Jessica F. Simmons

DURHAM N.C – Unified colors of green, blue, white, yellow, red, and black adorned banners, flags, and t-shirts, fluttering in the occasional breeze against the backdrop of a once rain-anticipated clear blue sky. Each vibrant hue represented a unique organization or group dedicated to championing the rights and well-being of individuals of all abilities. In a heartwarming display of unity, empowerment, and friendship, a crowd of 400 people marched, rolled, and walked, flooding Durham’s N Gregson, W Morgan, Albemarle streets during the first much-anticipated Disability Pride Parade that took center stage this morning. 

Despite the scorching 90℉ humid summer heat and the sun casting its golden rays upon the parade route, an unstoppable sense of excitement permeated the air. Participants, wielding bubble wands, toy clappers and buzzing kazoos, danced joyfully to the beats of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and Keala Settle’s “This is Me” playing in the background. And amidst the vibrant atmosphere, the constant roar of “Disability Rights are Human Rights” from passionate advocates, fists raised high in the air, elicited inspiring smiles and applause from the cheering supporters lining the sidewalks and even the restaurant rooftops.

As the parade winds down and heads back to Reality Ministries on 916 Lamond Avenue, its starting point, the event is far from over. It leaves in its wake a trail of inspiration and hope as six speakers and band soon speak and sing about how proud they are to be disabled. The success of Durham’s first Disability Pride Parade occurred just three days after the 33th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Reality Ministries is a non-profit organization that outreaches to disabled people of the Christianity faith to make them feel loved, belonging and included. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a U.S. civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It ensures equal opportunities and accessibility in various aspects of public life, including employment, public services, and accommodations.

“For the last 33 years, there have been parades in different areas celebrating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. But not in Durham, even though Durham has a large disability community that’s focused on disability rights and justice,” said Tatum Tricarico, one of the organizers of the event. 

“Few people understand that disability pride is a thing – that disabled people are, in fact, proud to be disabled. Not all disabled people would wish it away. That’s why we’re doing this too. People are really excited to have a moment where they get to say, ‘hey, like, there’s nothing wrong with me, like, I am proud of who I am, and are part of who I am.’ It feels like a really beautiful representation of that disability pride most people don’t know, and honor the history of the activists that have come before us,” she said.

Tricarico is a 24 year-old woman that uses she/her pronouns and said that she is proud to be disabled. She is a graduate student at Duke University studying divinity and an advocate for disability rights. She has participated in events that honored well-known advocates such as Edward V. Roberts as well as met and interviewed advocates such as Judith “Judy” Heumann just before she passed this year. Tricarico occupies the world being functionally blind.

“I’ve been disabled since birth, and didn’t really identify as disabled until I was about 16. That’s when my vision changed pretty significantly and I started using a cane and reading braille,” said Tricarico.

“When I turned 20, at the start of the [COVID-19] pandemic, I started learning more about disability justice because there’s a difference between just being disabled and advocating disability justice, obviously. So I started learning more about disability justice and reading more about people in history for it,” she said.

Tricarico said that she was specifically inspired by the 504 sit-in that occurred April 5, 1977. To propel the issuance of long-delayed regulations related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, individuals with disabilities and representatives from the disability community staged an occupation of federal buildings in the United States.

Amidst the impact of disability advocacy, Suvya Carroll, one of the six speakers of the event, emerges as a remarkable figure in her own right. 

“Being disabled, my confidence and my self esteem weren’t the same as it is today. People would always look at me like I didn’t belong. They didn’t welcome me into spaces, and  places weren’t always accessible for me. People were not always kind. They’d tell me that I wasn’t going to become someone or do a certain job because of my disability. Instead of getting to know me as a person with a physical disability, they judged me based on my appearance. Now, as I look at myself today, I have become more competent in myself and who I am as a person and as a woman, because of how God created me to be,” she said.

Carroll works as a motivational speaker, disability advocate, and physical accessibility consultant that uses she/her pronouns. Born with cerebral palsy, she gets by in a wheelchair and is also a singer and songwriter of the band “The Meek Squad,” currently working on their second album. In recognition of her achievements, Caroll received the North Carolina Leadership Award from the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities in 2020. Her passions extend to photography, pottery, and inter-abled dancing.

In a resounding display of unity and empowerment, Durham witnessed its inaugural Disability Pride Parade, a milestone event that will leave a trail of inspiration and hope in its wake to the community. Among the colorful sea of banners and vibrant cheers, advocates like Tricarico and Carroll were represented as beacons of strength, reshaping perceptions and challenging stigmas associated with disabilities.

Tricarico said that she’d like to thank all organizations, sponsors, speakers, volunteers and supporters for coming out to the event.

“This is just the beginning of the Disability Pride Parades. Happy Disability Month to everyone,” she said.