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Celebrate Disability Pride Month with these reads!

July is Disability Pride Month! It’s a time to celebrate disabled communities and disability rights activists, highlight disabled voices, and fight against ableism. Disability Pride Month is an important opportunity to honor the history, experiences, and struggles of the community, while also raising awareness and encouraging visibility and inclusion. It began in 1990, the year the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. The Disability Pride flag is made up of 5 different colors, each of which holds a specific meaning: red for physical disabilities, gold for neurodiversity, white for invisible and undiagnosed disabilities, blue for emotional and psychiatric disabilities, and green for sensory disabilities. Understanding ableism is a good place to start in supporting disabled communities. Ableism is discrimination in favor of able-bodied people–the idea that disabled people are somehow inferior to abled people. It often intersects with other forms of oppression such as racism, classism, and homophobia. Everyone, including disabled people, is capable of perpetuating ableism. It is built into various societal systems and can be expressed in many ways, from overt to more subtle microaggressions. While it’s important to support disabled communities and avoid ableist language and ideas every day, Disability Pride Month is a great time to get started and become educated. Here is a list of books with disability and queer rep to add to your TBR. “Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao is a sci-fi novel perfect for fans of “Pacific Rim” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” as it expertly blends Chinese history and mecha aliens for battle. “True Biz” by Sara Novic is a moving novel that deals with romantic, political, and familiar shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf. “One for All” by Lillie Lainoff is a retelling of “The Three Musketeers” with a girl dealing with chronic illness who trains as a Musketeer and discovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love. “Disability Visibility” by Alice Wong is a riveting anthology featuring a collection of first-person stories and essays that shine light on the experience of life as someone with disabilities. What are you reading for Disability Pride Month?