Podcasts about ramp your voice

This week, Off-Kilter returns to our ongoing series of conversations with social justice leaders digging into why, in the famous words of Audre Lorde, self-care is political warfare—and the role radical self-care plays in their own lives to sustain them in this work. Given that the disability community harbors some of the greatest wisdom when it comes to radical self-care–with disabled people as “modern-day oracles,” as activist Alice Wong often puts it—Rebecca has been spending a good bit of this series in conversation with leaders across the disability rights and justice movement. For this week's episode, she sat down with longtime disability rights and justice activist Vilissa Thompson, founder of Ramp Your Voice!, a fellow with The Century Foundation's Disability Economic Justice Team, and someone who doesn't mess around when it comes to self-care. They take a deep dive into the subject of boundaries at work—a practice that, like so much within the realm of self-care, gets talked about a lot at the surface-level, but remains a perennial challenge for a lot of folks engaged in social justice work. Not so for Vilissa, who is so renowned for her mastery of boundaries—at work and throughout her life—that her friends and colleagues lovingly call her the “patron saint of boundaries.” For more: Follow Vilissa on Twitter @vilissathompson and learn more about Vilissa's work including Ramp Your Voice!

This week, Off-Kilter returns to our ongoing series of conversations with social justice leaders digging into why, in the famous words of Audre Lorde, self-care is political warfare—and the role radical self-care plays in their own lives to sustain them in this work. Given that the disability community harbors some of the greatest wisdom when it comes to radical self-care–with disabled people as “modern-day oracles,” as activist Alice Wong often puts it—Rebecca has been spending a good bit of this series in conversation with leaders across the disability rights and justice movement. For this week's episode, she sat down with longtime disability rights and justice activist Vilissa Thompson, founder of Ramp Your Voice!, a fellow with The Century Foundation's Disability Economic Justice Team, and someone who doesn't mess around when it comes to self-care. They take a deep dive into the subject of boundaries at work—a practice that, like so much within the realm of self-care, gets talked about a lot at the surface-level, but remains a perennial challenge for a lot of folks engaged in social justice work. Not so for Vilissa, who is so renowned for her mastery of boundaries—at work and throughout her life—that her friends and colleagues lovingly call her the “patron saint of boundaries.” For more: Follow Vilissa on Twitter @vilissathompson and learn more about Vilissa's work including Ramp Your Voice!  

We're starting a new series on Black Body Health: The Podcast. This week, you get to meet Vilissa Thompson. For 10 years, Thompson has led Ramp Your Voice!, an organization that promotes empowerment, education, inclusion, and self-advocacy for disabled people like herself. According to the World Health Organization, there are three dimensions of disability Body functions and structure (impairment) Activities at the individual level Restriction in participation in society With this in mind, there are still societal pressures and exclusions which prevent people with disabilities from being active or participatory in the ways they would like to be. This episode opens up with host Natasha Phelps explaining what disability rights are and the diversity found within the disabled population. Part one of this series is all about why Vilissa Thompson became an activist. Send your feedback to csellars@centerforblackhealth.org CREDITS: Host, Natasha Phelps Producer,Chelsey Sellars Logo Designer, Ashlee Woods

July marks the thirty-second anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, as it's better known—the landmark civil rights law that promised equal opportunity and economic security for Americans with disabilities. As we've talked about a lot on this show over the years, as important as it is to celebrate how far we've come in the decades since the ADA became part of the fabric of American life, every time we hit the month of July, it's even more important to acknowledge how far will still have to go to achieve the as-yet unfulfilled promises of the ADA. And that's why this July, Off-Kilter is once again spending all month long having conversations with leaders from across the disability community. (Catch up with Part One and Part Two in our #ADA2022 series.) To continue that series of conversations, as we all grapple with the road ahead in a post-Roe v. Wade world, this week, Off-Kilter dives into the intersection of reproductive justice and disability justice—and the impact of the Supreme Court's recent Dobbs decision on disabled women and people who can become pregnant—with two powerhouse advocates who are also speaking at an upcoming virtual event on “Bridging Reproductive Justice and Disability Justice” being hosted at The Century Foundation next week. Vilissa Thompson is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where her work focuses on the intersection of race, gender, and disability and she serves as co-director of the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative; she is also the founder of advocacy organization Ramp Your Voice! And Laurie Bertram Roberts is the founder and executive director of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund (MRFF), a reproductive justice organization that reduces barriers for access to abortion care. You can find part one and part two of Off-Kilter's #ADA2022 series here and here. For more: Find out more about and register for next week's event, “Bridging Reproductive Justice and Disability Justice,” taking place on July 21, 1:00–2:00PM ET, by clicking here Read the Supreme Court's Buck v. Bell decision from 1927, which set the legal precedent that disabled people can be forcibly sterilized—and here's the TCF Disability Economic Justice Team's statement on why overturning Roe is so devastating for the disability community Here's the National Partnership for Women and Families analysis finding that 15 million women of color live in states that have already or are likely to overturn Roe Read more about how Laurie became “the abortion lady of Mississippi” in The Guardian Learn more about and support the work of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund Find and support your local abortion fund using this handy tool from the National Network of Abortion Funds

July marks the thirty-second anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, as it's better known—the landmark civil rights law that promised equal opportunity and economic security for Americans with disabilities. As we've talked about a lot on this show over the years, as important as it is to celebrate how far we've come in the decades since the ADA became part of the fabric of American life, every time we hit the month of July, it's even more important to acknowledge how far will still have to go to achieve the as-yet unfulfilled promises of the ADA.  And that's why this July, Off-Kilter is once again spending all month long having conversations with leaders from across the disability community. (Catch up with Part One and Part Two in our #ADA2022 series.) To continue that series of conversations, as we all grapple with the road ahead in a post-Roe v. Wade world, this week, Off-Kilter dives into the intersection of reproductive justice and disability justice—and the impact of the Supreme Court's recent Dobbs decision on disabled women and people who can become pregnant—with two powerhouse advocates who are also speaking at an upcoming virtual event on “Bridging Reproductive Justice and Disability Justice” being hosted at The Century Foundation next week. Vilissa Thompson is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where her work focuses on the intersection of race, gender, and disability and she serves as co-director of the Disability Economic Justice Collaborative; she is also the founder of advocacy organization Ramp Your Voice! And Laurie Bertram Roberts is the founder and executive director of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund (MRFF), a reproductive justice organization that reduces barriers for access to abortion care.  You can find part one and part two of Off-Kilter's #ADA2022 series here and here. For more: Find out more about and register for next week's event, “Bridging Reproductive Justice and Disability Justice,” taking place on July 21, 1:00–2:00PM ET, by clicking here Read the Supreme Court's Buck v. Bell decision from 1927, which set the legal precedent that disabled people can be forcibly sterilized—and here's the TCF Disability Economic Justice Team's statement on why overturning Roe is so devastating for the disability community Here's the National Partnership for Women and Families analysis finding that 15 million women of color live in states that have already or are likely to overturn Roe Read more about how Laurie became “the abortion lady of Mississippi” in The Guardian Learn more about and support the work of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund Find and support your local abortion fund using this handy tool from the National Network of Abortion Funds

This week, Rebecca took a break from Off-Kilter's regularly scheduled programming for a sit-down with the newest members of The Century Foundation's brand-new Disability Economic Justice Team, which officially launched last month. Kim Knackstedt comes to TCF from the Biden administration, in which she served as the first-ever director of disability policy on the White House Domestic Policy Council, after many years as a staffer on Capitol Hill and before that, as a special ed teacher. Vilissa Thompson is the founder of Ramp Your Voice!, a former licensed social worker, and a long-time thought leader in the disability community at the intersection of race, gender, and disability.

This week, Rebecca took a break from Off-Kilter's regularly scheduled programming for a sit-down with the newest members of The Century Foundation's brand-new Disability Economic Justice Team, which officially launched last month. Kim Knackstedt comes to TCF from the Biden administration, in which she served as the first-ever director of disability policy on the White House Domestic Policy Council, after many years as a staffer on Capitol Hill and before that, as a special ed teacher. Vilissa Thompson is the founder of Ramp Your Voice!, a former licensed social worker, and a long-time thought leader in the disability community at the intersection of race, gender, and disability.  For more on TCF's new Disability Economic Justice Team: Read more about the team in the press release announcing its launch and follow The Century Foundation on Twitter at @TCFdotorg Here's more on Kim, more on her prior role at the White House, and follow her on Twitter @kiknack  And here's more on Vilissa, more on Ramp Your Voice!, and follow her on Twitter @VilissaThompson 

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Leslie & Drew are joined by disability rights activist, speaker, and trainer Vilissa Thompson Founder & CEO of Ramp Your Voice!. We talk all about how she made the leap from a traditional 9-5 job into the world of Freelancing. We discuss the challenges of being a freelancer and the ways this change in work has improved Vilssa's life. Don't miss this amazing conversation full of gems about how to center your needs when making decisions about employment.Follow Villissa:Twitter: https://twitter.com/VilissaThompson and https://www.instagram.com/rampyourvoice IG: https://www.instagram.com/vilissathompson Subscribe to The Interracial Jawn Podcast:on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/interracial-jawn-podcast-interracial/id934632604?mt=2on Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-interracial-jawn?refid=stprFollow us on Twitter: @interracialjawnOfficial Hashtag: #TheJawnThe website - http://interracialjawn.com Host ContactsLeslieMacTwitter: @LeslieMacInstagram: lesliemac23Website: LeslieMac.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/LeslieMacLifestyleVeryWhiteGuyTwitter: @VeryWhiteGuySupport The JawnLeslieMac.com/Shop

Leslie & Drew are joined by disability rights activist, speaker, and trainer Vilissa Thompson Founder & CEO of Ramp Your Voice!. We talk all about how she made the leap from a traditional 9-5 job into the world of Freelancing. We discuss the challenges of being a freelancer and the ways this change in work has improved Vilssa's life. Don't miss this amazing conversation full of gems about how to center your needs when making decisions about employment.Follow Villissa:Twitter: @VilissaThompson and @RampYourVoiceIG: @VilissaThompsonSubscribe to The Interracial Jawn Podcast:on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/interracial-jawn-podcast-interracial/id934632604?mt=2on Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-interracial-jawn?refid=stprFollow us on Twitter: @interracialjawnOfficial Hashtag: #TheJawnHost ContactsLeslieMacTwitter: @LeslieMacInstagram: lesliemac23Website: LeslieMac.comPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/LeslieMacLifestyleVeryWhiteGuyTwitter: @VeryWhiteGuySupport The JawnLeslieMac.com/Shop

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Marked By COVID is an incorporated non-profit organization focused on building community and implementing local, state, and national strategies to ensure elected officials center the needs of those most harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.Ramp Your Voice is an organization focused on promoting self-advocacy and strengthening empowerment among disabled people.The Brown Girls Guide to Politics Podcast is all about amplifying the voices of women who are too often forgotten in media coverage. Host A'shanti Gholar leads conversations with women changing the face of politics. In the BGG to Politics blog, A'shanti created a space for women of color to learn about the current state of politics, support others breaking into the political sphere, and celebrate incredible women changing the course of the country. A'shanti founded the blog in 2018, and Wonder Media Network is thrilled to extend her platform to audio.Follow The BGG:WebsiteTwitterInstagramFollow Wonder Media Network:WebsiteTwitterInstagram

Extreme baddie Vilissa Thompson, joins us  to talk all about the sexual liberation journey of a Black disabled woman, K*nk and navigating the lifestyle as both an LG and a Domme, the journey transitioning from a social worker to s*x therapist and so much more.Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/skgStwQMWfA Points of discussion include: sex ed as a disabled youth, LGs v brats, the nuance of being LG and disabled, Inspiration porn, race and gender in domming, Dom red and green flags,  match making, pro domming, phone sex, foot fetish, reducing stigma and harm for sex workers with disability, balancing vanilla and sex work jobs, the path to becoming a sex therapist, social work v therapy  HASHTAGSUse #InnerHoeUprising and #Podin to keep up with this conversation on social media and let others know that you are listening. SPONSOR(S)Get accessible, affordable, private therapy online with Better Help. For 10% off your first month of Tele-therapy visit betterhelp.com/IHU FIND VILISSA ON THE WEBWebsite:  http://rampyourvoice.com    Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/RampYourVoice  Twitter:  @VilissaThompson  https://twitter.com/VilissaThompson @RampYourVoice   https://twitter.com/RampYourVoice WEBSITE InnerHoeUprising.com PAY A HOE Paypal.me/innerhoe https://www.patreon.com/InnerHoeUprising WRITE IN EMAILihupodcast@gmail.comCALL IN VOICE MAIL(404) 491-9158SPEAKING GIGSWanna pay us to VIRTUALLY speak at your school or conference about sex positivity, black feminism, or the other kinds of topics we discuss on this show?  We'd love to! To book us, send us a line to ihupodcast@gmail.com MUSICLove and light to the artists who have lent their music to the pod!  Our opening is a remix of “Queen S%!T” by SheReal (https://soundcloud.com/shereal/04-queen-s-t-produced-by) We also play “Kol(ours)” by Amare Symone,  and “Everyday” and “Yeah Yeah” wavghxst (https://twitter.com/wavghxst)SOCIAL MEDIAInner Hoe Uprising| IG: @InnerHoeUprising | Twitter: @InnerHoeUprisin Akua | IG, CH & Twitter: @heyyakuagirl Sam | IG, CH, & Twitter: @slamridd   #black #woman #sex #feminist #womanist #Comedy #raunchy #queer #pride #quiltbang #sexuality #lgbtq #lgbt #funny #agender #transgender #nonmonagamy #feminism #intersectionalfeminism #kink #porn #BDSM #dating #love #relationships #blackwomen #blackpeople #podcast #sexualwellness #sexualhealth

Welcome to The Spectrum Lounge podcast where we highlight creatives of color of disrupting the game in tv, film and pop culture. In this episode, we discuss themes of generational trauma and abuse in the HBO series "Lovecraft Country" with guest Vilissa Thompson, LMSW. Thompson is a licensed social worker and creator of Ramp Your Voice, which advocates for the Black disabled community.

Explore the ADA from an astrological perspective in this week's Astrology Hot Take™! Vilissa Thompson, founder of Ramp Your Voice!, disability rights consultant, social worker, and writer, joins Jessica on the podcast to talk about the astrological event chart of the ADA ( Americans with Disabilities Act ). The ADA is a civil rights law that came into being in 1990, and it seeks to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Learn from Vilissa Thompson by visiting her website at rampyourvoice.com and get exclusive content on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/RampYourVoice

Black Creative Healing is a platform dedicated to radical conversation, mindful collaboration, & holistic visioning centering Black Communities. Conversations and arts-based collaborations are facilitated by Music Therapists Natasha Thomas and Adenike Webb, and feature professionals from across the professional spectrum of the arts, humanities, and everyday life. We discuss and explore our own creative approaches to healing as a restorative and ongoing transformative act, informed by current events and guided by imagination and care for our communities. Episodes are hosted online by the Black Music Therapy Network, Inc. You can find links to past collaborations, as well as current episodes and details on each collaboration (including some downloadable resources!) by visiting www.blackmtnetwork.org/black-creative-healing. Our guest for this Episode is Vilissa Thompson LMSW - Vilissa is a macro-minded social worker from South Carolina. Ramp Your Voice! is her organization where she discusses the issues that matter to her as a Black disabled woman, including intersectionality, racism, politics, and why she unapologetically makes good trouble. ​ In our Collaboration for Black Creative Healing, Vilissa, Natasha & Adenike discuss the necessity of self-care within the Black Community (particularly amongst Black Helpers, Disabled Women & Femmes), and play with the idea of creating safe and healing spaces. You can view and download a full transcript of this conversation here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z0m065u3lbt9meo/BCH%20101%20Transcript.pdf?dl=0 You can learn more about Vilissa online at these locations: ​ Website: http://rampyourvoice.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RampYourVoice Twitter: @VilissaThompson, @RampYourVoice, & @WheelDealPod You can visit the “I Just Wanna” resource created by Adenike, Natasha & Vilissa in this collaboration by clicking here: ijustwanna.carrd.co --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/black-creative-healing/support

In the latest episode of For the Win's series, Taking on Covid-19, Abby speaks with Vilissa Thompson, the Founder & CEO of Ramp Your Voice!, about how people with disabilities, many of whom are most endangered by the public health crisis, must be centered in any conversation about relief and the reopening of America. 

In this episode of The Turn On, Erica and Kenrya interview social worker and disability advocate Vilissa Thompson about having sex while disabled and making good trouble.Resources:​GUEST | Vilissa Thompson: http://www.rampyourvoice.comYou can find full show notes, a transcript and links to everything we mentioned on this episode at https://www.theturnonpodcast.com/transcripts/episode-3_5-the-turn-on-x-vilissa-thompson.Connect With The Turn OnWebsite: http://www.theturnonpodcast.comInstagram: @TheTurnOnPodcast (http://www.instagram.com/theturnonpodcast)Twitter: @TheTurnOnPod (http://www.twitter.com/theturnonpodcast)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheTurnOnPodcast/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrkR-duu-KegFURl-P8xpYg?view_as=subscriberPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTurnOnSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/TheTurnOn)

Are we making sure the tech we create is usable for the people we say we want to help? Accessibility is more than a buzzword. Anil speaks with Emily Ladau, co- host of The Accessible Stall podcast; Alex Haagaard, Director of Communications at the Disabled List, and Vilissa Thompson, founder of Ramp Your Voice, about accessibility bias in tech and what abled designers can unlearn in order to create more inclusive apps.  These activists are dedicated to making sure disabled people are represented in the design processes within tech and all facets of society.

Pod for the Cause host Ashley Allison welcomes Vilissa Thompson, creator of #DisabilityTooWhite and founder of RampYourVoice, to discuss how disability rights are civil rights -- and how we should all hold each other accountable for disability discrimination, both within the movement and our lives. Thompson makes the case for why we should all speak up about the intersection of racism and disability rights.

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has gone heads up with the Israel lobby, but what kind of dirty tricks do supporters of the apartheid state have in store for her;  We’ll tell the story of the rise and demise of a reform school for Black girls in the Jim Crow-era South; and, a Black social worker and activist explains her plans to Ramp Up the struggle for Black disabled people’s rights. The arrest of seven heavily armed mercenaries outside the Central Bank in the capital of Haiti, during civil unrest in that country last month, has raised questions about the stability of the U.S.-backed regime. The soldiers-for-hire were quickly plucked from confinement by the U.S embassy and flown out of the country, and then released when they landed back in the United States. Haitians of all political stripes have a whole range of theories about what the mercenaries were up to. Jake Johnston, of the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, traveled to Haiti to investigate the case, and filed an extensive report. A recent congressional resolution aimed at freshman Representative Ilhan Omar, one of only two Muslims in the U.S. House, has focused national attention on Israel’s unrivaled influence on American government policies. Omar declared that members of Congress should not be compelled to pledge loyalty to a foreign government. She had earlier said that the Israel lobby’s power was “all about the Benjamins” – meaning, the vast amounts of money at its disposal. We spoke with Chris Hedges, the political analyst and former New York Times foreign correspondent. There was a time, no so long ago, when young Black girls Down South were locked away if they didn’t conform to white people’s wishes, or the codes of behavior favored by upper class Blacks. Lauren Henley is a doctoral student in history at the University of Texas, at Austin. She’s doing a study of Black female criminality in the U.S. south from the Reconstruction Era to World War Two. Henley found an illuminating case study in the poignant history of the founding and demise of a reformatory for Black girls in Jim Crow-era North Carolina. It was called the North Carolina Industrial School for Negro Girls, also referred to as the Efland Home. When folks say Black Lives Matter, Villisa Thompson wants to make sure they mean Black disabled people’s lives matter, too. Thompson is an activist social worker and writer, and a recognized leader in the struggle for rights of the Black disabled community. She’s the creator of Ramp Your Voice and the hashtag “DisabilityTooWhite.” We asked Thompson how her politics impacts her profession.

We sit down with Vilissa Thompson, an activist and disability rights advocate who is also the creator of Ramp Your Voice!, a disability rights consultation and advocacy organization that promotes self-advocacy & empowerment for PwDs. She created the viral hashtag #DisabilityTooWhite, spurring people to share instances of erasure of people of color with disabilities from media to medicine. Connect with Vilissa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vilissakthompsonlmsw/Learn more about Ramp Your Voice!:http://rampyourvoice.com/The RYV Syllabus: http://rampyourvoice.com/2016/05/05/black-disabled-woman-syllabus-compilation/TRANSCRIPTZach: What's up, y'all? Now, listen, before we get into the "It's Zach and it's Ade," I just want to go ahead and say Ade, welcome back. I missed you, dawg.Ade: What's good, what's good?Zach: What's good? So listen--and, you know, our topic actually is very serious this episode, but I want to just go ahead and get the jokes out first, because once we get this interview done, I want to go ahead and wrap it right there, right? So, you know, what I love about Living Corporate is we dismantle--we seek, rather, 'cause I'm--let me not say that we dismantle anything, but we seek to at least address openly different stereotypes, challenges, and biases, you know, for people of color and how they really impact folks, especially in the workplace. And I want to talk about colorism really quick. Now, you're gonna be like, where am I going with this? Y'all probably listening to this like, "What are you talking about?" That's cool. So educational point for my non-melanated brothers and sisters out there. My non-Wakandans. My Buckys. My Winter Soldiers, if you will.Ade: Winter Soldiers... okay.Zach: In the black community we talk about colorism, and we attribute certain behaviors to certain black folks of specific hues. Ade: Here we go. Oh, here we go.Zach: A popular myth is that lighter-skinned black people do not answer their text messages. They leave--Ade: Actually, that's very true.Zach: They leave text messages on Read. Their text messages are on swole, as it were. Ade: I can't stand you.Zach: And I want to really recognize Ade.Ade: I only have 250 unread messages. You really can't play me like this.Zach: Ade is--and I'm not gonna--I hate it when people use food to describe women, but Ade is pretty chocolate, okay? She's pretty dark.Ade: You have to fight me after this.Zach: And yet she does not read her text messages.Ade: You're gonna have to run me the fade.Zach: She actually--in fact, just the other day I texted Ade, and she said, "Oh, hey," and I said, "Oh."Ade: It's on sight, I promise.Zach: You want to hit me with the "Oh?" Like, "Funny to see you here." That's what she hit me with, y'all. Like, "Oh."Ade: [sighs] Are you done?Zach: Hey, [in accent] are you done?Ade: [in accent] Are you done?Zach: [in accent] Are you done?Ade: See, you can't even--you can't pull a me on me. Zach: Man, I was so disappointed. I was like--man, I mean, if anything, based on these stereotypes, I should be the one ignoring your text messages. But you know what? For me to ignore Ade's text messages, y'all, guess what? She'd have to text me in the first doggone place.Ade: Wow.Zach: Wow. Whoa.Ade: This is a kind of rude I really did not intend on dealing with on tonight--Zach: So I want to say thank you, because last week we had--well, the last week before last, excuse me, we had Marty Rodgers. You know, it was a big deal. The dude is, like--he's like black consulting royalty in the DMV. You would think Ade would want to be on that podcast episode, you know what I mean?Ade: You're gonna have to fight me. I've decided. I've decided it's a fight to a death.Zach: [laughs] Oh, man. So I'm just thankful. I'm just so--this is me, like, publicly thanking Ade for being here and for texting me back. I don't know--Ade: I just want to say that I'm a good person and I don't deserve this.Zach: [laughs] You know what I think it was? I think it was the fact that we all got back on BlackPlanet for a couple days to check out that Solange content.Ade: Hm.Zach: I think that reset our chakras.Ade: Who is we?Zach: Or our ankhs. I don't know. We don't have--we don't have chakras.Ade: Who are we? I don't--Zach: Us as a diaspora. I feel as if that's--are you not a Solange fan? You didn't enjoy the Solange album?Ade: It has to grow on me, and I understand that that is sacrilegious, but I will say this--Zach: And you're supposed to be from the DMV too? Everybody from the DMV likes Solange.Ade: Let me tell you something. I listened--I waited until midnight. There is a screenshot on my phone of me starting to listen to this album at, like, 12:10, and I think at around 12:20 I was like, "You know what? Some things aren't for everybody." Everything, in fact, is not for everybody.Zach: That's real though.Ade: And I paused and went to sleep.Zach: Really? Wow. You know, I really enjoyed it, but I had to enjoy it 'cause she shouted out Houston a lot on the album. Like, a lot, so I enjoyed it off of that alone. And I'm also just a huge Solange fan, but, you know, I get it. It's one step at a time.Ade: Look, I too--I too am a huge Solange fan. A Seat at the Table is an everlasting bop of an album.Zach: Oh, it is. That's a classic. It's a very good album. It's, like, perfect.Ade: Yeah. This one--this one's just gonna have to pass me by and/or grow on me in 2 to 4 years. I don't know. Zach: You know, it's interesting because--it's interesting because I was used to--based on A Seat at the Table. This is not a music podcast, y'all. We're just getting our fun stuff out the way first. So it's interesting, because as a person who really enjoys Solange's words--like, A Seat at the Table, she had a lot of words. Didn't get a lot of words on this album.Ade: I'm told that it's--the experience is better if you watch the--I don't know what to call it. The visual--Zach: The visual album?Ade: Yeah, the visual album, in conjunction with it.Zach: Yeah, I'm actually gonna peep it. Fun fact. A couple weeks ago I told y'all about me playing Smash Bros., the video game, and I'm in a GroupMe, and one of the guys who I play Smash Bros. with was actually in the visual album.Ade: Oh, really?Zach: That's right, 'cause I got--those are the kind of circles I roll in.Ade: You know famous video players. Video game players.Zach: Yeah. Video game players, yeah. And as a side-note, he is very good at Super Smash Bros., so there. Maybe he'll be on an episode--on the podcast one day. Who knows? We'll see. Okay, so with that, let's do a very hard pivot.Ade: Sharp left turn.Zach: Sharp left, into our topic for the day. So we're talking about being disabled while other at work, and it's interesting because similar to how we brought up the Solange album out of nowhere, I was not really thinking about the fact that we don't really consider the experiences of just disabled people period, let alone disabled people of color at work.Ade: Right.Zach: I'm trying to think. Like, how many times have you worked with someone who was a person of color and disabled at work?Ade: So the thing to also think through here is the fact that there are lots of hidden disabilities.Zach: That's fair. That's a good call-out.Ade: Yeah, so there's a wide, wide range of conditions. Physical disabilities can also be invisible, but there are chronic illnesses, there are mental illnesses, cognitive disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments. According to the Census Bureau--apparently the ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, applies to or covers approximately 54 million Americans. Of those I'm sure many, many millions are people of color or black people in particular, and so yeah, I don't know how many people--how many people of color I've ever worked with who are disabled or who are living with a disability, but I certainly think that it's important that, as a whole, we think about how to create a more inclusive work culture that empowers people with disabilities that's not patronizing or demeaning or just outright hostile.Zach: No, I super agree with that, and just such a fair call-out to say that there's so many folks that--who do not have visible disabilities but are--who are living with a disability, and it's important that we think about that and we think--we're thoughtful about that too, so again, just my own ignorance, and it was interesting because in preparing and researching for this particular episode, it was hard to find comprehensive data, especially content that was specific to black and brown disabled experiences. I think for me--kind of taking a step back and going back to answer my own question, any [inaudible] I've worked with who have a visible disability--I have not worked with anybody in my career who has had a visible disability, visible to me anyway. And, you know, I think it's interesting. I was reading a piece. It was called "Black and Disabled: When Will Our Lives Matter?" And it was written by Eddie Ndopu. And this was back in 2017. He's the head of Amnesty International's youth engagement work for Africa, and his overall premise was historically black resistance and civil rights and things of that nature has always presented the black body as the point of resistance, right? And ultimately the image of the black form is one of strength and solidarity and able-bodiedness, right? And it's presenting this strong quote-unquote normal body as the ideal to then push up against oppression, systemic racism, and--I'm gonna present this, and I want--I'ma dare you to try to break this form, this body. And in that there's a certain level of bias, because it then automatically erases the idea of different bodies, of disabled bodies, and if that's the case then it's like, "Okay, well, then where do they fit in this narrative? Where do they fit in our story? Where do they fit in our resistance?" And so it's just really interesting to me, because I think it's just kind of calling out our own blind spots. As much as Living Corporate--we aspire to talk about and highlight the experiences and perspectives of underrepresented people in Corporate America. It's season 2 and we're just now talking about being disabled while other at work, and so, you know, it really confirmed for me how little I think about my privilege as an able-bodied person. It's a huge privilege in the fact that we're seen. We think that we're invisible, and in a variety of ways we are, but disabled people of color are even much less visible than we are. Ade: Right, and I also think that now is such a good time to start thinking through the conversations that we should be having, because we live in a time and a space where everyone's rights are sort of up for grabs, and it's especially important that we are holding space and creating a safe space for people who have less privilege than we do, and it's not enough that you give it a passing thought, because then you might as well be sending thoughts and prayers, right? And I think that if you have the ability to do something, it's--and, you know, opinions may vary, but I am firmly of the belief that if you have the ability to do something, it is your responsibility to do something, even if what you're doing is something so simple as having a conversation or amplifying the voice of those who aren't able to have that conversation.Zach: I agree with that, and that's really all the more reason why I'm excited and thankful for the guest that we have today. Her name is Vilissa Thompson. She is a disabled activist, public speaker, educator, consultant, and writer. Yeah, she's putting in the work. And we had a great conversation, and I really want y'all to hear it and check it out, so this is what I'm gonna do. We're gonna transition--wait, you know what? Ade, so I know we said we got the jokes in. We got the jokes in at the beginning 'cause I really wanted to give space for Vilissa, and we're going to. Do we want to come back and do Favorite Things?Ade: Yeah. Yeah, sure. Let's do that. Zach: All right. Cool, cool, cool. So that's what we'll do. So we'll go with our conversation with Vilissa, we'll talk about that, and then we'll get into the Favorite Things.Ade: Awesome, okay.Zach: All right, talk to y'all soon. And we're back. And as we shared before the break, we have Vilissa Thompson on the show. Vilissa, how are you doing?Vilissa: I am doing great.Zach: We're really excited for you to be here. So today we're talking about being disabled and being a person of color. Can you talk a bit about Ramp Your Voice! and where that idea came from and its mission and--just give us the origin story.Vilissa: Yes. Well, Ramp Your Voice! was founded in 2013, you know, as a way for me to discuss my experiences as a black disabled woman, as a social worker, and just the things that I've just noticed with my professional world as well as personally. When I--a year before that I started blogging more as a social worker blogger that was discussing social work through a disability lens, talking about different issues on that front. When[that wasn't really popular as a profession?] at that time, the profession had just started doing more things online, people coming up with different blogs and different platforms. So at the beginning of that, that really kind of helped me get to where I am when it comes to blogging, talking about the disabled experience from many different angles. So getting that experience [at 12?] led me to create my [inaudible] at 13, and we're 5 years now, soon to be going on 6 in 2019. You know, it has really grown into this organizational aspect to where, you know, I'm able to project myself as a voice within the community that really calls out some of the mess, you know, in a light way of saying it, that happens within the disabled community, as well as getting those who are in the broader society to understand that disability, you know, is very much a facet, you know, in the people, as well as their different identities and experiences. For me basically, I like to call myself a rightful troublemaker, because I don't feel that you're really doing good work, particularly if you're doing social justice, you know, if you're not shaking the table, if you're not ticking off somebody.Zach: Vilissa, I was agreeing with you because I think that, you know, when you're talking about topics around race and gender and really any topic around equity, right, and affirming or empowering disenfranchised groups, often ignored groups, right, like the disabled community, the disabled people of color community. If there isn't some type of discomfort there, then there probably isn't gonna be any growth, right? Like, in any other context when we talk about getting better or growing, like, there's some type of discomfort there, right? So, like, professional development or working out and getting new muscles or just growing as a person. You know, like, you have--you have pains. Having a child, there's pains associated with that. So there's just historically, and just as a matter of life, when you change and pain kind of--they go hand-in-hand, and they have historically in this nation as well. So it's just funny how we often try to avoid that, right? Like, we try to avoid discomfort while at the same time seeking to, like, enhance the platform of others, and it's like that doesn't--they can't go hand-in-hand. Vilissa: And I do want to say that sometimes, you know, changing things starts from within. I know that, particularly within the disabled community, there has been a lot of shake-ups due to, you know, the calling out of the racism that's in the disabled community when it comes to leadership, the kind of Good Ol' Boys club that really, you know, reigns true since, you know, when people think about disability, you know, what usually comes to mind is a white face, usually a white male face, and a lot of the leadership are white disabled men who have a lot of racist, sexist views, who resist the change that is needed, and I think there has been this surgance [sp] of disabled people of color to be able to ramp their voice, you know, in a sense, to talk about the issues that matter to them to bring forth a more diverse understanding of disability history that is not just white faces or white experiences. So I think that part of what I have experienced and others who do this activism work, you know, is shaking the table within to really get the change that you want outside, you know, of your own sphere.Zach: Let me ask this, and I find this--I find this genuinely interesting because, again, I don't believe that I considered the perspectives and the experiences of the disabled and disabled people of color. So, like, that entire community. So for able-bodied folks like myself, just people who aren't conscious of that experience, can you explain to me some of the different ways that unconscious bias, bias and racism, rear its head within the disabled community?Vilissa: Yes. One way is, you know, like I was saying, you know, who is disabled? You know, not really considering disabled people of color. You know, when we see the telethons and the marathons and, you know, the call for, you know, charities, it's usually, you know, white faces, and that, you know, visible erasure of representation allows communities of color to not see themselves, when communities of color, particularly black and native communities especially, have high rates of disability. So that erasure alone is very dangerous, you know, when there's certain racial groups who have a prevalence of disability, and then when you break that down further into the communities of color themselves--you know, I can only speak for the black community. You know, we do have a resistance to, you know, identifying as disabled or calling somebody's, you know, condition disabled, you know? We have these kind of cutesy words for it. "You know So-and-so?" You know, they may think like this, or, you know, "So-and-so may be a little, you know, quirky," or anything like that, and, you know, I think that for me, that has really impacted how I look at my black disabled body, you know, as somebody who's been disabled since birth. I really didn't identify as disabled until I started doing this work, because I didn't know that being disabled had its own identity and culture and pride and that there is a community of people that look like me and people that don't look like me and people who are wheelchair users like myself, people who are short of stature or little people or [inaudible], you know? So that invisibility when it comes to media, when it comes to the work that organizations do, really impacts one's ability to connect to an identity that's outside of their race and gender. So I really think that honestly both disabled and non-disabled people, you know, are both heavily disadvantaged due to that disability. I know that, you know, in coming to this space I see a lot of particularly black folks who are disabled, particularly those who have invisible or not apparent disabilities like mental illness, chronic pain. Those are all disabilities, you know? But we don't call those things that, and it can really create this disconnect in one's body and mind and what's going on within one's body and mind, as well as understanding that being disabled is just as strong of an identity as your gender and your race. So for me, connecting to particularly black disabled women [inaudible] is letting them know that it's okay to talk about your disability, you know? It's okay to talk about your mental illness. It's okay to talk about your chronic pain. It's okay to talk about the lack of medical assistance that you get because you are, you know, a [triple?] minority. You know, I really think that that type of visibility allows those open conversations, allows those community resource sharing or just tips shared or, you know, just plain support to occur. So for me I really want us to all kind of take a step back and say that "Hey, you know, disabled people are the largest minority group in the world and in the country," and we all know somebody with a disability, if it's not us ourselves who are disabled. So being disabled isn't just some identity that doesn't reach home in some way, shape, or form. It does, and I think that's the main disconnect that I see, people not understanding a community that is so vast, so diverse, and it's one where we do know somebody, and to not change the perception that we have about disabled people and the lives that we're able to live. So, you know, that's just kind of the things that I notice, you know, when it comes to non-disabled people, able-bodied people, not understanding things, and what disabled people like myself who do activism work, you know, have to kind of teach you all and also happen to bring you all into the fold for those who are actually disabled who may not at this point or for whatever reasons, usually due to stigma or shame, identify.Zach: In that you shared about being a triple minority, you talked about identity. As discussions around inclusion and diversity become more and more commonplace today, and more centered in pop culture frankly, the term "intersectionality" is used a lot. So can you talk to me about what intersectionality means for you? And I ask that because you shared that you being disabled is an entire identity to itself, and it is, right? It's a part of who you are. It shapes how you navigate and move around this world, how you see the world. At the same time, you are a woman. At the same time, you are a black woman. So I'm curious to know, how do you navigate the intersection of those--and of course those are just three. Certainly you have various other ways that you identify yourself. However, how do you navigate the various points of intersection for yourself?Vilissa: Well, I think that--you know, when I talk about intersectionality, I think what's so critical is that people cannot separate my identities because I won't let them. You know, being black is just as important to me as being a woman, as being disabled. You cannot look at me and just simply divide me into three different parts, you know? Each of my identities has interwoven into this, to me, beautiful fabric of my being, and the world reacts to me, you know, in the ways in which my identities present themselves, you know? Some people may not care that I'm black, but because I'm a woman that's a problem. Some people may not care that I'm a woman, but because I'm a wheelchair user that makes them uncomfortable. Some people may not care that I'm a wheelchair user, but because I'm black, that's the biggest issue. So when I go out into the world, I don't know at times which of these identities people are reacting to, or sometimes I can tell. It depends on, you know, if they're very open about what may make them uncomfortable or what they're, you know, I guess quote-unquote offended by, you know? By my mere existence. So for me, the world, you know, looks at me and judges me on those three primary identities that I have, and they make assumptions about my capabilities, my intellect, my social status, my educational status, you know? Just everything about me, and the one thing I always say about assumptions is, you know, the word assumption has, you know, A-S-S at the beginning of it, so you can make yourself look like an--you know, an unintentional [bleep] by making assumptions. So, you know, I really think that those assumptions have really shaped, you know, my experience, and particularly when I learned about the term "intersectionality," it just really, you know, was like a light-bulb moment. Like, "Oh, my gosh, that makes so much sense," because when I look at myself in the mirror, I see a black disabled woman, you know? I see--and I'm a Southerner. I'm from South Carolina, so, you know, I understand what it means to be in a small Southern town, you know, to live in a red state, to have the type of history that is attached to the South. As a woman I understand, you know, sexism and the ways that women are paid less and the harassment and the sexual assaults that women go through, you know, with our bodies and our mere existence, and as disabled, you know, we experience all of those things, you know? Disabled women, particularly those with intellectual disabled, have the highest rates of experience sexual violence. So in that example, you know, we have the connection of gender and disability. You know, when it comes to being a person of color, their people have the highest rates of police brutality. Over, you know, half of police brutality rates are conducted on, you know, disabled people, and there's a portion of those people who have been, you know, either the survivors or victims of police brutality have been disabled people of color. So in that example you have the race and the disability factor. So, you know, just in those type of statistics alone--and I could go on and on about the disparities when it comes to race, gender, and disability--you really cannot separate someone's experience and the disparities that they may encounter because of who they are.Zach: Let me ask this. You know, in the work that you do with your Ramp Your Voice! and of course as a professional, as an adult, can you talk to us a little bit about how to effectively support disabled people of color in the workplace?Vilissa: Mm-hmm. Well, I know that what my particular work journey has been. It's always unusual, you know, when it comes to how non-disabled people may look at it, but for disabled people it's not really unusual at all. As I said, I am, you know, as a social worker. When I got my MSW in 2012, I had wanted to look at traditional social work routes, and the one thing I found is that the requirements for social work positions, particularly those that deal with case management, DCS or CPS, you know, et cetera, requires you to either have a vehicle or be able to go out to homes, and as a wheelchair user I know that the majority of homes are not wheelchair-accessible, and as someone who did not have the ability to obtain a car because I was on SSI at the time, you know, that [inaudible] was there as well. So I quickly realized that if I wanted to make a niche for myself within social work I most likely was gonna have to do a non-traditional social work route, and lucky for me, I went from being micro-focused, which dealt with families, individuals, and groups, into a more macro focus, which is activism, community building, so on and so forth, and that's what kind of got me into writing and got me into Ramp Your Voice! So for me, many disabled people are like myself where we have these barriers. We have these systemic barriers when it comes to the job requirements. Like I mentioned, you know, being a wheelchair user, and you also have systemic barriers when it comes to government agencies as well. You know, with being on SSI, I knew that I would have to have a job that gave me insurance, because my SSI and my health care--because Medicaid--were connected. So if I was to lose the SSI, that means that I would lose the Medicaid.Zach: So let me ask this. What is--for those who don't know, and myself included, what is SSI?Vilissa: SSI is basically social security. There's two types of social security. SSI is what those who have not yet put into the system get, basically those like myself who are born with disabilities. Basically, like, younger kids whose parents make within the I guess income requirements. I was able to get them enrolled on it. And then there's SSDI, so those of us that work, we put into the SSDI system. So for me, I was on the SSI system because I hadn't put into the system yet. So for me, while I was building my brand, I was still looking for, you know, different types of employment. Luckily I lived at home with my grandmother at the time, and, you know, I was able to stay with her. You know, I had lived with her my whole life, so I was able to stay with her and build up this brand, and then when she passed at the end of 2015, I knew that I would have to get some type of employment. So I, you know, was able to get a job by the end of 2016, and that allowed me to get off of social security, 'cause I had health insurance. You know, that's the unique situation that disabled people endure. These are the systemic barriers. Now, some disabled people are not able to get off, particularly Medicaid, because they have comprehensive health care needs, and private insurance would not pay for some of those extensive health care needs that they have, like having a personal care assistant, someone coming to their home, helping them with their activities or daily living like dressing, bathing, so on and so forth, or they may need certain equipment, you know, that private insurance may not cover because it's, you know, very expensive. So some disabled people are not able to get off [inaudible] at all, and they have to be very mindful of how much income they may have to take in, how that can affect it, either their Medicaid and/or social security, particularly if they're both connected, and what does that look like. So this puts disabled people in the [inaudible] of property, because I know that when I was on social security I was getting several hundred and 30 something dollars a month, which is nothing, you know? To live off.Zach: Right. No, absolutely.Vilissa: Yeah, and that's, like, a month. So, you know, just think about that. For some people, that's their rent, you know? That's their rent payment.Zach: And that's some cheap rent too.Vilissa: Exactly. You know, so I think that what non-disabled people really don't realize is that when it comes to employment, disabled people have a lot to consider, and in some cases a lot to lose. That could put their livelihoods, and at times their lives, on the line. So when it comes to employment, you do have to be very strategic about what kind of jobs you take, what kind of money you take. If you can take money, what does that look like? And so on and so forth. I know that for me, I was willing to do some things for free while on social security because I knew the consequences of taking money while on social security, and that was my main source of income. And that's a lot to take into consideration, a lot, and when it comes to disabled people of color, we have the highest rates of unemployment within the disabled community. Disabled black folks have the highest rates of unemployment in the community. So, you know, it's not only us having these hoops to go through, but also people not being willing to hire us when it comes to looking for employment.Zach: So let's get back on Ramp Your Voice! a little bit. I love the writings and the photos and the resources. Where can people learn more about Ramp Your Voice!, and what all do you have going on in 2019?Vilissa: Well, Ramp Your Voice! is gonna be doing some very collaborative work. Right now I have a speaking agent, where I will be doing a lot of speaking gigs, signing up for universities. So if anybody wants me to come speak, you can sign me up for that. Reach out to me and I can connect you with my agent. And that has been a great experience that just occurred this year, to be able to connect with somebody who understands the vision that I have of my work and my voice and what I want to do with that through more writing. I'm in the process right now of working on my children's book, which is a picture book. This has been kind of like my baby for a very long time, and I'm now in the position to work on it the way that I desire to and bring it to life. Right now I don't have a publisher for that, but definitely looking for one. Right now I'm also looking to writing. I love writing about race, gender, and disability, to intersectionality and different things like, you know, pop media, media representation, health care, social work. So right now I'm just continuing to build the brand, continuing to talk about the experiences from a black disabled woman's perspective, and just really continuing to, you know, cause trouble. Like, one of the things I do enjoy doing is educating, you know, non-disabled folk, particularly those who are professionals in the medical field, the [inaudible] professions field like myself with social workers, therapists, really understanding disability outside of the medical model, which is basically, you know, talking about disability from a diagnosis standpoint as well as the [first-person?] language. We're saying "people with disabilities" instead of the identity-first language, which is disabled people, disabled [inaudible], disabled women, and really getting into the social model of understanding disability, which is more about, you know, disability being a, you know, identity, a culture, a community. So that's kind of what I offer for professionals who really want to ensure that if they're trying to engage with disabled people through their work, maybe through recruiting, you know, for their hiring practices, you know, whatever that they're interested in, make sure that they understand the language, because every community has its particular language that you need to know to be able to better relate and engage with those community members so you don't be out of date and, at times, unintentionally offensive by using outdated terms. So those are the things that I offer that I'm really looking forward to doing more of in 2019, as well as a couple other projects that I can't really say just yet, but just really, you know, expanding the brand, particularly since there's so many great disabled voices out there who are doing incredible work, you know, just making sure that what I'm doing is always fresh and always being welcome to reaching new audiences, reaching new professions and new worlds that, you know, disabled people live in, you know? Just because somebody doesn't self-identify as disabled doesn't mean that disabled people aren't in your organization, aren't in your community.Zach: I appreciate you educating me. I'm sure many of our listeners--and I'm curious though, before we get out of here, do you have any parting words? Any shout-outs?Vilissa: Well, I just--you know, I just really want to thank you for allowing me to be on here. Just know that disabled people are here, and we are not going anywhere, and if you don't know a disabled person, you need to step your game up and really--particularly if you are a professional--see the ways in which your organization, your body of work, is being exclusive--you know, excluding disabled people, and how you can be more inclusive of disabled people, and ensuring that if you're going to include disabled people that they represent vast, you know, gender, race, you know, sexual orientation, you know, identities, because we need more disabled people of color, disabled people of color who are LGBT, you know, in those types of spaces.Zach: Vilissa, I have to thank you for being on the show today. Thank you so much, Vilissa. We look forward to having you back on the show. We'll talk to you soon.Vilissa: Thank you.Zach: Peace. And we're back.Ade: That was an amazing interview. Beyond, I think, inspiring, which I don't think is the term that I really want to use there, but pardon my lack of or access to language at this point. I think Vilissa's story is--it's a call to action, right? It is--and I don't know if everyone has gotten the opportunity to go to Ramp Your Voice! and just take a look around, but there's actually an anthology--I was struggling with that for a second there. There's an anthology on Ramp Your Voice! where Vilissa actually did an amazing job at collecting a black disabled woman syllabus, and I did some work and went through and read some of the articles that I hadn't had access to or read before, and it's amazing. It is a body of work that I think everyone should read, not just because it gives you a really--if you can hear something crunching in the background, that's my dog Benjamin. He wanted to be featured on the--on the podcast today, so he has some thoughts.Zach: What's up, Benji? Yeah, we can definitely hear him. It's all good.Ade: Yeah. So this list has important thoughts. Like, The Stigma of Being Black and Mentally Ill, Complexities and Messiness: Race, Gender, Disability and the Carceral Mind, which was an incredibly, incredibly important read. "How I Dragged Myself Out of the Abyss That Is Depression Without A Prescription," Disabled Black People. Just very, very important works and in many, many different formats. So you have music, audio, video, poetry and fiction, books, articles. I say all that to say that there is a treasure trove of really important and interesting work, so I encourage everyone and will include the link to the syllabus, but I encourage everyone to take a look at this work. I don't even remember where I got started with singing Vilissa's praises, but yeah, amazing interview. Zach: No, super dope, and I definitely appreciate Vilissa joining the podcast. We'll definitely make sure to have all of her information in the show notes. JJ, give me some of them air horns for Vilissa. Go ahead, give 'em to me. Put 'em in here.[air horns] Aye. Thank you, thank you. Part of me wants to let off some of them blop-blops, Ade, but, you know, we're a professional podcast.Ade: Again, all I have to say is that celebratory gunshots are absolutely situationally appropriate.Zach: Man, my goodness. One day I'ma have--one day I'ma have the CEO of my current job, he's gonna be on the podcast, and we're gonna let them blop-blops go. Watch. That might be the same podcast we talk about respectability politics too, just to make some of y'all real mad.Ade: I am here for all of that action, all of it.Zach: I'm here for it. Man, so I'm definitely excited. So I have not read any of the pieces on here. I clicked the anthology, and I see--Ade: Any?Zach: I haven't. I haven't read the pieces on here. I haven't, no. Ade: Even the black feminism or the womanism category?Zach: No. I'm being honest.Ade: Oh, you have some homework.Zach: Oh, no. I have mad homework. I have mad homework. So I'm looking at the anthology. The anthology is requesting content, right? It's requesting content, but then I see right here to your point, there's a bunch of stuff on here. The Harriet Tubman Casting Cripping Up Issue, Aunt Vi, #QueenSugar, Black Women, & Our Disabled Bodies: Why We’re Still Whole, Luke Cage: The Black Disabled Superhero We Need, If I Die In Police Custody. I mean, Why Black History Matters. There's great content here, and really there's no reason for y'all not to check this out, just like there's no reason for me not to check it out further. Amen. Okay.Ade: Absolutely.Zach: Okay. Okay, okay. So let's go ahead and get into these Favorite Things. Ade, why don't you go ahead and go first?Ade: Oh, I just want to say one last thing before we move on. I think that it is incredibly important as we amplify the voices of people of color who are disabled, particularly black people, particularly black women who are disabled, I think it's important that we contextualize black history and the black experience within this paradigm, and I had to sit back and think through, for example, Harriet Tubman, who we know historically had seizures. She was injured over the course of her enslavement and had to deal with severe seizures for the rest of her life, which brought on these visions that she attributed to a religious--like, a sacred experience, but I think of how important it is to 1. contextualize these experiences and 2. fully give Harriet Tubman her due, right? Because if we lose the pieces that really and truly make up who she is, we are not truly honoring her, right? And I think that if we acknowledge that, you know, Harriet Tubman was a black woman, an enslaved woman, a disabled woman, in a time that made no space for any parts of her, I think we really and truly start to understand and give honor to who she was as opposed to having honestly a very surface-level understanding of who she was and magnifying her in a shallow way, I would say. So yeah, Harriet Tubman. Amazing woman. Disabled woman. I cannot sing her praises enough obviously. I mean, duh. Harriet Tubman. But yeah, it's so important that we talk about these things, because it's so easy to gloss over the fullness of who a person was.Zach: Okay. So with that being said, now we're ready for our Favorite Things. Ade, what you got going on? What's your Favorite Thing right now?Ade: So my one Favorite Thing right now is this guy who demanded cuddles and rubs, so he is over here face all in my lap while I try to record. I promise you, he is just big ol' face in my lap. His favorite thing--his favorite thing to do is to either jump right on top of my stomach, all 50 pounds of him, when I'm laying in bed and minding my own black business, or he likes to, when I'm sitting on the couch, literally hop on the couch and put his butt in my face. It's, like, his favorite thing. Zach: This sounds abu--oh, this is a dog. This is Benji.Ade: Yes, yes. There isn't a random man running around in my life.Zach: I was like, "Wait, why is he--he's a grown man and he weighs 50 pounds and he's jumping on your stomach? What?"Ade: I would have so, so many more problems if that were in fact the case.Zach: That is crazy. I was like, "Wait, this is too much going on." Okay, so Benji is your Favorite Thing right now?Ade: Oh, and my other Favorite Thing is the CodeNewbie podcast. I stopped listening for a little while because--Zach: What's the name? Say it again?Ade: The CodeNewbie podcast. Zach: Okay, what's that? What's the CodeNewbie podcast?Ade: It is a podcast dedicated to educating folks like me who are either transitioning into tech or even, like, if you're a CS student in college or whatever it may be, a new grad of either an undergraduate, a master's student, if you were graduating from a boot camp, all of it. It just educates an entire community of learners, and I love it so much. It's, you know, after Living Corporate, my favorite podcast to listen to.Zach: Aye. Okay, that's what's up. First of all, shout-out to Benji and to all the dogs out there. Woof woof.Ade: Not woof woof. Did you just--okay, DMX.Zach: No, DMX would be like--I can't even do it. I can't even do it now 'cause you just put me on the spot. [tries] You know what I'm saying? Like, that would be DMX.Ade: Okay, Lil' DMX.Zach: Yes. ZMX, what's up? So also, you know, we need to start doing our shout-outs, so this reminds me - shout-out to the college-aged people who listen to our podcast, shout-out to the Buckys, A.K.A. the allies, A.K.A. the Winter Soldiers out there. Ade: Oh, my God.Zach: Shout-out to the Wakandans, A.K.A. my true Africans. Shout-out to my Jamaican brethren, who allow us to get these pew-pew-pews off every episode. Thank y'all for the encouragement.Ade: Honestly, I think it's [tolerated?] at this point, but shout-out to y'all anyway.Zach: Shout-out to y'all. Shout-out to the corporate gangstas. Shout-out to Wall Street. Shout-out to the folks that don't have nothing to do, they just listen to podcasts all day. Shout-out to y'all.Ade: Shout-outs to those of you who have, in the last 3 days or so, deployed a "per my last email." I see you. I recognize your struggle, and go ahead and CC HR if necessary, [beloveds?]. It's okayZach: Amen. Shout-out to those who drink water every day. Shout-out to y'all.Ade: And if you are listening with us right now, feel free to reach over to a glass of water or a water bottle of some sort and take a sip.Zach: Shout-out to my people--shout-out to all of my black people and all of my white people, A.K.A. all of the people who know they need to wear lotion and all of those who don't really wear lotion like that. Shout-out to all of y'all, and then of course shout-out to all of my co-workers and colleagues who listen to the Living Corporate podcast. Shout-out to y'all. Who else?Ade: You know, it's funny, because I don't really tell my co-workers about our podcast just in case I need to shade them on the podcast.Zach: See? Well, that's what happens when you're not--when you don't live your truth, see? You've got to--you need to tell your co-workers about the podcast. [inaudible]--Ade: So I just need to shade them directly to their faces? Because, I mean, I'm with that energy, it's just that--Zach: You should definitely shade people to their faces, just as a principle in life. Ade: So here's the thing. I struggle with that, because I would love to shade you in person and to your face and very loudly--well, no, that's not quite shade, that's just yelling--however, I also hold the sincere belief that I just work here. It is not my job to educate you about your silliness. So I don't know. There's, like, a spectrum of behavior, and I don't know how willing I am to invest time in raising adults. So I'm gonna continue struggling with that.Zach: I mean, I feel that. I feel that. See, I genuinely love my job. Like, I'm at a very unique place in my career. I love my job. I have a great relationship with all of--everybody in my practice. Like, I love my team, so, like, shout-out to them. And so I have no issue with letting people know that I have a podcast, plus this is a professional podcast. Like, we don't be talking crazy on here. We haven't even let any blop-blops--we haven't even let any blop-blops go.Ade: I hear you. I love my job as well, although on occasion I do sincerely doubt the judgment of some folks.Zach: That's real.Ade: So I don't know. I'm gonna struggle with that a little bit longer and let you know how I feel about it and if I'm deploying a--"Here's a link to my podcast," you know, in an email all thread.Zach: It's a good--it's also good for your personal brand. I mean, I think--you know, it's almost been a year since we've been out. I feel like it's about time you let people know you're on a podcast.Ade: Very true point.Zach: You know what I'm saying? We were in the middle of these shout-outs. Oh, right, so Favorite Things. So my Favorite Thing right now has to be Desus and Mero on Showtime, okay? So, you know, there are a few things that give me inspiration and joy at the same time, and Desus and Mero happen to be one of 'em. I love their style. I love their content. It's super funny, very engaging, and it has a certain level of just comedic timing that I aspire to have. They're wonderful. So I love their show. This is not a paid promo ad. I don't even think we have enough juice to get ad space for Desus and Mero.Ade: No, no, no. Retract that energy right now. Retract it. Retract it.Zach: Yeah, right. I'm gonna take it back, I'm gonna take it back and add a "yerrrrrp" instead. [laughs]Ade: That's how you do it. Yep.Zach: Yes, but--but no, I really enjoy their content, so shout-out to them. And that really leads me to my question before we get into the wrap-up. Do you think we should have, like, some A.K.A.s on the show? Like, not the sorority. Shout-out to y'all, though. [inaudible].Ade: I really was about to be like, "Excuse me?"Zach: No, no, no. Like, A.K.A.s, like, "Zach Nunn, A.K.A. So-and-so, A.K.A. That Guy, A.K.A. Mr. Such-and-such, A.K.A.--"Ade: A.K.A. ZMX?Zach: A.K.A. ZMX, A.K.A. "per my last email," A.K.A. CC Your Boss, CC Your Manager. My wife's looking at me and saying, "No, don't do any of that."Ade: I--yes, I really was about to be like, "Hm, this could escalate very, very quickly, and the only A.K.A. that I am known for is not work-appropriate," so I'm just gonna move on.Zach: [laughs] Yeah, [inaudible] said no.Ade: I'm standing in my truth. I'm sitting. I'm sitting in my truth.Zach: My wife took her laptop, moved it off of her lap to her side, and then moved her head from the left to the right to the left again, to the right again, and then back to the left to tell me no. Okay.Ade: She's a wise woman.Zach: She is.Ade: We have been rambling for so long.Zach: We have, but, you know, this is actually part of our podcast. You know, people--y'all have been saying that we're not--you know, sometimes we come across a little too scripted. Look, we've been kicking it this episode. If y'all like--if y'all kick it with us--you know, actually, this is the last thing before we go. You know how, like, every podcast and/or, like, artist, group, they have something that they call their fans? Like, Beyonce has the Beyhive, right? Like, Rihanna--BTS has, their fans call themselves "The Army." Like, should we have--should we have any type of--Ade: An employee resource group? Sure.Zach: No, no. What we call our fans. You think we should call them an employee resource group? That'd be super funny. No, they have to give themselves an--you know, something like "our Living Corporaters," you know what I'm saying? It has to be something where you give them, like, a name. There has to be a name.Ade: I don't--Zach: Right? So, like, I'm pretty sure--Ade: Let's think through this. Y'all send us some suggestions.Zach: We've gotta think through it, right? Yeah, y'all send us some suggestions. Like, what do y'all want to be called? Y'all can't be called "the Living Corporate hive." That's mad corny. Can't be called the LCers, 'cause that's--again, it's cheesy. But I don't know. Like, we should think about something. I don't know. It'd be funny, like, if we ever had, like, a live podcast and, like, people subscribed in the middle of our podcast, if the noise was [makes noises] "Hi, who just joined?" That would be funny. [laughs]Ade: All right, it's past your bedtime.Zach: It's time to go. It's time to go, y'all. All right, thank y'all for listening to the Living Corporate podcast. You can check us out on everything. We're everywhere. Just Google us, Living Corporate. Check us out on Instagram @LivingCorporate, check us out on Twitter @LivingCorp_Pod. Make sure you check out all of our blogging content, 'cause we have blogs, and we have some new stuff coming. That'll be coming--fresh announcement, independent announcement coming soon on living-corporate.com, please state the dash, or livingcorporate.co or livingcorporate.org or livingcorporate.net. We have all the livingcorporates except livingcorporate.com. Y'all should know this by now because Australia owns livingcorporate.com. Somebody write a note to Australia. Let them know to stop hating. Ade: A strongly-worded letter.Zach: A strongly-worded letter, right? But they're not even doing the aboriginals right, so they definitely not gonna do us right, huh, Ade?Ade: I mean, no. Zach: No, they're not. Dang, we just put some aboriginal commentary in the end of a Living Corporate podcast episode. But I mean it, y'all need to do right by the aboriginals, and frankly y'all need to do right by us and give us the livingcorporate.com domain. I'm tired of it. We've talked about this for a whole 3 or 4 months. Consider this though a strongly-worded note, a message, okay? We do need the domain. I'm terrified to ask how much money it would cost. I have no idea. I have no idea how much money it would cost.Ade: I--I just--all right. Goodnight, bruh.Zach: Thank y'all for listening to the Living Corporate podcast. This has been Zach.Ade: This has been Ade.Zach: Peace.Ade: Peace.

Vilissa Thompson (LCSW, Founder and CEO of Ramp Your Voice!) spoke with us about why Harriet Tubman is a foundational figure for black disability activists today.

In part three of our series American Dissent, With Good Reason Associate Producer Kelley Libby talks with Dr. Michael Higginbotham (University of Baltimore) about a list of people—some well known, some not—whom he credits with seeing America for what it could be and then working toward making it so. Vilissa Thompson (LCSW, Founder of Ramp Your Voice!) explains how understanding Harriet Tubman as a disabled Black woman has inspired intersectional disability rights activists. Terry Beitzel helps his students better understand political protest as a form of citizen engagement. Isabel Fay and Christopher Labosier (Longwood University) come from different disciplines: communications and science.

Episode 8 Guest: Vilissa Thompson, LMSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSWwww.dointhework.comListen/Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify Follow on Twitter & Instagram, Like on FacebookJoin the mailing listSupport the podcastDownload transcriptIn this episode, I talk with Vilissa Thompson, founder and leader of Ramp Your Voice!, a self-advocacy and empowerment movement for people with disabilities. We discuss Vilissa’s work to educate social workers, educators, and medical professionals about being helpful, rather than harmful, to disabled people, especially disabled women of color. Vilissa explains how the intersection of racism and ableism negatively impact this population and she shares steps that people can take to educate themselves to be allies and advocates for change. She also shares about creating the hashtag #DisabilityTooWhite and the Black Disabled Woman Syllabus. I hope you enjoy the conversation.Ramp Your Voice!: http://rampyourvoice.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RampYourVoice

Today's DIW interview is with Vilissa Thompson, LMSW, and creator of Ramp Your Voice! and #DisabilityTooWhite. She is an amazing writer and activist. Join us as we talk about living a "crippled and intersectional life," what disability means in different communities, her policy passion - black disabled women's health, and how she gets into "good trouble." To learn more about Vilissa, check out her website at: Ramp Your Voice or connect with her on Twitter @VilissaThompson. Bonus! Vilissa just started a Patreon! If you want to support disability activism at the intersection of race and disability and health, here is your opportunity - Ramp Your Voice Patreon Transcript DAY: Hello, and welcome to Day in Washington. I'm your host Day Al-Mohamed, and I'm really, really excited to expand the show to including interviews with some amazing people with disabilities. Today's guest is Vilissa Thompson, a licensed master social worker from Winnsboro, South Carolina. Hi! How are you? VILISSA: I'm great, Day. I'm so happy to be on. DAY: Awesome. So just as a quick, short introduction. Vilissa's the founder and CEO of Ramp Your Voice as well as a disability rights consultant, writer, and activist. She's been featured in Essence magazine, Forbes, has appeared in The New York Times and BuzzFeed and The Atlantic, among others. And in addition to her advocacy work, I wanna give a little shout out to the fact that she cohosts a podcast as well, which is Wheelin’ and Dealin’. And it looks at politics from an intersectional lens. Whoo! When do you sleep? VILISSA: I make time to sleep. Self-care is a priority because of all the hectic-ness. So I make time. I do. It's hard, but I do. DAY: I first learned of you through Ramp Your Voice. And those of you who don't, go check out the website right now at RampYourVoice.com. The curriculum that you built. And I was kind of hoping you might tell us a little bit more about that because I'm not sure enough people know about it. VILISSA: Oh, yes. You're talking about the syllabus? DAY: Sorry, yeah. The syllabus as well as a little bit about your website in general. Just the syllabus in particular is one of those things that I think doesn't get enough visibility. VILISSA: Well, with Ramp Your Voice, I created it, soon to be five years on July 19. So I'll be celebrating the 5th anniversary this month. And it was my way of creating a space that was a reflection of the world that I want to see, which were more diverse disabled voices. So it was my way of providing the things I was interested in as a black disabled woman, a social worker, and just someone who's living this very crippled and intersectional life. And with the black disabled woman syllabus, I really created it out of frustration of, particularly white disabled folks asking me why do you focus on black disabled women? Or why the harp on the need to discuss intersected identities by disabled people of color? And I got tired of people asking for this 101 information. So in 2016, and right before #DisabilityTooWhite hashtag went viral, I created the syllabus as a way of being a reference point so that if people had questions, I could be like, "Here. Here's a starting point for you to educate yourself and not ask me to do the labor so that you would understand why black disabled women [unclear] and the black disabled experience as a whole matters and why you need to be more conscious of the way that way that you talk about disability, the way that you bring about disability topics in conferences and panels, etc." So it was my way of not having to be pressured to do the labor that people fail to go to Google for. So I figured just put something together that mattered and that has been widely shared within the past two years, particularly within academia circles, having people really put their bodies of work and it would be a reference point in adding to what existed. DAY: I know the word intersection and intersectional ...

In this episode, Kathryn and Emma discuss season 3, episode 2, “Flu Season” (Emma’s favorite episode of the whole series!). We muse on why millennial women are less likely to take vacation days, how Leslie’s portrayal of a superwoman can be both inspirational and damaging, and the episode’s careful balance of comedy and character development. We also add Vilissa Thompson, disability rights advocate and creator of the Ramp Your Voice blog, to our Wall of Inspirational Women. And in a WFW first, Kathryn records from a wind tunnel! Not really, but it sure does sound like it at a few points. Thanks for your understanding about the iffy audio quality in this episode.

Bonus episode: Joined by Vilissa Thompson to talk about RampYourVoice.com, how important the safe space she created is, how easy it is to remedy your ignorance in 2017, and Misty Knight and Lewis Tan stanning. Also, there might be two bibles. You can follow Vilissa on twitter @vilissathompson and also please check out her website rampyourvoice.com

Segment 1: Book Riot Comics contributor Preeti Chhibber chats with us about her work in publishing and how women of color in comics and books provide a lot more value than you think. Host: Jamie Co-hosts: Caron and Tora Segment 2: Womanist Villissa Thompson is a disability advocate and consultant fighting for the rights of Black women with all disabilities. She shares her story on why she created Ramp Your Voice. Host: Jamie Co-hosts: Caron and Kayla Segment 3: Curtiss Cook shares his experience working on his latest film Roxanne Roxanne other at Sundance and his interest in playing Black Lightning! Host: Jacqueline Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Music by: Sammus Ad music: Purple Planet

Queen & J. are two womanist race nerds talking liberation, politics, and pop-culture over tea. Drink up! We’re problematic as fvck when it comes to the disabled community and two of our favorite listeners Mae (@Mae_DayJ) and Tina (@Nice_White_Lady) are here getting us level one woke on the largest minority group in the U.S. Also Queen reviews the new film Hidden Figures with NO SPOILERS WE PROMISE! And we discuss pimping social justice for a check. This is our biggest episode ever! Take it in doses if you need to, but it’s all here and you gone learn today! Drink up! This week’s hot list: #SupportPOCpods, Hidden Figures movie review, catering to white fragility in Black spaces (I know, it’s weird), “white savior” mentality, cultural self-esteem, people with disabilities (PWD), #DisabilityTooWhite, accessibility, learning publicly, police & the disabled, Black/woman & disabled, Obamacare, eugenics for crying out loud, the Paralympics, Black hair and The Walking Dead, activists for hire, and white feminists (cause we gotta) Tweet us while you listen! #teawithqj @teawithqj WEBSITE www.TeaWithQueenAndJ.com SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter & Instagram: @TeawithQJ Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeawithQueenandJ Tumblr: teawithqueenandj.tumblr.com EMAIL teawithqueenandj@gmail.com DONATE https://www.paypal.me/teawithqj NOTES & EXTRA TEA Be sure to check out this episode’s guests online! Find Mae on twitter @Mae_DayJ , creator #ChronicLoaf for live TV chats, and help her prevent brain surgery by donating to her gofund me: https://www.gofundme.com/myIIHfight Find Tina on twitter @Nice_White_Lady , visit her website www.traumaticlifeinjury.com, and give her your money at https://cash.me/$NiceWhiteLady Mae also created the twitter account @CripsAndSpoons, that Tina helps facilitate on “awareness and activism from the intersection of disability and chronic illness” Our guests mentioned a ton of great resources for learning and support. Check out the list below! Dawn M Gibson (@DawnMGibson), creator of #SpoonieChat every Wednesday night on twitter from 8-10pm EST - https://www.paypal.me/DGibson713 Vilissa Thompson (@VilissaThompson), creator of #DisabilityTooWhite & #WOCwD, and founder of @RampYourVoice - http://rampyourvoice.com/ Tiffany (@TiffanyAndLupus), founder of #LupusChat – www.tiffanyandlupus.com Dominick Evans (@DominickEvans), discusses disability in film using #FilmDis – www.dominickevans.com Alice Wong (@DisVisibility), #TheFutureIsDisabled, https://www.patreon.com/DVP Gregg Beratan (@GreggBeratan), Andrew Pulrang (@AndrewPulrang), #CripTheVote @SpoonieCult, #SpoonieCult, #SCTweetFlix #MeBeforeAbleism -------- Libations to TK (@TastyKeish) for engineering this episode at Bondfire Radio! Be sure to visit www.TastyKeish.net for more information on TK, and check out our fellow independent media friends at www.BondfireRadio.com Libations to Ohene Cornelius for our show intro, check out his latest album Flight Risk available everywhere online now. You can find Ohene on instagram and twitter @ohenecornelius and online at www.ohenecornelius.com Libations to T.Fling for our News That's Not News intro! Find him at www.TFlintVoices.com

Disability activist Vilissa Thompson talks with Shaun about intersectionality, representation, and the intense labor of trying not to fulfill stereotypes. Follow Vilissa on Twitter: @vilissathompson Visit Ramp Your Voice!: rampyourvoice.com Follow Ramp Your Voice! on Twitter: @rampyourvoice Email Vilissa: vilissa@rampyourvoice.com These episodes don't happen without your support. Thank you! Pledge as little as $1 per week at: http://patreon.com/nototally For a no-cost way of supporting the show, do all of your Amazon shopping from nototally.com/amazon. This will take you to Amazon's front page, and every purchase you make will send a few pennies our way. Thank you! Rating and reviewing us on iTunes is one of the most helpful things you could possibly do for us, and you can do it here: http://nototally.com/iTunes Comment at our website: http://nototally.com Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/nototally Yell at Shaun on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoTotally

Vilissa Thompkins of “Ramp Your Voice” Vilissa Thompson of Ramp Your Voice joins us to talk about the twitter storm she raised with her hashtag #DisabilityTooWhite. Many people of color with disabilities tweeted about the barriers they find in the movement. White people joined the conversation too. Is the Disability Movement Too White? And, more importantly, if it is, what can be done about it? We've got a few other topics today as well: –The current boycott of the movie “Me Before You” which hits more theaters this weekend, –A recent release of the 2015 Best and Worst Cities for People with Disabilities. Where do you think your city should rank on this list?  Among the best?  Among the worst? Eddie Ytuarte and Adrienne Lauby host. The post #DisabilityTooWhite – Call In appeared first on KPFA.