by Rob Egan
Rob wrote a companion piece to this that was recently published in the Wichita Eagle.
While many know June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, comparatively few people realize that the following month, July, is Disabilities Pride Month.
This July I acknowledge a personal truth: it’is an uncomfortable juxtaposition to celebrate pride for a disability that causes you pain and strife.
Pride in a struggle
I have cerebral palsy. Every day, my disability presents me with situations in which I must act differently from the “mainstream.” The pain of living with a disability can be both physically and mentally exhausting.
I operate my car with hand controls.
I shower with a bench.
I walk with a quad cane and braces on my legs; I need time—lots of it— to move long distances; stairs are not my friend.
If this sounds hard, it’s because it is. While July marks an occasion to be proud of who I am as a person with a disability, it’s also a chance to be proud for how I’ve coped with and overcome the limitations that come with it. I have learned to persevere in the face of adversity, as has every person who lives with a disability.
Pride in activism
We celebrate Disability Pride Month in July because it marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law on July 26, 1990. This anniversary serves as a reminder of our ongoing fight for civil rights, and centers it in the celebration.
For me, this ongoing fight brought me in front of Wichita city council twice this month and writing an OpEd for the ACLU of Kansas as they debated a non-discrimination ordinance within the city.
This ordinance was personal for me. I’ve struggled with finding gainful employment due to my disability but had little recourse as the state and federal systems would be long and complicated. I now have found my calling as a teacher, and I feel all the more compelled to fight for this ordinance to ensure my students and generations to come don’t face the same discrimination that I faced.
Nationally, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio has proposed the SSI Restoration Act of 2021, which would increase social security disability payments to the poverty level, which is sadly a 31% increase from current levels. It would also amend the asset limits for recipients for the first time since 1989— BEFORE the ADA was law.
While we celebrate the anniversary of the ADA, we must insist on making our voices heard at local, state, and federal levels to protect and expand our civil rights.
Pride in community
Living with a disability can be isolating. My experiences may be unfamiliar to most people, but it’s the only life I’ve known. This month serves as a reminder that I am not alone.
Disability can manifest in a multitude of ways. For me, it is cerebral palsy. For others, it may be PTSD resulting from military service, dyslexia that can impact academic pursuits, or arthritis that has onset later in life. There are countless other examples of ways people live with disabilities, and this anniversary becomes a way to unite them all.
As we unify, we also look outward and take this chance to communicate our needs with others. Thankfully, much of our message is simple:
Do the best you can to see beyond our disabilities.
All of us have passions and hobbies like you. I love to cook and to sing. I often entertain guests in my home. Connect with us the same way you would anyone else. Make a conscious effort to include us. Treat us like we’re normal— because, indeed, we are.
Pride through contradiction
Disability Pride Month can be full of seemingly contradictory juxtapositions. Our disabilities can cause us pain, yet we can find Pride in them. We can celebrate our progress in gaining rights, yet be adamant in fighting to protect and expand those rights. And, across diverse manifestations of disabilities, we can use our cause to find community, yet we look for everyone’s help in supporting our needs.
As we celebrate our strength, we still need allies. We need help. We need you.
This Disability Pride Month, let’s be proud of how far we’ve come while acknowledging how far is left yet to go— and gear up to make our voices— in our communities, throughout Kansas, and across the nation— in this new phase of our fight for disability rights.