July is Disability Pride Month

It is a time for people living with disabilities to honor their many unique talents and skills. Disability,
visible or invisible, can happen at any point in a person's lifetime. As individuals, we experience disability
differently. Celebrating Disability Pride includes expanding your consciousness of those living with
disabilities and reflecting upon their contributions. Increased awareness invites opportunities to change
how disability is perceived, end stigmas, and promote expanded appreciation as a natural part of human
diversity.

Understanding and celebrating Disability Pride Month is crucial, not just for members of the disability
community, but for everyone. It is an opportunity to challenge ableism, reframe societal perceptions
about disability, and strive for a world where all individuals, regardless of their impairment, can live with
dignity, respect, and full inclusion.

Disability Pride celebrates the over 1 billion people around the world with disabilities, honoring the
Disabled Identity, reinforcing the fact that disability is not an abnormality, rather it is a part of the beautiful
diversity that is being human, and fighting against a history of stigmatization, shame, and isolation with
unabashed self-determination and PRIDE!

Each of us is the sum of our parts, with multi-dimensional identities combining to create our own unique
individuality. People with disabilities are not defined solely by their Disabled identity, though that is a
part of their whole selves of which they can certainly be proud. Disability, gender, race, religion, ethnic
background, sexual orientation, and more; these identities weave a diverse tapestry making up
ourselves, coexisting in the same body. Pride is the embracing of these facets of the person beyond
simply acceptance, but with full inclusion and full-hearted love.

This year's annual Disability Pride Parade in Chicago takes place on Saturday, July 23, marking the
Parade’s 20th anniversary. Learn more here: https://www.disabilityprideparade.org/