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NEADS Celebrates Pride Month!

Ottawa, ON
Friday, June 28th, 2024

As the month of June winds down, the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) would like to wish the #MyNEADS Community an accessible, inclusive, and empowering Pride Month, and reaffirm our commitment to being a progressive and intersectional national organization that reflects the rich diversity of the disabled post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities we represent.
 
This month and always, we reflect on the important cross-community solidarity and inherent interconnection between the disability and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and recognize the essential leadership and contributions of countless queer disabled activists and advocates to both the disability and queer justice movements.

We know that 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are more likely to self-identify as having a disability, and we deeply understand just how disabling transphobia and homophobia can be. The similar and often compounding barriers we face to equality in education, employment, healthcare, legal settings, and beyond further reaffirm the importance of meaningfully practicing cross-community solidarity.

But our community connection goes far beyond the shared challenges we face, and the strength of the connection between the 2SLGBTQIA+ and disability justice movements is eternally embodied in our advocates and activists. From Frida Kahlo and Lord Byron, to Jazzie Collins and Marsha P Johnson, to Lydia Brown and Spencer West and Lady Francesca – we know that neither the 2SLGBTQIA+ movement nor the disability justice movement would be what they are today without each other.

Our communities are united through our collective history of challenging the cis-heteronormative, ableist, racist, and patriarchal status quo, of finding hope and solace in community, and of pushing for change for a more inclusive and accessible world for all.

Amidst the growing wave of transphobic legislation and homophobic rhetoric, the worsening youth mental health crisis, and continued barriers to true marriage equality,
we remain committed to promoting and protecting the rights of all 2SLGBTQIA+ disabled and neurodivergent post-secondary students and graduates in our work.

We will continue to ensure our advocacy efforts meaningfully represent our constituents in all their diversity and reflect the unique intersecting barriers they face by continuing to work with and support on-campus disabled student groups and student unions who truly embody intersectional justice in all the work they do.

We will continue to expand our partnership program to further develop cross-community connections with by-and-for organizations representing 2SLGBTQIA+ people, with an emphasis on organizations serving youth, racialized individuals, and those at-risk of homelessness.

We will work with our Board of Directors to monitor the concerning developments related to the spread of transphobic legislation, and will use every available opportunity to defend the rights of transgender and gender-diverse post-secondary students with disabilities at the federal and provincial levels.

We will also work with our Board of Directors to advocate for both increased provincial disability supports and more flexible eligibility criteria to address ongoing barriers to marriage equality for queer disabled families.

As another Pride Month ends, we ask that our #MyNEADS Community join us in celebrating the incredible accomplishments and contributions of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and practicing cross-community allyship year-round.

Carly Fox (she/her/elle), carly.fox@neads.ca, NEADS Communications and Partnerships Director |Directrice des communications et des partenariats de NEADS

National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
Rm. 514 Unicentre, Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6

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