At a time when disability inclusion is under serious threat nationwide, New York City’s Commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, Christina Curry, was energizing the community during the sixth annual Disability Unite Festival in Central Park last month.
“Look around. We are here. This is important to say we are here,” Commissioner Curry told Able News under a tent in the scorching sun to kick off the morning celebration. “This is a day for us to socialize, to be out there, to let people know that we exist. We’re not going away.”
More than 50 city agencies and advocacy groups showed up to highlight the power of the disability community. Disabled performing artists, both in-person and virtually, displayed art and soul, while people engaged with booths and enjoyed the day.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer helped turn the iconic Central Park Naumburg Bandshell into Disability Unite’s home. One of the disabled artists who lit up the Bandshell’s stage and moved the crowd was Kalyn Heffernan. The rapper at heart, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a genetic disorder that causes bones to be abnormally fragile and prone to fractures, is the lead singer of the newly reinvented punk band, “Wheelchair Sports Camp.” The group just got signed to a punk label.
“I’m a scrappy DIY kind of guy,” Heffernan told Able News. “We’ve had to find ways to navigate in a world that wasn’t built for us, so I kind of am pretty good at just navigating an industry that certainly wasn’t built for me either.” Next year, the band will be putting out their vinyl punk album called O Imperfecta, a play on words about her disability, wanting to be perfect, and her last name, which means “little demon.”
“It’s really nice to have disabled joy because typically the disability experience is either being pitied upon or we’re having to advocate to stay alive,” Heffernan said. “This album is like permission for me to let loose and have fun.”
Following the Disability Unite Festival, as Disability Pride Month continued, the Office of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine hosted a joint celebration with Disability Unite at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building to mark 35 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The event included live entertainment from American Sign Language Performer Kimberley Mimi Sue and a Disability Inclusion Workshop led by Harlem Independent Living Center. City elected officials talked about the meaning of disability inclusion in their respective offices and advocated for enhanced funding for the Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities.
Disability Unite came about after Matt Axel, its founder and director, wanted to have a proper celebration for the disability community during the height of the pandemic. They aim to fulfill a two-part mission: “to unite the different segments of the community around the issues that we all agree on and to highlight the incredible advocates and organizations that are doing this important work,” Axel told Able News. “We shouldn’t be recreating the wheel. The wheel is there. The wheel is excellent.”
Axel recognizes that there are a multitude of viewpoints on how to recognize Disability Pride Month. Mike Schweinsburg, the president of the 504 Democratic Club, holds some differing views on some of the proceedings. However, both Axel and Schweinsburg are in agreement that they are here for a common goal. “Most of us are here today because we believe…we could help each other and do so much.” Schweinsburg said.
The whole month was filled with disability advocates and organizations celebrating their pride across NYC. It was a vibrant, festive month for the disability community!