Although people with disabilities make up the largest intersectional minority in the U.S. (1 in 4 adults, 26% of the U.S. adult population) (CDC), disability is often left out of conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In recent years, there has been an emergence of Disability Cultural Centers (DCC) in higher education focused on providing welcoming spaces for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities to develop a positive disability cultural identity and sense of belonging on campus. For many people with disabilities, disability is an integral part of their cultural identity.
People with disabilities have forged a group identity. We share a common history of oppression and a common bond of resilience. We generate art, music, literature, and other expressions of our lives and our culture, infused from our experience of disability. Most importantly, we are proud of ourselves as people with disabilities. We claim our disabilities with pride as part of our identity. We are who we are: we are people with disabilities.
Disability Culture and the ADA, Disability Studies Quarterly