GLAD Celebrates Disability Pride Month: July 2023

This Disability Pride Month, we’re highlighting incredible LGBTQ+ disability justice advocates who are fighting to affirm and protect the rights of people with disabilities.


Lydia X. Z. Brown

Lydia X. Z. Brown (they/them or no pronouns) is a Chinese-American disability justice advocate, organizer, educator, attorney, strategist, and writer whose work has largely focused on violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people, especially institutionalization, incarceration, and policing. They have worked to advance transformative change through organizing in the streets, writing legislation, conducting anti-ableism workshops, testifying at regulatory and policy hearings, and disrupting institutional complacency everywhere, from the academy to state agencies and the nonprofit-industrial complex.

Lydia X.Z. Brown, a Chinese American person with short blue-green hair, smiles at the camera. They are wearing glasses, a blue suit and tie, and a purple pin that reads "there is no wrong way to have a body." Behind Lydia is a stone wall.
[Image Description: Lydia X.Z. Brown, a Chinese American person with short blue-green hair, smiles at the camera. They are wearing glasses, a blue suit and tie, and a purple pin that reads “there is no wrong way to have a body.”]

Imani Barbarin

Imani Barbarin (she/her) is a queer writer, public speaker, TikToker, and disability rights activist who also goes by the username Crutches and Spice. Imani writes from the perspective of a Black woman with Cerebral Palsy, specializing in blogging, science fiction, and memoir.

Imani Barbarin, a feminine-presenting Black woman with with long black black, blue, and green braids, stands sideways, her face turned to the camera. She is wearing a black dress and holding a silver mobility aid. In the background, there are trees and grass, skyscrapers, and a parking lot underneath a cloudy sky.
[Image Description: Imani Barbarin, a Black woman with long black, blue, and green braids, stands sideways, her face turned to the camera. She is wearing a black dress and holding a silver mobility aid. In the background, there are trees and grass, skyscrapers, and a parking lot underneath a cloudy sky.]

AC Goldberg

AC Goldberg (he/him) is a white, Jewish, physically disabled intersex/transgender DEI consultant, lecturer, and speech-language pathologist whose mission is to cultivate affirming spaces for people of all neurotypes, races, genders, ages, religions, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, and (dis)abilities. AC’s work centers around empathy, humanity, and intersectional cultural responsiveness. With over two decades of experience, AC seeks to revolutionize spaces by practicing restorative justice and fostering a sense of belonging for all. 

AC Goldberg, a white, masculine-presenting person with short brown hair and a goatee, smiles at the camera. He wears glasses, a blue and white sweater over a black t-shirt, and necklaces. Behind AC is a blue gradient background.
[Image Description: AC Goldberg, a white, masculine-presenting person with short brown hair and a goatee, smiles at the camera. He wears glasses, a blue and white sweater over a black t-shirt, and necklaces. Behind AC is a blue gradient background.]

Aaron Rose Philip

Aaron Rose Philip (she/her) is an Antiguan American writer, model, and disability rights activist. In 2018, she became the first Black, transgender, and physically disabled model to ever be represented by a major modeling agency and has since modeled in several major high fashion photo shoots and campaigns. Aaron is an especially fierce advocate for the representation of transgender women of color within the fashion industry, especially those with disabilities.

Aaron Rose Philip, a feminine-presenting Black trans woman, looks into the camera as she moves down a "catwalk" modeling stage. She is sitting on a black mobility device. Her dark brown hair is pulled up from her shoulders and she is wearing a fashionable yellow and white trimmed outfit set.
[Image Description: Aaron Rose Philip, a feminine-presenting Black transgender woman, looks into the camera as she moves down a “catwalk” modeling stage. She is seated on a black mobility device. Her dark brown hair is pulled up from her shoulders, and she is wearing a fashionable yellow and white trimmed outfit set.]

Andrew Gurza

Andrew Gurza (they/he) is an award-winning Disability Awareness Consultant and the Chief Disability Officer and Co-founder of Bump’n, a sex toy company for and by disabled people. He has spoken all over the world on sex, disability, and what it means to be, in his own words, a Queer Cripple. 

Andrew Gurza, a white, masculine-presenting person with short brown hair and stubble, smiles at the camera. They are sitting on a mobility aid and wearing a green sweatshirt with the words "gimp." Behind Andrew is a hot pink background.
[Image Description: Andrew Gurza, a white, masculine-presenting person with short brown hair and stubble, smiles at the camera. They are sitting on a mobility aid and wearing a green sweatshirt with the words “gimp.” Behind Andrew is a hot pink background.]

Derrick Quevedo

Derrick Quevedo (he/him/isu/siya) is a Diasporic IlokanX/Tagalog artist and disability activist currently living on Piscataway lands. In addition to drawing and painting, Derrick also writes and posts educational content on social media, especially about neurodivergence, disability, Madness, and racialization.

A self-portrait of Derrick Quevedo, a Diasporic IlokanX/Tagalog, masculine-presenting person, with his eyes closed. He has short black hair pulled into a bun, with the sides of his head shaved. He wears glasses, black earrings, and a white and maroon buttoned shirt.
[Image Description: A self-portrait of Derrick Quevedo, a Diasporic IlokanX/Tagalog, masculine-presenting cisgender man, with his eyes closed. He has short black hair pulled into a bun, with the sides of his head shaved. He wears glasses, black earrings, and a white and maroon buttoned shirt. Behind Derrick is a pink background.]

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard (she/her) is a white, disabled, chronically ill lesbian educator and content creator known for her videos on disability awareness, LGBTQ+ history, and vintage fashion. Jessica seeks to be a positive role model for disabled LGBTQ+ people, especially those who are Deaf and have ADHD.

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, a white, feminine-presenting person with styled red hair, poses and smiles at the camera. She wears her classic "vintage" style, with red lipstick, white gloves, a pearl necklace, a light blue top, and a blue and green flower in her hair. She holds up a vintage film camera.
[Image Description: Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, a white, feminine-presenting person with styled red hair, poses and smiles at the camera. She wears her classic “vintage” style with red lipstick, white gloves, a pearl necklace, a light blue top, and a blue and green flower in her hair. She holds up a vintage film camera. Behind her is a forest.]