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Katie Tastrom, an activist for disability rights, held a discussion over Zoom on Wednesday evening covering the intersection of abolition and disability justice.

Tastrom said that the two frameworks complement each other and create solutions toward the abolition of carceral systems. Disability justice, Tastrom said, looks at the issues in the system and seeks flaws in how it treats people with disabilities. 

Tastrom listed ten principles of disability justice, including leadership of the most impacted, cross-movement organizing, cross-disability solidarity and collective liberation. Tastrom said these principles are essential for reformation.

The carceral system targets marginalized groups such as people of color and people in the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence — especially carceral violence — according to Tastrom and the National Center for Victims of Crime. 

Tastrom said that disability activist and educator Liat Ben-Moshe wrote, on the topic of removing people with disabilities from prisons, that some people believe people with cognitive, psychiatric and developmental disabilities require custodial care. The stigma around mental disabilities prevents people from making their own decisions as they are perceived to be less capable by the government, Tastrom said.

“When you’re disabled, you’re under more surveillance. Same with other kinds of marginalization … you’re under more surveillance than you would (be),” Tastrom said.

Kate Pollack, a coordinator at the Disability Cultural Center at SU, asked Tastrom how she began her work in the disability field. Tastrom said it was primarily driven by her experiences as co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild’s Disability Justice Committee and navigating through life in various environments that challenged her to become more proactive about disability justice. 

Tastrom’s final thoughts on abolition focused on discernment. 

“Where do I have power?” Tastrom asked the audience. “Where do I have skills? Where do I have interest? Where can things be sustainable for me in terms (of) activism? Where is it accessible?”

Published on October 28, 2021 at 1:06 am

Contact Ivana: ixie01@syr.edu