Talent Citizen celebrated Disability Pride Month this July, which marks the month when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. The articles and resources we explored this month invited us to think critically about the inclusion of individuals with disabilities while honoring and uplifting the community’s history, achievements, and experiences. These pieces inspired conversations and reflections within our team and are helping to inform the work we do with our mission-driven partners across the nonprofit, healthcare, and higher education sectors.
Resources we are finding especially relevant and informative this month are:
We loved this comprehensive overview of Disability Pride Month. Following the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first celebration took place in Boston in 1990 and the first Disability Pride Parade was held in Chicago in 2004. The 2024 theme, “We Want a Life Like Yours,” reflects the community’s aspirations for equal life experiences; the theme is set by The Arc’s National Council of Self-Advocates. Throughout the month, The Arc also highlighted diverse stories of individuals on their social media platforms to promote inclusion and understanding—look up the hashtags #DisabilityPride and #DisabilityPrideMonth to see the testimonials.
This article had us thinking about how we might adjust some of our practices to ensure that neurodivergent candidates feel valued and empowered. Idealist highlighted some strategies that organizations might implement to further their inclusive hiring practices, such as creating accessible job listings, auditing their websites for accessibility, and training staff members on neurodiversity.
We were thrilled to learn that the Ford and Mellon Foundations have announced the 2024 Disability Futures Fellowship recipients. This initiative, administered by United States Artists, honors visual and performing artists, writers, and filmmakers for their cultural contributions by awarding unrestricted $50,000 grants to 20 creative practitioners with disabilities, totaling $1 million in funding this year. Selected through peer nominations, the fellows are recognized for their community impact and innovative work across disciplines. Since being launched in 2020, the program has sought to address the lack of recognition and resources for disabled creatives.
With more than 4,400 athletes competing in the Paris 2024 Paralympics from August 28 to September 8, we found this article important to highlight the intersectional identities that people with disabilities hold. The 2024 LGBTQ Paris Olympics and Paralympics Guide was released by GLAAD in collaboration with Athlete Ally and Pride House France, featuring language, terminology, and profiles of over a dozen LGBTQIA+ athletes. The guide is an important tool to address the need for support given the rising anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric around the world, and it ensures that LGBTQIA+ athletes participating in the Paralympics are recognized and supported more adequately throughout their Olympic experience.
