July marks Disability Pride Month, a time to recognize that disability is not something to overcome or hide, but a natural part of human diversity worth celebrating in its own right. Rooted in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the month has grown into a broader movement — one that shifts the conversation from awareness to pride, from accommodation to belonging. It asks a simple but powerful question: what changes when we stop viewing disability through the lens of deficit, and start seeing it as identity? Jeffery VanDyke shares some thoughts from his lived experience.
Let’s begin by sharing a thought. Did you read that part about the Americans With Disabilities Act being passed in 1990. NINE TEEN NINTY. I was 20 years old in the United States of America and we still had to come up with laws to make society workable for people that need some accommodations here and there to make daily life happen. Ways to utilize public equipment. Ways to access a sidewalk. Ways to communicate or hear what’s being presented. It’s hard to believe that common courtesy wouldn’t just dictate a hand out of being polite for someone “different” but we have been known for far too long to kinda sit there and wait to be told to be nice if it’s going to cost too much. Kinda makes you stop and think a little doesn’t it? If not, you can stop reading here.
With the passage of that act, those who are using a mobility device, hearing help or have other conditions that equal disability who have worked, and continue to work, to just be considered equal. Jeffery Vandyke is one of them. His day job is at Disability Network West Michigan, the side hustle is illustration and graphic design. As a lifelong mobility device user, Jeff is acutely aware of the day to day challenged faced by those in the disabled community. He’s really up on what was, what is and what’s being worked on for people with a disability. One striking thing he brought up? “Ugly Laws”. Up until the last arrest in 1974… in the USA, all you had to do was be ugly or unsightly in the USA and you could be arrested. Imagine a burn victim? Armless person? Amputee? Thrown in jail for being ugly. Today, Jeff is afraid of being “institutionalized” due to his inability to walk. That’s a genuine fear.
Pride? What’s being asked? Not much. The ugly stuff should be gone by now. Pride is simply asking for us to see people for who they are first. In a mobility chair? Still a human…feelings, emotions, love, hate, humor and sorrow. Hearing device? Might need assistance or words on a screen, but probably way more “in tune” with things than most of us are. Pride for disabled people is only asking for “see me as me”. No one is asking for a medal, certificate or a star on the fridge for doing a good job. They just want to not be looked down upon…..or looked away from….or whispered about…..or well, hopefully, you get the idea.
Happy Disabled Pride Month!
You can follow Jeff on his Facebook page by CLICKING HERE. To learn a little bit more about the Disability Network West Michigan CLICK HERE.
