Representing the condition of one in five Americans with a visible or invisible disability, an estimated 5,000 people, floats and vehicles marched and rolled from the Harold Washington Library to Daley Plaza on July 26. The Chicago event celebrated the theme “Pride realized is destiny empowered.”
According to parade committee member and women’s liberation activist Janis Stashwick, the three principles of the disabled march are: “Accept us as we are,” “We’re proud of who we are,” and “We’re not going away.”
The parade was headed by Grand Marshall Tony Coelho. Coelho, a former U.S. Congressman from California, was the primary author of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.
At the Daley Plaza celebration, the parade’s planning committee honored veterans who became disabled in imperialist wars, including the Iraq war.
Stashwick says that the Disability Pride Parade has grown to its present size from 1,500 at its inception five years ago. It has also spread abroad, with Norway being the first foreign nation to hold its own parade this year.
