Courtesy of OHR.

Baristas, bank tellers, and Mayor Muriel Bowser were among the 1,700 people who took part in a daylong campaign yesterday aimed at ending the social exclusion of people with disabilities.

“End the Awkward: Focus on the Person, Not the Disability” was meant to make people who don’t normally think about disability issues aware of how certain behaviors—however seemingly well-meaning—might affect individuals with disabilities negatively.

“Sometimes people don’t know what to do or how to respect a person who is deaf or blind or in a wheelchair,” said Elver Ariza-Silva, a polio survivor and outreach specialist for the non-profit Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities. Afraid of saying the wrong thing to someone who doesn’t look or act like them, people will simply disengage. The campaign is trying to put an end to that.

More than 550 members of the public and nearly 1200 employees from 46 organizations registered to wear pins that said “End the Awkward: Ask Me How” and pledged to travel only on accessible routes for the day.

“People with disabilities represent a vibrant and vital part of our community,” Bowser said. “‘End the Awkward’ sends an important message: everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.”

When asked about their pins, participants recited pre-written tips formulated by the D.C. Office of Human Rights and 16 partner organizations. Here are some scenes from the day and the advice they shared.

End the Awkward is one of multiple events in D.C. ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26.

Filed Under: ada, end the awkward, office of human rights, ohr,