Disability History Month is coming up!
Running from November 14th – December 20th each year, this is a celebration of the long, complicated, and nuanced history of the disability rights movement across the world. In the US, Judy Heumann is still celebrated as the “Mother of the Disability Rights Movement”, for her role in the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law.
In the UK, Barbara Lisicki, the founder of the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN), played a significant role in the passing of the Equality Act. Both pieces of legislation stated that the law protected disabled people from discrimination for the first time – but our history of campaigning for rights was a tale told long before then. And it still has an impact to this day.
In the run up to the celebration, there are often calls across social media for brands to get involved – and to go beyond merely posting a graphic in celebration once in a while, to tick a box that says ‘job done’. Celebrating has to be done in the right way, to avoid tokenism. It also means authentic inclusion and representation – and not just merely including one disabled person in a campaign to ‘tick a box’ of ‘we’ve done inclusion’.
5 Tips For Brands To Celebrate Disability History Month
1. Know the language
A lot of fear seems to be based around language – and what happens if all but a word is gotten wrong. While accuracy and sensitivity are important, so is still taking part in Disability History Month – while being willing to learn.
Often, specific charities or organisations concerning a particular disability have a language guide that is available for free on their website. Sometimes it will be under the media section for journalists; this is a cheat sheet of particular terms, etc., and they are all a quick Google search away!
It’s also important to note that disabled people are not a monolith – so the experiences of one person are not reflective of a collective. If you are engaging one on one with a disabled person, ask them the specifics of describing themselves, but take the recommendations of organizations as a standard when it comes to a group of more than one person.
Cultural customs are also important to note. In the UK, ‘with disability’ is generally considered to be offensive. So ‘Persons with disabilities’ or ‘she is a person with a disability’ is a no no. ‘Disabled person’ or ‘disabled people’ is generally the way to go. Any language that is affirming is something you generally can’t go wrong with – and if you are politely corrected, please just listen to us. And don’t speak for us on this.
2. Be aware of anything visual
In this day and age, anything posted online or in print usually has to have something eye-catching to go alongside it. Most of a brand’s communication and marketing is done on social media and in the digital world, where images are essential, but video content is also growing more and more in popularity. So, what can brands do to make sure this reflects their commitment and celebration of Disability History Month?
If you are using any kind of video content, make sure that it is captioned, or that captions are automatically enabled – such as if you upload to YouTube or Instagram. Add alt text to your images too, so that screen readers can ‘read’ the photo to a user who may have a visual impairment. Accessible content is essential, not just during Disability History Month, but throughout the year.
Earlier this year, there was a row about schools actively not including disabled children in school photographs; this is a symptom of a much wider problem. If you are using visual campaign materials, think of diversity in the resulting photos – can we go beyond a token white woman who uses a wheelchair?
Disability is the biggest marginalised group and there is so much diversity within it – we can do better in our efforts! Disability can be incidental, too – such as in being depicted in a campaign on an unrelated matter, in just being something matter-of-fact in its depiction. For example, imagine you’re creating a fashion campaign, why not include at least one disabled model in the cast? You don’t have to make a big deal out of it; like everyone else, disabled people use clothes and love fashion!
3. Talk about disability in your campaigns
When we talk about disability in campaigns, we need to all demonstrate an awareness of concepts such as tokenism and inspiration porn – and work to eradicate them. The ‘work’ of DEI inclusion carries on all year around, not just for Disability History Month each year. So be direct about disability – don’t shy away from it. More on how to do that in a second.
4. Know the history
Without wishing to overstate the obvious; Disability History Month has a history to it – it’s in the name – and it should be celebrated! How do we do that? We get to know the history. And we get to know it well and accurately.
If you, as a brand, are planning on specifically celebrating Disability History Month, you may be posting on social media for instance. If you are, you might want to post about specific individuals related to the disability rights movement. Celebrated so they should be – but in a way that is accurate, and without the tokenism. Depict disability as just something to know about – we are not an inspiration, nor are we a tragedy.
5. Carry on working in the DEI space afterwards!
Disability inclusion is an effort that carries on year round; a month to celebrate history is not just a one off. Accessibility is a legal obligation across institutions – and we can all afford to be learning throughout the year, too.
After the celebration ends, think how you can carry on learning as an organisation. As a brand, are you including disabled people as a regular feature in photo imagery used on social media, for instance? Are you working to ensure events are accessible, such as by making sure there is a lift in the building? What about DEI training for all employees? Have you diversified your social media feed to ensure visibility? It is an ongoing learning process, we all make mistakes – but trying and showing up is what counts, ultimately.
Conclusion
To celebrate Disability History Month means to take a panoramic point of view, to ensure that inclusion in the disability space carries on throughout the rest of the year. The disabled community is the largest minority in the world, and it should be celebrated like any other marginalized group. This article hopefully helped you learn more about what you can do this year, and if you are still looking to learn more, work with the community!
The Purple Goat team are experts in inclusive marketing and hand-hold brands through their inclusion journey to become more confident around disability. So make sure to reach out to learn more!
