As a previous blog post detailed, July is recognized as Disability Pride Month. This annual celebration of differing abilities connects back to the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark ruling prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. Many years passed before a much-needed disability pride flag was created. Here’s what the disability pride flag represents…
Ann Magill, a writer with cerebral palsy, attended an underwhelming event in 2010 for the 20th anniversary of the ADA. The lackluster celebration, in her opinion, did not garner the attention needed to strengthen awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities. She had toyed with the idea of making a disability pride flag and, became motivated to do so following a horrific attack on a disabled-serving facility in Japan in 2016.
The Disability Pride Flag that she created was first used in 2019. It included all six standard international flag colors to represent the disabled community on a global scale. A multi-colored band (light) cuts straight through the darkness – diagonally through vertical walls & horizontal ceilings to represent feelings of isolation among some individuals within the community. The first iteration of the flag included a dark black background with bold zig-zagged color stripes, representing how disabled people must maneuver back and forth as they navigate the world. However, the initial design caused a strobe-like effect on screens which was off-putting for those with migraines, seizures, and sensory sensitivities. Using this feedback from the disabled community, Magill unveiled an updated and more accessible design of the flag featuring muted hues and softer angles in 2021.
“The colors have been muted and rearranged to reduce eye strain, and each stripe also has a slightly different level of brightness so that even those with some form of color blindness can distinguish the stripes.” – Ann Magill
Magill waived copyright and entered this disability pride flag into the public domain in an effort to encourage everyone – with and without disabilities — to promote and use the symbolic design.
