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This is a June 8, 2025 reading of a piece I created and published with truthout.org in fall 2019. The editor created the title, "Trump's Rule Attacking Disabled and Low-Income Migrants Has Violent History". I have a number of titles but will share the following, "Public Charge: The Current Move to a Permanent Underclass of Migrants has its Roots in American Enslavement."
I consider this piece to be one of my most important offerings during the 20-teens. The piece can be found in English text in full here and in spoken English here. These were some of my notes from 27 Jan. 2020 about this: "Today the US Supreme Court decided to allow this administration’s “public charge rule” to move forward (while litigation continues against the rule). The rule targets migrants, disabled, negatively racialized, low/no income, working folks. The public charge rule literally replicates laws that were used to separate Black enslaved families and limit/control movement, migration, freedom of Black folks (mostly elderly, disabled, no/low income Black folks) in the 1600s-1800s in the US. Public charge laws and public charge rules have wreaked havoc on the most marginalized communities since the 1600s. In no uncertain terms: these laws and policies are the embodiment of intersected racism, classism, ableism. They are DEADLY. Generationally. Racism, classism and ableism depend on and give life to each other. Ignore this truth at all our peril. Know your history. It is present. Excerpts from the piece: ". . . U.S. 'immigration' policy was not established to attend to a moral obligation to welcome diverse people to this land to pursue the 'American Dream.' Quite the opposite: U.S. immigration policy is part of a protracted sociopolitical project steeped in settler-colonialism that has long sought to expand and protect the white population’s settlement and dominance. The Naturalization Act of 1790, the first federal law dealing with 'naturalization' and national citizenship, held that the only 'alien' who could apply for naturalization is a 'free white person … of good character' who has occupied this stolen land for at least two years. . . Immigration laws that ostensibly prioritized family-based immigration, for example, have done so to 'reassure lawmakers who feared the law’s other changes would dilute the distinctly European nature of immigration to the United States'. . . . . .Settler-colonialists who violently helped themselves to millions of acres of land and Black enslaved people’s bodies and labor are not [im]migrants; and people indigenous to the Americas and those kidnapped from the African continent also did not 'immigrate' to the U.S. 'Immigration' exists because white European settler-colonialists committed genocide, forcibly removed millions of Indigenous people, created borders, and drafted policies to legitimize, formalize and legalize this violent appropriation. These truths are central to understanding the origin of the public charge, but, more importantly, to understanding 'citizenship,' 'immigration,' and the 'United States' as fabricated by white people for white economic, social and political gain. . . In this era of authoritarianism, there are concessions we simply cannot make. Demonization of any group that is intentionally made politically, socially or economically marginalized fans eugenics flames, stokes genocidal tendencies and emboldens white supremacists. Therefore, advocacy that supports migrants because migrants 'pay taxes,' are 'important to the economy,' 'do not have criminal records,' 'work, long hours for low wages in jobs that Americans won’t accept,' etc. only serve to reify the systems that we should be seeking to dismantle. People everywhere must ardently contest messaging that ties people’s value to their labor productivity or that establishes categories of inferiority and superiority of marginalized people. Migrant justice work must be intentionally rooted in anti-ableist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist frameworks. . . . . . Migration and the provision of public benefits should be supported because migrants are human and deserving of freedom of movement, residence and security. Further, the United States’s colonial-imperial capitalist legacy divests it of moral and legal authority to deny entry to humans seeking security — especially Indigenous people. There is more than enough wealth in this nation to ensure that everyone is cared for. Impoverishment is a political choice. In the face of a swiftly advancing global neo-Nazi resurgence, it is unwise and unsafe to cling to aspirational symbols of equality and hollow untruths. This nation must confront its past, which, in too many ways mirrors our present. To erase parts of American history that are difficult to confront is to acquiesce to white supremacy and invite its flood of injustice and terror to endlessly recur. Demands for migrant justice must uplift the inherent value of all people and be grounded in historical truths that center Black/Indigenous peoples’ experiences. Anything less increases opportunities for eugenics, plays into the boorish hands of a demonstrably authoritarian administration, and will result in yet more deaths."
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Today is John Wilson, Jr.'s birthday. As such, I must note that anything published about him that is not from/by Fria M. Wilson (Moore), Talila A. Lewis, or HEARD should not be shared. Ijeoma Oluo and HarperOne / HarperCollins's "book", Be A Revolution (edited by Rakesh Satyal) misrepresents, disrespects, distorts, and commodifies John Wilson; his family; his friend and long-time advocate, Talila A. Lewis (me); as well as his political home, HEARD (an organization that I founded and directed for free for over a decade), and many other Black/Indigenous, disabled, queer, GNC/trans organizations, collectives, communities, ancestors & living peoples. Oluo is represented by Lauren Abramo of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. We will be sharing more information here on Disability Visibility Project soon, but out of respect for John Wilson, myself, and our communities, we ask the public not support or purchase this book or support this publisher until they have taken meaningful steps to rectify the egregious harms against me, John Wilson, HEARD, the Harriet Tubman Collective, #DisabilitySolidarity, and the Black/Indigenous disabled people who the author "profiled" without notice or consent. Do not share any information from this book with the public and do not invite this author to your libraries, universities, bookstores, establishments to discuss this book. We will share more information about John Wilson, his family, HEARD, and myself in our time, in our own publications, and in our own languages, and our own "voices". In the interim, please learn about and share information that HEARD and I have created about John Wilson's life, case, family, and wrongful convictions of deaf/disabled people. If you want to learn more from social media, search the hashtags #JohnWilsonLives, #DeafWrongfulConviction, #DeafInPrison. Thank you.  watercolor image of Ki'tay D. Davidson by Elyssa Siegel. Ki'tay is holding a microphone with one hand and snapping with his other. He is wearing his favorite "do you even roll bro?" t shirt with his arms out and mustard orange jeans with a black leather hat turned backwards. (and the hand of Allie Cannington, his co-presenter and best friend) holding a microphone next to him. Allie cant be fully seen. Art gifted to TL & Allie in 2015 after Ki'tay's passing. December 2, 2024 marks Ki'tay D. Davidson's tenth year as an Ancestor. In honor of his tenth year as an Ancestor, we hope to share some news with our communities about what his mother and loved ones have been working on to honor him and share a couple of his photos, videos, offerings that have never been made public. This is an invitation to get know Ki'tay D. Davidson through his and his communities' own expressions. Important note: Ijeoma Oluo and HarperOne / HarperCollins' recent "book", Be A Revolution (edited by Rakesh Satyal) misrepresents Ki'tay D. Davidson and commodifies his death alongside many other Black/Indigenous, disabled, queer, GNC/trans organizations, collectives, communities, ancestors and living peoples. Information about Ki'tay D. Davidson in this text is inaccurate. His mother, family, friends, communities, and I (his partner) ask you not share any information about him from this "book." Oluo is represented by Lauren Abramo of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC. Please only share information about Ki'tay from Ki'tay and our communities. We will be sharing more information here and on Disability Visibility Project soon. We thank you in advance for your support. POETRY FROM KI'TAY: This poem has never before been released to the public. It was released on the occasion of StaceyFest, on July 20, 2024. First electronically drafted by Ki'tay on September 5, 2014, then entitled Embracing masculinity to heal., Ki'tay landed on this final title, to be trans, to be a flower (intergenerational healing and transformation). One of Stacey Park Milbern's last acts of solidarity was to develop a fellowship in honor of Ki'tay. Listen to this poem in spoken English here; and this poem in English text here.  A poem by Ki’tay D. Davidson first electronic draft created on September 5, 2014. Ki’tay passed away on December 2, 2014. It is unclear if he had finalized this poem. Read by Talila A. Lewis, July 19, 2024 for StaceyFest.  An image of Ki'tay D. Davidson on the campus of American University holding up a pink sign that says I Aspire to . . . [individuals can write whatever they want in response, Ki'tay wrote]: redefine masculinity. In the background there are people standing chatting with each other in small groups of three or two. Ki'tay is a Black young person with dark brown skin, a teenie afro a gray hoodie and a brown satchel with his books on one shoulder. Photo circa 2012/2013. CONVOS WITH KI'TAY!
 Image of Ki'tay D. Davidson in a dark pinstriped suit with a blue and yellow bowtie looking straight into the lens of the camera and smiling with his spirit. He is confident and surrounded by green nature. Photo by Talila A. Lewis TRIBUTES TO KI'TAY:
#KitayLives Non/responses to the pandemic have painfully and chillingly illustrated how people, systems, society, etc., use purported "fitness/health/wellness," as well as age, location, and other factors to make decisions about worthiness and value. This year, my living ableism definition modifications explicitly name birth place and living place. I removed the term "nationality" to avoid feeding into settler-imperialist conceptions of space/place and invite people to consider "living place" very expansively so as to include people who have pathological/criminal labels that invite surveillance, incarceration, institutionalization, etc., and for people who are transient, nomadic, non-possessory in how they exist, and more. Previous definitions and additional context can be found here (2021), here (2020), and here (2019). Image description: rectangular image with the definition of ableism laid over various colored blocks in the background indicating the overlaid, intertwined, connected nature of all forms of systemic oppression to ableism. The following words are on the image: able·ism /ˈābəˌlizəm/ noun A system of assigning value to people's bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in eugenics, anti-Blackness, misogyny, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. This systemic oppression that leads to people and society determining people's value based on their culture, age, language, appearance, religion, birth or living place, "health/wellness", and/or their ability to satisfactorily re/produce, "excel" and "behave." You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism. working definition by @TalilaLewis, updated January 2022, developed in community with disabled Black & negatively racialized folks. Read more: bit.ly/ableism2022
I have been updating my working definition of ableism for some years. This version simplifies some of the language from previous versions and explicitly includes desirability, misogyny, imperialism, language and religion as ideologies/characteristics used by societies, institutions, people to assign value to others. Please review context provided with the previous versions of the definition (linked above). May 2024 update: Working to develop a full timeline of the conversations that led to the development of this definition.  Deep purple and blue gradient background with the following words: ABLEISM a·ble·ism \ ˈābə-ˌli-zəm \ noun A system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normality, intelligence, excellence, desirability, and productivity. These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics, misogyny, colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. This form of systemic oppression leads to people and society determining who is valuable and worthy based on a person’s language, appearance, religion and/or their ability to satisfactorily [re]produce, excel and "behave." You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism. a working definition by Talila "TL" Lewis*; updated January 2021 *developed in community with Disabled Black and other negatively racialized people. |
AuthorI dream incessantly of justice. Hoping to calm my mind & stir yours through this freedom space. Archives
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