Celebrating the ADA and Disabilities
July is Disability Pride Month, a global movement celebrating people with disabilities and advocating for change. This month marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act becoming law.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27% of the U.S. population has some kind of disability, which is just over 1 in 4 people. Most people will experience a temporary or permanent disability at some point in their lives.
I didn’t grow up with a disability, and I didn’t understand the importance of the ADA when it became law 34 years ago. Now, as someone with vision loss, I know there are many barriers I would have to face without the ADA.
I am not only a person living with a disability, I am a person thriving with a disability.
I wholeheartedly embrace my status as a blind person.
I have been fortunate to work with federal lawmakers to advocate for employment opportunities for people with disabilities, share my story at the national and local levels, and give hope to other people with visual impairments.
There were times when I felt isolated by my disability, unable to get out of bed, and my son was taking care of me instead of me taking care of him.
Then came the day when I realized I was declining, and it was time to find myself and my purpose in life. I often say there is no rainbow without the rain, and my journey with vision loss is no exception.
This year, the American Bar Association’s Disability Rights Committee is celebrating Disability Pride Month with its #BeCounted campaign.
The campaign encourages lawyers with disabilities across the country to add themselves to the ABA’s U.S. map, as lawyers with disabilities are generally underrepresented.
We may not all be lawyers, but it’s important to know that we matter.
If you are reading or listening to this and you have a disability, I want you to know your worth. People with disabilities have the same right to a full life as anyone else. We can’t control when a disability becomes a part of our lives, but we can control how we respond to it.
This month celebrates people with disabilities and the barriers that have been broken thanks to the ADA, and recognizes that people with disabilities matter.
Liz Pace, executive vice president of Bosma Enterprises