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.
November
View the complete Disability Calendar of Events
National Native American Heritage Month
Our page with resources and information about disabled Indigenous people
November 1 - Autistic Speaking Day
Originated in 2010, Autistic Speaking Day is a day designed to listen to Autistic people. It was started in 2010 in response to an Autism awareness campaign called “Communication Shutdown”, where people were encouraged to stay off social media for the day in order to promote an awareness of “the communication difficulties that Autistics face.” Corina Becker made this post and Kathryn Bjornstad shared it (they are both autistic adults) discussing the need, in fact, for Autistic people to have this opportunity, when neurotypical people would not be talking about autism, to make it about actually listening to Autistic people. Much of it’s history can be found at the Autistic Speaking Day Blog and one can find posts on social media each November 1st with the tag “Autistic Speaking Day”
November 2 - Leroy Moore’s birthday (1967)
2021 Emmy award-winning Leroy F. Moore Jr. is the founder of the Krip-Hop Nation. He has been a key member of Poor Magazine, is one of the founding members of National Black Disability Coalition and an activist around police brutality against people with disabilities. Leroy has started and helped start organizations including Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization, Sins Invalid, and Krip-Hop Nation. His cultural work includes film documentary Where Is Hope, Police Brutality Against People with Disabilities, spoken-word CDs, poetry books and the books Black Disabled Art History 101 and the graphic novel Krip-Hop Graphic Novel Issue 1: Brown Disabled Young Woman Superhero Brings Disability Justice to Hip- Hop Leroy is now working on his Ph.D. in Anthropology at UCLA
Lesson Plan using Leroy Moore’s Black Disabled Art History book
November 8 - Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (1995)
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 was the first UK legislation protecting disabled people against various forms of discrimination. Years of campaigning and protests led up to the passing of the act, including incidents of civil disobedience.
November 20 - Mama Cax (born 1989)
Cacsmy Brutus, known as Mama Cax, was an American-Haitian model and disabled rights activist.
Mama Cax: What losing a leg taught me about beauty
Mama Cax, Model And Champion For People With Disabilities, Dies | HuffPost Entertainment
November 29 - Passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1975)
This piece of legislation was reauthorized in 1990 and is now known as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is important to celebrate because it ensures that all students with and without disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education.