In Disability Pride Month, note how far we’ve come, acknowledge how far is left to go

While many know June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, few people realize July is Disabilities Pride Month.

We celebrate Disability Pride Month in July because it marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law on July 26, 1990. This anniversary offers a reminder of our ongoing fight for civil rights.

For me, this ongoing fight brought me in front of the Wichita City Council twice this month to support the non-discrimination ordinance. For me, this ordinance was personal. While observing Disability Pride Month, we should push for a stronger nondiscrimination ordinance.

Due to my disability, I’ve struggled to find gainful employment. I told the City Council recently about my experience applying for a cashier job at a major department store. I had excelled through most of the interview process, but when I informed them I would need a stool at my register, their interest suddenly dissipated.

I was denied this job because they insisted the job required running to other departments in the store. While relegating those responsibilities and providing a stool should be reasonable accommodations covered by the ADA, I had little recourse to challenge them because of the complicated and slow state and federal systems.

Wichita’s proposed nondiscrimination ordinance would provide a local option for others with disabilities facing similar job discrimination to protect their rights. I have found my calling as a teacher, and I feel all the more compelled to fight for this ordinance to ensure my students and generations to come don’t face the same discrimination I did.

Nationally, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has proposed the SSI Restoration Act of 2021, which would increase Social Security disability payments to the poverty level, which is sadly a 31% increase from current levels. It would also amend the asset limits for recipients for the first time since 1989 — BEFORE the ADA was law.

Even activities as routine as air travel can present discrimination and hardship for people with disabilities. A Washington Post article said that more than 15,000 wheelchairs and assistive devices have been lost or broken since they began reporting the statistic in 2018. Consider if it were the able-bodied equivalent: airlines breaking 5,000 people’s legs on average for each of the past three years. Yet there has been little outrage and even less action for people with disabilities dealing with this issue.

Disability can manifest in a multitude of ways. For me, it is cerebral palsy. For others, it may be PTSD resulting from military service. For others still it may blindness, dyslexia or arthritis. Each manifestation presents unique civil liberty concerns; united, we can protect them all.

This Disability Pride Month, let’s be proud of how far we’ve come while acknowledging how far is left to go. Let’s gear up to make our voices heard — in our communities, throughout Kansas and across the nation.

This new phase begins with passing a strong nondiscrimination ordinance.

Rob Egan is a high school educator. He is the founder and president of American Collegiate Society for Adapted Athletics and serves as a commissioner on the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns. He lives in Wichita.