July is Disability Pride Month, and Brooklyn residents celebrated with an event at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Tuesday. 

Khalia Hayslett was diagnosed with a rare muscle and joint disease at birth and now hopes to show others how to persevere. She was crowned Miss Wheelchair New York this year and is using her platform to elevate and advocate for those with disabilities.  

“My goal ultimately is to create more access,” said Hayslett. “It’s important for us to be out in the community, be visible, create non-disabled allies, and create that lens so that it becomes a part of people’s business models.” 

On Tuesday, Hayslett and dozens of other disability advocates attended Brooklyn Borough Hall’s first Disability Pride Month event to recognize one’s impairments while fighting the fight for inclusivity.  

A sign language performance encouraged attendees to fight on and push through their daily challenges, and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso says he is working to improve accessibility in the borough.  

"From this we're going to be working on building out a task force and just talking about how we can make Brooklyn more accessible and disability friendly,” said Reynoso.