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Celebrating Disability Pride Month

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Disability Pride Month.
A message from Disability Officer Dr. Debora Lee Chen.

Hello All,

July is Disability Pride Month, which celebrates the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. This landmark federal civil rights law prohibits discrimination based on disability. According to the ADA, a person with a disability is someone who:

  • Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
  • Has a history or record of such an impairment (such as cancer that is in remission), or
  • Is perceived by others as having such an impairment (such as a person who has scars from a severe burn).

As the birthplace of the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement, Berkeley has long been at the forefront of the fight for accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunity. This month, we honor the trailblazers who transformed history, celebrate the advocates carrying that work forward, and reaffirm our commitment to creating a community where every person is valued, included, and empowered.

Did you know?

  • A Large Community: The disabled community represents more than 27% of the adult US population (over 50 million individuals). (NIH)
  • Health Disparities: Compared to people without disabilities, people with disabilities have less access to health care, experience more depression and anxiety, engage more often in risky health behaviors such as smoking, and are less physically active. (CDC)
  • Mental Health Impact: Mental health problems are the leading cause of disability. (PAHO/WHO)
  • Concussions & Brain Injuries: Over 5.3 million Americans—about 1 in 60 people—live with a permanent disability caused by a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Furthermore, up to 30% of individuals who sustain a concussion (mild TBI) experience persisting, long-term symptoms. (CDC / BIAA)
  • Notable Figures: Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, a blind UC Berkeley professor, founded the National Federation of the Blind—the nation’s oldest blindness advocacy group—and mentored many of the early leaders who sparked Berkeley’s Independent Living Movement. (Berkeleyside)

Educational Resources

To learn more about the deep history of disability activism, check out these excellent tools curated by the Berkeley Public Library:

UC Berkeley Campus Resources

Happy Disability Pride Month!

Dr. Shoge’s Story

Dr. Ruth Shoge reflects on resilience, identity, and invisible disability.

“July is Disability Awareness Month, and this year I want to share something I’ve quietly lived with my whole life. I was diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD-SS) at age one. Though SCD was well understood by then, it was still considered a childhood disease, meaning I’ve far exceeded what doctors of that era expected. Living with SCD has come with real limitations: I couldn’t play contact sports, I tire more easily than most, and I have to stay vigilant about hydration and pain management. But my parents never let me believe those limitations defined what I could accomplish. They encouraged me not to live as disabled, and because of that, I’ve built a life I’m proud of.

Honestly, I haven’t always embraced living with a disability. For a long time, it felt like something to overcome, suppress, or deny. But why deny something that’s actually a superpower? Living with a disability, especially one that’s invisible, has taught me to live creatively. My default question isn’t ‘why can’t I do this?’ It’s ‘how am I going to make this work?’ That shift has given me a can-do spirit I carry into everything. I spend far more energy on what I can do than on what I can’t, and there’s real pride in that.” – Ruth Shoge, OD, MPH, FAAO

About Dr. Shoge