Every July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month. It is a time to honor the leadership, brilliance, and resilience of disabled people, and to recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight for equity and inclusion. This month also marks the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law signed on July 26, 1990. What many people may not know is that this historic bill almost left out protections for people living with HIV.
In the late 1980s, as fear and misinformation about HIV/AIDS swept the country, some lawmakers tried to exclude HIV from the protections outlined in the ADA. There were concerns that including HIV would make the bill too controversial to pass. Some opponents argued that adding HIV protections would create too much political risk or lead to unnecessary public backlash.
But activists and advocates stood firm.
Disability rights leaders, HIV advocates, and legal experts refused to accept a bill that protected some people while leaving others behind. They knew that people living with HIV were being fired from their jobs, denied housing, refused healthcare, and pushed out of public life. They also knew that true civil rights protections must include those who are most stigmatized.
One of the biggest battles came in the form of the Chapman Amendment, a proposal that would have excluded people with HIV from ADA coverage. Advocates pushed back with everything they had. They organized, lobbied Congress, testified before lawmakers, and made it clear that a version of the ADA without HIV protections would be a betrayal of the movement’s core values.
Thanks to that organizing, the ADA was passed with explicit protections for people living with HIV. That victory was not inevitable. It was the result of a clear and courageous stance by people who believed in collective liberation.
That courage is what we honor during Disability Pride Month.
The ADA was not handed down as a gift. It was won through decades of protests, lawsuits, sit-ins, hunger strikes, and tireless advocacy. Many remember the powerful image of disabled activists crawling up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to demand access. But just as powerful were the behind-the-scenes moments — advocates making difficult decisions, coalition partners pushing for inclusion, and people with lived experience speaking truth to power.
The inclusion of HIV was a powerful message. It said that civil rights should not be determined by popularity or political convenience. Everyone deserves protection, care, and access, simply because they are human.
That message still matters today.
In this political moment, many of the same communities protected by the ADA, including disabled people, trans people, immigrants, and people living with HIV, are under coordinated attack. Lawmakers continue to introduce legislation that strips people of their autonomy, dignity, and access to care.
This is why we must return to the spirit of the ADA and the movement that made it possible. Disability justice is not only about curb cuts or ramps. It is about access to healthcare, housing, education, and community. It is about recognizing that all bodies and minds are valid. It is about centering people who are often pushed to the margins, including Black and Brown disabled people, LGBTQ+ folks, and undocumented community members.
Disability justice calls us to stand together, especially when it is difficult.
At the Freedom Center for Social Justice, we carry this legacy forward every day. Our work centers on the belief that no one is disposable, and that true freedom is built when we stand together across identities and issues. We uplift trans people, immigrants, people living with HIV, and people with disabilities, not in separate silos, but as part of one interconnected struggle.
Disability Pride Month is more than a celebration. It is a reminder of what it takes to build lasting change. It asks us to remember the risks that were taken so others could be included. It calls on us to follow the example of those who refused to compromise, even when the pressure was intense.
One of the most powerful ideas to come from this movement is simple: Nno one should be left behind.
This July, let us reflect on that truth. Let us honor the history of the ADA, not just as legislation, but as a promise that we must keep fulfilling. Let us uplift the voices of disabled activists and continue expanding what justice means. And let us move forward with boldness, clarity, and care, knowing that when we fight for all of us, we build a world worth living in.