Making Pride for All
There is a lot more to making Pride accessible to everyone than handicapped parking and restrooms
Note: This article was written by Melissa Whitler and originally published in full on the Dallas Voice on May 31, 2024. It has been partially republished here.
Pride Month is a time to bring everyone in our community together and celebrate — like the Dallas Pride theme for 2024 says: Unity in the Community. But for many, Pride events can still feel exclusionary.
For those with certain disabilities or sensory issues, large festivals like Dallas Pride are inaccessible. There are many barriers that can arise for disabled people, including at the information level.
Fair Park boasts handicapped accessible parking, yet it is only labeled on one parking lot out of 15. Its website has a list of ADA-accessible areas inside the park, yet this is nowhere to be found on their accessibility page.
Navigating these kind of events is already hard enough for those with physical disabilities, but without access to information, it is impossible. While there are accessible restrooms throughout the park, there is no map online to help navigate. The Dallas Pride website (DallasPride.org) offers no additional help, saying they include more information but just linking to Google Maps with the promise of “maps and more information coming soon.”
Allison Martin, local disability advocate, recalled how the last two years of Dallas Pride have proven a challenge just to participate in.
“I’m really grateful that these events are happening,” said Martin, “but it feels like it wasn’t put together with people like me in mind.”