What wounds enable: The politics of disability and violence in chicago

In 2009 the rate of violent crime in Chicago was almost double that of New York City and Los Angeles. While the most common cause of violence in urban areas is gun violence, a victim of a gunshot wound is four times more likely to end up disabled than killed. Gun violence is the primary cause of disability among Hispanics and blacks; these two populations, in turn, make up the majority of gang members in Chicago. This chapter is about what injury allows to see about the diversity among disabled populations. While admirable, the focus on assuaging social difference within the disability rights movement has served to obscure key distinctions within disabled communities along the axes of race and socioeconomic status. The chapter contends that the reliance on the medical model is one of many demonstrations of the severity of circumstances for these disabled, African-American ex-gang members.