The RTA Celebrates Chicago's Disability Pride Parade! | Regional Transportation Authority

The 14^th Annual Chicago Disability Pride Parade is tomorrow and the RTA is a proud sponsor along with CTA, Metra and Pace. We will all be participating in the parade and have a booth at Daley Plaza after the parade to share information on transit programs and services offered to people with disabilities to promote independent mobility throughout the region.

The overall mission of the Disability Pride Parade is:

To change the way people think about and define “disability”;
To break down and end the internalized shame among people with disabilities; and
To promote the belief in society that disability is a natural and beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disabilities can take pride.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR04y9TWW-M]

This year’s grand marshals are Commissioner Karen Tamley, her husband Kevin Irvine and their daughter Dominika. Karen is the commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and she has been in every pride parade since the first one in 2004. Kevin serves as a Director on the CTA Board and the All Stations Accessibility Program working group, which is creating a plan to make the entire rail system accessible. Dominika is a rising sixth grader at Agassiz Elementary, an expert user of public transit and loves exploring the city and suburbs on buses and trains.

The Chicago Tribune ran a great feature on the family today before they march in tomorrow’s parade, check it out here!

Pace will drop off participants at 401 S. Plymouth Ct., which is found on the west end of the Chicago Public Library. Registration will be located on the northeast corner at Van Buren. The route will start from Plymouth Ct. to Dearborn St., then go North to Daley Plaza.

Have more questions about the parade? Check out the Disability Pride Parade's FAQ page for answers.