Disability Justice Reflections on Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration

Since 1st learning of Zohran Kwame Mamdani in the summer, I have followed his NYC mayoral journey with awe, especially given how demoralizing Turtle Island's otherwise white supremacist settler-colonialist political landscape is. From learning that he is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, whose works include Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, Queen of Katwe, etc., to learning of his father, Mahmoud Mamdani's book, Neither Settler Nor Native The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, by the time he made his way to the debate on October 16, 2025, I posted heartfelt social media reflections like this: 

Despite my admiration for NYC's new brown Muslim Democratic Socialist immigrant mayor, I initially noticed an image post lacking alt text from his Bluesky account on October 5, 2025, which prompted my 1st of what would end up being a total of 20 replies much like this one below, in which, I politely ask his team to please consider adding alt text to image posts as folx who rely on screen readers deserve equitable access to such information:

On the day of publishing this, it has been 4+ weeks since I have had reason to post such a reply, for which, I am grateful, and his alt text rating for the last 90 days is 69.84%, which is better than many politicians on Bluesky, as you can see from these alt text ratings for others that are much less:
Gavin Newsom: 52.34%
Elizabeth Warren: 33.33%
Hakeem Jeffries: 0%

Maybe this is where you stop reading, as you think that one's commitment to accessibility is not remotely meant to be judged from one's lack of alt text usage on Bluesky, as discussed in my last LURNN newsletter post, but if you listened to Mamdani's inauguration speech, you may remember these relevant words, which inspire this newsletter post:

Having heard many rave about Mamdani's spectacular inauguration speech, I viewed it on YouTube on Friday night, and even got emotional at times, like during his reference to the steel pan, which warmed my Trinidadian heart, but this ableist sentence got on my Disability Justice radar, and has not budged:

Upon discussion with my friend, author, and sensitivity reader, Leslie Kung, I felt particularly validated, as they stated, "Ableism really is one of the staunchest holdouts, especially among “progressive” people. I’ll never be “healthy” or "made healthy" unless my ultimate fantasy of gaining mutant healing factor comes true. I would amend that “make healthy” statement to something closer to: “Every person, no matter their level or type of need, should have their health prioritized and supported.” But that’s a mouthful and a half, and less clippable, I guess!" Although we have no reason to believe that Mamdani's statement was intended to be ableist, that is often the case when we are forced to deal with this implicit kind of ableism that many experience daily without feeling safe to name. It is a large part of why I genuinely believe that Disability Justice (DJ) would address every single social justice issue we face, and why I have dedicated my life to doing this vital DJ work:

Regardless of what Mamdani may have intended, a statement like, "There is no person too sick to be made healthy," assumes that we are all able to achieve "health," when many of us face chronic illness from which we will never be "made healthy." Especially under the Trump regime, through which, Robert F. Kennedy's inherently eugenics-driven decisions are made, alongside a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) slogan that dismantles the crucial healthcare infrastructure that disabled folx need to safely exist, it is important to listen to disabled folx when we bring forward issues of ableism, as earlier willingness to do so may have prevented many current challenges. If new to the concept of ableism, here is the definition I use from Talila A. Lewis:

If new to thinking critically about ableism, I encourage you to consider this my personal invitation to rectify that, going forward, as the lives of countless disabled folx depend on it, and those of us who are also BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, fat, immigrant, or otherwise oppressed, as I am, face even more challenges, as ableism often multiplies with white supremacy, settler-colonialism, anti-fatness, xenophobia, queerantagonism, etc. to harm the most marginalized. As you can see from my 2023 Access Hostility Bingo artwork below, ableism can often manifest as hostility in response to sharing our access needs openly: 

BTW, on the off chance that you are looking for a gifted equity practitioner and educator for virtual services like writing, facilitation, and consulting, you are welcome to peruse my CV below, and explore my services here.

As some know, I have long hesitated to reach folx about the need to invest in Disability Justice work based on the idea that we are all generally likely to only become (more) disabled as we age towards eventual death, as I hate the thought of folx only seeing the need to care about an issue when it will affect them personally, but after hearing Mamdani's statement that "There is no person too sick to be made healthy," a part of me wondered if we did put that into practice, i.e., literally taught children they are only likely to grow more disabled as they age, would that statement be made so easily?

Obviously, for my hopeful plan to work, we also need to build communities of care, in which disabled folx are not blamed for our valid access needs, but offered support without dehumanizing conditions, then currently abled folx might be considered pre-disabled, which could prompt discussions about how to care for one another's survival outside of exploitative practices that profit the few, which brings me back to why Mamdani's rare practice of words aligning with actions, and actions aligning with values made many of us hopeful for once. 

This newsletter post is my attempt at believing in a politician when every such attempt of mine has ended in devastation, but Mamdani said, "The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations," so I hope you will join me in my attempt at reseting small expectations of an NYC Mayor, as I invite folx to attend my 1st free/donations-welcome 2026 virtual Disability Justice 101 Workshop, in honour of disabled ancestors like Alice Wong, Patty Berne, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Shafiqah Hudson, Stacey Park Milbern, Ki'tay D. Davidson, Ruby Goorahoo, Audre Lorde, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, etc., whose very existence taught us a great deal. 

From February 2026, DJ workshops will initially be made available to paid monthly Ko-fi subscribers, so please consider supporting my DJ work here.

Especially since this post goes live on Zora Neale Hurston's birthday, I wanted to end by sharing a workshop slide with my most beloved quote from her, and provide a glimpse into what you can expect in my virtual spaces, as I give registrants the 1st 5 minutes to arrive before starting, but generally continue to let folx in until the end. Usually, materials are emailed at least a day before, should advance access aid with feeling comfortable to participate.  Attendees are welcome to engage on their own terms, i.e., with no implicit expectation of being on camera, communicating verbally or in the chat, etc. Around the halfway point, a 15-minute-long break is facilitated, after which participants are invited to explore a writing prompt during designated quiet time of 10-20 minutes, depending on preferences. Once the timer ends, participants are invited to share what they wrote or discuss how the process went for them, based on capacity, comfort, interest, vibes, etc. Throughout the workshop, my approach is consent-based, i.e., folx are encouraged to read slides, share feedback, etc., and only those who volunteer to do so are invited to engage further, as there is no pressure to participate beyond one's individual unique capacity.

If able to contribute to my survival following my ex's financial abuse of at least $183,364, which further disabled me, alongside white supremacist workplace trauma, e-transfers within "Canada" may be sent to krystaljagoo@gmail.com and funds may be sent via PayPal below, so please consider supporting me! 🙏🏾