The City of Somerville has officially designated the month of July as Disability Pride Month, along with July 26 as Americans with Disabilities Act Day.

By Parker Garlough

The City Council voted Thursday to recognize July as Disability Pride Month, and July 26 as Americans with Disabilities Act Day. Somerville will continue to honor these days annually.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed on July 26, 1990, requires that people with disabilities be provided with equal access to employment, government services, public transportation, public-facing businesses, and telecommunications.

“I remember the excitement in the early [Somerville] Commission [for People with Disabilities] when the ADA was passed,” Commissioner Helen Corrigan said. “The passage of this law was a culmination of years of advocacy by local, state, and national groups. The person leading this work – getting it through Congress – was our own Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy.”

Since then, several cities have celebrated Disability Pride Month with parades, flag raisings, and other events. Somerville is officially joining them for the first time. The celebratory events will begin with a flag-raising ceremony on July 11 at 5:00 pm.

Though this may be the first year the City Council commemorated Pride Month, it is not Somerville’s first recognition of the obstacles disabled people face.

Former Mayor Eugene Brune described speaking to a group of senior citizens and inviting them to speak to him in his office to discuss concerns. “A man in the back of the room – I’ll never forget this – said, ‘Mr. Mayor, I have never seen the inside of City Hall, and I will never see the inside of City Hall, because I’m in a wheelchair, and even if I could get through the front door, I could never get to your office,’” Brune said. He responded by asking the Department of Public Works Commissioner to construct ramps that would increase the physical accessibility of City Hall, and creating the Commission for People with Disabilities.

The Commission’s work is ongoing. In addition to planning events for Pride Month, they work year-round to review legislation (such as the recently-passed Safe Streets Ordinance), provide education opportunities for the public, and discuss the physical accessibility of new and renovated buildings.

Another of their recent goals is to install accessible swings in every playground, which they had been hoping to achieve by the first day of July.

Chairperson Holly Simione introduced Carly, a 4-year-old girl with a disability that prevents her from using most swings. “This little girl has been dying for a swing since last August,” Simione said. “Her sweet mom tried every way to get a swing in a park, just one new swing, so when she turned four, she could use a swing that would work for her.”

The Commission intends to achieve this goal, Simione said, “regardless of how many more months we’re going to have to work for Carly so that she and her friends will have a place to swing together.”

Ward Four Councilor Jesse Clingan affirmed the City Council’s commitment to continue working with the Commission to promote disability justice.

“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Clingan said. “We must continue to create an environment where individuals with disabilities can thrive and reach their full potential. This means improving physical accessibility, proven accessible transportation options, and ensuring that our public spaces, institutions, and events are fully inclusive”