July is Disability Pride Month! We asked some AAPD staff to describe what disability pride means to them.
Christine Liao, Vice President of Programs
I first truly felt and knew disability pride when I was in community with other disabled folks. It was then that I learned that pride is not solitary, because I am not meant to be alone. None of us are. I feel pride not just because I love myself, but because I am part of a collective act of love to everyone in my community.
Alexia Kemerling, Director of Accessible Democracy
In my life, finding disability pride has created space for me to find humor, friends, and deaf gains. I love that even across so many different disability experiences, our community connects in so many ways. I feel so lucky and grateful to get to live among so many fabulous people with disabilities — in both times of shared struggle and times of deep joy. Access is love.
Kyle Khachadurian, Content Producer
It took me too long to even grasp the concept of disability pride, and so I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do every year. Being able to find community, love, and support in people “just like you”, even if they have different disabilities, is a gift. Helping each other navigate through ableist systems and an inaccessible world makes the harsh reality of those things feel like community.
Gabi Reyes-Acosta, Program Manager
For me, disability pride is more than the listicles and toolkits I see get posted every July, signaling that the world is paying attention to disability but only for this month. It’s more than just a celebration even- it’s a recognition and a reflection. Disability Pride Month is a recognition of those who came before me, who crawled up steps and sat for hours and didn’t stay quiet. It’s also a time for me to reflect and to find joy even now, when the communities I am part of and hold dear are under attack. Joy is what I try to hold onto this month and beyond, and I am thankful for those who paved the way for me and others, and those who are doing that work now. They can’t take away my joy, my unwillingness to hide or stay silent, and that feels like radical resistance and it feels like pride.”
Maria Town, President and CEO
For me, having disability pride does not mean loving your disability all the time. And it isn’t just about feeling good about yourself. My disability pride recognizes the fullness of my disability, the good, the bad, the beautiful, the messy parts of it and makes it possible for me to know deep in my core that no matter what I experience, I belong as I am. My disability pride helps me realize everyday that my disabled life is worth living, and it gives me the motivation to dream of and build toward a future that is worth living in.
Rachita Singh, Policy Manager
In 2021, at my first virtual AAPD gala after party, one of our Hearne awardees was talking about his experience with epilepsy and ableism in school and in response one of our board members Joyce Bender said this: “When you live with epilepsy it means you got so many neurons firing up – you got firepower.” It was the first time since I got diagnosed with epilepsy that someone put such a positive spin on epilepsy and meant so much that I even got it tattooed. To me “disability pride” is equivalent to “firepower” – a word that reminds me that having epilepsy is not a drawback but instead a part of my identity and has led me to where I am. It also means being part of a community that helps you truly realize that.
Naomi Hess, Editorial Manager
When I think of disability pride, I am most proud of being part of a community as compassionate, driven, diverse, and supportive as the disability community. The sense of solidarity and interdependence I feel when I am with other disabled people has brought so much happiness and purpose into my life. I am proud of all the disability activists who have come before me and proud to be committed to furthering disability rights now.
Michael Lewis, Vice President of Policy
For me, Disability Pride Month is a chance to reflect on my achievements as a man with a disability and the hard-won victories of our community made possible by the passage of the ADA. It is difficult to imagine that within my four decades on this planet, there was a time when our world was full of barriers to independence, work, and opportunity for people like me. We’ve come far, but we still have a long way to go to realize a fully accessible, equitable world for people with disabilities. As I celebrate 35 years of the landmark law that makes so much of my life possible, I also recommit myself to the work that lies ahead for our community, in order that the promises of the ADA are realized for all.