Neha Banerji,
Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law) Trainee
Penn State Dickinson School of Law
Every July, the disability community joins together to mark Disability Pride Month — not as a token celebration, but as a bold act of resistance and affirmation. Disability Pride confronts the deep-rooted ableism embedded in our systems, culture, and communities. It honors disability as a vital and powerful part of human diversity and centers the fight for justice, accessibility, and collective liberation. The month is celebrated across the U.S. through parades, art, community gatherings, and more.
What is Disability Pride?
Disability Pride is more than just a celebration; it’s a statement of empowerment. It encourages people with disabilities to embrace their identities without shame and educates others on the value of accessibility, acceptance, and allyship.
This month is a time to recognize and celebrate the intersectionality of disability within communities, which includes people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender identities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Disabilities may be visible or invisible, congenital or acquired, and span physical, cognitive, sensory, psychiatric, and chronic conditions.
The Roots of Disability Pride
The celebration of Disability Pride in July is no coincidence. On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, becoming a cornerstone of civil rights legislation for disabled individuals. This landmark legislation prohibited discrimination based on disability and set a new standard for accessibility in employment, public accommodations, and transportation.
The first Disability Pride Day was held in 1990 in Boston, Massachusetts, the same year the ADA was passed. Since then, various cities across the United States (U.S.) have held Disability Pride parades, festivals, and community events, with New York City hosting one of the largest Disability Pride parades annually. While not yet nationally recognized, the month of July has become widely embraced as a time for celebration and reflection.
In recent years, more organizations, including schools, employers, and healthcare institutions, have begun acknowledging Disability Pride Month through internal programming, resource sharing, and community partnerships. For example:
- In 1996, the University of California, Berkeley, launched the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement to capture the history of people with disabilities to win legally defined civil rights and control over their own lives. Over the years, UC Berkeley has formulated a rich collection of personal papers, records, and oral histories of key disability organizations, creating an in-depth resource library that preserves the living memory of the movement. UC Berkeley wanted to shift institutional engagement by focusing on the foundational work of activists in this movement. Understanding this movement provides essential context for Disability Pride, reminding us that current celebrations are rooted in decades of activism, policy change, and cultural transformation led by disabled individuals. Whether you’re an educator planning inclusive programming, a student researching disability justice, or simply someone eager to understand the roots of Disability Pride, this movement offers a powerful archive of lived experience. Explore histories, photos, and primary source documents to deepen your understanding.
- The artist and creator partnership through the Kennedy Center celebrates Disability Pride by spotlighting disabled artists through Disability in the Arts. These events highlight the talents and stories of performers with disabilities across disciplines such as theater, dance, music, and spoken word. By elevating disabled voices in both live and virtual spaces, the Kennedy Center not only celebrates artistic excellence but also challenges traditional notions of accessibility and inclusion in the arts. Explore their programming services which serve as an inspiring example of how cultural institutions can foster disability pride while making the arts welcoming to all.
Other Ways to Get Involved
There are many meaningful ways to celebrate and support Disability Pride Month. Here are a few ideas, along with resources to help you take action:
- Attend a local or virtual event. Many organizations host events throughout July that are open to the public.
▸ Resource: ADA National Network Event Calendar
▸ Resource: The Arc provides a list of events to celebrate Disability Pride Month by state. Find events in your
area here. - Read and uplift disabled voices. Engage with stories, books, podcasts, and art created by disabled authors and activists.
▸ Resource: Disability Visibility Project:- Highlight- Artists Ashanti Fortson and Alice Wong’s collaborative project, Community at Home, includes digital portraits that showcase the “joy, culture, and love” of disabled people. View their work here.
▸ Reading list: Books To Read for Disability Pride Month
- Highlight- Artists Ashanti Fortson and Alice Wong’s collaborative project, Community at Home, includes digital portraits that showcase the “joy, culture, and love” of disabled people. View their work here.
- Highlight- How to Live Free in a Dangerous World by Shayla Lawson is a powerful compilation of essays detailing the restrictions and intricacies of the intersection of race, gender, and disability. Find this incredible piece here.
- Reflect on the ADA’s legacy and what’s still needed. Learn about the history of disability rights and how they continue to evolve, especially at the intersections of race, gender, and class.
▸ Resource: American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)- Highlight- The AAPD Explainers provides a designated resource for breaking down current issues and changes within policy and law that impact the disability community.
Disability Pride Month is hopefully not about awareness at all, but about a call for coming together to dismantle ableist systems, amplify disabled voices, and reimagine a world where all bodies and minds are valued. The fight for disability justice is far from over, and Pride is our reminder that we move forward — unapologetically, together, and with power.
Neha Banerji is a first-year law student at Penn State Dickinson Law with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and public policy from the University of Maryland. Neha developed an interest in disability law from her time as a paraeducator in Howard County and her advocacy work as the founder of the Women’s March Youth Empower Howard County chapter. She is actively involved in the Disability Law Caucus and serves on the executive board of the Human Rights Society at Penn State Dickinson Law. Through her internship at Project HEAL, Neha hopes to gain hands-on experience promoting equitable access to care and supporting individuals with developmental disabilities while exploring the field of health law. She looks forward to contributing to various initiatives and legal research to further develop her legal writing skills and assist in eliminating systemic barriers to treatment. Neha has a deep-rooted interest in public interest law, public policy, and creating a meaningful impact on the Baltimore community.
