.
This celebration hopes to normalize and highlight disabled individuals and encourage an increase in their presence in work and media. While the ADA was signed into law thirty-four years ago, we are still a long way from full-fledged disability acceptance and access. According to the ACLU, “seventy percent of public-school students who are physically restrained or secluded have disabilities, sixty percent of people in local jails have some form of mental disability, [and] forty-eight percent of people with disabilities have a personal income of $15,000 or less.” In other words, things aren’t in great shape and there's plenty of room for improvement. The fight for true equal rights is still ongoing.
So how can we spread awareness of the challenges disabled folk face as well as uplift and celebrate their lives? The Arc and the American Bar Association list several ways you can contribute to Disability Pride Month. We ask all our readers to act in whatever way they can to help spread the message and celebrate such an important holiday!
Have you celebrated Disability Pride Month? Let us know how in the comments! Subscribe to our newsletter to stay tuned with everything STEM From!
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