Opportunities to recognize and discuss disability all month long
Below you will find the names of famous disabled people born this month, dates of note in disability history, awareness/acceptance days related to specific disabilities and dates of cultural significance.
If there’s something you’d like to see on this month’s calendar, please let us know.
July
View the complete Disability Calendar of Events
July 5 & 6 - We will ride! – The Gang of 19 (1976)
“We will ride!” The origin of the disability rights movement in Denver.
“Some of the foundational protests that ignited the disability rights movement took place on July 5-6, 1978, just around the corner from the Denver Public Library at Colfax and Broadway. Men and women of the Atlantis community, known as “The Gang of 19,” threw themselves in front of buses in an attempt to convey their disenfranchisement. This group blocked the intersection all day and night, chanting their mantra, “We will ride!” until representatives of the Regional Transportation District (RTD) were willing to talk about the absence of wheelchair-accessible buses. It was this initial protest that brought public light to the many other kinds of discrimination and abuse faced by the disabled community.”
https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/we-will-ride-origin-disability-rights-movement-denver-0
July 6 - Frida Kahlo's birthday (1907)
Frida Kahlo (1907 - 1954) was a Mexican artist who was influenced by the Mexican Revolution. She experienced a disability at two times in her life. Her determinism helped her cope with the pain of overcoming polio, a difficult marriage and bus-trolley accident. Frida Kahlo’s curiosity and love for nature were often the subjects of her paintings. Known as the “mother of the selfie,” Frida also created more than 200 paintings of herself.
Lesson Plan about Frida Kahlo
July 26 – ADA anniversary (1990)
“The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. Modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin – and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 -- the ADA is an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities.”
https://dredf.org/about-us/publications/the-history-of-the-ada/
Celebrate the passage of the ADA by learning more about the disability rights movement and disabled people.