Cultural Writing. Political Science. Eighteen percent of Americans -- that's nearly fifty-four million people -- say they have some form of disability, yet this "minority" is not visible on Main Street USA. William J. Peace -- author, activist, professor, and the bad cripple in question here -- contends that, although legislation exists, the segregation that occurs is due to the denial of these people's basic civil and human rights. Issues of accessibility could easily be solved with existing technology, and therefore should not continue to be a problem. The barrier that remains to a more equal existence is bigotry, a learned behavior that Peace, along with a growing movement for disability rights, aims to change.

About the author: William J. Peace has been paralyzed since he was 18 years old. He has spent much of his life analyzing the social implications of being a person with disabilities in the United States.