SXU Celebrates Disability Pride Month
July is Disability Pride Month, and Saint Xavier University (SXU) is celebrating with gratitude for its community of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities and its Center for Accessibility Resources, whose staff work each day to empower and provide support to students with diverse abilities.
On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, which banned discrimination on the basis of disability in the areas of employment, public services, transformation and telecommunications. The month highlights a critical time to listen to and amplify voices of people with disabilities and shine a spotlight on those who have been marginalized or discriminated against.
SXU's Center for Accessibility Resources is committed to working closely with staff and faculty in support of equal access, reasonable accommodations and academic assistance for students with documented disabilities. The center works closely with other departments to collaborate on purposeful and student-centered initiatives and educate and foster greater awareness of those with disabilities in programs and events throughout each academic semester.
To honor the month, the Office of Family and Community Engagement is hosting several conversations revolving around Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Stacey Park Milbern's "Disability Justice: An Audit Tool." These conversations will discuss the intersectionality of disability justice, taking stock of how Saint Xavier University is serving disability justice, tools to deepen its work in disability justice, and how its community can put theory into practice. The conversations will be held virtually on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on July 16, 23, and 30. Please email Camila Márquez at marquezFREESXU for information on joining the conversations.
Earlier in the month, the Office of Family and Community Engagement hosted a screening of "Crip Camp," a powerful documentary about a summer camp for teenagers with disabilities and how they transform their lives and ignite a landmark disability rights movement.
There are many opportunities for the SXU community to engage in Disability Pride Month events throughout Chicago. The annual Chicago Disability Pride Parade will be held on July 26 at 11 a.m. in the Chicago Loop. A musical celebration of Disability Pride Month will be held on July 29 at 6 p.m. at Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago, offering attendees the ability to express themselves and their identities through sound, rhythm, and music.
To learn more, visit the Center for Accessibility Resources webpage and check out the Chicago Public Library's Disability Pride Month collection of films, books, and highlights.