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Photo of Simi taken out of doors on the Berkeley campus. Seated in a red power wheelchair wearing dark glasses. Used in Village Voice article about disability studies (article can be accessed on this website). Photo courtesy of Ruth Morgan.

Disabled Iraqi vets
Disabled Iraqi vets will face their greatest challenge in their transition into the community. As they move from “brave hero” to the life of a citizen, they will have to negotiate the enormous tasks of re-establishing their social life, obtaining an education, and finding employment, work, and love.
None of this is being talked about in the press.
Simi Linton has made the transition to life as a disabled citizen and can provide new angles for journalists who wish to tackle the subject. A particular interest is to demonstrate how the disability rights movement and the disability community can help these men and women move towards community and social integration. This is a major focus of her book, My Body Politic.

Disability rights movement – the other civil rights movement
Disabled people form the largest minority in America. This constituency is chronically under-represented in the media, and their issues are often misrepresented.
Simi Linton can speak on a myriad of issues related to disability rights, including public transportation, discrimination in the workplace, equitable voting rights, “special” education, and physician-assisted suicide.

Advances and remaining obstacles
Thanks to the disability rights movement that gathered force in the 1970s, disabled people are a more visible presence in American society today and disability issues are making their way into the mainstream. However, there is still 70 percent unemployment in the disability community, and discrimination and segregation still mark most disabled people’s lives.
As an example, there is greater access to education and advanced training in professional fields and in the arts, yet these benefits are unevenly distributed by gender, class, and race, and are available to only a small fraction of the people seeking such opportunities.
Simi Linton has witnessed the advances made in the quest for equity over the last 35 years. She can comment on the state of the disability community today, describing the gains as well as the significant obstacles that remain.

 
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