“More than 1 in 4 adults in the United States—over 70 million people—have a disability,” reports The Arc, a national organization that advocates for individuals and families who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities. Disability Pride Month, The Arc states, exists to encourage inclusion and make sure that those of us with disabilities are accepted exactly as we are, unconditionally.
The Disability Action Centers of the Northwest (DAC NW) and of North East Washington-Spokane (DAC NEW), will host a festivity for Disability Pride on July 26th in Riverfront Park from 11 AM-3 PM. The “Bridging Community Celebration” spotlights the Americans with Disabilities Act and will feature resource booths, live entertainment, a kid’s area, free food, and more. You can learn more about the event on the DAC NW website.
As the ADA says, “Disability rights are civil rights.”
Speaking of her commitment to activism even in the face of a progressive loss of mobility, writer Alice Wong says in an NPR interview, “A lot of my disabled friends and I feel our mortality intensely. Many middle-aged disabled people are considered elders in our community because of preventable deaths and marginalization. There are too many of us who should be alive today, if they weren’t forced to live in poverty to keep their benefits, institutionalized or incarcerated in prisons and psychiatric facilities. Imagine a world if everyone had food, housing, healthcare, and freedom. This is what drives much of what I do, letting people know that another way is possible.” Check out Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility Project, which narrates and amplifies the experience of people with disabilities. And check out the titles below from our libraries, also by and about people with disabilities.
We Are the Scrappy Ones, words by Rebekah Taussig; pictures by Kirbi Fagan
A Little Like Magic by Sarah Kurpiel
Out of My Dreams by Sharon M. Draper
Death of the Author: A Novel by Nnedi Okorafor
Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire, edited by Alice Wong
Check It Out
Connecting Dots: A Blind Life, a memoir by Joshua A Miele with Wendell Jamieson
Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths about Disability by Melissa Blake
The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu
Hunchback: A Novel by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton
Out on a Limb: A Novel by Hannah Bonham-Young
