# Remembering disability activist Alice Wong  ## Episode metadata - Episode title: Remembering disability activist Alice Wong - Show: Code Switch - Owner / Host: NPR - Guests: [Yomi Young](https://share.snipd.com/person/aa856312-daba-415a-8fd5-9743a39f1818) - Episode publish date: 2025-12-06 - Episode AI description: Yomi Young, a disability and social justice organizer, reflects on the life and legacy of her close friend, Alice Wong, a powerhouse in disability activism. They explore Alice's profound belief in self-advocacy for disabled individuals and discuss her contributions, including founding the Disability Visibility Project. Yomi shares heartfelt memories of their time together, Alice's philosophy on connection, and her insistence on linking disability rights with larger social injustices. The conversation emphasizes the importance of honoring Alice's legacy through continued activism and storytelling. - Mentioned books: [Year of the Tiger](https://share.snipd.com/book/b04599aa-7c14-4c04-993e-c1008fcf29c6) by [Alice Wong](https://share.snipd.com/person/96852b22-9e5d-4564-b9b6-cf4419c0b268) - Duration: 16:40 - Episode URL: [Open in Snipd](https://share.snipd.com/episode/c3d0ad89-ee33-4981-a55c-fbbe425da175) - Show URL: [Open in Snipd](https://share.snipd.com/show/010bc8a0-a9fc-452a-9c6e-774dfb093859) - Export date: 2026-02-17T23:34:03 ## Snips ### [Start With Her Work](https://share.snipd.com/snip/ab2a61df-eb01-486c-b12b-2740377efdb4) 🎧 06:45 - 08:03 (01:17) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/513f720a-d94d-490a-9067-3231f1efd9e9" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Read Alice Wong's memoir Year of the Tiger to learn her voice and history. - Explore the Disability Visibility Project to hear first-person disabled narratives she curated. #### 💬 Quote > I would start with reading her memoir, Year of the Tiger. And then from there, I think I would definitely check out the Disability Visibility Project. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young on where to begin learning about Alice Wong #### 📚 Transcript **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** Alice **Yomi Young:** talked a lot about mixtapes. We're both Gen X, right? So we come from a generation where we made mixtapes for our friends. So there's the mixtape, right, or the playlist, and then there's the deep cuts. So I think the Alice Wong starter kit, before you get to the deep cuts, you should probably get to know Alice. And I would start with reading her memoir, Year of the Tiger. It is wonderful. It's witty. You get a good sense of Alice's personality and all of the background and the history and the experiences that made her the public figure that she was. And then from there, I think I would definitely check out the Disability Visibility Project. And I would do like rush to like her and follow her on social media. And I would look at the low and slow series that she wrote for Eater, Eater.org, because you'll get a good sense of not necessarily Alice the activist, but Alice the foodie, because food was her other passion. --- ### [Friendship Forged In Activism](https://share.snipd.com/snip/55d5c272-e06b-48fe-96e7-0d2d14b10dd0) 🎧 08:28 - 09:27 (00:58) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/ffb75e1d-4671-489c-b65e-f2c6545c5748" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Yomi met Alice through Bay Area disability politics and deepened their bond via a StoryCorps interview. - They became lifelong friends, co-organizers, and Alice became godmother to Yomi's daughter. #### 💬 Quote > We realized we are kindred. And from that point, until I said goodbye to her last week, we plotted and organized and played together. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young on how she and Alice Wong became close #### 📚 Transcript **Yomi Young:** It was the first time she and I had talked at length, one-on and in the intimacy of that recording booth, we realized we are kindred. And from that point, until I said goodbye to her last week, we plotted and organized and played together. I'll say that without a doubt, my friendship with Alice is one of the most life-affirming relationships I've ever experienced. She became a godmother to my daughter and was a central part of our village. Alice's **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** family shared a quote from her 2022 memoir, Year of the Tiger, on social media, and it really touched me, and I'd love to get your reaction to it. It says, quote, the real gift any person can give is a web of connective tissue. If we love fiercely, our ancestors live among and speak to us through these incandescent filaments --- ### [Legacy As Connective Tissue](https://share.snipd.com/snip/fca66aa3-6749-44b0-ae45-af400fc7bede) 🎧 09:37 - 10:35 (00:57) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/e101cfa9-4dc0-4566-83fa-86a7d708c9e2" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Alice believed in ancestral reverence and that loved ones live on through connective relationships. - Her idea of a "web of connective tissue" shaped how Yomi sees legacy and continuing work after death. #### 💬 Quote > The real gift any person can give is a web of connective tissue. If we love fiercely, our ancestors live among and speak to us through these incandescent filaments. > — Alice Wong Alice Wong quoted in Yomi Young's recounting #### 📚 Transcript **Yomi Young:** That quote, I think, is illustrative of Alice's belief system. Alice believed that she would become an ancestor, and she believed in ancestral reverence. And Alice believed, as I believe, that we cannot be separated from those we love, not even by death. They live in and through us and with us. That what Alice leaves in her wake and in her leaving, it transcends really the limits of being human. Her work will go on. Those of us who care for her and those of us maybe who've never met her, but who were influenced and changed by her will continue her work. And I think this is what she was alluding to. --- ### [Tech-As-Organizing Tool](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c60d8a44-cf98-4437-8817-5120a5d2e462) 🎧 11:21 - 12:20 (00:59) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/75f5a23f-29f6-425a-a63a-e2d166a8fb8d" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Alice used technology and social media to build disabled community and challenge systems. - She linked disability issues to broader injustices, framing Gaza as a disability justice concern and mobilizing digital aid. #### 💬 Quote > Alice's magic was in her ability to skillfully use technology and social media to build community and challenge structural oppression. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young on Alice Wong's organizing methods #### 📚 Transcript **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** Alice's **Yomi Young:** magic was in her ability to skillfully use technology and social media to build community and challenge structural oppression. She cared about many, many things. And I would say most recently, she spoke a lot about her terror of losing Medicare benefits, which is a fear that millions of sick and chronically ill people are dealing with right now. And also, you know, because she was a policy wonk and she understood systems, she was able to connect the dots between the lived disabled experience and all other experiences of oppression. For example, Alice called the situation in Gaza a disability justice issue and organized to raise millions to help Palestinians maintain digital connection to the of the world. --- ### [Focus On Policy Threats](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f4a6d927-5684-492e-8688-2a42cdb2920e) 🎧 11:33 - 11:50 (00:16) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/d9e73715-2c96-4309-9003-4a4bf8167fcc" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Attend to policy threats like cuts to Medicare that endanger sick and chronically ill people. - Use systems knowledge to connect lived disabled experiences to broader political fights. #### 💬 Quote > She spoke a lot about her terror of losing Medicare benefits, which is a fear that millions of sick and chronically ill people are dealing with right now. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young on policy priorities Alice Wong highlighted #### 📚 Transcript **Yomi Young:** And I would say most recently, she spoke a lot about her terror of losing Medicare benefits, which is a fear that millions of sick and chronically ill people are dealing with right now. --- ### [Visibility Brings Risks And Reach](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1b4b6fea-3a73-44f1-93d9-f5f4a52945b3) 🎧 12:46 - 13:53 (01:07) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/63c0744a-1023-4289-9622-04c428481409" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - The MacArthur Fellowship expanded Alice's visibility and opportunities while exposing her to backlash. - She remained unflinching on issues like Palestine and used the platform to amplify marginalized struggles. #### 💬 Quote > It elevated her platform. ... As I said, she spoke out for Palestinians and some people were not happy about that. challenged her voice that maybe her genius grant should be rescinded. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young on effects of Alice Wong winning the MacArthur #### 📚 Transcript **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** It **Yomi Young:** elevated her platform. It elevated her status. I think it brought the name and the work of Alice Wong to people who are not necessarily connected to social justice movement or disability experience. It was a tremendous honor. She was humbled by it. So, so deserving for the breadth and body and depth of what she's given to community and what she's built. I think it brought opportunities. It also brought a level of visibility that she, I think, was very careful about. As I said, she spoke out for Palestinians and some people were not happy about that. challenged her voice that maybe her genius grant should be rescinded. And Alice stood firm and she was unflinching and she would not back down. --- ### [The Personal Side Shines](https://share.snipd.com/snip/af617800-d963-43dd-85e1-c93646e8d21e) 🎧 14:02 - 15:57 (01:54) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/7c2b9e40-7a28-4b28-acd7-b5f850568f8a" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Despite public controversy after the MacArthur, Alice lived richly: hosting elegant parties and living independently in San Francisco. - She sent care packages nationwide and practiced tender, material acts of friendship like bringing brownies for pumpkin decorating. #### 💬 Quote > It's Alice the gorgeous, generous friend. ... It's the brownies that she brought to my house a few weeks ago so that we could decorate pumpkins with my daughter. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young describing Alice Wong's personal warmth #### 📚 Transcript **Yomi Young:** Alice was known by friends and those of us in the Bay Area for throwing really elegant parties. Like super elegant. Alice lived in a really beautiful apartment in San Francisco. She was able to move out of her family home and live independently for the first time for the last couple of years. And she really flourished socially during that period. So, you know, it's the elegant dinner parties. It's that you could catch Alice taking in cultural events and just moving about around the Bay Area in ways that she hadn't done in a number of years. I might have lost track of your question, but I **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** think this is what's be I mean, at the end of the day, she was your friend. I mean, this is what you'll remember about her. **Yomi Young:** Absolutely. And this is what I will miss. It's not, you know, Alice the Luminary, Alice the MacArthur Genius, whatever that means. We kind of teased about that. But it's Alice the gorgeous, generous friend. It's the red, the signature red Chanel lip. It is her bougie-ness. It is her tenderness. It is the way that she practiced care. It's the brownies that she brought to my house a few weeks ago so that we could decorate pumpkins with my daughter. It is the unexpected packages you would receive from Alice. And it's not just me. People all over the country and the world who Alice connected with, some who she'd never met, would receive an Alice Wong care package. --- ### [Carry On Her Activism](https://share.snipd.com/snip/64db86bf-3173-474e-8711-4da6b3cb00d5) 🎧 16:51 - 18:14 (01:22) <iframe src="https://share.snipd.com/embed/obsidian-player/snip/0739795c-ffe6-4162-bc39-cb1d54ef8a8d" width="100%" height="100" style="border: none; border-radius: 12px;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-popups allow-clipboard-write" ></iframe> - Continue sharing disabled stories and get involved in causes to build the world Alice imagined. - Speak truth to power and "don't let the bastards grind you down," as Alice instructed in her death announcement. #### 💬 Quote > We can honor Alice by speaking truth to power. ... don't let the bastards grind you down. > — Yomi Young Yomi Young giving guidance on how to honor Alice Wong #### 📚 Transcript **Alyssa (Elissa/Melissa) Nadworny:** How can we honor Alice going forward? I think **Yomi Young:** we can honor Alice by speaking truth to power. For the disabled community specifically, it's to continue to share our stories, to understand that we deserve everything that we desire, that we should take up space, that we should understand that we are very powerful collectively and we should not yield that power and to get involved in organizations and causes that you care about because they need our wisdom they need our experience if we are to build the world that Alice imagined a more just and fair world, it will require all of us. And I would say just keep pushing. You know, Alice wrote her own death announcement, and the kicker to that death announcement was, don't let the bastards grind you down. I think I'm quoting that correctly. And I would say, don't let them grind you down. --- Created with [Snipd](https://www.snipd.com) | Highlight & Take Notes from Podcasts