Disability Pride Festival Honors Community and Contributions

The fourth annual Disability Pride Festival gets underway at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Sept. 17 after being postponed in July due to heat warnings and poor air quality from wildfires. The festival, hosted by Advocating Change Together (ACT) , is a time to honor the history and contributions of people with disabilities. The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) is a sponsor of the event.

Disability Pride Month typically takes place in July to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) , which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The ADA protects the rights of people with disabilities in jobs, schools, transportation, and public places, but many argue that more work needs to be done to achieve real inclusion.

Jennifer Walton, the executive director of ACT, says the decision to postpone the event in July was stressful, but the right move. “Every partner, every vendor, and our community supported the decision to postpone things,” Walton said. “Our priority is keeping people safe. In July, we were dealing with many back-to-back days over 90 degrees, and as Minnesotans, we are not acclimated to that kind of heat.”

Walton is happy the event is happening in September and says disability pride is important. “The disability community has spent generations being told we are broken. The disability pride movement is about proclaiming, ‘I’m a whole, complete person. I am disabled, and I do not need to be fixed or cured. I’m proud of who I am, and that includes my disability.’ We can all join together and celebrate.”

Walton is pleased ICI is collaborating with ACT on the event and says the partnership is valuable for both organizations. “It feels like a natural collaboration. The research, education, and other work at ICI pair so nicely with our lived experience work and our self-advocate leadership at ACT,” Walton said.

Attendance at the Disability Pride Festival has grown over the years, and Walton expects about 1,000 people to join this year’s celebration. “We’ll have about 50 vendors at the event, and we’ll also have self-advocate speakers and artists, singing, food trucks, face painters, and an incredible community.”

Walton says the community building during these times is especially important as people living with disability face the reality of supports and programs being taken away. “We’re existing in a space that is incredibly uncertain, and we need to uplift the voices of disabled leaders and self-advocates.”

According to the Minnesota Council on Disability , about 12% of Minnesotans report living with a disability.

The Disability Pride Festival at the Minnesota State Capitol is on Thursday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.