A young man in a wheelchair outside next to a woman standing next to him. They are both dancing and smiling excitedly. In the bottom right corner are stripes in the colors of the Disability Pride Flag (green, light blue, white, yellow, and red). Across the bottom is white text against a dark gray background that reads "Celebrate Disability Pride Month."

Why and How to Celebrate Disability Pride Month

/in /by The Arc

Disability Pride Month is a time to recognize the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of people with disabilities. It affirms that disability is a natural and valuable part of human diversity—not a deficit or condition to be fixed.

More than 1 in 4 adults in the United States—over 70 million people—have a disability. This month calls on everyone to reject ableism, promote inclusion, and ensure people with disabilities are seen and accepted exactly as they are, without conditions.

What is Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month is an annual observance in July that celebrates people with disabilities, commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and promotes disability culture and visibility.

Observed every July, Disability Pride Month recognizes the importance of the ADA, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. It highlights disability culture, history, and community pride. This month challenges the harmful idea that people with disabilities need to conform to norms to live meaningful lives. Their lives are just as full, valuable, and worthy of respect—no more, no less.

The first Disability Pride celebration was a Disability Pride Day that took place in Boston in 1990. Chicago hosted the first Disability Pride Parade in 2004. Now there are events nationwide empowering people with disabilities to take pride in who they are.

Here’s more about the history of Disability Pride Month and the story behind the flag.

2025 Theme: Coming Soon!

The Arc’s National Council of Self-Advocates is finalizing the 2025 Disability Pride Month theme. It will be announced the week of May 19th! The 2024 theme was “We Want a Life Like Yours,” which reflects the dreams of people with disabilities for everyday life experiences that they are too often denied.

Why Celebrate Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month is a time to show up, speak out, and celebrate the contributions of people with disabilities.

Ableism—the prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities—is widespread but often invisible compared to other biases. Yet, it limits opportunities, visibility, and respect for millions. Disability Pride Month pushes society to recognize that equal rights and opportunities are not privileges granted based on ability, but fundamental human rights.

Disability Pride is about acceptance on our own terms. Everyone with a disability deserves full recognition and access to opportunities, regardless of other aspects of identity or intersectionality. While many people with disabilities hold multiple identities, Disability Pride stands as its own powerful and necessary identity.

How to Celebrate Disability Pride Month

  • Ways to Connect with People with Disabilities: Spend time learning from people with disabilities in real life and online.
  • How to Learn Disability History and Culture: Understand the roots and richness of Disability Pride by diving into disability history, rights movements, and cultural contributions.
    • Learn about key moments in the disability rights movement from UC Berkley’s archive and The Arc’s history.
    • Learn from people with disabilities through media like Crip Camp, CODA, Demystifying Disability, and Disability Visibility.
    • Follow disabled activists on social media and listen to what they share—not just during Disability Pride Month, but year-round.
  • How to Advocate for Disability Rights and Inclusion: Disability rights are under attack. From Medicaid and Social Security to IDEA, Section 504, and efforts to stop the resurgence of the R-word—there’s no shortage of urgent advocacy needs.

Share Your Disability Story

What are you proud of? What do you want other people to know? Share your videos, pictures, or written answers on your favorite social media platform using hashtags #DisabilityPride and #DisabilityPrideMonth. We want as many people to join the conversation as possible! See what The Arc’s community has to say by finding us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X/Twitter. All content shared by The Arc includes alt text and accessible captions. This reinforces our commitment to accessibility—we hope you will do it, too!

Attend a Disability Pride Month Event in Your Area

Meet and show your support for the local disability community by attending one of these events. This is the largest database for Disability Pride Month events there is!

If this page helped you learn more, share it to keep the conversation going.

If you have questions or events/resources we should add to this page, please email Jackie Dilworth at dilworth[at]thearc.org!