The History of the Disability Pride Flag

[Image Description: The image shows the updated disability pride flag with charcoal black, dark green, light blue, white, light yellow, dark red, charcoal black diagonal straight stripes on it.]



Happy Disability Pride Month! Last summer I learned about the history of the updated disability pride flag. Last year I created and posted an infographic about the history of the disability pride flag on Instagram and Facebook after finding out about the updated flag. On the second day of this year's Disability Pride Month, I created and posted another infographic about the history of the disability pride flag with more detail this time. Many people still seem to not be aware of the existence of the disability pride flag. Learning new things and educating people about unique important topics that they may not be aware of instead of immediately jumping to criticizing them are some things that I am passionate about. Modeling embracing my mistakes, love for learning new things, and giving reviews when needed to my students in the classroom are some more things that I am passionate about. So, for this year's Disability Pride Month, I decided to create a blog post about the history of the disability pride flag to educate people about the history, meaning, and importance of the flag and its updated version as a review. Showing support for the disability pride flag is culturally responsive and diversity affirming. The disability pride flag celebrates and shows acceptance of people in the disability community for who they are. All people in the disability community are beautiful inside and out and worthy of acceptance, celebration, and disability pride.



The Origin of the Disability Pride Flag:

    The initial disability pride flag was designed by a writer with cerebral palsy (CP) named Ann Magill in 2019. Ann was motivated to create the disability pride flag after attending a lackluster event for the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 2010 and a 2016 attack on a serving facility for people in the disability community in Japan. This was because the event was "confined to the basement and grounds of an independent living center –– instead of out in public" (Mendez 2025).


Related Links:
  • CONTENT WARNING: The below image (included for historical purposes) may cause strobe/flicker effects on electronic devices. This can trigger seizures, migraines, eye strain, disorientation, photosensitivity, and/or sensory overload.
  • To see the initial disability pride flag, click on the Instagram link below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-Ozf1Yxpky/?img_index=1


What do the colors of the disability pride flag mean?
  • 🖤Black - mourning for victims of ableist violence, abuse, neglect, suicide, rebellion, illness, and eugenics; rage and protest against people in the disability community being mistreated
  • 💚Green - sensory disabilities including deafness, blindness, lack of smell and taste, Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), and all other sensory disabilities
  • 🩵Blue - emotional and psychiatric disabilities including anxiety, depression, and mental illness
  • 🤍White - invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
  • 💛Yellow - neurodiversity
  • ❤️Red - physical disabilities


What did the lightning bolt on the initial disability pride flag symbolize?

    The zig zags on the initial disability pride flag represented a lightning bolt to symbolize the barriers that the disability community navigates. It also symbolized their creativity when it comes to handling these situations and their breakthroughs.


Why was the disability pride flag updated?

[Image Description: There is a disability pride flag with straight diagonal stripes in the order of black, dark green, light blue, white, yellow, red, black with softened shades. My First Former Buddy Club President logo is in the bottom left corner of the image.]



    According to input from many individuals in the disability community, the lightning bolt design and bright color shades caused a strobe/flicker effect when viewed on electronic devices. As previously stated in the trigger warning in this post, strobe/flicker effects can trigger seizures, migraines, eye strain, disorientation, photosensitivity, and even sensory overload. Ann received feedback and a "collaborative effort" from people in the disability community about creating a more inclusive and accessible disability pride flag (Mendez 2025). So, in 2021, Ann Magill redesigned the disability pride flag with diagonal straight stripes of the same colors with softened shades for accessibility purposes. The red and green stripes were also separated to support people in the color-blind community. The stripes "represent solidarity among the various sub-communities of disabled people. According to Magill, the diagonal contrasts with the vertical walls and horizontal ceilings that keep disabled people isolated" (Mendez 2025). Additionally, the diagonal straight stripes symbolize "cutting across barriers that disabled people face and is meant to allude to the idea of cutting through the darkness" (Mendez 2025). Overall, the point of the disability pride flag is to show that there is nothing wrong with being disabled or having a disability.




Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July in honor of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990; however, people in the disability community exist and matter all year round. Disabilities are lifelong meaning that they are permanent and never go away. In fact, disability is the largest minority group in the whole world. In addition, every disability journey is different and equally valid. Lastly, to all of the ableists: I wish you a very unhappy Disability Pride Month. <dark humor> Seriously, though.






You might gain a better understanding about disability pride, inclusion, intersectionality, and accessibility by reading the following blog posts that I have written:



To learn more about disability rights if you are person in the disability community or have a loved one in the disability community, click on the below links to some resources:



Did you enjoy and find this post helpful? If you want to see more content like this and my other content about teaching and advocating for the disability community, please follow me on Instagram and like my Facebook page if you have not already by clicking on the hyperlinks below:




Give feedback! Questions? Compliments? Suggestions? Let me know in the comments section below and/or email me at ehoffbuddyclub@gmail.com !

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                                 Citations

1. Mendez, L. (17 Feb. 2025). What Do the Colors on the Disability Pride Flag Mean? https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a43876914/disability-pride-flag/

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