This is an updated post about the Disability Pride Flag, explaining the changes, history and symbolism behind it. You can listen to me read it by clicking the player below, or subscribing to my podcast on Spotify or iTunes. Patrons can download the pdf for this.
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The Disability Pride Flag was created by Ann Magill (who is disabled). The flag is public domain, free to use and share.
Symbolism in the Disability Pride Flag:
Each component of the flag symbolizes something unique within the cross-disability community:
The Black Field: Represents our mourning for those of us (disabled people) who have suffered, lost their lives from Ableist violence, negligence, suicide and/ or eugenics.
The Parallel Stripes: These represent solidarity within the Disability Community, despite our differences.
The Five Colors: These colors represent the diversity within disability and our experiences (Mental Illness, Neurodiversity, Invisible and Undiagnosed Disabilities, Physical Disability, and Sensory Disabilities). The colors stand for:
- Red: physical disabilities
- Yellow: cognitive and intellectual disabilities
- White: invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue: mental illness
- Green: sensory perception disabilities
How the Disability Pride Flag Came to Be
You can learn about what inspired Ann Magill to create this flag on her blog, linked here (https://capri0mni.dreamwidth.org/profile) and her artist statement, linked here (https://capri0mni.dreamwidth.org/792638.html). There was a rousing conversation on Reddit about the design, which is a wonderful read, because it gives insight to just how deeply and carefully Ann worked with community to create something that could represent us all. The thread is linked here (https://www.reddit.com/r/disability/comments/uhhdbv/the_disability_pride_flag_by_ann_magill_me_has/).
I really liked the original zigzag design and wasn’t in love with the muted colors of the updated design. But after reading the Reddit thread and all the thought and care behind it, I get it. I’m in.
Ann said that she waved her rights to the flag because she wants to see it used. The biggest gift we can give her to thank her for coming up with this is to USE IT. Put it on our blogs, our profile banners on social media, get it out there. Because while the wheelchair symbol is universally recognized, it only truly represents a minority within the greater cross-disability community. It’s high time we have something that represents us ALL.
This is truly a grassroots effort. Ann Magill did not use fancy software or anything to make this. She’s not a “team” or a nonprofit – so there are not any fancy packages with all the flag stuff. After hours of searching online, I finally thought it might be easier to just take the hex colors for the disability pride flag and make it myself on Canva.
The Color Codes of the Disability Pride Flag:
The color codes shared by Ann Magill for creating the flag (Hexadecimal and RGB):
Black Field: #585858 (80, 80, 80)
Red Stripe: #CF7280 (207, 114, 123)
Yellow Stripe: #EEDF77 (238, 223, 119)
White Stripe: #E9E9E9 (233, 233, 233)
Blue Stripe: #7AC1E0 (122, 193, 224)
Green Stripe: #3AAF7D (58, 175, 125)
The colors may all seem lighter than you are used to seeing and using, but this is intentional, created specifically for online screen use. They are deliberately lightened to make it less likely to trigger seizures or migraines.
Disability Pride Month
With this Disability Pride Flag comes an invitation to celebrate what we have achieved as a community, either through litigation, protest, or peaceful action. It’s an invitation to think about what we, as an incredibly diverse group of people bring to the spectrum of human evolvement.
because we can change culture and disability expands our consciousness
It’s also an invitation to honor the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and learn more about the evolution of and fight for disability rights.
Read: A Review of Crip Camp
because… crip camp. gotta watch it
Watch and Read: A Short History of the Disability Rights Movement
Videos from DREDF embedded. Know your history!
Disability Pride Gear for sale on RedBubble:
disability pride t-shirts, super cool tote bags, stickers, magnets, you name it. it’s there.
Disability Pride Flag Banners for Social Media:
LinkedIn Profile Banner – just right-click save and upload to your profile
Facebook Page Banner (again, right-click save and upload)
Meriah Nichols is a counselor. Solo mom to 3 (one with Down syndrome, one on the spectrum). Deaf, and neurodiverse herself, she’s a gardening nerd who loves cats, Star Trek, and takes her coffee hot and black.
Hi Meriah:
your logo reminded me of the Disability Pride flag because of the five colours/partitions.
you know, it’s so funny because I had no idea of the disability pride flag but I chose my logo for that reason – it seemed to highlight and include difference!
@Meriah, And I was looking again on the Disability Pride Flag and in the last year it has been softened and the saturation has been taken out of it for visually sensitive and photosensitive people in particular.
[it is printed like a vexillogists’ delight].
Still has the meanings and the groups involved.
And I remember the flag being discussed a lot on Tumblr.
@aegipan-omnicron [Ann Magill] is its maker as you credited.
Good to have the T-shirt fairly priced.
***
Another Disability Flag was made by a Spanish man called Enico.
That flag seems to have been around a longer time and have been made for the purposes of sport – it is gold; silver; bronze and the softer shades of those.
[More like many of the sex; sexuality and gender pride flags – to claim continuity with them].
[and also the way That Flags are Designed in general].
***
The thunderbolt is visually arresting and deeply symbolic.
It has me think of natural and human disasters and fortunes and life courses.
[faultlines and earthquakes in particular].
And – yes – barriers and creativity!
I’ve been learning more about it – I’m wondering if the de-saturated one with the straight line is the most current one? Nothing I’ve found online has been definitive. I do prefer that flag to the other one (with the metals) – that doesn’t seem to be symbolic for anything other than sports medals!