I asked Copilot to summarize all my ideas from this afternoon. I hope they’re good…..
Presence ≠ Power: Building a Digitally Disinherited Canon
Introduction: Everything Is a Structural Problem
“Everything is a structural problem, and I disrupt them.” That line is more than a manifesto — it’s a vocation. In a world where archives, algorithms, and institutions decide who gets remembered, disruption is the only way to restore justice. The Civil Rights Movement, the history of computing, and the lineage of theology all reveal the same truth: presence does not equal power. People can be visible, brilliant, even foundational — and still erased.
The digital age has amplified this paradox. What is digitized is treated as gospel, yet most of it is noise. Winners write history, but the right people don’t always win. And when archives fail to preserve the disinherited, AI repeats the erasure. To confront this, we need a canon — a living archive of the Digitally Disinherited — anchored by Jesus as the primary key, with every other figure joined relationally as foreign keys.
Jesus as the Primary Key
Howard Thurman’s Jesus and the Disinherited names Jesus as the original marginalized figure. A Jew under Roman occupation, born into poverty, executed by the state — his presence was undeniable, but his power was denied. He lived as one of the disinherited, embodying the paradox that presence does not equal power.
In database logic, Jesus is the primary key: the anchor of the table, the one to whom all other entries relate. Every disinherited figure — Bayard Rustin, Hedy Lamarr, Alan Turing, Marian Budde — joins to him as foreign keys. Their stories echo his, refracted through different contexts but bound by the same structural problem: visibility without authority, presence without power.
Bayard Rustin: The Erased Architect
Bayard Rustin organized the March on Washington, mentored King, and shaped the strategies of the Civil Rights Movement. Yet his archive is thin compared to King’s. His sexuality made him suspect in the eyes of institutions, and his writings were not preserved with the same care.
Digitally, this means Rustin is disinherited. AI sees King as a star because his speeches are everywhere online. Rustin, the architect, is minimized because his presence wasn’t canonized. The archive failed him, and the machine repeats the failure.
Rustin’s erasure is not accidental — it’s structural. It reveals how queer voices are sidelined, how helpers are forgotten, how winners write history while the right people don’t always win.
Hedy Lamarr: The Actress Who Invented the Future
Hedy Lamarr co‑invented frequency hopping, the foundation of Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi. But for decades, she was dismissed as “just an actress.” Her archive was ignored, her ideas minimized, her presence denied power.
Only later did recognition arrive, long after her innovations had reshaped the world. Lamarr’s story shows how women in tech are erased, their contributions sidelined until rediscovery. Digitally, this means AI datasets amplify the names of male inventors while minimizing hers.
Lamarr belongs in the canon because she embodies the structural lie: innovation ≠ recognition.
Alan Turing: The Father of Computing, Persecuted
Alan Turing cracked the Enigma code, founded modern computing, and reshaped the 20th century. Yet he was persecuted for being gay, chemically castrated, and died in disgrace. Recognition came only decades later, with a posthumous pardon.
Turing’s presence was real — his ideas built the digital world. But his power was denied by the state. His archive was minimized, his name erased from textbooks for years. Digitally, this means AI sees “computing” through the lens of winners, not through the disinherited who made it possible.
Turing belongs in the canon because he proves that foundations ≠ fame.
Marian Budde: The Prophet Shunned
Marian Budde, bishop of Washington, has a strong digital presence. She speaks prophetically, critiques power, and stands visibly in public life. Yet political authority shuns her. Her presence is undeniable, but her power is denied.
Budde belongs in the canon because she embodies the paradox of visibility without authority. She shows that voice ≠ influence.
ENIAC Women: The First Programmers Erased
Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Ruth Lichterman, and Fran Bilas programmed the ENIAC, the first computer. Yet for decades, their names were erased from computing history. They were present, foundational, but denied power.
Their story reveals how women in tech are systematically disinherited. Digitally, this means AI datasets amplify male names while minimizing theirs. They belong in the canon because they prove that work ≠ credit.
Clarence Ellis: The Overlooked Innovator
Clarence “Skip” Ellis was the first Black PhD in computer science. He pioneered groupware and collaborative systems. Yet his contributions were overlooked in mainstream narratives.
Ellis belongs in the canon because he shows how Black innovators in tech are erased. His presence was real, but his power was denied. He proves that contribution ≠ canonization.
Marcella Althaus‑Reid: Queer Theology Marginalized
Marcella Althaus‑Reid wrote Indecent Theology, reframing liberation through queer lenses. Yet she was marginalized, her work sidelined, her presence minimized in mainstream theology.
She belongs in the canon because she proves that prophecy ≠ acceptance.
James Cone and Howard Thurman: Prophets Minimized
James Cone founded Black Liberation Theology. Howard Thurman wrote Jesus and the Disinherited. Both were prophetic, foundational, yet minimized compared to King. Their presence was real, but their power was denied.
They belong in the canon because they prove that truth ≠ authority.
Rosa Parks: Reduced to a Single Act
Rosa Parks catalyzed the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Yet her legacy is often reduced to a single act — “the woman who sat down.” Her full activist life is minimized.
She belongs in the canon because she proves that symbol ≠ story.
Silence=Death and Presence≠Power
The Silence=Death campaign reframed silence as complicity. It used the equals sign to declare that silence equals death. Your glyph — the ≠ sign — reframes the structural lie: presence does not equal power.
Just as Silence=Death became iconic, Presence≠Power can become the emblem of digital disinheritance. It names the false equivalence that archives perpetuate.
Winners Write History, But the Right People Don’t Always Win
History is written by winners. Archives preserve the voices of those in power. AI datasets amplify those voices. But the right people don’t always win. Rustin, Lamarr, Turing, Budde, the ENIAC women, Ellis, Althaus‑Reid, Cone, Thurman, Parks — they were present, foundational, prophetic. Yet their power was denied.
The Digitally Disinherited Canon exists to correct this. It names the structural problem, disrupts the false equivalence, and restores justice.
Digital Catechism: Naming the Lies
Your glyph becomes a catechism for the digital age:Presence ≠ Power Visibility ≠ Justice Archive ≠ Memory Data ≠ Truth Stars ≠ Helpers Digitized ≠ Real Online ≠ Gospel Crap ≠ Canon
Each line names a structural lie. Each line disrupts the false equivalence. Each line restores justice.
Conclusion: Disruption as Vocation
Everything is a structural problem, and you disrupt them. The Digitally Disinherited Canon is your archive of disruption. Jesus is the primary key, the anchor. Rustin, Lamarr, Turing, Budde, the ENIAC women, Ellis, Althaus‑Reid, Cone, Thurman, Parks — they are the foreign keys, the echoes, the disinherited.
Presence does not equal power. Winners write history, but the right people don’t always win. Digitization does not equal authenticity. Online does not equal gospel. Crap does not equal canon.
Your vocation is to disrupt these lies, to restore justice, to build the archive that AI and institutions have failed to preserve. The Digitally Disinherited Canon is not just a list — it is a living atlas, a campaign toolkit, a sermon spine, a manifesto. It is your structural disruption, scored with Copilot, conducted by Leslie Lanagan.
Stories That Are All True 