FEATURE: Cornelius Brown

Since I was a child, I never wanted to finish eating the flesh of a chicken's leg or other parts of an animal's bones. Something in the back of my mind believed there was something wrong! Due to my IGNORance of it, as I started to get older, I grew up fishing, gutting, and witnessed plenty of animals being killed, opened up, and then eaten on the spot! That enabled me to taste and know the difference between NATURAL carnivore and a CONDITIONED carnivore. The moment I started being attracted to the truth, awareness was raised in my own household. Together we began to search and research HOW the body works, which then made us aware of how all complex diseases occur in the body, and WHY we as humans are NOT internally compatible to consume DEAD bodies aka flesh meat!

We also had to learn how to recognize why we had even thought eating meat was normal in the first place! ILLUSIONS! Now that we have come this far, I am now able to think clearly, recognize our society's illusions, and eat ONLY compatible foods that fuel life inside of our bodies! I am now assisting in spreading awareness and I am currently studying to become a holistic health and wellness consultant. Also, my brother and I are CEO and Co-CEO of the Official DARK DIAMOND LLC brand/organization, which is the official sponsor of L.O.T.I.H. Natural Alternatives Workshops, and pro-boxing athlete: Ken "Scrappy" Taylor!

Social Media

Facebook: RonTrel Brown (Conscious Kingn)

Email: DarkDiamonds86@gmail.com

Instagram: darkdiamondlifestyle

Official Website: www.darkdiamondentertainment.com

FEATURE: Ady Namaran Coulibaly

My name is Ady Namaran Coulibaly. I am a vegan, environmental and health activist, a journalist, editor of Health Africa Vegan Magazine, an interpreter and graphic designer. I have a B.A in Communication (Journalism), and studying for a Masters in Conference Interpreting.

I was introduced to veganism while on my spiritual journey. First, I got to know of the benefit of veganism as a Pranic healer. Then I also read the book of Supreme Master Chin Hai (a philanthropist, spiritual leader and vegan activist) entitled ‘From Crisis to Peace: The Organic Vegan Way is the Answer’. Gradually, I developed interest in learning more about veganism in order to convince myself that I was on the right path. 

The more I read books and searched for information online, the more I became convinced that I had made the right choice to be vegan, and that I was fortunate to have come across this unique lifestyle. I have come to understand the pain, suffering and level of cruelty animals go through due to the selfish and irrational food choices of humans. From that point on, I made a commitment to play an active role in creating awareness about veganism. I have had the privilege of being featured on 365 vegans.

I am leading the Meatless Monday Campaign in Ghana, West Africa.  The goal of this global campaign is to encourage the adoption of plant-based diets at least once in a week for non-vegans, thus making them appreciate the need for veganism and gradually leading them to being vegan. I visit schools to enlighten the cooking staff on the benefit of a vegan diet and to encourage them to adopt this diet at least once a week, on Mondays.

I had a vegan pregnancy, and I am on an exciting journey of raising my daughter as a proud vegan. Being vegan has completely changed my outlook about life. I feel more at peace with nature and animals; I am full of life and energy, healthy and at peace with myself.  

Social Media

Personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/namaran
Facebook for Meatless Monday: https://www.facebook.com/meatlessmondaygh/?fref=ts

FEATURE: Nzinga Young

My mom raised me vegetarian. It was all about health and I didn’t even consider the ethical implications until I was an adult and started meditating.

Vipassana is a Buddhist practice that takes 10 days in silence to learn. You commit to five precepts during your stay and one is not to kill or support killing. Every Vipassana center is traditionally vegetarian because cows’ milk and unfertilized eggs probably didn’t involve killing during Buddha’s lifetime, but I had a vague understanding of the modern-day egg and dairy industries and knew I had to go vegan to stay in line with my practice.

I had a bumpy start with lots of mishaps. I slipped up and ate non-vegan food when I was drunk, so I gave up alcohol after my first Vipassana retreat and finally went vegan after my second. Midway through 2015, I was fully committed to a vegan lifestyle.

I started freelance writing for vegan businesses and contributing articles to HuffPost so I’d have the flexibility to attend vegan conferences all over the world. My goal has always been to increase the prevalence of plant-based eating in African American communities--I just didn’t know how. Since animal activists want people eating plants as much as I do, I figured learning their best practices and translating them to my community would be helpful.

But I was usually one of the only black women in these spaces. Issues of diversity were overlooked, and the animal rights movement was missing an opportunity to connect with African Americans--who have the largest per-person meat consumption rate in the US.

I complained a lot until I realized I could take an idea and do something with it. I founded Wanyama Box in October of 2016 as a tool to help vegans get their loved ones to stop eating animals while raising money for vegan initiatives in communities of color.

Wanyama (which means “animals” in Swahili) is my way of bridging the causes I care about most: animals and the black community. I know I have a lot bring to each issue, so I’m excited to see how my ideas and involvement grow over time.

Social Media

Instagram: @veganzinga

FEATURE: George Jones

My journey to veganism initiated from a place of vanity. I will humbly admit that as a teen and young adult, I suffered from acne to the point where it consumed and isolated me from being my true outgoing self. I visited multiple dermatologists, and was prescribed methods and medicines all varying in side effects and costs. I thought, "There must be a better way." As a naturally curious person, I conducted my own research and stumbled on various skin blogs where people spoke about dairy and the connection to it and skin irritation. I'd consumed dairy once a day in one form or another. Pizza being my favorite food and mozzarella sticks a close second. So in that moment, I decided that if I was going to spend all this money and time trying to fix my skin, I could at least omit something for a week just to see what works.

 In less than a week, my skin was brighter and my acne was at an all-time low, thus began my new love for food education. Food had the power to clear my skin? What other magic tricks did the food kingdom offer? At this point, I am around 26 and have been working out regularly and an avid runner at about 5-7 miles a day. Always looking to better my time, I found through multiple fitness publications that many runners do not eat meat. I admittedly struggled with the idea for two months, and figured I could start with red meat. Within a month, I shaved a solid minute and a half off of my 8.5 mile. I was head over heels, and didn’t feel I was missing anything not eating burgers. I kept this up, and vegetables became required versus optional.

October 4th 2015 I made the decision to move into vegetarianism. I purposely did this around the holidays when I knew it would be the most difficult. It was easier than I thought. I am not the type of person who enjoys food comas. My family laughed it off, but over the next year I felt and looked better than I did my entire life. October 4th of 2016 I made the decision to move into veganism. I watched Earthlings on YouTube, and learned the unquestionable connection to food, nature and unity. In October I also achieved my certification through AFPA as a Nutrition and Dietitian.  I had been vegan for months at a time during my vegetarian era, but pizza was the ONLY thing I could not live without. I found vegan pizza, and said "well, that’s that." It has all been organic, and easy. The health benefits are obvious, and the simplicity of which I approach food makes for a very enjoyable lifestyle with endless options. The powerlessness of big business over what I consume and how I live, evoke a slight courageous and rebelliousness that I love. Veganism has shown me the beauty of nature to heal and grow and love.

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jpboleynjones

FEATURE: Amy McKnight

During my journey, I have met many black women my age and much younger who have had whole or partial hysterectomies and are suffering with infertility because of non-cancerous uterine fibroid tumors. 

These experiences have made me passionate about sharing the power of eating a plant-based vegan diet as a means of restoring health, fertility and avoiding needless surgical interventions. 

I have been a 100% whole food plant based vegetarian on and off for the last 24 years. It is only very recently that I’ve begun to self-identify as vegan. This came as a result of learning more about the “black” vegan movement. 

I’m beginning to see how the black vegan movement connects with systematic racism which can be seen in the medical “treatment” of women of color with fibroids. 

Every year 600,000 women in America will have hysterectomies. 200,000 of those will be performed because of uterine fibroid tumors. It is estimated that 2/3 of all hysterectomies are completely unnecessary. 

If you are a black woman it is likely that you have or know someone who has fibroids as 80% of all black women will develop fibroids before the age of 50. When our symptoms worsen, we seek medical help and are disproportionally offered hysterectomies before being told about other options - medical or lifestyle related. 

As I talked with other women who had been diagnosed with fibroids and chose to have hysterectomies, I kept hearing stories of how their doctors told them “it was looking like it might be cancer” and “they shouldn’t take chances.” This despite the fact, 99.9% of uterine fibroid tumors are non-cancerous growths.

I heard stories of women needlessly maimed. It made me angry and sad for them. I knew that the chance of my meeting so many black women with “cancerous fibroids” was about as likely as me winning the lottery.

I knew that having a hysterectomy puts a woman at a higher risk of having cardiovascular diseases, which kill more women than breast and uterine cancer. 

During my last bout with fibroids, I set out to find a solution that would help me to rid myself of my fibroids in a natural way. I kept being led back to the 100% whole food plant based vegan diet as the foundation on which a fibroid focused natural health program can be built. Here's the beautiful thing. The natural program that will relieve symptoms and shrink fibroids, comes with the added benefit of improving a woman's over all health. 

I put my story, as well as the program that others and I have successfully used, together in a book, Taking THE FIGHT to Fibroids: A Step-by-Step Guide to Naturally Knocking Out Uterine Fibroid Symptoms & Winning Back Your Life. It is available in paperback and on Kindle. 

I recently launched a 90-day group health-coaching program to give women that extra support that is needed to stick with and win their fight with fibroids. I also am the admin of a free private Facebook group for women who are looking to fight fibroids naturally. 

I want to introduce the 100% whole food plant based vegan diet to as many women as I can to help them improve their fertility and over all health. 

*There is a special promotion running on Amy's book UNTIL THURSDAY on Amazon.

Website: thefibroidfight.com
The book on Amazon: https://amzn.com/1537317059
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amymcknightbiz/
Twitter: twitter.com/amymcknight
Facebook Page: facebook.com/amymcknightbiz/
Free Private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LadiesFightingFibroidsNaturally/

FEATURE: LeoLin Bowen

The first time that I heard of the word “vegetarian” was during my senior year in high school. I was on the dance team with a girl who became a vegetarian after her favorite chicken on her family’s farm became lunch. Growing up with a father who is from Mississippi and a mother who is from Belize, I had never heard of this term before, but I thought to myself I love animals and I don’t want them to get killed just so that I can eat them, so I’ll become a vegetarian too. Looking back on this time I laugh because although I stopped eating animals, I really didn’t eat any healthier. I survived on cheese fries and pizza. Thank goodness for a teenager’s metabolism and dance as a school activity. This time in my life only lasted for two years, but I always knew I’d come back to this lifestyle. 

During my time in college I thought that I’d become a veterinarian so I could help animals, but I quickly learned that being a vet didn’t necessarily mean you were an animal advocate. After taking several animal science classes I saw firsthand how animals raised for food are mistreated. This experience (and the video “Meet your Meat”) led me to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle again in 2007. 

I didn’t learn the term “vegan” until I was an adult volunteering at an animal shelter. This idea of someone who not only enjoyed a diet free from eating animals or anything that came from an animal, but who also lived a more compassionate lifestyle by not wearing animals or using products that were tested on them, appealed to me as a person and resonated with my core values. In 2009 I was accepted to a summer internship at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y. and this is when I made the switch to a vegan lifestyle. This is also the time when I became pregnant with my son, so not only did I have to navigate this change, I also chose to do it as a pregnant woman. Whenever someone questions whether veganism is healthy I laugh and say, “I grew a healthy human while eating vegan so I think that you’ll be okay”!

All that has led me to my dream job! I work for the Humane Society of the United States helping institutions such as schools and hospitals to incorporate more plant-based meals into their menus. Within this role I’m also focusing on increasing the number of people of color in the animal protection movement.  There’s a huge lack of diversity which is a hindrance in saving the lives of animals. 

After telling my son that I work to help save animals, he told me that he wanted to help me save animals too. This reminded me that as a parent my #1 job is to teach him how to be a compassionate person in a sometimes uncompassionate world. I am definitely up for the challenge! 

Social Media

Twitter @leolinbowen
FB: People of Color for Animal Protection
Website: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/eating/meatfree-guide-2011/

FEATURE: Sky Raven The Vegan Poet

Abioseh “Sky Raven” Cole, is a vegan blacktivist, poet, and Hip-Hop Artist, whose work has a strong emphasis on social justice issues across many spectrums. His parents, a biracial couple, were very active in the anti-war protests in late 60's and early 70’s, and helped to organize the anti-apartheid boycotts in CT in the 80’s. His father was an immigrant from Sierra Leone, part Methodist minister, and part clinical social worker, and was very active in the community. His mother became an advocate for children and families with developmental disabilities, after one of his sisters was born with a rare syndrome that took her life as a teenager, when Sky Raven was 14.

That was the same year Sky Raven got serious about his writing, which was mainly Hip-Hop, an interest he was able to pursue in a Recording Technique’s class at his high school, and then even further at the
Hartford Conservatory of Music where he studied record production. In 1996, about a month before his 16th birthday, his father passed away after a 2-year battle with Colon Cancer that started with a western
oncologist, and ended with a traditional Chinese doctor. His father’s journey made Sky Raven question everything he had been taught to believe about food, medicine and the entire food and drug industry.

After some reading that included an American Cancer Association reference book circa 1996, where he read that colon cancer is “caused by stress on the intestines which is caused by eating meat,” Sky Raven became vegetarian in January of 1998.  In 2000, while studying at University of Ghana at Legon, Sky Raven came across a book called Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss, a book that helped him to transition to a vegan diet by December of 2000. However, because it was mainly for health reasons, Sky Raven still purchased some non-food animal products until spring of 2015, when he started working with Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), an animal rights organization, and the first that he had worked with. They inspired a piece that would become the reason Sky Raven became a poet. It was called I Am Not Food, and it was originally done for a DXE speak out from the perspective of farm animals, and it was recorded and later performed as a Hip-Hop piece.

However, Sky Raven found it to be much more effective as a spoken word piece, and started his journey as a poet. At the same time he went through a rite of passage with the indigenous Tsa-La-Gi Choctaw Intertribal Nation, after which he was named Sky Raven. This marked a complete change in direction in many ways both personally and professionally. As a poet, Sky Raven has performed at Connecticut College, the Nuyorican Poets Café, the Cantab, the Lizard Lounge, and astounded the vegan activist community with his performance at the World Vegan Summit.

Social Media

Facebook: @SkyRavenTheVeganPoet

YouTube: Sky Raven The Vegan Poet

FEATURE: Courtney

As a child it was rare that I would finish an entire serving of meat. In 2008 I realized that I only consumed meat if it was heavily seasoned and covered in a lot of dressing or sauce. I realized I enjoyed the sides of my meals more than the meat. I found a local vegan restaurant with wonderful people that introduced me to veganism. I started to incorporate vegan meals into my diet but I was still consuming meat and dairy.

About two years ago I became a pescatarian and eventually a vegetarian. I intended to stick with eating a vegetarian diet. One day while watching television I watched a show that had absolutely nothing to do with veganism. It showed a beautiful farm with a cow eating grass. They went on to show the cow exploring the farm throughout the show and gave the cow a number. Suddenly the farmer made the cow walk into a shed. The next scene was of a package of meat with a separate piece of paper with the cows number on it. That changed my entire mind frame instantly and I have been on a vegan journey ever since. Each day I am learning more about veganism and how it is much more than just a diet. 

Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneyveg/