July Month Long Observances

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Month
• French-American Heritage Month

Disability Pride Month

Did you know that July is Disability Pride Month? This is a time to celebrate the diverse community of people with disabilities, reflect on the progress that has been made toward equity and accessibility while recognizing the work that remains to build inclusive communities where people with disabilities can thrive with dignity and self-determination. For instance, major inequalities persist in transportation, digital access, physical barriers and many other areas that prevent more than one billion people with disabilities, worldwide, from fully participating in society.

Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July, commemorating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) enacted on July 26, 1990. This law was a landmark that extended civil rights protections to people with disabilities. 

The Disability Pride Month flag is a charcoal gray flag with five parallel colored stripes in a diagonal band that runs from the top left to the bottom right corner:

• Red: Represents physical disabilities such as stroke, arthritis, and spinal cord injuries
• Gold: Represents neurodiversity such as autism spectrum disorder, brain injuries, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• White: Non-apparent (invisible) disabilities and undiagnosed disabilities
• Blue: Represents emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression
• Green: Represents sensory disabilities such as deafness, blindness or low vision, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities 
• Black background: Represents mourning and rage for victims of ableist violence and abuse
• Diagonal Stripes: Symbolizes cutting across barriers that disabled people face, and is meant to allude to the idea of light cutting through the darkness. 
• The flag's design also commemorates and mourns disabled people who have died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, or other injustices, while honoring the resilience and activism of the disability community.

July 2 – Thurgood Marshall’s Birthday

Thurgood Marshall was the first Black Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining the Court, he was a prominent civil rights attorney and is widely known for serving as lead counsel for the NAACP in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Marshall helped change the course of the United States when the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision began the dismantling of legalized racial segregation in education and rejected the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

July 4 – U.S. Independence Day

July 4 marks the day in 1776 when the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress, stating that the 13 American colonies were now free and independent states. Today, the holiday is celebrated with fireworks, parades, and gatherings that commemorate the nation's founding, while also providing an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing pursuit of liberty, equality, and justice for all.