July 26 marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark piece of legislation that seeks to codify rights and protections for disabled people living in the U.S. For several years, July has been celebrated as Disability Pride Month, which many disabled people and their allies see as both a celebration and a highly visible period in which to raise awareness of and advocate for disability rights.
As we head into the back half of Disability Pride Month 2024, you may be wondering how you can show up for disabled people. A major step you can take toward becoming a better disability advocate and ally is learning about disabled people’s experiences and hearing what they have to say. To that end, we’ve compiled the following list of Disability Pride Month books for you to add to your bookshelf—but don’t forget that disabled people exist all year, not just in July. Once you’ve gotten through this list, branch out! There are dozens of disability books out there.
A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability by A. Andrews
Limerence Press’s A Quick & Easy Guide series offers quick dives into topics like sex and gender. This installment by A. Andrews focuses on the intersection of sex and disability, offering a starting point for disabled people and their partners to establish better communication practices both in and out of the bedroom. It debunks myths about disabled bodies and even provides practical tips for having enjoyable, accessible intimacy.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann
The late Judith Heumann is often referred to as the “Mother of Disability Rights,” and for good reason. Paralyzed from polio at 18 months old, Heumann fought tooth and nail for her education and to become a teacher, both of which she was initially refused because of her paralysis. She later led the Section 504 Sit-In at the San Francisco office of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare—the longest takeover of a U.S. government building to date—to pressure the Carter administration to codify protections for disabled people. This led directly to the creation and passage of the ADA, which President George H. W. Bush signed into law in 1990. Her memoir, Being Heumann, candidly chronicles her resistance and resilience.
Black Disability Politics by Dr. Sami Schalk
Dr. Sami Schalk’s Black Disability Politics examines the deep ties between Black and disabled activism and why Black disability activists have not been recognized in the history of the disabled rights movement. Her research includes the archives of the National Black Women’s Health Project and the Black Panther Party, as well as interviews with current Black disabled culture workers and activists to dismantle the white supremacist narrative of disability activism and recenter multiply-marginalized disabled people in the fight for protections and rights.
Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid by Shayda Kafai
In Crip Kinship, author Shayda Kafai does a deep dive into the art and activism of the Bay Area-based performance project Sins Invalid, which centers disabled, queer, trans, and gender nonconforming people of color. Kafai examines Sins Invalid’s disability justice framework and its teachings, which seeks to decenter whiteness in the fight for disability rights and to dismantle the desexing and infantilization of disabled people while forming digital networks and disabled liberation spaces.
Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau
Disability is often confusing, frustrating, and scary for disabled people and their loved ones. In Demystifying Disability, author Emily Ladau uses plain, approachable language to provide information about how to think, talk, and act about disability, recognize ableism, and make accessibility a standard in everyday communication, plan execution, etc. It’s a great resource that provides tons of information without overwhelming the reader.
Disability Visibility & Disability Intimacy edited by Alice Wong
Disabled activist and writer Alice Wong has edited 2/3 planned disability-focused titles from Vintage: Disability Visibility, which features a selection of essays from contemporary disabled writers that range in scope and tone from personal reflections to impassioned calls to action, and Disability Intimacy, which features a selection of essays from contemporary disabled writers about what intimacy means to them—whether it be caregiving, sex, community, or something else. The third book in the series, Disability Vulnerability, will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. It’s slated for publication in 2026.
Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation by Eli Clare
Originally published in 1999, Exile and Pride chronicles disability history and politics from the perspective of white, disabled, genderqueer activist and writer Eli Clare. In Clare’s unpacking of oppressive systems and how they intersect, there’s a call to action for social justice movements to center accessibility for everyone as their first and foremost commitment.
The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
In the follow-up to Care Work, The Future Is Disabled, author and activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha examines the importance of building interabled care webs in the face of a mass-disabling event like COVID-19. They examine how disabled people keep each other alive through mutual aid, community building, art, organizing, and more, and how this work can and should define the future of disabled living, because disability itself isn’t the problem—systemic discrimination and negligence is.
The Pretty One: On Life, Pop Culture, Disability, and Other Reasons to Fall in Love with Me by Keah Brown
#DisabledAndCute creator Keah Brown, a disabled activist and writer, was born with cerebral palsy, which impacts how she moves through the world. In her debut memoir, The Pretty One, she examines her relationship with her non-disabled, identical twin sister, romance, her love of Paramore and pop culture, and how the media’s poor portrayal of disability affected her self-love journey. Brown loves herself, and in these essays, she clearly articulates how normalcy is no longer her goal, because it would force her to hide some of the best parts of who she is.
Read This To Get Smarter About Race, Class, Gender, Disability & More by Blair Imani
Blair Imani’s Read This To Get Smarter is a brief and accessible introduction to social justice topics—including disability—designed for readers at all learning levels. Beyond the pages of the book, Imani also posts “Smarter In Seconds” video content on social media, where she talks about more specific aspects of the broader subjects explored here and regularly features expert guests.
Published: Jul 18, 2024 01:22 pm