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Disability pride

July may be over, but Disability Pride never ends! We're excited to announce the release of our newest merch collection, beautifully designed by Jennifer White-Johnson (@jtknoxroxs), a Black and Puertorriqueña Disabled, AuDHD artist and mama.💥 Inspired by our southern disability community and the people we work every day to represent, this collection reflects what we believe: we take care of each other, we choose community over greed, and we believe accessibility should be the standard. Our new storefront is officially live! Shop the collection through the link on our profile and support our mission!💜 🔥 ALT Embedded. ID: Purple distressed graphic with bold text in the upper right corner that reads, "New Merch Alert!" Centered below are 4 NDS merchandise items: a T-shirt, a long sleeve, sweater, mug, hat, and a button. Each item features the a different design. A T-shirt with large purple text that reads, "Fund Care, Not Billionaires," over an illustration of hands holding a blooming lime green sunflower. A white long sleeve large orange text that reads, "Disability Justice Means Southern Justice" with a large white lotus and two wheelchair users on each side speaking through a megaphone. A white mug with the New Disabled South logo of a purple and orange quilt. A grey sweatshirt with large center text that reads accessible is irresistible in purple and orange, below is an three illustrations of a disabled person using crutches. A white button with blue text that reads, "Access is on the Ballot" with an orange cane going across. A white NDS quilt logo appears in the bottom.

Disability Pride Month may be over, but the need for accessible, quality, and affordable healthcare in the South doesn't end in July. Here's what one disabled Southerner wants people to know about healthcare access. "Since the South is home to a third of all disabled people in the U.S., it's imperative that we have access to quality, affordable health care, yet 7 of the 10 states that refused to expand Medicaid are in our region, leaving hundreds of thousands of us without that care. Additionally, limited funding and low wages resulting in a care-worker shortage has left many disabled Southerners without access to home and community-based services (HCBS), forcing some into institutions. Our rural residents also experience healthcare deserts, with some lacking accessible transportation to reach providers who may be far away. I'm proud to be in the fight for disability justice, including expanded health care access!" ALT Embedded. IDs: S1: A graphic with a landscape background featuring a blue sky and a green grassy plane. In the upper right corner, in ivory text, the graphic says: "Healthcare is a disability justice issue". In the center is a dark purple rounded rectangle with the prompt: "As a disabled southerner, I want people to know:" in response to the prompt reads: "The South is home to a third of all disabled people in the U.S., it's imperative that we have access to quality, affordable health care." The NDS logo is in the lower left corner of the graphic. S2: A light purple graphic featuring a quote from a disabled Southerner about how the South is home to one-third of all disabled people in the United States, the need for quality, affordable healthcare, care worker shortages, and healthcare deserts and limited accessible transportation in rural communities. An illustration of the Earth is in the bottom right. Description continued in the comments below

We want to thank our friends at Play Spark (@play_spark) for highlighting NDS during Disability Pride Month, and for their generous donation! Play Spark has been an NDS supporter for a long time, and we are proud to work alongside them to celebrate our community. They continue to inspire us with their devotion to a more accessible South, and we love wearing their designs! ALT embedded. Image description: A light purple graphic thanking Play Spark. In the center is a photo of the founders, Serena and Kylie, smiling at each other outdoors in front of green trees. Below the photo is a hand holding a sticker that reads “Disability Rights are not Optional” and the Play Spark logo. The New Disabled South logo is at the bottom right.

As a disabled southerner, I want people to know.... "Disability justice has always been deeply tied to environmental justice and climate change. Heat and dramatic weather changes can be a huge trigger for many disabled and chronically ill people. For me, I experience massive symptom flares during heat waves, when there is a lot of smoke from fires, dust storms, during sudden barometric pressure drops, you name it." As one of the hottest recorded summers in history winds down, and as we close out Disability Pride Month, we want to make it clear that our movement is intersectional: disability justice is environmental justice. Environmental factors contribute substantially to disability, chronic conditions, recurring symptoms, illness incidence rates, and health care access, especially in the South. A liberated world is one in which our environment keeps our communities safe, nourished, and as healthy as possible. Are you a disabled Southerner? If so, what do you want people to know? Let us know in the comments, and if you haven't already, make sure you visit our website and subscribe to our newsletter. Just because Disability Pride Month is over does not mean our conversations have to be. ALT Text Embedded Image Descriptions in comments

Happy Disability Pride Month! We are still celebrating by reading powerful pieces like Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century and Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life. These books were edited and written by the late Alice Wong, and both titles explore disability, community, resilience, interdependence and the ongoing struggle for collective liberation. “One of the biggest things that's so toxic about ableism and capitalism is this idea that our worth is based on our productivity. We are interdependent. We know there's more to our worth than just whether we're taxpayers or whether we can work forty or more hours a week” -Alice Wong: Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life. As we remember Alice, we are overwhelmed with deep gratitude for her wisdom and generosity. Alice has taught us so many compelling things over the years. So many lessons and reminders that center our humanity and acknowledge the unique challenges disabled people of color are moving through regularly. That is why we wanted to share two pieces deeply informed by Alice's organizing work and lived experience. Have you read either of the books mentioned? If so, let us know your favorite quote in the comments. ALT Embedded. Image Description: An ivory and purple graphic with ivory and dark purple text. At the bottom of the graphic in purple text is: Disability Pride Month Recommendation. In the center of the graphic is a photo of Alice Wong smiling surrounded by the covers of two books: Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century and Year of the Tiger: An Activist's Life. There is also a multi-color line work pattern behind the photo of Alice. Under the photo of Alice, there is text that has the titles of the books and a brief description of the books: "Edited by the late Alice Wong, Disability Visibility is a collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience. In Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, Alice talks about building community and strengthening the Disability Justice movement."

This Disability Pride Month, we are continuing to uplift the stories of the activists, leaders, artists, and community members who make up our struggle for collective liberation. Today we invite you all to stream New Disabled South's original series, DUAL: The True Cost of Care. This 14-episode series follows the lived experiences of disabled people in the South navigating our broken health care landscape. Visit the link in our bio for details! #DisabilityPrideMonth ALT Embedded. Image Description: An ivory and green graphic with ivory and dark purple text. At the bottom of the graphic in dark purple text is: Disability Pride Month Recommendation. In the center of the graphic is a collage photo with the people featured in the Dual series. There are people of different races and gender groups, along with a multi-colored line-work background behind the photos of people. Under the photo collage of people there is an orange button that says: "Watch for free on YouTube" and under that in all caps is text that says: "Dual: The True Cost of Care". Below the title, there is ivory text that says: "In the 14-episode series, disabled people in the South share their real experiences navigating the intentionally confusing health care landscape with Medicare and Medicaid". The NDS Logo is in the upper right corner and the Weeby awards nomination logo is in the upper left corner.

While July is Disability Pride Month, it is also BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month. It is no secret that Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color are subject to disproportionate amounts of discrimination, mental health access limitations, and other social determinants of health that make it harder to maintain positive mental health outcomes. Let us be clear: disability rights must include mental health access, and we have an obligation to center BIPOC mental health in our movement. Please follow organizations like BEAM, Latinx Therapy, the Asian Mental Health Collective, and StrongHearts Native Helpline for resources today! ALT embedded. IDs: S1: A brown textured graphic includes a multi-color silhouette of 3 people representing BIPOC Mental Health. In the upper right corner is the NDS logo. In the upper left corner of the graphic is ivory text that says: "July is also BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month". S2: An ivory graphic with brown text says: "Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) experience unique barriers when it comes to receiving adequate mental health care. BIPOC people are also more likely to experience intersecting disadvantages (like poverty, discrimination, and housing insecurity) at the same time, worsening the barriers. These conditions are worse for BIPOC in the South due to cost, provider shortages, and limited physical care sites." The NDS logo is in the lower left corner, and in the lower right, there is a photo of a Black person expressing sorrow. S3: A brown graphic says: "Everyone is entitled to adequate resources to achieve and maintain the best mental health conditions, especially those of us living on the margins of oppression. At New Disabled South, we are committed to collective access and collective liberation. We will not experience an improved health care landscape if the mental health of BIPOC people, especially disabled BIPOC in the South, is centered in our organizing and activation efforts. BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity to strengthen that commitment, because disability rights include mental health". The NDS logo is in the lower right. IDs continued in comments.

Happy Disability Pride Month!✨ We are still celebrating by reading powerful pieces like: Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner. “Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing, and pulling all the levers they possibly can. Gradually, excruciatingly slowly, things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, something will tip.” -Judith Huemann Today, Judith reminds us that change takes time, takes strategy, and takes community. With interdependence as one of our core values, we are so grateful for the tenacity and bravery of our disabled ancestors who built the framework and infrastructure for our movement. Have you read Being Heumann? If so, let us know your favorite quote in the comments! ALT Embedded. Image Description: An ivory and purple graphic with ivory and dark orange text. Around the graphic in dark orange text is: Disability Pride Month Recommendation. In the center of the graphic is a black-and-white photo of Judith Heumann speaking into a microphone during the 504 sit-ins. Behind the black-and-white photo of Judith is a yellow book cover featuring another photo of Judith, posing surrounded by flowers in the center. On the book cover is the book title: "Being Heumann—an Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist. The title of the book is also on the graphic. In the upper left corner of the graphic is a quote from the book: "Our anger was a fury sparked by profound injustices. Wrongs that deserved ire. And with that rage, we ripped a hole in the status quo.” In the bottom right corner is the NDS Logo.

It's Disability Pride Month! ✨ This month, and every month, disabled people deserve to be seen, celebrated, believed, fought for, and valued. Disability rights are not conditional. Here's to building a South where disability pride has a place in every community. A South where disabled people can flourish, not just survive. A South where access and dignity are the standard, not an afterthought. A South where justice and collective liberation are possible. Here's to us. 💛 ALT embedded. IDs: S1- Periwinkle blue graphic with a faint woven layer. Left centered in large white words reads: Southern Disabled & Proud. In the bottom left corner of the graphic in small capitalized text reads, “July is Disability Pride Month. Bottom right corner is the New Disabled South logo. S2- Deep purple graphic with a faint woven layer. Left centered in large white words reads: Southern Chronically Ill & Proud. In the bottom left corner of the graphic in small capitalized text reads, “July is Disability Pride Month. Bottom right corner is the New Disabled South logo. S3- Burnt orange graphic with a faint woven layer. Left centered in large white words reads: Southern Hard of Hearing & Proud. In the bottom left corner of the graphic in small capitalized text reads, “July is Disability Pride Month. Bottom right corner is the New Disabled South logo. S4- Cream colored graphic with a faint woven layer. Left centered in large purple words reads: Southern Low Vision & Proud. Next to text is an orange line illustration of glasses. In the bottom left corner of the graphic in small capitalized text reads, “July is Disability Pride Month. Bottom right corner is the New Disabled South logo. S5- Lilac graphic with a faint woven layer. Left centered in large white words reads: Southern Neurodivergent & Proud. In the bottom left corner of the graphic in small capitalized text reads, “July is Disability Pride Month. Bottom right corner is the New Disabled South logo. Descriptions continued in next comment.

Happy Disability Pride Month! We are so excited to announce the launch of New Disabled South's new branding and website! ✨ We are so grateful for the support and hard work of everyone involved in helping us with this rebrand. This website was made for all those in the fight for disability justice. At a time when disability justice is under attack, it is now more important than ever that those impacted and those in the fight with us have the resources they need. Please swipe to learn more about our new branding, updated website and what you can expect from New Disabled South moving forward. ➡️ ALT Embedded. IDs: S1: A dark purple graphic with orange, blue, and ivory elements, text, and motifs. In the lower right corner is an orange and blue photo of a nonbinary person with glasses holding a microphone. The text on the graphic says: "Hey, is this thing on? New Disabled South has something to say". S2: An ivory graphic with text, elements, and multicolored motifs has text that says: "We have rebranded. Welcome to (the new) New Disabled South". The text below the headers says: "Last week, we teased an announcement by sharing some of our values and hopes for this moment and for our disabled communities in the South. Today, we are proud to announce that after years of surveying, planning, and building, we have finally developed new branding for New Disabled South. Centering interdependence and unity of oneness, we want to invite you not just to join us as an organization, but to join us as your political home". In the brochure, the right color is multicolored motifs of people with disabilities, using mobility aids and masks. The graphic also teases part of the new NDS logo. S3: Header: "Starting with our new logo, with multiple variants." Underneath the headings is the second half of the NDS logo. Below the new logo is text that says: "Starting with our new logo, inspired by interdependence, intersectional quilting, woven together by the boldness of protest and the warmth of fresh pies, we are proud to share it with you, our NDS logo". Throughout the graphic, there are several examples of the updated logo. Descriptions continued in comments.

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