Submitted by Project Access on Mon, 07/27/2015 - 12:12
Victor Calise, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, next to his daughter Lola Claise who sings a song to kick off the parade

New York celebrated its first-ever disability pride parade Sunday.

“We will roll and ride and walk together for a more just New York City,” Mayor de Blasio said before leading a crowd of a few thousand down Broadway from Madison Square Park to Union Square.

The parade marked the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the author of the landmark law, hailed progress toward accessibility but said the high unemployment rate for people with disabilities shows there are still remaining struggles.

Stefan Henry, 26, who has been a quadriplegic since a car accident at age 14, said he was heartened to finally see recognition for people with disabilities.

“A lot of people don’t know about the challenges we go through,” he said. “We’re starting to see signs of people recognizing us as people.”

Photo credit
JEENAH MOON
City
New York
Demographic
Source
Institution
New York Daily News