“I inadvertently picked up on a kind of disability code that was common then: minimize the impact, hide it, sweep it aside as a mere personal detail – and get on with your life. This, I see now, was the opposite of disability pride.“
Ben Mattlin
It is July 2023, and it’s Disability Pride month. As an ally, and a caregiver, and a person with my own disabilities I know that there are nuances to what pride means to the disabled community; but the word “disability” is an intentionally broad and inclusive term for us to gather under.
Disability Pride is about breaking down the shame and stigma that still abound in our homes, communities and at work. It is about being seen, it is about speaking up, it is for challenging institutional biases. It is a movement of porting conversations, and policies, and law, and architecture to recognize that we all contribute uniquely, that we engage and communicate uniquely, that we access things differently.
As an ally, I want to encourage you to recognize how different a view of the world is for someone who is disabled. Perspective is gained by engaging, by listening, and by learning. It’s a journey that I’m on too and I’m asking you to share it with me.
Learn more. Here are some book and film references (sorted by year of publication):
- Book: “Beautiful People” by Melissa Blake (pre-order 2024)
- Film: “I Didn’t See You There” by Reid Davenport (2023)
- Book: “Disability Pride” by Ben Mattlin (2022)
- Book: “Visual Thinking” by Temple Grandin (2022)
- Book: “Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life” by Alice Wong (2022)
- Book: “Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally” by Emily Ladau (2021)
- Book: “Disability Visibility” edited by Alice Wong (2020)
- Book: “Such a Pretty Girl: A Story of Struggle, Empowerment, and Disability Pride” by Nadina Laspina
- Book: “Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity” by Steve Silberman (2016)
- Book: “A Disability History of the United States” by Kim E. Nielsen (2013)
- Book: “The Autistic Brain” by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek
- Book: “The New Politics of Disablement 2nd Edition” by Michael Oliver and Colin Barnes (2012)
- Book: “No Pity: People with Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement” by Joseph Shapiro (1993)
- Poem: “You Get Proud by Practicing” by Laura Hershey (1991)
- Book: “The Politics of Disablement: A Sociological Approach” by Michael Oliver (1990)
- Documentary: “Children of Darkness” by Ara Chekmayan and Richard Kotuk (1983)
- Poem: “Shadows and Sunshine” by Eliza Suggs (1906)
Connect. Here are some social media accounts to follow (sorted alphabetically by first name) – there are many accounts to follow but this will get you started:
- Aaron Rose Philip – model – instagram
- Abby Sams – adaptive athlete, model – instagram
- Ali Stroker – actor, Tony Award (Oklahoma!) – instagram
- Alice Wong – author – twitter
- Andrew Pulrang – Forbes contributor, writer – twitter, linkedin, substack
- Ayanna Pressley – US Representative, Massachusetts (D)
- Chelsea Bear – instagram
- Christine Miserandino – author, “The Spoon Theory” – twitter
- Gaylyn Henderson – Aerie model – instagram
- Jillian Mercado – latinx model – instagram
- Jim LeBrecht – filmmaker, Oscar nominee (Crip Camp) – instagram, twitter
- Kim E. Nielsen – professor, author – linkedin
- Lily D Moore – actor – twitter, instagram
- Melissa Blake – activist, blogger, author – instagram, twitter
- Rebecca Cokley – activist, author – twitter, medium
- Ryan O’Connell – author/star of Netflix “Special” – instagram
- Serge Kovaleski – New York Times reporter – twitter
- Shane Burcaw – author, model – YouTube
- Steph Roach – instagram
- Tammy Duckworth – US Senator, Illinois (D)
- Zach Anner – YouTube
