money Understanding the Design of the Disability Pride Flag
July is Disability Pride Month — it's held that month to recognize the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990. The visual representation of disability pride is a colorful and meaningful banner created by disabled writer Ann Magill. The newest disability flag, unveiled in October 2021, shows a straight diagonal banner of five colors on a dark background. This most recent version is an update of Magill's original design, which showed the banner with zigzag lines.
The largest minority group in the United States is people with disabilities. In fact, just over a quarter of the population across all ages, races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities and religions have a disability, according to the CDC. Despite the statistics, it wasn’t until July 26, 1990, that the ADA was passed, creating legal protection for the rights of disabled people in employment and transportation.
Over three decades later, people with disabilities continue to be marginalized by a society that still holds many harmful assumptions about disabilities and the disabled. Such ableism keeps many barriers in place for people with disabilities. The disability pride movement reinforces that people with disabilities are positive societal contributors. During Disability Pride Month, and throughout the year, it’s critical to recognize the barriers, challenges and prejudices people with disabilities encounter while celebrating the meaningful contributions of disabled people.
Flags can raise awareness and are a symbol of solidarity, pride and acceptance — LGBTQ+ flags for various sexualities and the Juneteenth flag are good examples.
The disability pride flag allows us to acknowledge that being disabled is complicated. "For a fledgling social movement like disability pride, having a flag to fly is valuable. We have a long way to go before disability justice is acknowledged on an actionable scale, but the disability flag is a way to get there. It’s a signpost, like wearing the shirt of your favorite band, that allows you to find your people," says John Loeppky, a freelance disabled journalist. “The flag represents an acknowledgment, within the disability community and outside of it, that we’re here, loud and proud of our identity.”
What is the origin of the disability pride flag?
The 2021 disability pride flag is an update of Magill's original version, which showed the banner with zigzag lines. Magill decided to create a disability pride flag after she attended an event for the 20th anniversary of the ADA and was disappointed that it was confined to the basement and grounds of an independent living center — instead of out in public. The original zigzag design created a strobe effect on computer and phone screens, potentially worsening symptoms for individuals with visually triggered disabilities, including epileptic seizures and migraines.
She received feedback from people within the disabled community on creating a more inclusive and accessible banner for the disabled community and released a new and improved disability pride flag in 2021. Insight from people with photosensitivity helped drive the visuals behind the 2021 version of the disability pride flag. It’s only fitting that the new flag’s design was a collaborative effort. After all, a common motto in the disabled community is “Nothing about us, without us.”
The updated disability pride flag has been well received by the disabled community. "The disability pride flag allows us to acknowledge that being disabled is complicated, which can be a challenge in a society that caters to able-bodied folks," says Jordan LeVan, founder of The Apraxia Foundation. “It’s crucial to let others with disabilities know that they can be proud of who they are. When we're able to accept ourselves, we can then move on to disability pride, which the flag represents.”
What is the meaning of the disability pride flag?
The flag features a straight diagonal banner of five colors on a dark background — a slight yet meaningful evolution from the original design. The amended flag displays stripes to 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.
The diagonal, straight band of stripes showcases cutting across barriers that disabled people face and is meant to allude to the idea of light cutting through the darkness. The parallel stripes are placed from the top left, known as the "canton" or place of honor, to the bottom right corner, or the "fly," representing the wider world. To LeVan, the disability pride flag's intends to convey there’s nothing wrong with having a disability.
What do the colors on the disability flag represent?
The 2021 disability flag was designed to include all six standard international flag colors to signify that the disability community is wide-reaching. According to Magill's Reddit post, the warm and cool colors were grouped separately on either side of a white band to “lessen the chance of a flicker effect when scrolling online, lessen a nausea trigger for those who suffer from migraines and separate the red and green stripes for those with color blindness.”
The colors have different luminosity and radiate from the brightest in the center towards darker shades in the exterior stripes, which helps people with color blindness distinguish the stripes, even in grayscale.
“The newest design of the disability pride flag is important as it highlights multiple experiences and identifies diversity in the disability community with different colors representing various disabilities,” LeVan says.
Here's what the colors symbolize, in order of appearance from top to bottom:
Green is for sensory disabilities.
Blue represents emotional and psychiatric disabilities.
White stands for non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities.
Gold is for neurodiversity.
Red represents physical disabilities.
The stripes are displayed on a faded charcoal black background which commemorates and mourns disabled people who’ve died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness and eugenics. The dark background also represents rage and protest against the mistreatment of the disabled community. According to the creator’s statement, black is also a connection to the pirates’ Jolly Roger flag, a general symbol of rebellion.
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