Disability Pride Month is celebrated every year in July in the United States majorly. It is a time to honor the achievements, history, and experiences of individuals with disabilities.
How do digital spaces make a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities?
And how Disability Pride Month is crucial for them?
Digital spaces are an inseparable part of each life now; thus, they are expected to be accessible. The upcoming month is important because organizations can support Disability Pride Month and help those individuals to raise their voice about discrimination. Organizations can run different campaigns to ensure event’s success.
This article will discuss about the Disability Pride Month and accessibility of digital environment.
Disability pride month: Background history, celebration, and flag!
October 6, 1990, was the day when the first Disability Pride Parade happened in Boston and over 400 people marched, wheeled, or participated in the parade. It was a successful parade; however, other cities took a while to host such parades. In 2004, Chicago hosted the longest-running series of Disability Pride Parades.
All other major U.S. cities began organizing these parades since 2012 including Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and Buffalo. The movement spread across the Atlantic in 2017 when England hosted the event.
Disability Pride Month is a symbol that people with disabilities have unique abilities. They are an integral part of society and deserve to be treated equally.
However, individuals with disabilities keep encountering stereotypes and myths about their physical conditions and judgments about their capabilities. Thus, to address this problem, Disability Pride Month was established during the civil rights movement. ADA and Disability Pride Month have been in existence for decades or precisely it’s been 33 years of disability rights advocacy.
The idea behind focusing on this month is to recognize the way society treats people with disabilities and other marginalized groups like the LGBTQ community, different racial backgrounds, and women. Disability Pride Month events, representation, activities, design, and colors that advocate for community integration are all within the disability pride flag.
The flag's history and other details:
The flag represents inclusion likewise the LGBTQ pride flag. The original flag was designed by Ann Magill containing a brightly colored lightning bolt on a black background. However, after receiving several feedback that original colors can negatively impact people with epilepsy. Magill redesigned the flag with muted colors, symbolizing the diverse aspects of the daily life of people with disabilities.
Current flag look:
Charcoal Gray background, which is in memory of ableist abuse and violence victims, or individuals suffered from negligence.
The diagonal band shows the complete participation of people with disabilities, integration, and inclusion in society by removing all the barriers.
The red stripe is the symbol of physical disabilities.
The gold stripe shows neurodivergence.
White stripe is a symbol of undiagnosed and invisible disabilities.
Blue stripe represents psychiatric disabilities.
Green stripe shows sensory disabilities.
This new flag can be seen publicly used for celebrations and disability pride parades across the world.
Digital inclusion impact on the Disability Pride Month!
Lately, people have started gaining awareness of disabilities and diverse experiences due to increasing digital campaigning. Although there is still a colossal gap between people with disabilities and society that needs to be bridged. To achieve the goal of digital accessibility, certain laws and guidelines are established by Governments.
The ADA and WCAG guidelines are there to provide a defined structure to create accessible designs and content for everybody including people with disabilities. It has legal implications to ensure such digital spaces that accommodate every user’s needs.
ADA also protects the civil rights of people with disabilities against discrimination in the workplace or anywhere else.
Disability Pride Month and other such events are critical to advocate and establish specific laws. These events are the reason various Governments are imposing accessibility laws on organizations likewise the U.S. Congress passed the ADA in July 1990 due to the impact of Disability Pride Month.
Earlier it was a generalized law, however, a few decades ago, it included digital requirements to offer a seamless user experience and engage more users with online spaces. Digital assets ought to comply with WCAG 2.1 or ADA standards in the U.S. to avoid lawsuits and other consequences.
Read more about WCAG standards and guidelines, and implement it into the websites/applications.
Efforts society/organizations can take to honor Disability Pride Month!
Learn more about disabilities!
So, there is a term called Ableism, which is a belief system that assumes people with disabilities are required to fix their issues. And thereby they discriminate against a specific segment of people.
This sort of social mindset can be changed only if people know about disabilities and the challenges associated with them. Everybody should remember that those individuals are also human, and they need a polite and moral environment. The more people learn about disabilities, the less discrimination will happen.
Digital accessibility is a must!
The modern era is the digital era, where everyone is directly connected and dependent on digital spaces. It is crucial to prioritize digital accessibility and offer inclusive solutions to everybody. There are standards like WCAG, ADA, and other web accessibility laws that help create accessible websites and applications, as mentioned in the above section. Most importantly, complying with web accessibility guidelines not only empowers people with disabilities but also uplifts organizations’ business.
Participate in the celebration!
Embracing people with disabilities is the simplest way to eliminate discrimination. Participate in the Disability Pride Parade or other events happening near you and contribute to creating an inclusive world.
Use the power of social media!
Organizations and society can help people with disabilities to raise their voices and spread awareness using social media. It will also help organizations to reach and grow their business through interaction with new audiences.
In a nutshell,
Supporting Disability Pride Month is favorable for the organizations since they will improve their digital assets’ accessibility level and gain the trust of a profound segment of society. On the other hand, their support will engage several others’ attention, which will ultimately spread awareness as well.
So, plan for the upcoming Disability Pride Month 2024 and be a reason behind positive changes!
Skynet Technologies is a leading provider of comprehensive digital solutions, and their commitment to website accessibility aligns with their ethos of inclusivity and innovation. By prioritizing WCAG compliance, we ensure that enterprise websites are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. We recognize the significance of adhering to WCAG guidelines, not just for legal compliance but also for enhancing user experience. We developed All in One Accessibility for quick website accessibility improvements. Another approach to website accessibility involves thorough audit, strategic planning, website accessibility remediation, consulting, document remediation, VPAT, self-assistance training, ongoing monitoring, and support that cater to diverse user needs. Request a quote or reach out [email protected].
