July is Disability Pride month. Disability Pride is an international initiative which aims to raise disability awareness and celebrate diversity in a positive way. The roots of this event are in the United States in 1990 where a Disability Pride event (originally one day) was held to mark the founding of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The UK introduced the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995, which was replaced by the Equality Act in 2010. Over the years Disability Pride has evolved to become a global month-long event.
Disability Pride can mean different things to each member of the disabled community. For example, for some the focus may be on positively recognising their identity as being disabled and recognising their strength in meeting the associated challenges of living with their disabilities every day. For others it may be a time to reflect. Some people may choose not to celebrate or recognise Disability Pride at all.
The current Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Maghill in 2021 and is copyright free (CC BY 0). The five stripes represent the following:
- Green: Sensory disabilities
- Blue: Mental illnesses
- White: Invisible / hidden and undiagnosed disabilities
- Yellow: Neurodivergence
- Red: Physical disabilities
The black background represents mourning for those who have suffered from ableist violence and abuse. The diagonal stripes represent cutting across the barriers that separate disabled people from society.
Disability Pride month offers a chance for everyone to increase their awareness, start positive conversations and celebrate diversity and differences. The Library has many resources to assist with this including:
Disability EDI Research Repository collection (disability related publications and research by Loughborough University staff and students)
The Library also offers Accessibility support and resources. Details of this these can be found on the Library’s Accessibility web page.