The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and its supporting departments, invite you to celebrate Disability Pride Month. Through virtual and in-person events, CNRA departments, commissions, and conservancies will be honoring disabled leaders in the environmental field who work to protect the environment for current and future generations and encourage others to become environmental stewards.
This year’s Disability Pride Month theme, “Proud to Be Me,” celebrates the power of authenticity, self-acceptance and visibility. Pride fluorishes when people are seen, respected and fully included as their whole selves. Join us throughout July for events and activities that honor the diverse experiences of people with disabilities, uplift their contributions and advance equity across California.
Special thanks to the Department of Rehabilitation for their partnership and invaluable contributions to launch Disability Pride Month programming at the California Natural Resources Agency.
Panel: State Employees Driving Disability Inclusion
Time: 10 am to 11 am
Location: Zoom
Registration: Launch Meeting - Zoom
Description: July is Disability Pride Month and marks the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a groundbreaking law that opened the door to greater inclusion and equal rights for people with disabilities. Today, that movement towards fair and inclusive workplaces continues. Please join the Department of Rehabilitation and the California Natural Resources Agency for an inspiring panel discussion featuring state workers with disabilities who are helping to make their departments more welcoming and inclusive. They’ll share their pathways to equity and insights about navigating the workplace and leading efforts to create positive change across government. The panel will be moderated by Candis Welch, DOR Deputy Director of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility ( I.D.E.A.) Division.
Volunteer Event: Cottage Park Clean Up!
Time: 7 am to 10 am
Location: Cottage Park, 3097 Cottage Way, across from Kaiser, park in the pool parking lot area
Description: In honor of Disability Pride Month, join us for a hands-on volunteer event to help make the walking trail along the slough at Fulton El Camino Park more accessible for all. Over time, the trail has become overgrown with brush and branches, making it difficult for some to navigate. During this two-hour working event, volunteers will help clear the path and create a more welcoming outdoor space. For those who prefer other tasks, there will be alternative projects like repainting accessible parking symbols. Tools will be provided, and the trail offers shade from overhead trees. Bring work gloves if you have them and wear long sleeves and pants if you plan to use power tools. Let’s come together to support inclusion, community and access to nature!
Register: CNRA DAC Pride Event Sign-up
Speaker Series: Leading Equitably: A Conversation with Kim Rutledge, Department of Rehabilition's Newest Leader
Time: noon to 1pm
Location: Zoom
Registration link: https://ca-water-gov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dj_rLMpST4KhHCHrpy8SHg
Description: Celebrate Disability Pride Month with an intimate discussion between California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and Kim Rutledge, the newly appointed Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation. Hear how Rutledge’s lived experience, policy expertise and leadership drive her vision to expand opportunity, independence, and equity for Californians with disabilities.
Disability Pride Month
July is Disability Pride Month, an annual celebration of differing abilities that connects back to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a ruling prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. This is a time to honor and uplift the identities, resilience and contributions of disabled people across our country. The disability pride flag colors symbolize a variety of experiences:
- Red: physical disabilities
- Gold: cognitive and intellectual disabilities
- White: nonvisible and undiagnosed disabilities
- Blue: psychiatric disabilities
- Green: sensory disabilities
- Black: honoring those who have died due to negligence, suicide, rebellion, illness, and eugenics
