Disability Pride Month Series — Marie W.O.W.C.P.

Sometimes I feel like I belong to a generation that existed between two worlds.

I was born after the disability rights movement had already begun changing lives, but before many of those changes fully reached everyday life.

I was born after people had already started fighting for accessibility, inclusion, and equal opportunities.

But I was also born before many of those rights became protected by law.

I was part of the generation in between.

I grew up during a time when disability was often still hidden away from public view.

Many people still saw disability through the lens of limitations rather than possibilities.

Accessibility was not something people automatically thought about.

Inclusion was still something many families and individuals had to fight for.

As a child growing up with cerebral palsy, I learned very quickly that the world was not always built with people like me in mind.

There were stairs where there should have been ramps.

There were assumptions where there should have been understanding.

There were times when people saw my disability before they saw me.

And there were moments when I wondered if I truly belonged.

Then came one of the most important moments in disability history.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act became law and opened the door to greater accessibility and opportunity for millions of people with disabilities across the country.

The ADA did not magically erase every barrier.

But it changed the direction we were moving.

It told the world that access matters.

That inclusion matters.

That people with disabilities deserve to participate fully in their communities.

I often think about how different my life might have been if I had been born ten years earlier.

I also wonder how different life might have been if I had been born ten years later.

That is why I call myself part of the generation in between.

I remember a time before accessibility became something people expected.

I remember a time when representation was rare.

I remember a time when people with disabilities were often spoken about rather than spoken with.

But I have also lived long enough to watch change happen.

I have watched more doors open.

I have watched more voices rise.

I have watched disability become something more people are willing to talk about openly and honestly.

And that gives me hope.

My generation became a bridge between those who fought for disability rights and those who will continue the work in the future.

We benefited from the sacrifices of those who came before us.

And now we have the opportunity to make things better for those who come after us.

That is something I carry with pride.

Disability Pride Month is not only about celebrating where we are today.

It is also about honoring those who built the path beneath our feet.

Because every ramp, every accommodation, every accessible entrance, every opportunity, and every voice that is heard today exists because someone refused to accept that disability should mean exclusion.

I am grateful to those individuals.

I am grateful to those advocates.

And I am proud to be part of the generation in between.

A generation that remembers where we came from.

A generation that sees how far we have come.

And a generation that still believes in how far we can go.

— Marie W.O.W.C.P.

Seeing the Beauty Between the Challenges 💛