Flying THE FLAG BY KATIE CAMPBELL
Exploring the origins of the Disability Pride flag, and its deeply meaningful design
uly was Disability Pride Month, an opportunity like many other Pride celebrations to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and identities of some one billion disabled people worldwide, as well as recognising the continued struggle against stigma and ableism that disabled people continue to be subjected to. The celebrations began in America to celebrate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990, which finally afforded disabled Americans legal protection against discrimination in all areas of public life, including employment, schooling and much more. The first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston, Massachusetts, on 6 October 1990, and saw a turnout of over 400 people march from the City Hall to the Boston Common public park,
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setting the scene for the parades that would be held annually in Chicago, New York City, and a host of other American towns and cities beginning in the early 00s. The festivities have even made their way over to the United Kingdom, where Disability Pride Brighton held their Pride parade for three consecutive years beginning in 2017; unfortunately, it seems to have been limited by the current global pandemic. With all of this in mind, you may have seen people posting the Disability Pride Flag on their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook: a lightning bolt of several stripes tearing through a black background. The flag was designed by Ann Magill, a disabled New Yorker who noticed that no flag existed at the time to express disability pride.
