Month-long observance celebrates anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act
Pride season for the LGBTQ+ community kicks into high gear in July. For the past couple of years, people in Bellingham with disabilities also celebrate their identities when the sun comes out for the summer.
Disability Pride Month takes place every July to commemorate the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The United States was the first country in the world to adopt civil rights legislation and provide protection for people with disabilities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one out of four Americans — or 61 million people — live with a disability.
Disability Pride Month is a way to honor how far we have come and a reminder there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure disabled individuals have access to their needs, said Andrea Lawson, owner and maker at MW Soapworks in Bellingham. “Disabled people still do not have the same civil rights as others.”
Celebrating disability pride in the city
MW Soapworks, a plant-based skincare business, along with WinkWink Boutique, an adult entertainment store, have coordinated with each other for the past two years to put on a Disability Pride Festival in downtown Bellingham near their shops on Commercial Street.
Many Bellingham residents spent July 13 in the sunshine eating free hot dogs, buying creations from artists with disabilities, playing yard games, drawing and coloring at the arts and crafts table, and listening and dancing to live music by Out of the Ashes, an inclusive community band.
“It was a full day of celebrating, connecting and uplifting,” Lawson said. “The overall mood was so positive, and I’m so grateful to be a part of putting this celebration together.”
The organizers also provided a quiet space inside Sidepiece Studio at WinkWink, and carved out some time during the festival for participants to relax.
“As a downtown Bellingham business owner, I want people of all abilities to feel welcome in our city,” Lawson said.
Exploring the great outdoors
Disabled Hikers ushered in Disability Pride Month July 2, with a picnic at Bellingham’s Cordata Park, an accessible park with a playground, picnic area and trails suitable for walking and wheelchairs.
Around a dozen hikers strolled and rolled throughout Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge near Olympia on July 14. According to Disabled Hikers Founder and Director Syren Nagakyrie, it was the first time that most of the hikers had been to the wildlife refuge.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to share that experience with them,” Nagakyrie said.
The organization welcomes anyone who is disabled, chronically ill or neurodivergent, Nagakyrie said. Hikers wear masks unless their disability prevents it, and refrain from wearing perfume or cologne to protect community members who are sensitive to smell.
“The reception to Disability Pride events has been great,” Nagakyrie said. “We always hear from people in other parts of the country who wish we held events where they are.”
Nagakyrie has compiled a list of year-round accessible hiking adventures — including scenic drives, verified wheelchair-accessible trails, and foot trails suitable for disabled hikers — for the San Juan Islands and throughout Western Washington.
Waving the disability pride flag
The Disability Pride flag is a symbol for disabled people to accept their true selves, said Jennifer Gagnon, Ph.D., founder and president of the Disability Affinity Group at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
“I wear a disability pride flag on my jacket all the time,” Gagnon said. “The flag matters because so many disabled people have been taught to see disability as something to be ashamed of — that disability is something ‘broken’ or ‘wrong’ about us.”
The flag’s parallel colors depict different aspects of the disability experience, Gagnon said — red for physical disabilities, gold for neurodivergence such as autism and ADHD, white for invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, blue for psychiatric disabilities, and green for sensory disabilities like hearing loss and low vision.
Western Washington University recognized Disability Pride Month by raising the Disability Pride flag over Flag Plaza — located between the Wade King Student Recreation Center and the Academic Institutional West building — Friday, July 26, on the ADA’s 34th anniversary.
“People with disabilities are an integral part of our society, including at WWU,” said Josef Mogharreban, director of WWU’s Disability Access Center. “Let the raising of the Disability Pride flag over WWU serve as a reminder of our past and celebration of the present while we work toward a more accessible future.”
WWU’s Disability Access Center serves more than 4,000 students with disabilities each year, nearly 20% of the student population.
Fighting the good fight
For Nagakyrie, disability pride means they recognize the ongoing fight for disability rights — even beyond July. No matter what or when, they refuse to gloss over the difficulties of having a disability or chronic illness, or forget the struggles of the disability community.
“Many people focus on the commemoration of the ADA during July, but to me it is more important to honor the decades of activism that got us the ADA,” Nagakyrie said. “There is such richness in our communities, and so many activists, creatives, and cultural workers continue to uplift people with disabilities and fight for justice.”
— By Catherine Skrzypinski