Banner with light blue watercolor background and text reading, 'Disability Pride SC, Able South Carolina. To the left are illustrations of diverse people with disabilities. From left to right they include a Black person with a prosthetic on their right leg, wearing a pink top, a white woman with long blond hair wearing a skirt and using a wheelchair, a woman with brown skin and thick black hair in a green top, a young child with a missing left forearm, a woman with beige skin and black hair wearing and holding a black cross-body bag, a white person with red hair, sunglasses, wearing a long pink skirt and holding a white cane, a man with beige skin and black hair wearing a blue sweater, a Black person with cropped hair wearing a yellow top and using a power wheelchair, and a person with light brown skin wearing a suit and using a hearing aid.

Friend,

Today is the start of Disability Pride Month!

What does this mean? Disability pride is defined by individual and community pride in being part of the disability community.

Disability pride is critical as it builds up the confidence to navigate life and not feel ashamed of having a disability. "Disability" is not a negative word. We are proud of who we are, and the barriers we have overcome have only made us stronger. It’s ok to have a disability!

Why is it in July? The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law on July 26th, 1990. Since then the disability community has used the month of July and this important anniversary to celebrate our Disability Pride!

We invite you to stay tuned this month to our social media pages where you can learn more about Disability Pride, discover resources, and educate yourself on the issues that concern people with disabilities.

- All of us at Able South Carolina

Follow Able SC

Celebrate Disability Pride with Able SC & Fireflies Baseball: Able SC's 30th Anniversary & Disability Pride Night

Dark background with lightening bug spots featuring Able 30th anniversary logo over disability pride flag, the at symbol, followed by the Columbia Fireflies logo. Glowing text reads, 'July 23, 7:05 pm, Proudly Disabled.'

Disability-focused organizations are invited to host a vendor table! Vendors get access for 4 to the concourse. For details email mchernesky@columbiafireflies.com.

Jul 23, 2024 7:05 PM

Disability Pride Night @ Segra Park

Celebrate Disability Pride Night with the Columbia Fireflies! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, July 23rd as the Fireflies go head-to-head with the Lynchburg Hillcats. Gates will open at 6:00 PM, giving you plenty of time to settle in before the first pitch at 7:05 PM.

Several elements for accessibility will be featured including ASL interpreter, access to captioning and audio description through the Segra Park broadcast, and offers from guest services including but not limited to Kulture City sensory bags, sight guides to help you get acquainted with the park, and programs in alternative formats.

Get your tickets today and join Able SC in supporting a night of inclusion and Fireflies fun! By purchasing tickets from this link you will have access to our reserved seating section.

Celebrate Disability Pride: Disability Next Door

Image featuring 5 photos of disabled South Carolinians. A white banner over the photos features the Disability Next Door SC logo and text in navy reading, 'Welcome Neighbors!.' Images are as follows: Portrait of Alex, a Black man in a power wheelchair smiling while outside with a SC Lowcountry marsh behind him; Portrait of Marty, a white man with a visual disability smiling in an indoor setting; Portrait of Susan, a Black woman with a visual disability and cropped curly silver hair in her home; Portrait of Cal, a white man using a wheelchair and wearing a suit and lapel pin indicating his status as an SC Representative, taken in the SC house chambers; and Portrait of Brayden, a young white woman with a developmental disability, short brown hair and glasses wearing a floral shirt while standing outside in a green park. Logo features text to the right of the illustration that reads, 'Disability Next Door, South Carolina.' Illustration features curved door with a lever handle that is propped open. Crescent in the top left corner. A palmetto tree grows from the right side of the door, with the fronds of the tree branching out above the door.

Follow Disability Next Door

Be sure to follow Disability Next Door on social media, and check out the video at our website!

Are you following Disability Next Door?

Disability Next Door SC is challenging stereotypes about people with disabilities, so we are accepted and included in communities throughout South Carolina.
This new campaign from the Statewide Independent Living Council brings you opportunities to learn from people with disabilities in South Carolina via interactive social media, videos, and resources.

"We are South Carolinians with disabilities. Disability does not mean a stereotype. We are valuable to our community. We are your neighbors, leaders, mentors, teachers, and business partners. We are change-makers! We are Disability Next Door.

Our Mission is to challenge stereotypes about people with disabilities so we are accepted and included in communities throughout South Carolina."

Celebrate Disability Pride: Flags

Below each graphic is an illustration of people with disabilities diverse in age, gender, race, and disability. Able SC's 30th anniversary logo is to the right. Graphic one shows the current disability pride flag.
trigger warning text, 'The following image is of the original disability pride flag. This flag was discontinued because the design prompted symptoms in folks with visually triggered disabilities.'
original disability pride flag, with bolder colors, a zig-zag pattern of stripes, and the stripe order across a dark black background as follows- blue, yellow, white, red, green.

Disability Pride just means being proud of who you are as a person with a disability, because having a disability gives you unique skills and means you belong to the same group as some amazing advocates throughout history!

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990, making discrimination against people with disabilities illegal. Disability Pride began as a day of celebration that year. The first official Disability Pride Month was in July 2015, marking the 25th anniversary of the ADA.

In 2019, writer Ann Magill, who has cerebral palsy, created the original Disability Pride flag. Flags symbolize solidarity, pride, and acceptance. Magill was motivated to create the flag after a less than pride-filled experience at an ADA anniversary event.

The original flag featured brightly colored zigzagging stripes over a black background. The zig-zag symbolized the barriers people with disabilities face. However, this design caused symptoms in individuals with visually triggered disabilities when viewed on devices. Following community suggestions, Magill refined the flag: she straightened the stripes, muted the colors, and reordered them to accommodate red-green colorblindness. She showed how our community works together when we face conflicting access needs!

The new flag design is a collaborative effort, representing the community’s unity when addressing challenges. Magill waived her copyright, placing the flag in the public domain for everyone to use and remix.

Each color stripe holds meaning:

Red: physical disabilities
Gold: neurodiversity
White: invisible disabilities and undiagnosed conditions
Blue: emotional and psychiatric disabilities
Green: sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, and other sensory disabilities
Faded Black Background: mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse

The diagonal band of colors cuts across the barriers separating the disabled from society, representing light and creativity cutting through darkness.

New Able SC 30th anniversary logo. Centered gray text in lowercase letters reads, 'able,' with 'South Carolina' underneath in all capital letters. Behind this text is a tall number '30' in an orange to pink to purple to light blue gradient in a sunrise effect. White bubble effect comes from the bottom and appears to float upward within the number 30. Below the text and number is a thin gray horizontal line. Below the line is capitalized dark blue text reading, 'Established 1994.'

Celebrate Disability Pride and Able SC's 30th Anniversary Year!

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Able South Carolina
720 Gracern Road Suite 106 | Columbia, South Carolina 29210
803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org

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