Photo by Harvey Finkle.

Almost every day last year I walked by this photo. It hung in the window of the old location of Liberty Resources on Market Street, here in Philadelphia. Liberty Resources, Inc. is a not-for-profit, consumer-controlled organization that advocates and promotes independent living for all persons with disabilities. As a Center for Independent Living, it advocates with disabled people, individually and collectively to ensure their civil rights and equal access to all aspects of life in the community. This photo always caught my attention when I’d walk by it, probably because of the joy on the man’s face in the wheelchair and his infectious smile. I’d stop and stare at it numerous times when I’d walk by, wondering what the story was behind the photo. Last week I decided to find out.

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