Nominate Black Vegans for the Root 100 List

Honorees of The Root 100 2015 after receiving their awards in New York City on Nov. 12, 2015. Derrick Davis for The Root.

By: Aph Ko

Every year, The Root, which is a daily online news site that provides commentary on today's news from a variety of African American perspectives, hosts a Root 100 list on their site. The goal of the list is to spotlight exciting, innovative, creative, passionate leaders in the African-American community who have caught your attention in the past year. Here are the lists from 2014 to 2015. The really exciting thing about this is that the public can nominate who they want on the list.

Unsurprisingly, really popular actors, political figures, athletes, and entertainers tend to be recognized the most. This makes sense considering they tend to get the most visibility in the public sphere, and they tend to have large followings. (If a person on the list is vegan, their vegan activism is somehow left out of the description of their work).

Every now and then, really amazing political activists get nominated like Alicia Garza (founder of Black Lives Matter) or Bree Newsome (the Black woman who took down the confederate flag in NC),  so, I'm going to urge the Black Vegans Rock audience to try to nominate Black vegans for the list as a political statement.

Not only will it show that Black vegans are very much a part of the larger Black community, our nominations will also demonstrate how Black vegans refuse to be overlooked as agents of change. 

We've provided A LOT of Black vegans to choose from over here at Black Vegans Rock, so sift through the features and choose someone who you think should be spotlighted. 

To nominate someone, click on the link HERE and fill out the form at the bottom of the page. You have until June 20th to contribute to this process!

#blackvegansrock

We Have Featured 100 Black Vegans

By: Aph Ko

Back in June 2015, I created a list titled #BlackVegansRock: 100 Black Vegans To Check Out. At the beginning of the piece I wrote:

I am treating this piece as a performance art piece, not a blog post. Each time someone from the animal rights/vegan community wants to write an article about how white the animal rights/vegan movement is, I hope that they choose one person from this list to write an article about instead. 

This list is not in any particular order, and it is not meant to be completely exhaustive. Additionally, I can’t guarantee that everyone on this list is still vegan, though they were at the time of my research. I acquired this information simply by researching online and asking around. Also, I must note that I personally don’t think eating a plant-based diet automatically means that you’re a political activist or animal rights activist. As I said in a previous post “Veganism without politicization only yields de-contexualized diets.”

Nevertheless, this list is meant to serve as a statement for anyone who says “veganism is white.” 

The list I created was the inspiration for Black Vegans Rock. We have already featured 100 Black Vegans on this website and we intend to feature MANY more! 

If you are interested in being featured, please send an email to blackvegansrock@gmail.com with a clear photo as well as 200-500 words describing why you went vegan. You can tell us about your vegan journey as well as your thoughts about anti-racism, feminism, veganism, etc. 

Thank you for all of your support!

#blackvegansrock

FEATURE: Rosalyn Terry

I went vegan back in 2013. I made the transition because I was tired of being sick and I was tired of doctors not knowing what was wrong with me. I have been battling lupus since 2002, and I went through so many changes. I saw various specialists that gave me all of these medications that were not working. At one point, I was taking 20 pills a day. 

In 2010 I transitioned to vegetarian and could tell I was feeling better but still had some work to do. After various hospital visits, more medication, and the possibility of chemo treatments, 2013 was the year I decided enough was enough. I started college in August 2014 and while I was there, I learned so much about the food industry, animal agriculture, pharmacy, disease, and food. So, I started implementing what I was learning in class and using it for myself. 

I haven't had any symptoms since and I share my personal journey all over social media to inspire others.

BVR Sunday News Roundup

 

Vegan SoulFest is Looking for Sponsors and Exhibitors! 

Vegan SoulFest takes place every year in Baltimore. This year it's taking place on August 20th and the organizers are looking for sponsors and exhibitors. If you want to be a part of it, make sure to go to the website and register! Check it out HERE. 

Check Out These Korean Pineapple JackFruit Tacos by Haile Thomas

 

Haile Thomas is a vegan powerhouse at the age of 15! She's the youngest student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and she's training to become a Certified Health Coach! Make sure to check out her YouTube channel to watch even more incredible videos!

Prominent Activists to Speak at Pro-Intersectional Vegan Conference

VegfestUK are thrilled to announce the first Pro-Intersectional Vegan Conference, to be held in the UK, at London in October, with a number of leading global pro-intersectional speakers already confirmed.

  • BVR founder Aph Ko,
  • Vegan Publishers staff writer Christopher-Sebastian McJetters,
  • Sistah Vegan's Dr. A. Breeze Harper,
  • Dr. Kim Socha, of Progress for Science and Minnesota Animal Liberation
  • Dr. Casey Taft of Vegan Publishers, author of the recently released book “Motivational Methods for Vegan Advocacy”,
  • lauren Ornelas, of the Food Empowerment Project
  • Sarah K. Woodcock, founder of the Advocacy of Veganism Society
  • Omowale Adewale, Boxing & Kickboxing Champion and author of "An Introduction to Veganism and Agricultural Globalism"
  • Katrina Fox, author, business and media coach from Vegan Business Media
  • Joe Brydon, of the Animal Alliance
  • Dr. Roger Yates, of the Vegan Information Project

Mark your calendars! You can find more information HERE. 

Dr. Harper's Book 'Scars' Has Been Discounted to $25

Dr. Breeze Harper's book Scars: A Black Lesbian Experience in Rural White New England is currently $25 on Sense Publishers. Scars is a novel about whiteness, racism, and breaking past the normative boundaries of heterosexuality, as experienced through eighteen year old Savannah Penelope Sales. 

The Plant-Based Prevention of Disease Conference Is Coming Up

This annual event looks at how certain plant-based approaches to eating may affect and reduce the risks of society's major preventable diseases. Tracye McQuirter, MPH, and Dr. Milton Mills will be speaking at this conference. The event is held from May 19th to the 22nd at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. 

 

FEATURE: Taisha Rucker

I became vegetarian in 2006 for spiritual reasons. It was an easy transition for me because I've always been a picky eater so I actually eat a lot more interesting meals now that I'm vegan. Also my cousin Martha who, at that time, had been vegetarian for over 20+ years, had just been inspired to write her first cookbook so I got the benefit of her genius to kick things off so I wasn't relegated to salads and bland tofu.

More recently, my research into the soul of humanity and our evolution led me to understand that the true reason for a plant based diet is the fact that consuming plants purifies us, making it possible for us to vibrate at higher energetic frequencies. 

Why we start something is not often why we stick with something so I'm down for people becoming vegan whatever the reason. Ultimately consuming a plant based diet helps us reach our highest potential and realize our individual and collective purpose, which gets me hyped!

Christopher D. Sims: Loving My Vegan Self

Christopher D. Sims is a poet, spoken word performer, and human rights activist. Christopher is also known as UniverSouLove. He has been vegan for eight years now. Check out his previous feature on Black Vegans Rock. Here is a poem that he wrote:

Loving My Vegan Self

I am loving my conscious,
collected, calm, cool
vegan self.

I am in touch and in tune
with all what I am and have
become.

A child of the sun, I am clean:
living a green lifestyle in more
ways than one.

The vegan lifestyle transformed
my way of thinking. I love eating
wholesome, fresh foods.

I am defeating the norms
by eating what I believe is
most necessary. The foods
I am eating are not Franken foods,
full of pesticides, or scary.

I am a soulful vegan on this
planet. I am not taking the

Earth or animals for granted.
I am living a lifestyle that is
spiritual and organic.

I am in love with all of the
sacred ingredients, plants, herbs
I indulge in. The healthiest crops
Earth has to offer are my best friends.

I am seeking a consciousness that
is respectful of my position in our
ecosystem. Between the birds, the bees,
the trees and I, there is no division.

I’ve learned that good health is wealth.

So I must love and take care of my vegan self.

 

© Christopher D. Sims
Edited on October 29th, 2015

Social Media Links

http://www.soundcloud.com/UniverSouLove

http://www.mixcloud.com/UniverSouLove 

"If Black Lives Mattered" by Christopher D. Sims is available at http://bit.ly/1Kbwn8U. 

FEATURE: Keja Bussey

Hey my name is Keja, and I began to make my transition to veganism in December 2015. My little 14 year old cousins told me previously in the summer of 2015 that they were going vegetarians. Initially, like many people, I felt that they were out of their right minds. Soon after, they showed me the documentary, Earthlings, and I was instantly turned off by the animal industry and their lack of care for the animals' pain and suffering. It also informed me of just how unhealthy it was to eat animals that could potentially be carrying diseases. If those animals were feeling bad throughout their lifetime, and I were to put that in my body, not only would I feel bad just like the sick animal that I ate, it would also be unhealthy for my digestive tract.

Truthfully, it is accurate to say that my conversion to veganism was both frightening because I felt that the people around me would not find my efforts to better the world relevant. I eventually just came to my senses and began to tell people that I was now a vegan and that was that because the decision that I was making would not only benefit my health, the poor animals being unnecessarily slaughtered in the factory farming system, but also the people around me because my imprint on the Earth would be less significant than someone who did consume diary, animal flesh, and animal byproducts.

My advice to other black vegans would be to not give into the consensus of your peers. There are not many vegans in the world, however, one person does make a difference. Remember why you are even being an advocate for Veganism and stay strong in the fact that what you are doing has positive outcomes for you and those around you. I continually preach this to my family because they often forget that what I’m doing is again benefitting my body, the earth, and animals. The experience of being a vegan is very uplifting. I feel that since December of 2015, I have made significant strides both spiritually and physically. Fruit on!

FEATURE: Monique Thomas

My name is Monique Thomas, I live in the Bronx, New York, and I am a Black Vegan who ROCKS!! I am a former professional dancer and now, I am a poet. My stage name is Lady Soul.

Here's my story:

I was preparing for Dance Africa's 25th anniversary show in 2002. 2 weeks before the show, I completely stopped eating meat. The night of the show, I was light as a feather on stage. I had so much energy, I felt invincible. I wasn't even breathing hard after our set was done. I wanted to do our set twice!! LOL

One year later, I decided to take the next step and go Vegan. I got sick of eating eggs and other dairy products. My biggest fight was to stop eating pizza. 13 years later, in 2016, I am pizza free. PRAISE GOD!! I turn 46 years old in July and my body belongs to me because I take care of it the right way thanks to my Vegan diet.

The discipline it took to go Vegan amazed my own self. I feel great and I've never been happier with my decision to go Vegan. For my health's sake, it's been worth it. I am 13 years into this journey and vowed that I will be a Vegan for LIFE. No apologies for that.

Cart (0)